Project: Jewelry Corner

We just moved into our new apartment a couple weeks ago.  We went from a 2300 sqft house to a 700 sqft apartment.  I love it!  I feel so much more at home in a cozy space. :)

In the house I had a closet larger than one of the spare bedrooms, so I had plenty of room to let my jewelry run rampant and be displayed anyway I wanted.  Well, most of the display options there were too large for this place.  Which is awesome because I got to come up with a new one!

Here is the before picture.  The bedroom door is just to the left of this picture.  Obviously covering the breaker box without blocking it was a priority.  I just found this area to be perfect for a "girly corner" since it is on "my" side of the bedroom. :)

During. After a couple hours of shopping for what I had in mind, I came across other things I liked better. :) 

Cork Board from Michael's: $14. Shelf from Target (half of a 2 pk): $15 (or $7.50 for just the one  The other will be claimed by my "office space"). Curtain Rod: Already had. Gold paper clips from Office Max (you'll see em later): $2. Total Cost: $23.50.

Finished! 

Well, I still want to get a hanging pendant lamp for light and to put a small mirror somewhere.  

Probably will put the mirror on the back of the door.

I couldn't find the right thing to use for hooks to hold my necklaces.  Most of the curtain rod or towel holder solutions on Pinterest used S Hooks or shower curtain rings.  I though those were both too big for my tiny curtain rod and too expensive. I had given up, was in the office supply aisle of Target, I saw paper clips and I had an epiphany! So off to Office Max I went in search of pretty paper clips. Gold? Yes Please!!

You can see the paperclips here. Which were not as easy to bend to my will as I would've liked.

Something that always makes me smile: This is the box my engagement ring came in. When Daniel and I were first dating we had played the game Battleship a few times. 

On one of our early dates he gave me one of the red markers with a note that said, 

"You're always a Hit with me." Awwww. 

I managed to hold onto that for going on 10 years and 7 moves.

Cork board from Michael's. I had planned on doing a frame with cork inside, but couldn't find what I wanted for less than a fortune. This worked out perfect. This holds all my french hoop earrings with plenty of room for more.  What I like is that it has a plush backing on it so my earrings are nice and stuck in there without hitting wall.

Sorry for the terrible lighting! This is the dress I wore on NYE this year in NOLA. It's a little big for me now and covers the breaker box well without blocking it entirely in case we need to get there.  Also included is the white and gold feather boa I bought at Jackson Square and the Tiny Top Hat headband I wore.  I want to find a way to get my pink sequin shoes on display here too.  

The shelf holding my stud earrings and all two of my bracelets.

 Here I am standing at the door to my bedroom as it's closed. When it's open this whole corner is blocked. So the girlyness does not overwhelm the room which happens to occupy a man 1/2 the time.

Let me know what you think!  Also tell me about any other projects you've worked on. :)

I know there aren't many projects on this blog, but I have lots to work on!  So check back and I might have something new soon!

Gentleness

This post might very well go directly against many of your beliefs.  Please understand that while I respect your beliefs and would never try to convince you that they are wrong, I may not share your same views.  The views expressed in this blog are my own, and therefore are right for me.  Thank you for your understanding.

I was raised in a very Christian home.  

Christians, or at least Evangelical, Pentecostal (what have you) Christians believe that in their lives the priorities go like this:

1.  God

2.  Others

3. Yourself

And when I say that yourself is third, I mean yourself is not really to ever be considered.  It's all about living your life for God and serving others.  And in doing those two, you should be happy with your life.  

This has just occurred to me today, June 26, 2012 that this order is in exact contradiction to where I want and need my life to be right now.   

First off, if you don't already know, I am agnostic.  I believe in a higher power, I just don't believe that we have the capacity for comprehending what all that entails.  Therefore I will not devote my life to one person's or one group's idea of what that higher power is.

So right there, putting God first doesn't work for me.  I don't know what God is, and I surely don't know what is required of me to put him/her/it first.  

I have always considered myself to be incredibly selfish and self absorbed.  The past few years(since realizing I am agnostic) I have prided myself on the fact.  I rarely put others first anymore.  This goes back to having "servanthood" preached at me while being treated like dirt by those doing the preaching.  Doing things for others made me miserable because the individuals I was trying to serve were not worthy of such respect. I would say it took me a while to get over that, but I am not entirely sure I am over it yet.  

Recently I have surrounded myself with people who talk a lot of about self love.  And today, it hit me hard that I have no idea what that means.

Selfishness and Self Love I don't believe have anything to do with one another.  Or at least, they are not the same thing.  I don't do selfish things out of love for myself.  I don't know why I do them exactly, but that is something for me to reflect on.

So today I decide that my goal is to learn more about Self Love and to figure out how to do just that.  Because no matter what I do, I can't truly love anyone else until I learn to love myself.  I am seeing this as a long term goal that will probably never actually be finished.  But I deserve to find out.  

I have not once in my life really considered loving myself or making that a priority.  I think it began with the Christian order of priorities and then when I let myself drop the first one, my priorities have been all over the place.  No plans have been made to prioritize my spiritual life.  After dealing with so much order and strict requirements in the Christian Institution, I really needed to allow myself some freedom.  

But now is the time to get realigned.  I am adjusting to a lot of physical changes in my life.  I have a new apartment to adjust to.  A new car.  A new schedule that my husband is on with work.  I am soon going to be adjusting to a new career.  I love changes and right now, amidst all the chaos seems like the perfect time to figure out a new way to think about, act toward and treat myself.  

My goal this week is to simply become aware of my emotions. To live consciously.  

Something my nutritionist posted on her Facebook wall a long time ago and I just found it today:

Discipline is a crucial part of the path but it arises out of a compassionate need to prevent future suffering, not a hostile crusade, to correct, punish or improve oneself. Always be gentle on yourself.

Gentleness is never something that I have applied toward myself.  Gentle is probably the last thing I think of when I think about myself.  

These are the words I want to focus on:  Compassion, Gentle

I love that even though Carly posted that on her business FB wall almost a year ago, it never occurred to me to look at her wall before today.  How anyone can claim that there are not higher powers at work within us is beyond me.  I am going to accept this gentle encouragement today as my push to the new Heather.  

My lunch yesterday came with a fortune cookie.  I opened it up, thought it was not that great and left it on my desk.  I typically throw my fortunes away, but for some reason I didn't this time.  I came into the office today, saw it and immediately felt like I had been spoken to.  

Then I brought it home and let Eva munch on it for a while.  Because that's what she loves to do.