Thankful Thursday #16

Life has been a whirlwind, let me tell you.

Almost two weeks ago, I got an email out of the blue that my landlord and his wife wanted to move back into the house I’m renting, ideally when my lease ends in mid-March. Considering I’d been planning to renew the lease, I don’t think shock could even begin to describe my reaction (and thank goodness I was with the middle when I got the news…).

Panic set in pretty quickly. Will I be able to find a rental that allows a large dog? Is wanting a house with a fenced-in backyard too much to ask? Can I find it within a month? Is buying a house even an option, financially (and also emotionally) within such a short time frame?

As a Type A control freak, my mind was on overload. I was constantly scouring countless websites and driving myself crazy with pro-con lists and budgets.

But today I’m thankful for a couple of things.

One, I could not be more grateful for the support I received right off the bat. Two of my co-workers offered up their basements for me and Hurley, and a handful of people sent me contact information for realtors and put feelers out with people they knew had rental properties. The number of times people said “we will find you something” made me feel like I wasn’t navigating this on my own (and that they’ve grown fond of me in the 10 months I’ve been there). And I don’t even want to count the number of emails/texts the middle fielded with links and “thoughts on this??” questions.

The second thing I’m grateful for, though, is that tonight I signed a lease for a new rental house. It’s slightly bigger than the house I’m in now with even more character and charm (the middle swooned, so I figured I probably couldn’t go wrong with it). And my new landlord is going to put in a fence for Hurley. That, among other things, means it meets nearly all my criteria. How lucky am I?!

And through it all, I’m even more in love with my dog (if that was even possible…). It definitely created a pretty large barrier having to find a place that would take a 65-pound (but housebroken and well trained) dog. But wherever I go, Hurley Bear goes. That’s a non-negotiable in my book. I love being this furbaby’s mama.

I’m not looking forward to the actual packing and moving part (especially considering I was just doing this a year ago and love my current place) but I’m incredibly thankful it all worked out — and relatively quickly, too! Besides, home is where your dog is, right?

Intentional Monday

In the last few weeks I’ve saved snippets from articles I’ve come across, hoping that somehow I can better piece together a game plan for how to live with intention. It sounds great in theory, but how is it actually put into practice? (And googling that was too overwhelming, so somehow it seemed much easier to just copy and paste things as they captured my attention or resonated with my goals.)

A friend sent me this article about living too small a few days ago, and it brought more than one “a-ha!” moment. It especially reaffirmed my decision to focus on intentional living, particularly after spending a year daring myself.

I’m guilty of nearly all five of the points listed in the article. In particular, I’m really great at focusing on the little things instead of pouring my energy into the big things in life (#3). A day where I can check 10 things off my to-do list seems more productive and fulfilling (on paper, anyway) than a day focused on one big goal or even something I value (like reading). And it should be no surprise that I typically plan more than I produce (#5).

Hopefully half the battle is recognizing that I’m more apt to limit myself in those ways. Being intentional, at least for me, means being more conscious about breaking those limiting behaviors so that I can have more gusto in life. How can I live my life in such a way that I have a healthy social life, get more connected to the community and feel as though I’m making a difference?

And really, I got that concept from another article (one that gave me further incentive to read “Man’s Search for Meaning”).

Frankl’s thoughts inspired me to begin to structuring my life differently. I woke up every day and identified a few projects that needed my attention and made a to-do list for each. I quickly began to realize we weren’t meant to sit around and wait for life to happen. We were meant to chase a worthy pursuit.

I also began to pay more attention to my relationships. I stopped looking to “join a community” and created one of my own. I walked away from unhealthy relationships and started spending more time with people who were non-judgmental, kind, supportive and loving.

The first part of that quote was reiterated in another blog post from Jeff Goins that caught my attention a few days later. In fact, within minutes I sent it to my co-worker and said we should incorporate some of the suggestions about being proactive rather than reactive.

A simple way for you to stop being busy doing so many things and start focusing on the most important things is for you to regain control of your schedule. The fruit of such a decision can be nothing short of life-changing.

When you start making your schedule work for you instead of the other way around, you begin to focus on what matters most. And you leave the rest in the “someday” category. It can feel pretty liberating.

So let’s go back to my days at the nonprofit and how I regained control of my day-to-day. There were a few things I did, but in a nutshell, I stopped reacting to my day and instead starting attacking it with intention.

