Monday at My Home

Some people might call me fearless or just plain crazy cause I spray painted our gorgeous antique lamps black! I would have to agree with the crazy. ; )
I really just wanted to tie in the black more in our formal living room and I think painting these black worked (fortunatley).
Have a fabulous Monday my Luvs!

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P.S. Check out some of my favorite etsy things over at 6th Street Design School today!

Resolutions Day 6

Hi! I'm Cassie from Hi Sugarplum! I'm excited to be guesting on Leah's blog today, as I've been a fan for a long time. When she asked me what my resolutions were for 2011, I started thinking beyond my standard 'Lose Weight,' 'Exercise,' and 'Ease up on the Blue Bell.' (This of course after I got over my insane jealousy that Leah is in Hawaii!!)


I settled on two things that really impact my quality of life. First, is SLEEP! Or lack of.

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Doesn't that picture just make you want to fall, face-first into bed? The truth is, I'm almost always tired.  And it's self-induced sleep deprivation. You know the drill...balancing work, marriage, kids, and a home, leaves little 'me' time. So I tend to take it late at night. Which only ends up sacrificing my body, mood and energy level. So in 2011, I vow to respect my body enough to give it the sleep it needs.

Second resolution is a result of having a therapist as a husband...SETTING BETTER BOUNDARIES. I tend to have a hard time telling people 'No.' And guilt is a motivating factor in that...guilt that I work outside the home, guilt that I can't be there all the time for my kids, guilt that I'm not Betty-Crocker-Perfect-Homemaker! So I end up over-extending myself, which only ends up sacrificing the peace and quality of family time.

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And absolutely nothing is more important to me than my family. And if that means I can't be a room mom, soccer club organizer, PTA chairperson, neighborhood greeter...or any of the many things asked of me that fall outside the immediate needs of my family...then so be it. Hopefully setting these boundaries for myself and learning to say 'No' will only bring more peace into my home. Because running around from place to place, staying up late to prepare for a bake sale, and all the other guilt-induced responsibilities just isn't peaceful! So in 2011, I vow to respect my family enough to set boundaries for us!

Thanks for getting me thinking, Leah. Here's hoping we all stand by our resolutions....and have a happy, peaceful, New Year!!

And if you'd like to see some of the fun projects that keep me up late, here are my Top 5 Projects from 2010!

Resolutions Day 5

Ah, the yearly resolutions. I'm a huge, "Well Monday I will start..." kind of person so imagine the New whole YEAR looming in my distance. I've never - not once kept a resolution - but it's against my nature to not make them. So - I'll keep them lighthearted:

1. Send my close friends and family real mail at least once per month.

2. Start taking yoga seriously.

3. Only buy things that I LOVE. Like...heart beating fast can't stop thinking about it love. (I already started in Dec)
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4. Have more parties!

5. Stick to my clothing budget (I can't even keep a straight face when I type that)

6. Take Bama on more walks.

Thank you Krystal! Check out her fabulous blog Village, it is so cute!

Resolutions Day 4

Please welcome, Samantha from Black Velvet Chair!

Okay so my New years resolutions, they seam to resonate around study, creativity and a little bit of travel:

Travel to France - My husband is an avid cyclist and for the last few years we have been watching the Tour De France and saying “we should go”. Hopefully 2011 is the year! Any Advice on places to go in France?

Beginner’s floristry course - I always just kind of throw flowers into a vase- I would love to be able to arrange them properly.

Cake decorating course- I love backing but I don’t quite have the techniques for cake decorating down pat yet.

Interior design course- This is a passion of mine, the fire has been burning for a few years, I will do it this year!.

Repaint this Old Trunk- Thinking of painting it black and white - it has been sitting in our garage for about 6 months- the sanding and stripping process has taken a long time.

Thank you so much Samantha!

Resolutions day 1

So excited to share a new series that will last all this week while I am soaking up the Hawaiian sun. I was curious what other bloggers resolutions were this year so I hope this gives you the inspiration to stick to yours!
Luvs!

First up, Megan from Honey We're Home

When my girl- the ever stylish Leah- asked me to share my New Year’s resolution, I immediately knew what mine was. I’m not typically a resolutions kind of girl, but this year there is one thing that certainly needs to happen and you new mom’s probably know what it is: Lose.The.Baby.Weight!
Yeah, like many of you, I was in pretty great shape (if I do say so myself- ha!) pre-baby.

The above is a picture of me just before I got pregnant. At that time, I was consistently working out about 3-4 times a week, eating healthy, and enjoying an active lifestyle. I was proud to be in good shape, felt good in my clothes, and had a ton of energy.
I’ll spare you the gory details, but fast forward to the very END of my pregnancy, and after gaining 50 or so pounds, I looked like this! Yikes! (I can’t believe I’m posting this!)

After my son was born, I was so looking forward to losing weight so that I could feel like myself again.  I was just so uncomfortable during my pregnancy!! I started working out (taking it very, very slowly) a month later and began really watching what I ate. Within six months, I had lost 40 pounds (Yay!), but by month 7 or 8, I kinda stalled with those last five pounds to lose. I was surprised to find out that what I read, “9 months up, 9 months down” is so true!
Then came the holidays and the toffee and I’ve hit the wall. So, although I only have less than 10 pounds to lose, I don’t have the near tone and definition I used to have. My goal for the new year is to start weight training again and add back in some muscle! I want a healthy body, to feel good about myself, and to fit into my pre-pregnancy skinny jeans. I just bought a running stroller and plan on jogging a few times a week with the babe.

I hope this post helps keep me accountable as I work toward my goal. Thanks for having me Leah!