Happiness is…

“So often we get caught up in the illusion that there is something just beyond our reach that would bring us happiness: a better family situation, a better financial situation, or the end of a challenging trial.”

No doubt, happiness is a fascinating concept. I frequently assess my happiness in life, and realized there are definitely times when I am happier than others. So what makes me happy? What does happiness entail? Who does it favor? What keeps us from it?

Happiness favors those who seek it. Too simple? No, we just overcomplicate it.

“No matter our circumstances, no matter our challenges or trials, there is something in each day to embrace and cherish. There is something in each day that can bring gratitude and joy if only we will see and appreciate it. Perhaps we should be looking less with our eyes and more with our hearts.”

I’ve decided to begin “Happiness is…” posts in order to help me count my blessings. After all, my life is wonderful (notice I didn’t say easy) and my contentment with life is merely a reflection of my attitude. So here it goes!

Spending time with my family

Watching one of my older brothers graduate from college

Being married to my best friend

Being spontaneous

The simplicity and adventure of being “poor college students” that have nothing but each other, and I’m okay with that

Hearing our “first dance” song on Pandora today

Lounging in sweat pants and no make-up

Being out in & exploring nature

Having a soft, warm, little animal to cuddle (even though she can be a brat)

Having food to eat (and cute pans to cook in)

Receiving an adorable swan scarf from my mama (although it’s a temporary happiness, it still makes me happy)

Being happy for other people

Being happy with myself (still in the process)

Being loved

Having the opportunity to receive an education, and use that knowledge to serve others, no matter how hard it is!

Oh, and almost being done with nursing school… yeah!

Happiness is… Knowing that ultimately, I control my happiness.

“We shouldn’t wait to be happy until we reach some future point, only to discover that happiness was already available- all the time! Life is not meant to be appreciated only in retrospect.”

How empowering is that? What are things that make you happy?

*Note: For the full source for each quote in this post, click on the link! It’s a phenomenal talk.

An Update for the Month of March

Well, the semester is rapidly coming to a close, thank heavens. I’m spent. However, I’ve been trying to appreciate life more, and I’m trying to stop wishing my days away until some future time (i.e. the end of the semester, graduation, etc). Here is some of our life in a nutshell this past month and a half!

This is our nice little neighborhood. I’m trying to appreciate these mountains more. It’s so easy to be looking at my phone, talking on my phone, filling my mind with “to-do’s,” etc. But I’m trying to look up more. Literally and figuratively speaking. It amazes me how much we miss out because we live our lives in such haste. What a sad thing not to enjoy life.

The sun has come out quite a bit, and I’m definitely happy for that. It hit 72 degrees recently, but the weather decided to trick us and go back to being cold. It’s okay, as long as the sun is out I am satisfied.

Here’s our sweet babe. I think she is just the cutest. I know she’s just a cat, but we love her tons. Although, she has been quite the punk lately. She won’t cuddle us, she gets up and leaves if we lay with her, she dodges us petting her… she’s being a ‘teen’ kitty. Boo! I guess that’s what we get for getting a cat. But cats are the easiest pet to have (besides a fish) at this stage in our lives. When school is done, we’ll see if we upgrade to a pup .

I was recently inducted into the International Nursing Honor Society called Sigma Theta Tau. It was a nice little ceremony, and I got a cord I get to wear for graduation. It’s rewarding to know that hard work pays off. I’m thankful for my husband, for his patience and encouragement. He really is my number-one fan, and biggest supporter. So much of my achievements were made possible through him.

This is a little birthday gift I got for myself from Nordstrom. These sweet little earrings were on sale and I am in love with everything about them. Kasen thinks they are weird. But he thinks everything I like is weird, I swear… until I wear them . Is that lame to buy myself a gift? Haha, oh well. I’ve worked my tail off and felt that treating myself was necessary. I am 23 years young this upcoming Wednesday, and thankful for my life, and my health.

This is one of my early birthday presents from Kasen. Isn’t it so cool? Somehow I always get him to give me my birthday presents (more like all my presents) early . I don’t like surprises! So, my rationale is, if he doesn’t tell me anything at all, I won’t beg to have it. But if he drops any hint of a gift, I need to know! He thinks it’s the worst thing, because he loves surprises.

I really love this gift though! It’s a journal for my trip to Ghana. I’m a journaling kind of gal, so I’m pretty happy about this, and it fits my gift criteria which is “anything that is meaningful and useful.” It’s perfect.

