so funny thing...

i'm unemployed. yep... it happened last friday. but don't worry. i'm really okay. i see this as the Lord opening up a new opportunity for me. the big fat question is: "what is said opportunity??!!"

it's weird. i've had this crazy sense of peace about the whole thing. did i cry? yes. am i scared? yes. am i worried? yes. am i afraid about having a mortgage and bills and loans? yes. but... but i am not worried about my future. i know, and i firmly believe, that the Lord has had this planned since the beginning of time. i believe that He is Sovereign. i believe that He is in control. i believe that He has a future and a plan for me. and oh my word, i'm SO SO SO thankful for this sweet Truth.

i've been blessed with so much. and i thank the Lord that He has chosen me to walk through this time of big questions and uncertainty. He wants to teach me things. He wants to reveal Himself to me. He wants to grow me. He wants my heart to be more centered on Him. And THAT, my blog reader friends, is what I'm so abundantly thankful for. I will come out better because of this.

at first, i was really worried about 2 things: 1) that i would have to battle myself. i can tear myself down faster than anyone can. i was really afraid that i would allow the enemy to attack me and kick me while i was down. 2) that i would have to swallow a big, fat pride pill. no one ever wants to say, "oh yeah, i was fired."

in less than 7 days, the Lord has seriously protected me from these 2 worries. 1) i know myself. i'm reminded of who i am in Christ. i know that this is part of God's plan for me. i know that i'm not at fault. and i also know that i was not happy in my job. i loved my job because of the people. but i did not love my job on monday thru friday, from 8am to 5pm. i wasn't happy. this is God saying, "Sarah, I want more for you. and I will provide a way for you." and this is me saying, "God. You're right. and You're awesome." 2) for some reason, it hasn't been hard telling people i was fired. it's amazing how many people i know that have been in this same situation. it's incredible for people to say to me, "i know your character and work ethic, and it doesn't change anything." the people that know me the best, know who i am.

of course, the Lord is teaching me some hard lessons. but, He's also shown me mercy in this. so... let's talk about some of the cool situations that have gone down since December 2nd...

1. my mom and dad. seriously, i don't know what i could do without them. they love me and support me... no matter what. they have my back. and i'm blessed.

2. on saturday i was supposed to be at my office Christmas party. obviously, that didn't quite work out. but... i did get to go to one of my best friend's first wedding shower. and... on top of that, my other 2 best friends were in town for the shower as well. BAMS {beth.amber.melissa.sarah} doesn't get the opportunity to see each other often... but we did on saturday. and THAT is a God thing. He is always perfect with His timing. their hugs meant the world to me.

3. friends. i have amazing friends in Austin. these people truly live life with me and support me. they pray for me, check on me, buy me lunch, and just spend time with me. i may not have a job, but i've been pretty busy this week :)

4. i got a roommate at the end of October. i lost my job at the first of December. i know this is not coincidence. God knew i needed someone here to support me and to help me financially. i thank Him for Ginger often.

5. Christmas. my family and one particular friend *cough cough beth* have been hounding me on not giving presents this year for Christmas. or if i do give presents, they need to be magazine subscriptions. i had done the majority of my shopping the day before i was fired. so for the most part, everyone was already taken care of before all this stuff came down. but, a few weeks ago, i started asking the Lord to really open my eyes to Christmas. for letting the real Truth of this season to sink into my heart. and, i can honestly say that the last week has helped that come to pass. wrapping each of these gifts, i'm wrapping them with love, i'm giving out of love. not because i should or should not... not because it's what i'm supposed to do during Christmas, it's because i want to give. to show others my love for them. i want to show them my appreciation. and give because i've been given the ultimate Gift.

6. my "special" Christmas tree. it is janky, it is defective, it is leaning, it is not symmetrical, it is not my most beautiful tree. but. with lights, with ribbon, with ornaments i've gathered throughout the years, it is beautiful. and it's perfect. i still look at it the way i've looked at every other tree i've had. i water it the way i always do. i switch around the ornaments like i always do. i put presents under it. i sit in the dark and admire it. i have to adjust the tree stand about 3 times a day to keep it from falling over. i feel like i have a lot in common with my tree. i've been made into something beautiful. something that God continues to prune and love on.  something that is cared for.

