All posts in our colorful life

our colorful life: spring break in oregon (+ instagram!!!)

by Megan on March 19, 2013 in our colorful life with No comments

We’re back!! Last week, Josh and I headed out on a jet plane (actually two planes!) to finally visit the place we’ve been dreaming of moving for the past 3 years! Southern Oregon!! Now, I know that’s not your usual Spring Break destination, but for us, it was just as exciting!!

You might be wondering why it’s so exciting? Well, back in 2010, when we were living in our first crappy apartment, still in college, we started talking about where we’d want to live after graduating from college. We literally looked up a US map, and picked the area with the least natural disasters and the best (for us) weather. And since, northern California is still California (read: hella expensive), we chose Oregon. We have close family there, we had never been to that state before, we just picked it. Well, last week we finally went and I’m really happy to say that we still want to move there.

Picture time!! Over the last few months, I have rediscovered instagram, so you’ll being seeing our vacation photos through hipster-colored glasses! Hurray!)

When we first arrived in Oregon, we had to get our rental car. I ordered the tiniest, cheapest option they had… We ended up with this fancy pants Ford C-max hybrid! (Too bad we pre-paid for all that gas it didn’t use, but what can you do?)The day of arrival and the first full day, we spent cruising around Medford. Checking out schools and neighborhoods, and drinking coffee. Seriously, there is a coffee joint on just about every corner. It ruled. And the other thing we couldn’t get enough of? THE VIEWS!!! Here in Texas, it’s flat. flat. flat. But, Medford is in a valley and the whole city is surrounded by these gorgeous mountains! We even drove up Roxy Ann Peak and looked out on the town below! It was gorgeous.

On our second day, we took a quick 15 minute drive to Ashland, OR where we checked out a local farmer’s market with straight-from-the-farm veggies and homemade pastas and pastries and all things amazing. The weather was perfect, and we even discovered a few vegetables that we didn’t know existed! Everyone was so friendly and welcoming and they answered all of our silly questions when we told them we had never been to a farmer’s market before. (Me: “What’s THAT vegetable??” Farmer Woman: “…Brussell Sprouts” Me: “ooooOOO”)Our third day in Oregon, we headed back to Ashland for an early lunch at an awesome local place called The Breadboard Restaurant. An inquisitive duck looked over us as we chowed down on some amazing food. Even though Ashland is pretty small, it’s fairly well known for their Shakespeare Festival which goes on for the majority of the year. We got to look around their gorgeous Elizabethan Theater. Josh even snuck on stage, but he refused to woo me with a sonnett… Boo!Right behind the theater was this gorgeous little duck pond with just one lonely duck. We sat on a bench and chatted for a while, enjoying the perfect weather!!

And then on our last night in Oregon, we drove over to Jacksonville, OR for a wine tasting and dinner. This was an even tinier town, but the drive there was gorgeous with lots and lots of vineyards! Neither of us are really wine fans, but I actually found one that I liked and the dinner was pretty great. Plus they had live music and we sat in loung-y chairs and pretended to be fancy. And then it was time to return to Texas. We were sad to leave but so happy that we actually loved a place we randomly selected on a map. We actually are making plans to move there within the next year or two, which will be whole other adventure!

Did you go on vacation for spring break? Where did you go?

a colorful photoshoot

by Megan on March 4, 2013 in blog business, our colorful life with 2 Comments

**Hey! We’re going to be trying out four posts a week!! Now, you’ll get new Two Live Colorfully content Monday through Thursday! Don’t miss out!!**

The last time Josh and I had professional pictures taken was at our wedding… over 2.5 years ago. Needless to say, we were overdue for some fun photos. So a couple weeks ago, we headed to one of our favorite areas in Dallas, the Bishop Arts District, with my new blog friend (and amazing photographer) Savannah Smiled!

I also took the opportunity to have a few solo shots taken for the blog. After all, I have this fancy-pants new design, I might as well have some photos to match! (You can see these in action on our new about page!)

When I broke out the confetti Josh pretty much fled the area but it was really fun! And, yes, there was confetti everywhere by the end of this shoot. We had so much fun hanging out and doing some excessive smiling! I’m hoping it won’t be another 2.5 years before we do it again! And by the way, you need to know, Savannah is a total pro. If you’re in Dallas and in need of a photographer…. book her.. now! Here’s her photography site!

our colorful life: birthday business

by Megan on February 25, 2013 in our colorful life with No comments

Let’s just say that Josh is not the biggest believer in birthday celebrations… Well, I hate to break it to you, husband, but you married someone who is crazy about them!!

