Bright and Shiny

Lately I have not been feeling very "up". It's been an extremely difficult year and I've been focusing on just getting through. There have been times when I've seriously considered running away to Canada and starting a new life as a mountie.

But a couple of weeks ago I was walking to campus and the sun was shining, it was warm, and I suddenly felt it all disappear. Everything that had been weighing me down, everything that had been scaring me, everything that I had been dreading... suddenly it all seemed smaller. And I took a few more steps, took a deep breath, and I realized that I was going to be okay. It was such a relief and I almost started crying, just from the sheer emotion of being able to let go like that.

When I got back to my apartment I took a good look around and I decided that maybe the bright and shiny outdoors was helping me be brighter and shinier inside my own mind. And I realized that my 375 sq. ft. apartment was kind of... drab.

Don't get me wrong, I've got furniture and some new crisp sheets that my parents got me when I moved in, but a lot of my stuff is black and red, or just darker overall. So I decided to make a change.

I looked around and found the stuff which was the most worn-down and in need of replacing. The bathroom. I had some cheap red $4 towels from Wal-mart, a kaleidoscope clear shower curtain and red rugs, with some gray towels I added later for "variety". These were the first things I had every chosen for myself and at the time, red fit in really well where I was living. But it was time for something a little brighter, with more color and variety and cushi-ness. After a lot of thought and deliberation, and some help from Eric, here is what I landed on:

This curtain is from Bed Bath and Beyond; I found it on sale! As you can see it's ruffly and soft, and has a lot of color and variation.

 These rugs are from Target. I got the lid cover, the contoured rug and the large rug. And THEY were on sale. I decided on these darker rugs, which don't technically "match" the curtain, to balance out the girliness of the curtain, since this is Eric's place, too. We figured it would help to balance the ruffles with something darker, but still colorful and luscious, so that it doesn't just look like a girl's bathroom.

Lastly, this is the color I'm aiming for when I find room on my budget for new towels. A minty green that goes well with the curtain will keep the bathroom bright and clean. Until I can pick some up, I'll be using the gray ones. They're not really a perfect fit with the new stuff but they'll do for now.

Anyway, I have really enjoyed the change, I've really enjoyed the colors, and I know it's usually seen as shallow, but in this case a little material indulgence has helped to produce a little genuine happiness.