Good Intentions ...

Been so long since I've had a chance to blog ... guess following through on my new year resolutions is taking more time than I thought it would. Change tends to do that.

I'm sticking with our new eating plan and am starting to see some pounds come off -- 3 to be exact. I know ... it doesn't sound like much (hubby has lost 10 already!) but I know myself and that weight doesn't release willingly from my body so I guess I should be thrilled with the progress. I am ... honestly ... I just wish it was more.

I'm proud to say that I'm still off sugar and dairy ... actually, we haven't had bread in this house for almost 3 weeks. We have realized that the best way to not be tempted to eat stuff we shouldn't is to not have it around! (Such a revelation I know!) So there just aren't any cookies or chips or ice cream or donuts in this house.

We haven't had beef in a couple weeks either. We are trying to drastically limit that and stick with chicken and turkey. Our latest food to go is potatos. We decided they are just too starchy and they're now on the "limited" list as well.

Let's see. I've tried a couple new soup recipes and had some success with that. Will post those soon.

Exercise! I'm sticking with it. Most days I get in a 2 mile DVD with Leslie Sansone. I'm planning to up that in the next week now that I'm pretty well "broken in" ... it's been a question of a time crunch as well. I'm trying to accomplish a lot of things in a limited number of hours each day. Let's face it -- it's not too hard to let exercise fall down a notch or two. LOL.

And I've kept very busy on my business project, hench the time crunch. I'm spending most of my time working on getting that ready to launch. It's taking me more time than I expected (I should know to always allow twice as much time as you think something will take!) and don't know if I'll make my self-imposed February 1st launch, but I've decided that it's just a target and the point is to get there. It's nice to have a goal date but the world won't end if I'm not quite ready at that point. I'm finding there is a lot more research that I need to do than I expected and well, I'd just rather do things right than try to fix things later.

The house is a mess and not really up to my standards (which aren't all that high to begin with!) and I sense that hubby is biting his tongue a bit about my projects being strewn all through the house. I'm trying to get organized as I work through all this. It's been a bit of a challenge trying to get organized and figure out where my best work station is going to be. I'm hoping that will just all kind of work itself out :)

Well, it's 1 a.m. and I think my pillow is calling to me. More updates soon.

Woo Hoo ... Down a Pound!

I know it's just one pound. And the first of many more that need to follow. But this first one is just so ... eeks! ... special!

I'm just saying.

Think I'll Let God Be God

It's always something isn't it? Right now we're trying to figure out what to do about our vehicle predicament. My husband's car has been acting up for a while now and an estimate at the service center told us it would need a new transmission to make it right again -- to the tune of $4950! When we consider that we know it's also likely to need a new fuel pump (about $1000) at some time in the not so distant future, it just doesn't make sense to sink the money into repairing it. After all, it's 7 years old (but only 120,000 miles -- not horrible by today's standards)

So -- we're down to one car at the moment. My car is simply too small for my husband to drive comfortably. He's a big guy! We're trying to decide if we should buy a new car for hubby and keep mine for me or trade mine in and get something bigger -- and go down to one car.

I'm not working so we could certainly get by with one vehicle. For the time being, my husband can manage driving my car (it's just not very comfortable for him.) If need be, I can drive him to work once a week so I can run errands. It would cut the cost of car insurance down and probably save us $$$ on gas as well.

Such a hard decision to make ... I've decided to put it in God's hands and pray for the right choice to become apparent. Maybe there's a jackpot in our future? LOL ... hey, you never know!

So Far, So Good ...

The new eating plan started on Monday and I'm happy to say that so far, so good! I've stuck with it, eaten only healthy food (no sugar!!!) in reasonable portions, reduced the amount of Diet Pepsi I normally drink (the goal there is to wean myself off it and I'm down to one bottle a day!)and I've exercised every day.

Whew! It might not seem like such a big deal but I've struggled with following this eating plan in the past. I think the difference now is I have the support AND partnership of my sweet husband! He's on board and the two of us are determined to be accountable to each other and do our best to take off excess weight.

We have some motivation -- we are planning a trip to Las Vegas in April and the friends we're going with have both recently lost weight and are encouraging us to do the same because they feel so great. And we would really like to be more active this summer -- we'd like to get back into biking and hiking. And this area is just perfect for kayaking, something we've both always wanted to try. However, none of these activities are much fun if you're overweight and don't have the fitness and stamina to keep going.

I'm working towards my career goals as well but am taking it slowly and trying to get the house organized a bit more. I've realized I need to get on a cleaning schedule as well so I have some planning ahead of me to figure out how to fit everything in.