But hey, I know when to tone it down, so instead of confetti and streamers accompanying your alarm this morning, you get a lovely birthday post… and extra coffee!This is a picture of us at a high school band dance. Oh, yes, we were major band nerds and proud of it. I found this photo in a scrapbook I made that been stored away in this little memory box of our relationship and it just makes me smile to see how far we’ve come. From two kids just counting down the days until we could leave our hometown, to broke college kids, to, now, full-fledged adults. It’s kind of crazy, but, I still love you just the same as when we were teenagers driving around looking for good make-out spots (sorry Mom!). Happy Birthday, love!

a colorful life list: meet more bloggers!

by Megan on February 8, 2013 in life list, our colorful life with 1 Comment

Happy happy Friday! I thought today I’d share the first official update on the colorful life list I implemented last month. Plus, I feel like Fridays are the perfect day of the week to share something fun!

Since, I’ve been getting really into blogging lately (because I’ve actually admitted to myself that it’s my dream and why the hell shouldn’t it be?), one of the things I was most excited about on my list was meeting more bloggers in person. This is way harder than it sounds, but I just knew that there have to be more awesome DIY/home bloggers in the Dallas area than just me.

So, last Saturday was my first blogger date with Savannah of Savannah Smiled.

In a sort of weirdo twist of fate, we actually kind of knew each other already. Not only did we both attend the same college at the same time, but our husband’s are in the same teaching program (and both math teachers!). While, Montell (her man) was over at our apartment working on a project with Josh, I recognized him from her blog and put the pieces together. I probably also really freaked him out when I barged into our office and said “YOUR FIANCE IS SAVANNAH”.

So, we met for coffee. Amazing, delicious coffee at Cafe Brazil. I had a raspberry latte and she ordered the rocky road latte.

Seriously people, we talked for four hours without so much as an awkward pause. We chatted up blogs, diy projects, husbands, teaching, and even IKEA. She is the sweetest and I’m pretty sure there will be more coffee dates in our future!

Have you ever met any fellow bloggers in real life? Are you a Dallas blogger too? I’d love to meet more kindred spirits!!

hi valentine!

by Megan on February 4, 2013 in celebrate, marriage, valentine's day with 2 Comments

February is here! Which means that the day for all things love is swiftly approaching. (Valentine’s day, people!) And to get us in the spirit of hearts and chocolates and warm feelings, I’m sharing our Valentine’s décor!

With the exception of Christmas (where all bets are off), I think just a sprinkling of festivity is perfect for any holiday. In most cases I use things that I’ve already got around the house to create little vignettes and maybe throw in a couple of easy, inexpensive crafty projects and then call it a day. Quick and easy swaps are the name of the game!

With a circle punch, some twine, and all the pink paper I could scrounge up, I made this festive confetti garland to drape over our bookcase.

I also added the red, mini cake plate filled with pink tissue paper into our bookcase accessories and the red and white striped ribbon on the candle vase transitioned perfectly from Christmas to Valentine’s.

In our rotating frames in the dining room, I hung one of my vintage scarves with a gorgeous pink and red floral pattern. And next to that, I whipped up a cheeky print in photoshop and had it printed up at staples. (I actually found that idea from DESIGNLOVEFEST on Pinterest and just happened to have that same font on my computer so I fashioned one of my own!).

And, remember those cute painted wood ornaments I made for our Christmas tree? That I then turned into magnets? Well, I went ahead and made another variation. I found these awesome wooden heart shapes at Hobby Lobby and decided to make some love-y magnets especially for this month. Just a little craft paint and those self-adhesive magnets is all it takes!

In a stroke of luck, we discovered that our front door is actually magnetic, so I used these cute little hearts to hang up tiny love notes for Josh to see as he leaves in the morning.

Just a few little tweaks made our apartment v-day ready! For us, February is a big month. We celebrate Valentine’s, our half anniversary, and Josh’s birthday! So extra little touches of appreciation and mushy-ness go a long way!

Did you decorate for Valentine’s day? Do you have any traditions or fun activities planned? Share with us!!

this isn’t your grandma’s coat

by Megan on February 1, 2013 in on a budget, our colorful life with 13 Comments

Alright, y’all. Today we’re doing the unofficial Mackelmore Thrift Shop challenge with Young House Love! (If you haven’t heard this song, you need to. It’s hilarious! You can find the cleaned up version here.) The rules are simple! Go thrift shopping, $20.00 in yo’ pocket, find something awesome, and document said awesome-ness with gratuitous photos of your ‘ghetto’ face.

So, last Saturday, I headed to “Thrift Town” which is right down the road for me and set out for greatness. Oh boy did I find it.

For those of you who might not know, “greatness” can often come in the form of acid washed denim jackets. I know it’s not part of the song, but I really think Mackelmore himself would be proud to don this!

