Hello, hello! The weekend absolutely flew by, huh? It was a fun (and sweaty!) one over here. My Saturday was spent in Durham, North Carolina at the downtown YMCA. Why was in Durham?
I was there to get my PiYo LIVE certification! I’m planning to blog more about the experience in a full recap of the certification process, so if you have any specific questions about obtaining a PiYo LIVE certification, let me know!
Other than Saturday, my weekend was pretty relaxed! Ryan was actually feeling quite sick on Friday, so the two of us picked up a pizza and then hung out on the couch and watched Dateline until we couldn’t keep our eyes open anymore. It was a rockin’ good time. (Oddly enough, it actually was… And thankfully Ryan is feeling much better today!)
Sunday at Lake Norman State Park
The weather on Sunday in Charlotte was nothing short of wonderful. It was perfectly sunny and slightly chilly. The perfect hiking weather!
Naturally Ryan and I had to take advantage of such a nice fall day and took Sadie on a late morning hike on the trails at Lake Norman State Park.
This is, hands down, our favorite place to hike that’s reasonably close to Charlotte. It’s 10,000 times less crowded than the incredibly popular Crowders Mountain State Park and still offers beautiful views and awesome trails. We tend to stick to the Lake Shore Trail, a five mile loop that offers tons of little lookout points over gorgeous Lake Norman. There are lots of elevation changes and while I wouldn’t say it’s an easy hike, it’s not too strenuous either.
We often see deer along the trail and it’s very dog-friendly which naturally appeals to us, too. If you’re local to the area and haven’t made your way to this park yet, I highly recommend it!
Sadie has an absolute blast whenever we take her hiking here because she can sniff around and explore but also take little breaks and swim in the lake when she gets hot.
Sunday’s hike took us just shy of two hours to complete. Once we were done, we headed home to do make lunch and do some chores around the house. I also finally hung my gallery wall!!!
I am so excited! I am hoping to fill the final three frames today… If you have any suggestions for creative ways to fill some frames, please let me know. I already have enough photographs in the gallery wall, so I’m hoping for something else.
I hope you had a wonderful weekend!
Questions of the Morning
- Any questions about the PiYo LIVE certification process? Let me know!
- What should I frame in the final three frames in my gallery wall? I’d love to hear your ideas!
- Tell me about one of the highlights from your weekend!
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Have you thought about Using PicMonkey and putting some inspirational quotes/bible verses in there? When I started my current job I inherited picture frame bookends and that’s what I ended up putting in there.
Yes!! I’ve made two things using that site already! It may be time to make another one…I love PicMonkey!
Sometimes I go to craft stores and pick up scrap booking paper or some fabric to frame.
Just the inspiration I needed to start my collage wall. Thank you!!
I have been wanting to try PiYo, please let me know how you like it. It might be somehting I would be interested in. I just signed up to become a BeachBody coach and the next thing on my agenda is to try out Les Mills Combat. I’m always looking for ways to change up my workouts. Next summer I’m going to get certified to become a personal trainer. Who did you go through to get your certification?
You do the coolest things and travel to so many wonderful places. I feel like i am living vicariously through you, lol! Thanks for always putting a smile on my face by reading your blog.
Instead of pictures, you can buy prints off of Etsy (some are just downloads so you don’t have to wait for them to ship!) and frame them. You can even find colorful ones to add a pop of something and they would be easy to change out with the seasons (I have seasonal quotes that I rotate through frames). You can also find silhouette printables, initials, etc. It’s such a great resource!
Great idea!! I didn’t even think about buying something I could just print myself off Etsy! I like that idea!
Your weekend sounds amazing. Also, seriously obsessed with Dateline — so captivating 🙂
Some ideas for your gallery wall: monogram or your last initial, a quote you love (maybe off of etsy?), sketch of a favorite city, map of your hometown, etc..
My mom has a gallery wall going down the main stairwell of her house, and she actually decided to take the backings out of a few of the frames so there’s just a blank frame with the wall/wallpaper showing through. It looks really rustic/vintage and totally works!
Ahhh PiYo! I absolutely loved that workout at IDEA. I’ve had my eye on where to certified for it near me. Congrats! I’m excited for the recap! 🙂
I often use pieces of gift wrap, scrapbook paper or fabric that matches my decor that I really like in frames. In my son’s nursery, I cut out a piece of one of the gift bags that we received a present in at our baby shower and I love it! Also, cute gift cards work as well!
Looks like a lovely hike!! Maybe you could fill a couple frames with quotes, that would look really nice along with the framed pictures!!
FUN!!! Hiking with dogs is best!! Glad ya’ll are really settling into your new town and getting to explore some awesome places!
I recently got certified in PiYo and am having a hard time with how to remember all the routines. I have never taught a fitness class (just done personal training) and think I have a mental mindset I need to overcome. I also work full time and think just cramming something else in my brain is holding me back too 🙂
Anyway, would love to hear any tips you have on actually teaching and remembering the routines!!
I plan on printing and framing this quote someday and thought you may like it 🙂
“There is nothing wrong with loving the crap out of everything. Negative people find their walls. So never apologize for your enthusiasm. Never. Evern. Never.”
-Ryan Adams
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/255790453810799720/
I’ve never done PiYo, but have heard quite a bit about it. I’m looking forward to hearing about the process, as I’ve gone through a bunch of Les Mills and personal training certifications. I like to see how other organizations do it.
What a fun hike! I can’t wait to see your gallery wall 🙂
I love hiking. I wish there were more places to go near to me.
