every year, when the calendar turns to September, my focus turns from working on my tan to working on my surroundings. i think there’s some primal instinct that kicks in and knows in a couple months, i’ll be spending much more time inside, so i better make my home someplace i’ll really enjoy being during the colder months ahead. like clockwork, my brain reset itself this past weekend as summer unofficially wrapped up and my head was filled with visions of organized space, updated decor and seasonal color. lots of time was spent online window shopping and browsing Pinterest. my urge to nest only grew stronger.
then today’s Writing 101 prompt gave 6 words: TREASURE, REGRET, HOME, LOVE, UNCERTAINTY and SECRET and asked us young grasshoppers to “Select one word in this list that speaks to you in some way.” i thought it was the perfect opportunity to share some of the projects i’m excited about doing around my home this fall. so let’s go.
1. my office
i believe i mentioned it in my last Friday favorites, but things are moving forward! i’m tired of writing at our kitchen counter, surrounded by all the noise and chaos of the house. and we have a perfectly good office that no one ever uses. but with just a couple basic Ikea bookshelves and a bare bones filing cabinet, we really have never had the storage space to set things up to be as functional as i would like. i need to have order around me when i write, so the first piece of business here was to get some real furniture. i’m hoping to do a before and after piece once it all arrives and is set up, but long story short, i spent a lot of the weekend on ballarddesigns.com and running back and forth between their Atlanta outlets trying to get the best deals on a gorgeous and functional shelving system. we had talked about doing custom built-ins, but i just figured this would be faster and less expensive. and i’m all about instant gratification right now. i’ve spent a few nights in there writing just to get a feel for it and i absolutely love it. i feel separated from the family just enough, but can still look out and see them in the livingroom. Monday night, after they all were in bed, i enjoyed the quiet and the view as i looked out with a perspective on my home i have rarely gotten — at the kitchen counter, all i ever see is a sink full of dishes and the next door neighbor’s house out the window! this was way more inspiring. it made me remember how beautiful i think our home actually is and what a damn good job i’ve done making it cozy, if i do say so myself! this is gonna be good.
2. our stuff
i’m a digital girl living in an analog world. sigh. Spy is dying for us to turn a wall in our kitchen into a fancy command center so we can have a calendar and place to write notes and hang stuff. um. isn’t that what Google calendars are for? i pleaded my case for one of those and our current set-up of basic cork board and whiteboard, maybe on a chalkboard painted wall. but to no avail. truth: i’m kind of into the epic DIYness of making this whole thing come to life, but a bit overwhelmed at the same time. and i dread that it will be useless. if everything’s written on a wall at home, how will we be able to check it or add stuff when we’re at work when most of the new items to add happen? c’est la vie. i’ve got a few ideas, a sketch and a color palette in my head. now i’m just looking for the time, mental fortitude and — let’s be honest — a box of wine, to make it happen. stay tuned!
3. our memories
the wall at the top of our stairs is currently filled with a series of famous-in-Richmond Eliza B. Askin line drawings of our favorite watering holes from our respective single days there. yeah, agreed. we may have outgrown those. so, we’ve decided it’s time for the official Woodward wall: a giant family photo collage. now, there is a difference in opinion in the family about what kind of pictures are appropriate to go here — formal family portraits? candids? artsy shots of places we’ve been? not too many of us! do we even have anything hi-res enough to use here? lots of questions and lots of space to fill. so now, i get the fun, yet daunting, yet so-worth-it-in-the-end task of scouring photo files, sourcing the perfect frames and creating the layout. it’s going to be amazing.
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