bathrooms

When we first moved into this apartment, we pulled a marathon and after three days were like ninety percent done with unpacking and decorating. (It helped that we were downsizing a bit but into a similar styled apartment.) The last ten percent is (always for us) the bedroom and guest bathroom.

This time, our guest bathroom is large, but awkward (three towel, but none in the right position to hold the appropriate towels). The art I loved in our previous large bathroom is gray and white and red, and looks terrible hanging in the new one because the “white” walls actually have the slightest mint green tint. Combine that with the fact that that bathroom is the only place we had to put the cat litter box - housed in a diy cabinet - and I pretty much hate the room. It’s hard to make investments in decorating a place you know you’ll only live in a year or two, but the good news is that I’ve come up with a game plan for improvement, and it will be a pretty easy and relatively inexpensive fix.

I’m planning on sort of a subtle beach theme. For the art, I picked our a few our vacation photos to put into the existing frames:

We also need some white towels, because teenage boys use acne face stuff that have bleached stains into our current gray set. Since it has to be white, I’m thinking a pattern like this would be nice:

We have been using an ikea bath mat (originally purchased as a liner for a cat’s bed!) and I’m shocked how well it’s held up. I love that it’s all cloth and can be frequently washed without ruin. Cheap too, I think it’s my favorite bath mat I’ve ever had.

I repurposed the soap dispenser for the kitchen, and want to replace it with this one from Target that we currently use in our other bathroom:

I would also like to get a tray to display a candle and a jar filled the beach glass we collected when we lived in Gloucester. We have so little of this sort of decorative extras in our apartment, but the counter space is currently so big and so empty, that I think it will work well.

And finally, a new curtain for the cat litter box house, made from sort of a cabana-style fabric.

holiday

Our little holidays worked out well this year. There were champagne glasses and sofa throws. We lit candles and listened to Christmas music. There was a marathon viewing of The Tudors. There was a lot of pajama wearing. The decor went up and came down. And here is proof:

I have an irrational fear of bugs crawling out of trees, which is one of the reasons why why we will never have a live one.

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Mount Bonnel

We hiked up this mountain, which is really a hill, then walked down the steps back to the car. I wore tennis shoes. The kids kept saying it doesn't feel like we're in Austin anymore. I didn't expect downtown to look so small. I tried to see where we live, but couldn't.

2014

For 2014, my resolutions are basically the same as they are every year, but this year it's plain that they fall into broad groups that I still need to work on:

Live my truth. This means doing something about whatever it is you are passionate about. Your own tiny little part to try to change to world. For me, it's pretty obvious that I need to do something to help animals, or help the people who are helping to make a difference for animals. Also, it means a recommitment to not eating them, which obviously has a direct impact.

Treat my body kindly. And here's where the vow to exercise comes in. But more than that, I need to find a balance. More exercise, learn some meditation maybe, eat more whole foods, drink less coffee and alcohol. Maybe even make it to some annual checkups. 

Make a happy home. By happy, I mean welcoming and peaceful. For me, this means keeping things clean, really clean, and uncluttered all the time. It means little things, like changing light bulbs and batteries right away, instead of being annoyed for a week or two and finally getting to it. Keeping healthy snacks around so we can stay at home rather than going out, unless we want to. Keeping candles lit and music playing.  Basically, anything that makes us feel at home goes here. Also, limiting the things that come into our home and making sure only the things we love get to stay here.

And lastly, remember. This means blogging, taking pictures, and doing something with them. This blog is a diary for me; it means making the time to reflect. What does it mean for me to go five months without posting? It's no coincidence that the years I blog a lot, I accomplish my resolutions far more than the years I don't blog. This is something I need to do. I also want to keep taking a lot of pictures and start doing more things with them. First up, make an album of this years' European road trip and sending photos to people (I have some from last March taken specifically for the grandparents that haven't gotten to them yet.). 

Here's hoping 2014 is a happy one.