Living the Gray Life

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| Posted in: Lifestyle

A Freelancer’s Desk Setup

This post includes affiliate links. It doesn’t change the price of the product, but I receive just a little bit in return. Links like these are what help keep Living the Gray Life up and running! Thank you for your support 🙂

Freelance Desk Setup

Hi hello trust me the office tour is coming soon but this is just a little sneak peek of what’s to come.

My office is where I spend the majority of my day working on blog stuff, developing websites, and wasting time on Reddit and YouTube. I work from home at the moment because finding a job post-grad is hard and I currently work as a freelance web developer to keep me afloat at the moment.

If you need a website or a blog theme refresh, hit me up! I’m always on the lookout for new clients 🙂

Freelance Desk Setup

Screen real estate is super important for me. I used to work just on my laptop and one monitor… I couldn’t stand the difference in screen size and the fact that the monitor and my laptop screen were never at the same height. Plus, I found if I had my laptop open, I wanted to use the trackpad and keyboard on my laptop… not the external keyboard and mouse.

Having two monitors is a GAME CHANGER. I will never go back.

Just in case you’re wondering how I use the monitors without my laptop being open, Apple is wonderful and allows the use of monitors even when the laptop lid is closed. As long as my laptop is on charge, I can use the monitors. It’s like having a desktop computer without having a desktop computer…

Freelance Desk Setup
Freelance Desk Setup
Freelance Desk Setup

My desk top and legs are from IKEA. The legs are probably my most favorite part of the desk if I’m being honest. I’m not a big fan of the white top… hello coffee stains ALL THE TIME. I had to wipe down my desk before taking these photos because the amount of cat hair, coffee stains, and crumbs was kinda disgusting…

I do wish I had more storage around my desk. I keep that blue container on the desk and it’s full of stuff I might need like sticky notes, cords, ChapStick, and other odds and ends.

Freelance Desk Setup
Freelance Desk Setup

My PowerSheets and newly acquired bullet journal live on top of my closed laptop. They’re there for easy access and so I can constantly see my to-do list and goals for the day, week, and month.

My Lacie hard drive lives on my desk and I swear by that thing. It has my entire life on it. My Flint Leather Co. journal usually has a spot on my desk as well. It was a Christmas gift from my brother and it’s full of grocery lists and other notes that I take with me on the go. I usually throw it in my purse whenever I’m out and about.

For those asking about my desk chair. It was a fantastic find at a thrift store in town for only $5. Yes, you read that right. $5. Best $5 I’ve spent.

Shop my desk:

~abigail gray

Here's how a freelance web developer sets up her desk space for productivity.

| Posted in: DIY

DIY Hanging Plant Shelf

This post includes affiliate links. It doesn’t change the price of the product, but I receive just a little bit in return. Links like these are what help keep Living the Gray Life up and running! Thank you for your support 🙂

Before I moved into my new place, I was thinking of all of the cool ways I could include my plants in the decor. Plants are a side passion of mine, and our new place has ample light so of course, I couldn’t just have all of my plants in one little area!

My office is the main hub for my plants, mainly because it has the most natural light throughout the day. I’ve got them hanging from the ceiling, chilling on shelves and surfaces, and even on the floor. But what I really wanted was a way to have my plants be in front of the window without taking up valuable cat-chilling window sill space. Pus, any plants I leave on my windowsills will notoriously be knocked off thanks to Basil and Potato.

NOTE: I wouldn’t recommend hanging these in a south-facing window as southern windows can receive a lot of direct sunlight. This can easily sunburn your plants. I have mine in a north-facing window.

Tools & Supplies

  • 2 1x6x6 pieces of wood (this gave us 4 30in. shelves with a few inches left over on each piece of wood)
  • 50-100ft of a rope of your choosing… I used a coconut husk rope (the amount will differ based on the spacing between your shelves, whether or not you double up your rope as I did)
  • 3 3/8 in. hole saw bit
  • 1/2 in. drill bit
  • Coarse grit and smooth grit sandpaper
  • Wood stain of your choosing
  • 12 4-inch terra-cotta pots
  • 4 eye hooks

Hanging Plant Shelf Instructions

Cut your wood to length. Measure the inside of your window frame to get the size you need to cut. I cut mine to 30 inches wide. It’s a tad smaller than the window frame.

  • Diy Hanging Plant Shelf 3
  • Diy Hanging Plant Shelf 2

Drill rope holes. This is personal preference as to where to drill the holes on your pieces of wood. I went with 1 inch from each edge on the corners. I used a 1/2 inch drill bit. Use a drill bit that fits your rope snugly.