7. i like not having a job. this may change. but, honestly, that's kind of my greatest fear right now. i like having time to do the things that i enjoy. ok scratch that, i love it. it's my hope and prayer that whatever my next job is, that it allows me time to volunteer, or go get coffee at 3pm, or eat lunch with a friend and not have to rush, or work from home in my sweats.

8. layla. i think she's died and gone to Heaven. this dog wants to snuggle with me... she's NEVER been a snuggler. she wants to be around me constantly. i take it as she loves me. maybe she's just freaking out.

9. 508. even though i haven't done much with 508 this month, i'm going to have a lot more time to work on my projects. i think i'm FINALLY going to be able to mark a few homes off the list. and that will feel really good.

10. wrapping presents. i'm finally getting to wrap presents the way i've always wanted to... creatively. i have the time. and it's awesome :)

ok.. that's the top 10 good good good things going on right now. maybe this is entry number 1 of an unemployment blog series...

watch for the Light

I've found in the past few years that Christmas has gotten harder. I think it makes me feel lonelier than usual. God has placed in me a desire to have a husband and kids. He has blessed me with so much to date... and I know that He will continue to do so in the years to come. I trust that. I walk in the faith that He will give me these desires. I try my best to be patient with His plan and His timing.

But, I've noticed that the Christmas season brings about a loneliness that I don't like. To be blunt, I want to kick it in the butt. I know that I, Sarah Decker, have zero control over my future... but I do know that the BEST thing I can do to fight the loneliness is to pray. Pray for the Spirit to fill me up with the REAL reason for Christmas. For the Spirit to prepare my heart for a real and TRUE celebration of life. I will pray for my heart and my mind to be focused on more than decorating or buying presents.

I'm also going to pray and try to center my heart around the coming of Jesus. Advent... a time of waiting... the great anticipation. So, I bought this book last year, and I never read through it... but am going to make a point to do so this year!

Prayer and advent. Hopefully those two things will stomp out any unwanted loneliness this season!

Merry Christmas!! LOVE that I can say that now :)

beinganaggieispainful

Disclaimer - I'm going off of 5 hours of sleep. And I've already said "touche" twice in 2 hours. That's a record.

I'm an Aggie. I'm a very proud Aggie. I love my school. I love our traditions. I love Aggie sports. I'm an Aggie. For better and for worse.

But. In light of a less-than-thrilling football season and seeing tweets and facebook statuses from non-Aggies, I need to air a few of my thoughts. Feel free to not read from here on out if you are just as feisty as I am this morning.

1. Sherman is a disappointment. Sherman is our coach. The coach that apparently doesn't know how to make adjustments during half time. You know, adjustments that could be made to win a game in the 2nd half? I'm sure he's a really nice guy. And I'm not bashing his character or morals or anything like that. No judgement on him as a person. Just his job. Just like someone could tell me I don't do a good job. Sherman... you don't do a good job. Our record is 6-6. 5 of the 6 loses were lost in the 4th quarter. That means we were up in the 4th and then lost. 11-1 would've been nice. That's all.

2. Aggie quarterback, Ryan Tannehill, is a good kid. A smart kid. It's just sad that he has fallen into the Senior Aggie Quarterback curse. We have one of those. Great Junior years, awful Senior years. I wish he could've thrown the ball in the right directions a few more times last night. The best player for UT last night was, in fact, Tanny.

3. Fact: I don't like UT at all. I tolerate UT. If they play someone I really really don't like, ie Texas Tech, I will pull more for the Horns... but still hope that there's a way for them to both lose. If they play someone I really don't have an opinion on, I just take the stance of "let the best team win". I may not like them winning... but whatever. The only thing I don't like is for UT to have a better record than A&M. And... well... I don't like UT winning at.all. during basketball season. I would be thrilled if they never won a basketball game. Just being honest.

