Destination: Sedona, Jerome, and Montezuma’s Castle

Posted on May 22, 2013 by Megan

It’s another installment of our vacation chronicles (check out our Grand Canyon adventure and our Petrified Forest/Painted Desert extravaganza). Unfortunately it is the last post of this kind since it wraps up all of our adventures in vacation-land. Sigh. I’m so ready for another one. I really don’t think you can get too much vacation. This post actually shows the hub of our vacation, Sedona, Arizona, where we actually had our condo. We traded in our Hilton Head timeshare this year to visit the beautiful desert of Sedona. Because of that we had a wonderful condo to settle into, unpack, and use as our little home for a week. Man, was it great. Check out this view from our balcony.

I’ve heard quite a bit about Sedona and heard about a lot of people visiting it, and I had some ideas of what it was going to be like. And they were all wrong. With it being such a destination, I thought it was going to be a big city. Wrong. It was a very small town; a small town that obviously thrives on tourism. It is just tucked in between these majestic red rocks, whose beauty is the main tourist draw.

There are quite a few lookouts that we checked out. It’s just majestic in a whole different, desert way.

One of our favorite places was a Chapel of the Holy Cross, which was actually built right into the rock. It was an amazing feat of architecture and sat perched on the side of a rock.

Oh, and check at this house I was totally creeping on. It was like a Greek castle in the middle of the desert. It was crazy cool. Crazy cool with a view!

One of the days we were there we decided to take a little road trip to the even smaller city of Jerome. It is an old mining town that almost turned into a ghost town after the mines were deserted but artists found this beautiful spot and it became a hub for them, based on its beauty…and cost of living since it was practically deserted at that time. Talk about a town built on the edge of a rock. I don’t know how some of those homes actually stayed upright!

The main attraction was at the former mine owner’s mansion that is now turned into a museum. It was fun to not only walk around an amazing mansion but to learn about the history of the town.

Here is a diorama inside the mansion that showed what the mines looked like when they were in full swing. How crazy is it to think about all that activity underground!

One of things in the museum that I thought was the coolest was this buggy.

Why, you ask? Because this is the buggy, literally the buggy, that was used in the movie Oklahoma. That is one famous buggy. So famous it’s the topic of a song (buggy with the fringe on top). That really made me oohh and ahhh for a while.

After the mansion we had a nice little walk around the town, just browsing through the artsy stores. It was just a sweet, little town that was definitely worth the drive – even if just for the views!

Oh wait, there’s more! The last little day trip we did was to Montezuma’s Castle. Wow, right?! From mansions to castles…except this was no castle but a pretty amazing place nevertheless. Montezuma’s Castle was actually a place where Native American tribes literally built homes in the cliffs. No, not on like Jermone and the chapel, but the homes were in the cliffs. Check it out.

It was just one of those places that just blew my mind. It was incredible! Just looking around and absorbing the history was incredible; to think about how these tribes lived here, protected by the cliffs, situated by a river in the desert. It actually was quite the lush oasis.

There ends our final vacation post. You can check out our Grand Canyon tour and our visit to the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert, the other big stops on our vacation in Arizona. Sigh, really, can I go back?

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My Glittery Closet

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Megan

Well, I had thought that I had covered almost every wall in the house of this point and was pretty much done with painting…until I decided to paint my closet in the Mego Cave. Now I am a huge fan of painting closets! Check out what the closet was looking like pre-painting and pre-organization (although you have seen it before in my closet organization and clothes rotation system):

It was looking okay for a closet. It had some minor organization on the shelves and the clothes were pretty organized. I even had some shoe organization going on below. However, the color was pretty dingy – isn’t it crazy to think that pretty much every wall in the house was that color when we moved in? That’s when neutral goes bad folks! As I have been redecorating and re-imagining the Mego Cave space into a beautiful, multi-function room, I came to realize that every nook and cranny needed to be utilized. As my craft supplies and fabric stock were growing, my organization seemed to take a dive. It was time to seriously look at the closet and see how it work harder. The first step in any organization project for me is taking everything out of a space. Then you can go through the items and decide what to save and what to get rid of. You can also see if anything should be relocated in a more practical place.