I’m guilty of being a creature of habit. I often live by my outlook calendar at work, my googledoc schedule and to-do lists. Within those activities, am I best utilizing my time, skills and energy? Do I run my day or does my day run me? And does it allow me room to explore and focus on the larger goals I have for myself?

To get started with intentional living, one of my goals for the month is to take a closer look at my schedule and start answering those questions. I’ll also be using my nifty journal to track my should statements and general thoughts that might come out of that. I’m not sure if it will produce anything useful, but like I said, I’m hoping that half the battle is just recognizing it and taking a deeper at how I’m living.

Let’s hope I can attack this Monday morning with intention instead of habit!

A daring year

It’s hard to believe that 2014 is coming to an end. I’ve been reflecting a lot on where I was last year compared to this year, and I honestly don’t think I could have picked a better word/theme for my year. In fact, I’m almost sad to see it go. Maybe that’s why it only seemed fitting to have one last daring act — chopping my hair.

I was hoping for something a bit more meaningful or truly daring to end the year with a bang, but for those who know my history with the terrible haircut circa 2009 (I called the little and cried because it looked like a mullet…), this is pretty big. I mean, we’re talking nearly 7 inches off the back. The fact that I legitimately love it is the cherry on top of my year.

Truth be told, I wasn’t sure what 2014 was going to hold for me. Last year was a struggle. All I really knew was that I needed a change. And I can still vividly remember having the song that inspired the word daring come up on my iPod as I was driving to Lincoln for a night with the sisters before heading home for the holidays. I needed something to snap me out of the funk that I’d been in for the latter part of 2013.

“It’s me talking to myself and I think a lot of times I feel stagnant and stuck in the same place,” says Jon. “And ‘Dare You to Move’ is kind of a song for myself to get me up and get me moving and tackling a new part of life.”

Daring was what I needed.

A few months ago I came across an article (and I’m so glad I copied this since the link doesn’t work anymore!) about overcoming obstacles. This particular passage seemed to best capture my sentiments:

My point is, shit happens. Randomly. But here’s an amazing human capacity: We can use virtually any experience as a catalyst for hopelessness or growth. We can see the world as if everything is meaningless or as if everything is meaningful. Each of these positions is equally untestable. So we get to choose.

Many came to say their “bad luck” helped them find strength and resilience they didn’t know they had. They seemed genuinely joyful, transformed in real, measurable ways by terrible mischances. But this positive outcome never happens by accident. Turning a culpa into something felix is a deliberate act of focused attention.

That’s what my year of daring became. It took hard work and deliberate action to usher in a new part of life, to get myself unstuck. It wasn’t always rainbows and sunshine, but underneath even the bad days or experiences, there was genuine joy. I mean, how could there not be when I come home to a furbaby?! And such a handsome one at that!

I’ll be blogging more about how all of this translates into my theme for 2015 (as if there was any doubt that I would…), but somehow it seemed appropriate to start that transition today. Tonight the little flies in and we get to have a sisters night in Lincoln before heading home for the holidays. And unlike last year, I’ll already be in Lincoln, comfortable in my cute rental house with Hurley after spending a day at work talking about evaluation and chronic disease prevention. Even though this has been my life for eight months, it still blows my mind.

Daring is definitely what I needed.

Blogging briefs

I’ve been torn about how much to blog about my #intentionalblogging challenge. It’s been helpful, though I’m not sure how interesting it is for my readers (not that blogging for 21 straight days would have been all that interesting either…). I figured a middle ground would be to write a brief synopsis of what I’ve done and discovered throughout this process.

Day 2: Subject, Theme & Objective

For this we were supposed to drill down our subject (what you blog about), theme (your specific area of focus) and objective (what you want to accomplish). This is something I’ve struggled with for awhile and will probably continue to do so. I’d say I primarily blog about my life as a twentysomething and what I’m doing (DIY projects, 30 Before 30, reading, cooking) to enhance it and/or find more meaning. Worded like that, it seems like an incredibly tall order. It also doesn’t seem very specific, but I think I’m able to strike a good balance in the range of topics I cover and how I present it.

The objective is admittedly a bit selfish. I’m a firm subscriber to the belief that “I never know what I think about something until I write about it.” My journal allows my to have a more stream-of-conscious, emotional outpouring of what I’m going through at that particular time. With blogging, though, I’m able to distill information and see the bigger picture. What did I take from a particular book or article? What goals am I working on and why? What lessons have I learned?

