I'm sure I have posted about this before, but ever have one of those really good weekends? One where the balance between getting things accomplished and resting was just perfect? Well, this weekend was another one of those weekends for me.
Saturday started with my husband making an overdue trip to the auto shop for an oil change. I'm so relieved that it is taken care of! Once my husband arrived home, we made an obligatory Saturday stop for some donuts at our favorite local bakery, Sandy's, on our way to the in-laws for breakfast. The rest of the day was spent accomplishing other things on our list which left us feeling satisfied of the fact that we had used our time well (though perhaps not exactly according to schedule). But why do you need to have a strict schedule on the weekend anyway? :)
Most of Sunday was spent rearranging the apartment yet again. My husband did most of the rearranging this time; which is odd because I'm usually the one itching to change things. But I was thankful that he took initiative to move the furnishings in ways he thought were more practical for our lifestyle these days. Yesterday we successfully changed the living room and dining room and tonight we plan to finish off with the two bedrooms.
One of the main reasons for the need for change is due to the fact that our daughter is now sleeping in her own room (sob!) and needs more space. We have been placing her in the other room for a few weeks now to see if any of us would sleep better, and what was thought to be a temporary solution has now become a permanent one. I am sad to let her go! We have all slept in the same room since her birth and I truly miss her presence (even though I still get up 1-2 times a night to nurse). I have been a bit tender these past few weeks with the sobering fact that my daughter is getting older. I'm realizing how quickly it is happening and sometimes wishing to go back to those first few days and weeks of her life.
Another main reason I itch for change is because of my constant desire to not remain stagnant! I want to learn, do something new, travel, live somewhere else, move! As much as I hate moving (because of how many times I have had to do it in the past six years), I also hate being in the same place for too long. Add it to the fact that I am indoors all day, every day during winter and there you have my need to DO SOMETHING. Rearranging the apartment allows me the opportunity to live in a new space in a new way without actually having to move somewhere else. Granted, moving is a goal of ours for this year, but for now we are willing to live well within our space.
Anyway, back to the new arrangement. We are satisfied with where our furnishings and belongings are now placed, especially since we were aiming for more practicality and functionality. I currently have two new favorites:
The first is this small gathering area in our living room -
The chairs are actually from our dining room table set. We don't have guests over often enough to make use out of all four chairs so we figured they would be put to better use as more seating in the living room. And, if we do happen to need them for entertaining guests for a meal then we can simply move them into the dining room. The table is one we picked up for free from someone in our apartment building who was moving and didn't want to take it along (we snatched a few more items from them also). It has never been my favorite table, but I can already tell this is going to be the best spot and use for it. We decorated it simply with a few magazines and books as well as one of the MANY wheat centerpieces we made for our wedding.
The second is how we decided to make use of this piece of furniture -
Originally, this cart held our television, dvd player, cable box, and internet modem. However, I always wanted to make better use of it because I love the wheels and the storage space underneath. So, we got rid of cable, moved the tv & dvd player to our room, and wheeled this lovely piece of furniture to just inside the dining area for better use.
The idea was to use this cart as a coffee cart, but considering that we have so much produce these days (and not enough places to store it), I figured we could use the top of the cart as a produce stand. As I did some brainstorming, I realized that the bottom of the cart could still be used for a few coffee & tea items, so we sort of have a coffee cart :) The placement of this cart is easily accessible and serves as a reminder to eat our fruits and veggies! Considering that it is a small piece on such a big wall, however, I am still trying to decide how to decorate that area a little better. I think a vase of flowers or greenery would look especially nice on the stand itself (once it becomes a little less cluttered), or I might put up some streamers/garland/etc just above the cart to make the area a bit more festive. I'll have to use Pinterest or Apartment Therapy as a reference if I can't figure out what to do :)
Hope the weekend was good to you!