Everything came out of the closet and the room looked like this. Yikes!! Thank goodness for closets, eh?

Now, with everything out, it was a perfect time to paint it. To me, every space should be loved and beautiful. The first step in loving this little closet more was to prettify it up!

I decided to go with a pale blue (ah-la the basement). The color is a custom mix of a Color Place brand: it is a gallon color amount of Foggy Morning Frost and a quart color amount of Northern Ontario Blue. Initially, I was bouncing around the idea of doing some stripes or stenciling it, but since a lot of stuff had to go back into this closet, I didn’t want to go too wild since my hard work wouldn’t be seen. Instead, I decided to make the closet a glitter closet! Hurray! No where else would I be allowed to paint a wall with some glitter in it, but a closet – heck yes! I chose to use the remaining Valspar Paint Crystals in silver that I had first tested out in the desk painting project. I thought the silver crystals would look great in the ice blue paint. Boy was I right!

Just like before, I poured the paint into the pan and then mixed the crystals into the paint, just eyeballing the amount I liked. Then I just rolled it on. It actually is a pretty subtle approach so maybe one day I will actually be able to do a glitter wall somewhere else. It is also incredibly difficult to photograph this subtle sheen. I tried really hard so hopefully you will be able to see it in some of the close-up shots.

I didn’t know painting a closet could make me this happy. But it really does. I love having the door open and just gazing inside. It brightens up a normally dark space (although I do have a light in the closet which is so nice)! Let’s do a before and after, shall we?

Now what about those organization projects that I mentioned before? Well, not to be a tease or anything, but I am still working on those. I want to do it right and do some DIY storage projects. That’s what I am working on this week and can’t wait to show you all when the project is finally complete! However, I just couldn’t wait to show you my glittery closet. No closet is now safe in our house! I am definitely going to attack my closet in the bedroom now. To glitter or not to glitter, that is the question!

I Buy Discount Plants

Posted on May 17, 2013 by Megan

One of my favorite things about spring and summer is the explosion of colors. If you haven’t noticed yet, I love big, bright, bold colors. I mean, just look at my blog design. That pretty much transfers to everywhere in my life (heck, I’m writing this with pink shorts on and a bright green top — yikes!). Needless to say, sometimes I can get a little plant happy after a cold, grey winter. I also get a little plant sympathetic. When I go to buy plants I immediately head to the back. It’s where my kind of plants hang out – in the clearance section. It’s just so sad as they are left there to die practically with no water and no care. Until I swoop up to save all those little beauties. That’s how this happens:

If you follow me on Instagram you would have seen my cart of the saved flowers.

Okay, yes, as a self-proclaimed cheap-o, one of the draws of these flowers are their price tags. All these plants were $0.50 or $1 with just a couple larger ones being $3. I got all these plants for about $20. Now that’s a deal, right? Yes, I am taking the gamble on the plants dying and therefore losing money, but I have faith. After a few years of successfully keeping some plants alive, I have realized it’s not that hard with some work. Sun, water, food and the plants grow. Pinching off the dead buds also keeps them flowering. Maybe a little plant food. So I have taken the chance and am showering these plants with all they need to grow and thrive. I feel like they are my flower babies I have adopted.

I came home with my discount plants and immediately set to watering them and taking their dead leaves and buds off. When I came out the next day I could immediately see that they were doing better. They were perkier and a few had even started to bloom. [Full disclosure, a few broken stems were too far gone. There’s not too much you can do there.] The next step was potting them so their roots could roam free!

For a few of their homes I had salvaged two pots from our shed. I had to go back there to get something the other day and I happened upon these. I have no idea how they got there. Perhaps the previous owners? That’s a win!

I thought that with a new coat of paint they could be revived. After a thorough cleaning I decided to used Rustoleum’s Metallic Vintage Copper. I liked the idea of a neutral color to let the plants shine (I originally thought about using a bright color but then realized they may detract from the plants), and I also liked the idea of a little glimmer to them (duh, it’s me - everything is better with sparkle!). After a few coats they came out like new. I was pretty pleased with this $6 makeover.

Look at the difference! Left = unpainted. Right = painted.

