Monthly Archives: January 2013

Modest Beginnings

A wise man once said,

“There’s a difference in living and living well. You can’t have it all, all by yourself.
Something’s always missing ’til you share it with someone else.
There’s a difference in living and living well.”

It’s a sappy sentiment I come back to time and time again. Now don’t worry, this won’t be a super-sappy blog full of lovey dovey, but it does give a nod to what inspired this blog: exploring ways to enrich my life and the life of my little family, learning through trial and error, starting (and eventually finishing!) DIY projects from simple (salvaging a collection of thrift-store picture frames) to ambitious (building a laundry hamper cabinet) to downright insane (we’ll see if that happens down the line). It’s a sentiment I call on when I’m elbow-deep in lacquer or sawdust or mud, and ask myself if I’ve finally gone too far with a project. And then I realize, no. I sure haven’t. Because this is all part of learning to live better.

My husband, dog, and I live in a 1960s ranch-style house that we purchased in December 2009 with our minds made up that some renovation was definitely in order. Little by little, we’re carving out the 1960s flair (green-gray vinyl living room tile, anyone?) and replacing it with our own style and design choices, all while keeping a pretty modest budget. We’re learning from others, both in blog-land and the real world, how to save money on projects by giving it the ol’ college try, with a splash of professional assistance for those bigger projects. And so far we’ve been, for the most part, pretty successful.

This blog is my way of sharing my projects and ideas for “learning to live better,” for lack of a better description, and hopefully helping/inspiring you (my eventual readers) to do the same. And to in turn share your discoveries with someone else.

The goal for my little piece of blog-land is not dissimilar to the goal for our home: evolution over time from modest beginnings into something amazing and truly our own! Fingers crossed for a well-rounded blog chock-full of DIY projects and home/garden/life improvement tips!

So without further ado, on with the show!