It took me less than a day to finish Luna’s book, The Crossroads of Should and Must and feeling really positive I immediately jumped into Badass, partly because I was feeling like one and partly because I still had a lot of time on my hands.  But I also had a project swirling around in my head that I needed to just do. Inspired by Luna and cheered on by Jen, I knew I needed to do what felt right, what made me happy and not get caught up in my own head, tripping up over too many questions or doubts.  Don’t think just do, I told myself.  And what did I do next?  I went to Target.

“Most answers reveal themselves through doing, not thinking.”  Jen Sincero, author of Badass

Yup, Target.  Part craft store, part home goods, throw in some groceries and diapers it’s your one stop shop and it’s always affordable, always amazing.  Now it can be hit or miss for a lot of people, and I totally get it.  But I happen to possess this weird skill of being able spot the good stuff and arrange it to really look like the good stuff.   I amaze my friends constantly when I say something is from Target.  Don’t believe me, keep reading. 90% of what you see is Target with the exception of the  rug (urban outfitters), the pink geometric art print (domino.com), teal cart (Ikea), I love you art (sugarboo designs).

 

So yes, my first inspired action was a trip to Target (the first of many) to assemble that creative little space I was craving.   And to me, the project served a dual purpose. One, I needed a space to get messy, be creative and start writing and two, I truly and serioulsy enjoy all of these things immensely.  This is my happy:  to housewares shop, to craft shop, to decorate and design.  I absolutely love it.  It’s my dream to be covered in paint and glue and I have no idea what is stuck to me this time.  And I could (as in I do) spend hours online looking at photos of people’s rooms and pin them to my virtual dream house.  I’m obsessed with textiles, as I previously mentioned, and probably will 100 more times because I think they are the personality to a room.  So, in case I’m not making myself clear, this was going to be fun.  Really crazy, stay up all night fun.

And to make me just that much happier, I knew instantly where I was going to set up my happy home office.  Ever since we moved into this house about a year and a half ago I’ve been stuck on what to do with a weird wall in our guest house.  It’s too wide to be considered just a hallway but not big enough to add more than…A DESK!  Eureka!

The path was clear and I felt absolutely no turbulence.  Happy here I come!

All in all it took me 3 days to create my space.  Three very long but ever so cheerful days.  In fact, I was so happy that my husband didn’t even question once what I was doing or ask me why.  He just went along with it and I found ways to involve my kids too.  Definitely an added bonus to any project but it was extra special this time.

I considered “my space” my first mini passion project and I took it very seriously, this space was going to set the stage for my merry life and frame the new vision I was creating of and for myself.  So I did my research and made sure I was hitting the right Targets in the right order — so that my online purchases would be waiting and ready for pick up.  The only piece I was going to have to wait on was the chair I picked out on Target.com but no biggie, I could sacrifice for a day or two for the perfect perch for bum.  And I’m a pretty patient person — I am surrounded by all boys so, someone needs to keep the peace in these parts of LA.

But getting back to the kickoff celebration for my new life, here’s how my three days of blissful decorating went down.  I spent the first day designing (in my head) and shopping, curating all the inspiration Target had to offer.  And let me tell you, it’s more than one would think.  I don’t know if it was the excitement or selection but Target has some real gems hidden in the most unexpected places.  For instance, in an aisle stocked with chotchkies and gag gifts I found two inspirational books filled with art and affirmations that now serve as little half page inspirational posters on my vision wall and I even framed one that was just perfect for the bathroom.

This was a major score because I love using pages from books for gallery walls on the cheap.  And here’s why –with the right book, you could potentially create an entire wall with a very cohesive look and be done just like that.  Invest in a great art book and then use the pages to adorn your walls and you’ll save hundreds guaranteed.  It’s especially brilliant for kids rooms because children’s books have amazing art and for under $20 bucks (the high price of a kiddie book) and you can easily swap them out as they grow and their style evolves.

In addition to the books and similar, I found journals galore — one to write down why I can’t sleep, one to tag the next 5 years of my life, one to inspire me, one to look back on in 5 years and one simply called Big Ideas.  But I didn’t stop there, I found another called Love, Dreams, Trust and Believe and then to just keep it simple, a beautiful pale pink blank notebook to jot down what’s left, maybe groceries??

I bought a rainbow of Washi tape and a booklet of ideas, pens in every color of the sunset and office supplies to match.  I found pretty patterned paper, wooden blocks and letters, stencils for every project imaginable and brushes to get the jobs done.  I loaded up on notecards to hold my visions and push pins to attach my dreams.  And finally (after only 2 aisles), I indulged in brightly colored and very exaggerated paperclips to add some whimsy and wait for it…gold scissors.  Nate Berkus limited edition sheers to be exact.  And if I’m really really honest, I think they are my favorite purchase.  I know, only a serial crafter would consider a pair of scissors among her prized possessions but seriously, they cut like a dream and make my photos look — expensive.

After collecting all the “frosting” for my happy space, it was time to pick the cake, as in the desk, the centerpiece of the occasion, the reason for project.  I chose a simple white “basic” desk that went perfectly with the “vintage flair” chair I was waiting on.  And since the wall is relatively small and just a big rectangle with no corners or windows to work around wallpaper was going up for sure!  I love wallpaper (the peel and stick kind) almost as much as textiles but since you could consider wallpaper a textile under certain circumstances, I don’t have to pick my favorite child and problem solved.  Throw in a cork board, a chalk board and some coated wire bins and that pretty much totals my receipt and sums up my first day of bliss.

The second day was basic foundation work, the peel and stick wall paper (yay!) went up (always a time suck no matter how simple your wall) followed by some light construction (built the desk with Sebastian) and finally, some heavy crafting and planning.

And that bring us to reveal day.  Day three was set aside for staging, and re-staging, some light crafting with some little helpers and layering in all the accoutrements and visions by generally attaching anything I could to the wall with wash tape or a push pin.  And voila!  My creative sanctuary was complete.  I felt good, I felt happy.  And I felt like I was on my way.

So, on day 4 I rested.  And by rested, I mean I began to learn to meditate out of necessity, which in all actuality is some pretty tough stuff!  Because now that I had my space, I wasn’t exactly sure what I was supposed to do next.  The next “sign” hadn’t appeared.  And this is pretty much when it hit me, sitting in my new chair that just arrived, in my happy place, I had nothing to do —  and suddenly I realized just how far from “Should” I really was.  I was not only unemployed, I wasn’t even trying to become employed anymore.  I was in uncharted territory, using books as compass and following the GPS from my gut to literally build my own map — of my life.  Oh merd!  I better get this right.  Ok, you can do this…be still…focus…but don’t think, just…sit…still…and…it…will…come.