I'll Never Let It Get This Way Again

Ever said those words? More than once? I'm guilty of it, reoccuringly it seems, even against the firmest resolve to keep things orderly. If it were possible to be ahead of schedule and on top of things 100% of the time, my house would be clutter-free. And that is the only scenario in which I can see it happening in my world. Here are "before" pics of my hobby room so you can get the full appalling effect of my current state.

It looks much worse in person. The blue table is supposed to be empty ~ it's my work surface. The mess is the result of a hurried frenzy to put away Christmas decor, wrap a few birthday presents, and design a store display, all in a span of a couple of days. No doubt, having some organizational systems in place cuts down on the magnitude and frequency of the mess. But there are those times when everything happens at once that make even the best laid plans fall short. And everything doesn't just stop to let me catch up and reorganize at a nice, leisurely pace. Oh, no, the ball just keeps rolling and picking up speed. It took me a full 8-hour day to de-clutter and reorganize my space to look like this again.




Ahhh. . . sweet tranquility. But for how long?! It is nice to have a dedicated room for keeping the mess contained, but don't ya know, a hobby room needs to be pretty too! I really don't think of myself as a disorganized person, but the frequency of this problem is disturbing. Maybe it's just an unavoidable part of life, or maybe I'm just a hopeless slob.

Tempting Fate

Let me preface this story by saying that no animals were harmed during this photo shoot. My cat, Sneakers, will be sixteen years old in April. She has many random spots throughout our 2-story home that she chooses as her "spot for the week". Today she chose a very dangerous spot, one that she won't be allowed to keep. She has apparently blocked out the traumatic experience that we had about a year ago. It was the same time of year, the frigid days of winter, when I like to keep my vintage heater by my freezing cold legs while I do computer stuff. Since it's an old model, and small fingers, toes, and paws could easily be burned by the hot coils, I never leave the heater unattended. Well, this particular day last winter, I was aware that Sneakers was weaving around obstacles to get near me. I glanced down just in time to see her tail swish towards the heater, and in an instant was aflame. She didn't even feel it, but she felt the swift swat I gave her in my attempt to put it out. Thankfully, her tail hit the leg of my desk and went out as quickly as it started. She was unharmed, but of course highly insulted by my behavior. Now whenever she comes around, I have to unplug the heater until she moves on. I could just get rid of it and get a new one, but it gives off such a cozy warm glow that I love. Sneakers and my Sterling - Type ZUB can coexist. I just have to alter my behavior when necessary.

I'm Not a Stalker :)

Mind boggling. The amount of creativity and talent that is all over blog land is overwhelming and I don't mind saying, a little intimidating. I spent a good part of today checking out other people's blogs, and I was astonished at what I found. I felt a little stalker-ish since I didn't leave many comments. I guess I'm still getting my feet wet.

Here are a couple of recent finds that I'll be adding to my shop soon.

CHERUB SEASHELL COMPOTE

TULIP CANISTERS
Tomorrow I'll be less timid. If I visit your blog, I promise to say hello. And you do the same, won't you?

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Okay, my first blog post. Here goes. It feels like an important moment. The pressure is on, I must write something meaningful. Or at the very least, interesting. Humorous perhaps? To be honest, my goal is just to write from the heart. To be real, true to myself, expressing whatever is currently on my mind, whether light-hearted or serious. Since vintage home and fashion occupy a good part of my thoughts, that will be the theme of many of my posts, to be sure. I hope to re-connect with vintage shop owners and friends that I may have lost touch with, as well as meet new ones. I look forward to exchanging ideas and inspiration.

~Ann