Cheap change

You've heard it before, about the wonders a haircut or a new coat of paint can do for your spirits. Last week, I did just this. I walked into one of those inexpensive cut n' go salons and had over 6 inches taken off. Not only did I leave with my hair and new look feeling lighter, I felt lighter all over and ready for summer

To lift our spirits even more, I decided to follow through on painting our bedroom as a gift for my husband's birthday. This was something we've been wanting to do for years. I did all the prep, painting and de-cluttering and surprised him with the end result. He was delighted by the change and especially happy that I put the thought and energy into completing it.

We'd had the desired color picked out a couple of years ago and we still really liked the color. I went into a paint liquidation store and was able to find a gallon of the same pre-mixed color for only $5! If you're looking for a quick room change to brighten your spirits, I highly recommend looking at paint that had been rejected by another customer for not being a perfect match to what they wanted. This works especially great if you are flexible or completely open to being inspired by what you find. Many home improvement stores have a section of rejected pre-mixed paint--stop and check that out first before you pay a lot more to have something mixed just for you. Even if you don't find what you'd like, it's fun to see what colors are available.

As my studiomate, Gwen Hauser said, "The bedroom is a perfect place to play with color, add sparkle, make it exactly the private haven you want it to be. The color doesn't need to please anyone but those whose bedroom it is." (For those of you who don't know Gwen, she is a highly talented artistic painter, faux finisher, muralist. She helped pick out the range of colors for our Minneapolis wellness studio. She's been featured in numerous design magazines. She can be reached at: 651-303-2377. I highly recommend her work.)

I hope this has inspired you to make a simple, fun and inexpensive transformation in your life.

Cheers to cheap change!

Being down to know you're up

You know the feeling...everything feels like it's going wrong, all at once. I've been experiencing this lately; husband missing lots of work because of back injury, my car dying, too many bills. Of course, I know that not everything is wrong. Many, many things are right but the things that are wrong shadow what's going right.

What helps to shake me out of the shadows? Realizing how much we are really supported and how good we've got it. Friends, colleagues, family--stepping in to show us we are cared for, encouraging us along. It's more comfortable and habit to say, "We've got it covered. I'll figure it out. Thanks for your offer but we'll be okay." But I'm reminded time and time again that when someone offers their support, they almost always truly want to offer it. It helps them to feel needed, of value, contributing to the greater good.

And you know what else I notice when things aren't going well? That soon after, when life is going better, I appreciate it so much. It's just like when you get so hungry that when you finally sit down to the most mundane meal, it tastes exquisite.