Drill holes for pots. Figure out how many pots you want per shelf. Space them evenly between the holes created for the rope. Make sure the holes are in the center of the board. Holes can be created by hand with a jigsaw if you don’t have a hole saw bit or if you don’t want to invest in a hole saw bit. I used a 3 3/8 inch hole saw bit to drill holes to fit 4-inch terra-cotta pots.

Diy Hanging Plant Shelf 4

Smooth it out. Using the coarse grit sandpaper, sand the inside of the holes for the terra-cotta pots and the rope. I rolled the sand paper up to fit it in the rope holes and sanded that way. Made my life much easier! **Make sure to sand with the grain of the wood if you’re sanding the surface of the boards!** Go back over everything with smooth grit sandpaper to leave a nice finish.

Stain your heart out. Before staining, wipe down the boards with a damp cloth to remove any dust created from sanding. Allow the wood to dry before applying stain. Follow the instructions for application on the stain of your choosing.

Tie your knots. Hello tedious portion of this project. Starting from the top board, tie knots under each board. Make sure to keep the spacing between each board consistent. It’s okay if it’s not perfect right now, but it’ll save you hassle later if the spacing is consistent. Leave long ends at the bottom of each full shelf to allow for adjustments if needed.

Diy Hanging Plant Shelf 5

Hang it up. **To hang my shelves, I had to remove the blinds from my windows. This might be necessary for you as well.** Screw your eye hooks above the window. Make sure the eye hooks are in the window frame itself or in the stud above the window. Eye hooks are easier to install if you drill a pilot hole slightly smaller than the eye hook. If you’re not hanging from a stud, look into an anchor bolt for the wall that will hold the weight you need.

Plant away 🙂 This is the fun part. You can fill your new plant shelves with just about anything and everything. These two shelves hold cuttings of some of my vining plants, a few hoyas, and some new goodies from Pistil’s Nursery (not sponsored but highly highly recommend them). I’m making another one of these shelves for our window above our kitchen sink. We’re going to fill that one with herbs!

What Plants Did I Choose??

This is a north-facing window so it gets no direct sun. Usually, I don’t have a lot of plants in north-facing windows just because they don’t tend to get a lot of light. But because these shelves are right up against the glass, I figure that all of the plants should be fine. If some of them end up needing more light, I can move them elsewhere in my house and replace them with less light-demanding plants.

Diy Hanging Plant Shelf 7
Top Row (left to right): satin pothos, pothos N’Joy, golden pothos
Bottom Row: (left to right): hoya kerrii, monstera adansonii, red maranta
Diy Hanging Plnt Shelf 6
Top Row (left to right): neon pothos, moonshine sansiveria, monstera adansonii
Bottom Row: (left to right): rattlesnake calathea, hoya obovotta, philodendron brazil

I’m stoked to see how the trailing plants fill in over the next few months. I’ll keep y’all updated with the growth progress in a future coffee & chit chat post!

~abigail gray

Diy Hanging Plant Shelf Blog Cover

| Posted in: Fitness, Lifestyle

My CrossFit Experience: The First Week

Crossfit First Week Experience Blog Cover

I just surpassed the 3-year mark of my fitness journey. Hard to believe, trust me. My 3-year fitness journey update will be coming soon, but I just couldn’t wait to post about my new workout routine and how I’m switching things up for year 4.

So here’s what happened: I graduated from college so I got kicked out of my college gym. No more campus gym for me. I was stuck in limbo because I needed to get a gym membership elsewhere but I also was sick and tired of my old workout routine. My passion for fitness had gone out the window. I’d been wanting to get into CrossFit for a while now because it seemed like the perfect way to switch things up but still focus on strength training.

I joined a local CrossFit box at the beginning of June, and I can happily say that I’ve never once regretted that decision.

Here’s What Happened During My First Week

Okay yes technically I’ve been doing CrossFit for two weeks now, but I’m not going to count that first week. I went to a foundations class, went to an actual CrossFit class, and then I had to go home for a week because of a funeral. So it doesn’t really count.

My first real week of CrossFit, I only made it to two classes. TWO CLASSES. I’m the 5-6 workouts a week kind of person. But holy moly not with CrossFit.

Classes Are Exhausting but So Rewarding

Classes at my CrossFit box are an hour long. And you’re moving for that entire hour. There’s no rest periods or time to catch your breath for an extended period of time. You’re moving for 60 minutes straight.

I absolutely love it.

In my bodybuilding/weight training days, I’d be at the gym for about an hour, complete 5-6 exercises, and call it a day. I’d have minutes of rest in between sets and exercises so I never really felt like I was pushing myself. With CrossFit, that’s a whole different story.

