Happy Friday y’all! I don’t even know where the week went but somehow I made it to the end of it and am writing this post from my hotel room in Harrisburg, PA.
Flight schedules were such that I got in late morning but I don’t teach until 6p tonight. Luckily, I was able to check into my hotel early so I’m working and working out this afternoon until it’s time to head over to the studio to kick off the weekend of yoga! I threw this book into my backpack at the last minute as I was finishing up packing this morning. Sometimes I love to page through a yoga book or listen to a yoga podcast before a big teaching weekend. I find that it kind of wakes up/excites my brain and gets me in a yoga state of mind. I also did a Tara Brach meditation on the plane.
I opted for a “supplier’s choice” deal when reserving my rental car through AVIS. I got to the counter and was offered a Dodge cargo van or a Chevy electric vehicle. Needless to say, I opted for the Chevy and I’m loving my little baby blue Bolt. It’s my first time driving an EV and I like it! I’m just hoping it doesn’t have to be charged this weekend as my hotel doesn’t have a charging station and I don’t really have time in my teaching schedule to go sit and let it charge somewhere. We shall see!
A few more photos from earlier in the week!
DOGS + KIDDO
The dogs got groomed on Monday. Finn is always tickled to have them riding in the car with us. It tickles me how much of a transformation Benji undergoes when he is groomed. He looks like a completely different dog now. I am kinda partial to the mop head to be honest. I wish I had an after picture but I didn’t take one this time!
Rainy day Play-Doh extravaganza. Note Zoey in the background just waiting for her shot to nab some Play-Doh. The girl loves to eat it so I always have to watch her closely or put her in another room when it’s out.
THIS WEEK’S WORKOUTS
I had a solid week of workouts. My body was feeling pretty great. Here’s how it went down…
Saturday: 40 minute full body lift
Sunday: REST
Monday: 3 mile treadmill run + 60-minute full body lift
Tuesday: 3 mile walk
Wednesday: hot power yoga
Thursday: 5 mile run (watch shot above)
Friday: today will be a full body lift with whatever equipment I can find in the hotel gym
BEDROOM FLIP FLOP
My handyman was at my house on Wednesday and Thursday helping with some projects around the house. The big two were painting the guest room and moving furniture around upstairs. I mentioned recently that I switched Finn’s room and the guest room when I set up Finn’s “big boy” bed. The room I moved him into is closer to mine and a whole lot cooler during the summer because it’s on the back of the house and doesn’t get afternoon sun. Long story but the previous owners only had one HVAC unit for the whole house so the upstairs is pretty hot during the height of summer. I have since replaced the HVAC but just couldn’t swing reworking all of the ductwork to add an upstairs unit so it is what it is for now.
As part of all of the great room swap and furniture shuffle, I had to flip flop my bedroom and move the bed from a big blank wall to in front of the windows you see in this photo to accommodate a dresser that I need for clothes storage because my closets are small. (The dresser was in Finn’s new room but needed to move out of there.)
This is the first time in my whole life that I’ve put a bed in front of windows and I can’t decide how I feel about it. Unfortunately, it’s the only way to make the room work with the furniture I have and need for storage right now so I have to make it work. I am the first to admit that while I can write out a mean workout or yoga sequence, my interior decorating skills are lacking. Would love to hear any ideas you might have for this room set up. I’m thinking that adding curtains and a rug might help pull it all together? Also, I switch out my comforters from time-to-time. This patterned one is not the norm – I usually just keep a white fluffy one on there.
I wish I could do some bedroom furniture that’s not so dark/heavy but I need to keep what I have for now. And it goes without saying that the fan is terrible – I’ll get there!
Alright, enough of that! Time to hit the gym. I hope you guys have the best weekend!
QUESTIONS
Do you have an EV? Have you driven and EV?
How were your workouts this week?
Any bedroom suggestions for this non-decorator?