4. Longhorn "bandwagon" fans. I'm not even going to lump people that didn't attend UT in this category. I grew up with an uncle, a cousin, and multiple good friends that are HUGE UT fans. Huge ones. And none of them went to the school. I live in Austin. That's where UT is. There are LOTS of UT fans here that have never gone to school there. That's okay. If you are lifelong fans... I respect that. There are lifelong Aggie fans that have never gone to A&M. That's awesome. I'm a lifelong Notre Dame fan. But, I've never even stepped on their campus. I digress. When I mean "bandwagon" fans, I mean the ones that ACT like lifelong fans, but have only cared about UT football since the days of Vince Young, ie circa 2005, ie the year they one the National Championship. These are bandwagon, ie Tshirt, fans. These are the fans that bother me the most. These are the fans that I lose respect for. These are the fans that make losing to UT really difficult to swallow. These are the fans that make me want to kick someone in the shins. And yes, if you must know, I feel embarrassed that A&M have these fans too... but let's face it, you don't see many bandwagon Aggie fans as of late.

5. Aggie War Hymn. Yes. We sing about UT and Bevo. So what. I bet most Longhorn bandwagoners don't know Texas Fight was originally written to combat the Aggie War Hymn. That's right... it was written in RESPONSE to the Aggie War Hymn. You mean Aggies got under the skin of the Horns? Hmm. Interesting. "Texas Fight, Texas Fight and it's goodbye to A&M" Google it. And no. I don't think we should change our War Hymn when we go to the SEC.

6. If you've followed my blog for any length of time, you know that I lost a dear friend in the Aggie Bonfire collapse in 1999. I'm not trying to be the Aggie that brings up Bonfire... believe me, it's hard to talk about sometimes. But, I bring it up now, because it wasn't until the Bonfire collapse that I learned to respect UT. They stepped up in a way that words can't describe in the days after the collapse. ALL of UT. Administrators, students and fans. I'm still moved by their actions, prayers and thoughtfulness during A&M's darkest hour. I graduated in 2003 from A&M. I really truly believe that, for the most part, the students that came to A&M post-Bonfire don't have the same respect for UT the way that pre-Bonfire Aggies do. Yes, us pre-ers have that love-hate relationship with UT, the post-ers just seem to hate, not all... but most. It bothers me. Alot. I hate that we have students that don't understand that this is a "respectful" rivalry... or at least it used to be. I'm not wanting us to stand around a campfire and sign Kumbaya... but do want us to have some respect. There's a documentary about the Bonfire collapse called "Burning Desire", it also includes the A&M-UT game that followed the week after the collapse.  I just ordered it. Not to sit on the couch with popcorn in hand and relive the great win... but to use it as a teaching tool for my kids. I want my kids to know what happened and why their momma has respect for a school that isn't my own. I want them to know that if they go to A&M, or even UT (gulp), that I expect them to treat these 2 schools, and whatever rivalry exists in 2033, with the utmost respect.

7. I'm ready to go to the SEC. I know we may not be true contenders for a few years, but I do believe that Arkansas went into the SEC in the same boat as the Aggies will. And, I think that ol' Arkansas is #3 in the nation. And I think that that gives me some hope.

8. Yelling at an Aggie Football game is a FANTASTIC ab workout. I'm real sore. And confession, I like having a raspy voice.

9. The next time the Aggies and the Horns meet will be a great game. We'll have a few seasons of playing in a pre-NFL conference and Texas may be independent by then. It'll be awesome. And I will try my best to be there. And I will have sore abs, no voice and tired, red eyes the next day.

10. I probably won't be watching the Aggies in a bowl game, if we get invited to one. We tend to be rather disappointing in bowls. I also probably won't be partaking in the annual college football pick contest that I usually do. Why? Cause I can't pick against the Aggies... so it's best not to pick at all. It's now Aggie Basketball season in my heart and in my house. And I'm okay about that...