Then it was time to plant. Since these were large pots I decided to put in some of the plastic plant containers in the bottom so I didn’t have to put in as much soil. It’s unnecessary and expensive.

Then I filled in the rest of the space with soil and topped it off with the plants. I tried to space them nicely with the spilling over plants in front (the only non-discount plants), the medium height ones in the middle and the tall in the back. I tried to make each pot about the same since they flank the stairs.

Then I still had more plants so I grabbed these old wooden “decorative” holders from last year. They are looking a little rough, hence the quotations. Oh well, they live on if the plants do. By this time the plants were down to the roughest of the group. So here’s hoping these live. If not, I will go get some more discount plants and give those a go.

The final touch for the front porch was to fill the big blue pot we got last year. I had to be careful with these plants because they get no sun. Pretty much all the plants I put in there last year died except the vine. I thought partial sun plants could work. Nope. Must be shade plants. So I hope these work!

Here is what the front porch is looking like right now (excuse my reflection in my super bummy gardening clothes).

The final planting of the day was to plant the few pots I have on the back porch. I have some thoughts on beefing up the back porch so I just filled the pots we had back there. Perhaps grander things will happen with the back porch. Perhaps…

The only thing that doesn’t happen with discount plants is instant gratification. They aren’t all blooming like when I planted last year. But I am hoping that in a few weeks I can post update shots of my plants blooming and thriving and filling out those big boy pots. So hop on over to your local store, save a life, and shop discount

PS – Yes, I know I have a flair for the dramatic. Hopefully that’s one of the reasons you come here.

The Petrified Forest and Painted Desert

Posted on May 15, 2013 by Megan

It always astounds me how much natural, raw beauty is in nature. Really, it continually catches my breath in new and exciting ways. Our vacation in Arizona really showed me a whole new side of nature with its desert beauty with thriving cacti and incredible places like the Grand Canyon. After our day at the Canyon we were so buoyed by the new sites that we were all ready to hop in the car for another road trip to the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert.

It was about a 2.5 hour drive from Sedona through desolate, desolate desert. You never realize how much more comforting it is to drive through living, thriving forests instead of deserts. It was totally worth it once we arrived at the park.

Once you get in the park there is a visitor’s center which has some great information about how the petrified wood was formed. Basically, this park used to be way south in the world when there was just one big continent. It was a forest then until a giant storm made the river rise up and uproot the trees into its current. Once the logs were saturated, they sunk to the bottom where many layers of silt and soil formed on top of them, which is where the colors come from. Finally, the continent broke up and moved to where we have the current continents and basically the wood fossilized. History is pretty awesome, right?!

The visitor’s center also had a great little walk where you could see a concentration of the petrified wood. You had to stay on all the paths to preserve the park but the path meandered through the logs showing you the stunning colors and patterns preserved in the wood.

Since the park was pretty big (it took us hours to work our way through) they gave you a map that showed you where all the lookout points were. There were a few places to take short walks and other were just viewing points.

www.rappsodyinrooms.com

One stop that I loved showed petroglyphs, or old etchings in the stone from hundreds of years ago. Due to vandalism you couldn’t get close but had to look through binoculars to see these amazing etchings.

However, at another stop you could see more of these close-up where there were remains of an old village that used to be in the park (waaay before it was a park) when a river ran rampant through it. You could see the outline of the village and the different etchings they left behind.

After winding your way through the Petrified Forest part of the park, you all of a sudden found yourself surrounded by stunning views of the Painted Desert. Pictures really don’t do this place justice. It was just so vast and stunning.

There it is; another roundup from our vacation a few weeks ago. If you missed my first post about the Grand Canyon check it out here. I’ll be back next week with our final vacation wrap-up post!

Quick Tip Tuesday: De-Bugging

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Megan

Hey everyone! Yes, yes, I know it’s Tuesday, and I don’t usually post on Tuesday. But as I was doing one of my spring chores this weekend, I thought it might be helpful to share. Let’s back up a little bit so you get the whole story. In our first year of home ownership, I hated the basement. Why, you ask? Giant, jumping crickets.

