It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Aah... Autumn...  I love Autumn.  It's been a mixture of unseasonably warm and dropping temperatures that leave a lot of us Chicagoans shocked (and wearing puffy coats? really?), but Autumn is finally here, pumpkin-flavored everything, plaid and sweaters and thick socks, and it's glorious.  I LOVE this time of the year!

Autumn also means it's time for me to make my annual trek to Virginia to visit family, which actually didn't even happen last year.  I can't believe it's been two years since I've seen the rolling Blue Ridge Mountains, and the red dirt roads, and the cars that drive slowly and give each other the acknowledgement wave as they pass on a tree-lined road.

But the point is... because I've been excited about this trip, and because I've been working harder to pay for it, I've been seriously slacking over here in blog-world.  So I'll give you all of the quick updates I can, and get out of here quickly, so that by the next post I can pretend like I never missed a beat.

I started making dream catchers, and other wall-hangings and home decor items:

Lace & Sticks Bohemian Dream Catcher

Black Bohemian Dream Catcher Wall Decor

It's fun to be working on something new!

I also started working on some coin rings, but I don't know if I'm really getting what I want out of them.  My next project is going to involve silver rings, but everything is an experiment, so I don't know long I'll have to practice before I'll be happy enough with them to start listing them.

I also rearranged the working half of the studio, to make a better space for my office/workspace (next to the window, finally!), and to make a nice space for the dining table, and my high hopes for future spaghetti dinners with friends.

This Sunday I did the last Chicago Flea MKT of the season -- it was rather quiet, but I'll take quality over quantity any day.  I'm really looking forward to this market next year -- not just because it's only a few blocks from my studio, but because the people who shop and the other vendors at this one are fantastic, and I love being that close to the awesome food trucks.

So I'll let you know how my attempts with making silver rings go for sure, even if it's just a "Pinterest fail" moment, and I hope you're looking forward to pictures from my lovely home state of Virginia as much as I'm looking forward to taking them.

Too much stuff!

I'm the type of person who feels like a cluttered living space leads to a cluttered mind.  This would explain why I feel so overwhelmed lately -- my apartment has too much stuff in it!  My landlord did give me to okay to have a yard sale, but I think I wasted the perfect opportunity for it last weekend, when it was sunny and gorgeous.  I told myself that a yard sale would take more planning than I had the energy or time to invest, and I kind of threw it on the back burner...

So, what to do?  I love the idea of a minimalist space, but that just wouldn't work with my hodge-podge of furniture, picked up at thrift stores, from free Craigslist ads, and "curated" from the giveaway pile in my apartment building's basement.  I fear that minimalist would quickly turn into student dorm room in no time, and that's definitely not the look I'm going for!

The first step I'm taking today is at least putting in storage things I haven't used in the last few months.  I have a lot of pots for plants (the plants are long-dead) that can go away... okay, that's a start...

How in the world do people DO this??  Am I just too attached to these things that don't matter?  Do I think I need more things than I actually do?  Am I some kind of hoarder, just waiting for the next great tragedy of my life to send me into full-blown chaos?

This could happen to YOU!

Maybe I'm being a bit dramatic (although all of that vintage Pyrex does send me into a bit of a spin, kind of a "I want that!!" spin).

Why is it so difficult to part with things?  I couldn't possibly love every single thing I have in my home, I think a lot of it is just something I'm so used to seeing that I don't really consider it anymore, whether it's benefiting or hurting my environment.  Maybe I can take a tip from Hoarders, look at each item, and decide if it's more important to have that thing, or to have a little more peace of mind.