Living Beauty Full in the Burbs
Living Beauty Full in the Burbs
I’ve given myself a 30 day challenge and I’m going on a diet. A shopping diet. After returning from the Tennessee trip to celebrate my good friend’s birthday go shopping recently, I realized I have a huge slight problem with shopping and bringing home things I have no space for. Decorating and design are my jam, ain’t gonna lie. A junk store is my happy place, shopping is therapeutic. BUT when I come home with NO money left and piles of things I “HAD TO HAVE” but have no space in which to put a.single.thing…. It’s a problem that leads to buyers remorse and negates the therapeutic part. It’s actually stressful. So I’ve challenged myself to 30 days of no shopping. NOTE…this diet pertains only to shopping for the house. Food (I like to eat), personal hygiene items (I enjoy being clean and sweet smelling), and clothing ( I must have shoes and clothes, the alternative would be frightening), are exempt. Just want to be clear. I also apologize for the awful photos in this post. No excuses, they’re just bad.
No fabulous junk, no great vintage pieces, no more wonderful old stuff. In the next 30 days I must use whatever I have stashed in the attic or closets to change up my look. I will finish projects growing mold waiting patiently in the garage and attic with materials we have on hand. OK…. if Mr B needs supplies to finish those projects he’s exempt from the shopping diet. (Mr B, if you’re reading this….. we need beadboard). He’ll have no problem sticking to the plan, he already said I’ll never make it 30 days. HA! I’ll show him! I have will power! (No, I don’t……. Is will power something I can buy??? Where? Does Amazon carry it? I have Amazon Prime!) I am determined to find will power. I may need help.
In the next 30 days I’m not only going to stop shopping, I’m going to spend some time catching up with my dead relatives on Ancestry.com. I’m going to hunt my history. I’ve neglected my ancestors and they have stories that need to be told. Some are still waiting to be found. I want to find them and help tell their stories as well.
In the next 30 days I’m going to catch up on reading. I have a pile of books beckoning with stories of far away places, murders to be solved and all manner of mayhem to prevent.
In the next 30 days I’m finally going to teach Lily, our second rescue furbaby to walk properly on a leash.
In the next 30 days I’m going to add to my music library, rip and burn some CDs to share with the Grands, listen to some music I normally don’t listen to….. and find at least one new artist to love.
In the next 30 days I’m going to spend some time organizing my 20,000 photos.
Yep, the next 30 days are gonna be BUSY. BUT I WILL.NOT.SHOP.
I’ll keep you posted with my extremely successful what-am-I-thinking-30 day challenge. I’m confident hopeful I can do this. If you hear the faint sounds of laughter coming from Central Florida it will be Mr B…. who is convinced I will fold and head to the shops within a week, like a dog searching for its buried bones. But I am WOMAN. Hear me ROAR….. in my case it may very well be the sound of piteous whimpering.
Create your sanctuary no matter where you live.
christiann erkel says: And….when you have trained your furbaby to walk properly on a leash..I know another furbaby in need of training! Good luck on your “diet” ! You can do it!
Crystal says: Christiann, this little one is proving to be a challenge! A rescue, she’s like a fart in a skillet when it comes to collars and leashes! Partly my fault, my son died shortly after we got her and I just couldn’t muster up the energy or enthusiasm for training sessions. So she’s been allowed to run around the yard to do her business for FOUR years. EEP. Plus she just goes into spaz mode every time she sees the leashes, it’s even difficult to clip one on her collar. But she;s also very sweet and smart so I’m not giving up…..not yet anyway. My diet is actually going well. I’m enjoying this summer with my Grand and reading a giant stack of books! Hey, maybe we can train our furbabies together but in different places! (um…..)
Chris says: We must have been separated at birth, down to the Hershey’s. I have family photos in the same bins in the same closet. Books unread because I can’t relax enough to read them. Ancestry has been a great diversion for me, too. I do have a sixth sense about when a special find calls out to me and a can’t ignore the siren’s song. Good luck these next 30 days. I’ll be rooting for you!
Crystal says: Oh my….a kindred spirit! Ancestry is my ticket to “the lost and forgotten, i used to spend hours there but then I started shopping and nothing could stop me. Those siren songs……I wish I didn’t hear them. But you know how that goes. Thank you for the support, I surely need it!
Tracy Mays says: Lol! I love this! After a huge day of shopping today, I may “have” to go on my own 30 day challenge!!
Crystal says: Not fair Tracy! I broke into a cold sweat this morning as my car automatically made the turn for the little town I usually spend glorious shopping days in…..I had to jerk that wheel hard to get back on track…..to the grocery store. :/
Chris, I laud your efforts but if you do indeed have 40 decades (400 years) of photos to organize, the majority may pre-date the invention of photography and therefore would be quite valuable.
Crystal says: Hey John, LOL Yes, those photographs from 400 years ago would probably finance every shopping spree until I die and then fund those of the Grands. And just in case you haven’t noticed…..I do tend to exaggerate a “tiny bit” in my writing. I sometimes slip in some very off the wall statements just to see who is reading my stuff…. I’m so very happy you are still finding me worthy of your time
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