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They would linger in the shadows of the basement and jump at me. Boy, could they jump. Going downstairs to do laundry was hilarious to watch, as I would sprint through the basement on my tip toes. Not sure why I would run on my tip toes. I guess I thought I had less of a chance to squash or disturb the crickets…?! So after a year or so of that ridiculousness, I finally wised up. People, they make products to help with these types of problems. As an animal-lower and vegetarian, I believe in all things living in harmony but I drew the line at the crickets. I couldn’t take it, or them, in our house.

So what is my solution to de-bugging the basement (the only place we ~~have~~ had problems)? It is a twofold solution = sticky traps and home bug spray.

Yup, those two products have fixed my problem! I spray in the spring, mid-summer, and sometimes in the fall when the bugs like to start migrating inside. You can find these products in your home improvement store along with all those other buggy sprays. I picked this product up last year, but I was recently at the store again and saw a more “green” solution that I will try next. Once you get the spray, just follow the directions. Basically you just spray around doors, windows, cracks, and the foundation, both inside and out.

As for the traps, I like to hide them under furniture so no one knows they are there. Just remember to check on them and change them out when they are full. I think you will be shocked at how many bugs you will collect. I will save you from that picture. Yuck!

So there it is, my quick tip on how to stay bug-free inside the house all year long. So long creepy crickets!

I was not paid or perked by any of these products. I just picked them because I like them and they work!

Megan’s Guide to Gardening

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Megan

After quite a few torrential downpours and bursts of sunshine, everywhere we look green showering around us (quite different from the desert we were in last week). It was looking green everywhere except in the garden. Wah wah. Vacation got in the way along with an unseasonably cold spring, and here it was mid-May again without having the garden planted. I would just look across at our neighbor’s beautifully planted garden that is already sprouting (granted they are retired and it’s all they do) and shake my head. Oh well, not worth comparing yourself to. Anyways, you may have remembered my seriously lacking garden posts from last year: oh wait, there was only one. This year, I vow to give you garden updates and all the tips I learn while I master my brown thumb. Although it may have a tinge of green on it now. Hurray! Although you couldn’t tell by this weed ridden hot mess of a garden.

Here is my step-by-step gardening guide:

Step 1: Buy seeds. We order ours from a gardening catalog but you can always pick them up locally at any garden store. If you are planting beans, you will want to soak the seeds in water a day or two before you plant. I also buy plants instead of seeds for some plants, like peppers, eggplant, and some squash, since they take a long time to sprout.

Step 2: Pick a day to plant in early spring (or as early as you can) after all frost possibilities are over.

Step 3: Gather all your supplies. These are the ones we used.

A rototiller. You can buy one, borrow one, or rent one from a home improvement store. We borrowed. Thank you neighbors!
A metal rake
A hoe…(the tool type, not the person – sorry, parents – inappropriateness over)
Fertilizer (we use 10-10-10 and a bag of cow manure – eewww)
Sunscreens for all you fair-skinned people out there like me. It’s a must.

Step 4: Till up the ground with the rototiller until it is really loose. You may have to go over it a few times. I recommend going up and down, then left to right. Rake up any loose stones and big weeds. I also recommend having a very strong and handy father-in-law who actually likes doing that!

Step 5: Plan out your garden. You may have to get a little strategic here. We put all the actual plants in first and grouped them. Then we did all the “mounding” seeds. Many types of vegetables require you to make mounds (mainly vine plants like cantaloupe, watermelon, cucumbers, squash, etc.). I like to put those around the perimeter so they can grow up on the fence and don’t get as entangled with your other plants. After those were put in, we filled in all the extra space with rows of beans.

Step 6: Fertilize. Sprinkle a thin layer on the plants. You will want to do this about once a month. Also, you will want to use a bug repellent about once a week. I am going to wait until the first time we water (in a couple of days since the ground was SO wet now) to put down the first bug repellent.

Step 7: Let Mother Nature take her course. Of course your job is to water (at least twice a week if it doesn’t rain), weed the garden, fertilize, and de-bug.