We got some Xbox controllers recently too. I know it’s totally nerdy, and probably strange that I play. I grew up with four brothers so it isn’t that bizarre to me, because we played video games all the time! It isn’t something I would do by myself, but because my husband loves it so much, I have found the joy in playing with him, simply because he enjoys it and it is something we can do together.

We went on a run through our college-town recently, and it was extremely invigorating to be working out on a Friday night, which is usually our lazy night. Afterwards, we treated ourselves to some Red Mango, which is my new obsession and constant craving.

Here’s little Celine Bean, my sweet niece. I’ve been doing some FaceTime with her and it is a blast. She has such a personality. One of her new faces is called ‘hott face’ where she does those smooch/duck lips (only cute when she does it ).

I’ve also been talking to my little brother on Tango. I have agreed to allow myself these ‘mental health’ breaks, and decided to put more time into the important relationships in my life. I’ve been pretty bad about that this semester, so it’s been a goal of mine to be better.

It’s so easy to forget to nurture the relationships that matter most in this life. The reality is, life is always busy… it always will be, so I have made a conscious decision to maximize on these special moments and connect with my loved-ones.

I got a new computer so I’m blogging on this baby now. It’s the MacBook Air- thin, small, light, new and perfect. After going through three PC’s in the last two years, we finally learned our lesson and officially became an apple family. Best decision we ever made (besides marriage) . I say that facetiously, but really I will never go back to using a PC again.

This is where I spend much of my time. These little cubbies keep me focused, block out distractions, and have terrible cell phone and internet  service- so I really am forced to do homework only . I find every excuse not to do homework when I’m at home, so I actually cherish my library time.

My “other” family came up from Colorado this past weekend. It was wonderful. We just found out Kasen’s sister is going to serve a 1.5 year mission in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. I’m super proud of her, and so excited for her. She leaves in August, so we dream of picking her up when she finishes her mission and making a vacation out of it .

This is a photo of our second little niece Reagan, napping on my tummy. We’re just hangin’ out at the hotel. She’s a precious little thing. I didn’t realize how much I’d love being an aunt, until I got more nieces/nephew(s)!

The family went swimming, but I decided not to bring my swimsuit because I felt it would force me to do some homework, because I hadn’t all weekend (which was so good for me). I ended up chatting with Kasen’s wonderful parents the whole time, so I should have just brought my swimsuit anyway. Cute pic though huh? They’re so much fun, and some of the best people I know.

Kasen is doing fantastic in school, and we’re grateful to be where we are at, at this point in our lives.

We are also pretty excited for this weekend! My best friend from 6th grade is coming into town with my little brother, and one of my older brothers is driving down from Idaho. Life is good.

Our lives have been eventfully, uneventful. Life keeps us busy physically, mentally, and emotionally… but we’re alive and kicking and happy to check in with ya’ll. Have a great week!

Perfection vs. Peace

Had a little break down tonight. I realized I am doing that whole ‘unrealistic expectations’ thing to myself again and school has taken over my life. I feel no balance. I need to be better about acknowledging myself for all the things I am doing rather than what I am not doing. I read an amazing blog post that actually put things into perspective for me a couple of weeks ago, you should check it out.

I go through ups and downs all the time, because I’m still learning to give myself permission to not be perfect in every aspect of my life.

The scriptures talk about being made perfect through Christ, but my favorite aspect of this scripture is that being perfect does not mean to be flawless, but rather to be whole. We are made whole through Christ. Life can be so hard, and hard isn’t even the best word to describe it. But like my favorite quote below says, when life gets too hard to stand… kneel.

It is in Him that I find my strength and peace, which cannot be found elsewhere.

If life is pulling you down pretty hard right now, hang in there, and hang onto the right things. It can only get better.

What are some things you do to keep lasting peace and balance within yourself?

Another Check-in

Yep. I know I’ve been M.I.A. But like I said, after this semester, I will be back to my regular blogging days, Tuesday/Thursday (crossing my fingers). So I just wanted to check in with my lovely family, friends, and followers and tell you we are alive and well. School is killing me. There’s literally not enough time in the day for me to get everything done AND still take care of myself, which is against my New Year’s resolutions (which I have been doing awesome with by the way)!

So here’s our life this past January:

Predominantly school really. This is a nice little reminder on my hand because a planner and cell phone reminders don’t seem to be enough lately. And, a photo of my pretty little bruise from practicing IV’s, just to refresh some old skills.

