That image above, what with the teepee and the massive, awesome record collection, completely made my day when it showed up in my inbox earlier this week (thank you Lisa). Then I came across the rest of the house and had a moment of pure "house bliss".This place makes me so happy. I love how natural and sort of undecorated (and even a little bit modest) it feels...not self-conscious or dripping in trends. I love the open spaces and amazing windows and how they mixed the chunky, earthy elements (the credenza and those beams) with little pops of femininity and opulence (the pink paintings and that gilded gold frame).
And truth be told, I needed a little shot of happy, because I've been, well...awfully salty of late.
I'm generally an optimistic gal. I’m upbeat, (sometimes even annoyingly so)…I don’t really have a “dark side” to speak of. So this bout of disgruntlement is throwing me a bit.
As a general rule I think there are things you’re always allowed to be a little bit disgruntled about, say, a week of consecutive hundred-degree days, bad service on airlines, the oil spill, people who text while driving… but (up until now) I have stuck pretty firmly to the belief that life is too short to be snarky and frustrated about little things.
And this friends is what’s throwing me…I’m (to use a completely overused phrase) sweating the small stuff and griping (incessantly) about the things I either can’t control or shouldn’t care about in the first place. For example, last night I found myself laying in bed wide-awake at 3:00 am, agonizing over the fact that I picked “eggshell” instead of “flat” paint for Audrey’s room, and all week I’ve been rehashing in my mind an old grievance that should be long forgotten.And then as if by fate, just as I was busy writing a complaint filled e-mail to a buddy yesterday, griping about pretty much everything under the sun, I came across that image above via mary ruffle (but then again her tumblr is pretty much chock full of goodness) and thought yes, exactly. Totally obvious and simple, but most important things usually are.
So I'm going with it, trying to let it go, doing some yoga stretches, breathing, drinking (just kidding...sort of). We'll see how it goes.
In the meantime, I'll just stare at the pictures of that house above some more.
26 comments:
LOVE that house!!! .. and i do that sometimes too "sweat the small stuff" - but it's great u realize this way you can get urself BACK on track to being the upbeat gal u are!
My husband and I recently had this same issue and came to the same conclusion, or lesson to 'not sweat the small stuff' (it's okay that it's overused in my "book" since I absolutely loved the author:).
Sometimes it takes a mysterious nudge (or many of them) to *snap out of it.
oh my....
this is a very pretty house to live... love it!
cool chairs everywhere!
xxx
i have my issue of dwell open to that house and keep looking at it too. it is so simple, breathy, or something. anyway. forge onward, dear lady. i think fall is (maybe) just around the corner, and you sound due for a change of seasons.
what a great post. fantastic images and a refreshing reminder.
yesterday i was at my wit's end recently just thinking of this week's hectic schedule. then i realized that some of those things were optional. so, no reason to criticize the small things OR run ragged to one small thing after another.
What a brilliant reminder for us all.
I'm off to explore mary ruffle now.
Felicity x
I loved reading this post! thanks for sharing!
i'm with you. i've been in a bit of a funk lately. i can't quite put my finger on it, but i agree it's time to move onto the happy. i'm sure your paint will turn out wonderfully (just like the rest of your beautiful home!), so don't worry. and if it makes you feel even better we're having a terrarium giveaway here: http://www.faucethead.com/blog/?p=1208. you should stop on by.
I am so the same person. I become very easily fixated on details or incidents that are over and done or out of my control. I'm constantly practicing the mindful letting go, but some days are better than others.
I know just how you're feeling, Jos. ;) And I'm with you on the drinking part! ha!
Its sweating the small stuff stuff that makes you appreciate when you don’t. I love when I can relax and think, “Why do I ever even let all that OTHER get to me??” because we do. Love the house – and they like vinyl, nothing wrong with that.
So funny that I just opened this post. Minutes ago I got off the phone with The Man, who's grumbly, out of town, dealing with pouring rain, roof leaks and a total nightmare of a person. I kept saying, It's just life. It will all be fine. I am rarely in such fine form with my perspective. LOL.Sounds like you are already on your way to better days. And that house is just....wow delicious!
that third picture is what i dream of when i think of a living room. love!
Love this house...this is going to sound so silly but I was having a total crap morning yesterday and sat down to take a breather and paint my nails bright red...somehow looking at that sassy color all day totally turned everything around ;)
Great reminder...thanks!! I'm going to really try and remember this!
michelle -- not silly at all. i'm always amazed at how the littlest thing can totally turn things around. it's a lovely thing really!
i need some bright red nails, clearly!
ohmygoodness, i was so happy to read your post. not because i am happy that you have been in a little off lately, but you put into words exactly how i have been feeling over the past week. and since now that i am up stewing over my ridiculous well, stewing, i am happy to know that i am not alone :) i just said to myself the other, ok, just let it go...let it all go and enjoy your family, this awesome fall weather, and just let everything else take a backseat. easier said than done, of course.
i'm not quite out of it yet, but nothing that a tickle torture session with the kids, a long walk, and reading posts like these won't cure. (ok, and perhaps a glass of wine or even a xanax, whoops, did i say that out loud...just kidding...not really...just kidding, ok maybe).
thank for the read! xo
oh, and baking helps too :)
that house is so great, so open. i love it.
I don't know why but I find women often fret over the little things. I know because I'm one! Guys usually just let it go and they sleep soundly and easily too. That just makes me mad! :D Seriously, maybe I'm over-generalising it. But I know how you feel, I go through it every night and sometimes day. I often tell myself that it's not my battle to fight. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
Oh, by the way I do love the house too. Maybe if I had one like that, all these sleeplessness will go away! :D
I completely understand....and just like I look at my gals and think certain behavior is just a phase...I also think WE hit bumpy phases & they will pass( like they always do) I love your honesty & your plans for feeling better...not sweating the small stuff is the key but, so hard to do in practice sometimes, right? Thanks for sharing this hun....
xo
Melis
Those sliding windows/doors are my dream!
what a pretty house!
glad you posted. nice to know I'm not alone in sometimes fretting over small things.
however, I'm much better than I was a year or so ago. my little phrase has been "is it a life or death situation?" In most (alright, ALL) situations, it's not a life/death situation.
Realizing that somehow helps me breathe better and think a bit more clearly about whatever is bothering me.
Okay, I need that image framed and placed in about a million places in my home! I always act as if everyone is out to get me, but in reality... I am just always letting small things bug me. It's so silly, and I need to remind myself daily not to let the small things get to me!
Hey Joslyn,
Playing a bit of catch up tonight (this newborn gig is throwing me for a loop!) and spotted this post. Love it. An excellent reminder for me too. I tend to agonize over the same sorts of things as you so it seems :) And I loooove to rehash (bad habit) so a reminder to not do such a thing is much-appreciated :)
xo
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