Now, I'm going to need a pedicure, massage, big fat nap and a movie.

my reaction to the penn state scandal

i guess seeing as how i'm a sports fan, and a crazy college sports fan at that, a friend asked me yesterday what my thoughts were on the penn state scandal. i had to be honest in saying that i didn't know much about it... he ended up sending me an article on the timeline of events that took place. 

yes. it's easy to judge. it's easy to be angry. it's easy to blame. it's easy to call someone sick and perverted.

but, no matter how awful and vial this whole situation is, my reaction is that of a broken heart. like seriously, i cried this morning.

it breaks my heart that children were taken advantage of. that these boys, no matter what age, had their childhood robbed from them. that they trusted, maybe even their parents or guardians trusted, an organization who's main purpose was to give them positive interactions. that the emotional toll is probably far more damaging than we could ever imagine. it breaks my heart that some of the parents knew what happened, and despite approaching individuals, nothing was done about it. that things probably could've stopped dead-in-their-tracks if just one person would've stepped up. it breaks my heart that there is way more to this story than you or i know... and that it's probably a whole lot worse.

it breaks my heart that people knew that this was possibly going on, and didn't blow a whistle. that the people that did witness it and reported it stopped there. that harming children wasn't the first thing that broke their hearts. it breaks my heart that the people that did know about it valued the image of a university, or a football program, or a sports legend or whatever it was over the exploitation of children.

it breaks my heart that there are men and women that don't have courage to step up, to do what is right. that the saying "out of sight, out of mind" trumped doing what is right.

i'm not judging. i'm really not. my heart is broken. i've never witnessed anything like this. i've never known anyone to be sexually abused. i've never known a man or woman to take advantage of a child. i pray i never do. however, i'm not judging because i know that i'm just as broken as these men are. i'm not perfect. there are so many situations that have occurred in my 30 years that i have chosen to ignore, because it was the easy way out. none as big as this... but i'm just as guilty. so i can't judge.

but, what i can do is pray. and that is what i'm doing. i pray for men and women all over this world to stop taking advantage of and robbing the innocence from children. i pray that this situation only encourages more men and women to step up and do what is right. i pray for more whistle-blowers to have the courage to sound the alarm in their communities. i pray for absolutely no one: no organization, no city, no community, no church, no school, no anything to think they are more important than or above the law. laws that have been put in place to protect. i pray for the families of these boys, and for the countless other families of children that have gone through this awful situation. i pray that they overcome the, seemingly, impossible mountain of anger, hurt and brokeness. i pray that these boys and girls that have had to deal with such horrible circumstances will grow into men and women that advocate for other victims and make a positive impact on our society. i pray that there is a stop to victimizing children all together. i pray that people feel the Holy Spirit convicting them to do what is right and either walk away from doing harm, or sound an alarm when harm has been done.

and, i've been praying for a lot of kids. i'm pretty sure i've prayed for every kid i know, by name. and every child i have yet to meet... like my own. i pray for the protecting hand of God to keep them safe from all harm. that they may never know what it's like to be exploited. to be robbed of their childhoods. i pray for the children i hope to adopt one day. i pray that they come to me with their innocence in tact. i pray that every child i will ever know feels secure with the adults that their parents let them be around. i pray for every organization, school, church, volunteer program that these children will participate in... that upstanding adults, ones that want to protect these kids, will be leaders and above reproach. i pray that we teach our kids to stand up to do what is right, even if it means ridicule or adversity. i pray that Jesus takes a hold of our children's hearts and leads them to grow to be men and women that approach this world the way He did.

oh, i pray for change. huge, huge change in this world. i pray that despite these awful, horrible, disgusting circumstances that Good will come out of it. i pray that people's lives are changed for the better. i refuse to think that God isn't moving. i know He is. i trust that He is.

FIVEOEIGHT

fiveoeightdesign.com

This, my dear friends, is what has been consuming my life as of late! Not exactly the website itself, but the business! God is good... and I'm getting to work with some great families! I'm really excited and hope that you enjoy the additional blog to follow :)

Happy Monday!!

practice... i don't like practice...

I've never been good at practicing. I played the flute (go ahead and laugh all you want) for 7 years and barely picked it up outside of band practice. I played the piano for 8 years and still have trouble playing with both hands. I played tennis... and was awful. I've tried to run, but don't want to practice enough to get through the tough period.


Here's my problem... I want to be good. Right off the bat. I don't want to have to practice... I don't want to have to work at it. I just want to be good. If I'm good, I have the motivation to get better. The sad thing is that there is very little I can do "good" right from the get-go. 

