Sometimes I analyze and organize, think and rethink. And then other times, I make a split second decision. The latter seems to be happening more often these days. See what happens when you don't even have time to think?
My Instagram feed looks more like a blog roll than a sneak peaks into the lives of our friends, and one of my long time favorites has been Myquillyn from thenester.com. She's a champion of loving the home you have right now, not saving that investment of time, love, and hospitality for the "next house." She's about keeping things simple, taking some risks, using what you have, and creating everyday-esque beauty in your home. My kinda gal. So, I noticed that she was offering a four week basic design course for the Cozy Minimalist, and five minutes later I was signed up. And, oops, I signed up for her inspirational day at The Barn (her super cute property) for the Saturday of Mother's Day weekend. The good news is, that money flew out of my PayPal account before I could really think about it all. About the fact that I had just signed up to go to a random blogger's house with a bunch of people I had never met. Or even worse, what if it was just a few people I'd never met. I'm glad I didn't fully explain to my dad exactly what it was I was doing, or I would've immediately been given a speech about meeting up with people I've met on the internet... ;)
Over the four weeks of the course, I worked on "quieting" the house and thinking about how I want our home to work for us. I would love to say that I have some dramatic before and after pictures, but I don't. I do think I ended up with more of an "after" perspective, though. I'm looking at my house with more forgiving and maybe more adventurous eyes. (There are some beautiful before and afters from the course, though. Be sure to check those out at the Cozy Minimalist website.)
The day at The Barn began at 10 a.m., and it was around a three hour drive from the house. And, who wants to leave their house by 6:45 on a Saturday? Not me. So my handsome, laid back husband suggested I should go down Friday night. I actually think he may have only gotten "you should..." out before I had Hotwire pulled up and a room booked. Great idea, honey! :) So, after work on Friday, I promptly loaded "Ikea Charlotte" into my Waze app, and off I went for the absolute best Mother's Day gift I could get-- 24 hours to myself. I didn't get to Ikea until 8 p.m. and I had my work car (an Altima) instead of my personal vehicle (a Yukon XL). See how God rewarded my husband's flexibility by sneaking those safeguards to my spending in Ikea? Ha! There's only so much damage you can do with a backseat full of car seats and a trunk full of pharmaceutical literature. But, oh, walking those aisles in total peace was bliss, even if it was for only 58 minutes.
Hotwire scored me a room at the Hilton University Place for $65 (hooray!), so I packed up from Ikea and went to check in to my hotel room. My hotel room with nice fluffy linens and no preschoolers lying horizontally on the bed or dogs in the floor snoring. I did what any reasonable mom on the loose would do and ordered room service and a romantic comedy.
I was really nervous about pulling into a random person's property to spend the day with fifteen friends I'd never met. Good news-- they weren't axe murderers. They were sweet, genuine ladies who came to enjoy a day of relaxation and rejuvenation. My favorite part of the day was actually in Myquillyn's early remarks. She thanked us for coming to her imperfect home because she trusted we could relate. That we aren't perfect people, so we shouldn't expect perfection from our homes or from the homes of others. As the wife of a very practical husband, I loved her words about how it is no surprise that many of us are born wanting to make things beautiful. As we've seen beauty for ashes in our own lives, it makes sense that we want to reflect that in the spaces around us. It's how He created us. The Nester's style may not 100% reflect my own taste for my home, but I absolutely adore her perspective on homes and hospitality. It chalked full of grace and genuity. After six hours there, I have never been so exhausted and refreshed at the same time.
I'm so glad I made that split second decision to go do something for my self. I'm grateful I have a husband who wanted that for me. It may be an annual thing-- this Mommy Day getaway. It was a simply perfect Mother's Day weekend to spend a day to myself followed by a day absolutely smothered by my little Loves.
