Staying Focused

Oh yesterday, you have gone and now in your place is today. Yesterday I decided to rearrange my downstairs. This is not strange for me to do. However I made a pact with myself that I would stay focused on my master bedroom redo. I knew that if I started moving things around in the rest of the house I would find all the things I "need" to buy to decorate, redo or re beautify my home and therefor loose focus on the project at hand. Since for me my budget is so limited, I knew the wisest plan in accomplishing the master bedroom redo is to stay focused on only that room. Yesterday I deviated from the plan and though it was not with out fun, (because I love seeing what moving the couch from one placement in the room to another  does for the look of the room) it was with out final result. I am unsatisfied with everything I came up with, because moving furniture and accessories caused me to feel, "if only I had, this piece or that accessory, then the room would be grand!" Also resulting in my mind being occupied with what I could purchase to bring to life the vision in my head for my living room and dinning room. Again not a bad thing, except it all comes down to budget. If I spend "there", I then don't have money for the master bedroom.
Yesterday has gone and today I am back on focus and heading out to Sherwin Williams to see what glorious paint options they have for me in my master bedroom redo! Staying focused is not always easy, but it is something that can always be regained. Do not loose heart if you have a project you once started and then were distracted away from, just get re focused and get it done! Let me know what you are up to. What way are you allowing your creativity to be free?

A Paint Predicament

How many paint samples have I brought home, I wonder? Stacks litter my dresser and nightstand at the moment. When it comes to choosing paint for my master bedroom, it is a decision I do not take lightly. I have vaulted ceilings and the okay from my husband to go ahead and paint. The paint that I choose I know I must be happy with for years to come. Years... years stuck with a color I can not stand. That is a great deal of pressure to have on oneself. I do not want to live with painters remorse so I am choosing very thoughtfully. In the beginning  I thought I wanted warm colors to coat my walls, but have since been leaning toward, light and refreshing. This decision is really becoming a real "paint" in my... head. Yes that is what I said, head, not what you thought I was going to say. All I can think about, all I can envision is paint. Day and night I imagine myself in my room with a warm shade of brown on my walls and then change to a crisp light color, or a nice gray shade. I try to imagine how I would feel waking up in the morning to each different paint color. The reality is I am torn. So here is what I have narrowed the paint choices down to (for now any way). I will continue dreaming in paint colors and I know I will arrive at the right decision for my master bedroom. Once I do, I will not regret my choice, but rather, I will be very satisfied with the paint that dresses my walls. After all I am having fun with this redo and am in no rush for the fun to end.

*Disclaimer: Paint does look different in person.*

A New Perspective

Fact about me, I am hard on myself. I do not always see the beauty of my things or the things in my home. Why? Because I often act like I should be living inside the pages of a magazine. Reality number one, I do not have that kind of cash flow. Number two, I have four kids, a dog, friends who live with us (who also have a dog), a husband and a life! Enough reasons... I could have stopped at, I have four kids and sympathy and understanding would have been pouring my way from each of you, I know. The sad, pathetic truth is, I do struggle with wanting that picture perfect house, but it would come at a price I am not willing to pay. That price is solitude.
What  am I doing about it? I am continually listening to my Lord as He leads me gently, opening my eyes to the vast amount of blessings that surround me. I have four kids, a husband, a dog, a friend for my dog, friends who live with us... what a blessed HOME I have!
Perspective! Keeping things in perspective is not always easy, but a necessity!
When I set out to redo my master bedroom, it came from a place of complete and utter despair and frustration. I felt like a failure as a homemaker. My ideas, intentions, plans, and expectations, for my household, did not match up with the everyday reality of my life. The laundry alone for a family my size is a full time job. Not to mention all the sweet moments as mom that gladly steal away from the duties as home maker. Leaving me feeling behind and coming up short.
Sad to say, my bedroom has been overlooked when it comes to decorating. To top it off, it was becoming the clean clothes drop spot.  Around my home, once things appear to be out of order, it then seems to send the message to husband and kids, go ahead throw that toy on my bedroom floor. Oh yes, of course, please leave your dirty clothes in the corner. So the pressure on myself, that I placed upon myself, mounted. From my perspective, I was failing. Why couldn't I keep everything under control and complete each household task in the timely manor I envisioned? I had a much needed cry out to the Lord for help and then  I called my sister. My sister helped open my eyes to reality and  filled me with great words of encouragement. She also gave me a website to visit (www.theflylady.com), and I got to vent. Oh to vent... getting to hear myself, golly, how I needed my perspective to change. I also realized in that moment I needed my master bedroom to change. My room is the first thing I see int the morning and the last thing I see before I close my eyes for the night. Me, being the very, ultra, completely ascetically aware person that I am, why would I not begin and end my day with a surrounding that pleases me? Time for that to change!
We are all different, us as people, us as individuals. Some could careless if the kitchen faucet is not perfectly aligned with the center of the sink, while others of us, we have to go and straighten it. Figuring out what kind of person you are will help in creating the kind of HOME you want to have.  I have come a long way over the years, and am more relaxed about having a lived in home. In fact I love it. That being said, I also have come to realize the importance of balance. It is okay to have things tidy, clean, organized, decorated and beautified as long as I am not doing it at the cost of having a home. A home where life is lived and memories are created! Perspective, it all comes down to perspective.