That’s it, my guide to gardening! Hope that makes it a little easier for you to tackle. I know when I first started it was quite intimidating but, just like anything else, if you break it down into steps, it becomes that much more manageable. Having a garden is totally worth the work! I had a huge amount of fresh veggies June through August last year, and I STILL haven’t finished all the frozen green beans I put away from the garden last year! Also, to keep you up-to-date with the garden and to share any tips along the way (as well as my bounty), I will try to do a monthly garden update post.

Are you doing any planting or gardening this year? I would love to hear your tips and tricks!

A grand, Grand Canyon

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Megan

Happy Friday everyone! Don’t you know it always is a happy day to reach Friday after a hectic week back from vacation. Speaking of vacation, I thought I would start my sight-seeing posts from our trip today since I am missing it a little bit. Also, the pictures are just too beautiful to keep to myself any longer. To get you all caught up, last week Eric and I (all by ourselves!! Our first vacation just us two since our honeymoon three years ago!) vacationed in Sedona, Arizona where we were able to soak up some rays, relax, and do some major sight-seeing. Our main day trip goal was the Grand Canyon, as neither of us had visited before. It was about two-ish hours north of us (a mighty pretty drive may I add) but the destination was too spectacular for words. So I will keep a minimum of words and stick to the pictures (which don’t even do its beauty and majesty justice).

Once you park there is a really nice visitor’s center that we stopped into. It gave us a great sense of the vastness of the Canyon.

The visitor’s center was great and all but we were itching to just see the Canyon already! Here was our first look.

So awe-inspiring and made us a bit giggly. Look at the excitement on our blown away (in both senses since it was the windiest day I have EVER experienced) faces.

Then it was time to hit the shuttle bus, which is a great service. It takes you from one hot spot to the next, making your trip very easy and all about the views.

Can you see the trail on the back canyon wall? That is the Bright Angel trail, one of the most famous trails that brings you all the way down to the Colorado River. That’s one intense hike! But it would be pretty awesome to do as well. Maybe next time. Or maybe a mule ride instead.

It was definitely a day filled with these moments. Of just standing, staring, and taking it all in, ogling at the power of Mother Nature.

It was thrilling to get glimpses of the Colorado River which carved out the Canyon. Kind of mind-blowing, right? Here is a view from where we were standing, just to give you some perspective.

While out there I definitely like to stick by places with railings or stay a safe distance from the edge. Then you see these types of people…

And these guys. One of them even tried to take a little nap. In my mind I went like this (WOOBGOBSJ*&*^$@?!) Then I walked away. So kind, right?!

The craziest (eh hem, sarcasm implied) moment I had was my Titanic “I’m ~~king~~ queen of the world!” moment. Classic.

We also had a fun time doing a few short hikes in between the lookout points instead of taking the shuttle.

After spending about four hours walking, shuttling, and ~~drooling over~~ viewing the park, Eric had one of his dreams come true: lunch in the famous Bright Angel lodge. There were many gleeful (and yummy) moments with a hint of nostalgia with these throwback menus, replicas from 1937.

With our tummies full and both mental and actual pictures taken, we gazed forlornly back at the Canyon and drove away, promising to each other to one day come back (and ride a mule).

PS – I promise to have fun décor/DIY projects next week as I have a few up my sleeve for this weekend. Thanks for the patience as I get settled back home from vaca and get geared up for home projects!

Only the Coolest Store Ever

Posted on May 8, 2013 by Megan

I know I have been MIA and also straying a little bit from house updates and projects. Please forgive me as I have been living it up in vacation land (Sedona, Arizona to be exact). I have a TON of pictures that I want to share with you, but I thought I would sprinkle them in over the next couple of posts/weeks since I have multiple posts to do about our amazing trip (catch a sneak peek by following me on Instagram). So to ease us into the land where vacation meets design, I thought I would share the coolest. store. ever. Hence the name of the blog post. Gee, aren’t I clever?!

The store is Son Silver West. Even if it isn’t your style (it gets a little wrought iron Southwestern) it is an inspiration minefield for DIY folk. I’m telling you, it’s the Mecca of cool upcycling projects. These pictures just scratch the surface since this store literally had a map it was so large. Let’s jump in, shall we?