Photo wall…how about Framed certificates? The front of your wedding Order of Service? Any newspaper/magazine articles? My friend has a square of pretty wallpaper in one of hers.
Looking forward to your certification recap! Love how your wall is coming along. Happy Monday!
HIking is the BEST way to spend the morning 🙂
It may sound a bit odd but i have a frame that has spots for 5 photos…in 2 of them, I used 2 fake flowers from Michael’s with coordinating scrapbook paper behind it and the other 3 frames also have just coordinating scrapbook paper in different but also coordinating patterns. The flowers are both white and all the papers are black and white but you could really do anything since there are so many different types and colors of paper. Fun!!
If I were you, I would use the final three frames to represent the month or time of year. Yes, this would require switching them out every so often, but it would keep things fun. For example, in October you could have leaves, the word “October” and something the represents Halloween. In February you could have hearts and something memorable from a Valentine’s day that was spent with Ryan. April, showers, May flowers, etc. Just a thought. 🙂
Super cute idea. Even if Julie doesn’t use it, I will! =)
Love Friday nights in watching Dateline!! 🙂
Do you already have a framed copy of your wedding invitation? That might be a fun addition to your gallery wall!
That wall’s gonna be awesome! I love quotes & scriptures as extra things other than pics!
Julie!
When are we going to get a tour of your new home? It looks beautiful from the sneak peaks we’ve had.
Thank you!! And soon!! The home office is done once I get the final three frames filled, so that’s up first. The kitchen is done, but it opens up into the family room which has one thing left to finish and then I’ll share more!
Your gallery wall is looking great!! Every time I pop over to your blog I have to give myself a reminder to get out and go hiking before it gets too cold!
I think you need to put each of your initials in to the frames in a fun font (“J”, “R”, and “S”)!
wedding invitations always work for me … maybe some kind of a hanging that reminds you of FLorida???
oooooooooooooooh ,,, printed off copy of your first blog post!
I moved into my house this weekend!!!!!!!!!! It went pretty well and I’m so happy everything is in, now I just got to organize everything!
Saw this and totally thought of you before I even read this post! http://www.drivenbydecor.com/2014/10/gallery-wall-how-to-design-tips.html
yayyy!!
The other day I came across the instructions to do marble paintings with nail polish. It may be an easy way to incorporate your color scheme to the wall.
Looks like a beautiful hike.
what is the color of your mocha walls? I love it! We just bought a new home and the walls are bright shade of orange that need to go!!! I love that mocha/dark beige look you have going on on your walls and would love to do something similar in our home! let me know! 🙂
I am not sure because the previous owners painted it, but I’ll check in the garage to see if one of the spare paint cans they left behind has the info!
Is it sad that the type of Friday I most look forward to are the ones where my husband and I stay in and watch Dateline and 20/20? You know you’re an old married couple when that counts as exciting!
Haha!! I LOVE it, too!! 🙂
I like the idea of the three initials framed on the wall, but I am also a big fan of framing beautiful fabric, paper, or even wallpaper, especially if I already have any of those accessible.
Congrats on getting the job! I keep hearing about this PiYo but am clueless! Just looked it up … so did you need to have a big pilates/yoga background to get certified? Or take a certain amount of PiYo classes before becoming certified? I’m interested because I want to become a Pilates instructor, since I use a lot of it with my physical therapy patients. However, I’ve only taken a couple classes.
Just frame this comment. (Kidding.)
Haha!! I’ll definitely address this in my PiYo post, but no you do not! 🙂
You could do dinner maps from where you and Ryan have lived or have had great vacations. Do you have anything left from your wedding?! The invitation maybe?!
Ummm I don’t know how the word dinner got in that comment. Please ignore 🙂
Since you and Ryan travel a lot and have lived in a million (exaggeration lol) places, you should put pictures of special spots for you. It could be even a city map of Orlando in the shape of Florida if that makes sense? Or your home state! Even the city you got married in the shape of the state… Or specific landmarks which mean something to you (in terms of first date, proposal, etc.)! I hope this helps 😀
Okay so your headband is adorable that you wore hiking! Where did you get it from?
Also, what organization did you take your PiYo cert from? I’m looking for a spin cert since my AFAA one was canceled.
It’s from BICBands –> http://bicbands.com/ 🙂 And I got my PiYo certification through BeachBody –> http://www.beachbodylive.com/piyo/
Thanks so much! 🙂
I’ve seen some really cute frames filled with fun wrapping paper or fabric instead of pictures!
I made a gallery wall this summer and to fill up the last few frames I went to Paper Source (or you could go to any paper/stationary store) and found a few fun greeting cards to frame. I just cut off the back of each card and voila! A few were quotes that I really liked and the others were just fun designs. Good luck!!
SADIE PAW PRINTS!! (like what people do with their babies…cause..he’s your baby)
You can’t go wrong with puppy art 🙂 I put some paint on my dogs paw and press it on a piece of paper a few times. I’m sure you’ll fill it with something lovely.
Whenever I need to fill a frame in a gallery, I’ll sometimes stick in a piece of colorful, fun fabric!
Gallery wall ideas, similar to my own gallery wall: mounted keys from your Florida home, a special map, button art that you can make/sew yourself (maybe an F for the Fagan family?), a small print or painting from a local artist, and an important greeting card that you’ve saved. I framed a card that I bought my husband at Paper Source- “You are the best part of my day.” Can’t wait to see the completed wall!
I love your gallery wall!! I’d love to do one for our entry way but my husband and I don’t take/have pictures of one another lol!
An idea I’ve seen is framing colorful scrap booking paper that goes along with your color scheme…can’t wait to see the final outcome 🙂