Not bad for $40 hey? These two heavy side tables are clearly made to last. With some sanding and a paint-over by  my boyfriend, these two tables will look fabulous in the guest room makeover.

What I love the most, is seeing similar ones in Costco for $140 + HST that are no where near as well made as these.

Next up on our “pre-love goods mission” is a man’s armoire. Hubby has offered to donate his dresser (and his side of our shared closet) in exchange for something similar to this:

(source)

So if you have one or know someone looking to get rid of theirs, please leave me a comment! Or if you come across one on your thrift hunts, please let me know.

Not this cheap-o! I sent out a broadcast to friends that I am currently accepting applications for their pre-loved items to possibly find their way into my current mish-mash decor styled home. Within an hour, I had presented to me a pair of side tables.

I’ve been wanting side tables for my guest room for a couple of years now. Currently our guests need to get out of bed to turn off their reading lamps, which is not a fan favourite when tucked in all warm and cozy.

The plan is to pick these babes up this weekend, freshen them up with a nice coat of white paint, and introduce them into the guest suite. In addition to these side tables I have a ceiling-fan and rocking chair on lay-away at Robin’s house.

If you have anything that you want to get rid of, and you want to donate to my insane project, leave me a note in the comments box. I’m not sure what all I am seeking, but I will know it if I see it.

On a side note, I love this re-purposed DIY sidetable. Who wants to make it for me?

{source}

1. It will give us something to do together
2. She is a great knitter and when I start to slack, she will pick it up and make sure we complete the project

We decided to make a quilt-like knit blanket. Since we started, I have completed 5 squares (to my mother’s 20 I’m sure), and I am proud to say each square is getting significantly better. I created an account on ravelry (awesome knitting resource with free pattern downloads) in January 2011 when I decided I was going to be a knitting star. But to date all I have is that one mistake-ridden scarf, not worthy of being posted in a legit community.

Here are 4 of my 5 squares. You can see that I lost track of which row I was in on my first square. I also used smaller needles on that one because my mother is tighter knitter. The 2nd one was started by my mother, so again, smaller than my latest squares. That all said, my mother is a knitting star and will figure out how to make my piddly knitting contribution look perfect.

Who here knits? Any recommendations for a super-duper beginner?

(source)

When was the last time you can honestly say you tried your best. For me, it was almost 2 years ago when my friend was teaching me an Ashtanga flow as part of our yoga teacher training. I tried my hardest to follow her verbal instructions, breathe when she told me to breathe, and do each pose and transition with correct technique. After 90 minutes, I was exhausted and felt fabulous.

Personally, 85% of the time I work hard when doing something (of importance), but rarely do I try my best. I think back to school, and how if I had honestly tried my best, I would have excelled far beyond my high 80′s average. I’m lucky where some things come easy to me, but I tend to rely on this ability to get me through life. I wonder how life would have panned out if I tried harder on even a few aspects of my life.

My husband, the musician, tries 10 times more than me to be the best. When he goes on stage to perform, he sets out to show himself, the band and the crowd that he is the best musician in that room. Lucky for the room, the others guys in his band are as equally amazing at their own instrument. Is it because rockstar loves what he does that being the best he can be is more achievable for him? Perhaps. But if I was to ask him, he would likely say this “I have to be the best” usually only applies to music.

When I’m out with Seamus (the dog) he sets out to have the best workout possible. He can run hardcore for 45+ minutes with a smile on his face and want more. Imagine we could do that? Hot dog.

When time comes for husband and I to raise a family, and I ask little Bobby “Did you try your best” on that math test, I hope we have set such an example, so that when he says “yes”, I know in my heart he honestly did.

Guess I have a lot of work to do myself.

I started this last day of 2011 as any normal day. Swinging by Starbucks, depositing some cheques, doing some sort of favour for Robin, and seeing my freshly replenished bank account dwindle in response to awaiting service providers.

Instead the traditional “ringing the new year” with Robin, I will be hanging out at home with my furry friends nursing a sinus cold that will not go away. In an attempt to help run this cold away, I will be doing some purging. I started with cleaning out my google reader, will tackle my email accounts next (I may just do delete all) and rid of physical items no longer wanted to mooch free rent from me. See you later wedding magazines!

Sometimes we hang on to our old stuff for that “just in case moment” (like my skinny clothes I haven’t worn in 5+ years). What we don’t think of is how these pre-loved items can weigh us down, clutter our lives and (gasp) not leave much room for new things to make a surprise arrival (hello new tv!)

I have decided that for 2012, I am doing something that I have never done. No, I don’t plan to exercise regularly (that’s a huge fail waiting to happen) nor am I going to promise to eat like an elite athlete. For 2012, I will purge the old to make room for the new. What can you purge to make room for new?

(source)

The unexpected. When life throws a whack load of curve balls your way and you just stand there in the batter’s box trying to figure out the best way to play out each pitch.

Well, I’m going into the bottom of the 7th inning, and hopefully this game will count as a super large win for me.

During the summer of 2010, I won a round trip, first class trip for 2 to Thailand. The prize includes flights, accommodations and a number of excursions. Rockstar and I were all set to take this once-in-a-lifetime trip this month when reality smacked us in the face.

My husband is a musician, so all of his jobs are contract based, and on top of that he has his own music school. I myself work part-time when I am not working at getting my brand-new yoga studio off the ground. With this in mind, we made the family choice to forgo the trip.

Not one to let things go to waste, I contacted the prize coordinator and explained our situation. Luckily we were able to transfer the prize to Rockstar’s cousins. Fingers crossed that it works out for them, and they get to experience this amazing trip on our behalf.

I will admit I am slightly bummed that we cannot go, but since Karma has her way of working her way into my life, today I won a 60 minute spa package through Hip and Urban Girl. Sure it’s not an elephant ride on the beaches of Phuket, but it’s pretty darn awesome regardless.

By sharing your good fortune, not only do you enrich someone else’s life, but you may also find yourself getting rewarded in mysterious ways.

It’s all about Karma kids.

As a fan of Glee, I was overly thrilled about the “I am Unicorn” episode. Anywho who has known me or followed my journey on my previous blog, knows I have a thing for unicorns (you can read about it here).

Last Halloween I went as far as to purchase a unicorn costume, but I will confess I’ve worn it on a few different occasions. I swore I would be a unicorn every Halloween until the end of time, and that is something I will not go back on.

“The point is, is that a unicorn is somebody who knows they’re magical and isn’t afraid to show it.” – Brittany S. Piers, Glee

You said it Brittany! I am proud to be a unicorn!

Think  about when you use this gesture. How do you normally feel before, during, and after this gesture?

For me, it usually goes like this:

1. BEFORE : anxious or annoyed

2. DURING : an explosion of energy rushing to escape my body

3. AFTER : calm

Does this sound somewhat familiar to you experience?

Now, take your middle finger, and gently press it against your thumb’s pad, and release the remaining fingers. It should look like this:

(credit)

In Yoga, this hand position is called Shuni Mudra and is mostly used during meditation. While this mudra is most known to help those with ear and throat issues, it’s also been known to bring to the meditator courage and the sense of responsibility.

Personally, I like to use it as a way to release my anxiety in a safe/kind way instead of sending negative energy onto others.

Next time you find yourself about to flip the bird to someone, turn this gesture into a shuni mudra with a big fat smile on your face, and kept that bird safe and happy.