My creative mojo has been lost, or at the very least, in hiding for over a year now. No writing, as evident from my blog, no drawing, no DIY’ing. The last is a bit mystifying considering I bought a townhouse a year in a half ago that does need some TLC and some DIY’ing.
When I purchased my first house way back in 1999, I could not wait to get a paint brush in one hand and a hammer in the other. And it was a brand new house! I spent hour’s faux painting an entire wall – with vaulted ceilings. I painted every room in the house, even did some stencil work in the kitchen and put in a glass tile back splash. I was nonstop.
This go round has been different. I’ve done good getting the carpeting replaced with new flooring downstairs. That was brought on by a peeing, not so happy cat. And then there was the replacement of the HVAC system. Not fun stuff, not cheap stuff and definitely not creative stuff. I’m lucky to have a few pictures on the walls. There have been no urges to do anything else. It’s just been a place to be. Such a creative blah rut.
I got a little kick in the pants Labor Day weekend. I traveled south to a friend of a friend’s condo in Georgetown, SC. When I walked into the condo, I immediately loved it. It was not decorated in your typical beachy theme with muted, pastel tones and wicker furniture. Instead, it was very eclectic with rich, warm colors and tons of art work and pictures hung about. It felt inviting and reflected the personalities of the owners. It felt like a home. In fact, I felt more at home there than in my own little piece of real estate.
When I arrived back at my place of ownership, I sat on my couch and looked around. Things felt a bit cold with not much on the walls, an old dining table and chest. There was nothing reflecting my joys in life, like traveling, friends and family. There are still unpacked boxes in the closet; in fact they have not been unpacked since I sold my house and moved to an apartment. I sorted through them and found some of my treasures: tons of photographs and picture frames and artwork I had purchased on trips. That was the beginning.
Now it’s time I truly settle in and make my townhouse my home and not just a place to rest my head. The gears in my head have finally loosened up and now I need to do something. I’m starting with my dining room table. I don’t like it anymore. It’s dark and heavy and looks dated (sort of how I’ve been feeling lately). It needs freshening up so I rekindled my relationship with Pinterest. The past week in half, I’ve researched chalk paint, looked at color pallets and combinations and how-to’s. Of course as things go with Pinterest, other things caught my eye: painted dressers, dressers turned into entertainment centers, painted kitchen cabinets etc. If I’m not careful and the cats sit too long, they may get painted too. It’s time for a face lift for my stuff and a mood lift for myself.
I’m off to the store to trap my mojo and bring it home along with lots of paint. It’s time to get busy! I feel better just planning to do it. Updates to follow… hopefully it will be a Pinterest Success and not a Pinterest Failure.
The Potluck Journals 