My whole life, I've been really good at a few things... 2 of which I'll mention here. I was good at dancing. I enjoyed it, it came naturally, and I always wanted to push myself to be better. And, I was really good at eating. I love eating. I love food. My boss says I'm the resident taste-tester in my office. It's kind of ridiculous how much I love food. When I was younger, I would eat a whole large pizza and then go to Drill Team practice, and never gain an inch. It.was.awesome. Fast forward to being 30...


Now, for a little humiliation on my part. Confession: I've gained a good 20 pounds in the past 2 years. That's 10 pounds a year. It's ridiculous. And, I've been battling a lot with self-esteem/confidence. This is not my ploy to try to get compliments, so please don't! Luckily, I have lots of clothes that can hide the bulges, etc. At any rate, I've done a lot of praying over this weight gain. I felt like the best way for me to approach the Throne was to just be completely honest with God... and myself. Here's what I came up with...

- I depend on food. I like it. It makes me feel good. When I'm bored, I eat. 

- I'm extremely lazy.

- I want to be back to my old weight/size so bad.

- I have motivation, but I don't have drive.

- I try to do too much on my own.

One of the biggest hurdles I had to leap through was praying about why I wanted to lose weight. It was my biggest fear that the whole reason would be because I was comparing myself to other women. I won't lie... I sometimes find myself falling into that trap. But, at the heart of the matter, I really feel like I want to lose weight because I want to be healthy... regardless of what the scale says. I know that if I am healthy, then I will be much more confident. 


I've noticed that when my confidence is low, I turn to other things to help build it back up. To say it another way, I become needy. And mostly, I end up eating more... which doesn't make anything better.

Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul. - 3 John 1:2

I firmly believe that. When I feel good, it's like my heart grows a little. I laugh more, I appreciate more, I'm more thankful, I see more beauty, I don't instantly reject the Goodness of God... my heart just feels bigger.

I.want.that.again. 

I'm praying to have the drive to be healthy. But not only physically healthy, but soul healthy. I'm praying to accept practice. That I'm not going to get my results after one good meal and work out. I'm praying for a different kind of patience. I want to include Jesus in every bit of this journey. Because, I know that if I don't, I will fail. I've failed before... and I don't want to fail anymore.


Besides the all-important and necessary-to-succeed prayer, I've also:

• consulted a nutritionist. I need someone to say "Um, Decker... you eat WAY too much pasta." or "Excuse me, you know there are such things as vegetables!" I need accountability with my diet. Not just to lose weight for right now, but to maintain a healthy diet for the rest of my time on this earth. I'm really looking forward to hear what she has to say...

• working out. Ok, I took a week off last week... but I'm back on the horse. Even though I currently feel like poo. So you know how Danny in Grease was able to try out all of those different sports until he landed on the fact that he liked track? Yeah, it would be AWESOME to have one of those type situations in the real world. You see, I've always wanted to find something that I enjoy doing... because I do NOT enjoy going to a gym. I think I've found my niche though... it's called Barre. It's a toning, strengthening, major calorie burning method of work out. And, it's a mix between Ballet and Pilates technique. I finished my 5th class today... and it really is an incredible work out. Besides the fact that my nose is running like crazy, I do feel really good. I like this workout so much, I'm thinking of investing in 6 months or a year of classes. that.is.huge.people.

•  realized nothing is going to happen today. This is going to take time. And even giving myself a goal-date isn't going to really happen. I don't want to set myself up for a fall... but rather, I want to stay encouraged.

• spending time in the Word. Yes, to find strength. But also to really search my heart. I know that there are some layers of idolatry that are feeding away. And those layers will keep on stacking, and growing, and suffocating unless I seek Jesus to do a work in me. I can.not. do this alone... and I, frankly, don't want to.

So. There you have it. It's time for change. It's time for a healthy soul and a healthy heart. It's time to practice. It's time for success over failure. Let's do this.

man o' man

seriously. where.did.august.go? it FLEW by before I could even blink. August was a BIG month for this girl... one thing in particular that came into fruition, that is in the works, yet established at the same time. something that I'm totally teasing you to keep reading my blog to find out more about... in a few weeks. :) tease!

so, while you're {maybe} guessing what in the world I could "announce", I'll leave you with what my August was filled with...

