Home Decor

7 Reasons to Decorate Early for Christmas

Jaime
There's nothing like snuggling up and watching Christmas movies with your Christmas lights twinkling.
There’s nothing like snuggling up and watching Christmas movies with your Christmas lights twinkling.

Decorating early for Christmas seems to be a hot topic on social media. People have some pretty strong opinions. Just about everyday I see a new meme made by a someone who clearly does not like it.  As you get to know me, you will learn that I love everything Christmas so the sooner the better works for me.  Listed below are the top reasons you should get on board and enjoy the premature Christmas cheer!

  1. The decorations are beautiful and whimsical…there are almost no rules in decorating. You can do whatever you want. You get the he/she’s got the ‘holiday spirit’ pass. If you have a tight budget, you can make some beautiful decorations from Dollar Tree hacks.  Google it or search on YouTube. There are some amazing ideas out there.
  2. The approximate 4 weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas is just not long enough. We’re too busy during those weeks to truly enjoy it. You need time to relax and listen to some Christmas music with your home decked out. This time of the year, unfortunately, has become very stressful. Financially alone it is a burden for most of us. Then planning all the extra events, extra family time, the list goes on.  Give yourself a magical oasis at home so you can decompress from it all and remember the true spirit of the season.
  3. Thanksgiving is ONE day. It’s about gathering with your family and eating awesome food all of which can be done with Christmas decorations glistening around you. Thanksgiving Day will still be awesome, trust me.  (Bet you can’t guess my favorite Thanksgiving Day tradition??? Yep, it’s the arrival of Santa in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade while I’m cooking for my family. I fill up with tears every year. Shh, don’t tell anyone. I was even lucky enough to go to the parade several years back and see the jolly guy arrive in person…bucket list, check.)
  4. Kids….the kids love Christmas. Decorate early for them. Decorating early will allow you to take your time and involve the kids more. Have them make some decorations for their room. There are great ideas on Pinterest. Life moves too fast these days. Allow them to decompress as well and enjoy the magic.
  5. It will make you happy and everyone that walks in your home. Whether you like it or not, you won’t be able to resist. Let the magic in and enjoy. Think about it, have you ever walked into a home that was decorated for Christmas and not felt joy. Looked at a decoration made by a child and not smiled?
  6. Christmas movies are already on. Ok, ok, you don’t have to watch them if you don’t want to, but if you did, it’s so much sweeter and cozier to curl up and watch when your Christmas lights flickering.
  7. It irritates all the grinches! There are some grumpy people out there. Not much you can do about it. If they give you crap about extending your magical Christmas season, you can ignore them or tell them to go sit on a big prickly cactus, depends on your ratio of saltiness to Christmas spirit that day which would be significantly impacted in a positive way if you decorated early (insert winking eye emoji).
If you love Christmas decorations or want to try an immersion therapy tactic, Disney World would be a good place to start. Their holiday decor is breathtaking. This is the Mary Poppins tree from the Disney Springs Christmas Tree Trail (free, no admission fee).
If you love Christmas decorations or want to try an immersion therapy tactic, Disney World would be a good place to start. Their holiday decor is breathtaking. This is the Mary Poppins tree from the Disney Springs Christmas Tree Trail last year (free, no admission fee).

Have I persuaded anyone to decorate early? Ironically, I’m posting this list late so you could fib and say yes. I’ve been a little under the weather lately so sadly I have not yet decorated for Christmas.  Hopefully, I will get to it this weekend.  What I am not going to do is stress about it. We seem to put too much stress and pressure on ourselves during this time of year. Relax, take time for yourself, do what you can, let go of what you can’t, and ask for help.  Enjoy time with your family…priority number one! And it wouldn’t hurt to let the magic of Christmas in just a little bit.

Go enjoy your day!

Be sincere, stay a little salty and always beautiful.

Home Decor

6 Simple Steps to Selecting the Perfect Paint Color for Your Home

Jaime

Do you have trouble picking a new paint color for your home? Does it give you anxiety or when you do pick a color it doesn’t turn out the way you were hoping?  I have been there. It’s aggravating, but it doesn’t have to be. I have a few simple steps to help you pick the right color for your home.  You might only need to use some of them, or you may want to follow all of them. Either way, I hope you find them helpful.