Through all of that, I hope to connect with and inspire others. Maybe not through specific actions, goals or advice, but rather through the encouragement to think about the big picture. What does “the good life” encompass? I’m also a firm believer that well done is better than well said. I don’t just want to talk about great plans I have for my life. I want to actually show people how I’ve been able to move forward, overcome obstacles and what my sources of inspiration were throughout the process. I guess it’s my small way of dabbling into life coaching, blog style.

Day 3: Finding my Voice

This was another one of those exercises where I read the challenge and I wanted to blow it off. But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Is the message/voice I’m hoping to portray actually coming across as that? My response rate (nerd alert) wasn’t terribly high so I probably didn’t get the full impact of it, but I still appreciate the concept. I was supposed to ask five people to describe me and/or my writing, then write something that embodies what people have said.

Like I said, my response rate was low. But given those responses and also conversations I’ve had throughout the years with people about my blog, it seems to be a genuine depiction of who I am. I talk about the things I love and the things that inspire me with humor and (supposedly) a natural flow of conversation. And really, that’s what I strive to do.

I want my blog to be a conversation. Unbeknownst to me until I was part of the leadership institute, one of the things I value in my own life is approachability. On a professional or personal level (so whether we’re talking evaluation concepts or DIY projects) I want people to see me as approachable. That’s something I hope my blog embodies — a sense of genuine conversation and connection. Hopefully the actual writing portrays that, but if not, I feel like I’m on the right track now that I’ve discovered more clearly what I want my blog and message to be about.

Day 4: Why Blog? 

I lucked out in some ways because the launch of my blog was part of a Juneathon challenge. For thirty days I was supposed to run (or do some form of physical activity, since running wasn’t — and still isn’t — my thing) and then blog about it. That’s probably how I started to develop the mindset that a blog was a way to hold myself accountable.

As that wrapped up, the blog became a way to capture that transition from school to the “real world.” Without school and extra-curricular activities dominating my life, where was I going to focus my energy? What were my hobbies and interests? Based on other books and blogs I’ve read about the twentysomething experience, I’m not alone in that search and that identity struggle. Blogging was a way to feel like I had a roadmap and was making progress in something.

Now I think I blog to promote intentional living — striving to find that myself and encouraging others to do the same. How am I going about creating the type of life that I want? What does the good life mean to me? It also captures the ups and downs of that search. I’m not an expert and don’t claim to have all the answers. My blog helps keep me humble and, as I discovered through the day 3 activity, allows me to relate to others.

Like I said, it’s a tall order, but that’s where my interests seem to fall and writing about those topics comes naturally to me. And let me tell you, it’s a heck of a lot easier and more fun to write this than research papers (though I suppose I still do a variation of those from time to time…).

Day 5: Break from Writing

This was very needed, especially given I was in the car for a good four hours. We were also challenged to post comments on five other blogs. Connecting with the blogging community is a bit outside of my comfort zone, so this was a good challenge. I probably didn’t total five comments, but I did visit a dozen or so new blogs.

Day 6: Blog a List

That will be forthcoming. I’ll confess I’m cheating a bit with the list, but it very much holds true to what I blog about and has been a staple feature for about a year now. (Any guesses on what this list is?!)

This #intentionalblogging challenge has definitely been a bit more challenging than I envisioned, but it’s also been incredibly helpful. Lots of introspection, primarily done during the writing of this very post (so maybe it is a good thing I decided to create a brief synopsis of how the challenge has been going). One week down, two more to go!

About DakotaLizzie

My fears were correct in that I apparently didn’t fully understand the #intentionalblogging challenge. Instead of blogging for 21 straight days, participants are challenged to focus on one specific thing on their blog each day to enhance it. Day 1 focused on the about me page.

My initial reaction this morning was, “eh, who cares?”

But the more I thought about it, the more sense it made. I thought about the 171 (now 172) followers and the fact that I only know maybe two dozen of them in real life. It makes sense if I’m bearing my soul on my blog, I may as well give a little background and biographical information.

Enter the About DakotaLizzie page. It’s very much still a work in progress, but Rome wasn’t built in a day. The theme I’ve selected in wordpress isn’t making it easy to make the page link clearly accessible (like scroll to the very bottom of the page and in the right corner you’ll see a drop down menu that will allow you to get there…). Regardless, it’s there and I’m feeling really good about it.

