Spring is here! And Luellen is obviously excited about it. I sure am too. We have officially made it though one month of deployment - only eleven more to go. Of course, we are choosing to celebrate the one month accomplishment rather than focus on the eleven month challenge ahead of us. If we've made it through one month, the next eleven should be a breeze, right?
I will admit that I haven't even considered any spring cleaning yet. Eventually I'll make myself vacuum under all the furniture and get to work cleaning out the "office" (a.k.a. room full of papers that need to be shredded, army gear, and Christmas decorations)... but until I have the time and energy to do that, I thought I would use the change of seasons as an excuse to change a few things up around here.
Target had a ton of rugs on clearance this past week, so I considered that a sign I needed to replace the rugs I bought (at Target, on clearance) for the kitchen this time last year. The old rugs were made out of a stiff, thin fabric that caught every piece of dog hair and dried grass they came in contact with. And because they were so thin, they got pushed around super easily. The one by the back door was forever getting caught in the door, so I was beyond ready for something thicker that wouldn't slide around so easily. Both new rugs are much more sturdy and also larger, adding a little more warmth to the otherwise a little boring, gray kitchen floor.
Before:
After:
Before:
After:
Although I was happy to replace the dark red rug under the sink with the gray one above, I do love the pattern on the old rug. I wasn't quite ready to totally do away with it. On the other side of the kitchen, the dogs' water bowl usually sits on an absorbent cloth against the wall. The Mister and I thought we were geniuses for buying a towel made to sit under a dish drainer and soak up the water to prevent the dogs' mess from ruining our floor. However, what we didn't anticipate was that the terry cloth material would stay covered in all kinds of dried grass and stick pieces that the dogs brought in from the backyard, and that even the washer machine would not remove the mess. See below:
Gross, right? So I moved the red rug over to serve as a replacement.
Much better... And I can now fit their food bowls on the rug with the water bowl, making for a little more organization in the kitchen area. Win, win!
Next, I'd been looking for something to fill in this blank space on my "wall of things" (as my sister calls it) in the kitchen:
My mom let me use this cross stitch of hers from back in the day. I love me some retro, and the "smile" message is a good reminder to keep a positive attitude. A great addition with spring arriving -
And of course, my winter wreath had to be replaced with something to welcome Easter. This wreath was only $19.99 from Target, much less than I would have spent at Pier 1 for something similar, and really about the same price it would cost to make one myself. Definitely a good buy -
Before:
After:
It's lovely how a few little changes can brighten up a house that's trying to wake up after a long, cold winter. Unfortunately, there's apparently another winter storm headed our way next week. Will it ever be over? Even so, I'll enjoy this 78 degree day until I have to leave for work at 2 pm.
Oh, and I've been trying to pick up cross stitching as a hobby while the Mister is away. I finally completed my first little project this week.
It's not perfect, but it's mine. And the Emerson quote is one of my favorites. I'm definitely hooked.
Now my pups and I have to get outside and enjoy this warm weather while we can. Happy spring!
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