I Get Into Trouble at Home Goods...

After declaring that I was not going to spend money the other day...I went and found some furniture I liked. They were both "impulse" purchases, but they were items that I have been on the lookout for. So technically, they were well-thought-out impulse purchases. :)

I found a side table for the basement at Target. I can't find a picture online, so I'll have to take one later. This is the second table I have gotten from Target that I got a deal on because there was a minor scratch on it. I personally like a table with a little "character", so bring on the discount!

The second piece of furniture I found was a chest/trunk type piece for the foot of the guest bed. Our guest bedroom is really tiny, so I knew I didn't want to get a dresser for that room. Plus, we haven't had any long-term guests who would really need a dresser. I thought a chest would look great, would give extra storage space for blankets, and would also provide a place for someone to put their bags on. The piece I found was a bit more $ than I was planning to spend, but I loved it and thought it would be perfect in the space. Plus Gil okayed it. :)


I had been looking for ideas on Pinterest for what type of trunk I would like in this room. The item I bought doesn't look anything like these examples, but it does have that same old, weathered feel.

centsationalgirl.com

crushparty.blogspot.com

Because this room is so little, it's pretty much impossible to photograph it well. But here is the new addition:

It has a worn and weathered look to it that I love. 

A little closer shot:

Love it!

This room still needs pictures on the walls and curtains on the window, but it's definitely almost done!

To Paint or Not To Paint?

I have been toying with the idea of painting the living room for a while now. Our house was freshly painted in neutral colors when we moved in, so it was never an immediate thing we needed to do. But the more I think about that space, the less I like the sagey green wall color. It's fine, it's neutral. But it's just kinda blah.

I would love to paint the main floor blue. And by blue, I do not mean anything crazy. Nor do I mean powdery blue. I like aqua or something that has greenish tones. I want something subtle, but I love color in a house. Here are some examples that I like. What do you think?

This first picture is probably my favorite example:

bhg.com

A little more subtle:

myhomeideas.com

decor8blog.com

I wouldn't do turquoise, but I think this is gorgeous!

homedit.com

Gil, I see paintbrushes in your future!

This & That

Yesterday morning, I headed out for a walk with Laila.  It was really gloomy out, but the kind of gloomy that I really like (on occasion). It felt like some major weather was just waiting to happen. Sure enough, as we were walking, it began snowing really fat, fluffy flakes.  It was so pretty. I snagged a few pictures with my phone (love Instagram!).

Beginning of the walk

By the end of the walk, the ground was covered!

Of course, by mid-afternoon, the snow was all melted and there was only mud left in its place. Laila has been getting 5 minutes outside and then I make her come in. Otherwise, I tend to forget she's out there and that means TROUBLE when there is mud around.

I spent the day doing who knows what, just lounging, relaxing, and doing a few house things. Totally forgot to do my discussion board post for grad class (whoops!). Vacation will do that to 'ya! I did squeeze in 4 miles on the treadmill and it felt pretty good.

Today I'm going to finish cleaning the house and doing errands. Does anyone else hate returning clothes? I need to do that and I ALWAYS put it off. I'm going to try not to spend any money today. I've noticed the trend that when I'm on vacation, I tend to spend way more frivolously than usual.

Yesterday I bought a rug for our master bedroom (which I've been wanting to do for the longest time). I actually saw the rug first on Pinterest, but the site it led me too was a little pricier than I wanted to spend. I went on overstock to look at other options and came across the same rug for much cheaper. I knew I wanted to get a rug with a geometric pattern and I love this. Hopefully it'll look nice in person too! The only thing is, it's technically an "outdoor" rug...so we'll see how it feels in person. There was a review of the rug that said the person used it inside, so I decided to give it a try.

overstock.com

I also bought a console table to go behind the couch in the basement. I've noticed this console table a few times online when I've looked around, so I finally bit the bullet and bought it. It was on sale, so that made it easier!

target.com

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

So about this 3 day a week workout thing...

It hasn't been happening lately. At all. Not because I'm particularly busy. Simply because I don't want to. Lame, I know! I just get extremely lethargic in the winter. It's a pattern. For some reason, I'm not feeling particularly guilty about not working out. This is good and bad. Good because I don't feel bad (obviously) but bad because that feeling that I "should" work out often spurs on some activity for me.

For the last week it's actually still been light out when I get home from work. Let me tell you, it makes all the difference in the world to my activity level. I took Laila on some long, long walks and it was great. I can't wait for spring (although I know we've been so lucky with this mild winter)! And now I will leave you with some Laila pictures because that's all I have on my phone (surprise, surprise).

Paws!

Had some bows from being groomed

Passed out as usual

Weekend Getaway

This weekend I was in Pentwater for a girl's weekend.  On Friday, we headed out around 4 o'clock and it should've been about a 3 or 3.5 hour drive.  Offfff course, we ended up driving through some terrible weather and it took us closer to 6 hours. Thanks, Michigan! The drive was well worth it once we were there though. We did some serious lounging the entire weekend with this lovely view outside our door:

This will be a busy week at school with Valentine's Day tomorrow, the 100th day of school, and our Black History program on Friday. But then I get a week off for mid-winter break. Can't complain about that! Have a great week everyone!

Nothin' Much New Here...

It's one of those glorious weekends where I actually feel ahead of the game. The house is clean, lesson plans are done, papers are submitted. It doesn't get much better than that. Aside from the sore throat I am sporting, I'm a pretty happy camper. Not to mention the crazy amount of sunshine we've had this weekend! I'm not sure nature knows it's February, but I'm okay with that.

I'm thinking about going for a run or taking Laila for a walk, as I have not yet done anything active this weekend. Laila would prefer that it would snow for another six months. She has been thoroughly disappointed in this winter.  

 

Have a great week everyone!