It amazes me how much energy it takes to stay focused on eating right, making time for exercise, and planning it all. I'm hoping (seriously) that this gets easier and just becomes routine within a few weeks.

Off to chop veggies for tonight's stir fry!

Ready, Set, GO!

It is Monday. It is the first Monday of the new year. And for the past couple of days I've been getting ready.

I am set.

And that means it's time to GO!

Yes, I have officially kicked off my new healthy eating plan and lifestyle. I'm excited -- in fact I woke up several times during the night thinking about it. I've been reading blogs and looking at recipes, I've been getting some needed motivation and pumping up my hubby to be excited about this too.

I got up and did a weigh in. Sigh. I reminded myself that I've got to start somewhere. And honestly? I'm down a few pounds from a week or so ago (although I don't know how it happened!) so I really can't complain. Still -- I have a long way to go.

I exercised this morning and on the Fast Walk with Leslie Sansone DVD she talked to a couple women who had lost a lot of weight -- one lost 65 pounds in 7 1/2 months. One lost 100 pounds ... the third had lost 110 (the first 100 in 9 months!) I know they weren't just exercising. They were making healthy food choices and most importantly -- they were sticking to it!

I came out in the kitchen and was pleased to find that their wasn't any bread. There weren't any cookies or potato chips in the pantry. The Christmas candy is gone (well -- there are a few pieces left in a box of Russell Stover's but I'm tossing them) and so are the bagels from the weekend.

There is no junk in the fridge. We have apples, oranges, and bananas. I just made a delicious green smoothie (banana, strawberries, blueberries, and spinach) that I'm drinking while I type this. But the big news is ...

I threw out an entire pan of brownies (and I didn't even sneak a taste before I dumped them in the garbage!)

Now that's progress.

I'm off to grab a shower and then cut up veggies and do some menu planning. I have a "to do" list a mile long that will hopefully keep me out of the kitchen but with the huge salad I'm planning for lunch, I don't think snacking is going to be a problem!

Be on the lookout for some of the new recipes I'm going to be trying and my weekly menu plans!

A New Year, A Fresh Start

I love New Year's Day -- in fact I'd venture to say it's my favorite "holiday". As much as I love Thanksgiving and being with family and the reflection of all that we are blessed with and Christmas, with its emphasis on loving one another and giving, New Year is all about me.

Me, me, me!

While I'm joking about the selfish side of New Year, it actually is the self-help lover's day of renewal. A fresh start ... out with the old, in with the new. And I'm totally into that.

These days even though it's more fashionable NOT to make resolutions (probably because so few follow through) I really do have a lot of goals and aspirations for where I'd like to be at this time next year and let's face it, New Year's is as good a place to start as any.

So with that in mind, I've decided the main areas I'm choosing to focus on in 2011 are HEALTH and CAREER.

When it comes to health, I'm no different than most -- I want and need to lose weight. I want to bring my body back to a state of wellness and fitness. That's going to involve some major lifestyle changes. I've talked about it before on this blog but honestly haven't followed through as I'd like. As much as I'm inclined to, I'm not going to beat myself up about it. My intention is to simply let go of past mistakes and be serious about eating better, getting daily exercise, and taking better care of myself emotionally and mentally as well.

With that said, I'm not starting my "diet" today. I'm still in prep mode at this point. We just arrived home last night from a holiday with our family so I don't have the house stocked with healthy food (or purged of the unhealthy stuff!), meals have yet to be planned or recipes prepared, and the exercise room still needs to be put back together (after the water problems we had before we left.) So it will probably be a Monday, January 3rd start for us (hubby is joining me for the "Healthy in 2011" quest.) My goal for today and tomorrow is to just get ready for Monday!

My career goals are simple as well -- I intend to start an online business (or two, or maybe even three ...) After moving last year I felt as though I'd been given a second chance to think about what I wanted to be doing with my everyday life. My former career path kind of fell apart due to some health concerns and then with moving, I ended up leaving my "rebound" job as I like to think of it that I wasn't really crazy about to begin with.

That leaves me unemployed and at a crossroads. I can either look for a regular J-O-B or I can create my own. I'm leaning towards self-employment since the type of job I'm looking for is rather scarce these days (entry level, few skills required, high paying, and with a very flexible schedule ... yeah ... you don't find a lot of those jobs listed!)

