"Why do two colors, put one next to the other, sing? Can one really explain this? No. Just as one can never learn how to paint." - Pablo Picasso

Welcome back to Love Your Space Blog! 

I am so excited for what's to come for this blog that I have created. I know that it will stretch it's definition, that's for sure. I will be sharing opinions, inspirations, DIY projects, budget ideas, and the creative processes towards any and all of these topics. 

Check out the About section of this blog to find out more about where I have been and the life journey I have taken to get me where I am today...which is now sunny Orange County, CA!!!!!! 

This post is a re-introduction to Love Your Space {Yay!}

The following pictures were taken by myself while traveling from Canada to Southern California. They are in no particular order of travel. But please, just enjoy the pictures and the colors I created from Sherwin William's ColorSnap app for iPhone. I am really into finding a picture that I love, then creating the colors, then creating the mood, then creating the Space from it. It's all a process...Please enjoy! 

“A house without books is like a room without windows.” - Horace Mann

Book Party!

My dad is a writer. Aside from smoking cigars on the back deck with his laptop in front of him, he also has to throw his own book launch parties. With five thriller novels and one young adult series of six books, my family and I throw launch parties and book signings like no one's business. {Credit: my wonderful Mom is really the brains and the brawns behind all the operations! You rock, Mom.}

This last week, the week I moved back to Colorado for the month, my dad had a huge party at Barnes&Nobles to promote the release of his latest thriller, The 13th Tribe (Thomas Nelson Publishing.)

There was a four day notice and a $130 budget for my mom to get this party rocking. Of course, without asking, I jumped in on this opportunity to help her with the decorations and such. Don't you just love the colors of this cover? Party colors for sure! 

I jumped on Pinterest : my go-to for quick ideas and inspirations (gosh, I love Pinterest.) 

I found this PERFECT book party link to Amelie's House blog {go check it out!} I also found a couple more ideas through random pins on Pinterest. Check out my Partaay board here.

As you know, I am not just an observer... I get things done! A few late nights and a couple trips to  Party City, Costco, and Walmart and.... Let's Take A Look! 

{Photo credit: my mom took all the pictures while working and keeping the snacks stocked up, thanks mom!}

 My dad, Robert Liparulo, signing books. Look at all those books! Notice the colors of the balloons - perfect! 

 I took an old book and cut out the pages to make these little banners to spruce up the table.

 My mom, Jodi Liparulo, made wonderful wedding cake with frosting and blue sprinkles. We then made the little books to stick into the tops.

 The table: black table cloth with green napkins and blue stars, a jar for drawings of books, the wreath I pulled directly from that cute little blog {Amelie's House} and quickly made one with the old book of pages I cut up. Then  there were a few snack foods for everyone (no one needs to be getting cranky!) 

These are the books that were up for the drawings. We wrapped them in clear wrapping with white polka dots and sparkly ribbon and added the "bookworm" candy worms packages to each one. 

That's it! The 13th Tribe book launch party! What I enjoyed the most about this proccess (besides the colors and seeing hard work pay off on a budget) is that my family really knows how to come together and support one another. We supported my dad for his dedication and success of his book, we supoorted my mom for being the backbone to getting things done, and in the car, and set up at the event, and they supported my creativity and inputs about...well...everything. 

If you have time to check out my dad here is his information: 

Website: http://www.robertliparulo.com/thrillers/the-13th-tribe/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/robert.liparulo

I know that this strays a little from my home decorating posts, but so what?! Creative design and decorating is creative design and decorating! And I do believe that there are many ways to put love into ANY kind of SPACE. The table space that my dad needed to 'launch' his party from blah to fabulous (as my Aunt Stacie would say) was much needed and I'd say kicked butt. So...again... no matter where your space is...I hope that this will help you with more ideas to LOVE IT! Love&Light friends. 

"Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened." - Dr. Seuss

Moving!

Here it is... I am in the last two weeks of my life in Santa Fe, NM.     It's... bittersweet. Truly. I almost don't know what to think. 

