My Visit with Layla Plus New Wall Color

Good morning, everyone! I'm sitting here in the dining room looking out the window and while it looks so cold and dreary outside, I've got a toasty fire going, a candle lit, music on, and it just couldn't be more perfect inside. {Well, maybe if my house were clean it could be just a little more perfect...} I'm also enjoying three - three - bouquets of roses that Mr. You Know Who gave me throughout the week. How'd I get to be so blessed? The pink roses above were the first bouquet. They are like little summer stowaways, just tagging along with Fall, refusing to be replaced by mums and marigolds.

As long as we're talking about being blessed, a few weeks ago I had the privilege of having Layla of The Lettered Cottage as a guest here for a couple of days. What a delight she is! I've known Layla for a few years now and we've met in person a few times, but this was the first time she visited Twice Remembered. I was super duper nervous because we live in a fixer and our home is certainly not 'company ready' at this point, but you know, in the grand scheme of things, it's not things but people that matter...so I just got over myself and we both had a blast! The timing could not have been more perfect because hubs was out of town AND the kiddos were visiting a relative for the week....so it was just us girls here to goof off and have fun! {In my excitement, I completely forgot to take photos but Layla wanted a few pics of my signs so we snapped the one below...and she generously let me borrow it for this blog post. Thanks, Layla!}


One thing, among myriads of things, that I appreciate about Layla is that you get what you see with her. If you've read her blog, you can feel just how sweet, compassionate, funny, and down to earth she comes across. And she is exactly the same in person... She didn't give our unfinished projects here a second thought - even though she had to sleep in my daughters' very undecorated and unremodeled shell of a bedroom... and even though I don't have curtains or any kind of window covering in much of the house...and even though it took me forever to get ready whenever we went out because before she got here, I shoved a bunch of clothes into the closet in a massive pile and couldn't find anything...and even though I threw a whole lot of junk into the already junky studio - which she got to see, along with my even junkier garage and upstairs storage space. I think it's not just any person that you could feel comfortable showing your life as it really is - with all the ugly, messy parts included. Yes, I am certainly blessed to know someone like Layla and to have the opportunity to visit with her as I have. I just love her!


When Layla was here, it won't surprise you to know that there was lots of talk about projects and decorating. I had just finished putting a new coat of paint on the walls of the kitchen and living room. If you remember, I had planned on painting Twice Remembered ALL WHITE, with the exception of the red cabinets. Ultimately, though, the rest of the family wanted some color and I decided upon a cheery blue / robin's egg blueish color. Here is a sneak peek of the shade we went with and it is called "Blanket" {CI246 by Valspar found at Lowes}. Let me tell you, this color GLOWS! No kidding! In fact, I was kind of freaking out about it for a few days because it really changes with the light. In most parts of the house I loved it but certain spots at certain times of the day, it translated to more of a minty color. By the time Layla got here, I was thinking that I was just going to have to change it. Layla and I talked and talked about it, and I even tried another similar color sample, but it was much darker than what I had in mind. I wanted BRIGHT and HAPPY! I really did love the glow afterall and now that it has been up a while, I'm so glad I didn't paint over it right away. By the way, the nook you see is by our front door and was once a tiny coat closet. We ripped it out because I wanted a little spot like this for flowers and keys. I can never find my keys, though, so having a spot for flowers at least is lovely. :)




We're still working on painting - the story of our lives - but I can't wait to show you what the blue looks like in the kitchen! Based on what you see in the photos above, what do you think? Not that it is an option anymore with my families campaign against all white walls, but if you had to choose between this color {happy, cheery, and bright} or white {soft, relaxing, subdued}, what would you have chosen?

{I love the random little chalk drawing 'Love' person in the last photo. Not sure which of my kiddos drew it, but it sure makes me smile!}

Enjoy your day...and I hope you find some time to waste today!