Tuesday, November 19, 2013

The Happy Day Project - Year 2: A Recap


 Hopefully already know what The Happy Day Project is all about, but if you don't here are my posts about it from this year and last year, and Jeanett's orginal post.

Year 1: Recap

Year 2

LifeRearranged - Jeannett

Got it?

You probably noticed that it was the "Abridged" version, and thank goodness it was, because it's been a crazy week. It makes me cringe a little to say that out loud actually -- just because I've had a long week doesn't mean I could take 2 SECONDS to do something, anything nice for someone else!? It's true, it's sadly a hard thing to take moment to stop and realize that I'm not the only person on this earth, so with that in mind, I tried my darndest to do just that. No, I didn't package up goodies for anyone, or write handwritten letters this year but here's what I did do:

Had a (much needed) coffee break with a dear friend who's been having a rougher week than I.

Cooked Sam a dinner I knew he'd love since he's been working his tail off.

Turned my phone OFF at said dinner because QUALITY TIME doesn't include text messages.

Took Kona on a longer walk than usual - because she deserves some Happy Day too, am I right?

And had dinner with some friends who needed some time to show off their gorgeous new home upgrades.

Little things - things I'd probably do on any other given week, but this week with just a bit more intention. And sometimes that's exactly what we all need.






Wednesday, November 13, 2013

An early resolution

I realize people are already jumping on the Christmas bandwagon, and it isn't even Thanksgiving yet. And here I am talking about resolutions and it's just the beginning of November - but really, anytime is a good time to start a new resolution to your self. And writing about it just helps to solidify it.



Ok, so what is it!?

Reading books.

I know everyone and their mother has already read The Fault in Our Stars, but I just ordered it this weekend, and it's supposed to be here today. I can't wait to run home after work and get started - so many people have raved about it. Now it's my time to see if it's true :)

Amazon
Last year after Christmas, I read about 1 book a month for about 4 or 5 months. To some, that's not much, but to me, that's a good steady pace. This year, I hope I can keep that up a little further into the year. So I'm going to finish off this year with a bang - one book this month, and one next month!

Any suggestions for a December book?


Tuesday, November 12, 2013

The Happy Day Project - Year 2

Jeannett over at LifeRearranged is hosting The Happy Day Project again this year. Last year I participated, and it was amazing.You can read about my experience here. Here's a quick recap about what it's all about:


Everyday for a week, make some time to go out of your way (even if just a tiny bit) to do something for someone else. Last year, Jeanett set up projects for everyday, to make it just that much easier to get the ball rolling.This year, we'll be participating in the "Abridged" version, because, life happens, and we get busy. So there are not activities planned for each day but that doesn't mean we can't do this on our own!

Here are the activities that we did last year to help you get an idea:



To be honest, I didn't even realize it had been a year since this project occurred, and I feel bad that my inspiration for helping others last year fizzled out so quickly. I'm not sure what I'll be attempting this week, but I do know that as busy as we all might be, I bet you have time to sneak a candy bar in your mail box for the postman, or to write a sweet note and slap a stamp on it. Even pick up an extra little something at the grocery store for the man out in the cold on the corner. 

I'll get back to you at the end of the week with what I did - won't you join me?



Thursday, November 7, 2013

TGI...Thursday?

It's been a while since an actual TGI... Thursday post has gone up - but as a reminder...why TGI...Thursday? For those of us working ladies out there, Thursday is the gateway to the end of the week, we've busted butt and taken names, and we're so close to some quality time with the family, a good book, or whatever you do to chill after a working week. So I created TGI...Thursday? to help get us through to that gateway to the weekend!

In an effort to promote some of my favorite Etsy shops (unbeknownst to them) for the next month, I will be choosing my fav images and linking over to their shops - click over and give them a looksie!

This week is a newly found favorite of mine, a shop by the name of: Jolie Made, find her blog here.

Shop

Monday, November 4, 2013

The Story of A Dresser


Once upon a time we had this:


Hideous. And I'm talking about the dresser...pretend the couch isn't also hideous. Gah. I can't even look at this photo any longer. This was taken the week we moved into our house.

Let's fast forward to about 8 months later, when the great transformation occurred:


Getting better. We moved the dresser to a different wall, added a random assortment of frames, and whatever else was on hand.

Then we took it a step further:



Sam took out all the drawers, and built shelves in their place.


With Kona's supervision of course. And that orange chair, it's another project I hope to start soon.


Then I took the sander to the parts that we wanted to paint.


The bits of rock/concrete in the photo below were helping the new shelves adhere to the wood glue that we used. And please excuse the adult beverages ;)


In the end, we picked up two baskets from Marshall's and ended up with this:


Happy Monday!