DIY: Gallery Wall

I had been dreaming of a gallery wall for the past few months via the inspiration of, you'll never guess, Pinterest.  The beautiful chaos of it all just seemed too good to be true.

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My project happened with very little planning, which is half the reason I was SO happy that it turned out so well!  While spending 12 hours figuring it out as I went was enjoyable (most of the time), documenting the process will hopefully expedite the project for me in the future, and inspire someone else to give it a try! (PS, I apologize that all of these pictures are from my phone, mostly taken at night...)

Supplies:
Frames varying in size, color, style and shape
Measuring tape
Neutral paper (for matting in larger frames)
Command Strip wall adhesives (available at Walmart in the housewares section)
Photos, prints, art
Scissors and tape
Patience! :)

1.  Select your wall placement.  My favorite wall galleries tend to be over 1 large piece of furniture - I think it helps give a baseline that both features the wall, and does not add to the chaos of it.  My preference would have been for it to go over our sectional because it is solid instead of striped, but we weren't about to rearrange the room for this. :)

2.  Gather frames. Frame selection and arrangement will be discussed further later on, but at this point, get as many frames as you can for cheap or free.  I had accumulated a collection of black and brown frames from high school and college, so I mainly thrifted for silver and gold frames to lighten up the collage a bit.  Like I said, the more varied collection of sizes, colors (staying within neutrals, generally), style and shape, the better!

3.  Measure the area you'd like to fill.  I basically took the length of the couch and the height from the bottom of the light switch to the top of the doorway.  I started arranging the collage by measuring this area on the floor, and placing one of the larger frames on the upper left corner of that measurement and the bottom right corner.  Once you've marked those corners with your bigger frames, you won't need to measure much more.

4.  Arrange your frames... while considering these 3 factors.

4a. Frame color.  My frame collection was primarily brown with some black, to which I added silver and gold.  In arranging the frames, I tried to evenly disperse the colors by black, brown, and metallic.  Below is the arrangement I started with, followed by what ended up on the wall. :)

4b. Frame content.  The concept of a gallery wall is to display various forms of art, but I used primarily photographs of us since we've been married.  That being said, I tried to use only the better quality photos taken a) by us with our good camera, or b) by our photographer friends.   I had 3 main events that I tried to disperse evenly as well: wedding, traveling, and photo shoot.  In addition to those I had 2 mirrors, and 3 printables.

I tried to arrange in pairs, but not sections.  The goal was to have two wedding photos near each other, but not all wedding photos in one area of the collage.

In selecting which photos to print for which frames, I sat down with my computer and post-it notes, scrolled through our few selected events and chose my favorites for specific frames. (Having the sticky notes was nice when I needed to rearrange things a bit.)

4c.  Matting.  Not filling the entire large frames with the photo really helps the wall to not feel too heavy or dark.  Some of the frames came with a matte, but most of them I simply taped the picture onto paper that I had cut/combined to be the size of the frame.  Again, try to disperse those evenly, if you don't do all matted photos.

5.  Take the plunge and hang them up!  Instead of using nails, I would HIGHLY recommend using wall adhesives.  (Can you imagine having to plan where all of those nails go??)  Michael has been a huge supporter of the Command Strips for keeping our walls in tact as renters, but those things were a lifesaver for this project.  The wall adhesives lets you decide where you want your picture as you're putting it on the wall, not guessing as you hammer a nail that it will hopefully hang your picture at the desired height.

It was fun to see the smaller collages within the bigger one once it was finished.  Maybe this can serve as a guideline for smaller collages in the future...

Ok, I really do believe that this project was much easier than it looks - much easier than I just made it look!  Haha.  But feel empowered, you CAN do this.  It was a lot of fun figuring it out, and I have loved having it as a focal point in our home.

-K&M

362 Days Married

Hello, old friend.

I have a long list of things to do in the coming weeks.  One of which is sort out pictures of recent travels and lifetime achievements (happy graduation, husband) and hopefully posting them here soon.  In addition to said travels and graduations, we have also moved!  To our favorite part of Spokane, the South Hill.  I've actually been running a few times because I very much enjoy being a part of this place, and that's saying something.