AND -- I have always wanted to be my own boss. I know it probably sounds crazy since it's so much easier to let someone else worry about business details and just be the worker-bee that shows up every day, does whatever is on the daily slate, and has a dependable paycheck directly deposited into the bank every other week. But I've never been one to take the path of least resistance (darn it!)

Now that we're settled into our new house and I've run out of excuses for getting started (company, holidays, etc.) I do have a few areas I'd like to pursue. It's time to get serious about getting one of these business ideas off the ground. If one goes well, I'll expand to another. If the first doesn't pan out, I'll give the next idea a shot.

Either way, I'm going to focus on using my time wisely with prosperity in mind. Between getting healthy and focusing on building a business, I expect that 2011 is going to be VERY busy.

I like busy. I am good when I'm busy. I'm excited about being busy!

So here's to a very healthy and prosperous new year. For me. And I'm hoping for you too!

Christmas Busyness ...

I've been busy ... but not completely with all-things-Christmas. I've been crocheting a lot, making little gifts that I want to give people (and not really intended for Christmas, just because I wanted to do it.) And there have been some errands to run, lunch with friends, and yesterday I spent baking cookies for my sweet hubby to bring in to work.

There have been cards to write and trips to the post office. And phone calls. Lots of phone calls (some to friends and others to figure out why I'm running low on funds in my mom's checking account and trying to make address changes obviously not made when we moved.)

Yesterday was a phone day. I spent 3 hours (yes, 3 as in three) on the phone with an old friend who was feeling kind of down. Truth was, I was feeling a little down too. Sometimes all the merriment of preparing for Christmas can get to you. I'm hoping she felt better when we got off the phone -- I know I did!

One thing that she said that really brightened my day came up when I was relaying a story about how my father had picked up a man stranded in the Blizzard of '77 and drove him as far to his house as the roads would allow. The man didn't really have good protective weather gear on and was going to have to brave the blizzard to make it up the road the rest of the way home. I had recently given my father a scarf I had made -- my first ever crochet project and it seems my father cherished it. He gave the man his scarf but insisted on exchanging contact information and asked that the man return the scarf. When he didn't (in a timely enough manner apparently) my father went to his house and got it!

We laughed about how I was so into crocheting then (I must have been telling her that I had a few projects going now) and I told her that on Thanksgiving my brother had sent me a picture of himself in the woods where he was hunting. I think I had sent him a text wishing him a Happy Turkey Day and encouraging him to stay warm. He replied, "All is well, have hat sis made me." And on his head was a hat I had made him for Christmas some 30 years ago. I couldn't believe he still had it -- and wore it!

Well, my friend then shared that her husband (we've all been friends forever) still wore the hat I made for him some 30 years ago each and every day! She said he often puts it on and says "Thanks Barbie! Warm again today." I was flabbergasted. He still has that hat? Again -- I couldn't believe it.

I guess what struck me is how some gifts stay with us. I'll be honest, I don't remember giving the hats to my brother or our friend. I know that I've made a zillion hats and slippers over the years and liked to give them as gifts. It just really has touched my heart as I'm finding myself getting back into crochet that things I made years ago are still around and still being used!

Now the whole reason I wrote this post was not to talk about crochet or gift giving. It was because I felt guilty not having written anything in the past few days. The truth is that I rather like coming to my blog and seeing the pictures of my Christmas ornaments first thing. They make me happy (I made all the ornaments that are shown in the pictures -- well, except the balls.) I realized I love handmade things and especially like to see handmade things USED year after year.

So for the moment I'm giving up seeing pictures of my Christmas tree on the upper fold of the blog. Maybe later today I'll get a chance to take some pictures of ornaments we've picked up during our travels this year ... they make me happy too!

Moral of the post: Make gifts from the heart and with your hands ... as they bless others you just might find yourself blessed as well. Merry Christmas!

Wordless Wednesday -- The Tree Is Up!!

Winter Day Smoothie

Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but my smoothie's so delightful ...

Yes, even on cold blustery days there is nothing quite as wonderful as a nice cold smoothie to jumpstart my day. Today I mixed it up a bit and mixed tropical with earthy for a truly yummy combination.

Now it might not look like much ... brown is not the color you'd expect for a "green" smoothie but the blueberries and blackberries mix with the green to make a rich brown color -- but let me assure you, it's delicious.

Give it a try when you're in need of a pick-me-up!




Winter Day Smoothie

1 medium banana
1/2 cup chunks of pineapple
1 cup frozen blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries
2 handfuls baby spinach
splash orange juice
1 cup of crushed ice

Start out putting the banana, pineapple and berries into blender and blend to to a smooth consistency. Add the spinach and continue to blend until all ingredients are creamy. Add a splash of orange juice and the ice and blend to a smoothie/milkshake consistency. Pour into a glass and pop in a straw to enjoy!

