Nesting in January.

Jan 16

I am in such a nesting mood lately. Most years when I take Christmas down, I experience a surge of energy in the organize and rearrange department, but this year, I'm finding an extra helping of FUN in the whole process. Two+ weeks ago on a Saturday, I took the tree down and decided to move the armoire (with our TV inside) from one side of my living room to the other—this single action commenced a cascade of curiosity, so that now when I walk into a room, I'm thinking things like, "Why is that chair or bench or mirror or basket there? What if I moved that over here, or put it upstairs or got rid of it altogether?" As you can imagine, these questions are creating all kinds of exciting possibilities.

Then, when I was cleaning out my nightstand and the bookshelf by my bed, I started purging books. I almost threw away this book ...

I had purchased it right after it was published, but that was a busy time for me and I think I thumbed through it only a few times. Big mistake. This is an AWESOME book, full of great information and inspiration that has sparked ideas for me. Right now I'm focused on our living room and I LOVE what the author says ...

“What’s in my living room? Simply put, everything I want my kids to ask about and discuss and talk about more. I want the items in this room to fill them with ideas and encourage them to ask a million questions. The answers might be found among the stacks of books, or they might be found after a long conversation. Either way is pretty wonderful. ”

— Gabrielle Blair

Then there's this book, which invites you to ask the question, Does (fill in the blank) spark joy? Author Marie Kondo says that an ideal living room will feature furniture that sparks joy and that there ought to be a fixed place for the remote control, magazines, and so on.

As I continued to read in both books, I decided to hop on our local Facebook marketplace and sell my heavy, black cabinet that sat behind our sofa. My sofa used to be dark brown leather, but now it's a very light tan/almost off-white fabric. That piece of furniture was no longer sparking anything joyful at all.

I found exactly what I was looking for at Home Goods for $199 (score!)

My new sofa table is taller, thinner and lighter. I still have all the drawer contents spread all over the dining room table and I need some book ends for the albums I think. I also decided to move our homework table upstairs, so I could reclaim some wall space to do more of what Gabrielle encourages. Right now it feels super weird and I'm only aware of what is missing, but I'm going to keep dreaming and see what happens.

I do like some of the other small-ish changes I've made ...

I need more LIGHT in the evenings, so I added the Pier 1 lamp—and got it 20% off!

Layering the small, red lazy Susan onto the wood tray and designating the big mug for remotes—that is working! I had a little box for remotes before, but nobody takes the lid of a box to put a remote away. I should have known that. And, I found some photo coasters I made years ago and pulled them out—I want to make some more with images from places we've traveled. I hopped on Amazon and ordered some small, fuzzy throws to put in the basket next to the little green table. This means kids don't have to drag bigger blankets from their rooms and other rooms. I'm still playing with the book display. Not sure if it will stay. I think I might use some scrapbook paper to cover those top, two books. What do you think?

This is by far my favorite addition—wood letters from Hobby Lobby. I love the texture they provide on this wall.

I've wanted to display our family motto for a very long time, but have never come up a way to do this that I like, until now. Can you tell what it says? I was going to tell you, but I think you should decipher it for yourself and let's see who can get it right in the comments. I REALLY like the idea of a message that is somewhat hidden, like a secret family code, you know?

The only new thing here is the fake greenery from Hobby Lobby.

Both books suggested decorative items that have meaning or represent family values. Marbles remind me of my Grandma Addie and I love the playful reflection. Not sure the bird and the plant are super intentional, but I like the threesome together and I'm reminded that changing just a few things does wonders for your motivation to dust and keep a room tidy, ha!

I'll keep you posted on my progress and I'd love to know if you've experienced any new year nesting?!

Books