I love it here. I love the different people. I love the heritage and history. I love the tourist-town vibe. I love the galleries. I love the turquoise (oh the turquoise.) I love the mountains. But I think what I love more is the love that grew here. In my faith. In myself. And in my relationship. 

This is my view - minus some decorations I took up to Colorado. (I took it with Pano on myiPhone)

I love this space. It's small, simple, and quiet. The birds are chirping, the sun is shining, we just finished the guy's t-shirts we printed to help our trip out. Blake's doing a workout and we both are talking about the next move we are about to make.

BITTERSWEET:

{bitter} 

I am loving my natural surroundings here (every season is different.) 

I love riding my bike throught the Plaza to get to work. 

I loved the 15 minute drive to work at the ski shop for the season (the trees along the winding road with white puffy snow clouds on them were breathtaking.) 

I love riding my bike around town with my boyfriend finding new deli's and bistros. 

I love when a storm is coming in and the sunset reflects the bright blues, purples, and oranges across the whole sky. 

I love the friendships I've found here. 

I love that this whole journey has opened my eyes and ears to the things going on around me, and also the inviting feeling to pick up and take my adventerous soul elsewhere...

{sweet}

I don't want to settle down here... I have other places to see and faces to meet. 

I get to be back home in Colorado for a few weeks hanging with my family and friends. 

The place I rent out is month to month and a very temporary set-up. 

I'm itching for change. 

I'm eager and excited to see the growth in all areas of my life because of the move. 

I have all the love and gratitude for this sweet town and I'll be leaving on a great note! 

Dream Big Ride Far:

I'll be posting up a blog about the next trip I'll be going starting around July -----> LOOK for it soon!

I designed and then we screen printed a bunch of these shirts (above)

 We have *****men's t's XL-S for $20***** and *****women's t's L-XS for $20*****, going towards the new journey fund. Please email me (under the about tab) if you're interested.

So, this is it! Two weeks left! I'm taking it all in and saying my goodbyes. I'm learning more and more ways to organize and put away all my belongings into boxes and bins. I'm looking forward to the lessons I'll be learning while having my household items put away for who knows how long. I'll have the time to catch up on a bunch of reading and finishing up my courses online for interior decorating. I also am looking forward to finding my own way to bring nature into my style for home decorating in the future. 

{Here's to the next few months, whether in an empty studio, my family's guest room, and then a bunch of hotels and my new home being in a tent along the Pacific Coast! I know that with the talent I have I will Love My Space, wherever it leads me.}

"Most people have no idea of the giant capacity we can immediately command when we focus all of our resources on mastering a single area of our lives." - Tony Robbins

RESOURCES

Websites, blogs, articles, businesses, friends, networks...

There are so many resources in this colorful world of ours that allow us to make decissions about the spaces we love. 

I only PEEKED at some of the opportunities that are available...Check some of them out! 

Lowe's - You can easily create an account for yourself. Why would you need an account at Lowe's? Well, you know that paint color you got two summers ago and threw it onto your dining room walls? And now the messy, old can is sitting in a pile in your shed. And those dings and playful crayon monsters that are now on your walls? Do you remember the exact color you bought to go over those mishaps? Most likely not...Which is why from now on you go to My Lowe's!


- Saves your purchases at any Lowe's
- Finds the closest one to you
- Gain rebates
- Creates Files for continuing projects, wish lists, notes, etc.
- AND reminds you of unfinished projects and deadlines that you created for your home projects


I LOVE that this is available to everyone to use...for FREE! If you are a consistant costumer at Lowe's DO take advantage of this, and if you aren't...well you are now!


Another feature that they have is a Before and After for little projects to do around the house that improves appeal and funcionality.

Home Depot - CHECK OUT what they offer these days...

I picked the style bathroom, flooring, and color on the walls and cabinetry and counter tops - Right from their website and saved it to My Favorites. Just go into their paint department online and choose the Home Inspiration Tool.


