Steps of Summer

Sorry for the lack of posting lately! Life has been crazy around here. I've been in stress mode for the past few days as I try to pack for Latvia (TWO MORE DAYS!), my month in Colorado and for what I need for my apartment at school. I've also been practicing a lot of music with my dad and his worship team for our big show tonight at Nebraska Land Days! Nerve wrecking, but oh so exciting.

I've had to remind myself to step back and appreciate my time here, even amid the stress, because I don't know the next time I'll be able to be with my family again for longer than a weekend. I've had a wonderful few weeks here and wouldn't trade it for anything, but I'm extremely excited to begin this new chapter of my summer! I'll try and update as much as I can, though I'm not sure how much computer access I'll have while in Latvia. In the meantime though, here are a few photos of my day to day for your viewing pleasure:

 I've had time to work on a few projects since I've been back and it's been so nice to just sit and create. The basement of my parent's house (which is actually my great aunt's house. She is paying my parents to renovate it until they find somewhere else to live) is quite literally thrift store heaven. There are racks of clothes and old furniture and decorations that I've sorted through and found some great treasures.

 I added trim to the bottom of these shorts for a quick and easy spice-up.

 This dress was originally floor length, but I loved the print so I just hemmed and belted it and viola! an adorable new dress.

I've loved getting to spend time with my cousins. We're all very close and so it's hard not getting to see them often. We took advantage of Applebee's 42 cent wings on Thursday and had a great time catching up.

 

 I've been faithfully working on my goal to get in shape this summer and laugh in the face of the "freshman 15" from last year. Everyday I convince myself that I actually love to run. It's kind of working.

Don't be fooled by my official looking running shoes and shiny racquet, I've played tennis maybe five times in my life. But yesterday, my amazing grandpa played (and won, I might add) a tournament and inspired us young'n's to get out a hit a few balls. He is quite the champ when it comes to tennis.

No trip home would be complete without re-living my childhood days of eating the best soft-serve ice cream and hanging out at the carnival at Cody Park. I have so many great memories here.

That's all for now! I'll post as soon as I can with updates from my Latvia trip and whatever other shenanigans I get into.

ps. For more "up to the minute" updates of my trip, feel free to follow me on instagram! My username is ohlivia5 :)

Happy Monday, friends!

Simply,
Liv

Insta-Lately

I can't believe it's already June! This month marks the beginning of a new "segment" of my summer as I'll be heading to Latvia in a little over a week.
But in other news, Instagram has officially invaded my life. I think it's a great way to document the normal, mundane things throughout the day to keep people up-to-date. And that's what this here blog is about; celebrating the simple. So here's a little mishmash of my life, instagram-style.

1. Don't tell my brother I posted this picture of him, he hates it. I think it's adorable.
2. My parents have the best fenced in backyard. I've spend many an hour lying on a blanket sipping iced coffee and reading a good book.
3. Cuddling with this puppy is my newest hobby.
4. I don't know why you'd want to see a picture of the side of my head, but hey, my hair looks kind of cool.
5. Reading "Fresh Brewed Life" with my mom has restarted my coffee cravings. And has also caused several much needed heart to hearts.
6. This pretty much explains itself...
7 & 8. My gorgeous friend Jackie and her boyfriend Tyler dropped by on their way up to Colorado. It was so lovely to grab coffee and catch up with a great friend.

DIY Inspiration: Lace and Denim

Happy Wednesday! (Is it sad that I had actually had no idea what day it was today until I checked on my computer?....C'est la vie in the summertime...). Today I want to share a little project I made last week.
Right now, I'm a lover of all things lace. I'll stop at nothing to lace-ify anything and everything in my path- so I thrifted a lovely denim button down (from the men's section, in fact) with the intentions of doing just that. After scavenging through the basement for my sewing machine (that I haven't used since I was probably 13) and "brushing up" on my sewing skills, this is what I came up with:

Inspiration from here

It was actually incredibly simple and I'm really happy with how it turned out. I'm excited to mix up my wardrobe with an unexpected pop (or overload) of lace whenever possible.

Here's a little peek into the process:

Before it went under the knife

What fun projects await you this summer?

Simply,

Liv

It's Simple Really...

Don't worry, my blog hasn't been hijacked.

It's still me. However, you may have noticed a few changes since the last time you stopped by. And by "a few changes", I mean "everything is changed". But before you click the "unfollow" button or send me angry emails, let me explain myself-


What once was Life Out of Grey has become Simply Liv for a few reasons:

1. I felt the need to narrow my blog's topic to make it more readable and welcoming for new readers. I want to reach a wider audience (sorry mom and dad, I love you, but its time other people read my blog too ;)...) and develop this here blog a bit more. I'll still share about my day-to-day adventures, but I want to branch out and share more about what inspires me (focusing mainly on "the small things in life") in hopes that it will inspire others.

2. "Simply Liv" is just plain clever. The title Life Out of Grey was based off of a song I recorded a few years ago, and while the phrase still means a lot to me, it doesn't roll off the tongue or sum up what I want my blog to become as well as I wanted. Though I've never gone by Liv, I thought it was a convenient mix of my name and a motto I try to live by.

I hope these new changes will create an atmosphere of inspiration and a new appreciation for the simple joys in life. As always, thanks for reading and I hope you stick around for the ride. (You could/should even hit that lovely follow button if you so choose!)

I'd love to hear feedback on some of the changes!