get back to love

get back to love

by | personal

I believe the most important health is mental health. After all, if your mind is healthy, the rest of you usually follows… right?

Having said that, there is something that I have wanted to talk about for quite a while now but approaching the subject was very intimidating for some reason so, I am just going to put it out there…

Social media is bad for your health!

I said it.

I am a firm believer that (almost) everything in moderation is healthy, but the problem is that social media has started to run, and in some cases ruin, our lives.

This has become a problem for me personally. I am embarrassed to say how much time I spend thumbing through facebook, twitter and instagram when I should be spending quality time with my family. While I’m busy lurking in everyone else’s lives I have unknowingly neglected my own. I have a husband who would probably like to tell me about his day (should I ever bother to ask), a son who probably longs for me to just sit and play with him, and friends who undoubtedly would love to see me or hear my voice instead of trying to keep up with me through various news feeds.

It makes me wonder – has social media contributed to the demise of relationships? Are we becoming less at the hands of our obsession to know more? Do we have parents who need to see us more? Children who need our undivided attention? Husbands that want to curl up on the sofa and watch a movie? Friends who want to tell us about their week?

I feel as if we have started to rely too heavily on social media to tell us what our friends and family are up to. Personal interaction is quickly becoming nonexistent, don’t you think?

I know I’m not alone and hopefully by calling myself out some of you reading this will take inventory on your own lives. When I think about it, the only socially web related activity I truly enjoy is blogging. I never feel it is a burden or that I have to constantly monitor it. The Fortunate Plight and Sunny Slide Up are both forms of expression for me. It truly makes me happy to be able to sit down everyday and document my life and my thoughts….it’s more or less my gratitude journal.

So how do we fix this? What’s our call to action – our relationship saving plan?

Step Away.

Take a breather. Maybe shut it down for a few days or even weeks. Do whatever you feel is necessary to be the healthiest you can. Share this post with any loved ones you may have neglected or feel neglected by, let them know that they are more than just a number or a notch on your news feed, I’m sure they will feel appreciated!

Let’s take back our health and nurture our relationships for a while. Let’s call a friend we haven’t talk to in a few months and ask how they are. Let’s date our spouses. Let’s spend time with our children. Let’s get back to love.

 

charming little nest

charming little nest

by | featured guests

Today we are so happy to have Courtney from Charming Little Nest here to share with us how, with a little savvy, was able to create her dream kitchen!
When we built our first home, I knew EXACTLY what I wanted the kitchen to look like. I wanted white cabinets, black granite counter tops, and espresso colored wooden floors. Unfortunately, the white painted cabinets offered by our builder were much more than we had planned to spend. So we decided to paint them ourselves. I know it seems crazy to paint BRAND NEW cabinets, but I was pretty stuck on getting the look I wanted, and my husband was pretty stuck on staying within budget. We chose maple cabinets so that the final look would be smooth and white after some elbow grease.

Steps to Painting Our Cabinets

1.We removed all of the doors and drawers. (We hadn’t put the hardware on yet.)

2. We sanded everything, then applied two coats of primer. (I used Gripper primer. If you are going to paint your cabinets, make SURE that you paint the primer on very smoothly. Even though it will be covered in paint, this is crucial to a smooth finish.)

3. We applied two coats of white “Painter’s Touch” by Rust-oleum paint. (With lots of dry time between all of these coats!) I used a foam roller brush for the larger areas and a very high quality synthetic brush for the detailed areas. Spend the money on good tools people….it will pay off!
4. I put two coats of Minwax Polycrylic on as a final step. (I waited for the paint to cure overnight before applying the Polycrylic.)

The paint on the walls is “Lauren’s Surprise” by Sherwin Williams.

We fell in love with the Lansa handles at Ikea. Not the obvious choice for a “French Country” kitchen, but we loved them and they added lots of character.

I love to be in my kitchen. I only wish it always looked this clean!