Resolutions!

One week into the new year and I’ve finally dug myself out of the haze that was the holidays and have resolved myself to make a few changes in 2016.

But my resolutions aren’t to quit a bad habit or start a new health regimen (although I can think of a few changes in those areas that I need to make).

I straight up “borrowed” this graphic from one of my favorite blogs to follow called The Jungalow by LA based designer Justina Blakeney. She is one of many awesome bloggers I aspire to emulate. 

Instead, I’m resolving to live my life in its truest sense. To allow myself to be free, to be true. What does that mean for me? It means I may start a new project in January and not finish it until June, and that’s okay. Or I may fail several times at an attempt to try something new (like start a vegetable garden that seems like an algebraic equation to me), and that’s okay. Or that I make the first step in fulfilling my dream of freedom to create beautiful things everyday; even if that step is the tiniest, itty-bittiest step. That’s okay.

What I’m promising to myself in 2016 is to try, and to not beat myself over the head if things don’t turn out exactly the way I planned. The world puts enough pressure on us to look, feel and act a particular way for me to start regulating how I measure my self imposed standards of success or failure.

There’s no need to put pressure on myself to have it all figured out today what my plans are for 2016, except that I will allow myself freedom to be my truest self. I encourage you to do the same!

 

 

The Case for Small Christmas Trees

The weather these past few days has done just enough to cement my holiday mood. I imagine the wet drizzle of the rain is like melted snow flurries that made their way too far south. I mean cool rainy days are as close as we’re gonna get to snow in The Bahamas.

So earlier this week, as the rain dripped and drooled, I headed to a nearby Christmas tree dispensary to get the perfect tree.

Wanting my first Christmas in my own new home to be extra special, you would think I would opt for the grandiose towering nine footers at the back of the tree farm, but nope – I stopped at the entrance gate of the dispensary. There at the very front were three little trees, much too short and shrimpy to be chosen over the huge fluffy evergreens with spot lights shining down on them – but I got excited by their miniature stature. Of the three, we picked the one in the goldilocks zone -not too big, not too small, just perfect for us!

Here are my six top reasons to choose a smaller Christmas Tree:

1. They take up less space

If you live in a cozier (smaller) space, a small tree just makes logistical sense. Our 1800 sq ft home has little room for a large tree. A smaller tree means you don’t have to disrupt the setup of your living space.

2. They’re easier to transport

There’s such less hassle getting a smaller tree home from the dispensary. No tying trees to the roof of your vehicle or borrowing a truck! In our case, we just put it in the trunk of our standard sized SUV and drove away.

3. Easier cleanup

The worst part about getting a real Christmas Tree is all the pine needles you have to cleanup everyday. But with a smaller tabletop tree cleanup is literally just a sweep with your hand. Also, a smaller tree equals less needles…it’s science.

4. Easier disposal

When we used to purchase larger trees, I always needed help taking down the decorations and dragging the tree to the curb for trash pickup. Now that we use smaller trees I can lift it with one hand and take it out myself. Also it takes much less time.

5. They’re cheaper

On New Providence the cost of a real pine 6ft or taller can push you well over $100. Larger trees can cost as much as $200! I find it difficult at times to pay that amount for temporary home decor. Smaller trees max out at about $45, and if you’re good at bargaining you can maybe squeeze a few extra dollars off that amount.

6. They’re So Chic!

I’m still in that old school train of thought that a little goes a long way. I like to keep things as simple as I can and add a bit of flair in unexpected places. There’s just something so chic and classy about a petit tree that screams charm – without actually screaming of course. I follow the same train of thought when it comes to decorating my pine, less is more.

So the next time you choose your tree, maybe you’ll consider the benefits of a small and chic tabletop pine.

Thanks for reading!

Share your thoughts in the comments section below!

Welcome to The Ambiance in Here!

Picture the place you feel most comfortable. Perhaps it’s a cozy chair in the corner of your bedroom where you snuggle under a fuzzy throw with a good book [or your smartphone]; or a table at a dimly lit eatery overlooking the ocean, the sound of clanging wine glasses creating a relaxing rhythm. The atmosphere of these favorite places can transform us, cause us to undo at the seems and melt the day away.  This is the idea behind The Ambiance in Here.

When I envisioned a blog I thought I’d like for it to have a certain Ambiance. A beautiful place, where readers can feel inspired to make their lives more beautiful. If it does that for just one person, then I’m satisfied (although I won’t get mad if you tell all your friends about this soon to be awesome site!)

The Ambiance in Here is like my home, and I’m inviting you to be a guest in my home. So feel free to kick off your shoes and relax!

Also please feel free to give me your feedback so that I can tailor the site to my readers’ needs.

 

Confessional

You know that guilt you feel when you haven’t been to church in a while and you show up and sit in the back pew so nobody can really see you. Yeah. That’s how I feel returning to to finally post after almost seven months of neglecting my site. I promise that I have been working on many exciting things that I’ll be sharing!!! I’m also vowing, to myself and whoever few of you actually read this blog, that there will be at least two new posts each week.

So from the bottom of my heart, I’m sorry. Now let’s get ready for an incredible ride filled with beautiful designs, cool diy’s and inspiration everywhere you turn!

A Bit of a Fixer Upper

Perhaps the best part about purchasing your first home is the satisfaction of home ownership, owning your piece of the rock. Second to that is the pure joy and excitement of adding your personal touch to a space! I mean the possibilities are endless, especially with a newly renovated or constructed house. You have a blank canvas.

My husband and I are just about three months in to our “brand new” home. I put brand new in quotation marks because it’s not in fact brand new per say, just new to us. In actuality it’s a Mid-20^th Century house, built in that old English Bungalow style reminiscent of the simplistic living in 1950’s New Providence. It’s a modest two bed, two bath, with an enormous back patio for which I have massive plans!

This is near the beginning of demolition. There was a wall bordering the front and a buckling car port to the left of the house. Looks like a jungle!

When we first viewed the home just over a year ago it had this grungy pink wall-to-wall carpet in the living room, that was painted in a coordinating faded peach. The rest of the floors in the house were concrete tiles, which I thought were actually pretty cool and contemplated keeping for a nanosecond (again I was keeping our budget in mind, and truthfully concrete tiles and floors have recently made a resurgence that is placing them in the chicest of ultra hip and modern homes).

There was very little that was appealing about this home to make a newly married couple want to jump in and start building a future. It was dark, dingy and dated. But there was something about it (besides the extremely affordable price tag) that screamed home to us, and our minds immediately started churning with possibilities.

There were tons, I mean tons of upgrades needed for it to be our dream home, but luckily for us it was structurally sound. This home was so sturdily built that the natural Abaco pine roof frame was still in perfect condition more than half a century after it was built. A huge sigh of relief for our renovation budget!

So one year later, five months after our contractor promised we’d be in our house for Christmas (that’s another story for another post), we’re finally starting with the finishing touches of our newly renovated home. And I had this crazy thought that I would take you along for the ride!

There is still so much left to do, but we’re finally in our home. Plus side: there are so many projects I get to post about!

Our house was a bit of a fixer upper; and much like my life (and this blog), it’s a work in progress, far from finished.

I promise to post more before and after pictures of our renovation at another time.