Last weekend Michael took me back to Montana, one of our favorite honeymoon spots.  While we didn't see any sunsets like the ones that took my breath last summer, we were able to celebrate our coming anniversary, scheduled to arrive in 3 days.  I've been thinking a lot about our wedding, about our marriage, and about this last year in general.  My overwhelming thought is that if I could marry you, Michael Glaze, every day, I'd do it quicker than the day before.  It makes me sad that our wedding took place at the beginning of our marriage, because there is so much more love to celebrate now!! But our wedding, while celebrating the beginning of our love, was also to celebrate the love of Christ as our example in marriage and salvation in life.  Our first year of marriage has been human, but each day brings a reflection of Christ's love.  Not only do I know my husband better, but I also know Christ better. Thank you Jesus for both of those things.  I hope that a growing knowledge of and love for both my husband and our Bridegroom never ceases.

Photos from the last month of our lives coming soon... :)

-K&M

Spring Has Sprung

And it feels so good!  This past month has brought a whole new level of chaos to our schedules, but the warming weather and God's love and grace in our marriage makes every day a blessing - no matter how tired, messy, and stressed we feel.

Michael is now working at an adorable ice cream/panini/coffee shop called The Scoop.  He is the driver of the 1965 vintage van that parks at various events and locations and offers people the best ice cream they've ever had.  People get really happy when they see him driving by (seriously, children smiling and waving everywhere).  Sometimes I get work events with him!  Weekends are fun when they include a few hours in a mint green truck scooping ice cream with my love. Last weekend we walked downtown to scoop at Bloomsday. 

We also went to the school's Spring Formal a few weekends ago.  I love it anytime there's a reason for Michael to whip out that Banana Republic suit.  These are the only pictures we got of the evening.  I'm really okay with that.

Oh yeah, Michael now has a beard and a slightly hipster haircut.  The Northwest looks good on him.

Happy Spring!

-K&M

Shrimp and Pilates

Kylie and I have been going to the gym together a couple times a week.  It's a good time.  And after taking lifeguarding class together, I feel like nothing can be more awkward and terrifying than what that experience was.  About half of the time our gym dates result in double dates with the our husbands.  This past time we all gathered here for this Cajun Shrimp dish.  It was a pretty good recipe - I turned down the spice a wee bit, but it was super flavorful!  We mixed the leftovers with rice, which I would highly recommend.

However, the shrimp prepping was sort of an unexpected nightmare.  Unbeknownst to me, you have to pull their legs and shells of, and THEN take out their intestine! Blech. Blech blech. Maybe this is why my mom didn't make shrimp often when I was growing up.

(If you can't tell, that's my super grossed-out face.)

Thanks, Ky, for hanging in there.  Next time you have a nasty task needing to be done for any sort of food prep, give me a call. :)

-K&M

March Spectacles

Well, here's the thing guys.  Sorry for disappearing as of late.  We've been doing thrilling things like job searching, working out, eating junk food, crying over the process called "doing your taxes," and the like.  Luckily for you, we have not taken pictures of any of those activities, but below are some of the highlights of this lovely spring season so far!

My handsom hubby turned 22 in March!  His birthday dream was fulfilled when we brought home an entire Costco sheet cake for the occasion.  (A few of his gifts included an Appleton shirt from Mom and Dad Glaze, coffee candle made by one of our good friends, and a few records he gifted to himself.)

Then we found the best pizza in Spokane at Fire Artisan Pizza downtown.  In our experience, "Artisan Pizza" is sometimes code for "legit toppings, but not much of them." This was NOT the case at Fire.  They load those puppies up!  

 And when we weren't eating out, we were eating this.

And to kick off the month of April, we used one of our Spring Break nights to staycation downtown at the Montvale hotel.  It was fun to spend time in a different area than we usually do - new food to eat (I can't believe I didn't take a picture of this, but I tried Chicken and Waffle - has anyone else heard of this new Southern sensation??), coffee to drink, and boutiques to explore!

Easter also came and went.  I really do wish that every day was Easter - I wish that it was as easy to think about the Gospel every day, that every day my mind was that centered around the person and work of Jesus.  I also wish that every day could consist of a morning of the church gathering together, followed by an afternoon of food and yard games with friends. :)
Love from us to you,-K&M

"That one sunny day that winter gave up"

Today was that sunny day.

I don't have any pictures from today

but here are pictures of another sunny day-

Easter 2011

the Easter we were dating

the Easter that we spent with friends, all with out of town families

the Easter when we dyed eggs on the front porch

the Easter that a coal hopped out of the bonfire and burned through my pants

the Easter that we ate hot dogs all day, and roasted buttered corn over the fire.

Looking forward to many more Easters with this man.

 -K&M

Maxi Skirts, etc.

