Black is the new...black?

I mentioned yesterday I have some projects on my to do list.  Eventually I will get to actually making the list.  But the list in my head starts with my bedroom.  I never quite finished it when I moved in 3 years ago.  Ok, honestly, I don't know that any room is finished.  I think I am just starting to determine what my "style" really is, but please don't ask me to describe it.

I shared the beginning of my plan for my gallery wall {here}.  I want this bedroom to be a real grown up bedroom with an actual bed, not just the bed frame that comes with the mattress.  Art on the walls that isn't held up by take or sticky goo (you know you used this in college when you couldn't put holes in the wall).  I'd like a bed with a higher back similar to the below.  Best part - no bed skirt!

The room right now is a lighter grey on 3 walls and 1 shade darker on the wall where the bed is.  You can only tell the difference if I point it out.  Not the contrast I was going for.  It actually looks much darker in this picture then in real life.  

In this next round I think I want dramatic color on the wall.  What is more dramatic then black??  Here are some inspiration pictures from my {Pinterest} page.  (All original sources can be found there)

 The question is do I paint all the walls black or just the wall where the bed will be and paint the rest white?  What do you guys think?

Letting Go

Walking away from something is never easy, walking away from someone is even harder.  You want to hold on, to only think of the good times because it is easier to remember those.  But it's the challenging times, the times you had your feelings hurt, that will make it easier to let go.  

J and I will hopefully be able to be friends in the future.  I did/do value the friendship we had before we started dating.  Getting along was never the problem.  We always enjoyed the time we spent together and when we first started hanging out we would just laugh all the time.  That laughter came less and less over the last few months.  There were other things going on for both of us that caused stress, and we let that interfere in our relationship.  And you never know what the future may bring, but right now, we are not right for each other anymore.  

I know I have been mopey lately, even know my head knows this is for the best, my heart hasn't got the message yet.  Soon I hope soon.  I have made a long list of projects to keep me busy.  I also am going to make a better effort to see friends that I haven't seen and try some new things.  

 Original source can be found {here}

Weekend Fun

Another low key weekend for me.  I cleaned up the house and got out the rest of my Valentines's decorations.  I don't do too much.  And thanks to my mostly red theme at Christmas time, a lot can carry over for V-day.  I love the picture below (no pun intended)  I took this a few years ago in Love park.

I also changed out my dining tables.  This is the new one below.  It's smaller then the old one and suits the space much better.  This one is from my sister's move to Houston.  It was just having out in the basement so I thought I would give it a try.  It is now the 3rd dining table I have had.  And so far I think it is my favorite.  Don't mind the sad excuse for wall art, those beads are left over from the holiday party.  I do have some picture ledges for that space.  Maybe I will get those up this week.  

Here is a close up of the table.  Those cupcakes are candles in disguise. And the heart shaped candy dishes are from Kohl's last year on clearance.  

I don't know that I am happy with the mantel.  This may change in the next 2 weeks or so...we will see.

You can kinda see the shelves in the reflection above.  The Love photo here was a gift last year.  It was perfect to stand in and fill the gap on the shelf.

I wasn't feeling too good on Sunday.  So I spent the day with Elliot and Olivia...I do love a good SUV marathon.

And while on the couch I also got in some quality pinning time.  I am going to try to make some of the things I have pinned both recipes and projects.  We will see how that works out!

Baby, it's cold outside

Quick trip up north for work this week. Maine and Massachusetts in January, not sure what I was thinking. It's bitter cold everywhere this week!

Wall of Inspiration

Did you even notice in locker rooms there are motivation quotes painted all over the walls?  This is mean to keep the players positive and get them excited for the challenge that lies ahead.  Seems pretty logical to me.  So I thought incorporating some of my favorite sayings and quotes into a gallery wall in my master would be similar.  I mean, that is essentially my locker room.  It's where I get ready for the day the lies before me.  

All images and original sources can be found {here}

Weekend Fun

This weekend was a hodge podge of things, and I spent most of it by myself.  I worked late on Friday night (from home).  When I finally finished, I cleaned up the last remaining holiday decorations and got them to the basement.  The house always looks naked in January so I got out some Valentine's Day things.