If I’m going to be intentional about my blogging, it may as well be about the whole thing, right?

Another #challenge

I think I’ve reached a new level of crazy. Just last night, I signed up for yet another social media-esque challenge.

For the past 83 days, I’ve continued the #100fitdays challenge on Instagram. I blogged after starting it that I wasn’t sure I would stick with it. As the days went on, though, it became increasingly harder to just stop. “I’m already at day 43. Why stop now?!” I can’t say it’s had the effect I wanted it to when I signed up for the challenge, but I’m oddly glad I stuck with it.

The other challenge has been less daunting time-wise, thankfully. Prompted by the little, I decided to do the #30DayBookChallange on twitter. I haven’t been as diligent about that, primarily because it’s hard for me to commit to favorite books. It’s even harder when I haven’t read much fiction in the last couple years, making it difficult to select a favorite male character, for instance. But I’m 8 days away from wrapping up that challenge.

Perhaps being in the final stretch of both challenges is what prompted me to take on a new one. I think it will bring a bit more meaning and accountability than #100fitdays, or at least I hope it will. It may even be more enjoyable for my followers, too.

Starting this week I’m taking on the #intentionalblogging challenge (I have to confess I’m over the hashtags, though). Essentially I’m striving to blog for 21 days in a row this month (at least that’s the gist I picked up from the website. I’ve been seeing different descriptions from comments on the facebook group dedicated to the challenge, so we’ll see…).

I can’t quite tell you what prompted me to hit submit with my blog information. Many bloggers, including the guy who created the challenge, are writers. They often use blogging as a way to become more disciplined in their work and to practice their craft. That’s not necessarily the case for me (and not because I’m scared of the word writer or wouldn’t classify myself as such). What is true for me, though, is what the challenger also found through his blogging experience:

I started writing with greater clarity, understanding myself and what I wanted out of life, and ended up changing some people’s lives in the process.

That’s why I blog. I write for me, and also for the off-chance that one of my 171 followers (only two dozen or so of them I actually know) connect with what I’m saying, either because it resonates with them or creates the “a-ha!” moments I love so much.

In some ways I feel like my blog is the truest sense of myself, at least the introspective part. Not only that, but there’s also an accountability piece that I likely wouldn’t have otherwise. I could easily write down my 30 Before 30 list in a journal or craft something onto scrapbooking paper. But then I could guarantee you I’d have a much less chance of success with it.

Blogging has somehow become more than just a hobby for me. With all my traveling and random events going on in September, I missed having that forum. It’s time to dedicate more time to it, if only for my own sanity. Plus (speaking of that 30 Before 30 list) this will help me meet my larger goal of hitting 500 blog posts (only 62 to go after this post!).

Maybe all of this was subconsciously going through my mind when I decided to sign up for the challenge. We’ll just have to see what those 21 days hold. I’m sure a few days into it I’ll feel like I’ve got no original content or inspiration, but that’s when you have to dig deep. And with my year of daring myself, I am no stranger to that!

Beauty in Books #6

I promise the lack of Beauty in Book posts doesn’t mean I’m not reading. Some books haven’t warranted a full post, and I’ve got another two on deck to write posts about in the near future. Sometimes there just aren’t enough hours in the day…

Thankfully, my travels last week gave me solid, uninterrupted blocks of time to read (one of the perks of flying). I started The In-Between on my second flight to Atlanta and finished it on the way back. It’s been a bit strange reading writers who fall in the same pack, if you will. The forward was written by an author I’d read recently, the book was mentioned in Packing Light. It’s like they’ve got their own writing clique of sorts.

But that’s neither here nor there, other than to say they deliver similar messages. I don’t know if it’s because my life has calmed down pretty substantially on an emotional front and I’m more open to the message or if the universe is trying to tell me something.

Regardless, it’s a message I didn’t mind hearing again.

Just this morning, I opened my laptop to check email, and as my messages began to download, I opened a web browser. While that loaded, I checked Twitter on my phone. Incapable of wasting a single second, to simply sit still and soak in my surroundings, I must always do something. I must squeeze the most out of every moment, unaware that this leaves little left to savor. I blame TV for what it’s done to my brain, the Internet for how it’s made me impatient. But the truth is, I’m the one who chooses to be restless, the one who gives in to temptations to find the next thrill, while refusing the joy of what’s in front of me. (pg. 25)

I’m pretty sure I’ve written about this concept before (and probably will again…). I think what helped is that I was traveling, thus giving me an opportunity to put it into practice. Instead of pulling out my phone while waiting for another session to start or while the cab driver was taking us to our next location, I observed. I looked a beautiful buildings, brightly colored trees and a variety of people. I took in the sights and sounds, reminding myself of how fortunate I am (did I mention my career fangirl moment?!).

