I Resisted the Urge!

It's not the first day of the year but it's Day One of me trying to simplify and of my journey of being less materialistic...I am trying to get into the habit of not buying things that we think we need, and it is going quite well and I am actually a little proud of myself, so don't mind if I give myself a pat on the back!  So, a somewhat normal routine of a typical weekday is to go to Target or Wal-Mart after dropping Evan off at school and again, my plan this morning was to head for Target right after I drop Evan off. 

I had been thinking to myself that I would really like an all-season wreath to hang in the spot I had my Christmas wreath.  What was hanging there pre-Christmas decorating, was something I didn't want to hang back up because it didn't really "go" with our new dining room table and chairs.  So, naturally I was going to go to Target and look and probably not find a wreath that was just right but come home with $50 (or more) worth of things that I didn't really need (do the boys really need another matching shirt?).  Rather than hopping on the highway to head into Lake Geneva, I just drove home, imagine that!  It was about an hour after arriving home, Ethan is doing his usual bouncing off the walls routine and Elias is sleeping that I started googling "natural wreaths", "all-season wreaths"....I found myself on etsy, about ready to purchase something that I just happened to remember, I actually had a wreath that my dear friend Shannon made for me several years ago out of wine bottle corks, I hadn't been using it because it had a strand of lights in it and half of the lights were out.  And for the first time it occurred to me that I can actually take the lights out, so I dashed downstairs, pulled the wreath out of the storage bin, took the lights out, ran back upstairs and immediatly hung the wreath on the wall and it's so perfect and lovely and even better it is handmade with love by my friend. 

I am just so happy right now, I can look at my wall and not feel guilty for spending twenty-some dollars on something that I really didn't need to buy and I can feel happy because I have something that means something to me and that will help me think of my friend Shannon.