This was our 3-day weekend last week. I did nothing but homework so I could catch up. I have never done so much reading in my life until college… or until nursing school. Good news is I finally did get caught up, but I was SUPER upset that I didn’t get to spend time with Kasen much.

Recently, I applied to be a mentor for kids in this area, and the goal is to prevent childhood obesity, and teach how to live a healthy life  and encourage the pursuit of higher education(s). I’m super pumped about it. I love kids, and I love helping people, so it’s a great fit and I’m EXTREMELY excited. Just another thing to add to my plate. I really do spread myself thin, but this one is worth it.

I’ve been listening to quite a bit of Pandora lately. Fave station right now is Mackintosh Braun. Really hits the spot for me and fits my mood, check ‘em out. I love them.

Between assignments, we try to take a some time to chill out. So I listened to Kase play, while I regained my sanity .

This is probably our first well-rounded dinner in the last couple of weeks. Oops. I feel bad. All we keep doing is snacking, but that’s not so bad is it?

Don’t mind this totally un-cute picture of me. It was a 12-hour day, and I was just being weird! I’ve  been obsessing over pineapple lately. It’s probably my favorite thing to eat right now. I’m one of those people that goes through phases of ‘favorites.’

So what have I been doing for myself? Some gym, some yoga, and a lot of bath time! It has been magic for me. Bubble baths and a couple drops of some essential oils (which is a whole other post I will write about sometime soon… I’m obsessed), no more sore muscles, no more anxiety. I swear, I have taken a bath almost every night for the last two weeks to unwind. Too bad those books are nursing books. But you get the picture.

Here’s my little friend trying to hang out. She loves playing with the water.

She also loves the snow. Frankly, I’m tired of it. It hasn’t snowed for a couple of weeks, but it’s cold as ever. I’m ready to get warm again! A vacation sounds so nice, for more reasons than one.

And a last cute little photo of kitty trying to steal my edamame. Do you guys know her name is kitty? So original, I know .  We I had a hard time naming her, because other names sounded too human and it weirded (not a real word) me out when we got her.

Anyway, sadly we haven’t been as adventurous as last year (yet)!  But it’s only January, so I’m not too concerned!

I hope you all are doing well, and having more fun than us ! Have a great weekend, and take some time for yourself. Happy Friday!

A Short Tour of Our Home

Here is a little photo tour of our new place. Some of the pictures aren’t great, because the majority were taken with my phone, AND the lighting isn’t awesome because we live in a basement. So, here it is!

The color scheme is coral, navy blue, and creams. The curtain panels are like a sheer burlap material, which I love.

We really like our bookshelf and were relieved we didn’t have to buy one. We just wish it wasn’t in our bedroom! The way the middle shelves are decorated is not my favorite, but we just had a lot of little things and threw ‘em up there for the time being.

Simple dresser decor to match the trendy chic look in our room. My next project is to paint this baby a Country Grey so it ties in with the rest of the room. I’m over the blue.

These photos are almost the same thing, but Kasen liked the top one, and I liked the bottom one. So you get two bathroom photos . My mom bought us a great memory foam mat, the color is super bright though! So I wanted to try and match the bathroom with the mat. I decided on a white, grey, and purple color scheme.

It’s surprisingly nice to have two sinks! We also have a large storage closet, and a toilet room. Having the toilet in a separate room is the best thing ever, enough said…

This is our laundry room, which is quite large (there is more space behind me in the photo). Sadly, we don’t get to use our beautiful red washer/dryer, but that’s okay. I don’t really care to decorate this room right now, partially because I want to save for other things, and also because there’s almost no point. We’ll be moving in a little less than a year when we finish school!

This is our table which came with the place. It’s nice to have a table that can fit our guests, instead of a two-seat table, then re-locating to try and fit around the family room table all the time!

Normally, there is fruit in that center bowl and it looks pretty, until I devour it.

The last two photos of the kitchen were close-ups for the counter decor, and stuff I use frequently. Notice our awesome dishwasher. Still can’t get over it. No more hand-washing dishes for us, at least for the next year!

You bet Kasen is ecstatic about the TV and surround-sound. It’s nice, but I wouldn’t really care either way. I’m trying to figure out if I should add something to our entertainment center… What are your thoughts?

Notice our Family Room is shared with the kitchen, which is interesting but still nice and very convenient.