My hope is that this appreciation and stillness, for lack of a better word, can carry over into my everyday life. I wrote just a couple days ago that finally my life had some sense of normalcy. But what do I find myself doing? Trying to find new community education classes to enroll in, reaching out to new organizations for volunteer opportunities (more on that in another post) and scouring the meetup group website to see if any social outings catch my eye.

I feel like I need to constantly be making the most of my time and on the go, not realizing that sometimes the best use of my time is slowing down.

A life filled with movement, with constant motion and no rest stops, isn’t a life at all. It’s tourism. Life’s mundane moments – ordinary times of TV-watching and breakfast-eating – can be embraced as a slow, deliberate, beautiful way of life if we pay attention and see what’s really there. (pg. 39)

I love that concept, in part because it’s so true. Granted, I’m still going to chase those thrills and attempt to make the most of each day and week. And that’s okay. Essentially the concept of the in-between was to realize and, perhaps more importantly, be okay with the times when it feels like life isn’t progressing – at least not in the way you might want it to or at the pace you want. It will eventually. Change is inevitable, and those pauses in life allow us to catch our breath.

Last fall and winter I was smack dab in the middle of that in-between stage. I felt stuck, frustrated and despite every attempt at making progress, nothing changed. But let me tell you, it’s a hell of a time for some good self-reflection and introspection. Fast forward not even a year, and my mundane moments of reading while Hurley snoozes next to me is as beautiful as life gets.

As enticing as it may seem at times, I don’t want a life filled with constant movement. I read this book at a good time in that it reminded me that I don’t have to be a tourist in Lincoln. I don’t have to pack my schedule full of social activities, networking functions, volunteer opportunities and more. I can just enjoy this new in-between stage of sorts and take things as they come. It might not be at the pace I normally like to go in life (read: top speed), but at least this way I get to better appreciate all the beauty and joy around me.

New challenge

From the moment my old kickboxing/spinning instructor posted this link for #100fitdays on facebook, I knew I had to commit. How could I not?

The question was which venue. I didn’t want to constantly be posting on Facebook and I didn’t necessarily want a public Twitter account (I feel like I get a ton of spam follower requests there).

In came Instagram. I’d already been toying with the idea of getting it since one of my co-workers raves about it. Why not test the waters with the app with this challenge?

What primarily attracted me to #100fitdays is that it’s focused on making one healthy choice each day. Often times I feel like I get overwhelmed when I think about living a healthy lifestyle — avoid too much Diet Coke, make sure to get in a hard/good workout, eat three healthy meals, drink plenty of water. The list can be never-ending for a Type A overachiever like myself. It’s exhausting and somewhat defeating.

And not that I won’t strive to do most of those things on a daily basis, but I think the beauty (at least for me) is that with this challenge, I can focus on one “win” each day. Maybe I get in eight full hours of sleep on a work night. Perhaps I try a new workout class or a super healthy recipe. The little successes add up, and I also think it helps build momentum to keep making those healthy choices day in and day out.

It may get redundant to post a photo each day, but I’m hoping that’s an accountability piece that I don’t necessary have right now. And if nothing else, it’ll be a good venue to post even more photos of my yellow labrador and his BFFL (best friends for life) Mocha. They’re just too cute!

Feel free to follow along my #100fitdays journey with the icon below. Or just check out the dog photos. He already helped me with Day 1.

Wednesday whirlwind

I just have to say, I rocked Wednesday night.

Within minutes of getting home, I had Hurley out the door for a walk. We got back with just enough time for me to try a new meal, which I finished about ten minutes before heading out the door for a meetup group event — a big undertaking for an introvert like myself.

For dinner I decided to try a new black bean burger and nixed the bun, as this recipe did. I added mushrooms since I had extra on hand and love them, but I was very conscious about making sure I stuck to the recipe so that it stayed entact while it was cooking. More often than not, I end up destroying black bean burgers to the point where only one or two look presentable…

Thankfully that wasn’t the case with these. It’s possible I may have my food processor to thank for that. Not only did it really speed up the dicing, smashing and mixing process, it also made for a better consistency than I’ve had in making the could because I got to use a food process this time, which really speeded up the mixing and dicing process.