Lately, I have found myself with more time than usual.  Whenever I get the time to be productive, like really be productive, I forget all of the things on my to-do list.  Not intentional forgetting/denial, just oops?  The next day that I'm back to business, I'm remembering all of these projects that were invisibly hanging over my head the entire weekend.

I should probably just start writing things down.

In preparation for summer - I am planning to make some maxi skirts!  I am currently scouring the internet for some fun floral fabric.  The patterns that I am looking at are here and here, both found on pinterest.  However, I have yet to sort through this list of 41 patterns maxi skirts and dresses, and it looks like a few of those will be keepers.

I am a fairly selective blog reader, but when I find one that I like, oh my.  I have recently discovered this lovely married couple in Australia, he - a photographer, she - a mom.  I've been so encouraged by this couple's love for each other.  You can find his photography blog here and her's, here.

Tonight while we ate dinner, I was watching The Mindy Project while Michael was watching his classmates' sermons.  He's so close to graduating!  And honestly, his hard work encourages me every day.  I have so much respect for that man.

Also, I would really like to pick up a new book.

Sorry about the rambling posts as of late.  We've gotten lazy with taking pictures, but that will hopefully pick back up again soon.  (Maybe for M's birthday in 2 days?? hmmm)

-K&M

Portland Cravings

 We are planning to go to Portland next month which means...

Stumptown Coffee

And Voodoo Doughnuts.

If you like an assortment of delicious food and drink, Portland is the city for you.

-K&M

February Happenings

February has been an exciting month, but I am glad that it is soon coming to a close... because after February comes spring, right? Unless you're in Spokane, then it's more like after April comes spring. :)

Some of this month's happenings have included:

Celebrating our first married Valentine's Day.  It was a relaxing evening at home with a yummy dinner  and Netflix - exactly what we needed in the midst of yet another busy semester.  I love that Valentine more and more every day. 

Experiencing a natural birth!  A friend of ours was kind enough to let me accompany her and her husband for the birth of their 4th child - it was such a privilege to get to be there.  She was AMAZING - I was blown away by her strength and bravery.  While it was a very real process (definitely different than just watching "The Business of Being Born"), it was incredibly more beautiful to experience it firsthand.  (I had asked if I could be there because I am considering becoming a Doula... perhaps a post on that soon!)

Cooking gnocchi.  I made this dish for Valentine's Day - it was SO yummy and easy.  Michael and I have gotten hooked on gnocchi thanks to Olive Garden's Chicken and Gnocchi soup - they are these perfect little dumplings that aren't too big or squishy.  I'm making this gnocchi dish tomorrow - I'll let you know how it goes!

Baking sugar cookie bars.  I was needing a dessert to make for work that could feed 60 people, and I found this little gem of a recipe.  Not only did it only take an hour to make 3 pans, but they were a big hit.  Plus, it has the best homemade icing recipe included - so easy and delicious!

Listening to Mark Driscoll's series Who Do You Think You Are?.  I had stopped listening to sermons online while I was in school, so I'm excited to be making this a part of life again.  It makes doing the dishes a little more interesting. :)

(I've also been listening to Beyonce while writing this post. So. Much. Talent.) 

Wearing mom shoes. I did it. I bought these bad boys.  I've decided to try to stop buying large quantities of cute, cheap shoes, and invest in less pairs of shoes, but shoes that last and are good for me.  (Mom - I have you to thank for this, since you were always prophesying about future foot problems when I wore flats and heels) :)  And hey, Danskos were recently spotted on The Sartorialist, so that's saying something, right?

Hope you all had a wonderful February month, and are not snowed in for too long, wherever you might be in the country!

-K&M

Cumbies in Spokane

Well, now that tomorrow is February, I figured that it's about time we share some pictures from our wonderful December month!  First is when my family came to town... there were so many good things about this weekend amongst a very busy season.

This was an action-packed weekend, so please bear with me in the length of this post!

The first morning that they were here we visited Donut Parade - a central part of mine and Michael's history here in Spokane :)

 Then I graduated!! It was so nice having our friends and family there.

 The next day we adventured around Spokane - including a visit to the park where Michael and I were engaged

 It was so nice to be in the same place as these dear ones for a few days.

To see how Natalie and Jack have turned into little adults

To catch up on movies and other news with my dad

To get to serve my mom in a very small way of how she served me for 18 years

I'm still so grateful that you guys were able to make the trip.

Love and miss you all!

-K&M