Dave and I have owned 4 houses together. Out of all of them, this is the one that feels permanent. Like we'll be here in 5 years, or 10, or 40. The last house was amazing and we loved it, but it started to feel small pretty soon after we had Ian (tiny person = so.much.stuff. Our houses in Alabama always felt temporary - probably because I was in grad school for most of living in them and we didn't know where the next move would take us. But this house is big, it's old, it has character, and it's in a great neighborhood. And we have no plans to move, have more kids, buy a combine (Ian wanted one last year and said we could keep it in the back yard), or get a pony. So we are working on the house, not with the intention of sprucing it up to sell, but for us. Oh, and we're doing the floors because our dogs are jerks and some of them mark in the spots that Shelby and Dolly had accidents.
So this weekend we tackled the dining room. I'm assuming the only people who read this blog are also my friends on FB, so you can see pics there, but needless to say, I'm pretty thrilled and proud of us!! Out of the 3 houses we've lived in with hardwood floors, these are the nicest by far. I can't wait to tackle the living room and sunroom. One room a weekend, though. :)
My other project is my closet and wardrobe. I'm going to simplify a little bit and become a nudist. Just kidding - ain't nobody want to see that. I'm going to try building a Capsule Wardrobe. I got the idea from a blog I read. Here's a great blog about it The 333 Project. There are slight variations - the blog I was first reading about it on uses 37 pieces of clothing. So you dump your whole wardrobe on your bed and sort it into "Love", "Maybe", and "Donate" piles. The love pile is stuff that you absolutely love, fits well, and is in good shape. If something is in the love pile, but is worn out, you can replace it. The maybe pile is stuff that you're not sure you want to get rid of - off-season clothing, sentimental stuff, things that you think you might wear again, and then the donate pile is stuff that you won't miss and don't wear.
So, for a 3 month period of time, you get to choose 33 (or 37) pieces. That includes shoes, and accessories. It is supposed to include jewelry (not sure if I can do that - might have to ease into that one)! It doesn't include workout clothes (that you only work out in), at-home loungewear, sleepwear, and socks and underwear. The concept behind is that most of us own so much that we have a hard time deciding what to wear and that having fewer pieces that all go together will make us more creative, stylish, and less consumed with having stuff. If you know me AT ALL, you know that I'm not a minimalist. I'm not a hoarder, but I am a firm believer in "someday, sometime" when I will certainly need that item I gave to Goodwill or sold at a yard sale. I am going to try this because a) I can still keep stuff - I just get it out of sight for awhile to see if I truly want it b) I am horrible about keeping stuff that doesn't quite fit, but almost fits, or I really hate the way that it fits but I can't give it away because I haven't worn it to death and c) I kind of am trying to figure out my own style when it comes to clothing. I'm in a job where the only requirement is that I come to work clothed. It's great and not great because there's so much freedom. I also like this idea because it works for people who live in a schizophrenic, multi-season climate. I was told when I moved here, "If you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes." And it's so true. Mom and I were just talking about how warm October was last year - right up until Halloween night where Ian had to trick-or-treat wearing snow pants under his costume. Right now is a transition time - it's blistering hot this weekend - might snow in two weeks. So I like that I will choose a few transitional pieces for my capsule for the next 3 months, and if I goof up, I just go to the attic and trade some stuff out.
I'll update later on what I choose. I haven't gone through the wardrobe yet. I have been thinking a lot about investing more into my wardrobe and spending more for quality as I replace things. For instance, I normally shop at Target and Old Navy. Nothing wrong with that, but I shop there sometimes purely because they're cheap. For things like jeans, I think I'm going to try a custom online service. For $30-40 at ON, I can get jeans that mostly, sorta fit. For $60, I can get jeans that are custom made for me. Pretty cool. But I'll still shop at the cheap places - I've gotten some great stuff there too, like my go-to LBD that really can be worn to work or a wedding. We'll see how it goes. :)
So that's just a little bit of what I've been up to this weekend. I hope you're having a great Labor Day weekend, whether that involves a BBQ or scrubbing floors.
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