Very excited to be featured in this month’s issue of Revue! Thanks to Missy Black for the fun interview and for letting me share a little hygge-love with GR.
We’re all pretty excited around here!
Permission to let go of perfection
You know when you repeatedly encounter a phrase or sentiment, and by like, the third time you’re thinking — hmmm, maybe there’s something to this? Or perhaps the incidents seem completely unrelated, but you see a common thread running through them? I’ve had that recently around the idea of house perfection.
The first time was last week when a friend popped by and my house was a mess. I apologized but she quickly responded, “no, it’s nice. It’s lived in.” The next was experiencing a host who kept clearing dishes before the guests were finished. The third happened last Saturday while wandering around a box store with my husband and daughter. “I really want us to have more ‘real’ plants in our house,” he said. “Well, I love them but I’m terrible at taking care of them,” I replied, “If we decide to do that — it needs to be your responsibility to keep them alive.” He looked at me blankly and said, “I’m already the one who does that.” “Ha! Well then, we‘re making it official,” I concluded. 😉
So how are these connected? No matter how tempting it is to equate coziness with perfection — they aren’t necessarily one and the same. And then there’s us — maybe we need to accept we just can’t do it all perfectly all the time. Stains happen, your favorite mug shatters, the plant shrivels up, someone unexpectedly drops by and you still have yesterday’s mascara under your eyes. Oddly enough, these things don’t destroy coziness. In fact, they may just help cultivate it.
I used to be a hardcore everything-in-it’s-place-and-matchy-matchy kind of girl. Until a family of 5 moved in with us for 3 months. By the end, I couldn’t remember which throw pillows went where or when I last dusted — but we were closer than ever.
Bottom line, if we’re going to create welcoming spaces for real people — we have to accept stuff’s going to happen, and loosen our grasp on perfection. We may have to face our own house shame, fear of judgment or fear of damage. I still sometimes battle that stuff, but I’ve resolved that who does life within these walls is infinitely more important than what hangs on them.
Today’s secret word: Home. (Yaasss.)
Today’s secret word is Home. Remember Kids, whenever you hear today’s secret word, do absolutely nothing. 😘
After the holiday chaos and a week of tending to a sick baby, I’m in major recovery mode over here. Chicken Tikka Masala in the crockpot, sunlight streaming through the windows, a good book on the agenda and coffee. Basically a Saturday Staycation. Don’t mind me – just soaking up the cozy magic of home.
The hygge-est mural of all time
Extra wintery days call for extra hot coffee. My girl and I are going to be on the road today, but in my mind, I’m all snuggled up in front of a fire in one of the cutesiest houses in this mural. Quite possibly the most hygge-est mural on the planet. I mean, couldn’t you just curl up!?
Bathroom renovation magic
Hey guys, remember when I said I have a knack for fixing awkward spaces!? It’s one of my most favorite things to do!
Here’s a before and (under construction) after of our downstairs bathroom. Weird door to the kitchen be gone! (Refer to the white beam on the left side of the pic for reference.) I want to help you make cozy from chaos!! Contact me to get started.
