My fiancee and I are revamping our apartment over the next few months, something I think we’ve both been wanting to do for awhile now. As a little bit of background on our place, we’ve lived in it for just over a year now and renewed our lease for one more year. While next year is looking like the time we’ll buy a house, we still have an entire 11 months left in our cute little apartment and felt there’s still plenty of time to switch things up and make it look even nicer and homier.

I think the way we’ll go about our small “renovation” process is from room to room. Read on to follow our steps for doing so.

The basement.

I think this is the place most in need of some updating, so this is where I’ll start. First and foremost, the basement as it currently is does have a nice sectional couch, a small home entertainment stand, a big oak table with 6 chairs, a washer and dryer, and a dartboard. Oh, and there’s a standing lamp too!

So, to kick things off, I think the biggest problem with our basement is the fact that the walls are pretty barren. Ultimately, this gives off the effect of “Oh, this is clearly a basement.” Because the walls are white cement blocks stacked on one another and the “ceiling” is floorboards from above with nails sticking through, not much in there seems like an actual room despite all of our other furnishings and decor.

This is where some cheap, easy “renovation” comes in to help fill the walls. While there’s not much we can do about the ceiling being floorboards since we’re renting the place and don’t own it, there is quite a bit of room on the walls to put up posters, to paint (we’re allowed to do this), and even hang tapestries. We’ve currently got a few old Bonnaroo posters hung up with some shipping supplies (mostly packing tape), but shipping supplies won’t cut it when it comes to heavier duty items or even painting the walls.

My first idea with renovating this part of the basement will probably stick with my fiancee, and that’s painting the walls a darker, more colorful shade of green. We’re huge naturalists and love the idea of green all over our home (mostly plants!). So, having the back wall a forest green would give a sense of atmosphere in the basement that looks great with ambient lighting while also being a color that’s not too “out there.”

For the last three or four months, my fiancee and I have talked about getting into yoga.

For a hobby that can be very life changing, it’s not as simple as just saying “Hey, I want to do yoga.” Or, perhaps it really can be. But considering we said that over 150 days ago, it goes to show there’s got to be some sort of intentionality and will behind the words in order to enact such a life-changing hobby.

Like most things, I think you kinda just need to dive in head first if you want to see if you’re even remotely interested in something. And the best way of doing that is ordering yourself an okay yoga matt, firing up some sort of free YouTube tutorial, and trying your best to follow along. How else are you supposed to get a taste test for such a unique activity? I suppose there’s the option of paying a monthly fee and going to a yoga studio for better hands-on guidance.

My way of looking at things, though, is trial and error on your own. I’d rather order a few shipping boxes worth of yoga gear, get a feel for what I’m about to do, and just sit and learn. It’s how I’ve picked up running (i.e., buying nicer running shoes and doing a little bit of research). It’s how I suppose I’d tackle anything in front of me from here on out, really.

I really think something like yoga would benefit the entire world if everyone just gave it a chance. Unfortunately, that’s just not how things work in people’s lives. Not everyone will give everything a try, despite there being some amazing things out there that could be healing and beneficial to all.

I just think there’s a turning point in everyone’s lives where they made a specific decision and things blossomed. Of course, this is true for the opposite, too. People can make a big decision that sends them down the wrong path. It’s up to us to have the intuition to know which one is better or worse.

Anyway, I’m quite stoked to see those few shipping boxes on my front porch in just a week or so. Yoga isn’t something that’s easy for beginners to take on without a professional. But lucky for my fiancee and me, there are plenty of videos out there on the internet with professionals giving the tips you need to get started on just about anything.

I love my job and I truly enjoy showing up to work each day. However, I sometimes think what else would I be doing if I were to take up a different profession, and I continually arrive back at the thought of becoming a teacher. I love communicating and explaining things to people. I love challenging people and engaging with them to help them think differently on topics of interest. Selfishly, I think one of the main reasons why I would like to be a teacher, is that I would not have to work for two to three months of the year and get to enjoy the best part of the year, the summer, in any way that I want!

One of my best friends is a teacher, and while she does enjoy having her summer’s free, she often times tries to find a summer job. The extra income is nice, but it is also nice to have something to pass the days in case she gets bored of lounging by the pool. She has tried many different things: working at a boutique, working at a winery, coaching kid’s camps, and waitressing. However, the job she is trying this summer is probably the one that she has loved the most out of all of them.

She works as an independent contractor for a fulfillment company and absolutely loves the flexibility that it provides for her schedule. She can literally create her own hours and work whenever she wants to. Her job involves her gathering curriculum and other textbooks to sell, and then putting the books in shipping boxes to send out all over North America. The more items she sells and fulfills, the more money she makes. So there is a lot of incentive to work as much as possible, which she does try to do, but it is nice because if something else comes up or she is not feeling like working, she does not have to.

The main part of her job involves going to the local post office and gathering the correct shipping boxes and the shipping labels so she can then send out the orders. Since she privately buys curriculum and other text-books from anywhere beforehand, all she has to do is show up and put the books in the boxes.  She receives a percentage of each of the sales she fulfills and sends out. It is truly amazing how many orders she can fulfill at one time.

I am not ready to switch and become a teacher yet, however when I hear of things like this, it does sound pretty appealing. If you are looking for a summer job, remember to think creativity and check out as many places as possible!

It’s hard to believe that the 4th of July is already upon us, especially considering it felt like the new year just began. But maybe that’s me and my wonky internal clock feeling like it’s not here yet when it actually is.

No matter what way you look at it though, it’s here and there’s almost too little time to plan out what’s happening and where I’m going. That always seems to be the case with me, though. Before I know it, holidays are upon me and I make last minute plans with friends or family. Still, I always get it to work out well enough.

Anyway, this year I think I’ll be heading to a friend’s new house for some fireworks in his neighborhood. I’ve yet to visit his new home, so it’s the perfect excuse to go down, hang out, have some drinks with old friends, and relax.

I’m pretty sure he’s got a grill, too, so we’ll likely be grilling out as well. Nothing more “American” than a grill out on the 4th of July.

I’m certain that means we’ll all be responsible for bringing our own drinks, some snacks or meats, and relevant things like particular shipping supplies (think tape and boxes) for storage and carrying things around. There’s never too many supplies to bring, whether they’re office or shipping supplies.

The cool thing will be that the park that’s showing fireworks will be just a few minutes walk away from his house, so no matter how much partying we do during the day, we don’t have to drive anywhere to see them and can be safe by just meandering on over to the park with our lawn chairs, some brews in tow, and good company.

I think that’s all it really takes to have a good time on a holiday, really. So long as everyone is relaxing, there’s good food, conversation to keep everyone engaged, and some drinks, people seem to have fun. I know I love that sort of environment and scenario, at least.

Now that I’ve related my plans to you for this upcoming American holiday, what do you plan on doing for your 4th of July weekend? Considering the holiday falls on a Thursday, I’m guessing most of you have taken off the following Friday so that you can have a 4 day weekend. If you haven’t, submit your request for PTO now!