I'm sharing a few tiny corners that I have finished in my new room to better show how the new color looks. I still need to hang a gallery wall above the bed, figure out the space above my desk, and get a new TV and desk chair before I feel ready to share the full effect. After living with the color for a few days, I've grown to love it even more. My room feels both lighter and calmer, and it's becoming a place I can see myself truly relaxing in after exams over Winter Break or after an 8 hour shift at my current summer job.

from the weekend.

This weekend, my dad helped me paint my old bedroom at home. The room looks so different without the orange walls, and I'm beyond happy with the result. I decided to go with Valspar's Channel Seal Gray, which is a warm purpleish tone of gray. My sister describes it as a "chic gray," which is exactly what I was going for. Today I'm sharing just a quick preview of the progress and will be back Wednesday with a look into the (mostly) finished result.

everything in its place.

I've been busy updating my old bedroom at home. For the past couple of years, I've made a few changes with the help of my parents. I got rid of my old furniture I had when I was a kid and my dad got ahold of both a new desk and dresser and repainted them. I also got a new bed and new bedding.

However, after coming home from college and seeing all my childhood things in one place I was inspired to start decluttering. I have so many things. If you know me at all, you know that I keep everything. I put trash in notebooks and hold on to every gift I've ever received. And obviously, I can't take everything I own with me to college. By leaving behind a great deal of stuff I own, I've learned that if I don't really need it, want it, or use it, it's just a waste of space and needs to be gotten rid of.

Over this Winter Break, I really made an effort to declutter and make the final changes to my new "adult" bedroom. I got new curtains, a new lamp, a new trashcan, and I repainted my mom's old bookshelf. I got rid of about 2 trashbags full of junk. I've also rearranged most of the stuff that I decided to keep, putting everything in its place and finding new homes for the objects I left at school.

As far as other updates go, I have been fighting a cold and this tissue box my mom bought is making me smile as I carry it wherever I go.

Also I have been keeping busy finding other ways to smile with my new Twitter: https://twitter.com/goodthingsbyliz
I am so much happier now that I've gotten rid of my old Twitter and made a new one dedicated to positive thinking only. With my old Twitter, I found that I was searching for things to put and trying too hard to come up with something witty or thought-provoking in less than 140 characters. I resented it. And I've found that with this new Twitter, I don't have to try. I just have to take stock of my life and realize that something good happens every day. It's a wonderful realization and it's definitely something I want to practice for the rest of 2013.