Here & Now

Thankful Thought No. 7

I've been spending a lot more time in the kitchen since the beginning of the year.  Sick of slacker dinners (also known as pizza over and over) and tired of unhealthy choices, food is a big focus for us lately.  We are trying to make meals consistently, eat fruits and vegetables multiple times per day, limit our intake of bad-for-us foods and just be more aware of what we're putting into our bodies.  The good news is that we've been largely successful.  We are eating apples for breakfast, and we're sitting down for dinner most nights. Small victories count a lot in this space, and it's a nice change.

As I prepared Asparagus and Lemon Pasta with Shrimp tonight, I was thinking about how much easier kitchen work is with a kitchen island.  John thought I was crazy when I said an island was one of the top things on my wish list when we were house hunting last year - he couldn't believe I ranked it so high on my priorities.  We also prepared ourselves not to find a 1960s ranch house with a kitchen island - they are pretty rare.  Somehow, though, we found one.  It is actually this island that first sold me on our house.  Nearly 12 months later, I am so glad this wish list item worked out.  I enjoy being in the kitchen so much more with space to work and spread out.  The island also facilitates gatherings with family and friends, and it gives us a place to land every night when we get home.  Anything that makes healthy living - in whatever fashion - easier is something worth being thankful for in my book.

E

So, my name is now Kelli Ertel.

Yes, it's been a few months since I got the initial paperwork to make Kelli Ertel my legal name.  But now, it's not just that way on a marriage certificate.  It's that way on my email, my identification, my work stuff, my credit cards.  I've been slowly making my way through the headache of a name change, and I feel like I've made enough progress to say, yes, I'm Kelli Ertel.  

Truthfully, it has taken a little getting used to "Ertel" on the backend, rather than Walsh.  Some of that is because I'm forgetting where I've changed my name and where I haven't.  For example, Emma's records are all in order for her to officially be Emma Ertel.  But there are other places where I haven't even realized yet that I need to change my name.  So I'm caught saying both names in most situations, totally confusing whomever I'm talking with.  Some of the getting used to comes from the fact that "Ertel" can be a bit difficult to understand over the phone in the South - it's just not a name they are used to here.  After 27 years of Kelli Walsh, Kelli Ertel also feels a bit like a foreign language. Who's that talking?, I've thought when I've said it.

On piece of my new last name that I'm quickly adapting to, though, is having "E" as a monogram. I really like monograms, but I've typically stuck with "K" or "J" and really haven't taken it that far when using monograms.  Now, though, we can use "E" to our heart's desire.  For our last name and because it is a great looking monogram.  And so that's what we've done.  There is a collection of E's growing around our house.  It's popping up in a variety of corners, adding the perfect accent to walls, tables, arrangements and doorsteps.  E, E and more E....you'll see more of me!

 

Green Room

On a whim, we painted our dining room green just after the new year.  We were inspired by our success in the den and the office and wanted to show off the woodwork in the dining room, too.  

Now, we're thinking we'll extend this color into the rest of the kitchen....we'll see what inspired us next.

January: Currently

 

Counting down until we can watch the next episode of "Dexter," the most recent TV series on DVD we are giving a shot.  Despite the odd nature of this show, it's growing on me.

Remembering January 2010, when John just moved to Atlanta and Emma was a puppy. We had so much fun that winter, learning about each other and exploring Atlanta.

Collecting Pinterest ideas for decorating my office, window coverings, and building a more useful and good looking entryway in the basement (where we come in from the garage).

Considering my daily routine for 2012, which will include morning exercise for Emma and me.

Hoping we travel as much as we're dreaming about this year.

Ordering some home decor that I simply love, even if I don't have an exact plan for it.

Celebrating visitors. We have an influx coming to visit in January and February - yippee!

Enjoying thinking about and digging into some creative projects. I'm soon going to start tackling organizing all of my scrapbook albums.

Struggling with not thinking about food, because we're trying a bit of a post-holiday/new-year food detoxification only this week.  I'm full but I can't stop thinking about food, food and more food.

Choosing to be productive on a bunch of little things today.

 

Thankful Thought No. 6

We recently had the opportunity to spend a little time with our friends Christine, Liesl and Jeri Lynn. There was so much laughter and humor shared between us, as well as genuine advice, insights to look at things in new ways and support on a variety of topics.  We are fortunate to have them in our lives.

Wedding Story #25: Wedding Albums

I recently completed a big labor of love: our wedding photo album. 

This was not an easy task for me.  First, I was worried about how to combine all of the pieces, as I wanted to document not only our wedding day but the entire experience.  I was also unsure what style to follow and even what size to make.  But I was determined to document this event before Christmas, because I wanted us to be able to relive it over the holidays when we saw our family.  I planned from the beginning to give copies to our parents as Christmas gifts.

In late October, I started with a few smaller wedding-related albums as Christmas gifts to get some direction.  Finally, I just dove into the big album.  Three weeks later (and a LOT of hours), I had our 175-page book off to the presses at Blurb.com, just in time for Christmas shipping (literally - I was a few hours short of the shipping deadline for Christmas Eve).

Here are some of my favorite layouts from the book.  While I was intimidated by this project, in the end, I enjoyed really studying and playing with the photographs.  There were so many more I loved by the end of this project, as I fit them against my memories of the experience and saw the little details come out.  (Note: I went with a really minimalist approach and lots of white to let the photos shine - but they blend a little bit in blog format)

 

 

Weekend Outing

We went to the Westside Urban Market in Atlanta over the weekend, to see what inspiration we could find for our house.  The once-industrial area has several retail shops (along with delicious restaurants), most with a home decor and furniture spin.  We hit up Anthropologie, Room and Board, Ballard Designs Outlet, Savvy Snoot, Bungalow Designs and more.  There are visual treats everywhere as you walk along the remnants of Atlanta’s original meatpacking district, across its walking brides over the railroad tracks and into well-designed stores like Star Provisions.  We used the iPhone 4S to capture a few of them.