Monday, September 14, 2009

Movin' on up

Hello! You may have noticed that I haven't posted in almost a week, and I do apologize for that. To be honest, I was feeling kind of down-in-the-dumps last week and just couldn't get up the gumption to write much of anything. I started a few posts, but they all ended up sounding like they'd been written by Eeyore, so I opted not to publish them.

But I'm back and feeling super-energized this week! I'm starting a campaign to be a legitimate grown-up, and I'm starting with my house. Now, Jason and I bought this place, our first house, exactly 4 years ago this month, and for the last 4 years we have been living like college kids in a dormitory. We own hardly any furniture, and what we do have is one funky mismatched hand-me-down piece after another, just a small step above milk crates and a ping-pong dining table. We've never even owned a full, matching set of dishes! I am so ready to make our house feel like people live in it, to buy some bona fide furniture-store furniture and maybe even - gasp! - some artwork.

And curtains. Good lord, do we need curtains the way we all strut around eating cereal in our underwear.

So, on Friday I bought some dishes. Dinner plates. Salad plates. Coordinating bowls and mugs. Yes! And today I bought some wine glasses, a corkscrew, and a food processor. I don't know how to use any of them, but it sure does make me sound sound grown up, doesn't it?

I also took Nathan on a stroll through Jordan's Furniture to get some ideas about couches and chairs and such. Wow. You know you're in a big freakin' store when the areas are labeled like, "Building 2, Room 43." It was quite overwhelming to see all the shit that you have to buy to be a grown-up. Console tables! Ottomans! Area rugs! Coordinating lamps and decorative dishes for your coffee table! (Cha-ching! Cha-ching! Double cha-ching!)

But it is exciting to start movin' on up, adding some color and fabric and texture to these rooms. Our house may be small, but it's got the potential to be a place that makes us happy. When I asked my mom about her recent birthday plans, she mentioned that they hadn't ended up going out. "That's okay," she'd said, "We love our castle." That got me thinking about how I feel about my house, and let me tell you, I am not a fan. I look forward to getting an oil change just so that I can go sit somewhere else for an hour. And you can forget about getting invited over here - I'll just have a heart attack in anticipation of your visit, which will most likely result in a cancellation on account of my being resuscitated in the ER and all.

"Clear!"

So, I'm making an attempt to cozy up this bitch. My goal is to buy furniture for our family room by the end of September. And the whole house is to be curtained by Christmas. And I'd like to have one arty thing on display somewhere in the house by Valentine's Day. I like my chances of reaching these goals; I have a few things working in my favor. For one thing, Jason will not care what I get, so I can just go ahead and buy stuff without having to tussle with him over throw pillows. Also, I am highly motivated to get this done - if I don't make this house feel like my homey, cozy castle very soon, I am going to go all The Shining on your ass.

All work and no curtains makes Kelley a dull girl...

1 comment:

  1. creating your own space, your own comfortable home is one of the best feelings in the world.

    and NEVER apologize for not posting....don't pressure yourself to write. your muse will po her head out when the time is right (write:-)

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