Office Makeover Progress

The office makeover is going slowly, but it's still going. We've narrowed our paint choices down to three samples and are ready to slap some paint on the walls to see which we like best.  Painting has been the cog in the wheel.  Once we paint we can relocate shelves, remove the built-in desk from the wall and turn it into a stand alone desk with file cabinet legs, figure out the guest bed situation (i.e., air bed, sofa bed, or daybed with trundle), rearrange furniture, make and hang drapes, create a photo collage wall, and add the final touches.  So we still have a lot to do.  In the meantime I have been focusing on organizing the file cabinet and closet and stalking Craigslist for furniture finds (mainly wood file cabinets and daybeds).  The search for pre-loved furniture is proving to be more difficult than I thought (Sigh!), but the hunt continues.

I've also done some organizing of the soon-to-be-relocated shelves and finally framed some of my favorite pictures (the frames, which I bought at Aaron Brothers, are made from reclaimed pallets.  I plan on painting them white eventually) and arranged a shadowbox with some mementos from our honeymoon.  It is amazing the difference a bit of organizing and some sentimental decor can bring to a space.  It is starting to feel more and more like our special space, which is the goal.  I used to keep the door to this room closed because I hated seeing the chaos of clutter.  Now I keep the door open and every time I walk by I get warm fuzzies (sometimes I even do a little happy dance).  I can't wait to see the finished product! 

Making Guava Juice out of Guavas

The New Herb Garden

Growing up, when things didn’t go our way my mom used to sing us kids the famous line from the Rolling Stones song “You don’t always get what you want, but one of these days you might just find you get what you need”.   It pretty much ruined the song for me, but over time, I’ve found that my mom and Mic might actually be on to something.  Case in point.  Last week I decided to prune (and I mean PRUNE) back our guava bush.  I had told my husband I was going to be busting out the pruners, but either he wasn’t listening or he forgot because when he got home from work and saw my handiwork he thought I was trying to cut it down.  So as the wonderful husband that he is, he decided to surprise me and finish the deed for me (Gasp)!  Then he came in the house and asked my son and me to check out his work.  I’m pretty sure I had a look of horror or on my face when I saw the sad remains of the tree.  That look was quickly followed by the “What did you do?” look.  Rapidly followed by my husbands, “Uh Oh, what did I do?” look.  And we both realized that the poor guava tree had suffered from our failure to communicate.  The whole situations made me want to cry and laugh at the same time. 

At that point the deed was done and we both felt bad.  So we decided to do the only thing you can do in that situation, make guava juice out of guavas.  We have a mandarin tree in our back yard that has been living in a half wine barrel for the last six years.  I have wanted to plant it, but never could come up with a good spot for it in our yard.  Well, it was the mandarin tree’s lucky day…a space had just opened up.  So the next day my husband dug up the remaining portion of the guava bush and we planted the mandarin tree in its place.  Then I created an herb garden (the though of making my own herb de provence makes me swoon and my mouth water) in the vacated half wine barrel.  Viola, guava juice out of guavas.  Now it makes me smile every time I walk by the orange tree happily planted in the ground and the awesome herb garden starting growing in the barrel.  So you see, it is sometimes true that you don’t always get what you want, but you just might find…you get what you need (although I’m not so sure the guava bush would agree)!

A Train Ride Through Paradise

Somewhere along the Gaviota Coast

March was a crazy month for us. I had work trips on two consecutive weeks and the following week my husband was out of town for a conference.  The upsides were that I was able to stop and visit my parents (first time I've had them all to myself in at least five years) prior to one of my work trips and while my husband was away I was able to spend some great quality one-on-one time with my son.

To cap off our mother-son week by taking the train up the coast to meet my husband at his conference in San Luis Obisbo since my son LOVES trains and I've never actually taken the train up the California coast.  I've seen this stretch of coastline by boat and car, but I had my face glued to the window like a kid the entire way.  The picture above (taken through the hazy train window) was my favorite.  I love the rugged coastline and the yellow pops of color.  The beauty of nature never ceases to take my breath away and give me perspective.  It's easy to get caught up in the minutia of the day-to-day and forget about the beauty that surrounds us.  I started our train ride tired but returned from our trip relaxed and refreshed.

What places, people, or things inspire you and give you perspective?