Big Changes, Small Changes

Let's discuss the big changes first, shall we?  Today was a big day.  My husband and I exchanged these text messages:

We had been texting earlier in the day...Then, out of nowhere, I get the "Do you want to know where we're going?" text!

This was of course referring to the fact that he had finally been informed of where we would be moving come August when his residency here in Illinois is over.  Travis Air Force Base in California it is!  Wow!  I am processing and trying to let the reality of this sink in.  I am excited!  Admittedly, a little disappointed that we did not get our top picks in England, Germany or Italy.  But hey, California!  Bring it, I say!    The closest city to the base is Fairfield, California and I believe the base isn't too far from Napa (which sounds real good).  Looks like it's about an hour from San Francisco and Sacramento.  We will likely be there for three to four years, our kids will start school here, we will experience a lot of life here.  I can say I am just very glad to know where we are headed.  Now I can begin to picture what life may look like (though really, what do I know?) and ask God to prepare a place for us there.  We have truly been so blessed here in Illinois.  If we are able to meet and get to know people that are anything like those we now know here, I will be so thankful.

Does it seem rather strange to jump from news like this to silly little changes around our house?  Maybe, but small as they may be, they really do my heart good.  When so much is uncertain when you're moving around a lot, I find that looking for beauty in things like fresh flowers in the bathroom and monogrammed towels brings me a bit of joy.  And so I will share it.

Remember that photo I showed you?  The one with the bathroom that was all sorts of beige and blah?

Yes, well it's still the same bathroom, but I like being in there much more now.

I just adore my new towels.  So impressed with the quality and price.  Well done, Horchow.

I have also been loving the bright pops of emerald green (Pantone, I feel you and your color of the year!) and navy in the rug that I found at TJMaxx for a song.

The mirror I've had (purchased at Ross a couple years ago), and I was quite pleased with how it not only filled that large wall above the tub so well, but its shape echos the curves in the rug's pattern.  Meant to be!

Of course I always have fresh flowers in my bathroom!  You don't? :)

Oh, and I ended up going with this style monogram because I decided that it too worked nicely with the shape of the mirror and the pattern in the rug.  I am so happy with these towels.  Who would have thought towels with letters on them could make a girl so happy?

Actually, I was so pleased with my order that I placed a second one for some hand towels for our downstairs hall bath.  I knew I wanted to do a more angular style font in this case, but I spent forever trying to decide on a color (I know I made mention of pink!).  In the end, I went with black, and I am quite happy that I did.  I think it ties in nicely with the little rug (from Target) and provides some nice contrast to all the blues and greens in the art work and the beige on the floor.

I have never been quite sure why the designer of this house saw fit to include two long towel bars in a half bath.  Nevertheless, at least now I have two pretty towels hanging that make me happy.

Lastly, I spent yesterday's preschool hours whipping up a quick window treatment for Holland's room.  I know it's sort of ridiculous to work on something like this given that we just talked about how we'll be moving not too long from now.  But again, the process of creating beauty (or at least trying to!) is what I'm drawn to.

And so you could find me on the floor with some foam board, an exacto knife, and a staple gun following Jenny's oldie-but-a-goodie tutorial for quick DIY pelmet boxes.  It's really hard to photograph the windows in Holland's room with the light streaming in, so this little sneak peek will have to do.

As you can see, I used the yellow buffalo check I blogged about before...just not on her bolster pillows.  More details to come...