Starts you off with what kind of room you are looking at and then takes it from there. In just seconds you are putting different paint samples together on the walls and seeing if the color scheme you wants flows together well. Then it can save your room, if you'd like, and show what you picked out in a shopping cart. Once you go to your shopping cart, it comes up with a calculator to figure how much paint you need based on your room dimensions - BRILLIANT!


And as if you need some more easy access, it can schedule an appoinment for a professional to come get your measurements FOR YOU. Also, if you place your order from your shopping cart, you can get in your car and pick your order up. BAM!


The Home Depot also has a blog you can follow, called The Apron, for updates, in-store tuturials, and sales.

"What color best represents me?"


Great question! And the truth is ANY color! But I understand how it is hard to choose on a color SCHEME (i.e. color theory: the choice of colors used in design for a range of media, style, and appeal.)


I think the first thing to do when you are stuck in this spot is to decide what MOOD you'd like to create. There are PLENTY of websites that go over the psychology of colors. I believe that this is a KEY factor to figure out before have-atting the bathroom with a bright orange (which will wake you up, that's for sure.)


Paint Quality Institute - for a simple, straight forward appoach to getting the basic moods of the primary colors.


In that bathroom for the Home Depot project above, I chose a Blackberry Harvest for my accent wall, which is the deeper purple tone and Schoolhouse Slate for the other walls, appearing as a light gray tone. I chose the purple because it is more of a femine and royal color. By making it darker, it makes it a little bit more masculane (for the man in my life; if you don't have one, then girl, you make it as girly as you like!) I was also thinking of adding images of more hardwear, or cars, or machinery in black and white and in b&w frames. Then I wanted some fresh lavender in vases to add a lighter pop of color and a wonderful scent. They say that the color gray is a "dark state of mind." I tend to disagree, though. Gray is my favorite color. It's not black, it's not white, and it matches everything. Maybe it is leaning towards "gloomy" but thunderstorms are my favorite weather. 

Visually, we usually need something that helps us see the colors together before we buy gallons and gallons of paint to start these projects. 


I have found my new FAVORITE iPHONE APP!!!


Sherwin-Williams - has a free app that lets you either download a picture or take a picture and then you choose what color in that picture you like and it will match the color to one of their hundreds of paint colors! You can choose three different colors for each picture, save it, then find a store closest to you to grab those paint colors. 


Snapfish - After you pick your paint colors based on a sick picture you took, get your picture printed on canvas for $35.

 Design Seeds - Go check it out! The woman behind the wonderful website has worked many different jobs (inspiration for the direction my life is heading!) which have all led her on this journey of passion for color hues and blogging. 

Pinterest - I am so addicted to this website right now. It's a more organized, personal version of Google. I have boards for DIY, Dream House, Sister's Room Ideas, and Space Ideas.

This image above was found off of Pinterest. I added it to one of my boards where I can look back at it and be reminded of creativity that'a in the world and how easy we can make everything personal for our own spaces. 




There are infinate websites that I have been checking out and following to help inspire not only me and my space, but also trying to find ideas to share with my family and friends and you guys. These sites are few of the faves.


A world of colors based off beautiful images and the simple things in life is free for the taking right off the web! There should be nothing stopping us from finding inspiring ideas and following through with creating an elegant, personal, intimate, and vibrant space of our VERY OWN!

"The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving." - Oliver Wendell Holmes

MOVING!

How exciting is moving to a different place? "Exciting" is the word I keep telling myself. Other words that come to mind are nervous, scared, homesick, and strange. I am thinking that is a pretty normal roller coaster of emotion to ride on while deciding on the move. I have moved around Colorado since before I graduated high school and I loved every second of every new adventure I went on.

 I moved to Santa Fe, NM in September and have the moving bug again! I am planning on another great adventure for the beginning of the summer of this year. I am getting more and more of the rollar coaster of great excitement and fear as I am planning my move.

This new adventure is requiring me to work more and spend time planning and prepping. So this is me saying my blogs might be further and farther in between. Please don't think that I am leaving this behind. If anything it will push me to start being more creative and thrifty. I am looking forward to getting a better perspective on other cultures and ways of living the more places I allow myself to venture to and reporting them all back on Love Your Space. 

