This Loved House

DISCLAIMER: I feel a post like this needs a disclaimer because, even though I know no one is perfect, always killing it at their job, at mothering or at keeping their house clean, I can’t help but create an opposite narrative sometimes- inevitably feeling like *I’m* the only one yelling at her kids. Maybe that’s just human nature. Anyways, for context, these photos were taken on the same day as our Christmas card and today, two of my kids went down for nap in screaming fits of rage.

December 8th, 2020

What is an online space like this anymore? What is a “blog”?…  It’s not a news site. It’s not a recipe catalogue. It’s meant to be a journal, but something about this space just feels empty. Like a mall at night. Maybe it’s the lagging comment section. Maybe it’s the energy (good and evil) that’s poured into social media instead. I won’t give up this space though, not yet. 

Today is December 8th. Kids are in bed. Dish washer is humming. My phone is dead. Tuesdays beat me into the floor. Not even wine loosens my shoulders. Only watching Keeping up with the Kardashians and laying exactly horizontal on our sinky couch gets my mind off of my To Do List. My TV show choice really speaks to the brain power I have at the moment, but this feels like the right space to share such a radical confession. By the way, I’m not complaining about being tired. Just mentioning it. It’s the current state of my life and I accept that. This is all I ever wanted after all. I didn’t expect not to work for it.

The reason I came to my blog today was to write about our house. I have all these pictures that my friend Bella took for our Christmas card (as I mentioned). In some way, Christmas cards are the epitome of douchy, but I’ll take any excuse to get good family photos. Anything to freeze a moment or two from this slippery life. And also, I am vein (let’s just be real). My reasoning for the Christmas card is three fold, however. 1) Holiday Traditions 2) Thank You Cards 3) Birth Announcement. As my friend Nell said, “Mom’s are efficient”. 

So, I have these photos and I only used one for the Christmas card so I wanted to put them here, in my journal to document the moment we moved as a family into what is maybe our home forever. ‘Setting’ is the second most important element to me in a story (after characters) and this is ours. Plus, while we were renovating I found posts like this really helpful.

This house is approximately 1,300 square feet. It’s 3 bedrooms. It was built in the 1960s.

To quickly brush over where some things are from:

Lighting: School House Electric (except for the chandelier in the dining room, which is from Pottery Barn and another is vintage from etsy)

Rug: School House

Living Room and Dining Room Chairs: Target 

Bar Stools: Target

Refrigerator and Stove: Fisher& Paykel

Paipo Board: Furrow Surf Craft

Hall Photos: Artifact Uprising

Window Coverings: Etsy / Target curtains cut in half and hemmed

Girls’ Bath Mirror: Vintage

Master Bed: Rejuvenation

Door Knobs: Rejuvenation

Master Sheets: Lulu and Georgia

Master Rug: Rugs USA

If you have any questions about anything else, feel free to ask. Maybe the comment section will light up again like the old days and this online journal will feel a little more homey itself.