Are you ready to see some of the things the Lord has blessed me with for the re-making of my  master bedroom? Creating a place I enjoy and want to be.

The Changing of the Curtains

After nine years I decided it was time to once again attempt to change out the bedding in my master bedroom. I had tried a few years back but just could not find anything to my liking that did not break the bank. I suffer from the, "I have a knack for picking the highest priced item in the store, with out even trying," syndrome. Are you familiar with that one, ring any bells for some of you? Well for me it has at times been a stumbling block. At times, I just can not "settle" on something I do not like as much, so If it can not be perfectly the way I want, then I will wait. The other issue that ailed me was,  if I changed my bedding then I had to change my curtains and then the "cha-ching, cha-ching" sound chimed in my husband's head and contentment once again settled in my heart. Why does it always have to come down to the changing of the curtains?

So here I am nine years later, after some creative steps forward, lots of prayer and  a very small budget I have begun my master bedroom make over.
Here is how I began:
First I searched the internet for what style I wanted, maybe I wanted to branch out and go modern since through and through I am not contemporary, though I like it for someone else, maybe just maybe I could try. Nope after many attempts I found I am what I am and I am going to remain, a country something or other kinda girl. So that was settled. I also knew I did not want, "open bag throw on bed and windows and viola room complete." I wanted to put myself to the test and find out what I could create from nothing. So I poured through the internet price comparing quilts, duvets, curtains, standard shams, euro shams and throw pillows, oh my. In so doing this, I would know a good deal when I saw one and I would not pass it up!
Second I hit every discount store I could think of, from Marshall's to Ross, HomeGoods, Bed Bath and Beyond clearance, e bay, Craigslist, even Target. The first shopping attempt, I remained empty handed but not defeated! I was determined to bring to life a new master bedroom for my family and I to enjoy. I ventured out again and found  euro shams I fell in love with on clearance, a throw pillow too... score!  Off I went  yet again and this time I had a more open mind, guess what I found a duvet at a lower price than what I was even aiming for! Now the building of a "master" piece really begins.  Later I found a quilt, king size for an amazing price, that also included shams. My bed was taking shape and setting a new tone for my room.
Third I needed to find curtains and the challenge increased. Why oh why do they have to cost so much? I gave myself a much needed pep talk and off I went to Bed Bath and Beyond (the last place I actually  went, of course) and found on sale curtains that are not perfect in my former definition of perfect, but perfect in my new and  renewed way of thinking kind of way! I still had three smaller windows to dress...oh golly that will really add up. While I was at Lowe's picking out paint sample thinga ma bobs, I checked the clearance... you guessed it! Three balloon shades that would work wonders for a steal of a deal! Oh now for the hardware... sigh... oh wait, a buck 98 each rod... this is unbelievable! Let the butterflies fly I was so excited!

Who needed to fear the changing of the curtains after all! Tear um down and let the sun shine in... only temporarily until the new ones are hung!