My blog is focusing on my adventures and experiences and mixing them into my creativity and determination to put my opinions out into this beautiful world we live in. 

Thanks for your support and kindness on my journey. Happy 2012 everyone! Love&Light. 

"Home is where we are if there's love here too" - Jack Johnson

My studio room in Santa Fe, NM

I was reluctant to post pictures of my room where I live now, just because it isn't exactly how I want it...but then I asked myself "WHEN will it be exactly as I want it?" And my answer is not for a long time because my heart is taking me to new places soon and hopefully I can continue on my gypsy ways for a while. So, with that said, this is where my HOME is now. My home is truly where my heart is. My heart is with the man of my dreams, Blake, my kitten, Raeni, food, shelter, and clothing, and that is everything I have here in this tiny studio apartment tucked away off the Plaza. 

When we moved in, the place was furnished, which was a blessing since one of us came to Santa Fe in a two-door '98 Jeep Wrangler and the other on a road bike. We needed a place that wasn't going to force us to buy kitchen utensils and a bed and furniture. We are on a mission to use what we have and spend as little $$ on things we will just need to pack up again. So, with that, I am doing MY VERY BEST to make our little place functional and comfortable. 

I took out most of the couches and benches because we just weren't using them and needed the space. I store one of Blake's bikes inside and he sprawls out his yoga mat every morning, so we needed the floor space. 

Our boards remain out because we have the opportunity to take them out often, which I am fond of. 

The suitcases are out because 1. I don't have the storage and 2. It reminds me I have them, and that I'll get to pack up one day again and move on. 

This picture is from standing at the door...TINY, I told you! The kitchen is off of this room, and the bathroom is off the kitchen. 

There is brick flooring that gets cold, wood walls, and a low ceiling. It is not much, but honestly it is perfect for me. I don't need much, I am a small woman, and I don't have a ton of time to be cleaning a huge house.

(Bad pictures after editing, sorry...working on 

investing in a better camera)

Other shelving for our clothes. Putting delicates in seperate clothed bins allows for better organization and easy access. 

The framed numbers are some of our race numbers. I like them up and framed because 1. It's good motivation 2. Good encouragement and 3. Good accomplishments. 

- I recommend that you put your awards and accomplishments up to admire no matter how beginner they are. It is a great way to tell yourself "I ROCK!"

This is the walk-in closet. Joking! But this is what I have got to work with, and it's perfect. I use the shoe holder for things other then shoes too, which is a great idea for storage use. I put my work clothes rolled up in them so they are ready for me when I am switching jobs. I also put my swimwear and gear rolled up in a pocket. I hang up my bags and scarves and belts along with sweatshirts, jackets, and nice clothes. The other half is Blake's side, including the laundry bag. 

Cook books, future sewing projects, and our other boards take up this corner.

The bedding came from the last house I was in. The tapestry is from a little shop here in town. Hanging it length-wise draws the eye up, and keeps from staying focused on the shorter things in the room.

This is also my desk. I don't have internet in my kitchen, so I can't use the table in there, and I'm not investing in furniture right now. Here and the coffee shop is where my work is done.

"My side" of the bed. Got to have the things I love out in the open, and easily accessible. I have my colored pencils, "The Color Scheme Bible", paperwork, decorating and health magazines on my shelves,  and of course my junk basket.

The drawers are next on my To-Do list of projects. The lights are from my old house in CO. The mirrors are also from that house and were from the Dollar Store (great find!) The picture frame is a drawing I did a few years. The little sun mirrors are from my grandparents from Costa Rica. I have had them up at every house I've lived in since I got them. The canvas painting is the logo for "Love Your Space." I wanted to have every part of my logo done by me, so I painted that and use bits and pieces of it for other things that I'd like to do with my future business.


That's it! That's the space that I love.

I wanted to show how easy it is to create a place that you can enjoy every day. No matter what you are working with you can find a little time and a low budget to move some things around, put a few pictures up, and call it yours.