What first caught our eye from the road as we drove by (which takes a lot with the glorious red rocks of Sedona everywhere) was the giant chicken on the corner of the store. From then on, Eric and I said we were going to visit the chicken when we talked about going to the store.

This is what you see as you walk in from the parking lot…or half of what you see. The other half of the store winds around behind me. You know it’s going to be cool when you see a metal shark, an old wagon, and metal cacti.

There was even more awesome metal sculptures inside, like this peacock made from horse shoes.

Or how about a metal dinosaur. Now this is the type of garden sculpture I would embrace!

I also fell in love with these giant metal flowers. I think they would be lovely inside or out. Their large-scale is just so great!

There were also some great natural items, like stone door pulls. How easy to make and pretty would those be for side tables or dressers or bathroom vanities? The options are endless!

For some reason I fell in love with these chili’s. I don’t know why. They aren’t normally my style but they were just so vibrant!

Then there was this baby…the wooded wonder. That would be the greatest coffee table ever! Look at those colors and patterns!

Then there were just beautiful items, like this seating set in vibrant colors.

And this cactus room. Say goodbye to greenhouses and hello to cactus rooms. It’s what all the cool kids are doing!

Don’t forget to look for unusual items as stand-in planters!

I’m not usually one for wind chimes but I thought this vintage collection of bells was a nice touch.

For the grand finale, a horse shoe coat rack and a table made of random items stacked together!

So if you ever find yourself in Sedona, stopping at Son Silver West is a MUST! The imagination just goes wild! So what’s your favorite piece? Mine is a tie between the dinosaur and the bells…

Kisses from Katie

Posted on May 6, 2013 by Megan

Has something ever happened in your life that makes you question your purpose in life? Makes you wonder if you are fulfilling the life you were meant to live? Perhaps something that made your mind expand a million times over and make you think about the choices in your life. Make you wonder if you can do more, give more. Make you wonder if your life can be bigger. This has happened to me a few times in my life. I think it is a natural part of growing up; questioning, wondering, and dreaming. To me, it has always been natural in my life. I have always dreamed big dreams of doing something big with my life, in giving back to the world and of being a world citizen.

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Out of college all I wanted to do was work at a non-profit, with the hopes of it being an international one. Well, I did end up working at a non-profit but a local one (still a great place and cause). My dreams didn’t play out there as I thought they would. They actually made my dreams of working at a non-profit get a little bit wobbly. Then I strayed away from that, although sometimes working at a quasi-government entity feels a lot like a non-profit, especially when we are an essential service organization (water provider). The fulfillment, joy, purpose, and community I have found in that job has been unbelievable. Yet, at times, it has been hard on me to live in a small town in rural Virginia and work in an even smaller town. They may be foolish dreams but I always dreamed of taking on the world.

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Yet, one thing I have learned in my first few years out of college, living the “normal” and “expected” life, is that life really is what you make it. You can live big dreams in a small town and change the world from right where you are, wherever that is.

Recently, I read a book that has both confirmed my ideas that I can make a difference no matter where I am but at the same time spurred on my deep down desires to do something radical in life and to really make a difference. The book is called Kisses for Katie, and it is on my must read list for everyone.

www.rappsodyinrooms.com Image from Amazon

The book is about a girl (right out of high school) who has a yearning to go to Africa, which she does for a few weeks. Those few weeks give her a need to go back and do more. So she goes back for a year. Then tries to do what is expected of her and come back to her home in Tennessee and go to college. After a semester of that, she realizes her home is in Africa, with the FOURTEEN daughters she has adopted. Woah. Amazing. She starts a non-profit to help her small town and transforms the lives of so many people, most of them children. It truly is inspiring.

This book is a very spiritual book, but I believe any person, whatever religion they are or beliefs they have, would be truly inspired by the book. Katie basically gives up her life for God to guide it and the remarkable events and activities of her life truly show it. She is a person of complete unselfishness and love, yet so real and humble. Reading about her actions through her eyes shows that she is only doing what she feels led to do in her heart. It is awe-inspiring.

I thought I would share a few of my favorite passages that I highlighted while reading to truly help get the essence of her thoughts and activities over to you.