I took in a midday matinee on Saturday.  Silver Lining Playbook lived up to all it's nominations.  Parts were also filmed not too far away.  It was neat to see places I know in the movie.  If you haven't already, spend the money and go see this one. 

Sunday, I made a trip to Target.  Its my happy place.  Their new stuff has prompted a mini kitchen make over.   I mean look at these salt & pepper shakers?

If these look familiar its because you may have seen the Anthro version {here}.  I wasn't going to bring these guys home until I figured out what to put in them.  It only took me a little bit to decide - (left to right) tea bags, water flavor sticks, k-cups.  Yes, now they are a necessity.

Girls night dinner with Wendy!  Finished off with a frosty on the chilly winter night.

Finished off the weekend with a little shopping at Kate Spade.  I couldn't pass us that iPhone case!  I mean it's perfect :) Also picked up a passport cover thanks to some great MLK deals.

Have a great week!

Misery Loves Company

So things haven't been so great for me lately. I am stressed about work, J and I broke up and I have just felt very alone the past few weeks.

When it comes to work, I know I am fortunate to not only have a job, but one that I enjoy.  The frustrations and the stress would come with any position.  A good friend told me this week "it's not about winning, it's about finding a solution" I am going to adopt this as my new work motto.  I have been in this position for just about 3 years and I know I still feel the need to "prove" myself.  But some fights are just not fighting and I am going to focus on the solutions and not so much as how we get there.  Hopefully with this new attitude, I won't feel the stress.

J and I broke up just before Christmas, though we are still talking.  We are in this grey area somewhere between a relationship and a friendship I guess.  It's weird and I just don't know what to make of it.  Fact is if we weren't talking, I would feel even more alone.

That brings me to the title of this post - company.  I was sent this picture of the cutest little lab mix puppy that is currently being fostered and will be up for adoption this Sunday at the SPCA.  I have wanted a pup for a long time.  This is not a rash decision.  The thing is I travel for work quite a bit.  I would need help while I am away.  My parents had to put our family dog down this summer.  We had Brooks for 13 years and he was a great dog and part of our family.  I know my dad doesn't want another dog but Lexi would be mine, they would just be helping. But they said no.  And it sucks that at 31, I can't do this on my own.  I am torn, I would love to meet this beautiful girl, but don't know that I could walk away if I did.

When you are younger, you always think you will know how your life will go.  Then when things don't go as you planned it is hard to let that go.  But I have made the decision that I will be happy.  I am done being miserable.  Let's hope I am turning a corner here...I'll keep you posted.

Thought for the Day ~ Double Dose

There is a lot going on right now and both of these fit for different reasons.  I will explain more later.

Original Source can be found on my {Pinterest} page

#regram via @nastialiukin on instagram

Weekend Fun ~ Chevron Houston Marathon

Oh boy, what a long week last week and an even longer weekend.  I was out in Chicago for work all last week and went straight from there to Houston. My sister is the Communications Manager for the Houston Marathon.

There were a total of 4 races this weekend, double that if you count men's and women's separately. It was a great weekend and I enjoyed being able to help my sister and get a better idea of her job.  There was a lot of work, a little bit of sleep and some fun mixed in there.

The Hilton where we stayed was the official hotel of the Chevron Houston Marathon.  It was connected to the GRB convention center.  The staff marathon sported t-shirts all weekend.  It was a great touch.  These bellhops were more then happy to pose for a picture.

We tried to get as much set on Saturday night as possible.  This directly interfered with our plan to be in bed by 9pm.  I feel like the clock went from 8 to midnight in 10 minutes.  

Only in Texas would the winners of the marathon get these awesome cowboy hats!

Of course I had to try it on, I don't think it looks to bad.  I may have to get me one of these real deal hats!

And if the marathon winners get hats, that would of course mean the first man and woman to cross the line for the half-marathon score this fantastic belt buckle.  

The level of organization by the race staff was very impressive.  There was no shortage of potties, and that's extra TP in front of each group of port-o-pots.  Genius!   

The reunion area for the finishers was inside the convention center.  This worked out well because it was rainy, cold and windy the morning of the race.  This gave the runners a warm dry place to meet their family and friends once they crossed the finish line.  

