Meh

via

I know. It’s been a while. I’ve actually written a bunch of posts. In my head. Taking time off was nice. Really, really nice. I’ve just been holed up with the family, going to work as needed, having a bit of a time out. Thinking about what this space should be still. There’s so much pressure when you start a blog now – you must find your niche, have a Facebook page, do the twitter, curate your pinterest boards, be well designed, connect with other bloggers – it’s too much. It makes this much less fun. Mostly because I’m a little on the competitive side and I like to be good at things. I don’t just want to have a blog, if I’m honest with myself, I want to have a successful blog. Which sometimes feels silly, but really is about sharing and community.  And recognition (cause my house is pretty, yo). And money, because everyone knows freelance writing is where the real money is.

So, baby steps moving forward. I’m defining my niche, for the moment, as lifestyle, in particular my lifestyle. Which means, as near as I can tell, whatever I want it to (take that, silly SEO stuff I don’t understand). I like homemaking (there I said it). Not Martha perfect homemaking, there’s not a toilet brush pretty enough to make me think cleaning the bathroom is a good time (nope, not even if it’s from Germany) or that I need the perfect space for my collections (I don’t collect). Those things are fine, but they’re not me. But I like to create a pretty and functional home for myself and my family, I like a clean and organized space and I like to look at and think about things that will make those things possible. I’m going to post projects and home design-y stuff that I connect with, which tends to be beautiful, mostly minimal and practical – things that work for a family and for spaces that aren’t level and square (or large, with full height ceilings). I also like to cook, although with a similar philosophy. I like food that tastes really good but doesn’t take forever to prep. You want complicated, layered meals, well, you come over when Finn’s cooking (seriously, the boy can cook). I like to do things with my children – whether it’s homeschool-y projects, crafts or baking.  And frequently I like to commiserate about the trials of parenting my intense little brood (can you call two a brood?), although I do that more on the Facebook. And I like to garden, at least in the spring. Really, I like to set up my yard to look nice and then leave it alone, other than rearranging the plants.

I hope you all like these things too and that reading about them sounds interesting. I’d like start conversations here on how we find beauty in our spaces, despite their limitations, what steps, products, tips are useful for feeling like you can take charge of your home and create a space that is pretty and functional. Those seem to be the questions I get most from friends who visit my home in person, how do you create a functional space and curate your home. And I’d like to be a resource for simple homemaking, projects in home, kitchen, garden and family that work together and improve our lives, because I find those interesting and fun (it is rather astonishing how long it took me to admit that to myself). We’ll see how it goes. In the meantime, below are some fun links to things that are, generally, nothing at all to do with homemaking. I’m such a rebel. To hell with that silly niche idea (also, sometimes I swear. You should know that by now).

Marie Osmond performs Dada poetry. Yes she does.

Best SNL skits of the year. 

David Sedaris reads 50 shades of Gray. via

Cute new stuff from Ikea coming in February.

Clothes shopping for men (spoiler, they actually leave with what they went in for). via

No Death Star for the United States

That’s not what I was looking for.