Photo Wall

Waaaay back in September I blogged about us decorating the hallway (you can read about all of the fun and games here) and I said that I wanted to do a picture wall. I love photos and we don't really have that many of us on display in our home. Not that I am being narcissistic or anything but I just wanted more pictures of our little family in our hallway to make it feel more personal, more like it is our home. Also, because I am a huge fan of pictures and the memories that go with them. What better reason to create a little family gallery?

Behold the transformation of our hallway....

I didn't have a before picture of the hallway but take my word for it, it was seriously ugly. The wallpaper had been painted over and it was yellow - I couldn't actually tell if that was the original colour or if it was just dirty! I stripped 3 or 4 layers of wallpaper from these walls! The carpet was also pretty nasty, I'm so glad that's gone!

I'm looking guilty in this picture because Seth had told me that the paint was wet and to be careful not to lean on it. I painted the woodwork on the doorway next to this wall and when I came down the ladder, I leant on the wall for stability without thinking. Fail. In the other picture the wall is painted grey but you can't really see it that well.

And here is the finished product. I love all of these pictures and every time I look at them, I just smile because I love all of the memories behind each one and seeing how our family has grown and developed. In case you really want to know, I'll tell you about each picture, working from the top middle one clockwise.

1. This was Seth and I at Morecambe beach. We started off our married life living in Lancaster where Seth was a student and I worked at the same university. One evening after work we just decided to drive to the beach, write our names in the sand, etc. The picture brings back happy memories of our early married life when I was the breadwinner :).

2. This is just a really cute picture of Caleb in his highchair. You can't really see but his eyes look amazing here.

3. This was mine and Seth's engagement picture and the one that went on our wedding invitations.

4. Seth and Caleb on a Sunday afternoon at Hall Place. Caleb wasn't yet one in the picture.

5. This picture was taken at the Arc de Triumphe in Paris. Seth surprised me by taking me there for my 30th Birthday. We had such an amazing time (you can read about it here and here).

6. You can't see clearly but Caleb is doing his "Caleb" jigsaw puzzle. I love seeing him figure things out.

7. Selfie! Taken on our honeymoon in Malta.

8. Um, I wonder where this one was taken??

9. Just me and Caleb hanging out on a Sunday afternoon. We don't have many pictures of us together so one of us definitely needed to make it onto the wall.

10. Seth and I at our temple in London.

11. This one was taken at a grotto on our honeymoon.

Don't you just love Seth's concentration face in the selfies? It makes me laugh every time. For the triple frame in the middle, I just did the drawings until we could find more pictures to replace them but everyone who sees it, Seth included thinks that we should leave the drawings there so it looks like they are here to stay.

And there we have it, the Manning family photo wall!

By the way, if you have noticed my little social media buttons to the right, you may have noticed that I have added the twitter one. Yes, that's right, I have finally succumbed to the modern age and am now on twitter. If you feel so inclined, follow me @KirstyJSM!