The last two pictures of the “Family Room” are my other projects. I’m not used to decorating with so much space, so I am trying to figure out how to decorate the big, empty walls. Meanwhile, I just threw some frames up on our table from our last place. Not in love with it, but it’s a work in progress, so let me know if you have any ideas!

Anyway, that’s it! Hope ya’ll have a great weekend. I would love to do some “practical living” posts, so I will as soon as it is humanly possible for me. I’m swamped this semester, but like I said in my previous post, there is so much for us to look forward to this year, so no limited complaining here !

A QUICK Catch-up!

Actually, I don’t know how quick this is going to be! But it has been ages since my last post and I’ve really missed blogging. Unfortunately we haven’t had internet for about a month, so let’s get started!

Remember that whole moving to another place thing? Well, the situation got worse and I won’t go into details but we almost lost the whole deal! Lucky for Blessed with my ‘epiphany’ in my previous post, I felt so much peace despite our circumstances, and I knew that everything would work out. Kasen was speechless. This meant a third night without a home, we already shut off our utilities, and had so much help from all those people. We ended up staying at our friend’s apartment again, prayed hard, skipped our date night (which is very important to us) and started our search for new places to live.

The next morning we planned to continue our search but thankfully received a phone call that all things were smoothed out. We were pretty relieved because our 1-year anniversary was in 2 days and we were leaving to Seattle for the holidays in less than a week, so to look for another place to live, and move into during that time was far from ideal. It was really a true trial of our faith and helped me to remember that sometimes God is a “Fourth Watch God” and will wait until the last minute to answer our prayers.

The following Monday was our 1-year anniversary and my sweet love brought me to my favorite restaurant of all time, The Melting Pot. This is us celebrating at dinner! Afterwards, we went home, changed into some sweats, plopped on the couch, flipped on a movie and cuddled. I thought gosh this seems so uneventful! But there was nothing else we would rather do, especially after such an exhausting and difficult week.

I made him a simple gift and framed it. I thought it was pretty neat to jot down some special numbers! Here it is:

After celebrating, unpacking and running errands the rest of the week, we took off on our drive to Seattle. Here’s a snapshot of our drive. Too bad this is from Salt Lake and we are about 45 minutes south so really it was a tad longer! We got a flat tire on the way up. We joked about the fact that there is always something bad that happens on our drive to Seattle.

Our trip to Seattle last year, our entire muffler fell off on the highway, sparks were flying from under our car and the engine started roaring (I realized why they called it a muffler, seriously). Oh, and to top if off we were only 2 hours into our drive in Idaho, the middle of nowhere. Kasen took off his belt and tied up the muffler to secure it, then we went to the next gas station and bought earplugs for the next 12 hours. When we arrived in Seattle, our ears were ringing for so long! It was horrible. One of our greatest newlywed memories.

Anyway… total tangent. So we got in around 5:30a.m. PST and were exhausted and stiff from such a long ride in an old car! But we were ready to party nonetheless! Our siblings had a little Christmas party at my sister’s house. It was a lot of fun. The white elephant was a crack-up… a 2011 Disney ornament, a prune in a jewelry box, hostess cupcakes… you get the picture. We decided to take some family photos, and my little brother (in the middle) bought some mustaches! Here we are. What do you think??

Okay, no really… THIS is us, minus our oldest brother.

This is my sweet 2.5 year old niece Celine who loves to play with Auntie’s make-up, and eat her lipgloss! She really knows how to pucker those lips. I love that girl so much and she isn’t even my own child!

The next day we (Kasen, my brothers, & I) went to the Seahawks game! It was a blast and as ya’ll know they are in the play-offs now! Go HAWKS! We were drenched, and numb so we left at half-time. We knew where the game was headed at that point anyway!

We went straight from the game to my dad’s boat. It was a part of the Christmas Ship Parade this year so we went out as a family and had a really good time. FREEZING! But beautiful. Sadly, this photo is nothing compared to the actual skyline view that night. This is the view near Gasworks Park, one of my favorite spots and the best view of the city (in my opinion).

After Christmas, I had a lady date with my best friend (since 6th grade) at the Chihuly Garden & Glass Museum. We were going to see the King Tut exhibit, but it was sold out. Yeah… we found out after we waited in line the whole time. Go us! We didn’t get any photos together (or at least half-decent ones) so I’m sharing an awesome photo I took of the Space Needle through the museum.

