Dining Room Inspiration

Hey guys! The blog renovation is still going on. It should all be finished soon though. But I was thinking, why wait till everything is done to post. I know it has been a little while since I last posted something. So today I wanted to share some Home Inspiration. I've created a few sets on Polyvore (love that site!). If you don't know what Polyvore is it's a website where you can create collages of anything like fashion to home ideas. I'm working on a collection of home inspiration boards for each room in my house and today I want to share my Dining room Inspiration!

Dining Room Inspiration by sobrilliantlife

My dining room is connected to my living room, which I will have my living room one up here soon as well! In this room I want a buffet, which I will have from my mom, who got it from my grandma. I can't wait to get it to my house. The rug I love, I found one at Ikea for $200, not too bad, but it's something I have to save up for. I have some fabric framed that's dessert themed already, I find it fun. I just love the look of this all together. In reality some pieces won't be the same, but close. I'm on a budget, and if you've used polyvore, your know that the items they have to choose from range from inexpensive (Target prices) up to thousands of dollars. I'm not going to buy a $1,000 rug when I can get a similar one for $200. It's just not in my budget now. I do believe that sometimes the more is cost the better quality it is and sometimes you have to splurge, But as long as you stick in your budget, you can have an awesomely decorated room!
Well that's all for this post, to see the items I used, click on the link below the picture. And if you created you're own, let me know in the comments, I want to see!!! And follow you on polyvore too!
Thanks for reading!

Shine Bright -Jen

Operation- Live Like No One Else

A few years ago I read the book: Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. And he said: 

“If you will live like no one else, later you can live like no one else.”

Meaning if you live below your means like few people do, later on you can live like the few that are well off. That's what I want to do this year. When I started my taxes I looked at my W2 and saw how much I made last year. I looked at my bank account and saw how little of it I had. I'm not the best saver yet. I did save like crazy to buy my house. Usually I will have a couple hundred ( in honesty) in my savings and the rest in a checking account. Usually after tithes, bills, and expenses my accounts get low. I know it's good to have 3 to 6 months expenses in a savings account, I just have never been that good at saving. Until now! It's a new year so that means it's time to buckle down and get saving. So comes in Operation Live Like No One Else. What brought this up was from pinterest. I repined a blog about a family of 4 who lives on $14,000 a year. It kinda shocked me. I make a good amount, but I somehow live on close to that amount a year. I want to change, I want to have a huge amount of savings left over at the year end. I also realized, i'm not a family of 4 and I also only have one income, at the moment. So their scenario may not work for me entirely, but I can use their tips and adjust them to fit my needs better. I'm pretty excited to start and even more excited to see my savings account grow! I'm excited to become financially free! So let the journey begin. I will be sharing what i've learned from changes i've made, what works best for me, and some money saving tips. I will include it in my financial friday feature and maybe a few extra posts as well. I can't wait to save!

You're So Brilliant, Don't Soon Forget

As I mentioned in an earlier post, i'm having trouble coming up with a name for the new biz/blog. Thinking tonight, I just can't get away from something Brilliant related. Here's why- 1.) I Love the definition.
Brilliant: 1- shining brightly; sparkling; glittering; lustrous  
                2  distinguished; illustrious  
                3  having or showing great intelligence, talent, quality, etc 
                4   strong and clear in tone; vivid; bright  
                5  splendid or magnificent I also love the synonyms too:

Main Entry:	brilliant [bril-yuhnt]
Part of Speech:	adjective
Definition:	shining, glowing in appearance
Synonyms:	ablaze, bright, clinquant, coruscating, dazzling,effulgent, flashy, fulgent, gleaming, glittering,glossy, incandescent, intense, lambent, lucent,luminous, lustrous, radiant, refulgent,resplendent, scintillating, showy, sparkling, vivid

2.)It originally came from the song "Unwinding Cable Car" by Anberlin.
The bridge of the song is "You're so brilliant, don't soon forget. You're so brilliant, grace marks your heart." I instantly loved the song when I first heard it, but that part stuck out to me.

And 3.) This verse: "Men and women who have lived wisely and well will shine brilliantly, like the cloudless, star-strewn night skies. And those who put others on the right path to life will glow like stars forever." -Daniel 12:3 (The Message (MSG))
Originally I first read this from the New International Version (NIV):
"Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever."
I like both, but I like the Message version best. I actually just read this version today.

The reason I named my blog "So Brilliant Life" is based on those three. I think everyone is brilliant. We all have something inside of use that makes us unique, special, brilliant. And live truly is brilliant. Just the way God created it is brilliant. There are good days and bad days in life, but there is always chances and opportunities to shine despite the circumstances. I also love making things and I think being creative is the best. Everyone has a talent, something they are really good at. It doesn't matter how big or small, it's still something you are good at. And that's quite incredible, because you put your own special, brilliant point to things. I think that's so important in crafting and diy. Don't just copy, make it yours, make it unique, add, take away from it. Just remember to give credit where it's due.

So with all that, I may just keep this blog and balance life, diy, and business in it. I may change things up though and maybe tweak the name, but i'm unsure so far. Well, that is that.
Keep being brilliantly you!
-Jen

New Idea...

I'm still working on my new blog/business concept, and until that's up i'll continue updating here! :)   I've been really wanting to craft lately. I miss sewing so much. So I'm think of doing either a 30 day craft project (craft a day) or weekly crafts. I'm not sure yet, but i'm going to start pinning things for it tonight. I bought some cheap pink erasers to try stamp carving, maybe i'll try that tonight.
Well, that's all for all !

Later,

-Jen