Friday Life Update

Well, it's been a little while and it's mainly because my computer has been down for the count. We aren't sure what happened to it, but it had to be wiped and re-booted from scratch and I still don't quite have all of my programs up and running again. It will be soon, though!

Since we haven't "spoken" in a while, I thought I'd give a little update on how life is going in these parts here lately!

-It's STILL hot. Although the early mornings and late evenings are starting to slowly cool down, it's still oh so hot outside during the day. Hopefully we will have a true fall day here soon. Scratch that - I just heard our meteorologist say that although the first day of fall begins on Monday, it won't feel like it all week. Ah well, one can dream, right?

-My. Child. Is. Growing. Like. A. Weed. He officially turns three and a half next month and it's amazing to watch him grow. His brain seriously soaks up information like a sponge and I'm just amazed at all he's learned (and remembers). Seriously, if you ask him our room number from our June Alaska cruise, he remembers it! His speech has significantly improved since last fall, too. Watching videos from last year at this time makes me scratch my head over the improvement. Every day, we are so thankful for our rowdy, sweet, sensitive, mickey mouse and water puddle loving little boy!

-Physical Therapy. It's still going. Hamstrings are just so slow to heal and although I'm getting there, progress seems so slow sometimes. In the past 12 weeks, I've run one-1 mile run and three-2 mile runs. That's it. For someone who has spent the past 11 years as a runner, this is tough. I know it's necessary, but it's tough. After a little discussion with my PT, it was suggested that I try a treadmill run instead of an outside run, so I did. Thinking about the mechanics of the treadmill vs the ground makes sense and it worked - I didn't have any residual stiffness the following day and I didn't feel as if it set me back. So, I'm going to attempt another 2 mile treadmill run this Saturday to see where I'm at. For the record, I'm not going fast or hard with this and I'm listening to my body the entire way. If I feel anything at all, I stop. The road to recovery is a strange one to say the least and all of my "running" has been physical therapist directed. Hopefully I'll be up and "running" for real, soon.

-Since y'all know I can't sit still - with three months of not running, do you think I've been sitting on the couch watching TV all day? No. Apart from working and spending time with my family, I've cleaned out my entire house from top to bottom. The entire attic (minus Christmas boxes) was sorted through and items were donated or thrown away. Then, my entire house-room by room-drawer by  shelf and container was gone through and cleaned. Items were also either donated or thrown away. Every room also received a thorough clean (including under the beds). I'm sure y'all feel me when I say a good purge feels amazing!

I hope life has been treating all of you just fine! A great way to keep up with our life on a more consistent basis (if you're interested in keeping up with us) is over on instagram. I've also recently published several videos from our August Disney World trip over on YouTube. I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!! Stay kind, friends!

Final Spring Cleaning Project: Room Decor

The final part of my recent Spring cleaning project included a complete overhaul of the guest bedroom closet. Inside that closet was my wedding dress (that desperately needed to be mailed off for preservation) and several framed prints/a mirror, etc.

One of the first things I noticed about my guest bedroom was the lack of a mirror hanging on the wall. I just happened to have a gold framed one in the closet – I needed a brown frame instead.

I decided to spruce it up with a little DIY treatment and….

Voila! The mirror is now painted dark brown with light brown highlights, and my guest bedroom now has a mirror hanging on its wall!

Another change we made was to the art hanging in both the guest bedroom and the master bedroom.

While in Disney over Memorial Day Weekend, Jason and I stumbled upon two beautiful framed prints that we couldn’t pass up.

The first of the two was a print of the Disney Magic docked in St. Thomas. I wasn’t sure how the colors/frame would work with this room, but we hung it on the wall and it blended well! This is Jason’s favorite of the two prints.

I also added a few extra DCL touches throughout the room…

Would you believe we already had ALL of these items lying around? I’m glad they are finally being used!

Sailor Duffy is there too, of course! He was a Christmas gift last year! :0)

The final update to our guest bedroom was something I had in mind, but couldn’t find anywhere. I wanted a print to hang on the wall of a brown anchor over a blue chevron pattern. After searching and coming up empty handed, I finally decided to make this another DIY project.

