Tuesday, March 21, 2017

This and that

Today's post is going to be a random assortment of "this and that" and answering a few questions.

 - iMovie -
I get asked often about how I make the little videos that I post and the answer is iMovie.  I downloaded the app on my phone for free last Spring and I just kind of played with it to figure it out.  It was pretty simple to use and (as most things with Mac are) pretty intuitive.  Earlier this month I was asked to make a pretty important video and knew it was time to dive into the full version on iMac.  I wanted it to be perfect and knew that I wouldn't be able to work on it to the detail that I wanted using my phone.  The app for iMac is $15 (which I felt was REALLY reasonable for what it does!) and while there was a bit of a learning curve I was able to catch on pretty quickly and what I couldn't figure out on my own I was able to figure out using the help feature in the app and Google.





I'm going to be honest - it's intimidating at first.  But really... it's a big game of drag and drop and then just playing around with things.  You really can't mess it up.  I'm not going to attempt a full tutorial (there are TONS of great ones on Youtube if you search "iMovie tutorial"), but will share a few of the basics.

Since I use an apple phone and desktop computer everything uploads to my photo stream (so pictures/videos that I take on my phone go there as well as photos that I download from my 'big camera'.... they all show up in order... it's awesome).  Once I start a new project I can click on My Media and then everything from my stream shows up.  I then drag and drop the pictures and videos down into the editor (bottom of the screen) and from there I can make all the edits/changes I want.


The Audio tab pulls up music/audio files that I've selected either from my iTunes or from the Youtube Audio Library (royalty free instrumental music that you can sort through by genre and mood).  I drag and drop the audio files as well and am ready to go!


The Titles tab is where you add titles like this one at the beginning of a video...


... or this one at the end.  You can add a title to any photo/video and there are tons of options.


One of the hardest things for me to figure out sometimes is the timing.  If I want the video to "fit" the timing of the songs/audio that I'm using I'll have to adjust the timings and while I can do that by selecting individual clips and "squeezing them" on the sides I finally realized that I could click on that little timer icon (top right) and change the duration (in seconds) that way much easier.


another quick tip is the "settings" box which I feel like is kind of hidden at the top right of the editor.  This is where you can add transitions (the little fades and stuff between pictures and videos) in between every item in your movie.  SO MUCH QUICKER!!!


When I make movies I like to use video and photos (I like this SO MUCH BETTER than just one or the other) with music in the background (it adds so much!) and when you have a video clip selected in the editor you can click on the audio button at the top and automatically lower the volume of your music so that you can hear the voices in your video or make your video silent so all you hear is music.  I was actually able to figure out how to even just take audio from a video clip and play that in the background of a montage of photos using the audio function - and I swear that if I can do it you can too!!!


I do like using it a lot better on my computer than on my phone, so if you have a Mac and have some pictures/videos that you want to make into little home movies I can't say enough great things about giving it a try.  

I am sooooo not an expert AT ALL in iMovie and I hope this wasn't WAY too technical... but I wanted to encourage you as someone who just downloaded it and played with it.  It can be done!  And it's really really really fun!  


- Painting -

When we bought our house I really thought it was one neutral throughout the main areas downstairs (family room, entry, living room, stairway, playroom) but it turns out that it's actually several different neutrals instead of one and they're flat paint... which is kind of a nightmare when you have three kids.  

This is the lightest of the several neutrals.  It's in our two-story entryway, goes up the stairs and carries into the loft playroom.  The living room (you can kind of see it on the left side of the pic below) is a darker shade.


And then the family room area is a darker shade...


... which carries way up to the loft (also... my kitchen green looks REALLY bright in this pic... it's not actually that bright).


All that to say, we've been talking A LOT about paint at our house lately :)  My original plan was to paint it all myself (yeah... I know), but after getting a quote from a painter and then factoring in the cost of renting scaffolding, the hassle of renting scaffolding and the HOURS it would take we're now leaning toward hiring it out.  

Next step is picking a color.  I asked on Instagram if anyone had a great beige in their house that wasn't yellow or grey (I love gray... but I think my downstairs is too "warm" for gray) and the OVERWHELMING response was "Accessible Beige" by Sherwin Williams.  Lots of people sent me pictures of it in their own homes, I found whole Pinterest boards dedicated to it, there are YouTube reviews of the color (who knew!) and I still need to get some sample boards painted and up, but that's the color I'm leaning toward (in a more durable finish and possibly lightened 50%).

