The best part of moving into a new space is how it naturally forces you to shake things up. The limitations give you boundaries and this direction helps things fall into place. One of my favorite things to do as little girl was play Barbies. Though looking back it wasn’t so much the Barbies as the creating aspect that I loved. We would come up with a story and everything else would follow. Mom allowed us to raid her house for “our houses” and this was an adventure in itself. We could make anything into anything we needed. The dream world is kind like that. Pot holders for rugs, boxes for pretend dressers or barges and kitchen chairs made perfect two story homes. We would spend hours, occasionally days, working on these stages. By the time everything was finished we were often ready to retreat outdoors. It wasn’t so much about arriving but the fun in getting there.
When setting up house I like to think about how I want to feel. I also find that things naturally go where they belong in most cases. It’s easy to get distracted by lovely Pinterest pins and feel like my space is lacking. That sort of discontentment is the worst. It’s not really ever about the things, but more the feelings behind it. So by starting with how I want to feel, this often puts me on the right path. First, I have to be honest with myself. For instance, I only want to be surrounded by things we love or use on a regular basis. I hate looking for things, so this means organization is key. Clutter stresses me and makes cleaning twice as much work. It’s also important to me that Garrett has a say in our space. The functionality needs to meet both our needs. I try to pay attention to where he first puts things and let that have a say in the flow. He often has the best ideas, even if it takes me a time or two to recognize it!
In our last apartment all I wanted to feel was space and much of our walls remained blank. This time I find myself craving color again. I played around with our gallery wall by first laying everything out on the floor. My sister Bec is amazing at these and inspires me not to be afraid to put a few holes in the wall. I have also learned not to over think it. Every time I look at this wall it makes me happy because each one of these is special to us.
The New Orleans painting was a farewell purchase from when we lived here for a month. We had a friendly chat with the artist in Jackson Square and it was the perfect piece to take back to Texas with us. You Are My Bucket List is a print I gave Garrett for his birthday when were engaged. I found it online in a Brooklyn shop and loved the way it summarized my feelings. The & is a new addition from Bec as a house warming present. It gives me all the feelings. We didn’t find artwork in San Antonio that we loved but I kept a little map from The Pearl Brewery. It was one of our happy places to either browse the Farmer’s Market or get a coffee or ice cream or macaroons (can you tell why we loved it?) when I found it unpacking I knew it needed a spot. A group shot of one of my favorite wedding photos with a few of our favorite people. BLOOM Where You Are Planted was a print I came across on Etsy right after we got married. It still resonates with me.
Love getting to settle in and make this little space home.
