My Space

I've never really had a finished bedroom.

Sure, when MX and I were together I painted and purchased bedding. But it was never fully done. I always concentrated on other rooms in the house. It was always the lowest priority.

But I am changing that now.

As I prepare for the arrival of my new bed I will be overhauling both my guest room and my bedroom.

This is a lot to accomplish by the 16th. Luckily my sister volunteered to come paint my guest room tomorrow! Such a help!

But I think I have finally settled on a look for the room.

One that is me.

One that is calm.

I'm going shopping tonight for accessories and am so excited to see this come to life. I won't be having the drapey thing or that bedframe. Rather I am in search of an old door to create a headboard...More to come.

PS - can anyone tell me how to add a Pinterest board to a blog post?

The Calm

I'm hoping that August brings a sense of calm.

Since the weekend before Memorial Day I have had plans every weekend which included; a cook off, weekend at the lake, town festival, bridal shower and boat races, wedding, Vegas (part fun/part work), lake, wedding, shower/bachelorette party, shower/bachelorette party, wedding.

11 weekends.

11 weekends with plans.

This weekend I get to leave for a work trip at 6 a.m. Sunday which means a 3 a.m. wake up call.

But the weekend after that?

For the first time since May?

All mine! And I am getting a facial and an hour long massage.

The only things on the agenda for the rest of the month are attending the State Fair, duck races and overhauling my bedroom and guest room in anticipation of 2 sets of visitors later this month.

If your guest room currently looked like Rainbow Brite threw up everywhere wouldn't you want to redo it?



I can't make this up. I swear what you see is a 2 hot pink walls, a partially orange wall and 2 yellow walls with maroon shades.

Yes, in one room.

And of my 6 bedrooms, it is not the worst...

More to come on that one someday.

But it has good bones. Beautiful hardwoods and I am going to build the room around my beloved cowhide rug. 

Some inspiration ideas below.

About Nothing

The theme of life lately seems to be nothing.

I felt nothing, there was nothing....

Today this is a post about nothing.

The highlights of my life this week:

• Mowing the lawn
• 2 great workouts
• Starting a company sponsored walking program
• Draining the hot tub (it's just too hot)
• Fresh sweet corn
• Softball playoffs
• Ordering my very first bed.

In my adult life I have never bought a bed. Not even with MX. We just always seemed to collect someone elses unwanted beds and those were sufficient. But when I left I only took one bed. A full.

Now it's time to have a big girl bed.

On B's birthday my Sealy King Plush Pillowtop will be delivered.

In the spirit of the money spent on the new bed and the subsequent decorating expenses I listed 4 dresses and 3 pairs of jeans. These may or may not have been on my to do list for the last 6 months...

Don't judge.

Let the master & guest bedroom decorating begin.

If you have seen any phenomenal bedroom designs lately that can easily incorporate all white bedding - please let me know!

Day 9: Home

There is no greater feeling than returning home.

But returning home to this when I had been enjoying the sun and warm temperatures.......

I only wish Spring were upon us. I am ready.

Plus who knows, maybe my neighbor will paint their unsightly garage seen in the bottom picture...

Day 4: Pros and Cons

I'm feeling a little overwhelmed today. But wouldn't you if this was the current state of your desk?

I mean....even my lamp shades look drunk.

But, working from home does have its advantages...Just look at my breakfast.

Who doesn't love a ham, egg, spinach and cheese strata for breakfast? 

But those counter tops? Ugh. Got to go. Soon.

Best Laid Plans

So the plan was to come home from my girls night of bowling, grab my fancy new camera and shoot some cool pictures of my new best friend...aka my hot tub. 

Of course I figured since I was going to be out there I might as well get my suit on so I could jump in right away. Had I of been smart I would have changed the camera settings for the optimum snowy night shot before stepping outside.

But I didn't.

Instead I walked outside in my robe and furry boots, turned the camera to auto and shot a quick picture before jumping in for a 45 minute soak.

I could have stayed there forever.

If it weren't for the icicles forming on my eyelashes.

Swear.

So there it is in all its glory. The one thing that keeps me warm at night. My hot tub. I don't know how I went this long without one.

I'm really not sure how it doesn't make Oprah's list of favorite things.

I need to get a table to set next to it so that I have a place for my towel and robe. I also need to add light kits to my outdoor ceiling fans so that I can read while relaxing.

Does anything sound better than that?

In other news I am ridiculously sore today from yesterday's workout that I didn't make it to the gym this a.m. I am debating between a light jog followed by lifting tonight before yoga or just simply enjoying yoga.

Decisions, decisions.

I'm also going to try and have an insanely productive weekend which means I am going to be a hermit. It means no visit to the local watering hole. I can't even walk in because we know that I won't leave after a couple. Especially not if friends husbands go out and turn your vehicle off to keep you there.

So in I will stay. There will be items placed on CraigsList and eBay. Rooms organized. Cleaned. Purged.

What are your weekend plans? Anything fun or boring like mine?

Hits and Misses

In keeping with the theme of food this week I went to a cooking party last night that featured Homemade Gourmet products. Say what you will about home parties but I like them. Yes, its often a free hard sell but you are a big girl and should be able to say no. If you don't find anything you like at minimum you had a fun evening out of the house with a group of women who are likely your friends. At best, you find products you like.

