I’m back!!! Did you guys miss me? I am so rested, relaxed and bursting with new post ideas. For starters, though, I wanted to share with you some of the great pics I have from Key West! I have a bunch so this might take a couple of posts!

First, how about we just focus on how great the city is! I loved that you could just walk everywhere! The restaurants were fantastic (I think my favorite was Fogerty’s) and I ate way too much. Cuban coffee has officially become my new favorite beverage - mmm it is so tasty! And Duval is just as much fun at night as everyone says it is. Overall, it was a great trip. But you don’t care about my rambling thoughts – let’s get to the pictures!

The majority of my city pics are from down by the Southernmost Point. It is supposedly the farthest south you can go and be in the Continental US. The majority of the buildings and homes in that part of town are eclectic and Victorian. There are lots of picket fences, intricate trim, and can we just talk about the porches and balconies? Swoon!

Check out this home! I love the detail on the trim around the top of the balcony and all the bay windows. I have quite a soft spot in my heart for bay windows!

I also loved these two homes that were next door to one another. They are little bed and breakfast hotels. They were in the middle of taking down their holiday décor – but I think the pics are still great!

One of the biggest landmarks down at that end of town is the Southernmost House. A historic building, it has hosted many a famous guest. According to local sources, there was an attempt made on Al Capone’s life there and the bullet hole has been left intact as proof. It was renovated and turned into a hotel and looks like an amazing place to stay. I have captured some of the details of the house for you guys below.

Check out the intricate tile work on the stars to the lobby.

You can stay in the tower room. It is called the Royal Suite and the tower is the sitting room!

I love this cabana!

The gate is beautiful and all the detailed work is highlighted with gold paint.

What about this entry?!?

The colored stained glass windows are too cute!

This is the entrance into the hotel lobby.

Isn’t this gorgeous! That is what is on the ceiling as you enter the lobby!

Don’t you just love it! I think the big takeaways to nailing this kind of style are these:

- Don’t be afraid of using bright colors in your trim work! However, basic white is always classic and beautiful.

- The devil is in the detail – no matter if it is trim, stained glass, or shutters make sure there is some intricate detail that makes your home unique

- Porch furniture should be comfortable and encourage someone to stay in it for a while

Perhaps these homes weren’t quite your style! No worries, I will highlight a little bit more of the modern side of things next with some pics of our fantastic condo!

P.S. Big thanks to Cougar Tales my 50th Follower!! :)

I had been planning on doing several posts while we were down here in Key West.  For starters I have great pictures that are full of inspiration and ideas from the condo.  Then there are all the cute beachy homes down here that I wanted to share with you guys.  I had also got some pictures of some crafty stuff I had done the week prior that I was going to put up too. 

Then I realized - I don't have my USB cord for the DSLR.  There is no other way to get pics off my camera so I am afraid you will just have to wait until I get home.  :( 

So in the meantime, I am going to take a break from posting until we get back.  See you guys at the end of the week!  

As it is the New Year, one must think about Resolutions. Regardless of if you make a conscious effort to write them down or if they are just a fleeting thought, we are all programmed from birth to regard the new year as a time to set goals and make plans to keep them.

I am just barely over the line of “being that girl” that is an anal perfectionist and obsesses over goals. And as such, I make a habit of making and saving mine into a word document so that they are preserved in history. This does a couple of things. One, it allows me to go back and see if I did any of them. Two, it serves as a time capsule for where I am in my life.

My resolutions in my early 20’s were focused on school for the most part (and losing 5 lbs). In my mid-twenties, I had my quarter-life crisis. Oh yeah – I quit working as a computer programmer and went on a quest to find what I should do that would “complete” me. Little did I know that would lead into a brief stint as a Realtor, working as a consultant, and eventually land me with getting my MBA and moving into the world of working in corporate retail. During those days, my resolutions were mainly focused on getting out of that crisis and into a “stable” relationship with my work-life balance (and losing 20 lbs – is it just me or is it amazing how you can pack it on in your mid twenties). The hubby and I got married a year after the end of my “crisis” and with a husband and a job that I loved, my resolutions turned to more domestic “nesting” type activities.

So for posterities sake, I am bearing my soul to show you my 2009 Resolutions and if any of them were met.

1. Lose the last 20 pounds (Almost: I lost 10 lbs and kept it off for the year.)

• Work out on a regular basis (didn’t happen)
• Run the 10K in under an hour (missed it because of the move – never signed up for another one)
• Do a 15K by the end of the year (nope!)

2. Finish all current projects before starting new projects

    Project List (Oldest to newest)

• Guest Bedroom Linens – Bed Skirt, Shams, Valance/Curtains, Extra Pillows (nope!)
• Pillows for Office Bed (nope!)
• Kitchen Linens (nope – but I changed my mind on what I wanted to do)
• Mailbox Hanger (nope – I am still considering if I can do this one since I don’t have a mailbox that it will work on now)
• Paint Guest Bedroom Mirror (Yes!!! Completed!)

3. Organize outings with friends (I did do better at this before we moved and now I am not doing a great job of keeping in touch.)

4. Do Backyard makeover (Nope!  But we don't technically live there anymore either.)

5. Do better at saving money (Did it! We have become savers!!)

6. Keep the house clean (Eh – kinda! There is still an issue with leaving laundry in baskets for weeks!)

 

7. Pay all the bills on time (I am flaky and regularly forget what day of the month it is. But I did do this!! Scheduling reminders on cell phone works wonders!)

8. Go on at least 2 vacations (Nope! – But having both of us laid off and having to start new jobs kinda put a crimp in that one.)

So, as you can see – I didn’t do too well. The fact I made this list on Jan 1st last year and we both had no jobs by Jan 16th probably played into that a little. However, there were a lot of these that I could have accomplished I just didn’t. Part of the reason I didn’t complete these is, like a lot of us, I made my list and promptly forgot about it. The day to day hectic nature of our lives causes that to happen and then all the sudden we are looking at each other and saying “Gosh, its December? Where has the year gone!!”

This year – I am posting my resolutions here. Publicly. In addition, I am going to go back once a month and review to see my progress and post that here. I want to encourage you to do the same and we can do this together! If you are a regular reader, you will see my monthly updates and that can serve as your “reminder” to go back and revisit your list. Sound like a plan? Ok!

So here it goes for 2010! Since I pretty much missed all my 2009 Resolutions, I am going to use that as a starting place!

2010 Resolutions

1. Lose the last 10 pounds

• Work out on a regular basis
• Join the local running club and do the Saturday morning runs
• Run a 10K in under an hour
• Do a longer distance race

2. Finish all current projects before starting new projects

    Project List (Oldest to newest)

• Guest Bedroom Linens – Bed Skirt, Shams, Valance/Curtains, Extra Pillows
• Pillows for Office Bed (aka now the apt couch!)

3. Make an effort to keep in contact with long distance friends via other means than just Facebook

4. Make plans in January to visit my 3 friends that now live within 3-4 hours of us now that we are in TN

5. Go on at least 2 vacations (cheating a little on this one since we are in Key West now!)

6. Declutter my junk/paper/miscellaneous hidey holes

7. Train myself to not leave laundry in baskets but instead fold it within 24 hours of it coming out of the dryer.

8. Post at least 5 days a week to the blog

Ok – now it is your turn! If you do this – link it up in the comments or just leave your resolutions there if you don’t have a blog. We will get back together and review once a month!