I purchased a sheet of blue chevron scrapbooking paper, a sheet of brown sparkle scrapbooking paper, and a 12x12 frame that was half off at Hobby Lobby. My new Silhouette Cameo was used to cut out the anchor and the DCL logo (its first project)! Easiest and cheapest project ever!

…and now I want to go on a Disney Cruise… whomp whomp.

The second print we purchased now hangs in our Master Bedroom. This print is one that I fell in love with immediately. It’s of the Hotel del Coronado (or perhaps the Grand Floridian?) on a 1900’s day – ladies in beautiful gowns with parasols, men in top hats, children swimming, families enjoying the afternoon…

Isn’t it beautiful? I could stare at it all day!

The frame does have one major flaw at the bottom – zoom in on the full picture above and you can see it. The location of the flaw is in the center at the bottom – I’m going to have a little gold plaque made with some sort of saying on it… “An afternoon at the Grand”, or something along those lines. I also considered the idea of having the print reframed, but I haven’t fully decided what to do yet.

I am also thinking of getting away from the brown/green in our guest bedroom and moving on to something else, I just can’t seem to find anything that catches my eye. I’m going to keep searching and see what I find!

Sprucing up the bedrooms was a nice change and something I don’t do often. It’s refreshing to walk into one of the rooms and see new things hanging on the walls. I’m also glad that frames/photos which were sitting unused in drawers/closets for a while are now being used, too!

How often do you change pictures/prints in your home? Have you ever had an idea in mind and couldn’t find what you were looking for, so you created the item yourself? If so, tell me! I love to hear about others DIY projects!

Wednesday Ramblings

This past weekend brought beautiful Spring temperatures to the South and I delighted in every minute of it! My outdoor runs over the weekend were enjoyable and I’m loving the extra hours of daylight in the evenings! The flower beds in the front yard are a complete mess and I cannot wait to replant beautiful, colorful flowers for Spring.

First things first, though – last weekend, I began a Spring cleaning project on the inside of my house. I don’t know about you, but I find great fulfillment in throwing things away and reorganizing areas. So far, a trash bag and a half of stuff from the master closet, bathroom, and bedroom have been thrown away.

Taking the project one room at a time helps it not feel so overwhelming. I began with the master closet one day, the master bathroom the next, followed by the master bedroom (which has been broken into two days). I will continue on with my project (room by room) until it’s complete! I’ve done this once in the past and it’s worked well for me.

A new discovery this year has been vacuum storage “space bags” from the Dollar Tree. A brand new Dollar Tree recently opened in my area and I was pleasantly surprised at the niceness of the store (as compared to the other Dollar Tree’s across town). I ventured into the Dollar Tree for the storage bags specifically, by the recommendation of a You Tube video I watched this past weekend on organization and Spring cleaning.

The only size available at my local store was the Large size. They are super easy to use and are large enough to fit a few blankets in each.

I like these bags because they are a way to store blankets I don’t use often – Winter clothing would be great for these, too (sweaters and such). At a dollar a piece, I couldn’t resist trying them (and I’m so glad I did)!

Another discovery this past weekend was in the form of a beverage (coffee, that is)!

Coffee and hot chocolate – I’d never mixed the two together in the past and now I’m a fan! One cup of brewed coffee and half a pack of Swiss Miss Candy Cane hot chocolate, no extra sweetener or cream…it’s good, y’all! 

I also have to say, I’m incredibly jealous of my Canadian friends who have access to Cadbury chocolate all year round. On our cruise, I received a few packages of Cadbury hot chocolate samples and they were delicious! (See purple package in above photo.)

Actually, maybe it’s a good thing I don’t have access to Cadbury chocolate year round…yes, it’s definitely a good thing!  (The above picture is from a NY/Canada trip we took a few years ago…the lady at the store in Halifax did NOT understand my excitement over the discovery of Cadbury chocolate bars in the cooler and I’m pretty sure she thought I was crazy….hah oh well!)

Ok I’ve rambled enough! Hope you’ve been enjoying Spring temperatures and extra daylight! Have a great rest of your week – it’s halfway to the weekend!

Do you like to Spring clean and organize?