photo shop

We are so excited to introduce to you the newest addition to our lives: FlashyPics!

FlashyPics is the name of the photography company we started! It's not so much photography services, but more about the photos themselves. But, who knows, it may evolve into more!

The photos are posted and for sale at Etsy.com. Etsy is an online store that sells everything homemade, vintage, photos, furniture, and so much more! I've loved the store for years and always dreamed that one day I would have something to sell on there. And, now I do!

Take a look at the shop! Check back often as I still have plenty of prints, just not enough time in the day to edit them all! :)

Just so you know: Shane and I have decided that it doesn't really matter to us how took the pictures. So, we don't really say which ones were taken by me or taken by him. It's mainly about doing something that we enjoy and then sharing it with everyone else. We have so much fun just walking around and exploring different places. Then, when we feel it's something spectacular, we take a shot of it!

Looking forward to continue sharing our work with you all!!

<3!! Kristin :)

light it up!

Shane and I both brought some light into this relationship. And, while it's typical for items to clash and not necessarily get along. It's a little crazy when everything is the same!

At my apartment I had small lamps. The were basically "bedroom" lamps because, well up until 2 years ago, I only had a bedroom to light :D

Aside from my array of bedroom lamps I brought in to the mix a floor lamp. As luck would have it, so didn't Shane. About 2 to be exact! (insert sarcasm here!) Now we have 3 floor lamps and a bunch of little lamps. We need to go lamp shopping!

There's been many of conversations surrounding lamps (more than I think healthy)! We first decided that we want to purchase two lamps. One for the end table right outside the kitchen doorway. And, one for on top of either the book shelf in the "entryway" or the tall shelf we have all the electronic equipment on. I personally want it on the book shelf, but I may need to give up something else to get my way on that one :D

We then discussed the height of the lamp we wanted. For the table, a medium sized lamp should do. As for the entertainment shelf, I want fat and more of a bowl style base, but not too high. I love color, which is a little different for Shane. He is really into browns, rustic and silvery tones. While I am all for those as well, and most of my furniture and accessories are of the same nature as his. We just have too much of it going on. So, we need COLOR!!

Here is our path down the lamp journey!

We discussed silly, with the leg lamp!

Personally, I think this lamp is pretty cool and would not be ashamed of displaying it in our home :)

 

{source: http://www.redriderleglamps.com/}

 

We've gone into Home Goods, Lowe's, TJ Maxx, Marshalls

They all have the same lamps. Very modern and funky.

 

 

{source: Apartment Therapy}

 

 

Shane surprised me one day we were in Lowe's when he pointed out a Tiffany style lamp he liked.

Really!? I almost jumped into his arms!

I love the different glass textures of the Tiffany style!

The problem is the price tag!

This one is $400!!

 

 

{source: http://www.thelampswesell.com/}

 

 

One like this lovely-ness from Pottery Barn would work for the entertainment shelf

This particular one costs $170, but we may be able to find one similar somewhere else

 

 

So, that's our journey through lamp land! I think the consensus will probably be a Tiffany style for the table by the kitchen and one like the Pottery Barn ceramic lamp for the entry way!

 

Which do you think? Is it difficult for you to shop lamps?

 

Peace and <3!

 



outside world

My nose and my eyes are killing me as I'm writing this post, believing strongly that the stuffy and runny nose I have is due to allergies. But, this post isn't about my nose and allergies; it's about the outside :D

Remember these lounge chair cushions?

Well, they are finally back out on the deck, exept I moved things around and they are now on the reverse pattern they come in!

 

 

I moved the Bistro table along the sliding glass door

 



 



I also decided to try and give the plant thing another try. Don't worry, we still have Gertrude, but I wanted to do more than just her. She finally made it to her dormant stage and is just green leaves now. Because, she is supposed to be a Fall/Winter plant, it's been too hot outside for her in the Summer. So, since our apartment is an ice box (<3 you Shane) she loves it indoors!

