A few weeks ago a work trip had me off to Panama for a few days. Trevor was going to come along, but the hassles of figuring out travel, work schedules, and kiddo coverage proved too daunting at the time. A few days after we decided he would forego this trip in favor of a long weekend elsewhere with just the two of us, I was out with a couple of girlfriends and I casually lobbed the question, “hey, wanna go to Panama?” I would be in meetings for most of my time there, and it really did seem to be a shame to not have someone along to enjoy the beautiful property. And if I was going to have someone, why not two? The question was a part of larger discussion we were having about just saying “yes” to things we want to do in and with our lives, which at the moment involved everything from savoring time together, enjoying our glass of wine, and doing the unexpected in the future. I was the lucky beneficiary of the last point, when they let me know a few days later that they had jumped on the chance to purchase some last minute tickets and would be coming along with me on the trip.
The meeting schedule and travel times dictated that we arrive a day early, which allowed me to spend the full day with my gals, and that was truly a gift. I wasn’t sure when or if I would see them during the rest of the trip, as I had meetings, meals and excursions planned with the full group.
February 2015 archive
Sale Season
One of the benefits of living in a state where the change of season doesn’t happen in sync with the retail world’s switch from winter to spring is that I can take full advantage of the sales. I can walk right past the linen pants and silk sleeveless tops and head back to the down puffer jackets, now at 70% off. Items that would be a tough sell before (I hardly “need” another winter coat) suddenly become no-brainers when such a steal.
J Crew jacket (on sale) and sweater (old, similar here) | Anthropologie pants (on sale) | UGG Australia booties | Tory Burch handbag | Target watch | Tiffany & Co. sunglasses | kate spade necklaces
(more…)
Scrap Art
We are in the process of changing Ella’s room from a baby girl nursery to little girl’s room. The switch from crib to a twin bed took all of five minutes (she LOVED the idea of her big girl bed), so we are moving on to changing out some of the other furniture items and altering the décor. Luckily, I decorated her nursery in a bit of a non-traditional fashion for a nursery, so the bigger decorative items like drapes and pillows can be used for the next stage. Even so, the costs can add up quickly when redecorating a room, so I was looking for some DIY ideas for new wall décor. I turned once again to the bundle of scrap book paper I have left over from other projects. I purchased the packet for the “Lake Life” sign (link here) and used it again for Ella’s birthday banner (link here) and party décor (link here). I returned to that same stash to put together three very inexpensive art pieces using the larger scraps from the banner for the larger piece of artwork (with triangles) and bits and pieces for the two smaller pieces. Some simple instructions are included below, but the beauty of this project is the flexibility to do what you want. All you need is great looking paper and some inexpensive frames (these are from Ikea and Menards).
(more…)