“…I quit my life. Originally quitting my life was to be temporary, lasting just one year before I went to college and returned to normal, American teenager life. But after that year, which I spent in Uganda, returning to “normal” wasn’t possible. I had seen what life was about and I could not pretend I didn’t know. So I quit my life again, and for good this time. I quit college; I quit cute designer clothes and my little yellow convertible; I quit my boyfriend. I no longer have all the things the world says are important. I do not have a retirement fund; I do not even have electricity some days. But I have everything I know is important. I have a joy and a peace that are unimaginable and can come only from a place better than this earth. I cannot fathom being happier.” (Kisses From Katie, page xviii).

“I certainly don’t believe everyone should sell all of their belongings and pack a suitcase and move to Africa. I don’t think people all over the planet should drop everything to go somewhere far from everything familiar and be missionaries. In fact, I believe anyone can be a missionary right where they are. Every day, we have a choice. We can stay nestled in our safe comfortable places…or we can take a risk, do something to help someone else, make a person smile, change someone’s world. Life to the fullest exists. It’s available. All we have to do is decide to get up and embrace it.” (Kisses From Katie, page 101)

“I don’t always know where this life is going. I can’t see the end of the road, but here is the great part: courage is not about knowing the path. It is about taking the first step.” (Kisses From Katie, page 247)

It makes you really think about your life and wonder if you are doing all the good you can for the world, wherever and whatever that may be for you. It also makes me think big again; something that I sometimes lose when I get so dredged down in my 9 to 5 life full of bills and these privileged first world responsibilities, as they seem in comparison to Katie’s in Africa. I am pledging to give over my life and try to become as unselfish and obedient as possible. To let God lead my life and dreams and actions to wherever they may go. Perhaps this blog is a way that I can reach people in the world and help, however that may unfold. This book is such a good reminder about what really is important in life. It’s a book that I want to pick up and read daily to just remind myself how privileged and blessed I am in this world and to always, always remember to give more.

What about you? How are you feeling? Have you dealt with big dreams in a small town? How have you helped make the world a better place in your own way?

Click here to read Katie’s blog.

Click here to learn more about Katie’s non-profit Amazima where you can directly help her cause and know where every penny of your donation is going.

All pictures are copyright of Amazima (unless otherwise sourced) and were copied from the Kisses from Katie blog.

What the Duvet?

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Megan

I’m feeling silly. Don’t ask about the title. I’m not exactly sure what I was going for there. Yet, somehow that ties into this post, because it is about our guest bedroom. Sometimes I don’t know what I was going for in there either. Here is a shot of how it has been looking for quite some time.

I painted the side tables and TV stand, but other than that this room has had this look for quite some time. Yet, I didn’t do a happy dance and lovingly stare at the room whenever I passed by it. I liked it and was pleased with how it looked, but I wasn’t head over heels in love. And I believe in true love. I also believe that you should love absolutely everything about every little item that comes into your house. If not, it’s just clutter. I had been trying to work this brown and purple room. The hubs had bought that comforter set on his own (pre-marriage) so it held some sentimental value. Or so I thought. When I asked him about possibly changing it up, he said “No big deal Megaloo”. Then I set about trying to find a bright, cheerful duvet comforter (so the brown could live inside its new home) that we both loved. It’s important that this is a home that we build together, not a Megan dominated space. That’s what the Mego Cave is for. After some searching, Macy’s won again (that’s where the master bedroom duvet cover was from as well).

Now don’t scream and shout (Britney Spears reference – gah!) when you see this. I warn you because I did. You see, the duvet comforter most definitely does not (nor was I expecting it to) go with the curtains and headboard fabric. In fact, it is quite horrendous to look at all together.

But in full disclosure mode and showing you real time updates, you get to see what I see every day baby. I see a beautiful duvet cover that insanely clashes with every other textile in the room.

On the sunny side, all the furniture (wood and painted) works splendidly with the comforter, as does the paint color. (Please forgive the wrinkles.)

Let’s call that seeing the glass half full. But I do apologize to any guests who come before I find the right fabric for curtains and recovering the headboard.

Right now I am scouring local and online fabric stores trying to find the right fit! Stay tuned for updates!

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