Soo, the plants I got are able to tolerate direct sunlight for up to 6 hours! Purple mums and a pretty annual pot that I got all at Lowe's!

 



We like them and think they make a perfect addition to our deck! Now, if only my sinuses would clear up so I could enjoy sitting out there! :-P

<3

whatcha' reading?

I wrote an entry in May with a list of books on my reading list, which you can find here.

I realize that now, based on my plan that I wasn't supposed to pick up another book until I was finished with Game of Thrones. Here lies my problem and why I had to alter my course, slightly:

Game of Thrones (GOT) is a great book and I love the story line. It's just so in-depth and hard to read for long periods of time. I am only able to read a few chapters and then have to stop to digest everything I just read. Between all the characters and then the locations, that's hard enough to follow. Then you throw in the relationships between the people in the various locations, then that's even harder to follow. There's about 3 stories going on at once, wait, it is only one book, right? Yup, all 835 pages (I have the paperback, the hardcover is only 694, woohoo!).

As I was saying, I like the book. But, since it was taking me so long to read through chapters, there were some nights I wanted something to read but just couldn't stomach the analyzing of the realm.

That's where Catching Fire comes in. I thought it was harmless and that I could read this only on the nights I wasn't reading GOT. So, I picked it up from the local library and started reading. And, then read a few chapters.

I'm just going to tell you right away, that GOT lost out on this battle. Catching Fire came with me to MA and then was completely finished last evening. Oops.

What's worse you ask? Well, I now know I'm supposed to go back to GOT, because that's the deal. But, I can't, because I need to know what happens in the Hunger Games series!

I haven't caved yet! I don't have the third book, Mockingjay...so I haven't completely given up hope that I may or may not return to GOT. But, there are no promises that once I get close enough to the Library to check and see if they have Mockingjay that the weakness won't take over me and I will end up failing my journey to alternate between series!

I've come to terms with this: GOT is going to be my always book. It's the book that I have going on in the back ground and will not be able to get away from, because it's always going to be there. It has to. There are 5 books in this series, so far, because the author is still writing them. It's going to take me 10 years just to get through the first 5 for goodness-sake! Therefore, it's my always book; the book that will always be there!

That means, and yes I'm justifying, that through the lifetime of GOT, I have the permission to read other series during my digestive period. Kind of like the nap between Thanksgiving dinner and the turkey sandwiches.

mmmmm, now I'm hungry :)

Peach & LOVE! <3

closet case

Check out my newest addition on the right banner: Home Project list.

#1 & 2 on this list: Bedroom and hallway closet transformations!

Our kitchen has some pretty good storage, for being a small galley kitchen. What it really lacks is counter space. We try not to leave too much on them, but trying only goes so far! And, when you have two people who love to cook, well you can only imagine the pots, pans, dishes and baking stuff you have!

There is a decent sized closet in the hallway leading to the bedrooms. Shane had been using it for his vacuum, dog food, towels, some pans, etc. In addition to this closet, there is a small narrow one in the bedroom. Until just recently, I thought it was drilled shut because it was never used. He kept his hamper in front of it as though it was blocking a secret passage. That passage was prime real estate that I could not wait to get my hands on!!

Our plans were to convert the hallway closet into a pantry and then bedroom into a linen closet. Going forward, those will be their respected names. The biggest challenge started out being closet organizers. Which for the pantry wasn't so difficult because there were already metal shelves in there. The linen closet was too narrow for much, so we purchased a plastic shelf unit from Lowe's.

And in one weekend...it was done!

This is the pantry

More organizing to go! 

A linen closet just for towels and cleaning stuff! 

Can't wait to finish organizing it! :)

Peace and <3!!

bakers rack

When I lived in my apartment, I had a baker's rack in my kitchen. It's actually a plant holder I got from Home Goods, but it worked for this purpose as well.

