Pinterest-ing Weekend

So this weekend was pretty amazing. I went to the Natural History Museum (and discovered the a giant sloth existed!), explored two new canyons and did some fun Pinterest projects.

I have been feeling crafty lately and decided to work on some small Pinterest projects. I started with sprucing up some boring shoes. Pretty simple.
1. Clean off the bottom of your shoes with nail polish remover
2. Paint on a couple of coats of any nail polish where you would like. I started with plain nude pumps, added purple nail polish to the soles and heels, and then added a final glitter coat.
3. Clear coat when you are done.
That's it! Its that simple! Now I haven't worn them out yet, but I am very excited to!

Some other things I explored on Pinterest were budgeting ideas and holiday gift ideas. I have a few good ones narrowed down so we will see how people like their gifts! (I will post pics after get them done) I also discovered a very inexpensive way to make a headboard for my bedroom! Using cardboard instead of plywood will make it lighter, easier to make without tools and easy and light weight when We move out of this apartment! I will post that one when I make it too.

I will keep this post short. I hope you all had great weekends! There are still a few weekends left to go explore something new outside! Also, as for meeting new people here in SLC, I did not meet anyone new, but I have convinced Jeff to do a Meetup soon; baby steps!

The Giant Sloth! 

For some inexplicable reason, I feel the need to have this in my home one day. It will be mine, oh yes, it will be mine. 

Growing Pains

I am not the most outgoing person. Don't get me wrong - when I am with friends I am usually one of the sillier ones. But meeting new people? That is truly terrifying. Moving across the country? Awesome! Realizing the people we knew that made this move before us were not people we hung out with back home? Really tough.

So we are living in the place of our dreams, having adventures of a lifetime, and no friends to share that with. That is pretty lame. So I need to go out and actually talk to people, in real life, and try to hang out with them, in real life. Back to terrifying. Why is making friends as an adult so difficult? I know without making friends and proving to myself that I can do that, totally on my own, this place will never be home.

I want to be the adventurous person that I appear to be on the outside. Just moving across the country doesn't make me that person, not when I waste the opportunity to prove to myself that I can be truly independent. So this weekend I am going to talk to people that I don't know. And try to hide my terror that they may see me as vulnerable. Whatever. They might want a friend too.

I skipped yesterdays post. I will get better at this accountability thing. Still haven't told anyone I have this. I think I will wait awhile for that. This isn't for other people anyways. Just to prove to myself I can be who I want to be. Have a great day! And go make a new friend - who knows - it might be me!

One of my favorite pictures: "This is an adventure. . . . "

Prosper Where You're Planted

Yesterday my husband told me that I am becoming so domestic lately. Between me trying to cook, to hemming my work pants and jeans, to trying to start decorating our apartment, I understand him commenting on it. I am not a very "domestic" wife. I am not a good cook, and while I am great at designing other peoples spaces, my own home has always looked like a combo of college apartment and thrift store. Mostly because I am extremely cheap when it comes to myself. So recently I have been trying to change that, I want to be happy to come home, even if it is to an apartment with "renter white" walls. You have to prosper where you are planted, right? 

Since we have moved across the country and into a new apartment I have tried to make this space our own. We also downsized our apartment from a 2 bedroom, very spacious place, to a 1 bedroom place that is very tightly planned. Since we did not want to pay to move all of our hand-me-downs across the country, we decided to sell or get rid of most of our furniture. Okay, okay, ALL of our furniture. We came here with all of our outdoor equipment (skis, snowboards, bikes, camping equipment), clothes, a tv, and a dining room table that did not fit in our new apartment. We made the switch from a beautiful, large kitchen and pantry, to a small galley kitchen with no storage space. I will add some pictures at the bottom of some of the solutions I came up with. 

I didn't come into this apartment with a plan or a vision, so not everything flows, but I am getting there! 

 No seriously - if it didn't fit in these 2 cars and 1 small trailer it wasn't going! 

We bought a cheap futon to sit on (better than the camping chairs we started with) so I spruced it up with some small homemade pillows. They double as great camping pillows! 

Here is an in-progress kitchen. Storage solution for no-pantry living! Target came to the rescue with cute storage containers!

And our favorite (and most necessary ) purchase: THE mattress!!!! So much better than the air mattress we started with! 

And here are some after pictures for you:

A little Halloween Spirit!

Dining Nook, complete with coffee station, open-shelved pantry and seating for 4!

Yea, I know - it is still just a college futon, but I like it. 

And to substitute for a headboard, a little honeymoon reminiscing: Hawaii hats! 

It is still very much a work in progress, but I am very happy with the changes we have made so far! 

My First Blog Post

Today I am going to start a blog. And tomorrow I am going to post again. I think I will try to commit to posting Monday-Thursday every week. I need something to commit to and get excited about. I want it to be something I am passionate about. I want it to express who I am.

So who am I? My name is Haley, and I am a 90%er. I am great at starting things and terrible about sticking with them. That is what I will try to work on here. My follow through. That will be seen only with time - but I need to make it happen and stop talking about it.So I am an interior designer, or at least that is what I studied to do. Right now I am in my first sales position, selling Window Treatments. Like blinds, shutters, draperies, valances, that kind of thing. And you know what is crazy? I like it, and I am good at it. I get to go into peoples homes, that I could never afford and would never want, but I get to see these homes and see how people are living around me. When I am in these homes, I get to add the personal touch of the owner and make their space more comfortable for them, make it feel like home to them. That is pretty cool in my book.

I hope to eventually open my own Design Showroom. I want to have some retail goods that are unique and made my people in my shop. I will also offer design services, so I can still explore other peoples homes and bring them more than just window treatments. Make their space reflect their personalities, their tastes and their style. It is one of my favorite things to do. I want my design company to have a website, and I want to put fresh content there regularly, hence my interest in starting a blog now.

I am also a BeachBody Coach. I help people get out of their comfort zone so they can feel comfortable in their own skin. I love helping people make the shift from inner beauty to a full body beauty. I love feeling comfortable in my skin (and most days I really do feel that comfort) and I think everyone should feel the freedom of loving their body. I want to help them accomplish this in a healthy way. I know BeachBody can give that gift to people, and I love being a part of that process.

Personally? Well, personally I am a wife of the most amazing husband that I couldn't imagine being without. We have been dating over 7 years now and married just over 1. He has taken me on the most wonderful adventures, with more to come for sure. We recently packed up our lives and moved across the country, from Cleveland, Ohio to Salt Lake City, Utah. We followed our passion and our dreams of living in the mountains, and fully adopting an outdoor lifestyle. We are a work in progress, but have been more active since we moved here than ever before. I am so happy to be having this adventure with him and I can't wait to see where life takes us next.

I don't have a plan for this blog yet, so bear with me as I discover what this will become for me. I will post about all things I am passionate about including fitness, nutrition, DIY design, and the outdoor life. I hope you enjoy the ride! I know I will enjoy the self-discovery! Here I am - where I will go will be determined by me and time!