It’s Friday the 13th y’all, should I be nervous?
Not to brag, but I did see my first shooting star of the year last week and I’m actually feeling extremely aligned with the universe right now… so I’m choosing to embrace the chaotic Friday the 13th energy as just a fun wildcard.
Anyways.
Moving Update:
I’ve reached the plateau. You know the one… I’ve unpacked all the mission-critical stuff, and some of the more accessory items, but now I’m left with the “other” boxes. The detritus. The weird stuff that I never know how to store but I do actually use / need just not super frequently. You know the vibe. I’m going to try to tackle at least some of it this weekend. In addition to the “other” stuff, there’s one more piece of furniture I’m in the market for (some sort of long low bookcase / credenza / storage situation for under the window in the big room — I’m going to put shoes in it), and I need to hang all my art. It’s a process.
But! My house is functional! And parts of it are cute! These are the pictures I sent to my mom to show her my progress:
This couch was an absolute dream find. We saw it on Habitat for Humanity’s website, and then we went to the store hoping it would still be there and it was! I love it so much. My little house has a lot of cool grays in it, so the yellow is really nice.
The bedroom is still pretty… hmm how shall I say… bland. I am thinking about DIY-ing some kind of headboard for my bed? And then ideally, eventually, I would find a rug that could go under / in front of my reading chair and also serve as a “step out of bed rug” on that side.
Of course… I’m still rocking with the huge pile of cardboard which is slowly starting to drive me insane, so that definitely needs to get taken care of this weekend.
The boys have really settled in, and they’re starting to be so brave about the dogs in the yard. Iroh was up in the window talking back to them yesterday, they were whining up at him and he was meowing right back! Zuko has found his new tall-spot (on top of the kitchen cupboards). When he lies down up there you can’t see him at all because he’s hidden behind the molding, which I’m sure he loves.
Overall I’m still so happy with this housing arrangement. It truly feels like an act of divine intervention, it is so perfect. I love my neighborhood, my landlady is really amazing, it’s so conveniently located. I just really really lucked out, and I’m so so grateful.
This is Okie Dokie… another perk of living here!
One Bit, One Bob:
First the Bit — please read this article!!!
My God, it really made me sit up and think. It’s about maximalism, a defense of maximalism… sort of.. but not just about aesthetic maximalism (which I support), but also about mental maximalism? A pushback against the idea of mindfulness and the quest for a blank mind? Like, when did we decide that having thoughts was bad?
As someone who is so so so bad at meditating, but so so so good at ruminating, this was so affirming for me to read. I’m just not a minimalist, in any sense or any facet of my life. Sorry. But we live in this weird time where overconsumption is pushed on us at every turn, while at the same time minimalist aesthetics and perfect zen mindfulness are seen as the peak of taste and wellness, when what I really want is less consumption, but more chaos, more color, and more richness in my life? No blank white walls! Not in my house, and not in my mind.
I love thinking. I am good at standing in lines because I can always think about something. I daydream intensely, I analyze my own political philosophy, I wonder about my friend’s lives in detail, I make up stories in my head — some of which contain characters I cannot remember creating, because I’ve been iterating on these stories since I was like seven. When I go to bed I think myself to sleep, and when I sleep I dream. It is, in my opinion, the best part of being human.
At the end of the day, I’m just not interested in my life being tidy. Give me something a little messy around the edges, give me some works-in-progress, big ideas that aren’t fully formed, let me laugh a little too loud, and profess my undying love a little too soon, and cry at commercials, and care about politics, and street cats, and the philosophy of art. I love caring about things. I love big messy emotions. The mess is where the living happens.
Tangent, but I’m actually kind of struck by that sentence. The mess is where the living happens. You know when you walk into someone’s house and it’s like… perfect? Like toooo perfect? And you get that feeling like, does anyone even live here? I get this feeling about people’s style sometimes too, like it’s too consistent, too palatable, too polished, and it makes me wonder like… are you living? Are you having fun? Are you a robot? There’s no mess, no experimentation, no dishes in the sink, no weird shoes that you love anyways, I just… are you alive in there????
I wasn’t really planning to go off the rails in this section, so I don’t have a real concluding thought, but generally I see it like this. I’m interested in the living, and if the mess is where the living happens, then I’m ok living in the mess.
Now for the Bob!
Hilariously, it’s about cleaning.
Specifically: I’m on a mission, an eternal quest I fear, to keep my house as cat-hair free as possible. I’ve been vacuuming like, every other day, and using my little dry mop on the hardwood. I’ve even been using my hair removal tool on the rug like once a week. Working on making all the cat hang-out spots accessible and washable… it’s tricky but I’m working on it (also not helped by my current lack of washer-dryer). Anyways, I’m here to ask for help — HELP!
What have you found that works for keeping pet hair at bay in a small space?
Literally all advice welcome, you can also email or text me if you don’t want to leave a public comment (but like, help out the masses, ya know?)
That’s all for today, folks! Come back next week for whatever fun selection of thoughts my little mind-librarians have curated for you by then. They’re currently looking at their watches pointedly, reminding me that I am supposed to be working on something in our e-protocol system. Oops!
Oh! One more thing I was going to tell you. It’s silly. I’ve been back on TikTok because I love tracking my little office outfits of the day, and making videos is the only kind of performance I do these days, and I’m actually having so much fun with it. I am by no means reaching any sort of mass audience (thank god, keeps me away from the crazies), but people seem to really like my “boring office content” which I think is funny, and it’s adding a little bit of spice to my days. So if you’re dying to know what I wear to work, you can find that here.
Anyways, that’s all for now. Thank you all so much for being here, putting this together is truly one of the best parts of my week, every week.
Until next time!
xoxo,
OKIE DOKIE!!!!!! <3 also i wish i had tips for pet hair in small spaces but alas my apartment is just furry all over
❤️❤️❤️❤️