Florida State Fair

Yes, the Florida State Fair is here February fourth through the fifteenth. It's been a little too chilly, windy and rainy to go, but it's on our list of things to do this week.

Since we've been really worn out lately, we took the weekend to just rest. Which led us somehow into buying a third Beta fish. We've named them Chaos, Hermes and Eros for absolutely no particular reason.

This is Hermes, he belongs to Mi Miguel. He is mostly blue with bright red jagged markings. Hermes is "his".

Here we have Eros. He is red and blue with very detailed black outlined markings on his tail. Eros is "mine".

You see, the third fish was needed to complete our colorful fish family. This is Chaos, he is lighter, almost white with an all red tail. Chaos is "ours".

Now that the fish are balanced out we've moved on to working on the dining room decor. My weekend was spent painting a potting bench, above is before photo.

Here is the same shabby chic (which isn't my taste) potting bench with a bit of a beach cottage feel to it.

The mermaid's tail adds just enough of a beach effect to cause the potting bench to flow with the look we're striving to achieve. 

We were using this chest of drawers in our "glamorous" guest bathroom in Indiana. But now, with a fresh coat of colorful paint, we are using it in our dining room. 

We're still on the lookout for just the right rug, but the dresser is exactly what we needed in this spot. There isn't room for a buffet or sideboard so this little mini chest of drawers is just the ticket!

The goal is steering clear of this uptight style living room that we had in the St. Louis area. It's nice but not for us anymore.  A fun and relaxing lifestyle is more conducive to living in Florida.

While waiting for our turn with the company that is rebuilding the seawall, Mi Miguel has been jotting down notes so he can build the master closet walls.

It's been a roller coaster ride since moving to Florida. We've sold most of our belongings. We've left behind 30 years in the Midwest to return to Mi Miguel's childhood state of Florida. It's been stressful, emotional and has taken it's toll. But, we're happy to be letting go of all that drags us down.

There really isn't a need for all that stuff when you can have this. This photo was taken September 2015 a few months after moving here. Nothing calms your stress and emotions like a gorgeous beach-side sunset.

We are embracing what we really came here for; the beautiful warmth and water. But this week we feel it is important to take a day and pay homage to the roller coaster ride of moving to Florida.