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A Mid-Week Walk Through The Serenity Garden | dreamgreendiy.com

I really hate to kick this post off on such a negative note, but wow…It has been a doozy of a week. I’ve tried to downplay things here on the blog, but John and I have been struggling through quite a few household headaches that have left us both absolutely exhausted at the end of each day. Suffice it to say, copious amounts of wine have been (responsibly) consumed this week.

A Mid-Week Walk Through The Serenity Garden | dreamgreendiy.com

I don’t ever want to seem like I’m not grateful for all of the wonderful things we enjoy in our lives, because we’ve got a lot to revel in—a happy marriage, a sweet pack of pets to love, a beautiful home that’s more than enough for all of us to enjoy. Cars though? Yeah, that’s the brunt of our concerns right now.

Long story long, we decided to sell my car on a whim, and the deal happened a lot quicker than we anticipated. So, then we were down to one car. Next up, John got his car (our only car at that point) inspected and a crumbling frame landed us with a “Rejected” sticker. Hundreds of dollars later, we’re still only partly through the process of getting his car back to approved order. While his SUV was in the shop, we had to borrow a car from our gracious friends, and all the while we were on the hunt for a new car for me.

The almost hilarious part of this saga is that we found and purchased a super clean new (ish) Subaru for me, but upon getting it home, found out that it has a mid-drive stalling issue. Yesterday morning, I watched my “brand new” beloved car get towed away to our dealer’s mechanic, and that left us back down to our borrowed friends’ car and John’s illegal SUV. Again, it’s an utter enormous mess, and I probably shouldn’t have relayed all of that to you, but I guess I needed to get it off my chest.

Did I mention that I found out this week that I also probably need to get my tonsils taken out? I’m basically considering a glass of wine with my morning cereal at this point (kidding).

Anyway, you’re probably wondering what the heck all of these idyllic park photos now have to do with our car woes. Well, amidst the chaos and confusion of our delinquent modes of transportation, John and I have had to get serious about stress relief. Of course, these things weren’t really under our control, so we just had to accept each bad break as they came and then work on devising a solution. It was leaving us drained and weary, but the good news is that we’re enjoying some pretty comfortable temperatures here in Virginia this week. So, one mid-week afternoon right smack in the middle of all these crap circumstances, we decided to take a long, long walk through the local Serenity Garden.

This cancer awareness garden sits alongside the South River at Ridgeview Park, and is just a mile or two from our house. Whenever we find ourselves at our whit’s end, we almost always agree that it’s time to head toward the Serenity Garden. Between the beautiful, lovingly planted landscaping and its proximity to the river, it practically can’t be beat. We soaked up every fresh breath that day, and spent more than a few extra minutes looking into the rippling, rushing water of the river.

Although we’re dealing with quite a bit right now, we’re not so disheartened to ignore the fact that our lives revolve around some of the best stuff this world has to offer—this outdoor oasis being one of them. In case you’re dealing with some negative stuff right now, or if your week has just been an exceptionally busy or stressful one, I hope you’ll consider taking a few minutes to head out to your favorite spot for some fresh air and sunshine. There might not be any better medicine out there for stress and heartache.

Thanks, as always, for listening (and watching—there’s another video for you below if you keep scrolling!) and here’s hoping that you enjoy a wonderful weekend, however you decide to spend it. Your kind comments and words of encouragement never cease to add positivity to my day, and I really needed it this week. You’ll never, ever know just how much I appreciate you. Thank you…

One of the comments I hear most often from visitors and guests who come into our home is how bright and white it is. The pure white wall color has become a defining characteristic of our space, although I honestly didn’t anticipate or set out to make it that way. To me, the white paint color that we chose for our walls is just that: a color! It’s really no different than the shade of mint I used in my old office, or the dark gray we painted the master bedroom in our old townhouse. Yet, to a lot of people who peek inside our front door (or through my camera lens here on the blog), the white walls are the stand-out detail to note.

Of course, white-painted walls do make a certain kind of statement—there’s no denying that—but I think there’s honestly a lot more room to play when it comes to this color than people might think. And, as it turns out, you can actually save money by going with one shade of white, too! Read on for 5 reasons why white walls are a good idea when decorating your own home.

Why White Walls Are A Good Idea:

You can change your decor at a moment’s notice: Last year, our home was accented with bright yellow and pink accessories, but on a whim at the start of 2017 I decided to adopt a mostly neutrals palette with hints of blue throughout. Our white-painted walls allowed me to make those changes without requiring a brand new wall color, too.
White reflects light: Because of the ultra pure tone we chose for our white paint (“High Reflective White” by Sherwin Williams, to be exact), natural light is able to pour in through the windows and bounce right off the walls to illuminate our spaces. It effectively doubles the brightness of our home, even on rainy, cloudy days! We usually don’t have to turn any artificial lights on at all until after sunset, saving us energy and, ultimately, money.
You make fewer mistakes at the paint counter: When I relied on paint to add color to the rooms in our old townhouse, I ended up going through several paint colors before finally settling on the right ones. I think I painted most of the rooms at least twice because I kept making mistakes with my chosen colors—they tended to be either too bright or too dark. White is the ideal middle ground in terms of color, and after settling on the perfect shade, I was able to skip the hassle of trial and error with the rest of the rooms in the house—they all just got the same white paint treatment.
You can buy paint in bulk: Another reason to go all-white in your home is the fact that you can purchase your chosen shade of paint in bulk. It’s cheaper and easier to store a single color in a large bucket, as opposed to multiple labeled gallon jugs stacked (often haphazardly) on top of each other.
There are a range of shades to choose from: One of the biggest misconceptions about all-white walls is that they will feel cold and stark since the color white is itself inherently “cold and stark.” The truth is though that there isn’t just one single shade of white paint. You can choose one with blue undertones in it, or one with red undertones. Just as with any color of the rainbow, you can make white feel warm or cool depending on the swatch you choose. The sky’s the limit in terms of your particular shade of white, so you don’t have to feel limited.

So, have I helped convince you that white walls are a good idea? Are you open to giving this truly versatile color a shot in your own space? I couldn’t be happier with our investment to paint our entire house in “High Reflective White,” and could (clearly) go on and on and on about it. Leave your thoughts and opinions below!

A Mid-Week Walk Through The Serenity Garden

5 Reasons Why White Walls Are A Good Idea

Why White Walls Are A Good Idea:

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