The Big D

Let's get it out of the way: I got a divorce. The whys or hows aren't important, nor are they profound or appropriate to share here, but there's the what. I'm putting it out there because divorce is a reality that many, many people experience. Also, I figured it would come out eventually. We are friends, you and I. And I need someone to listen when I complain about how I now have five chickens and absolutely no idea what I'm doing.

Several months ago I decided to make 2015 "the year of Anna," and yes, I realize how cheesy that sounds. I decided to make adult decisions, live intentionally, and experience things.

While I would never, ever, ever regret my decision to get married or have children when I did, I also realize that I fell into the common trap of pushing the pause button on my own life. I was consumed with being a wife, mom, and household management specialist. I got lazy. I stopped trying new things, being spontaneous, or stepping outside of my comfort zone. It wasn't fair to my kids or my ex, and it certainly wasn't fair to me.

In the spirit of my undying love of lists, I have begun an inventory of things I want to work on, or experience, this coming year:

• Morning pages
• Run another half marathon
• Decide once and for all if I like sushi
• Learn to play chess (poorly is both sufficient and most likely)
• Take snowboarding lessons
• Go on a road trip by myself (perhaps the scariest item on this list)
• Hike the Zion Narrows

 Have you gone through a divorce? Or even just hit the reset button on your happily married life? Share your advice or suggestions with me, I would love to hear them!

Form Follows Function (I'm Not Lazy, Swear!)

Most of us have heard the quote "form follows function." Maybe you're better informed, but I was unaware that the original quote (which is technically "form ever follows function" and is attributed to American architect Louis Henry Sullivan)  had more to do with efficiency and construction profit margins than poorly chosen billboard fonts and prohibitively ornamental bathroom faucets.

Regardless of the original spirit, the saying is apropos to any form of design. So that's what we're going to talk about. And specifically, we're going to discuss my bedroom. The blinds. And how I don't want to cover them in fabric anymore.

(Side note: I'm going to make a scientific hypothesis here and say that fabric left at rest stays at rest.)

 

Okay, yes. I realize that it sounds like I'm just being lazy. But hear me out: my laziness was actually a blessing in disguise, because it allowed me to live with the blinds for a bit. (I hung them before Christmas so that when I covered them I could just pop them right back into their mounting hardware, easy peasy.)

During this past month, I realized that my bedroom window coverings need to both provide privacy and let in natural light; the window is street-facing and it's a darker room. If I cover the blinds with fabric, I will achieve privacy but I will lose the delicious filtered morning light that I find so precious in my east-facing room.

No matter how pretty the fabric is, or how great it would look, I can't sacrifice the function simply for the sake of a beautiful window. That would be foolish. So now I'm not sure what to do. No window coverings at all? A small tailored valance? What are your thoughts?

Gift Guides 2014

This time of year is dangerous for the shopper in me + I love lists. So without further ado, let's look at some gifties.

(1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)

(1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)

P.S. Don't forget to check out my books-as-gifts recommendations, too!

Bedroom Blues

 First, you need to know that I'm always cold. Even inside with my furnace running.

Second, I'm really bad at blogging. Sorry about that.

Third, I'm also sort of lazy.

I can't excuse my blogging laziness, so instead I'm going to blame the slow progress in my bedroom on my perpetual shivers. Y'all don't understand how hard it is to go outside when it's 10°F (especially to do something as dumb as cutting pieces of trim). This whole winter thing is for the birds, and if someone in San Diego wants to trade houses with me, I will throw in my kids chickens to sweeten the deal.

(pretend this is a roman shade. I know I am.)

To sum up, I'm practically incapable of doing anything productive when it's cold. It is one thing to venture into the freezing temperatures for a pair of boots at 50% off on Black Friday. It is another thing entirely to do anything else during the months of December, January, or February (and November, March, and April if you live in Idaho).

Last week it warmed up to a semi-reasonable temperature and I finally got the casing done. Baseboard, not so much.  Paint, not so much. Baby steps.

You can still see all the progress I've made. I really need to turn those blinds into DIY roman shades, and I've realized over the past week that staring at the box and willing it to happen isn't getting the job done.

I'll keep you posted (about if anything new happens while I stare at the box).

Books to Gift

I am a hopeless book nerd, and one of my deepest desires is that both of my boys will love reading with that same passion. Maybe not 'spend your entire summer vacation under the tree reading the entire "The Baby-Sitters Club" series' passionate... but passionate nonetheless. Normal passionate. I digress.

Books are one of my very favorite gifts to receive (and give) at Christmastime. Some of my other favorite gifts to receive are: everything else. See what I did there? In fact, I'm working on a post with some fun ideas for the ladies in your life (or yourself, in case you're stuffing your own stocking this year like I am!).

Today though, let's talk books. Here are some books that I can't wait to read, or love and want to share. I've also thrown in a few books that I'm getting for my kiddos or as gifts.

"If I Stay"

"The Paying Guests"

"The Skinnytaste Cookbook"

"Barefoot Contessa Foolproof"

"All the Light We Cannot See"

"The Fault in Our Stars"

"The Year of Billy Miller"

"Diary of a Worm"

"The Book With No Pictures"

"The Essential Calvin and Hobbes"

"Hatchet"

"Treasure Hunters"