I also wanted to give you a mini tour of our new place, but that will have to wait for another time. We still don’t have everything set up, but as soon as we do… I will be blogging. Here is a little sneak-peek of our bedroom. The theme is coral, navy blue, and creams, and the curtain panels are kind of a sheer burlap material that I’m in love with.

OH & Happy New Year everyone! I know it is pretty late but oh well!

This year we spent ours roadtripping back to Utah. We had an amazing year, and I’m extremely excited about this year. We have so much planned and so much to look forward to. Our resolutions are very exciting! I’m not going to share mine because they are personal and special to me but I based them around achieving balance, peace, health & happiness and broke them down into categories of mind, body & spirit.

So CHEERS to 2013 and keep consistent with your goals because they create your tomorrows.

Letting Go of My Idea of How Things SHOULD Be

Last night things did not work out so smoothly with our move. In fact, it was pretty frustrating. We had a lot of helping hands. More than we both anticipated actually, and they just kept showing up! We were so grateful. Unfortunately, when we decided we were done moving for the night (at 11:30 p.m.) we were told the apartment wasn’t ready for us yet. So we had nowhere to sleep. Of course this would happen, at the end of the night when we are so exhausted. We tried to work something out, but unfortunately it was to no avail.

Tired and upset, we tried to think of where we would stay. In our old apartment on the floor with blankets? With a friend? In our car? I couldn’t believe it even came down to this!

This old gentleman that we know from church was helping us haul our larger items with his truck. After getting off work, he came to help us and was one of two people that stuck with us the entire night. He helped us move some things with the little effort he had due to back complications, but we received no less than his best effort. When we were told we couldn’t sleep at our new place until Friday, this man immediately offered Kasen and I his guest bedroom. Embarrassed to even accept the help, we swallowed down hard and took him up on the offer. Seriously? After all the help he already gave us, and now he is offering us a place to stay?

We got to his home, and he took us straight to our room, which was decorated so cutely. He’s an unmarried man, but he sure knows how to keep house. The sheets were just washed, he showed us the towels, extra blankets, the remote control… you name it!

As soon as we said our good-nights, I cried. Pretty hard actually. Not only because it was such a long and stressful day of finals and moving… but because this man who barely knows us had exemplified Christ’s example of kindness. No, not even kindness, charity. Selfless love. He received nothing from us, and yet he helped us the entire night and offered to make us something this morning on our way out to school. I couldn’t believe it.

We knelt down and said our family prayer. It was my turn to say it. It felt right to offer a prayer of gratitude, because I didn’t dare ask for a thing more. I had not done this in a long time. Of course there were plenty of things I could be asking for… but I was incredibly humbled by this man.

I know God knew beforehand that this experience of moving would not be as glorious as I imagined it would be, but He made a way for all things to work out, to let me know personally that He was still aware of our circumstances. 

A second experience I have been reflecting on lately is a loss of a friendship. This one in particular was difficult for me. This person did not ‘pass away’ they just wrote me off. That was hard for me. In my attempt to resolve a very large misunderstanding, this person said hurtful things and said they never wanted to talk to me again. We had been friends for years. Sometimes I think about that friendship. Good memories will come to mind, but then I’ll realize we aren’t the same people we were. For better or for worse, it is still difficult. I realized I don’t miss that person, I miss who they were. I miss the friendship we had. But those things are no more, and I may never know why.

It’s hard to let go. To let go of people. To let go of expectations I have created in my head of how things should be. For heavens sake, it’s like I forget life isn’t supposed to be perfect. Gosh, life is hard. My realization is that things almost never go my way, so I don’t know why I continue to insist that it should be my way. It isn’t even possible, and even if it was, I would probably shortchange myself, because God knows my needs better than I know myself.

Today’s lesson is about letting go. Letting go of your expectations and frustrations. Allow yourself to roll with the craziness of life. Laugh about it, and seek for the blessings amidst the chaos. 

