Home Sweet Home

I feel like a kid at Christmas.

You remember the unbridled anticipation: You walk by the tree every day, seeing that nice, shiny package with your name on it. You're dying to rip into that thing with exaggerated hopes for what it holds.

You see, we're moving into a new home in a few weeks. Out of our 16 years of marriage, we've only owned a house for a couple of them. We are practically expert renters, and quite frankly, I'm sick of it. Getting a place to call our own sounds almost too good to be true. But...it may actually be happening! I may actually be very close to tearing open that bright red ribbon and glimmering green wrap!

So how am I spending my days? Your first thought is packing, right?

Uh, well...no.

You'd think that would make sense, but after moving a gazillion times (okay, only 10 times, but it feels like a gazillion), I have realized that the most beneficial packing doesn't happen until about a week prior to the move. Before that, you still need everything (at least we do, because as short-term renters, we don't unpack stuff like wall decor and extra tupperware).

No - my time, instead, is being sucked up by episodes of Design on a Dime, Color Splash, and Divine Design. (ESPN has been replaced by the four letters of HGTV at our place, much to my husband's dismay!) I am addicted to decorating shows. And I will probably continue to feed that addiction mercilessly.

It's fascinating stuff, really. I mean, I'm not one to put a chandelier in my bathroom or cover my ceiling with pavers, but hey - it does get the creative juices flowing!

But if I'm not plopped in front of the TV, you may find me strolling around a furniture store.

But I'll likely look irked. Because, honestly, don't plaster your windows with "MOVING SALE! EVERYTHING MUST GO!" and then only mark things down by $25.

Get real. It's still a $850 couch.

When you're serious about selling, call me.

And what is it with furniture stores being designed like a maze? I get so lost and end up walking in circles, or bumping into things. I still have a protruding black-and-blue mark on my thigh from running into a footboard a week ago. Maybe I could sue the store and get my house furnished for free???

Okay, okay. Probably not my best idea.

And finally, my third trap from actually accomplishing anything these days is scoping the internet and eBay for deals on home decor.

Only to fall in love with something and have my husband walk into the room to say, "You're not buying that are you? We haven't even moved in yet."

Oh, just go watch some ESPN while you have the chance. And leave me the credit card.

Perhaps what I am most looking forward to with our move is removing all cardboard boxes from my home. I have no recollection of a home that didn't have boxes stacked in a corner somewhere. It's pretty sad when you consider ways to incorporate cardboard into your decor, just because you know it isn't going anywhere.

This time, everything is going to find a home. And the child-like excitement wells up inside.

Because I feel like I've finally found mine.