Although I was tempted to try the rice listed with the black bean burger, I opted for something a little more unique. This garlic mushroom quinoa almost seemed like a risotto that would hopefully pair well with the burger. It was a bit difficult to time this with the burgers, but that was the only hiccup with it. I really liked that it didn’t use chicken broth or cream of chicken and still had tons of flavor. Adding the peas probably had something to do with that, and I probably used slightly more parmesan cheese than the recipe called for (but can you blame me?).

I also lucked out in that it made great portion sizes for my remaining leftovers. (Since I’ve made variations of both dishes before, I didn’t bother getting photos of them individually.)

It’s hard for me to decide how much I liked it as a meal, primarily because I was over the moon with my sweet potato quinoa chili. I’d definitely make the black bean burgers again (next time with buns) since they stayed in burger form. Something tells me Hurley wouldn’t be opposed to it either (because how could I not let him try it with that cute little face?).

What’s funny is that before going to bed, there was a chapter in the book I’m reading that essentially explained how my evening went…and why I don’t want that to become my mode of living, no matter how productive and successful I felt:

“I love it when a day’s activities stack up on top of each other perfectly, from breakfast to work to lunch to grocery shopping to coffee, all the way through till I fall into bed. … Or really, I love the idea of that way of living, so I sign myself up for it every chance I get. And then I realize in the moment that it isn’t what I wanted at all. After a while, I’m frantic and tired and not really listening when people are talking.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. But more on that in a few days when I finish reading Bittersweet.

A pop of color and lots of squats

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind, to say the least. I finished up with my previous job, and literally 24 hours later we were closing the back of the rental truck to hit the road. Thankfully I’d given myself a week off to decompress and unpack before I jumped into a new job.

Two minor problems with that. One, I’m not good at sitting idle (even the guy giving me the tour at my potential gym laughed that I was already gym shopping just three days after moving). Two, I’m a nester. Any free time means I’m trying to find ways to make my new place feel more like home.

By the second day, I was feeling uneasy about my “entertainment center” (if you can even call my old coffee table that). I deserted my old one in the move knowing I wanted to refurbish a dresser (and there wasn’t much room to spare in the rental truck…).

While I knew I would find a replacement piece in the near future, it was driving me crazy. That was the one area of my living room that didn’t look at least somewhat put together. Actually, it looked more like I just moved into my first apartment, and I hated that feeling (in part because I’ve been living in non-student housing for eight years now).

Finding an entertainment center became my number one priority. Friday afternoon the middle and I went to the EcoStore to scope out some options. Right when we walked in, we saw my new addition. And in the $5 section, no less. Five dollars!

What’s even more fitting is that it looks eerily similar to the entertainment center the middle upgraded just a few years ago (and thank goodness she already knew what she was doing!) before turning it into a wine rack.

We followed the same process to give it a makeover — sand it (takes about an hour), prime it (took a couple hours) and finally paint it.

I do need to throw in a plug for our newest investment. The middle, having been through this before, thought we should consider getting a paint sprayer. I am here to tell you that it is well worth the investment! Although it wasn’t effective in that there’s one sprayer and two of us, it allowed us to alternate (believe me, you need a break after all the squatting…). Plus it seemed to be much more cost effective in terms of the paint. The whole entertainment center took half a gallon of paint for three coats, whereas when the middle did hers, it took a full gallon.

About 27 hours later, the project was complete (albeit the assembly took a bit longer than we anticipated. It’s slightly harder when the pieces aren’t marked and you have three sets of two nearly identical pieces…). But look at the difference a little paint and a new door knob make!

I should probably explain the color choice a bit. The inspiration for this project actually came from one of this middle’s friends. She has a pink dresser-turned-entertainment-center that I fell in love with, and for some reason I couldn’t shake the idea of having a pink piece of furniture. And color was something I was in need of for that side of the room. Because of the texture of the wall behind my TV, I can’t hang any photos or canvases. In addition to wanting something that popped, I needed something to match the purple circle canvas I made almost a year ago now. This turned out to be the perfect complement.

What used to be an eyesore for me is now my favorite part of the living room! I just wish the photos did it justice…