Reading...There's been absolutely no reading in the last month. I have a stack of Christmas books calling my name and yet I can't seem to focus on anything long enough to start them. Thank goodness for Christmas vacation - I foresee loads of reading in my future.
Obsessing Over...Strangely enough, scrapbook organization products. I literally went out at lunch earlier today just because I had found a great way to store stickers and embellishments on Pinterest and I wanted to see if Michael's had the containers I was coveting. Score! They not only had them, but all the storage pieces were 40% off. Now that's what I call a good deal.
Perusing...Loads of Project Life centered blogs and sites. The internet is such a rabbit hole. One amazing blogger links to another amazing blogger and then so on and so forth. Before you know it, I'm following 50 different scrappers on Instagram and have 452 thousand new ideas for projects.
Socializing...I'm still a Twitter girl (reading hardly ever tweeting) but I'm finding myself on Instagram more and more. So many fun things to find!
Buying...Even though it's Christmas time and even though I've asked for crafty things for Christmas, I can't resist the pull of Black Friday Sales. StudioCalico.com has been my downfall this week. I can hardly contain my excitement for my package to arrive. You have no idea the steals they're offering!
Feeling...Super ready for the Holiday Fun to begin. Christmas is always stressful but it really is the most wonderful time of the year!
Pondering...A new fun feature/blog thing that could be awesome if I could get my bestie to take the bait. Also, is it possible to survive solely by crafting all day. I don't really need a job. I can quit my boring 9-5 for greener pastures of crafting, travel and reading and just assume I'll win the lottery to support myself, right?
A few months ago I read a great book called "The Paris Letters." It's a true story of a girl who somehow saved enough money to quit her job and give herself 2 stress free years living in Paris. Naturally, I loved it because it's about travel and Paris and being artsy crafty creative. However, I do admit, I was skeptical. I don't think I could ever, ever do that, as much as I'd want to. (I see how I pack for 2 weeks in a foreign land, I can't imagine trying to do so for 2 years!)
Anyway, one of her helpful suggestions during her lead-up time was to declutter everything in her life. She sold off a lot of her clothes and only kept the essentials. She sold books that she never read and DVDs she never watched. She even, (I can't believe I'm saying this) sold off a lot of her craft supplies that she never used. What she noticed after doing this, was that her life was free-r of stress. She didn't have to think about what she wore so much or what she read. She just read or wore what she had.
That's where I lost her. I have crazy ideas when it comes to clothes and hate that I always wear the same thing. I try to think of new outfits and new ways to wear certain things. I love having bookshelves upon bookshelves full of books. And I buy craft supplies like the nuclear holocaust is coming and all that will save us is fancy scissors and glitter stickers.
But in the last few months, in trying to decode my crazy mixed up brain cells, I've realized that, quite possibly, the over-abundance of choices might actually be holding me up. I've been trying to decide what book to read for ages even though I have at least 20 sitting on my shelf right now un-read, but they're not new, and therefore I'm not really feeling them. I spend inordinate amounts of time in bed at night going over what's in my closet to wear to work the next morning and still grab the same pair of black pants and same scarf every week. And most of all, I have so many scrapbook supplies in my house, I could finish 30 albums without ever purchasing something new, but I can't focus long enough to get past my first day of my England album. I have issues.
So, I've been seriously mulling over (it's a process) Project Declutter. I'm never going to be able to live in a foreign country for 2 years - I'm way to attached to things to let that happen - but I just may be able to get more reading done and have the energy to focus on one craft project for more than a day or so.
The only hang-up I have is where the stuff is going to go. I can always send it to good will which is a great cause and what I usually do, but the girl in the Paris Letters profited from her decluttering. At the very least I need some sort of community yard sale to sell off some of my meager belongings. And of course, now that we're heading into winter, that's probably not going to happen anytime soon.
Do you see my conundrum? Why can't my crafty-addled brain think of these fabulous ideas at good times, like for instance, in the beginning of summer when all the world is ready to purchase other people's crap?
I had one mission when I drove all the way out to Ikea this morning: Get me a Raskog cart. The super cute turquoise one has been all over Pinterest for the last 9 months. Smart crafters have been using it to keep their Project Life supplies organized and cute all at the same time, just like this.
I even found the lovely inserts that this very smart blogger said were a perfect fit for journal cards. So I headed to Ikea and I followed the Yellow Arrowed Road all the way to the promised land where my prize was supposed to await me, and what do I have to show for it? Jack with a side of squat. Of all the shelves and all the pieces of furniture, my super cute new organizer was sold out. Seriously!?
Lucky for me, Ikea in its infinite wisdom delivers. And my new project will arrive on Thursday. At least there's that...
I have lived in my house for about 4 years now. At the time I bought it, I bought it for the same reason I bought the car that I have - it was the cheapest one on the market. (Yes, I'm a cheapskate with certain things). Don't get me wrong, I don't hate it. It does have some redeeming qualities and I've decorated quite nicely so there's that. But, let's just say, if I'm still living here in 10 years' time with 10 cats, I'm going to be quite depressed.
Because of this and the whole I want to move to England thing, I've resisted doing anything crazy or making big renovations because I want to save the money for English pursuits and I don't want to get too attached so when I do move, I'm not disappointed. It makes sense in my head if not down on paper, I promise. But thanks to Pinterest and some serious googling, I've been in spring cleaning re-do mood for the last month. I'm not entirely sure why but it's been quite fun. There's been painting, and shelving, and re-organizing and now I'm in to the "let's build this crazy thing - it shouldn't be too hard" shabang. My father loves this phase...
I have plans for nearly every room (lucky for me I have a handy dad that can pull off most of my whims) and crazy ideas that may or may not work for all other spaces. Don't fret, I'm still on the England kick and when I meet Prince Charming who will ultimately sweep me off my feet and move me to his brownstone, I'll leave this place in the dust. But for now I'm here, so I suppose I should make it at least a bit more fun than it has been. Also, the better it looks, (in my head at least this is true), the better it will sell when the time does come. Of course, with the market the way it is, I'm thinking this darn little slice of paradise will be stuck with me for at least a few years to come...
