is a single mama in the city, super-savvy editor, writer, video host and shameless shoe whore.
Never one to follow a blogging trend (at least on time), I give you a corner of my home
Sunday, March 1, 2009 Do you remember -- ohhh, in the good old days, long before the irritation of the Facebook 25 things/albums/firsts/spouse secrets/mommy moments onslaught -- when "corners of my house" photosfilled up blog spaces? I loved those posts. So still and simple and serene.
At the time, I was a new blogger, a part-time writer and full-time stay-at-home mom who felt trapped in a cluttered, tiny apartment with too much stuff and the hot and cold extremes of radiator heat in a vintage building in the middle of Chicago. I wasn't unhappy. I just didn't have the inclination to share with the world a nook in my home that was piled high with talking toys (the baby's) and shoes (mine). I adored other people's pictures, though, probably for the same reason I love open houses even when I am not in the market to buy a house, love to take walks at night when the insides of homes are lit and visible from the sidewalk outside. There is something fascinating about the places where other people live, and somehow peaceful about the corners that are the calm in whatever clutter they have shoved aside to snap the picture.
I remember seeing one corner in one blogger's house (I feel certain it was by Susiej, God love her, although I can't find that post or pic at all) and having the thought that I would like to have my own beautiful little corner. I cleaned off my desk that day, rearranged the bookshelf next to it, set up a space that I could love, even if I wasn't ready to take a photo of it to post on my blog.
I thought of all of that this week as I scrambled to clean my house before a friend came over. With the music blaring and a dust rag in each hand, I thought how happy I am to have lots of sweet little spaces in my home now. There is a leather chair that I rarely sit in but reminds me that I have a spot to read in when I am ready. There is a bathtub with lots of candles where I stretch out often, and a balcony where I love to stand and watch the neighborhood that is oblivious to me perched up high.
But my favorite corner is this one.
It is the calm greeting and goodbye near the front door of our apartment, where we get ready to face the world. It is where I toss my keys, check my hair, leave reminder notes so we don't forget Lil E's babies or toys or other plastic treasures for show-and-tell on Friday. It's the space I craved back when posting these photos was the thing.
Is it a big deal? Of course not. Just a little cabinet and a round mirror. But it's my corner, there in my home and now here on my blog. Late, but uncluttered. Simple, but my own.
The "Corners of My Home" Flickr pool is here. Have you posted a corner of your home recently? What do you think? Shall we kiss off the Facebook memes and resurrect this one?
Reader Comments (3)