On the surface, Michelle and I are as different as night and day. (Think Gilmore Girls!) By the time Michelle was 5 years old, she always held onto motel keys for me, because I was constantly losing them and Michelle was ALWAYS organized and had a place for everything. By the time she was 10 years old, she packed her brothers’ bags for vacations, and did a MUCH more thorough job than I did. I use to say, "When I grow up, I want to be just like Michelle!" Still do 🙂

BUT, when it comes down to all the important things like our basic values and drives… our hearts beat as one. So it is not surprising, that after the holidays, while the cold winds blow, we both tend to our houses with gusto. It is time to mend the broken and give attention to the neglected. It’s time to paint the walls and replace flooring. Most "small crafting" goes on hold while we tackle the big projects. Before long the gardens will call to us, so for the next 3 months, without any major holidays to distract us, we pull out paints and hammers and set to work.

My big project this year is painting the house. This is the first time EVER that we have actually hired someone to do it for us. There is something so appealing about having a crew come in and paint the entire downstairs in 1 day!  It’s a luxury, I know, and we will have to give up some other projects in order to finance it, but life changes, and we must adapt!

So, the painter comes over, gives us an estimate, and leaves behind his book of color samples!

I am ready for a change, and oh the possibilities. I quickly visit some of my favorite blogs… blogs hosted by young women with young color palettes. Oh, how I love the peaches and aquas. Or the bright whites, reds and yellows. Yes, I WANT a drastic change. I’ve had the deep folk artsy, country colors long enough. As if proof… here’s my 2010 calendar…

and here’s the one I bought for 2011. (BTW… with a million calendars to choose from, can you believe Michelle and I picked the exact same calendar? What are the chances?!!)

But anyway… here’s the thing… after much looking and much drooling, in the end I settled on a modified version of my tried and true colors!

I do plan to lighten up my colors and accessories BUT for as much as I love all the rooms I look at on line, it would be like trading in my flannel nightgown for satin pajamas. I like… no I love my flannel nightgown. I mean I really REALLY LOVE my flannel nightgown. I got it at L.L.Bean 15 years ago. I wore it until it was thread bear. I went back to L.L.Bean and they still carried the same nightgown. I changed things up a bit, I ordered one with forest green stripes instead of the navy blue. I know you are thinking… what an outrageous change… but I got use to the change and embraced it 🙂 Then, I did something that still makes my family chuckle… I ordered 4 more identical nightgowns, and packed them away. I was living in mortal fear that they would stop carrying them and that someday I’d need to find a new nightgown. Now, I sleep in peace knowing when the day comes to retire this nightgown (and I won’t give it up easily) I have 4 more tucked away. True story 🙂 I ask you… does THIS sound like someone who would embrace drastic change?

So, there you have it. I’m looking forward to a change… bringing a lot more yellow tints into my colors instead of the blues… hopefully making the colors brighter and less gray. I plan to get rid of most of my deep cranberries and dark greens and bring in the color palette of my new calendar. I have lots of projects planned to make things brighter and a bit more whimsical. I’ll be sharing!