om sweet om

well i have been promising this post for awhile and here it is! pics of my newly decorated place. with this being my third move of stuff after losing matt, i continue to sift through the things that i keep. it's not that i am getting rid of stuff but after time you just realize that keeping a ratty old tshirt doesn't help but then there are some ratty tshirts you can't ever get rid of. it felt a little like i just picked up my old decor from chicago and deposited it in san diego. it was time to make some changes and learn how to incorporate the new and the old...

come on in... lamp from West Elm and table from Home Goods 

have a seat! the picture wall took awhile... most frames from Home Goods... picture bought in Door County on matt and i's mini-moon 

tv area... had a stud to find some studs and hang it for me... laterns and clock from Home Goods...lamp from Ikea... old entertainment console originally bought at Pottery Barn

bar table made by great uncle in Newfoundland... pictures from my various wine tasting adventures... wine glass tin wall hanging from antique shop

who wouldn't want to have their breakfast in this little nook? white table and chairs from West Elm bought at last place... new turquoise chair from Ikea... mirrors have been traveling me from about 10 addresses ago originally from Crate and Barrel

tray and frame from Home Goods... succulents from West Elm.. bottles from assorted places including my kitchen and antique stores... Cadbury Eggs for Easter treats!

 you saw pics of this in my last place... much bigger bedroom to spread out but did get the lamp from Ikea... lila loves basking in the morning sun in here

 same bedding from last place...hung a couple of prints... pic on the left bought at Madison Art Fair at the Capital... matt surprised me once and had it professionally framed... other print bought at Point Loma lighthouse on my first trip to SD

 just luv this Home Goods find

 if you follow me on Instagram you saw pics of this a little neater but just wanted to show where i keep some more pics of matt... its a good place to put them when i want to see his smiling face 

 beachy bathroom...shells handpicked on a morning beach walk with lila

 step into my office...

 buddah statue on top of my antique bookshelf...many sacred things on here including mala beads from Bali and matt's ashes

lila's corner office... under papa's galaxy print that one of his friend's painted... leaning tower of pisa bookshelf from CB2... lamp from Ikea... chalkboard sticker strips going away present from a friend (such a fun idea esp. when guests leave msgs)

and my corner of the office... desk from Ikea...yep i actually sit on that balance ball chair ... Miami art a gift...Badgers pennant i gave to matt...Wisconsin old school program from a program calendar i also gave Matt...luv the red/blue combo with Miami and Sconie stuff

so that's it! om sweet om! beach living is a little different but it's a perfect fit for me right now and i couldn't be happier that i took the time to decorate and reflect where i am at right now!

namaste

melissa 

The Widow Pad

You have certainly heard me moaning and groaning about getting settled in my place the past couple of months. The whole moving out of my condo and creating a new home for myself was kind of a big deal. Being true to my Cancer sign, I am very into my shell. Some people might call it anal retentive but I call it very susceptible to the energies of my home.

I loved our condo in Chicago. It was nice and pleasantly decorated although there were certainly some manlier decorations but that's what marriage is about, compromise. I took my time in getting rid of things before moving although doing it before the one year mark. Every widow has to find the right time to do this horrific chore. It was hard to decide what to bring and what to get rid of. I wanted to keep a lot but when thinking about moving across the country, it became a whole other question. I did the best that I could and in the end brought way more memorabilia then I would ever need. But that's a task for another day at this point and thankfully I have a storage closets. Things don't make the memories.

Moving on to travel the world, I realized just how much stuff I really needed to survive, not much. Still, I a nice place to call home. I had sold most of our furniture which was a good plan for me. I think if all of our stuff would have been in my new place, I might have felt a little stuck between my old and new life. I am the creative genius behind this decor and it feels like this crab's home for now! I have had lots of requests to see pics of my place (and by lots I mean one) so I thought I would dedicate some posts to showing you what I have done. I kept waiting till everything was completely put together but then I realized that could take awhile! Just like life it's a work in progress!

come on in! lila is loving her new pad too! this has always been one of her favorite places to lay. i have had this shagtastic rug since college and i still love it!

my newly built bed (yep finally roped a man into helping me!) from overstock and a new nightstand from pier1 duvet cover from west elm

one of the hippie neighborhoods around here has a great street of antiques found this shabby chic piece there! i used a french memo board (another gem from the college days) to hang my cosmetic jewels, still want a mirror to hang on the other side of the wall but haven't found the right one yet...

still undecided with what to hang on this wall at the foot of my bed. check out lila's dog bed... i got this from Molly Mutt... you pick the cover and then buy stuff sacks to recycle old clothes and make a doggie bed. i was able to use some of Matt's old clothes to make a bed for her!

walk in closets are life changing. think this is my first one ever and its so much easier to dress yourself and keep the closet clean when everything is right in front of you!

namaste

Melissa