There Are No Knit Sweaters In My Future ...

I'm trying to learn to knit. Now a pair of wrist warmers may not seem like much of a challenge to most but it represents (to me anyway) hours and hours of focused frustration. LOL.

Seriously.

I got together with a woman I met through the internet (via Meetup Groups) who gave me a few pointers and helped to get me started with this knitting project. I've only done crochet prior to this and to be honest, these wrist warmers represent my second attempt at knitting. I have made a dish cloth prior to this ... which I refuse to use since it's such a prized trophy of my accomplishment! (It's stuffed in a bag under my bed.)

I made so many mistakes the first time around with this that I ended up ripping it out and starting over. In fact, I probably started over at least 10 times. I realized that with crochet, I'm comfortable with what the end result should be -- I have a pretty good sense of how to tweak my stitches if need be, how to detect mistakes early on, and how to rip out only that which needs to be ripped out if it should come to that. With knitting, I don't realize I've made a mistake until it becomes blaringly obvious. I don't know how to fudge to get back on track virtually unnoticed, and I don't know how to rip out and then get the stitches back on the needle without going back to the very beginning.

I wonder how long I'll stick with knitting.

For the moment, I am at least going to try to finish up these simple wrist warmers. I'd like to give them to my mom (maybe for Christmas.) They really are just rectangles of ribbing. The long sides get stitched together next to the wrist and then again above the thumb to make for "fingerless gloves."

Here's what I've got so far. I really do love the colors although the picture doesn't really show it off well. This one is close to being done (maybe another inch or so left to knit before starting on the second one.) I would like to get this project finished up in the next day or so as I've got crochet projects going that I'd also like to finish (and start!)


Note: I used Red Heart Yarn "Aspen Print" medium weight worsted yarn. Size 7 Needles. The pattern was a simple ribbing stitch ... CO 32 (or 38 for a larger hand/wrist) and then K2, P2 across for each row until the desired length is reached.

Wordless Wednesday -- Reflections of Boston at Night

Homemade Chicken Vegetable Soup

With the weather getting colder, there's nothing like a pot of soup on the stove to make you feel all warm and fuzzy (inside and out.) I've been playing around with this recipe for a while now and think I've finally tweaked it enough that it's just the way I like it. My sweet hubby says it's perfect and so I've decided it's time to post it.

I'm going to be trying it "Vegetarian" style next time around -- white beans instead of chicken and low-sodium vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. I might also add some escarole at the end instead of spinach. And actually, I'm not sure if I'll keep the orzo or not since it might be a bit much with the beans. Maybe I'll try it once with beans and once with orzo and see which we like better ... hmmm. Lots of potential variations here!

Anyway, without further ado ...

Homemade Chicken Vegetable Soup

2 – 3 boneless and skinless Chicken breasts (cut into bite-size pieces)
1 teaspoon Olive Oil
4 stalks Celery, sliced on diagonal
1 medium Onion, roughly chopped
4 Carrots, cut in thin slices
1 package sliced Mushrooms, chopped
1 Tablespoon Parsley Flakes
1 teaspoon dried Thyme
1 teaspoon dried Rosemary
½ teaspoon freshly Ground Black Pepper
1 teaspoon Balsamic Vinegar
1 cup Orzo (wheat preferred)
64 ounces Chicken Broth (low-sodium, fat free)

Heat olive oil (or use spray oil) in sauté pan and add chicken, cooking until no longer pink. Remove from heat and set aside.

Place celery, onions, carrots, and mushrooms into a large pot. Add just enough broth to cover. Cover and cook over medium heat until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the remaining broth, spices, and balsamic vinegar. Bring to a boil and add orzo. Cook until pasta is tender and then stir in chicken. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until chicken is heated through.

Serves 6

Notes: I often add a handful of chopped spinach at the end when adding the chicken. Will probably need to add more broth to leftover soup as pasta soaks up the moisture.

My Mom's Stuffing

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and it's going to be a little different for us this year. Instead of hosting and doing the cooking as I have for the past 30 years, I'll be traveling to New York to spend the day with my daughter and mother-in-law (and to visit with my mom who's in a nursing home.) I won't be doing the cooking this year -- I'm leaving that to Wegmans.