"You can never own the snow but you can sure try as hard as you want to tame it."

Welcome to Cottam's Ski Shop in Santa Fe!

Now in it's fifth year open in Santa Fe, the Cottam family expanded out of their two shops in Taos and onto to the Ski Santa Fe mountain. It is located eight miles up Artist Rd. right in Hyde Memorial State Park. The building is historical and rented out for only the winter months for the Cottam's Ski Shop.

Because of the history and location of the building, and because it is only rented out in the winter months (summer months are mainly for weddings) all the equipment and gear is set up and taken down at the beginning and end of the snow season.

Above:  When we first got to the shop is was an empty building heated up only by the sun; which is close to it at nearly 7,000 feet. After loads and loads from trucks and the rental storages back in town, this is how we started. A few weeks of the weather getting chillier and boxes being taken down and bruises from ski boots, there was finally a shop right before Thanksgiving. The building is narrow, long, stoned, with concrete floors. There is a large firepit with the biggest fire I have seen. Outside there is a concrete patio with an outdoor firepit and a beautifuly large sledding hill right out the almost floor to ceiling windows. It is small and quaint and beautiful and fits the location perfectly. Tucked up in the trees and no noise from the city, when the cold comes in it is an experience of it's own to be working inside, with the fire roaring, the hot chocolate stirring, and the snow flakes falling softly.

Above:  The shop is all together! It took six of us weeks to get everything up and running. The hanging items and walls are up all without making a single hole in the building (the park rangers are protective of their building.)

The reason I am putting this process on my blog is because it does have everything to do with design work and especially organization in tight spaces. The funcionality of this shop is critical to getting costomers in and out of the door quickly so they may get some shred time in. Of course over the years they have all done a fabulous job putting things where they need to go and building the things that would help make it all flow right. There are new things and proceedures every year. I am here only for this season, so I am taking in and offering as much as I can.

I get to have part of my creative side come out with this job, and that makes me very happy. I can make  price signs, direction signs, dress manicans, set up displays and more! I love that part of the job.

I also love being able to talk about the weather, the snow, how to strap in a snowboard, offer tips that I know, learn about skis, cross-country skis, blades, and snowshoeing. Stomp pads, waxing, edging, boots, new gear, Burton rep meetings, Giro, Solomon, POC, Spy, Colombia, Volcom, Neff, Roxy... LOVE all of it!

Q & A with some of the staff at Cottam's:

Cooper Beacon - age 21, Taos, NM

Ski or snowboard: Ski, 18+ years

Time in Santa Fe: 5 years 

Years at Cottam's: 1st year

Favorite part of the job: Quality of the gear and the people

Benifits of this job: Being able to work and ski

Fave cold-weather drink: Hot mocha

Fave part of the shop: The clothing section and snacks. And the sled hill in our back yeard

Bonnie Holladay - age 28, Colorado Springs, CO

Ski or snowboard: Sledding since I was 4!

Time in Santa Fe: 3 months

Before this job: Fire fighter, National Park Service

Worst part of job so far: Cold building when there is no heat 

Favorite part of job: Awesome co-workers and costomers. And the beautiful building

Looking forward to the season: Because I have not been on skis since I was 18, ready to get back on the horse

Fave cold-weather drink: Hot chocolate

Curly O'Connor - age 49 & 10/12ths, New Zealand

Time in Santa Fe: 8 years

Years at Cottam's: 2 years

Worst part of the job: Calling, sorting boots just to have mixed-matches (pisses me off)

Favorite part of the job: Seeing people come back from having so much fun

Fave cold-drink: Hot black tea with milk and sugar

Will people enjoy the shop the way it is set up?: I believe so, it's hard to direct people sometimes when it is jammed packed, but flows pretty well otherwise

Such a blessing in many ways to be a part of this process and the ski culture of Santa Fe, NM. Thanks, Lyndsay Cottam for the opportunity and for sharing this experience. Love & Light to you and your family.