{work}

LOTS of work. Starting, tying up and completing projects. Exciting stuff to say the least, but nothing that anyone in blog world would really want, or care, to know about... so I'll spare you.

a few FUN work things though... our CEO asked the VP team to join him for a day on the lake. Just a day to chill and hang out with each other... it was fab... and much needed.

a trip to San Angelo for a clay shoot. we took our cooker to cook for the bankers. we had not one, but two, flat tires on the cooker. and when i say cooker, picture a massive smoker for bbq, as well as burners for cooking big pots of beans and potatoes. after a 6 hour trip that should've taken 3 hours... we got to work, cooked, served and got on the road as soon as possible. it was a long day, but LOTS of quotable moments that won't make sense to anyone that doesn't know my co-workers :)

a trip to Kansas City for board meetings. it was so fun to see this city through the eyes of those that live there. we visited Grand Central Station there in KC... it is BEAUTIFUL.

{life}

a double quincenera. yes. you read correctly. Becca turned 30. and it was her DREAM to have a double quincenera... so we did. it.was.phenomenal. i hosted it at my house... which led me to do LOTS of small updates to the house. I definitely marked a few of my to-do things off the list... but more on that later. at any rate, we had a blast. it was complete with giving Bex an iPad for her birthday... a flash mob... a photo booth... toasts... and just all around fellowship with friends! 

Lindsay - me - Olivia
partaking in the photo booth awesomeness

Bex with the official Birthday mascot - a one-legged Ken

n.y.c. oh yes. mom, Deb, Kitty and I all took a mother-daughter/girls trip to NYC! we had a BLAST... the MET, lunch at the Boathouse, 5 Napkin Burger, incredible dinners, Top of the Rock, Sister Act, Central Park, Harlem, Columbia, St. John of the Divine, Grant's Tomb, Hell's Kitchen, Ellis Island, Battery Park... we packed in our time while there!

view of Central Park

Mom was SO HYPED to see the Hello Deli... aka a Letterman Landmark

Decker ladies with Lady Liberty herself

view of Manhattan from Ellis Island

freedom is goodness.

the sistas!
me - mom - Deb - Kitty

inside Ellis Island. it is beautiful

Freedom Tower. at the World Trade Center site

flag at Ellis Island

exterior of Ellis Island... I was getting all kinds of inspired

the.best.burger.ever. 5 Napkin Burger. If you're in NYC... go. don't ask questions.

Columbia University

St. John of the Divine Cathedral in Harlem

Mom's Birthday cake :)

making our Dad's proud...

pinterest projects!! eek!

The Pinterest Challenge was to pick a project and have it completed in a week. I did a LOT of projects that have been inspired by my "make it a home" pinterest pins: http://pinterest.com/aggieskd/make-it-a-home/

As a quick reminder, here was the official challenge...

Have you ever wanted to wallpaper your cat (don't, i tried, unsuccesfully) or gold leaf your blankey (weird, but could be amazing...although the fact you have a 'blankey' is questionable)?
Regardless, now is your chance, my friends, to finish that crazy home project that you keep putting off because you are too 'busy' or 'constantly watching the reality tv' or 'not-goal oriented'.  I think i'm a combination of the first two, so, I was talking to my new friends,  Sherry and John from YoungHouseLove.com, Joey and Lana from JoeyandLana.com, and Katie and Jeremy from BowerPowerBlog.com and someone had the genius idea of throwing down an official Pinterest challenge; a design challenge to force ourselves to finish a project that we promise ourselves we will, inspired by a pinterest picture.