Painting test swatches on the dining room wall. The kitties are always watching what I’m doing.
  1. What do you want your room to look like? Let’s start with Pinterest. If you haven’t used Pinterest before, don’t worry, it is user friendly and I’m going to warn you, addicting.  Download the app and create an account.  Follow the prompts and create a new board with images of what you would like your room to look like.  Search ‘coastal living room’ or ‘farmhouse kitchen,’ whatever you are looking for and you will be flooded with images. You can check out examples of my boards by clicking on the Pinterest icon on the home page.
  2. Next, the colors…Review your board and start searching Pinterest for similar color palettes that are in your favorite images you’ve already pinned. There are hundreds and hundreds of beautiful color palettes that you can add to a new board of just color palettes. Once you have a few pins posted to your new board, review the board. Are you drawn to one of the images? Yes, then that’s probably the color palette you should start with. No, then keep pinning. You will eventually notice a pattern on your board. Similar colors or tones. One of those is likely your new wall color.
  3. Time to go to the local hardware store. Be sure to take your phone or tablet with the Pinterest app so you can refer to your favorite pins. Now, if you are super careful like me, you will just pick some paint chips similar to the colors you’ve chosen from your Pinterest boards.  If you are feeling pretty color confident, skip to step 4, if not, take the chips home. See how they look in the room with the different lighting and your furniture, etc.
  4. Sample time…Hopefully, step 3 has helped you narrow down your choices. Time to buy an 8 oz. sample of the color or a few colors. Purchase the samples in the finish/sheen you need/want for the room you are painting, i.e. flat, eggshell, semi-gloss. They range from $2-$6 depending on the brand and finish. Don’t know what sheen you’ll need? Well, it depends on how much traffic the room your painting receives and how you want the walls to look. See below.   
    • Flat is perfect for ceilings and low traffic areas. It has a low sheen, almost none really, non-reflective finish. We use this for all our ceilings. We also used it to paint the textured wall in my office that will be behind me when I record my videos.
    • Matte seems to perform similarly as flat but has a low luster reflective finish. According to the Behr website, it works well for low to moderate traffic areas, such as bedrooms. Full disclosure, I did not realize there was a matte finish. I might try this for our bedroom.
    • Eggshell is a good choice for areas with moderate traffic like living rooms. It has a soft sheen, not really shiny. Behr describes it as velvety which is pretty accurate.  The finish makes it easy to clean.  This is what we normally select for our living spaces.
    • Satin is meant for moderate to high traffic areas like kitchens and bathrooms.  This has a similar finish as the eggshell, maybe just a little more luster.  This is what we have used for our kitchens and bathrooms.
    • Semi-gloss is what it sounds like, a little glossy. We use it for all our trim work. It’s meant for high-traffic and high moisture areas.  
    • Hi-gloss is for high-use surfaces. I have never used it, but according to Behr it has a shiny glass-like finish.
  5. Swatch watch time…Paint small swatches of the colors on one or more of the walls you plan to paint. I only test on one wall.  You can test on multiple walls. It depends on the size and lighting of the room. If you are testing multiple colors, be sure to number the samples and swatches so you know which color is which. Use a pencil or chalk on the wall so you don’t have to worry about any ink bleeding through the paint later. Review the colors throughout the course of the day in the different light.
  6. Buy the damn paint…It’s time to pick one and go get your paint people! Don’t forget your paint chip because you will have all of the color names running through your head if you are like me.  
  • Samples we purchased from Home Depot.
  • Each color was numbered with corresponding swatch on the wall.

Here are some tips and tricks once you do get your paint home. Most of which I’ve learned from my husband.  I pick the colors, but he paints the walls.  He is very particular with paint finishes and does not approve of my interior wall painting skills. Works for me. I spend my time doing other things I enjoy while he’s painting.

  • Paint the trim first. It is easier to cut in around the trim with the wall color than vise versa. You have more room. Try it out and see what you think.
  • When you are done painting for the day but have more to do tomorrow, wrap the roller with aluminum foil to keep it from drying out overnight.  
  • Make sure you have plenty of light in the room. Take the lampshades off of the lamps and put brighter bulbs, 100 watt, in so you can avoid drips and have a smooth finish.
  • Maybe keep the pets in a confined area…see photo.
The culprit was revealed by her little white paws later that night.

There you have it. It’s a simple list from my personal experience because paint is not as cheap as it used to be, and if you are like me, it will really irritate you if the color is not quite right and you have to decide whether to live with it or go through the expense and effort of painting again. I hope it helps you pick the perfect color and make your home feel exactly the way you want it. 

Be sure to check out https://www.facebook.com/sincerelyyourssaltycactus/ for photos of our living room and dining room completed in Rio Sky from Behr in eggshell.

Go enjoy your day!

Be sincere, stay a little salty and always beautiful.

What I Know

Feeling Stuck? Well, Get Out of Your Own Way!

Jaime
My very first dollar earned performing at #IrishKevinsBar.

Deciding on the subject of my very first blog post was nearly crippling. Ridiculous, I know. I researched and researched and thought about different topics I could cover, but nothing stuck. So, I waited and waited. All the while my website said, ‘coming soon.’ 

I worry too much about having everything just right. It’s not even about other people and what they think. It’s me. I don’t know if it’s a fear of failing or just being too critical of myself. But what I do know is enough is enough.  It’s time to just start. That’s all. Doesn’t have to be scary or perfect. Just start.   

I could spend the rest of my life researching. Research is good to a certain point. Doing is the key. It exposes you to new experiences and people that research will never do.  The older I get the more likely I am to just say fuck it and go for it. Common concept, I think, as we age.

My husband and I went to Key West for the first time earlier this year.  We were having a great time in a bar called Irish Kevin’s. There was just a single performer and his guitar on the stage. He was fantastic and we were having a great time. People were tipping for requests and a few were even tipping more to have their friends dragged up there to sing and dance on stage with him. 

Now, we are in Key West. We were drinking.  I was feeling good. My sweet husband requested a Bon Jovi song for me (I am indeed a Jersey girl who loves Bon Jovi, cliché, whatever, I have so much joy attached to their music. That’s a story for another day.) I was loving the song. I think it was Living on a Prayer. Well, this sweet husband of mine (Did I mention that he is an extrovert?? He can make friends with a wall, no lie) starts getting new friends we made to help him encourage me to get up on the stage. Did I mention that I am an introvert??

I’m sure it was a combination of the alcohol and my age. I said fuck it and went with it.  Up on the stage I went.  I sang and played the tambourine and wiggled my butt on that stage. The place was filled with awesome, fun and kind people which made it much easier. I even made my first $1 performing! That’s right, I was so good a gentleman tipped me a whole dollar. I had fun!

Here is what I know, just get out and do. There is no magic process I can list out for you. You simply must take the leap. Surround yourself with kind, fun and supportive people. Do what you’ve been dreaming of…do it. Stop waiting. Life is short.

That is what I am starting here my friends. I hope you will join me and follow me. I’m sure there will be ups and downs, but I am doing it and I’m not going to let anything get in my way. That includes me. 

Go enjoy your day!

Be sincere, stay a little salty and always beautiful.