All images via pinterest.... aren't they GORGEOUS?!?!?!





I'm not on any certain timetable, but am hoping to have it on the calendar with the painter before summer break.  Having that much area painted is obviously a big decision, so I want to make sure we make the right choice and are going to love it for years and years.


- This dress -

I posted this picture on InstaStories yesterday...


... and had an OVERWHELMING response to this dress.  Unfortunately it's sold out (BOO!), but you can find it HERE and stalk it regularly in case it comes back in stock.  I'm in the petite size and while I would have preferred it in the regular length, the petite is totally fine... I'll just be sure to wear it with flat sandals to school (because everything seems shorter with a wedge!) and will keep the wedges reserved for date or girls nights ;)  The sweet little cap sleeve (and gorgeous embroidery!) is what sold me because I'm always looking for something that's going to work when it's 100 degrees outside and I'm teaching and don't want to have to wear a denim jacket or cardigan over it.

If you're in the same boat as me and looking for cute warm weather AND work appropriate (my work is pretty casual) dresses here are a few I have my eye on...



Happy Tuesday, Friends!!!  

PS - This post contained affiliate links.  Thank you so much for supporting my blog! :)

17 comments :

  1. That dress is so cute, Andrea!! I can't wait to see your new paint color. And your creative abilities never cease to amaze me!

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  2. Hirung a painter is worth every cent. Especially for tall ceilings. I can't wait to see the finished product!

    http://www.lettinginthelightblog.com

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  3. I loved this random assortment of stuff! xo

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  4. That dress is so gorgeous - so disappointing it is sold out! I will definitely be stalking the site to see if it comes back in!

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  5. You have a gift for making those slide shows and movies! Truly!

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  6. That beige looks great! It's very similar to a SW color we are slowly switching over to in our house called Water Chestnut. Our whole house is in various shades of dark tan circa 1999! So far we have done lots of our one-story areas, but the big open living room is like yours with high ceilings. It might be on the project list for next year. Have a terrific Tuesday!

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  7. I need that dress! So gorgeous!
    Xo, Elizabeth
    http://stripesandsolitaires.com

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  8. Totally going to check out imovie, thanks for all the tips!

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  9. I totally need to check out iMovie! That looks easy enough! Thank you for all the tips and tricks!

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  10. Aw yay for Sherwin Williams! I'm a CLE girl, and that's where the company is based, so thanks for the support of my hometown ;). Love that color!

    www.basicbritt.com

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  11. Thanks for the kick in the pants on iMovie! I've been wanting to do a video of Elle's 1st year since she was 1 (She's about to turn 5!). I'm feeling motivated, so let's see if I can get it moving along today!

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  12. Have you looked at Edgecomb Gray? Benjamin Moore, but anyone can mix it. It's all over Pinterest, as is the shade darker, Revere Pewter. It's a great cross between beige and grey ("greige"). I'm of the thought anything too grey is going to scream "2017!" in a year or so.... Like the tan I'm getting rid of in my home, which screams "2007!"). Ha ha

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  13. Hiring out the painting is definitely the right decision. We did that almost 4 years ago with our then new home and had the entire thing painted one color. Sherwin Williams Latte. I had seen it in 2 friends homes...I wish I'd gone lighter though. Good luck. It's a hard decision but it will beautiful I'm sure. Your home is lovely!

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  14. Most of my house is Valspar Filoli Antique Lace by Lowes and I love it. It has no yellow or odd undertones in it. A true light tan. We then have the darker color on the card for our dining room (very dark furniture). I highly suggest the middle color. Here is a card with all three colors. I can send you a picture of our kitchen if you want. Let me know. I had the hardest time finding a good neutral and this is great!
    https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/c7/33/18/c73318bf281c99203410eae8565d333a.jpg

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  15. We just painted our whole house this past weekend! It was between Accessible Beige & Balanced Beige for us and we went with balanced beige because it was slightly warmer/neutral. Good luck!

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  16. Your iMovie tips are so timely for me! I just uploaded 3+ years of video to iMovie and really don't know what I'm doing. Maybe I need to look harder, but when I searched youtube for tutorials I didn't find a lot that was up to date with the latest version. So these tips will really help me get started. Thanks!!

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  17. I love iMovie. That's the app I used to create the little video I made to go along with my testimony I shared a few weeks ago! And I LOVE that dress!

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