May 11, 2011

Who Needs Spring?

May 11, 2011/ Michelle Scheibe

Do you know what I love about living in Iowa? It’s totally the weather…oh wait…

It was 90+ degrees yesterday. It was 45 last week. I LOVE the heat….but I also love spring. We haven't seen much of spring yet and I would like to enjoy a few 70 degree/low humidity days before we head into the dog days of summer….Ike is all about the dog days of summer…he missed sunbathing…

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It was so nice out that we decided to FINALLY bring out the deck furniture. Our furniture is from the Martha Stewart line at Home Depot (aka inexpensive). We purchased it last year. We both love it. The furniture is super comfortable and is the perfect size for our space.

The deck is our favorite summer hang out spot. It’s like adding a whole other room to our house. We love the tree house feel that it has.

We are creatures of habit and the deck definitely plays a role in our nightly routine. We get home from work, eat, walk 3 miles, and then sit on the deck until it’s dark. Nate plays on his phone. I read. We occasionally talk to each other (what?, we just went on a 3 mile walk together). It’s a fabulous way to end the work day!

Here’s the view from the comfiest seat on the deck…the loveseat…

When building the deck we decided not to have stairs to the patio below. We did this for two reasons. Reason #1, the dog. We had to use a baby gate to keep the dog on the deck at our first house. Neither of us was really digging that for this house. Reason #2, I’m paranoid and didn’t like the idea of someone coming up the back of my house at night. The things we do for my craziness…and this guy…

And I hate to admit it…but I was the one who decided to turn on the ceiling fans when I got home last night. It was painful. It seriously hurt ~~my ego~~ me a lot. All of my pretty chandelier/fan destroying dreams came crashing down into tiny pieces….and then the room was cooler…and Nate gave me that “I told you so” look that I love so much. I actually hate this fan the least of any ceiling fan. It’s called the Dragonfly. I don’t remember who makes it. I just liked the name.

How are you preparing for spring/summer? Do you have a favorite spring/summer hangout?

**If you’re bored, feel free to vote for us on the right hand side of our blog..it’s only 1 click!**

Linking up to: HOUSEography, Savvy Southern Style

May 10, 2011

Oh Snap!

May 10, 2011/ Michelle Scheibe

Do you have an Android phone, iPhone, or Blackberry? If not, I highly recommend a smart phone. I was totally against it. I was afraid of a phone being smarter than me (which mine is). I didn’t want to become one of those people who was always on their phone (and I am)….still totally worth it. My Samsung Mesmerize is like my tiny little child.

Why am I so in love with my phone? For calling people? What? You can do that? No, actually it’s the apps.

Nate ran across info on Sherwin-Williams ColorSnap app…isn’t he an awesome husband?

The free app allows you to:

capture a color that inspires you and match it to one of 1,500 Sherwin-Williams paint colors.
Create a custom palette or Ask Sherwin-Williams for colors that complement your color.
Search for specific colors or browse the full Sherwin-Williams color palette right from your iPhone or Blackberry, or Android smart phone.
Fine tune colors using lightness, saturation and hue features.
Save colors to your "My Saved Colors" library to compare palettes or share via Facebook and email.
Learn detailed color information, including color names, RGB values, and LRV numbers—all with the ColorSnap app.
Find a Sherwin-Williams Store Near You

Pretty awesome, right? I feel like this will definitely come in handy!!

I tested it out in our house. I used my favorite pillow ever as a guinea pig…

After analyzing the color, the app came up with Golden Rule as the matching color.

I tried the app on our walls…which are all painted with Sherwin Williams paint. It did not match on any wall in our house. The glares/reflections/flash on the phone camera all probably play a role in affecting the results. Your phone camera may work better than mine..who knows!

After testing it out, I think it will be useful for matching accent colors….like using Golden Rule as an accent color on some frames in our guest bedroom. I wouldn’t rely on it for wall colors though!

Who else has a phone that is smarter than they will ever be? Any other thoughts on useful ideas for this app?

May 09, 2011

Update Kitchen Tour

May 09, 2011/ Michelle Scheibe

While Nate cooks supper (yeah, I’m a lucky lady…I have the dishes to look forward to though…so it’s not all rainbows and unicorns..but I’m definitely not complaining!), I am going to link up to the House Tour over at HOUSEOgraphy.

Today’s feature room is the kitchen! My previous kitchen tour posts are lacking so I thought I’d whip up a new one real quick like…(whip up...because it’s the kitchen…oh, I’m killing myself…this is what 9 hours in a pharmacy will do to you…)

Room info
Wall color: Svelte sage (Sherwin Williams)
Cabinets: Woodland/Provincial doors/Ivory
Granite: Epic stone/Black
Fridge: GE profile, french door
Cook top: Whirlpool
Oven/microwave: GE
Dishwasher: Bosch

Our pantry is located under the “EAT” letters….the floor plan required this wall for support. I decided that it was a good spot for a pantry. Yeah, that was good move. I don’t know what we would do without this space.