Our New Bedroom

Last year one of my goals was to re-do our bedroom. 

This is how it has looked for the past 5 years. 

I took these pictures a long time ago. So I apologize for how blurry/grainy they look.

I admit it. I am not good at decorating. 

I've made some mistakes in the past.

I bought our quilt from Pottery Barn. A few months ago the quilt started ripping in several places. That's when I knew I had to take action. By the way, it didn't rip because of poor quality. We've had it a long time, and it was time to make a change.

So with some help from my sister, pinterest, and Christmas money, we re-did our room.

I say 'we,' but all I did was order stuff from the internet. 

Nick did all the hard stuff. 

He moved all the furniture, scraped and painted the ceiling, painted the walls and trim, pulled up carpet and put in new floors. He also hung the TV, and he put in a new fan. 

He did all of this in about 4 days.

He did an amazing job! 

I think it looks fantastic!

Since our room looks and feels more like a 'grown up's room,' it makes me enjoy the rest of my house more. It makes the house feel more complete.

This winter makes 6 years in this house. It was about time our room looked decent.

The stand up lamp in the corner is from my grandmother's house, and I don't want to get rid of it because it reminds me of her. She would have been 91 this month. However, if I find an affordable stand up lamp that I really like, then I'll put this one in another room and put the pretty one in our room.

We are still working on artwork. We will hang this cotton picture somewhere, I'm just not sure where. Any suggestions?

I'm still playing around with the pillows. 

 I bought the curtains from Pottery Barn. The best part about these is that they are also blackout curtains. Our neighbor's carport light can shine right in our room. These curtains help so much! They are the best for a Sunday afternoon nap. 

The white quilt is from Khols. I wanted one from Garrnett Hill, but I got a cheaper one that looked just like the one I wanted. The big linen pillow shams are also from Pottery Barn. 

Nick also braved Ikea on one of his Atlanta work trips to get me the linen duvet cover. The whole bed is so much more comfortable now, and I especially love the duvet cover. 

And my mom found the beautiful rug. It is one of my favorite things in the room. We also recently got this desk from Nick's aunt.

Above our bed I'm getting this picture framed. My good friend Jessica took it last March. 

We took it at our church. I don't think I ever shared the rest of these pictures. I'll try to do it soon. They are so good!

Here are some final before and after comparisons. 

I absolutely love it! 

These guys are enjoying it too!

Up next I'll show you our new closet!

2015 Resolutions

Happy 2015!..... a month later.

I'm excited about 2015! Millie will be 4, James will turn 2, and Nick and I will be 30!! It's scary and exciting at the same time.

I love that my children are growing and getting older so they can enjoy more things in life and eat more than goldfish. On the other hand, it is going by way too fast! Four years old (and 30 years old) sounds so old!

In the past I didn't make resolutions because I was disappointed when I didn't keep them. However, I kept all my resolutions last year! Check out last years goals here.

My goals for 2015.....
(and a few of my favorite 2014 pictures)

1. Pray more intentionally. 

I pray, but a lot of the time I feel like I'm just going through the motions. I pray for family, friends, health, thanksgiving, repentance, but I feel like I could go deeper. I would like to pray for specific people more often, especially those that I know that are struggling with something.

I have also been trying to pray more often.  A lot of the time I'll think of something and say, 'I'll pray for that later.' Then I never do. So when one of those thoughts comes to me, I try to stop and pray right away. A few short prayers are better than none.

Let me know if I can pray for you this year.

2. Lose weight

Last year my goal was to lose 10 pounds. I lost 10 pounds by the summer, and then all through the fall I gained it back, plus some.

Nick was gone for 5 out of 9 weeks (gone every other week) before Christmas. I was also tutoring a few hours a day. Therefore, I had no time to exercise (kid free), and I ate a lot of junk. Chick-fil-a was our treat when daddy was out of town.

So now I'm trying to lose 5-10 pounds again. Mainly because my clothes don't fit. My stomach sticks out, and at times, it looks like I'm a few months pregnant- and I'm not! I know I probably won't ever have flat abs again, but I need to go down a little.

Along with exercise, I'm also trying to be more conscious of what I eat. The app My Fitness Pal helps me track my calories and exercise. It's free. Check it out!.

3. Wardrobe

This coat was a new purchase last year. The other one I wore was about 10 years old.

This was on my list last year, and I did good with buying things I really like and wearing them a lot. But now that I'm a mom of 2 and almost 30, I need some cute and comfortable spring/summer clothes. I'm making this a resolution because I want to make an effort to buy good quality clothes that look good on me instead of a lot cheap clothes that just look O.K. and tear up quickly. I love this lady's fashion. She seems to buy a lot at Nordstrom.

4. Read more. 

I go through reading phases. If I have a good book, then I read constantly until it is over. Nick and I have been in a good habit of reading before bed, and I enjoy that so much more than looking at my phone.

I just finished reading Mrs. Hemingway. It was about all 4 of Ernest Hemingway's wives. It was interesting. Next I'm starting the Little House on the Prairie books, and I'm really excited about it! I will simultaneously be reading Calm My Anxious Heart. Our Bible study at church (Mother-to-Mother) is currently studying it. All of the older mothers say it is a go to book.

5. Clean more/stay organized

Nick will be happy to hear this one! Nick cleans up 90% of the time (and sometimes more)! I am so grateful. Our house has never been dirtier than those weeks he was out of town. I'm trying to pick up in a more timely manner and be more proactive about things like unloading the dishwasher.

I've already slowly been organizing different junk drawers. Next, I'm cleaning out closets. I have trouble finding things because I'm constantly changing locations of certain things. For example, the scotch tape was in the kitchen drawer, then I moved it to the desk in our room, then to the closet with the wrapping paper, then the dining room table. I could never find the tape! So my goal is to find permanent places for particular things to make my life easier.

Under this category I'm including the organization of books, photos, tutoring stuff/office supplies. These things tend to be in the way, and I'm often stuffing them in random places to get them out of the way. We have a lot of books and not all of them need to be displayed. I need to figure out where I should put them all. 

It was hard to narrow down my favorite photos from 2014. 

I would like to get some of these framed and hang them somewhere in my house. 

Any advice on how to keep these goals is welcome!

I hope you and your family have a wonderful 2015! 

 "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11