Inspired by Spring

I have been seeing Spring updates everywhere this month! I absolutely love spring. It's my favorite time of the year. Although I haven't made any major spring updates this month, I wanted to share a small part of my home today.

My husband and I bought our first home in February 2014. A little over a year now and the one thing I was really excited and nervous about was decorating the space! I was excited for the obvious reasons... buying new furniture, painting, etc. But I was also nervous for those exact same reasons! I am envious of people who are so good at making a space look so well put together and feel like a million bucks! And bonus points for those who do so on a budget! Someday... I hope I can get to their level, but for now I'd like to share my little attempts at trying to make my home feel a little more inviting and reflection of me and my husband.

Those who know me best know that I can be the most indecisive person in the world! I would like to blame it on the fact that I am a Pisces, but I'm sure that's not the only reason.  When we lived in our little apartment, I was constantly changes things around. And when I thought I was finally 90% happy with exactly how it was... we moved! That's life I guess.

One of the easiest spaces for me to start with was our master bedroom. We had bought new bedroom furniture the year before moving, so the only thing I had to do was buy some new bedding. We had an accent wall in our apartment and I absolutely loved it, but my husband wasn't so keen on doing it again. The accent wall was inspired by the same teal pillow you see below, but for the entire year I was so indecisive that I never found the perfect bedding to do with the decor. So although we had everything else set in the room there was a not so attractive yellow bedding that never made the space feel complete.

After just a month after moving into our new space, I came across a really beautiful printed bedding set. It had accents of the teal that matched perfectly with the pillows and a light green that would compliment our master bathroom decor. The print seemed too busy when I covered the entire bed with it, so I learned this little tip from my friend, V. I folded the comforter in thirds and put it at the edge of the bed. I love how it looks now. So, I have decided to leave the wall alone for now and just added pops of color with the windows and pillows. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of the curtains, but basically my sister in law gave me some sheer teal curtains from ikea that she had bought a while back and never ended up using. I added another layer of neutral curtains on either side of the teal. I'm pretty happy with how clean and simple the turned out.

I think my husband would like to add a few masculine touches, so I do plan on changes things up a bit in the future. For now we both enjoy how relaxed this room makes us feel.

Has Spring inspired you to make any home updates this month? I'd love to know!

Inspired on a R-U-N

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I would by no means consider myself a professional runner or an athlete... but lately I have been running a lot more and I thought it would be nice to share what has inspired and help me increase my endurance.

I have been running on and off throughout my life, but I would typically get tired after about the second mile in. It's always nice to go running with my husband... he usually pushes me to go further and faster. It didn't realize it then, but I definitely think that my running shoes had something to do with it. They were about 8 years old! (yikes!) I am used to wearing my shoes super tight and the sides of my feet would really start to hurt, plus I am not big into shopping for athletic shoes. They just don't appeal to me and I'd much rather spend the money on some pretty heels.

So, this past year our family decided that instead of trying to guess what each other wants for Christmas, we would use the Amazon Wishlist. This was perfect because now I was able to put things on my list that I knew I really needed and wanted, but just couldn't pull the trigger to buy myself. So this past Christmas I actually ended up with two pair of running shoes! After opening all the presents on Christmas day, I immediately put a pair on! They were so colorful and pretty! I had always been afraid of colorful running shoes. I usually stuck to basic neutral colors (grey, black, white). That afternoon weather was really pretty in Texas, so our entire family went for a walk a near by park and I ran/jogged majority of the time. I had tied them a bit looser and  I could tell immediately that I had been wearing the wrong pair of shoes for years!!! 

Soon, I was running 20 minutes about 2-3 times a week and I never actually kept track of my pace or tired to see how far I was going. But little by little, I was running more often and longer. I started thinking about my sister... she is not a runner, but she typically walks fast or does a slow jog for at least 1 hour on most days and of my co-workers had recently been training for a 1/2 marathon. I started to push myself to run longer even if I couldn't run faster. I could never in a million years think that I could run a 1/2, so I started with a goal of a 5k. The weather was also getting better outside and we lived next to a beautiful park, so I downloaded this app - RunKeeper to help me run outside. I like running on a treadmill because I like knowing how far I've come, my pace, etc. I like this app because ever 5 to 10 minutes it would update me on my pace and distance. The coolest thing was that every time I exceeded my goal the app would give me a little treat - these were usually coupons for various health food items! Now, I never really ended up using them, but it was like being a little kid and getting a little something to encourage you! (Everyone likes a little encouragement, am I right?)

The weekend I was suppose to run with my co-worker, we ended up having family from out of town at the last minute! We live pretty far from all of our family so anytime they are in town it's a pretty big deal! Even though I couldn't run with her I ended finishing my own solo 5k in my neighborhood. I believe my time was in between 35-40 minutes. It was a great feeling of accomplishment even though I wasn't able to participate in the actual event. 

And just last weekend, I was there to cheer on another one of my friends as she finish her first half marathon! After watching her run for 2 straight hours, I had all this energy and motivation to run. That afternoon I finished my first 6.25 mile run! Took me 1hr and 10 mins. I have never ran at a steady pace for that long ever before! It's amazing what your body is capable of!

I've signed up for a first official 5K this May with several of my friends. My goal now is to really push myself and work on my pace/time. It's great to be around people who inspire you to do something good for yourself. Trying to get fit and loose weight is always on my to-do list, but I think the reason I enjoy running is because I started it with without any particular fitness goal in mind. It was just something I was inspired to do by the people around me. Running seems more like a hobby now and it's actually quiet relaxing. 

What type of physical activity have you been motivated to pursue?

Inspired on a Pursuit of Happiness

Writing your first blog post can be a pretty difficult task. But as I get older, I'm learning that over analyzing anything too much in your head can keep you from doing what you are really inspired to do. So, I wanted to write about two people that really inspire everyday... my parents.

Now, I was worried that this might sound too cheesy and what not... but it really is the truth. I will touch on how my mother inspires me in future posts, but for today I wanted to write about how my father is always inspiring me to live a happier life through paying a little more attention to the little things around me that truly matter... and ignoring all the big static noise that really doesn't.

He is always sending me inspiring emails and books. To be honest when I was younger after reading about one or two of these emails, they all started to sound the same and ended up deleted before I would even open them. I makes me a bit sad to think about that now. But I guess when you are younger you just feel like "...yea,yea... I know", but you really don't. You can't know until you have lived. You don't know what mistakes to avoid before you make them until you have made a few of your own. But on a random day you stop and realize that even though those emails and books aren't telling you something you don't already know... it's almost like you didn't take the time to acknowledge that you know these things and even less time to actually bother to implement them in your own life.

So, today I'm inspired on a pursuit of happiness.

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Unfortunately, I am not a big reader. While I was in college I always made up an excuse that I have too much reading for my classes, therefore I didn't have time to read other things (what a sorry excuse, I know!). And I have tired to get into reading and at least I can say I have read a handful of books,but in general after about 2 to 4 pages I start to doze off and before I know  it... I'm waking up for an hour long nap! But recently, I have been introduced to the world of Podcasts!

It's the perfect solution for me. Lately, I have been listening to a podcast Happier with Gretchen Rubin.I like that the podcasts are short, very relate-able and the little things she inspires me to implement in my life are super easy. Like the one minute rule, setting a bed alarm (my father has been telling me to do this for years), or not to be afraid to try something new (like this blog ;)). I feel like any positive change I make, no matter how big or small inspire the next step towards my pursuit of happiness.

What inspires you? What are you on a pursuit for?