Attitude

We had friends over for dinner on Saturday for the first time and I wanted to make a good impression.

I started cleaning and organizing the house on Wednesday - a good thing because I ran out of time on Saturday.

But, as I worked, I seemed to focus only on what is wrong with our house.

The bathroom needs major renovation - tricky when you live in a one bathroom house.

The entry and dining room look so fresh and crisp in new white paint, but the rest of the house needs an update too.

Our floors need refinishing, but JP is getting married in July so wedding costs take precedence over any work on the house.

I decided to take a break from my negative thoughts by responding to emails - reading this sweet comment from Anne of Design Dreams by Anne made me switch gears.

I grabbed the camera and walked around looking for beauty instead of problems in our 87 year old house.

It was a bright winter day and the sun lit up the garden.

The painting of the little garden house is finished

and now the fun part begins!

A neighbor gifted us this old bench - we need to decide where to put it, but for now it sits in the front yard.

I found this old typewriter JP left in the attic - it now sits on a dresser in the living room and I am having fun typing quotes (I use American typewriter font) to display each day.

So far, this is Steve's favorite.

Our evening was fun on Saturday night and our guests did not seem to notice that the bathroom is run down, the walls need painting or the floor needs refinishing - they did enjoy the dinner enough that they asked for a doggie bag to take home the leftovers of Steve's paella!

The difference between seeing problems or beauty in my home is attitude and thanks to Anne, I am focused on the beauty!