There are so many lessons I've learned specifically through the writing of this blog and through being an active participant in the blogosphere. The one that feels most key to me most days is the value of originality and authenticity. I can so vividly recall my line of thought as I prepared to write my first few posts, "I'm going to be so concise, keep the language totally streamlined, and bombard them with pretty pictures ...

Happy Summer Thursday yo. Today I hope to delight your peepers and ignite your brain juices by way of Coco Republic Interior Design. It's hard to say whether I've chosen to showcase their work as a way to support my own assertion that all the best design work as of late seems to be coming out of Australia and Toronto, or whether my assertion is just correct, thereby compelling me to feature work from those locations ...

We have, around here, oft lamented the dreaded corner kitchen cabinet. They're miserable things and we'd very much like to have a word with whoever first (certainly unintentionally) designed them, and thereafter was content with his or her work (I'm speaking on behalf of you and me here). I've provided what help I can: how to deal with the damn things, or, even better, a permanent solution for them. While previous discussions have centered around the lower version, ...

It wasn't that long ago that we discussed the dos and don'ts of decluttering as concerns giving things away to friends and family. That post was important, and this one, equally so. Let's establish the known: when you can give things away to people you know, whom you know would appreciate them, that feels marvelous. As in, feels better to most of you than parting with your belongings to strangers. There are, however, 3 reasons ...

For the longest time, I had an unhealthy pattern in my friendships that kept repeating. From a very early age, I started attaching myself (or letting myself be attached) to girls who were unstable, wounded, and insecure. They were the kinds of girls who hated their moms, who acted as though rebellion was their duty. They were also the most fun, in a way almost all emotionally unhealthy people are. And I, thoughtful, resolved, so ...