Rearranging Our Life: Part 1

Today's shout-out goes to my sister Chrissy: for being awesome and helping me move furniture up and down stairs despite being sore from moving all her own stuff around the day before. And also for doing my dishes. Thank you! :)

With her help I was able to completely finish organizing the downstairs office/craft room today. We also made quite a bit of progress on the future nursery--but it's not quite ready to be revealed yet. (In fact, I'm thinking of saving those pictures for when it's all the way done--meaning painted, decorated, etc., and not just de-junked--I think it will be a more dramatic reveal.)

But here, without further ado for your viewing pleasure, are the before and after pictures of the downstairs. I stole Patrick's phone to take them, since it's the only thing that allows me to actually upload the photos to the computer; hence, the scope of the photo shoot is somewhat limited. (Also, please don't judge my clutter too harshly--it kind of accumulates when you never have reason to use the room other than to put stuff in it.)

Top of the landing on the stairs. There are no after shots because it got too dark for the cell phone to compensate. But imagine nothing but pristine, flower scented carpet and you've got the general idea. :)

Bottom of downstairs. It is now also pristine. (P.S. Can you make out the improvised "cat flap" that Patrick cut into the basement door? One day I will have a real cat flap there. Until then, this little portal serves quite nicely.) 

Craft Room Before
(I would stand here in the doorway and think, "There's just no way I can tackle this right now." And then I would shut the door and repress the memory.)

Craft Room Before
(Once upon I time my sewing area was in the process of being organized...and then somehow everything sputtered to a halt and never picked up momentum again until today.)

Craft Room/Office After
Patrick has been so excited to use this space. I'm kind of excited at the thought of having some "parallel play" company. When I want to work on a project, he can come down, pop in his headphones and play a game, or watch a show with me.   (P.S. Do you see the bookshelf? I cut my collection back to just two shelves and was able to use the rest for crafting storage. I look at my one little shelf of fabric and think of my sister's twenty-something totes and shake my head and laugh. I'll probably get there one day. Maybe. I'm not as prolific a seamstress as she...)

Craft Room/Office After
This is as much of the sewing area as you're gonna see because Patrick was in charge of taking the after shots while I got dinner ready...I think we can safely assume he's more excited about the computer stuff. :) So, you'll just have to take my word for it when I tell you that the sewing/knitting area is now immaculate.  By the by, this shot also features the horribly ugly, yet inexplicably comfy chair that will move into the nursery once I slipcover it. (P.S. Can you find the new wall decoration that Patrick picked out while I was getting some organizational drawers? Ten points if you can name the character.) 

Before I close this post, I would appreciate it if you would all join me in a moment of silence for the tragic passing of a project.

As I was going through all my yarn I found two sweaters I had knit that were nearly finished. One required some ribbing around the neck, and the other had one sleeve waiting to be cast off. They were 98% done and represented a significant portion of my time as well as a sentimental attachment (one was the first thing I ever made for myself, and the other was the first sweater I had made for Patrick)--and they had been eaten by moths. I sat stunned for a moment when I found them, and then wept bitter, silent tears as I placed them in the trash bag. They would have been beautiful sweaters--one had a very intricate cable pattern and the other some fun colorwork motifs--lovely, soft, and warm...and now they are gone too soon from my life. It was a harsh lesson to learn, but I have taken steps to protect my budding stash and current knit projects from the same dismal fate. I would like to urge any fellow knitters out there to learn from my mistake and protect themselves before having to toss away nearly $80 worth of wool and a whole lot more in love, sweat, and tears.

Thank you.

Oh, oh, oh! I almost forgot that I could end on a happy note! I would also like to say a big thank you to my Mother-In-Law, who surprised us by buying the baby's crib for us as my birthday present! Thank you, Lisa! It's such a relief to be one step closer to bringing our daughter home without having to worry about the added financial burden. Thanks a million!