It is a common practice for runners to post a pic of their race day gear to Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.  This was what I had for the day plus a jacket and pants of course.  It was chilly, especially once the AC kicked on.  

This was on Sunday morning (5am) clearly I was not awake yet.  I don't remember feeling this pissed off, I hope people knew it was just early.  That's Glenn next to me, he was the announcer in the press room.  I didn't take a picture of the room set up, but that is where I spent most of the day Saturday and all day Sunday.  

Had to be out of our room by 2pm.  Vic was still writing the winner's press release.  So I had to pack up all out stuff and get it to the Concierge.  In case you have trouble, that is 2 carry on roller bags, 2 totes, 1 smaller bag, a backpack, a winter coat and a pair of Hunter wellies.  It was an adventure getting all that downstairs by myself.  

I didn't realize I don't have any pics from the race itself or one with my sis.  I will work on race photos.  This was her first year at working for the marathon, in face she only started there in September.  I think she did an awesome job and can only imagine what she will come up with for next year, having been through one now, to make it even better.  

What's the longest you have ever run for a race?

Weekend Fun ~ Almost

So this weekend I tackled my basement.  I have big plans for down there, but before I could even start to think about anything I needed to organize and clean up.  This is not all mine, by the way.  Both of my sisters are "storing" items from moves out of different places in the last 3 years.  The twin has moved twice since I have been in my place - from Indy to Stamford, CT (with 3 month delay in-between) and Stamford, CT to Houston.  For the latter move, she only took what fit in her 2 door Civic.  Everything else came here!  I was able to sell some of the bigger items at a family yard sale in the fall. Otherwise this would have looked much worse.

There used to be just enough room to get to the back door and move some things around if needed.

I spent a good day down here, thank goodness for good music to keep me going!  (pillows on the couch are for effect, had to make it look good).  I plan to add a curtain of some sort to hide my newly condensed storage area.

This will be my future home office.  I work from home some days and right now my desk is in the guest room.  I am running out of room (code for its always a mess) And I don't want to have to see my work on the weekends all the time.  You need vision, but just imagine some paint and fun accessories and this will be perfect...well as close to perfect as I can get without adding a room upstairs.

And this is what's left.  I need to do a little more work back here but this is better then it was so I am ok with it for now. 

After all that hard work on Saturday, I did absolutely nothing on Sunday.  I went to my folks for dinner and some quality time with the family, including my nephew.  Cutest kid ever, sorry but it's true. 

One More

Ok, I promise this is the last new yearish post, but this was just too good not to share.  A collection of quotes from Di Vinci to Diane.  Great words, I may add this to the frame on my nightstand.

{via}

Thought for the day

{via}

Other then the typo, its a great message.  

Chuck it in the Bucket

I am not one for resolutions, but I did decide that 2013 will be a good year for me, a little selfish I know.  I think it I go in thinking like that, it has to be.  There are some things I would like to accomplish in the coming year, so rather then make resolutions, I will make a bucket list or a to do list of sorts just for the year.

1. Be Debt Free (other then my house) before the end of the year - my biggest debts are my Explorer and my credit card.  
2. Operation clothes clean up - I like most girls probably have more clothes then needed.  If can't remember the last time I wore it, it is out.  The motivation to clean out the closets (yes, plural, that is what happens when you like alone) will be the tough part of this one.
3. Organize my basement - it has become a storage facility for myself and some others.  I would like to move my work space down there and create a second living room.  But before I can do that, I need to clean it up and see what can go from down there. 
4. Finish my kitchen - I guess this also plays into number 1, but I would like new floor and appliances oh and a light fixture.
5. Learn how to really use my big girl camera - I may even take a class somewhere
6. Put myself first - I often try to make everyone else happy, sometimes giving up what I want.  It's time, selfish as it sounds, to put myself first.  

This is not a huge list.  And I am giving myself 12 months to complete what is on it.  Number 6 will be the hardest. I am sure I will add to it as the year goes on and I will be sure to keep you updated.  

Happy New Year

Hope you had a great night and your hangovers are easily cured.  I will be back tomorrow with my take on resolutions for the new year.