Roses are Red, Violets are Blue, Happy Valentine's Day to You!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! I hope that you are able to celebrate with your loved ones today. Jose and I plan to celebrate by dinner at home tonight and going to see a local band play on Friday. My point for posting today is to show you the wreath I made for our front door. 

I reused one of the wreaths that I spray painted to make my snowman wreath over Christmas. Then I just cut out hearts from some scrapbook paper that I already had on hand. I also hung the wreath with a piece of ribbon that is leftover from another project. So for the total cost of free I managed to get up a little bit of Valentine decor. 

How do you guys celebrate Valentine's? Did you decorate your home for the holiday? If so how? I would love to hear what you guys do to celebrate. 

A Few Tiny Living Room Updates.

This weekend I finally got around to making a few small updates to the living room. These were just things that I wanted to accomplish to make the living room feel more finished. The first thing I did was to use a table cloth (found at target on clearance a few years ago) to temporarily make new covers for the pillows on the couch. I say temporarily because they are just tied on in back. I need to make this more permanent but I got distracted on the day I did it so that is as far as a I got. The second minor update was to  add sheer curtains in the middle of our yellow curtains that I made. I have been wanting to do this for a while but just had been putting it off. I thought about making them but I  found the curtains at Target for five dollars a panel. So I went with the store bought ones. I really am loving the fact that I can open our curtains and still have some privacy from the neighbors and the street. I also think it makes the windows look more full and complete. 

  I am finally getting to a place where I think the living room is close to "finished". At least close enough that I could move on to other rooms in the house.  I only really have a few more things I would like to do: 

1. Find a new rug (one solid piece instead of two rugs put together)

2. Get more pillows/pillow covers for the sofa

3. Finish putting art on the walls

I think in the grand scheme of living room decorating these three things are not much to handle. They are also things that will probably be always evolving. 

Have you guys made any room updates lately? If so what room? Are you planning any major updates to rooms in your homes? Or have you finally gotten things just where you want them? 

A Valentine's Day Swap and Link Up

Happy Thursday! Today I am super excited to share with you a Valentine's swap and link up that I participated in. Lauren at From My Grey Desk along with a few other bloggers initiated a wonderful valentine's link. The best part is that we were paired with another blogger to gather and send a Valentine package to. I cannot tell you how wonderful it was to get to know another blogger.

I was paired with Aly from For Such a Time Designs. Let me just say how uncanny it was how much we have in common. Both hubby's are students and we both enjoying crafting and vintage/antique things. I would recommend you checking out her Etsy shop. She has some awesome handcrafted things in there. Well I guess I should give you guys the low down on what she sent me. (check out her blog to see what I sent her)

These are the lovely forks and spoons that Aly made! (You can find these and more in her Etsy shop)



I loved participating in this, because lets be honest who doesn't love getting a package in the mail! Have you guys exchanged any Valentine's gifts? What are you getting your sweetie for Valentine's this year? Thinking of going homemade? or buying? I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend and we will be back on Monday with a few living room updates.

I'm Gonna Pop Some Tags. . .

I am not sure how many of you guys read Young House Love but they issued a thrift store challenge based on the song by Macklemore. There were only three rules

1. You could only go with 20 dollars in your pocket (per the chorus of the song).

2. You must photograph your spoils.

3. Find one item or more referenced in the song and photograph yourself with it.

Can I just say way to go YHL because I was beside myself with excitement about this challenge! Jose and I decided that we would see what both of us could find for $20 total. (Instead of spending $20 for each of us) Normally the thrift store is my haven and I find way more things than I necessarily need. However this time was the exception. I think it may have been because we did not have much time. However we did manage to spend some money and this is what we got:

I found this Ann Taylor Loft jacket for 1.99

We also found an old sheet music book for 65 cents

And what I deem the best purchase of the day was the Burgundy Suit Jacket Jose has on in this picture ($3.99)

Like I said we were not having the best of luck thrifting that day but all is well. I went again on Friday and found a dress, 2 shirts, and a skirt for 10 dollars.  Also I would just like to say that our blog has reached 5000 views. I know for most this is not a huge accomplishment but for us (people who are new to blogging regularly) this is HUGE! So thanks family and friends who take the time to read our ramblings. And last but not least the third component of the challenge: 

Jose found a Big A$$ Coat and a telescope

I found a big a$$ pink coat.

What is Happiness?

Happiness: a state of well being and contentment. 

~ Webster's Dictionary

What is happiness? As you can see above is the definition of happiness but what it is really to us? A state of well being and contentment sounds amazing but how often do I actually reach this state? 

These are questions I have been asking myself lately. I know that I am happy in my marriage and my home, but I always seem to be looking past contentment into the great unknown. I am a planner to the core. I make lists about lists and I always had an answer to the question where do you see yourself in 10 years. I know this about myself and I have made countless resolutions to change. To learn to be content and to live in the moment not 10 years from now because reality is that my 10 year plan changes monthly. I think I am scared of contentment because I confuse it with being stagnant and stagnant is not something I want to be. You might even say that's a curse word in my vocabulary. I think this is why I am always planning, always what if-ing my way into a new course of action. 

But not this year! I refuse to spend another year looking forward to 1, 5, or even 10 years from now. I do not want to be the person who looks back on life and regrets that she never did things. Never just lived. I want to relish the unknown while loving the current. So that is what I am going to work on. I am going to work on a true state of happiness with all aspects of my life (marriage, home, career). I know now that happiness does not equal perfection. 

I know I am rambling but this is something I constantly struggle with. I need this resolved and am going to do such. I am going to start by reading Happier at Home by Gretchen Reuben and follow that with her book The Happiness Project. I know this post is sort out of the ordinary but I have been struggling with this lately and needed it out in the open. I needed to confess my lack of contentment to the world in order to start changing it. So thanks for reading and sticking with me.