At Shane's apartment, we have a galley kitchen. We barely have enough room for the trash barrel not to mention this baker's rack. So, it was bound to be outside the kitchen if we decided to use it. Which is exactly where we first put, right outside the kitchen.

It worked for a little while. I actually never really loved it there, but there really wasn't much more we could do with it. Then mom was coming to visit so we needed to put the air mattress in the Living Room and make more room.

So, we moved it on the other side of the wall, more in the "dining room" area.

I think I like it a little better there, just because it's in a room where it fits it's contents a little better (minus the stereo of course :D)

It got one more make-over this evening. I felt the stuff we had on the cut-out shelf looking into the kitchen needed to be cleaned off desperately! It had the wine rack and the alcohol on it. So, I moved everything onto the rack.

 Here's one last picture of it:

Just one more step in the organizing/decorating process of the rooms. But, every little bit helps! Since we don't have walls that separate the rooms, I want to try and get the things that are room appropriate into these spaces to help break it up some. We'll see how that works!

Peace and <3



the home in my title

Prelude before I start: due to the storm that came through Maryland and all the running around to get things back to normal, I haven't made it to Trader Joe's to get cheese. BUT, I will this weekend, so next week should be a pretty exciting week for you all to look forward to :)

We've been pretty busy the past couple of weeks. We had a pretty nasty storm come through here a few weeks ago and I never mentioned how much fun we had when Mom came to visit!!

We went to a 3D IMAX movie about Sea Dinosaurs. It was pretty cool

No one expected the storm to be quite as bad as it turned out to be. It started in Ohio just around 2pm on Friday, June 29th. It blew up coming across the lakes and just went on from there. Shane and I were in the living room playing video games, when around 11pm the power went completely out. It stayed out until Tuesday.

Luckily his parents didn't lose power and we were able to stay with them. What made it worse was that it was well over 90* every day that weekend/week. ICK!

We finally made it home in our cool apartment Wednesday after the fireworks :D

We have a few projects for the apartment planned, along with some decorating and painting. The next few months are going to be really fun! Shane could be cringing at this point, and I may be eating my words when they are through...but I'm sure they will be great once complete! Here's what we have planned:

1. Convert two closets: Hallway one into a pantry; a smaller narrow on into a linen closet
2. Paint the Living Room
3. Paint the Bedroom
4. Build a mantle piece for the fireplace

To start the decorating process, last weekend Shane and I hung up a DVD rack that we bought at IKEA a couple of months ago. It it looks really good hanging up over the TV. Problem is now is if we buy anymore DVDs they may not fit ;)

It really ties all the units in on that wall together. The pictures on top of the rack are just there for now. I'm going to put up some other things and kind of play around with it some.

Shane also hung a mirror that I had bought at Home Goods when I first moved into my apartment. You all may remember it just leaning on my book shelf in my "dining room". This is the first time it's been hung up anywhere! I may be a little high, or the shelf may not be high enough...I haven't quite decided yet!

We're getting there with the decorating! Little by little and before you know it, we'll be moving :P

There's a few "ticket" items we want to purchase in regards to decorating. We'd like to get:

1. Table lamp for the Living room

2. Replace the bookshelf (shown with the mirror) with something a little "entryway" friendly.

3. Print out some pictures and hang them on the walls, put on shelves and put over the fireplace

4. Smaller table to replace current dining table

The carpets are what I believe to be original to be building. They have huge stains throughout and gather up here and there. If it were our condo that we owned or planned on staying here for a lot longer, I'd say we would just replace them.

But, since we aren't planning that right now, we need to do something. Our plan is to either A) try cleaning them really good or B) get some area rugs to put over the really bad stains. Unfortunately, there's not much you can do when it starts getting loose and you have rolls in some places.

I'd like to really make this place ours since we'll probably be here for at least a year, year and a half. My plan is to document as we go and share with you my findings on things. Would love to get your feedback and see what you all think!

Peace and Love! <3