speaking of uncomfortable...

I changed my blog design.

I know, I know. You were so used to the black one. It was so sophisticated, in a New York sort of way, and it matched my dark sense of humor and nail polish so well.

The thing is, the sun has come out.

It's that rare time of year in Southern California where instead of skipping directly from Mildly Cold (I have a few East Coast readers who would stab me with a knitting needle if I deigned to call 60 degrees cold) to Really Damn Hot, there is a lovely in-between period, which I've heard people from other parts of the country that actually experience such things as "weather" and "seasons" call Spring.

Ah, spring. Spring is in the air. I feel like frolicking, and going on long drives, both of which I frequently do anyways, but that's not the point. The sun is out but it's not yet burning my shoulders (which inevitably freckle, thanks to my pale Scottish roots), there's a refreshing breeze in the air, birds are singing (I can literally hear them singing as I type this) and GOOD GOD I've become a raving optimist/romantic. I mean, blogging about singing birds? I might as well go down to Anaheim and audition for Snow White. Except I'm probably still too short. THANKS FOR BRINGING THAT UP AGAIN.

But seriously, every once in a while, I crave color, sunshine, happiness, good thoughts, singing loudly in cars, balloons, kittens, the whole nine yards of all that stuff that I usually try to maintain a healthy level of skepticism about. I desperately hold on to my New England roots of "if it's really, really cheerful, maybe we should shoot it," but I can't help but feel a little overcome by bright blue skies, puffy white clouds, and sun streaming through the window when I wake up in the mornings. Not to mention the daffodils that I got at Trader Joe's (thanks, Struggling Actress, for the daffodil recommendation) are still beside my alarm clock on my nightstand, in a bright apple green glass vase, and I can't help but smile.

So here I am, loving color again. My old place was all black and stainless steel, very efficient, very grown up, knowing exactly where it was going and what it was doing. Black and white photographs that I took of London hung on the walls in black frames. The bathroom? You guessed it. Black, white, stainless steel.

Um...yeah. My bathroom now? It looks like a marine biologist's happy place. Aquamarine glass tea light holders match aquamarine stones that I found at a craft store, which I'm using to decorate the base of my towel holder. I just bought bamboo soap and toothbrush holders (not to mention a bamboo tissue box cover) and I have white frames that have actual seashells in them holding pictures of the ocean that I've taken while in Laguna Beach, Mexico, and Bermuda. And this is probably the time to mention that I found matching aquamarine towels on sale at Ikea. I know, I need help. I won't even go into the bamboo wooden elephant wind chime that I have hanging from the ceiling. It's just too much.

Except...it isn't. I feel lighter these days, and I want my space to reflect that. I want color, and I want flowers, and I want to be a girl without apologizing for it. Because in case you haven't noticed, girls rock.

Ergo, color. Color is everywhere in my room, not like in a "Rachel Ray threw up" kind of a way, and it doesn't look like I live in a circus, per se... but I bought some colorful frames (again, Ikea) that I'm going to use to house pictures of my loved ones, and I'm putting out all my beautiful colorful lanterns that I've collected, and it's just enough color. And no pink in sight, so it's not like anyone has to hold an intervention. Just lots of bright green, deep royal blue, and a nice dark red.

And since I got so addicted to light and fresh color in my living space, I figured my blog space should reflect the same. Hope you enjoy, and that my blog brightens your day just a little bit.