Hitting the re-start button and welcoming 2015!

2014 was a crazy year for me. It had some up points but over all it was one stress filled year! I welcomed my Hubby home from deployment number 2, moved 3 times, had a lot of personal decisions to make about my future that were all accompanied by a lot of stress and on top of that I had some personal health issues that were not fun to deal with. Well now that it's 2015 and I have done the typical New Years reflection and have found that non of my 2014 goals were met! Partially because of the things listed above but mostly because of me. So...I have decided that this year is the year I make my goals achievable. 

My goals for 2015 are to not judge myself so harshly. In order to help me do that I want to get back to my yoga practice where I feel calm and centered. This feeling resonates into the rest of my life when I am actively doing yoga. It inspires me to take the time to enjoy life's beautiful moments and live in the present.I feel if I can get back to that I will judge less and enjoy more.  

In the process of being less judgmental about where I am in my life and what I am doing I have also decided that its truly time to throw myself back into this blog! I started it as a way to share myself with the world and it quickly became a place where I constantly judged myself because I was so worried about how I would come off. Well no more! I am over my writers block/self shaming and I am here to share and hopefully inspire. 

Below I have re-posted my first blog post about why I started this blog in the first place. I hope your read it, I know its lengthy but I hope when you read it that you get inspired too to hit the re-set button on a past project you put aside and never completed. Happy 2015 everyone and welcome back! 

Creatively Yours, 

Christina Marie

A little story about a blog

If you were to ask my Mom she would say "I'm my fathers child" because this passion to make things and the ability to visualize my projects started at a young age and it mirrors my Pops way of thinking. See my Pop, who isn’t so much a Mr. fix-it as he is a Mr. build it, taught me a lot about tools and not because he felt he had to... but because I would wander down into his wood shop in the basement and ask to help him. I started out learning how to use a good old fashion nail and hammer, then his belt sander and hand sander. By the time I was 10 I also knew how to use a table saw, jig saw and drill press. He always had neat little tricks to teach and he owns about every wood working tool you could ever want. He and I never actually didn't build furniture together but I helped him build shelves, shed doors and bird houses. He did however built me beautiful doll furniture when I was a child... but it was always a Christmas surprise so I never got to help out on those projects. 

Me and the man responsible for the maddnes...My Pop! 

Fall Reflections

It's dark out and the wind has stopped. I open the door to let Mack out and there is a cool air seeping in. I slide on my slippers, wrap my sweater tightly around me and step outside. The air is cold and I can almost smell frost. This cool frosty weather evokes a sense of magic. There's something about that first smell of frost on a falls eve that excites me and also makes me long for home.  

Visions of a bed frame dance in my head.

Wow it has been a really long time! There has been so much going on in our lives; we moved, took a month long vacation, unpacked a whole house, have been exploring a new city and I have a new job. But I’ll get to all of that later… Right now I am so excited to be back blogging and even more excited to share with you all a DIY that took me well over 6 months to complete. This DIY was also my first Annie Sloane Paint Project, so I will do a review of that product for you soon but first I just want to share the bed itself with you.

Welcoming Home My Soldier

A Soldiers home coming is an experience I simply can’t explain in words… if you have been through it you know what I mean. But I’ll do my best. When your soldier comes home it’s better than any Birthday or Christmas you ever experienced. The anticipation that builds creates a feeling of nervousness and excitement that almost torments your soul. And when that moment comes… When you finally embrace your soldier it’s more wonderful than you could ever have dreamed or imagined possible! My Mother in-law experienced this event for first, and hopefully last, time this deployment. She said “it was like the day he was born and I finally got to see and hold him for the first time.” I thought that was beautiful and although I don’t have children, I can only imagine that is the best way to sum it up.
Three weeks ago I got to welcome my Hubby home again, for the second time in less than 3 years. At 4am (the time stamp on these photos is wrong so please pay no attention) my Mother in-law and I packed into the car and drove the 10 minutes to the airplane hanger where the ceremony was held.