Pink & Polka Dot

What I’m reading right now

 A few years ago, I heard Brene’ Brown speak at Blissdom and wanted to run out and buy everything she had written.  I didn’t.  I just found my notebook from that time.  Here are a couple quotes I wrote down that resonated with me at that time…AND even more today.

“Owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing that we will ever do.”

“There is a short list of people whose opinions really matter to me.”

I just bought her book I thought it was just me (but it isn’t).  Below is a short description of the book.  Full book description here.

“The quest for perfection is exhausting and unrelenting. We spend too much precious time and energy managing perception and creating carefully edited versions of ourselves to show to the world. As hard as we try, we can’t seem to turn off the tapes that fill our heads with messages like, “Never good enough!” and “What will people think?”

I haven’t wanted to write on this blog for awhile now.  I mean…I can show you all the before and after slipcover’s in the world, but the truth is that right now I’m living slipcover to slipcover and eBook to eBook.  I’m recently separated from my husband.  Many will be shocked…maybe not.  We looked like the perfect little family on the outside, but inside…we were not.  I’m not going to go into details right now.  I’m still in the process of learning how to own my story and love myself through that process.  And everyday, I’m getting…just a little bit braver.  Maybe I’ll write more about it, maybe I won’t.  I just felt the need to share this today.

Paint your Pet

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Last week, I went to Wine and Design in Raleigh to Paint my pet…beagle ~ Ally.

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And to my surprise, I ran into Brittany from Pretty Handy Girl.  We met at Blissdom and both participated in I Heart Thrifting Day.  Besides being a Handy Dandy DIY girl, she is also a four year art student.  Thankfully, she sat beside me and guided me through painting my pet…to not look like a kindergartener’s finger painting.

Pretty Handy Girl

Here she is painting her masterpiece.  If you get a chance to do this, do it!  The folks at Wine and Design were super helpful and great at NOT making me feel like a Kindergartener.

Mid-Life crisis OR A Heroine’s Journey

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Yes…I know…it’s been awhile since I’ve posted. It’s hard to post about slipcover’s and home decor when you feel like your life is falling apart at the seams. It has been one of the hardest year’s of my life. It’s still working itself out…but I feel more positive about it. I truly believe in the mid-life crisis. I’m 44. My children are much more independent and don’t need me as much as they did. It’s a shedding of the toddler mom and learning how to become the pre-teen / teen mom. It’s a shedding of the 20 something newly wed and learning how to be the 44 year old wife. It’s hard. I’m not going into full detail about what’s gone on except that we’re all working through it. It’s starting to come out better on the other side. I read this article from Psychology Today entitled “What a female Mid-Life crisis looks like,” This excerpt explained exactly how I was feeling:

“Above all, don’t let people tell you that you have no right to be unhappy with your life. It is okay to lose your equilibrium when others think your life should be smooth sailing. It is okay to question your life’s purpose. It’s okay to say, “I don’t know who I am.” It is better to ask the questions and seek the answers than to live a numb life.Sometimes you have to lose yourself to find yourself. Some call this a mid-life crisis; I call it the Heroine’s Journey.”

I just thought if one more person told me “you have a good life.” “why can’t you be grateful?” I thought I might hit them in the face with a chair. So…I haven’t arrived, but that’s OK. It is real and if you’re going through it, you are not crazy. Be your own Heroine.

Summer Hiatus

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So…I took a little summer hiatus. We just returned from California where bacon is apparently covered in chocolate and many friends were reunited with. We lived in California for almost 10 years and returned to NC…my home state…almost 10 yrs ago. I love the south. We went to the mid-state fair, saw friends {yes, that’s Lindsey up there from Pleated Poppy}, ate ALOT of yummy food, went to Hollywood so my girls could see the Hollywood sign in real life:0), walked Hollywood Blvd., Venice Beach {yikes} and the Santa Monica Pier. I’m super happy to be home and I love my bed more than ever! There really is something about going away to make you even more grateful for what you’ve got at home! We had a blast!