While I'm so happy that despite moving to Massachusetts we are still able to be with family on special days, there is one thing I'm really going to miss -- my mom's turkey stuffing. She made it for as long as I can remember and when I took over the cooking duties many years ago, there was never a question as to what kind of stuffing to make.

I still remember mom telling me that she got the recipe from her good friend, Ruthie Kern, when she was a young bride. The recipe was attributed to Ruthie's Great-Grandma Colgrove and mom told me that while we use regular store bought saltines in it these days, back then they actually made the crackers to put in the stuffing.

I thought that since I won't be making this tomorrow, I should at least share the recipe. (I did buy a turkey today to put in the freezer and was thinking maybe I would make this for Christmas Eve ... so all is not lost!) And my son mentioned to me last week that his wife now makes this stuffing as does her mother and all her aunts ... long live Grandma Colgrove!

Mom's Turkey Stuffing

Single batch (enough for small turkey):

1 loaf fresh Bread
1 stack Saltine Crackers
1 medium Onion
2 cups Milk
2 sticks Margarine
Sage
2 Eggs

Double Batch (enough for large turkey):

1 ¾ loaves fresh Bread
2 stacks Saltine Crackers
1 large Onion
3 cups Milk
2 ½ sticks Margarine
Sage
3 Eggs

Cube bread and crumble crackers. Chop onion. Mix together in large bowl and set aside. Meanwhile, heat milk and margarine over low heat in saucepan until margarine is melted and milk is hot. Pour over bread mixture and let stand for 5 minutes. Add sage to taste.

Beat the eggs until fluffy and fold in. If too soupy, add more crackers. If too dry, add another egg. Salt and pepper to taste.

Stuff turkey. If baking stuffing separately, place in greased casserole and cover. Bake at 325 for about one hour.

Wordless Wednesday -- Remembering The Cape

From Down In The Dumps To Smiling Again ...

It seems like I've been on an emotional roller coaster since moving in May. I don't know if it's just been such a stressful year (dealing with the decision of whether to accept the transfer offer my husband received, totally cleaning out our house and then packing and moving) and now that we're finally here and somewhat settled I feel like I can finally exhale ... or what? Whatever the case, suffice it to say I find myself up and down a lot these days.

We've had a lot of company recently and while I love spending time with our friends and family, it can be a little stressful. I'm sure I'm not the only one who finds that when guests are visiting there is a need to be "on" all the time. And that means when the company leaves I'm not only sad to see them go, I'm exhausted. This time it's taken me almost a week to recover!

Anyway, after spending a couple days moping around I feel like I'm bouncing back. I'm diving into a few new projects and interests and I'm excited to be busy.

First -- I just picked up a book from the library that I've been dying to read. It's called Stay and it's written by Allie Larkin who hails from Rochester, New York (my hometown!) I'm told the book has many references to local landmarks (such as my beloved Wegmans) so I'm anticipating some snuggle time by the fire as I devour it.


Second -- I have a new crochet project that I'm very eager to start. My little William LOVES owls (as does his mommy) and I found this great pattern for an Owl Hat at RAKJ Patterns. I went to Michaels this afternoon and picked up all the yarn I'll need to whip it up. I can't wait to get started on it. I might even make a matching hat for his mommy :) All I need now are some measurements to make sure I'm making the right size.


Third -- I also just picked up Liberty! The American Revolution (it's a PBS Video Series DVD set) that we're really looking forward to watching. We've been doing so much exploring of historical sites here in Massachusetts lately that it's piqued my interest in learning more. We've watched a few documentaries on George Washington and Concord, and now I'm hoping this series will kind of tie it all together for us. Very excited about that! (and especially that I was able to get it through our wonderful library system here and didn't have to buy it!)


Well -- that's it for the moment. I'm looking forward to a fun weekend that will start tomorrow when I meet my friend Kay (we went to college together and happily ended up living in the same neck of the woods after all these years!) for lunch.

Things are looking up.

Wordless Wednesday -- I'm A Big Kid Now!

So Much Company ...

Since we've just moved to Massachusetts, we've had a lot of company who've come to see our new place and help us to explore Boston and all the other sweet spots close to us. We're getting down into Fall now and the beautiful leaves are gone and it's starting to turn cold. Still, we had friends come visit last weekend and family here with us since Thursday.

It's been wonderful -- despite a plumbing problem last Sunday morning that left us with water pouring through our first floor bathroom ceiling and, subsequently, some frayed nerves as we waited for the plumbers to arrive with the builder on Monday morning (at 7:20 a.m. no less!) All is well now -- there are repairs still to be done and it will mean having someone in to re-paint but the pipes were good to go before the next round of guests arrived.

