no end to the adventures

Have I mentioned this? 

It's my latest venture, and I kind of love it a lot. Between having a legitimate excuse to shop for vintage treasures and the opportunity to pretend I'm writing copy for J. Peterman, what's not to love?



Stop by, favorite the shop, and if you see something you must have, convo me via etsy to let me know you found me via the blog and I'll give you a 10% discount! ;)

"We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open."- Jawaharlal Nehru

xo, Susan

in that little world

Home Sweet Home:

 blurry living room sneak peek

kitchen, looking onto my awesome deck!

dining area, deck just beyond

incredible bathroom cabinets go all the way to the 12 foot ceiling!

dreamy home office; friend/landlady/homeowner did the pallet wall, and the desk is a craigslist score

office storage. gorgeous painting by Jenny (MFAMB)

office fireplace. non-working, just gorgeousness. none of that stuff on the floor is staying there.

more office goodness

Not done, of course.

Bedroom and deck still to come.

I love it here. LOVE.

There is a magic in that little world, home; 

it is a mystic circle that surrounds comforts and virtues 

never known beyond its hallowed limits. 

~ Robert Southey

be done with it

Conventional wisdom says that telling our stories of loss is integral to the healing process. That's part of the appeal of support groups, therapists. Confessionals.

On the other hand, focusing our energy on anything gives it power...as much as we are what we eat, we are also what we think, and what we say.

Conundrum.

So here's just a bit of my story. Like the valve on a pressure cooker, I'm letting the steam out so the whole thing doesn't explode and kill everyone. (ohmygod, relax, it's a figure of speech!)

Now it's time to walk away, so, I'm just going to take the pot off the flame, and that will be that.

Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

to feed thy soul

There's more to life than practicalities. Sometimes you need a little soul food.

I still haven't bought a bed for my new nest, I'm keeping my old couch, and I bought 2 chairs and a rug off craigslist. I've got thousands of dollars of moving expenses coming up in just a few weeks.

But I needed something special...something that makes me smile every time I see it. Something that reminds me on a gut level that life is wonderful.

Thank you, Jenny (of MFAMB), for creating - just for me  - that exact something. 

Summer in Skye, by Jenny Anderson

Summer in Skye, by Jenny Anderson

Portree, Skye

If of thy mortal goods thou art bereft,
And from thy slender store two loaves alone to thee are left, 
Sell one, and with the dole 
Buy hyacinths to feed thy soul.


Attributed to the Gulistan of Moslih Eddin Saadi, 
a Mohammedan sheik and Persian poet who lived about 1184-1291

evolve or evaporate

I know it looks like I have a great attitude about all this, and I guess at this point I do. But you should have seen me 3 months ago. Well, no - you shouldn't have seen me, which is why I was hiding - but if you had seen me, or are one of the people who did see me, you would know that I didn't get to this place easily. It's been hard. Gut-wrenching. FUQING AWFUL. But I'm past the worst part, partly due to the magic of time doin' it's thing, and partly because, yes, I chose to feel better. One thought at a time, I chose better over worse. Which doesn't make me a Super Heroine, it just makes me a survivor. Which is a kind of heroism in itself, I guess.

Sometimes I took one step forward and then a flying leap back, devolving and dissolving and miring down in despair. But then I'd get my wits about me and start forward again.  

I'm not "there" yet - and have realized, finally, that there is no "there" really, since it's all a process - but I'm at least maintaining general forward motion. Onward and upward. Tally ho.

Maybe eventually I'll write a Survival Guide for the Wastelands, but for now I'll just say that It. Is. WORK. It's hard work, and it's a choice. A million choices, every step of the way. 

Photos by photographer Tim Remick, taken moments after these climbers had returned to base camp after reaching the top of Mt. McKinley.

"That's how you stick around. Evolve or evaporate. You have to be very cognizant of what's going on around you. You can't be so bold and reluctant to be receptive to change that you don't allow yourself to grow..." ~ Usher

uniquely your own

27 days to launch. I'm living in that soon-to-be-moving limbo, with lots of stuff boxed up, lots of stuff just lying about (said in my best Carl Pilkington voice, did you hear it?!). I'm truly almost finished packing, but anyone want to bet that I'll still be in a panic and rush the day before? I will, I just will.

I'm chomping at the bits to get there, and obsessing over my new little place. How will it look when I'm all settled? How will it feel? How do I want it to look and feel? That's the real question, and some of the answers are slow to come...

I know conventional wisdom says to settle in slowly, don't rush it, take your time. But I may only be there a year, so there's not a lot of time to take, and besides, I want to feel at home from the beginning, which means nest-building in high gear. Even if that means making some mistakes along the way...

Which is a metaphor for how I've lived my whole life, and it's worked pretty well for me all these years, despite all current appearances to the contrary.

So, I'll do what I always do: think it to death, plan what I can, then, in the end, fling it all together and see how I like it.

What will I keep, what will I let go? That's always the question, isn't it?

Absorb what is useful. Discard what is not. Add what is uniquely your own.

~ Bruce Lee

sometimes, when you fall

I've been away because my life has been SHIT, falling apart at the seams, a year-long series of unanticipated and unfortunate events. I won't go into details, but to my relief, I think the worst is really over.

That being said, I feel like I'm about to be shot out of a cannon.

July 1st I will move away from Moss Hill and into a sweet little house in L'ville, in a bustling neighborhood that is the polar opposite of this place.

For the first time in my life - ever - I will live alone. I'm not afraid any longer (I was never afraid of being alone, but I've been terrified of being lonely), maybe a little sad now and then about the end of this part of my life (this part that I thought would never end, this part that I thought was forever), but mostly, finally, excited about what's ahead...

For now, I'm most excited about setting up and settling in, and doing it all completely to my own liking, with no one else's opinions to be concerned about. And when I say excited? I mean giddy!

Let's all be brave together, shall we? I think it's going to be fine!

Sometimes you wake up. 
Sometimes the fall kills you. 

And sometimes, when you fall, you fly. 

— Neil Gaiman