I leave classes feeling empowered and proud of myself. I’m doing things I thought I wasn’t strong enough to do, and I’m feeling more and more powerful every single day. That 200+ lb deadlift is coming, y’all. I can feel it!

Here are the two workouts we did during my first week:

Wednesday WOD:

EMOM 16 Minutes
Alternate between A & B

A: Back Squats x6
B: Single Arm Dumbbell Jerk x3 each arm

Met-Con for time

  • 100 Push Ups
  • 100 Air Squats
  • EMOM stop for 25x Jump Rope

Friday WOD:

Deadlift 20 Minutes
1 Set Every 2 Minutes

  • #1: 8 reps
  • #2: 6 reps
  • #3: 4 reps
  • #4: 2 reps
  • #5-10: 1 rep

Met-Con EMOM 12 Minutes

  • 1 Deadlift
  • 3 Burpees
  • 5 Russian KB Swings

WOD = Workout of the day
EMOM = Every minute on the minute
Met-Con = Metabolic conditioning aka cardio

Being Sore is an Understatement

It’s pretty normal to be sore when first starting a new training routine. I’ve been through that whole “I haven’t worked out for my entire life and now I am” kind of sore. I’ve been through the trembling legs after my leg days. But nothing really prepared me for the “I think I just got hit by a bus” kind of sore that came after my workouts.

The thing about being sore after a CrossFit class is that the soreness is not just in your legs or your arms. It’s your entire body.

Being sore (and being gone for a funeral) is what kept me from going to more than two classes in my first week. My body needs time to adjust to this new style of training, and I knew that if I pushed myself to go to more classes, my chance of injuring myself would go way up.

Thankfully I’ve been doing this whole fitness thing for a while so I didn’t feel guilty for not going as much as I initially wanted. I know that recovering properly is more important than trying to fit in another workout.

I Am So Hungry

With my old style of training, yes I was burning calories, but not to this extent. I get hungry almost every two to three hours. It’s crazy.

Nutrition is so important for success in any kind of training routine. What you eat can either make or break your workout and your progress. With that being said, I’m still learning exactly how much I need to eat and what I need to eat in order to perform my best.

But Abigail, Aren’t You Worried about Injuries????

I know this question is probably going through your mind right now. CrossFit has a reputation for injuring people. But the reality of it is, there’s a chance of injury during any kind of workout.

I’m not worried about being injured because that just comes with the territory of putting my body through different kinds of stress. I know my limits, I know how movements are supposed to feel, and I’m not going to push myself to do things that I know might not be ideal for where my body is right now.

As long as I’m being smart, safe, and not an idiot when it comes to weights and movements, I’ll be just fine 🙂

My Spark for Fitness is Finally Back

Before I end this post, I just want to say that in the past week, I felt a spark and a passion for living a healthy lifestyle that I haven’t felt in probably a year.

I wake up every day excited for my workout, I would rather eat healthy foods than junk food, I don’t care about drinking alcohol as much as I used to. I feel like myself again and it makes me so happy.

I am so beyond glad I took the plunge and decided to invest in joining a CrossFit box. I love the uplifting community. There’s something to be said about getting and giving fist bumps after a killer workout. I cannot wait to share more about my journey with CrossFit in the future!!!

~abigail gray

| Posted in: Blogging, Lifestyle

Here’s to 4 Years (and many more)

4 Year Blogiversary Cover Img

Hi, hello! How’re you?? It’s been awhile since I’ve done anything remotely blog related…

I do apologize about that, but life has been hectic, and to be quite honest, the blog has fallen to the back burner. Not an ideal situation, but life happens.

Anyways, the point of this post is not to make excuses for my almost 2-month absence. The real point of this post is to celebrate my 4 years of blogging!!

4 freaking years of blogging. What the heck!?

I completely missed my 2nd blogiversary and I refused to let that happen again. I was just now reading through my 1st and 3rd blogiversary posts and it’s like taking a trip down memory lane.

I remember being this shy (okay I’m still pretty shy) college freshman who didn’t want it to be known that I had my own little corner of the internet. It’s amazing to look back and see the progression of how my mindset and confidence has changed over the years. It’s also really neat to see how the blogging world has changed over the years as well.

The world of blogging used to be a lot more personal than it is now. It used to be about the blogger, what they were doing in life at that moment, and every sentence they wrote was filled with their passion. I mean come on, we used to dedicate posts to our favorite TV shows and movies at the moment. We used to write about our favorite snacks. We used to share our monthly favorites every single month.

