Chasing Dreams

I read an essay the other day on the Design Sponge blog that really hit home for me. It was written by Katelyn Wood and it was all about letting go and chasing your passion. She talked about how the things she truly enjoyed doing as a child (such as baking, writing and creating hand-made cards) ended up taking a backseat throughout her life as she took on various roles such as student, employee, wife, homeowner, mother. One day it finally hit her that her desire to live a creative life had been overshadowed by everything else, and she felt a strong need to fill this creative void in her life. I won’t go into all the details but she started out writing a blog in 2009 and today she is designing and selling American-made stationery and other giftable goods. And the best part is she no longer feels that creative void.

The reason this essay hit home for me is that I, too, had been feeling a creative void in my life. As a child I loved writing, drawing, painting, designing rooms out on paper, crafting, etc. I never stopped loving these things – I simply stopped making time for them. Life got in the way, as it can so easily do. I, too, was busy being a student, employee, wife, homeowner, mother. I didn’t make time for the things I considered a hobby, and a part of me always regretted it in the back of my mind. Finally there came a point where I wasn’t willing to let life get in the way anymore – I was determined to make this creative side of myself a new part of my everyday life (without quitting my day job and without falling short in my other roles in life). So I started this blog in June (thanks to a lot of motivation from a few friends) and so far I have managed to write a post each week, which may not seem like much but I have to admit it makes me happy and a little proud when I hit the “publish” button. I have a few other dreams in my head and ideas up my sleeve as well, but I keep telling myself one step at a time.

Now that the sappy stuff is out of the way we can move on. I’ll share with you a dream of mine that I’ve had for a very long time – I want to buy and restore an old farmhouse (complete with the farm animals). I don’t think there is anything more beautiful than an old farmhouse with good charm and bones that is still standing on this crowded Earth, where people sometimes seem to place more value on the new than on the old. One day hopefully, and my husband has already agreed, we will attempt to do this. He’s also on board with the animal part of it, although I’m not sure he knows quite how many animals I want. I’m thinking some goats, some chickens, a couple alpacas and a cow should do it – a little mini Noah’s Ark if you will. However, back to reality for now – I imagine that if this dream of mine does come true, it will be when we’re older and possibly retired. I’ll need something to do when I no longer have a job to go to anyways 🙂

So in the meantime, I figure I’ll just keep myself busy redoing things inside our current house, in the burbs. Don’t get me wrong – I absolutely love our house. We have put so much hard work into it and it truly gives us a sense of pride and happiness knowing that together (along with the help of family) we made it ours. I am, however, in the process of trying to get a better “flow” throughout the house. There are a few rooms that need some updating to accomplish this. I like too many styles to have any sort of real true flow, so I’m just trying to get my own flow going on if you know what I mean. A lot of the people I follow on Instagram lean towards a rustic farmhouse style, which always promises a stunning view for the eyes. Looking at all their beautiful pictures makes me question whether or not I want to completely redo our entire house in that style. But then I remember that besides the fact my husband probably wouldn’t be on board with me replacing every single item (including furniture) in our house, I know better than to do that … because I also like eclectic, and mid-century modern, and boho, and so on and so on …

I figure having two rooms in the house with the rustic farmhouse feel should suffice, and I think our kitchen and dining room give off that feel, for the most part at least (see collage below). I am finding it fun to add a few additional farmhouse touches though. Over the past couple of months, I’ve purchased a few goodies from Painted Fox treasures and this weekend I finally found good spots for them. I think each piece does a perfect job of adding a little bit more farmhouse feel to the rooms. PS – Painted Fox is seriously a wonderland for all of you vintage, farmhouse, shabby chic lovers, and they are ALWAYS having sales, so keep your eyes open!

I originally bought this Farmhouse Lotus Bowl to sit on the bottom shelf of our dining room cabinet, but it ended up being too large. This bowl is seriously big. I’m thinking it works good on the kitchen table (for now at least).

I had been needing another colander and this Robin’s Egg Blue one quickly caught my eye. It’s too pretty to store in a cabinet, so on the stove it sits (mainly because we have no counter space!)

I left the vintage milk bottles in the dining room cabinet, but I finally dried some hydrangeas and added them – now it looks complete.

I’ll be touching up our den and game room/play room over the next few months, so be on the lookout for a series featuring both rooms. I’m doing these rooms on a budget, so there will be minimal changes that I’m hoping will make a big impact and I’ll share each step as I go along. I’m thinking the overall feel of the den will end up being mid-century modern with some industrial, boho & feminine glam touches. What? Can you even do that? Who knows. We’re currently waiting on a new couch to be delivered and I couldn’t be more excited. It’s the little things, you know? As for the game room/play room, I think the theme will be toys, since they are basically beginning to take over the house. I’m hoping to add some adult touches to the room, but I’m a bit wishy-washy at this point as to what those touches will be. I will tell you that I ended up purchasing 4 rugs before deciding on 1 to keep – indecisiveness at it’s finest. Happy Sunday to you & thanks for reading!

If you’re interested in checking out what Painted Fox has to offer (and you should be), follow this link –

https://paintedfoxtreasures.refersion.com/c/a3599