 ___________________________________________________________________________________________

And now... on to the show!! Here's everything Pauls {my fabulous mom} and I tackled this weekend!!

my bedroom then...

right after I moved into the house.
please notice the dust ruffle...

the great print series i found on etsy 

opposite side... sorry i didn't move the random box...

my bedroom NOW...

finally brought the headboard mom, dad and I made last summer from Linda's house.
also, we changed the curtains out to some really pretty yellow ones from IKEA.
and, the GREAT new bedside table that I can put LOTS on!

now introducing... the NEW BED! I got a NEW BED! found a GREAT deal on this bed from West Elm.
gooooodbye dust ruffle! hello less cloth material! oh... and we took down the curtains from the other window. 

this picture doesn't do this wall justice. these prints are something special. they are legit copies of pages taken from THE Woodstock Music Festival program!!! my dad's cousin sent me the program because he knows how much I love music! These are VERY rare... because most of them got ruined due to rain, mud, etc. at any rate, I chose 12 of my favorite pages... and this whole wall cost me $36. awesome!!

here's a better pic of the colors that I'm rockin' in my bedroom now!

 living room then...

living room right after i moved in... i bought a pretty braided rug, however it shed.like.crazy.
and... i also thought that i shouldn't waste my time by hemming the curtains...

 living room NOW...

and a neeeewwwwww rug! as well as heeemmmmmmmmed curtains!

close up of the rug... :)

i brought over my covered "extra" seating... just so everyone can see how awesome the print is against the rug!
you're welcome...

laundry/pantry then...

pretty sure this is a horrible picture, but it's the only one i have of the space.

laundry/pantry NOW...

BASKETS = organization = happy sarah
there's still more to come in this room... so that's why you aren't getting the full picture

guest bedroom then...

guest bedroom NOW...

goodbye busy duvet... and hello NEW set-up!

hung another poster :)

the "feng shui" is totally off, but the arrangement makes more sense!
and i have good plans for that white frame leaning up on the wall... don't worry :)

bathroom then...

well, i don't have a pic of that. basically i had 2 hanging shelves above the toilet... one decided it didn't want to cooperate. so enter new idea...

bathroom NOW...

framed my awesome embroidered hand towel!!! 

and another view...

So... as you can see, we were QUITE busy this weekend! And, I'll be the first to admit that I need some photog skills for indoors... those pics make me cringe.

Gonna keep tabs on my running list... so here's the update :)

Indoors ::

• replace the rug in the living room
• hem curtains in living room
• find a rug for the dinning/breakfast area
• paint or wallpaper hallway
• hang prints in hallway
• hang decor in bathroom
• take down "listing deport" shelf in bathroom
• baskets, baskets, baskets for pantry/laundry room
• additional shelving unit in laundry room for "crafting" storage
• paint another coat of chalkboard paint on laundry door {3 coats isn't enough}
• paint pantry/laundry walls a super fun "i love doing laundry and storing food" color
• possibly paint pantry/laundry floor
• window covering for pantry/laundry window
• window covering for dinning/breakfast door
• new front door
• paint inside of front door
• paint hall closet doors
• new light fixture for hallway
• possible new light fixture for breakfast/dinning area
• new, interesting dinning table
• use existing breakfast/dinning light fixture as standing lamp shade in one of extra bedrooms
• buy a standing lamp for the above bullet point
• hardwoods in master
• possible tile flooring or paint concrete in extra bedrooms
• new bed for master
• king size cases for master being shipped as I type!!!
• new pillowcases for master
• recover DIY'd headboard for master {but first GET said headboard from Linda's} didn't recover... but it looks FAB!
• artwork for master
• bedside table for master
• barn door {or something comparable}for master closet door
• rearrange guest bedroom
• new duvet for guest bedroom
• paint dresser in guest bedroom
• ceiling fan for guest bedroom
• curtains for guest bedroom
• hang curtains in roommate room
• set up bed in roommate room
• paint roommate room?
• hang artwork in roommate room
• get more Fiestaware coffee mugs
• organize kitchen drawers i figured i would save you from the completely interesting pics of my kitchen drawer organization :)

Outdoors :: haven't even gone there yet... it's TOO hot! 

• wood fence in backyard
• cut down "trash trees" in backyard
• deck in backyard
• add on a small storage room off of garage
• small fence in front yard
• paint house and trim
• paint front door fun color
• create new walk path in front yard
• build out flower beds in front yard
• build out flower beds in backyard
• flower/herb/veggie boxes in backyard
• add outdoor plugs in front and back
• sprinkler system
• lap pool {a girl can have lofty dreams, right??}
• plant an oak tree in the back