Nowadays, blogging has become a lot more mainstream. It’s all about creating content for the reader. What’s going to help them? What’s going to get the most clicks and/or traction? It’s all cookie cutter content.

I feel like a lot of the blogging world has lost touch with the original purpose of blogging. It was to share your personal perspective on life. It was your little escape from the real world to share your passions, projects, and ideas. I want to get back to that. I want to stop worrying about what people will think if I post about certain topics (aka plants). I want to create content for ME and not for everyone else.

In year 4, I really hope to get back to my roots of why I blog. I need to stop worrying about how the post will be received. I need to blog for me and me only. People come to my blog for me, my personality, and my unique take on life. They don’t come to my blog and my content because I’m like every other blogger/influencer out there.

Okay wow IDK how I got on that rant, but I’m sure glad I did. I read Gabby’s post a few weeks back about her take on blogging in 2019. It definitely hit home and made me think about why I blog and why I love content creation.

Back to celebrating my 4 years of blogging!

Here’s some stats from the past year:

  • I published 6 life update posts.
  • Caitlyn and I finally sat down and started our podcast
  • I had the opportunity to create content with and for my dream brand aka Adidas
  • I finally met up and had an epic photoshoot with Gabby aka the blogging queen
  • Designed and developed a blog theme that I’m actually so happy with and proud of

Top 3 Posts from Year 3

12 Days Of Fitmas Circuit Workout Cover
Plant Tour March 2019 Blog Cover

As I say every year, I wouldn’t have made it this far or had the opportunities I’ve had without YOU. My readers are a big reason as to why I do this and continue to blog. I love hearing how much you’ve suffered when doing one of my leg workouts or how you started your own fitness journey based on my posts. Hearing your feedback inspires me more than you could ever know. I love each and every one of you, and I cannot wait to go on the journey through year 4 with you!

~abigail gray

| Posted in: Chit Chat

Graduation, Moving, & More Plants | Coffee & Chit Chat No. 12

Coffee Chit Chat 12 Blog Cover

Lot’s of things have happened since my last Coffee & Chit Chat post. Some good and some bad, but that’s life, right?

This post comes to you as my senior year of college is coming to a close. I’m about to graduate and be thrown into the real adult world. I’m so stoked but also terrified. Finding a job is proving to be a heck of a lot more of a struggle than I thought. Being an adult is expensive, and I’m ready to have some income that’s more than $300 a month.

Before I start rambling too much, let’s get into things!

Potato is Missing…

I wrote the following on April 16th when I was working on the original draft of this post:

I’m starting out with the sad news first. Just to get it out of the way so we can focus on happy things!

If you don’t know, Potato is my cat that showed up at my house one day and we took him in. He showed up a week before Tom, my first cat, passed away suddenly back in January. Potato was my comfort through such a difficult time with losing Tom.

Potato likes to go on several day adventures around my neighborhood. He will disappear for a few days at a time, but usually he comes back one morning, meowing at the door, and absolutely starving. He went on an adventure two weeks ago and he hasn’t come back.

He’s an independent outdoor cat so I know he can handle himself outdoors. After all, he lived 10 months outside without a family. I can only hope he’s alive and well. Maybe he has another family that adopted him. Maybe he’s just on a kitty adventure to Europe or something. He’s chipped with my information so hopefully, if someone finds him, he will make his way back to me.

After losing Tom back in January and now Potato just 3 months later, I’m struggling. Loss is hard, and it’s even harder when it happens so close together.

On the bright side, Brad and I are getting two kittens at the end of May/beginning of June. We’re thinking of calling them Bacon and Eggs. I am so excited because life without cats is not a life I want to live.

Guess who showed up at my door on the night of the 16th. Freaking Potato. He was covered in dirt and fur. He ate 2 cans of cat food in under 3 hours. He didn’t leave my side for over 24 hours. I think it’s safe to say Potato is back home for good!

I’m Moving!

I was 100% not planning on moving any time soon, but here I am moving again. Originally I was going to stay in the house I’m in now until after graduation, after I found a job, and after Brad’s lease was up in June. Ideally I don’t want to stay here long-term because too many bad things have happened in this house and I’m ready to get away from that. Plus, this will be my 7th time moving in the span of 4 years, and to be quite honest, I’m ready to just settle somewhere for a bit.

Plans suddenly changed when Brad found an amazing listing on Zillow for a total steal. We looked at the house and signed papers two days later. I am so excited to show you the beautiful house I now get to call home for the foreseeable future! It’s got beautiful natural light, stunning hardwood floors, a gas cooktop, double sinks in the master bath, and a dedicated cat room. Yes, you read that right. A cat room. Oh my goodness I’m stoked.

