Hello 2015!
Hello my dear wonderful readers. I hope you had a lovely Christmas and New Year with some downtime to relax and enjoy the season.
I took time away from blogging over the holidays to enjoy time with my family, like REALLY taking time off…they say one needs R & R to keep oneself good with the world and Ed and I decided, that this year, we would take that quite literally.
After taking an anniversary trip to the Riviera Maya in Mexico last year, Ed and I enjoyed that trip so much that we wanted to be able to take our daughters there. Getting to spend quality together time with them is hard since they live hours away in opposite directions and have jobs and school that keep them busy. We had to plan ahead to find a week when both of them had time off. The only time was Christmas week so we booked the trip earlier this year and flew south two days after Christmas.
We stayed at a resort slightly north of Playa de Carmen on the eastern shore of the Yucatan peninsula, called El Dorado Maroma. It was a beautiful, peaceful, and a very relaxing place.
The porch off of our room was one place that I spent a lot of time. It even had an outdoor bed so you could sleep under the stars and moonlight. It was perfect – everything about our week, the resort, the food, the balmy breezes, and weather could not have been better.
The number one reason I DIY is as a way to express my creativity and personal style, but the second is to save money so that I can use those savings to get as many stamps in my passport as possible in my lifetime. My house could use new carpeting and sofas. We drive old model cars, and only buy what we truly need so that we can save, save, save and be able to take a trip like this.
In the early 80’s, before I met Ed, he bought a timeshare. When he first told me about it, I wasn’t impressed and didn’t think we would ever use it. I was wrong; we have been using it for the past 31 years and have been able to go to some pretty extraordinary places on our budget.
We enjoyed the beach and crystal clear Caribbean every day. If we had an extra $250 each we could have had a Sky Massage in one of these beach huts. Way out of our budget, but just the thought of one was relaxing. :-)
The best part of the trip was getting to enjoy it all with our daughters. My oldest was on a semester break from medical school and my youngest had time off since she just finished a two year fellowship and didn’t start her new job until yesterday.
It was pretty nice getting to read on the beach while being served icy cold drinks and gourmet snacks all day long.
We took a day trip to go rappelling and Zip-lining in the jungle - (Yes, I did both) and tour the ancient ruins of Tulum. The views everywhere were breathtaking.
Taking a holiday break has definitely re-energized me. I’m feeling creative, rested, and ready for what’s to come in 2015.
I have all the Christmas decorations down and will be putting them back in the attic after I press “publish” on this post. I am also filling my planner with lots of new creative, attainable, and affordable projects and posts to share with you over the coming year. So uncover your sewing machine or find that tube of fabric glue, buy a few paint brushes and get ready to go thrifting so you can unveil your home’s decorating style to fit you perfectly.
I am not making any resolutions this year, but will be keeping positive thoughts front and center daily. I have found over the years that staying positive is the only way to live. Even when the going gets rough and life throws you a curveball, staying positive has turned things around for Ed and I. I will be keeping a smile on my face no matter how stressful a day gets or when a bad situation I didn’t expect interrupts my well-laid out plans. Staying positive is what I am going to be doing in 2015…
The winner is: Tiffany Bush - Congratulations Tiffany – I will be emailing you.
Here is to a very positive 2015!
If you enjoyed this post you may also enjoy the easy to follow DIY Decorating Tutorials and Creative Ideas on my blog, In My Own Style.com Republishing this article in full or in part is a violation of Copyright law @2009-2014, all rights reserved
