Becoming a Grown-up, or Why I Love Hobby Lobby

Circumstances have conspired against me, and so I find myself home from church for the second time in two weeks (last week it was Miss Bubbly's fault--she and her stomach were having a serious disagreement), this time because my upset stomach and raw throat are not socially acceptable. The Boy stays with me, and is asleep, and so I find myself with a little time to blog.



We start them early with the literary love around here. Note the upside-down children's version of Helen Keller's biography. I don't think anyone in the family has read it in its entirety, but we sure do like looking at it! Also, note the cute feet tucked under his posterior. Love them. This is a picture I will trot out fifteen years from now when he has big, stinky teenage feet so that I may sigh with nostalgia.



And this was the result of him noticing that I had the camera out. Are all babies such camera fiends at this age? I don't remember the girls being this way. Also, in my defense, his sister dressed him. I think.

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Have you noticed that sucking on chocolate is very soothing for a sore throat? I have. In fact, I'm noticing it right now.

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To motivate ourselves to get all the dang boxes unpacked and all the major cosmetic changes made, The Hub and I decided to throw a thank you/housewarming party yesterday. Thus, Friday was full of hanging pictures and breaking down boxes for recycling, among other things. Happily, no one ever said "Why did we hang on to this?" I hereby say that we've purged all the non-essentials from our lives. For the moment.

Anyway. This is what we did:

In the kitchen, we covered the pale, stained laminate countertop with some fake wood contact paper. We intend to remodel someday, but this will hold us until we do. I like how the darker wood tones down the "look at me" quality of the gold tile backsplash. Also, I spray painted the baker's rack black. It used to be forest green with brass accents.


This is a napkin holder from Hobby Lobby that I've had my eye on for MONTHS now. It was finally marked down 50%, so I splurged. I love it! More on Hobby Lobby and finding my grown up style later.


The focus of this photo is what you DON'T see--the brick hearth. For our early Christmas present, my fabulous mother-in-law made a cushion to cover said hearth so that crawling/almost-walking little people wouldn't fall down and bash themselves on it. It has saved The Boy's head more than once, I'm pleased to report. And it provides extra seating when we have company! A win all around.


The Hub didn't like our stuck-to-the-walls furniture arrangement, so he shuffled a few things around until he liked it. I like it too. It doesn't feel cut off from the living room, but it makes the family room feel a little more open. Also, see the picture of the Bountiful Temple? Yep, that went up on Friday too. We were busy little bees, I tell you. Totally worth it.


See this awesome clock on the mantel, next to the harvest angel/harvest fairy from Hobby Lobby? Here, let me get you in closer.


Only marginally better--I'm wretched at focusing sometimes. But notice the lovely detail! The autumn leaves and winding twigs! The Hub bought me this clock as a housewarming present. Didn't he do a good job? Yes, yes, he did. (His housewarming present is the HD satellite tv subscription--it's the gift that keeps on giving.)


This is the living room, which serves as our library and my office (which is surprisingly clean at the moment). The cheap bookshelves will be replaced with a not-quite built in set in the next year or so, and the empty area will be filled with comfy furniture on which to sit whilst enjoying a novel. The blank frame should be filled in soon with a family picture--I'm very excited for it. And the white leaves on the tree will eventually be painted red and orange and yellow. I'm a very big fan of fall--can you tell?



My side of our room. (The Hub can blog about his own side if he wants.) Do you see what I have hanging on the wall? ALL of my scarves and shawls and hats! I love them, and I love being able to hang them up this way. Between that and the jewelry tree on my dresser and the gargoyle blanket on the bed and my pre-Raphelite prints on the wall (not pictured), this is looking like a place where I live. Oh, and the numerous books stacked under the nightstand. That would definitely be me as well.


This is the newly dubbed "Room of Requirement." Harry Potter fans will understand that reference. I never thought I would be so happy to give up a garage for a room that is a sewing/crafting room, a homeschooling room, and a general mayhem room. The girls love to go out there and play for hours. It is bliss.

I love my house!

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Before we bought the house, The Hub and I used to talk about the future when we would be "grown ups." This was code for when we bought a house, which presupposed that The Hub would also have a professional career with an actual salary. We have been very fortunate this year to become grown ups, to embark on the part of life we've been planning for and imagining for many, many years.

However, in the previous years of impermanence, I never felt inclined to truly make a home of whatever apartment/space we were living in. We'd mark it as ours with family photos and favorite artwork, of course, but it was very hard to want to do anything significant, because who knew if it would fit in the next place we lived? And we could never paint walls--at least not as much as I wanted to.

But here and there, I'd gather a few things for "someday." The day when we would live in a place that was ours. It happened, more often than not, that I'd jettison those things that I had gathered because they didn't seem to fit in with my personal style. In fact, as long-time readers of this blog can attest, I spent many years figuring out WHAT my personal style was. Clothing-wise, I still haven't figured it out. But now that we're in a place of our own, where I feel free expressing myself through my home, I realize that I love fall. I love trees, I love leaves, I love deep red, sky blue, pine tree green, mahogany brown, and even yellow and orange in small amounts. I love the smell of nutmeg and cinnamon and allspice. As The Hub's clock attests, my passion for the season has made it easy for him to get me spot-on gifts. I've always considered people who have always known what they love and surrounded themselves with it truly grown up--I'm happy to join their ranks.

How does this tie in to Hobby Lobby? Well, the clock is from Pier 1, but the other accessories that I have really loved I've found at Hobby Lobby. In addition to supporting my crafting addiction, the buyers/designers/powers that be at the store have figured out what I love and they offer it to me, often with a 40% off coupon. How perfect is that?

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Long post, isn't it? Just a little more, and then I'll be done.

There's something about owning something that makes you want to mark it as yours. I always put my initials on my most favorite erasers in grade school. Ranchers brand their cows. Rich people put their initials on EVERYTHING--handkerchiefs, cuff links, towels, wrought iron front gates, various downtown or university buildings.

We've had our trusty van for five years now, and I thought it was high time I set it apart from the other beige minivans in the Walmart parking lot. So I tattooed the car. On both sides.



Now that we have a house, I've claimed ownership too, using a sign that was a wedding gift. It used to hang on The Hub's grandparents' cabin. (I also tried to fix the apostrophe placement, with little success. Just know that the house belongs to all the people in it, not just the one.)


And that, as they say, is that.