Tasy Tuesday: Homemade Pickled Cucumbers

I had a single cucumber that was getting a little soft this week and I was kind of bummed about it because I didn’t want to throw it out. It popped into my head that I should either cook it, or pickle it. I wanted to try something different instead of cook it… so pickle it, it was! You may or may not like pickles, but I love them! And no… I am not pregnant! I was pleased with myself for learning something new and avoiding food waste! Check it out:

Homemade Pickled Cucumbers

Ingredients:

• 1/4 of medium-size onion, minced
• 1 large cucumber (or 2 small)- cut into stripes or thin slices
• 1/2 c. apple cider vinegar
• 5 tbsp. water
• 1-3 tbsp. sugar- depends on if you like them sweet or not (I don’t)
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• Ground pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Mix vinegar, water, sugar, salt, and pepper
2. Add onions
3. Close mason jar with lid and shake
4. Add cucumbers, and close lid to shake again
5. Refrigerate before serving

I was really impressed with how good these tasted, and I love that I know all the ingredients in our pickles. No more store-bought pickles for us!

Small, Easy Ways to Be “Green”

I realize that being ‘green’ is not always simple, so I thought I’d share a few ideas that you may have heard or already do. Why do I even bother? Because it’s a good reminder, and I truly believe one person can make a huge difference, I’ve seen it. 

1. Start a compost bin. Read here for the benefits of compost
2. Purchase energy efficient appliances
3. Turn off lights you aren’t using
4. Carpool or ride a bike
5. Save paper and pay your bills online
6. Re-use paper. Print on two sides or let your kiddos color on your scratch paper (my old O.C.D. self would never let me re-use paper, but it’s been awesome, I really love it and feel so good about it, AND it saves money)
7. Re-purpose something (one of my favorite things to see/do)
8. Collect rain water and use it for your indoor plants and/or garden
9. Donate to and/or shop at thrift stores (totally your choice on what you’re comfortable purchasing there, typically I go for home decor that I can revamp!)
10. Use compact fluorescent light bulbs, they produce more light than heat, last longer and use less electricity (we’ve made the switch and are pretty impressed)
11. Recycle your electronics: “In 2005, Americans tossed out a whopping 5.5 billion pounds of electronics…Millions of pounds of chemicals and heavy metals ended up in the ground even though it’s easier than ever to recycle electronics. Check out this site for more stats

Like I mentioned in my last “Green” post, not only is it good for the world, but it’s also good for your wallet!

I love our beautiful and miraculous world and I would love to keep it thriving. The world is in our hands. Do your part.

Stencil Painted Moroccan Pattern Rug

I should have posted this about 2 months ago, but it slipped my mind! It was a pretty fun project for me in the middle of the semester, it definitely helped me achieve some balance and relieve stress. Part of why I did this is because I was craving a project, but also because our living room looked naked. Unfortunately rugs are ridiculously expensive so I had to do some searching.

I looked around online and found out you can stencil paint rugs! Paint fabric? What a weird idea, or so I thought! The next step was to find a cheap rug. I found one from Home Depot for $18. Actually, the link brings you to the exact rug I bought. It isn’t quality, but after stenciling it you won’t be able to tell the difference. In fact, every visitor we have had compliments our rug and doesn’t realize it was a cheap-o rug.

Then I went to find big stencils, but like I’ve said in my previous post, they can be so expensive. I honestly think some are just a rip-off. So, I went to Hobby Lobby again and found the (almost) perfect stencil. I wish it were a larger pattern, but this worked great too! Lastly, I bought a cream colored acrylic paint and pulled out a large paint brush which I already owned (hooray for my personal DIY investments). I had to buy quite a few paint bottles, so I would encourage you to ere on the side of caution and buy more than you think you need (as long as you can return them). Multiple trips to the store are no fun.

I would say the only tricky part about this project is lining it up right and making sure the stencil stays in place. Tape it down with a good tape and lay heavy objects on the edges if you have to! Other than that, it’s self explanatory.

I would add that you may want to have “wet ones” or baby wipes handy because it can get a little messy. I also had to trim it a little so it wasn’t so huge, but that’s just me! Oh, and don’t be discouraged if it isn’t perfect, mine isn’t. In fact, it doesn’t line up and I had to correct it half-way through, so the pattern in the middle of the rug is slightly crooked, but you can only tell if you’re really looking for it. The good thing is, that is the part that is covered up by our table! And remember, if it isn’t perfect, it’s a cheap rug anyway!

BEFORE:

Don’t mind her… She wouldn’t move .

FIRST ROW:

AFTER:

Is that cool or what? The lighting isn’t fabulous because I took this picture on my phone but you get the idea! I love it. It really started to pull things together and create a theme in our home.

This is our “old” apartment. We move this week, starting Wednesday! Ahh! I’ll be sure to share photos of our new home and decor when we’re all settled in!