House tours, DIYs, and room transformations will be coming your way all summer long!

Graduation

Holy freaking moly I graduate in less than a month. May 11th cannot come soon enough LOL

I’m already in full senioritis mode… I honestly don’t care about class anymore, and I’m so ready to get going on the rest of my life. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love school… the note-taking, the organization, and the planners. But, I’m ready to be in a regular routine. Oh, and I’m ready to not be broke.

I’m actually not walking at graduation because I don’t want to sit there for three hours to wait for my name to be called nor do I want my parents and brother to sit there for three hours bored out of their minds. Instead, my parents are coming down that weekend and helping me move into my new place! That sounds like a much better way of celebrating my graduation than sitting there bored and annoyed for 3 hours.

I’m planing on taking graduation photos this weekend *hopefully* with my bestie Katie. I didn’t end up buying a cap and gown so she’s letting me borrow her’s. Can’t wait to share the photos with y’all!

  • South Carolina 2019 Graduation 40
  • South Carolina 2019 Graduation 30
  • South Carolina 2019 Graduation 27
  • South Carolina 2019 Graduation 33

New Instagram

Speaking of photos, I started a new Instagram just for all my pictures of plants, cats, and coffee! It’s mainly for all of the photos that don’t make it on @livingthegraylife. I know y’all don’t want to be spammed with plant photos all day every day. Plus, this gives me an opportunity to work on growing another social media platform.

I’m excited for the new account, and I cannot wait to share all my plant photos with you!

Web Development & New Blog Theme

I am the queen of constantly changing up my blog theme… I can’t help it! I’ve just never been 100% happy with the standard blog layout of the posts on the left and a sidebar on the right. It’s so average… I wanted something a little different that would catch people’s eye and make them want to read more!

I developed this theme, and I’m so thrilled with how it turned out. The homepage is by far my favorite, and I think it’s a great way of making my content new and fresh.

Speaking of developing themes… if you’re in the need of a new blog theme and/or website, please hit me up! I’m doing freelance web development for a while after I graduate until I find a full-time job. Or maybe this web development thing will turn into my full-time job!

But in all seriousness, I would love to work with you and help you make your blog shine!

Well, that wraps up another coffee & chit chat post! I hope you enjoyed, and I am so excited for what the rest of 2019 is going to bring. I can’t wait to bring you along on my move, sharing my adventures with two new kittens, and how I transition into actual adult life!

Thank you so much for reading & I love y’all so much!!

~abigail gray

| Posted in: Fitness, Workouts

Killer Upper Body Workout | #GrayLifeFitLife

Upper Body Workout Blog Cover

So… I realized it’s been about four months since I’ve posted a workout… I guess I’m failing big time as a fitness person LOL

Anyways, let me talk about my fitness for a hot second. Before Spring Break, my friend Jenna and I were killing it at the gym. 4-5 days a week in the mornings. Absolutely killing it. Then Spring Break happened and then I came home from Spring Break and now I’m so overwhelmed with Potato (my cat) disappearing, graduation, classes, finding a job, running this blog, my web development business, and finding a new place to live. Long story short, fitness hasn’t been on my radar lately. I’m hoping that once my life slows down a bit and I’m in a bit more of a routine, I’ll be back to my regular fitness-loving self (aka when I’m no longer in college, I have all day to work and plan out my stuff, and finally have a routine because my boyfriend and I are living together). Until then, I just need to breathe.

Back to the workout…

This workout might just be one of my all-time favorites. It really kills my upper body and makes me feel like my workout was so much more effective. It’s part of an upper/lower split that I repeat twice a week meaning I’m only going to the gym 4/7 days a week.

If you’re short on time, this workout is perfect for you. It’s full of supersets so you’re never going to be resting for very long. You’ll be in and out of the gym in under an hour. That’s just another reason why I love it so much.

The Workout

  • Single Arm Shoulder Press 4×8-10 each arm
  • Superset: x3-4
    • Dumbbell Bench Press x10
    • Single Arm Dumbbell Row x8
  • Superset: x3-4
    • Cable chest flyes x10-12
    • Lat Pulldown x8-10
      • If a lat pulldown machine is not available, you can do single arm rows on the same cable machine where you do your rows. Change the reps to 10-12.
  • Superset: x3
    • Standing Barbell Shoulder Press x8-10
    • Lateral Raise x15

Good luck and have fun with this workout! Like I said, it’s one of my go-to’s because I feel that it’s super duper effective. I’m thinking about rewriting my current workout routine to fit in more days that are like this one. Once I do that, I’ll be sure to share it on the blog!

~abigail gray