It's week two of the cure and while I've lost a bit of my initial enthusiasm it's been replaced by something a bit stronger... disgust. I finally did get around to dragging out the behemoth of a vacuum that lives in the back closet and I cleaned every last corner of my kitchen this weekend. Where does all that dirt come from??

Living on the beach with two dogs is at least partly to blame, sand clings to them like a mop then ends up embedded in the rather dense plush carpeting. Living out of a vacation rental has the added effect of making me feel like I'm on, well, a rather extended vacation and the fact that it's fully furnished makes me feel justified in looking around and thinking, "Not mine!"

So here are the results of my week two.

Day 4: Get a fresh perspective.

This one was torture for me. To be honest I have an awful time with the ten minutes of meditation at the end of my yoga class and it doesn't smell musty there. I spent my ten minutes in the guest bedroom and while I can't get rid of anything, as it's not mine, I can freshen up the space and arrange the furniture a bit to make it more usable. Spending some time there instead of just avoiding it made me feel a bit more motivated to do something about it.

Day 5. Select one project to complete this month.

I chose "Buy a few accessories and hang some art to make it feel a little more like home." I think having a few personal items will go a long ways towards making me feel more at home here.

Day 6. Pick a piece of artwork and get going on framing it.

I decided to select a couple of my own photographs and have them printed up to display. I went with a 5x7 food photo for the kitchen to be framed in white and a landscape photo of the local beach to be mounted on foam core and hung in the bedroom. Simple, inexpensive and personal.

Day 7. Get together your get-together.

This was the most intimidating one for me. Partly because even once this place is spruced up I know it still won't be 100% me and partly because I don't actually know anyone in our immediate zip code yet who doesn't make my coffee or walk my dogs. I decide to invite a couple of friends who live in the city to a very casual weekend brunch and I went with my usual standby of putting together an Evite. Hopefully they'll be willing to make the trip down.

Day 8. Flowers, kitchen cleaning & make a meal.

Groan, more cleaning? I cleaned every surface and appliance in the kitchen then tackled the refrigerator. By the time I finished one thing became clear to me, I would never survive a disaster, natural or otherwise. Having lived in the city a short walk from two major grocery store spoiled me to the point where I rarely think more that a couple of meals ahead when I shop.

I use what I do have available before it spoils and craft a caprese salad for my meal then decide I had better make a list of a few items to stock up on when I visit the store.

My flowers from last week are actually still holding up nicely so I clean them up and place the remaining ones in a couple of smaller vases to place throughout the house.

How was your second week?

MORE OF KIMBERLY'S JANUARY CURE:
• First Week

(Images: via Kim Lucian)