You don’t necessarily have to switch out your furniture to get a lighter feel. Try adding some light colored curtains, some tall corner plants (real or faux), smaller plants around the room, and some light colored sheets with light textured comforter/duvet, throw blankets, and pillows. You’ll be amazed at how much lighter and airy it feels!
I own a Chevrolet Bolt here in Canada and it’s great!
I think curtaining the entire back wall (behind bed) with something light, maybe white, and anchoring your bed with an area rug would look nice.
Thank you Randi! 🙂
Unrelated to your questions….do you store all of your play dough in balls inside a Tupperware container? This is so genius! I must admit, I’m never excited when my kids want to pull out the play dough. 🤣
Haha – that storage solution was unintentional. Finn got super into rolling play-doh into balls and didn’t want to flatten them back down so we came up with the idea to store them in the Tupperware. It does make it much easier to get out and play with so you’re not digging it all out and getting Play-Doh underneath your fingernails.
We have an EV and we love it. It’s a Kia E Niro and would definitely recommend it although we will probably get their newer version, the EV6, when it’s time to upgrade. The only problem we have is that the charging network here in the UK can be patchy. We lived in Scotland when we got the car and had no problems up there as the network was great but we now live in England and it’s poor. It can be a pain on long journeys, but I’m sure that’ll get better quickly. All in all the car is great and lovely to drive not to mention saves us lots of money and reduces our carbon footprint.
I actually rented a Tesla from Hertz over thanksgiving and loved it! It’s where we are heading eventually so I’m actually looking into buying.
Makes so much sense! Love the idea of renting an EV to get a feel for it before making a purchase.
I own a bolt (in Colorado) and loooove it!
If you’re looking to spruce up furniture (and enjoy small projects), Beyond Paint is a decent option to transform your current furniture. It has given new life to my dark and/or outdated furniture and was fun/easy to do. No stripping or staining.
Oh thank you for this suggestion. I haven’t heard of it and I’ll look into it.
I would seriously consider getting one after my weekend experience! Great little car!
I have a Tesla and love it!
I’m also not the best at interior design but my friend is amazing and suggested I choose a painting I love and then choose a few colours from it to use in the room. I have dark brown couches which I really don’t like but I was able to find a colour palate that brought some lightness to the room. For example, cushions, a simple basket and I painted one of the walls a statement colour from the painting. It really helped make the living room feel more lively and me, even though I have these very masculine dark brown couches.
I love this suggestion Tara. Sounds like doable decorating for me! 🙂
I think some sheer curtains (I like white or cream) and a rug would pull it all together!
Thank you Julie! 🙂
Hey! Don’t beat yourself up; your home is lovely. And the constant pressure to have the latest fixtures/furnishings is so wasteful! I live in an area of 1940s homes and the bed is almost always on a window wall. Maybe it was pre-AC cooling? Roman shades would look nice and be functional. It’s harder to open/close curtains behind a bed. If you want to keep the privacy and light filtering of blinds you can make faux Roman shades (fabric hemmed to size, attached to the bar at the top and tied up with ribbon). If privacy isn’t an issue, I like custom blackout Roman shades and personally prefer inside mount, even if it lets cracks of light in.
Hi Dawn – I just wanted to thank you for this comment as it was really helpful from a mindset perspective. I don’t have a ton of fancy or current decor but my house feels like home and I’m grateful for that. It can be hard not to compare! I appreciate your suggestions very much!
Would you be able to share any of the full-body lifts you did on those days? I’m always looking for new full-body routines. Thanks!
Hi Erika – I didn’t write them down so they’ve left my brain. I’ll be sharing full body strength training programming in my new app that is launching in a couple of weeks so look out for that! In the meantime, check out the workout in this post: https://www.peanutbutterrunner.com/60-minute-dumbbell-workout/.
I think white airy curtains, white fluffy bedding with accent pillows and a throw for pops of color, and a lighter carpet would transform the room to the feel you’re seeking.
I have LOVED this carpet for hiding pet hairs but still being light colored!
https://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Iversen-Modern-Shag-Rug/33622912/product.html