A New Chapter

It's official...I'm moving! It's been a little up in the air up until a few weeks ago but my lovely little home that I rent is being sold and I have to be out in the next couple weeks. It's been a hard adjustment as this house has truly come to feel like home to me.

I was here while it was being built and had the opportunity to hand pick almost everything about it...exterior and interior colors, front door, kitchen cabinets, hardware, flooring, lighting fixtures, bathroom layout, fireplace surround and on and on. I became very attached to every little nook and cranny of this place.

I was so excited when I first moved in and started decorating. It was a little sparse and the walls looked so bare but it was the first month...

...and I was in love with everything about my new space. Funny though I don't see a single item in those pictures that I still own. lol! My style choices have obviously been upgraded and refined since then.

Alright enough of my reminiscing. So what's next?

Well the situation's not ideal, especially with running a business from home and the space being much smaller, but all the same I am very grateful for the generous offer my parents made of me moving back in with them for the time being. The whole upper floor is not being used and really is a charming space in their 1910 Dutch Colonial home. Granted living in the same house as my parents again may be a bit of an adjustment (for them as well as me) but I guess it's a good thing that we get along really well and for a while at least I will take advantage of this opportunity and enjoy it for what it is.

So after a number of shed tears and at least a few "Why God?" prayers I'm learning to accept the reality of the move and am trying to look forward to this new chapter in life. I don't know why some things happen the way they do. It is too hard to make sense of life sometimes. But I do know that God is leading and I will follow...even if that leads me home.

'But as for me, I trust in You, O LORD;

I say, “You are my God.”

My times are in Your hand...'

'Be of good courage,

And He shall strengthen your heart,

All you who hope in the LORD.'

Psalm 34: 14-15, 24

What I Wish I Knew Then...

I did my first, so far my only, and hopefully not my last antique show this past summer at the Sand Point Antique & Design Market. I joked for a long time afterwards that this may have been the worst day of my life. I was completley eager but so blind to what I was doing, had never even attended this show to know what I was in for and was ignorant enough to think that my past years of garage sale experience would get me through. Ha ha ha!!! I can laugh now but then it was such a defeat to all my high hopes and I literally arrived home after the show drenched to the bone, barely breaking even, quite near tears and ready to give up! Walking away from that day I vowed I would never do another antique show in my life.

Now that over 7 months have passed (time must truly heal all wounds) I just can't help myself and have started looking around again for another new show (or two) I want to participate in. I will share more later about that but I wanted to share an article from another blog that I found that I sooooo wish I would have read before attempting what I did. In some respects it is more specific to craft shows but there are really some great tips here for doing any show!!! Check it out...http://www.indiecraftshows.com/blog/2009/beginners-guide-to-craft-shows/