The premise of the company is to make simple meals using a meat (fish, chicken, pork or beef), one of their seasonings, a veggie and perhaps a canned good. Some recipes only required their seasoning and one other item. Basically you prep the meals and freeze them and then can throw them in your slow cooker, on the grill or in the oven when hungry. After thawing of course.

I found a dip mix I loved so I was happy and a few spices I can see myself getting a lot of use out of. Double bonus that I now have several meals ready and waiting in my freezer when I want a real meal. I'm excited to try Grandma's Sunday Roast, Beef Burgundy, Asian Pork Lion and the Garlic Basil and Sausage.

The nice part is that I often cook this way so the concept was not foreign to me. Being single it is sometimes hard to just cook for one so I make a big meal and then portion it out into single servings for future use. It works for me.

So all in all. The evening was a success. A hit.

The miss came when I arrived home. I was so excited to relax in the hot tub and take a pic of it with the new camera using one of its fancy night enhancing shots. Not of me in the tub. Just of the tub. No one wants to see that.

But then I stuck my leg in and realized the water was only luke warm when compared to the zero degree temperature.

A quick check of the control panel told me the water was 84 degrees. F....

Off to find the manual I went and it was then I discovered that I put the hot tub in sleep mode. Which, when searching for the silver lining, I realized this is a good thing to know how to do when I travel.

Sadly that meant no hot tub time for me. Major miss.

This morning I tried something new. I went to a TRX class at the fitness center and it quite frankly kicked my ass.

SO very hard. And this is coming from a girl who runs 3x a week, does yoga 2x per week and lifts 3x per week. Really, really hard.

The entire premise is that if you have these straps you can do the workout anywhere using your body weight as the resistance. It was developed by a Navy SEAL. Halfway through the workout I wanted to find that Navy SEAL and kick his butt.

So after the 30 minute workout I wanted to die. During my prayer for death I walked to the front desk and signed up for a 6 week session of classes every Wednesday morning.

Hello? Swimsuit season will be here before we know it.

Then I ran 2.5 miles in 24 minutes (and I walked the first 3 minutes).

Another hit.

I started my day off feeling challenged and was excited to dive into work. Especially when I finally got a much sought after meeting.

I'm thinking my batting average is going to be pretty high this week.

A Weekend in Review

I headed south this weekend to celebrate the 30th birthday of my best friend.

It marked my first real return to the place that I resided for 17 years without ever feeling at home.

There was a celebration. A fun, exciting, dancing filled evening of celebration.

Dinners at favorite restaurants.

A movie.

Visits with old friends.

All the while I experienced the strangest mix of feelings.

At times it felt as though I never left. The ease at which I navigate the city. The visit to my old employer. This time on the other side of the table but at the table nonetheless.

But that whole time I was overwhelmed with the feeling that I made the right decision. This wasn't home. While it was nice to be there, I was happy it was temporary. I couldn't wait to get back.

Even B, when asked about my weekend, probably put it best. How was my weekend away? That is all it was. It was a weekend away spent with great friends.

I returned today to my home. To the house, that although I have only lived here a month is truly home.

There were 2 dips in my hot tub. One upon my return and one after my 6 on 6 basketball game.

I sat there.

Relaxed.

Happy.

Content.

Because I was home.

Let There Be Hardware

Disregard my messy kitchen as this makes Phase 1 complete!

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Kitchen Updates

Remember we started with this:

Three different paint colors later it now looks like this:

From the dining room you used to see this:



But now you see:

My cabinet hardware will be on this weekend (fingers crossed) and then phase 1 will be complete.

Phase 2 will include new countertops, sink and light fixture. The island will become one level with a row of cabinets added underneath. The island size, 8x5 will stay the same. Hopefully that phase will be complete by May.

Finding Balance

When I have days where I start feeling overwhelmed it helps to do a few things.

1. Take a deep breathe
2. Workout
3. Make lists

Yes. Lists as in plural.

The new house has me feeling a little overwhelmed. Partially because the flooring guys aren't done so there are things. EVERYWHERE. Dust - everywhere. I went from being settled to unsettled. I just want it wrapped up so that I can go on with my life.

So there is that to deal with.

Oh and I have a hot tub I don't know how to run.

Every room in the house is a project. Whether I just want to paint or if I want to do a complete overhaul. Overhaul as in paint, new light fixtures, window treatments etc.

This gets my brain cranked into overdrive.

And then I stress.

So I made a spreadsheet that lists every room in my house and everything I want to do to it.

The best part is that now it isn't rattling around in my brain. Its on paper. Its a plan. It also helps me see that I have a lot to do but that I don't have to do it all right now. It will come. With time.

Its okay.

Take it day by day.

Step by Step.

Light fixture by light fixture.

It doesn't hurt if you physically exhaust yourself by throwing in a double workout. Just sayin.

And Then...

And then...

I fell off the face of the earth.

I fully intend to complete my #reverb10 posts. But since the move I've been preoccupied with this little project.

Remember when I mentioned that the vision board included a kitchen remodel?

I started with this:

In the middle it looked like this:

And this is where it stands today.

So, what's left?

I need to flip the doors and do two coats on the opposite side and then the painting will be done...except, I'm not loving the green I picked out. Ugh. I might be repainting soon.

Sunday my new stainless steel appliances will be delivered, my flooring arrives on Monday and hopefully the new hardware for the cabinets will arrive later in the week. But hopefully, by January 1st I have my kitchen.