A little dose of change

Most of us are afraid of change. But, I believe it's the fear of change that paralyzes us when it could be the very thing we need to propel us forward.


Our kitchen has been decorated the same way for over 5 years. We have had plans to do a big renovation on our home, but now that I am staying at home with the kids, these plans have taken a hiatus. In the meantime, I've been daily using a room that I have fallen out of love with because it no longer defines who I am yet I have been too afraid to change anything about it. 


In Susan Jeffers' book entitled Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway, she states, "Angels fly because they take themselves lightly...It constantly reminds me that you can drop an awful lot of excess baggage if you learn to play with life instead of fight it." 


Jeffers challenges the reader by saying that we can bring more power into our life by expanding our comfort zone. I mean, why do we keep our rooms the same exact way for years? Yup, its comfortable and the thought of having something "out of place" makes us feel uneasy. 


I'd been living in a room that I was unhappy with yet I was fearful of making any changes to it because, "what if I don't end up liking it?", "I'm not sure I'll have enough time to see it through", or "We're going to be renovating it down the road anyway." But, wait. This is what my little happies project is all about. Learning to relish the things that bring me joy. And, if the room ain't bringing me joy,  it ain't worth keeping it that way!!


Although I knew I didn't want to spend a lot of money on changing the room, one thing I did know for sure:  I wanted this room to reflect family whereas it had been defining the style of a married couple with no kids.


So, with the focus of my family on the brain I decided to sit down and type all of the words that came to mind with what I envisioned this area of our house becoming. After reviewing the words I came up with, there was only one way to title this soon-to-be-loved-like-no-other area of our house: LIVEing room because I realized, this room was meant for just that! LIVING!


I began taking some baby steps of change. I removed the country-style window pane doors from the kitchen cabinets. (I wish I had a before picture but, trust me, country.) Cost? Free! 


Ahhhh, it felt fresh....like opening up your front door to welcome a nice, summer breeze. I proceeded to purge these shelves of what we didn't need and lined them with the dishes we loved. Not a huge endeavor but it was a start and it made me feel good!

A couple of months later while out shopping with my mom (note: do not shop with this woman if you are on a budget because she can make you see the importance of buying a tchotchke like buying an umbrella for a rain storm!) I came across this gorgeous comforter at Home Goods and, at that very moment I knew that this was going to be the focal point of our LIVEing room. The colors made me feel energetic, fun, love, family, gathering, and like a big ole' plate full of yummy delicious fried chicken with a side of rich, chocolate frosted cake. THIS was made for our kitchen and LIVEing room. Cost: $49.99. (And, yes honey, this IS a good deal).

(You may laugh at my new comforter turned tablecloth but it's

highly indestructible + kids = just throw it in the wash & a happy Mommy)

(The new table covering even matched

my Greek key covered chairs and woven rug!)

I needed to tie in the comforter colors to the kitchen. I was really feeling pink.  I ran down to the basement to dig out some fun wrapping paper I bought at Hallmark over the holidays. My mom and I proceeded to line the shelves with it. I wanted something to modernize the floral design so I ordered some fun pink and white Chevron material from etsy. Total cost for everything? $10 and I love it!

While I was busy snapping photos of my cabinets,

Emerson was watching. (And looking a little Nick Nolte).

I am totally, hopelessly in love with photos. I treasure being surrounded with the faces of people I know and love. Just a quick look at one will bring me a rush of warm feelings and memories.

I wanted to shake it up a bit with our photos having been inspired by the recent trend in salon style photo arranging so I went from this.....

(Look at my little guy in his Daddy's old childhood chair. 

I could eat him up!)

...to this....

....and this....

(Yes, I know some are hung cock-eyed, but

we're going to fix that...)

So, in addition to a few 100 other projects I'm working on, I'm continuing to play with ideas for our LIVEing room and would love any input or ideas you have. In the meantime, guess what trend-forecasters just named as the it color for Spring 2011? Yup, pink. (I may not be rockin' my fashion director role anymore but I think I still got it. I'm just sayin'....)

"Change always comes bearing gifts." - Price Pritchett