Really though, I found this awesome desk lamp with a pop of bright green. The first thing I thought of when I saw it was Emily Henderson. I could totally see this beauty being worked into one of her amazing rooms. It was only $9.99 and in great shape, but I resisted the temptation. Truth be told, I don’t need another lamp and after a solid 5-7 minutes of pacing around it, carefully balancing the pros and cons of stylish lighting, I backed away slowly.

Luckily, I was distracted by fate. My greatest find was this gorgeous, vintage pink pitcher for just $4.99!! Not a scratch, dent, or ding on it and now, it’s all mine! It’s smaller than a standard picture but I think it would be perfect for summer cocktails for two on our patio, as a vase for fresh flower, or it might even live in our bedroom to save us late nite trips to the kitchen for a glass of water. It’s the only thing I purchased with my $20 bones but I am mighty proud!

And, I just couldn’t resist giving it a little fashion show after I got it home and cleaned up.

A stack of books, a flower, my pitcher, and some fun fabric all in pink just makes my day!! Plus, on this first day of February, it is quite appropriate! (PS. You’ll also be seeing this fabric come back into play with an upcoming project!!)

Did you participate in the thrift shop challenge? Or do you just have any awesome/hilariously un-awesome thrifting finds to share? Let’s hear it!!

why i diy

by Megan on January 4, 2013 in do it yourself, our colorful life, our home, personal with 4 Comments

I thought I’d end this week with one more reflective post before jumping into the projects and posts for this year. My big focus right now is turning Two Live Colorfully into something awesome and in order to get in the right mindset for that I wanted to really tackle the question “Why do I DIY?” (Wow, that’s a mouthful).

Bright & Flowery Art from the 2012 Summer Pinterest Challenge

Going the DIY route give you more control. Maybe that pillow/art/whatever is awesome, but you’re not digging the color scheme. Or maybe you’re in love with a headboard or even some shelving that doesn’t fit the space you have. Doing it yourself allows you to get a custom look. If I DIY a project, even if it turns out as a stinker, I know that there is nothing 100% like it out there. It’s unique to me. And that’s a seriously satisfying sensation. (Obviously, I’m on alliterations today!)

Josh’s Colorful Classroom Makeover!

DIYing parts of my home also helps me to develop a more focused style. I feel like a lot of people have a hard time finding a cohesive style of their own (even though Emily Henderson is certainly doing her part to help us out! I cannot describe how much I love Secrets of a Stylist!), and not having a direction can be overwhelming when you’re trying to create an entire living space that works for you and reflects who you are. I know that I can go into a store and fall in love traditional, modern, and shabby chic styles but I know that throwing together store bought items from such varying styles can look a little crazy in my actual apartment. Getting hands on and making color and style combinations on your own is a really great way to find your distinct style for yourself.

Easy Painted Wood Christmas Ornaments

And, lastly, DIYing is a productive, creative outlet. It’s like creativity with purpose. I know that I can take on a project and (if all goes well, which it mostly does) it can serve a purpose in my home. There’s a distinct ‘heck yeah’ feeling that comes with seeing the product of your hard work in action. Even the little projects. We’ve got some really fun (and budget friendly) projects coming up this month and all year and I can’t wait to get crackin’!

So, that is why I DIY. Why do you?

a colorful life list – 2013 ed.

by Megan on January 1, 2013 in our colorful life, personal with 1 Comment

It’s 2013!! It’s crazy to think we’re starting a whole new year! But we are, and I thought today would be the perfect time to share my goals for 2013. These are actually a part of my new “Colorful Life List” which I’ll be working on for a while!. Now, I’m not one to really climb a mountain or go bungee jumping but I wanted to put together a list as a reminder of all the skills and experiences I should be seeking out. After all, this is Two Live Colorfully, not Two Sit on the Couch Watching The Office (even though that is exactly how we spent our New Year’s Eve! What can I say? We’re total homebodies!).

But now, I’m putting it out there! Here’s what I’m doing this year! (And here’s where you can check out the rest of our colorful life list!)

So, I think I’ve got an interesting mix here. And I’m happy to say that already, two of these are in the works! I have signed up for the Color Run 5K here in Dallas on April 6th. And, just today, I bought my ticket for the Haven Conference (which I am unbelievable stoked for)!

What’s are your goals for the year? And do you have a life/bucket list! What’s the craziest thing on it??

from us to you

by Megan on December 24, 2012 in celebrate, christmas, our colorful life, personal with No comments

Josh and I are home for the holidays but we wanted to take a moment to wish you all things merry and bright! Enjoy your family and friends! We’ll be back Wednesday to start the 2012 year end wrap up!

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