Saturday, March 12, 2011

finding the DIY balance

When we first moved to the central coast {8 months ago} we found ourselves in an unusual situation: There wasn't a DIY project in sight.

You see, we barely knew a soul, it was mid-summer (hence, no school-related activities), and we had moved into a rental house. After spending the last 12+ years working on our house, John and I were now in a situation where there was nothing to be 'done'.

***Sidenote: One of the reasons we moved away from the Bay Area, was because we wanted to "slow down" and enjoy life.


When the weather was good, we 'survived' the DIY famine. It was rough, but we dragged ourselves to the beach and toughed it out. (wink, wink) However, when the weather was cold and foggy, we were like lost children. We didn't know what to do with ourselves.


I think that certain personality types are happiest when they are working on a project, and both John and I easily fit into this category.




Fast forward to now. DIY-wise, we're back to our old tricks, and we have a house full of projects. But with these good habits, come bad habits. Our priorities seem to have reverted back to house projects, as opposed to family-oriented activities.

I'm of the belief that 'house projects' and 'quality of lifestyle' can coexist. But. If you're prone to favoring one over the other (as we are with house renovations), you need to put extra effort into the other one. Make sense?

In an effort to keep myself accountable to "slow down and enjoy life", I'm going to try to add a weekend post that focuses on what we did as a family. Admittedly, these posts are more for me, than for anyone else.

Ready for the first go at it? Here goes...



father and son



The highlight of the weekend was our walk on the Bob Jones Trail. We walked to Woodstone and had breakfast. Someone earned herself a cinnamon roll.





What did you do for fun this weekend?

10 comments:

  1. I think that is a great idea that you are doing this type of post.

    Hope the rest of your weekend with the family is fantastic!

    p.s. Definitely deserved the treat! :)

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  2. Hi Karen,
    I'm liking your blog voice...feel like I already know more about you. Really nice post.

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  3. I know exactly what you mean. My husband and I are those personality types also! Our commitment to projects, timeline, budget in our last project house made me miserable. This time around, we're taking it slow, allowing ourselves a weekend...or a month off between projects. It has made all the difference!

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  4. Looks like a great weekend!

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  5. @ My Beautiful Life~
    Thanks! It was a great weekend.

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  6. @ Carrie~
    It sort of sneaks up on you, doesn't it? All of a sudden, you realize that your weekends are planned around baseboard projects and who's painting what, etc. Glad you're finding that balance, too.

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  7. Great post. I agree we are those people too. We put projects before other things, but I always feel better when I am actively doing something productive. We've been trying to travel on weekend trips to hike or just get away. It's good to relax and spend time as a family.

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  8. I don't have children, but my husband and I find ourselves making plans for the weekend and always finding our way back to house things. We always think we should do something else to spend time together but at the end of the day, our house is what we love to work on!!

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