Here's to new beginnings..

Would you believe this was taken at almost 10pm at night? The moon was beautiful last night so I had SH drive me to a field so I could shoot it. It was breathtaking. Here are the pic details for you photography freaks out there: focal length- 22mm; shutter speed- 1/32; f/stop 11; ISO 1600\

2010. A new dawn. A new day. A new decade. I cannot believe that I've been at this blog for a year. Where did 2009 go? My blogiversary passed at the end of December...maybe I'll have a fun giveaway to celebrate. (If you're a vendor or home based business, contact me for details on sponsoring a giveaway!) I heard a ton of people saying how horrible 2009 was for them. These people weren't homeless or dealing with major problems like unemployment, disease, drugs. I didn't get it.

This year was wonderful for me. I had a roof, faith, food, friends, family, health. I didn't land in jail, or make any major news headlines. Southern Hubby and I went on plenty of dates, smooched some, and we brought Matty in our family. I'd say that was a pretty good year. ;) No, we didn't win the lotto, and I didn't spend 4 weeks in Aruba, but I had what really matters.

Anyway, in the spirit of new beginnings, I wanted to touch a little more on my word of the year- create. I loved everyone's words- ya'll are some creative and  inspiring gals!

:: create a hospitable and welcoming home :: I often feel that people do not think my home is 'comfortable'. I've gotten many compliments on how warm and inviting it is, but I want people to feel at ease. I want to create an atmosphere of  comfort and joy. I don't want people asking me if they can use a certain throw I have draped over my couch, or if they can use cloth napkin. I want to de-museum my house and make it so that people feel comfortable plopping down on my couch with a glass of sweet tea. But keep your feet off my coffee table. A girl has to have her limits!

:: create a deeper relationship with God :: This one is pretty constant in my life. Southern Hubby and I finally found a church we can call home. And I'm going to renew my committment to my bible studies. I had a lapse when the holidays started and I do find myself losing that connection with Him. I can't expect us to have a solid relationship if I do not pray and confide in Him. It's a simple as that.

:: create peace throughout my home :: I firmly believe that an organized home is a happy and peaceful home. I've re-designed my daily schedule sheets, and created a grocery shopping list. I'll be sharing those with ya'll in the days to come. I love it and think that it really makes me a more efficient housewife.

:: create more opportunities for adventure and fun :: I thrive on consistency and routine. I'm not big on change. But I know those kind of lifestyles can turn into major ruts. And there is a big difference between routines and ruts. In 2010, I want to create more drama in my life. No, I don't mean crazy soap opera drama, either. I want to be more spontaneous. I want to live life. I want to remember that just because I'm heading towards the big 3-0 *gulp* that doesn't mean I've got one foot in the grave.

:: create and cultivate a new friendships :: I've never been a super shy girl. I don't mind striking up conversations with anyone anywhere. (I think we keep to ourselves too much these days. There's nothing wrong with saying hello to a stranger.) But somewhere down the line, I closed myself up to any new friendships. Guess it has to do with that routine rut I created where we only hung out with the same people. We weren't trying to be snobby, we just didn't have time to cultivate new friendships. New friendships took time. And time was something we had little of. But no more. We need to create time for our friends and family, not for pursing things that only bring superficial happiness.

What does your word mean to you? What are you looking forward to in 2010?

xoxo

new year’s resolution

decorate my home!!!!!!!

i hope that your new year has gotten off to a fabulous start.  billy and i spent so much time with friends over the break.  it was a blast.  we got to see so many of our friends that i haven’t seen in a long time.  2010 is off to a great start.

a picture of billy and me at our friend’s new years eve party

numero uno on my new year’s resolution list this year is decorating my home.  after 2 years on the market and no offers we reluctantly decided to take our place off the market and stick it out for a couple more years.  i bought a two bedroom/one bath condo about 3 months before billy and i started dating.  i loved it…the location, the charm of the community, that it was mine.  unfortunately i was pretty short on money when i moved in so i never really designed it.  then i put it on the market right after billy and i got engaged and didn’t want to put any money into a place that we were about to sell.  when billy moved in we discovered how small my place was.  we are on top of each other all the time, and having one tiny bathroom is the pits.  my closets of course shrunk by 2/3 when he moved in because i gave him one of them and we put a stackable washer and dryer in the other.  we’ve done well with what we have but our beds are stuffed full underneath, and all of our closets are overflowing.  oh, and did i mention i also work out of my house.  wallpaper books, fabric books and vendor catalogs are everywhere!  so, since our real estate agent has basically told us our home isn’t going to sell unless we drop the price (…and we can’t afford to drop it as much as she wants), we have decided to stay here live here for a while longer and take it off the market. 

back to new year’s resolution #1: decorate my house!  i can’t bear the thought of being here for two or so more years unless this house gets a major overhaul, including adding a lot of extra storage.  unfortunately functionality is having to come first and i’ll be working on the storage issue before actually decorating.  my budget is also going to be very tight.  i have to get it done though.  i want a home that i’m proud of.  not one that i’m embarrassed to post photos of.  i’ve found that designers either have amazing homes or have homes that they have no time to design themselves.  unfortunately, i was the latter of the designers, but not anymore.  i’m determined to have my house decorated by the end of this year.  even if it takes all year.

i haven’t wasted any time getting started.  this weekend i went to ikea and bought some wardrobe units for the guest bedroom.  let me just say that i was floored at how many people were there.  it was a complete MADHOUSE!  i know ikea is crazy on the weekends so i typically avoid it, but i really wanted to get started.  they were having a massive sale too (hence the crowds).  i purchased both wardrobe units and all of the accessories for them for about $175. the wardrobes themselves were originally priced at $90 a piece so i was thrilled with my purchase.  i have already put them together but still have a long way to go before the room is complete.  i am planning on doing something similar to what john and sherry did in their master pictured below.

young house love

as if one trip to the the insanely busy ikea wasn’t bad enough,  i ended up having to go to three times before getting the units put together.   trip one - the first time i picked up the wrong wardrobe in the self service aisle.  note to self: always check the sticker on the box and not just the bin marker number.  i sat in a horribly long line only to find out that i had picked up the wrong color wardrobe unit.  i was going to be late for dinner so there was no turning back.  i had to abandon my purchase at the cashier’s desk.  trip two – billy and i headed to back this morning to pick up the right units.  we got there early enough to beat the crowds, made our purchase and were on our way.  i thought we were in the clear at this point.  then, trip three – one of the parts broke while i was putting the first unit together.  all i could think to myself was “not another trip!”  the part was pretty unique, and i knew i wouldn’t be able to find it at a hardware store.  i ended up returning to the return counter to retrieve additional parts.  i spent more time in ikea this weekend than in all of the past years combined.  i guess it was worth it because we already have so much more storage.  i’m excited and so is billy. 

i’ll make sure i post b&a’s once i get the room done.  don’t hold your breath for the photos though.  it could be a while before i can complete it.  i’ve got a busy month in January.

have you already started tackling your new year’s resolutions?  i really hope that you are able to accomplish all that’s on your list.  by the way, i’d love to hear your #1 new year’s resolution. 

happy monday!

LiveJournal Tags: new years,ikea,my home,wardrobe,guest bedroom,young house love,new year's resolution,billy