Yesterday we spent another day in Boston and visited Quincy Market again. We love it there and it's always fun to go. We went to Dick's Last Resort for lunch and were properly insulted.



And we watched as workmen started putting up the Christmas decorations.




This included a 70 foot tall tree brought in from Nova Scotia. Fascinating to watch that going up and a worker climbing up the boughs and cutting the ropes that kept it all pulled together -- and then watching them fall into place. We're hoping to go next week for the lighting of the tree (we hear the Celtics and some of the Patriots are going to be there so it might be fun) so I'll hold off with pictures until then.

Today is an early Thanksgiving dinner. I was up early getting the stuffing made and the turkey in the oven. We're planning for an early dinner and then a trip into Natick Mall so William can cruise the aisles at Toys R Us and give Grandma and Grandpa lots of fun ideas for gifts!

I love having friends and family visit ... but I'm looking forward to getting back to eating healthy and spending some time with Dave and the pups. We are hoping to decorate the house a bit (we didn't even put a tree up last year as we were trying to get ready to move) and we'd like to see what festivities are going on around us that we can enjoy.

For now, I'm off to enjoy some time with my sweet grandson ...

Wordless Wednesday -- Durgin Park

Time To Make A Home ...

Since moving to Massachusetts, I've found that I need to be my own best friend. I'm grateful, of course, for my husband and the time we are spending together but most of the time, it's just me here with the pups.

It gets a little lonely.

While I won't get into it now, I kind of like being by myself. I like to put on my favorite music and just putter around. However, I waste a lot of time. I could be accomplishing and doing so much more each day.

Today I realized just how true that statement is. I was invited to have lunch with a few of the wives who also moved to Massachusetts when our husbands were transferred here. We all came about the same time. The difference is that they all moved onto the same street in a nice area about 40 minutes from where we decided to live. So they see each other a lot -- they go for walks every day and have had a lot of fun helping each other plant shrubs, put in lawns, and decorate their houses. You get the idea.

Back to how much time I waste ... Reality hit me right between the eyes when I walked into Sandy's front hallway. I was greeted by a beautifully decorated home (I don't mean just pretty -- this place is Better Homes and Gardens gorgeous.) I hope my jaw didn't make too much noise as it dropped to the floor. I knew Sandy liked to shop and had great taste but ... OH. MY. GOODNESS.

I oohed and ahhhed as I got the tour, all the while thinking about how silly I'd been to be so thrilled just to get blinds up on my windows. I still don't have any curtains up. I have barely hung any pictures. And (head hanging in shame ...) I've lived here six months already!

So OK ... I just pushed aside my thoughts of inadequacy and focused on enjoying the company of the ladies as they arrived to have lunch. We laughed and talked about boxes that we still unpacked (I suspect they were being polite ... I'm quite sure I'm the only one with boxes stacked in the extra closets) and then went for a walk before having dessert.

The first stop was the empty house for sale next door. It was fun to go through it. As it turns out it was the same model as Lori's house. As we continued our walk, Lori offered to show me her place ...

So can I say OH. MY. GOODNESS. again? Lori's place is just as fully decorated, just as ... perfect ... as Sandy's. Different decorating styles and taste but equally as lovely. In both cases all the furniture came from their previous homes yet it fit perfectly in their new places -- if I didn't know better I would have thought each piece was purchased for their new home after arriving here.

Again, back to the topic of wasted time. I'm kicking myself a bit, realizing that part of the reason I perhaps don't feel like Massachusetts is "home" yet is because I haven't really allowed it to be. I haven't fully unpacked. I haven't dared to hang pictures on the walls and get out shopping for new pieces that will complete our home. I've hidden behind the "I'm not really sure what I'd like to do with the place" excuse for much too long. In short, I've been wasting a whole lot of time.

It's time to start changing things around a bit. First I'm going to go through each and every box still unpacked and -- you got it -- unpack!

Next I'm going to go through each room, one at a time and make a plan for what I'd like to do with that room. Time to get some color strips, some fabric swatches, and break out the decorating magazines. Time to look through decorating blogs to get some ideas.

It may take a bit but I'm done feeling like a guest in this house. It's time to move in and make it MY home.

While I probably won't be inviting the ladies for lunch at my place anytime soon, I'm hoping that maybe by spring time I'll have the place looking like a home.

Expect to see a few posts that are asking for suggestions and ideas!

Wordless Wednesday -- Stone Wall at the North Bridge