One of the reason I’ve added the house and garden categories to the blog (which is ostensibly and by name a cooking blog!), is to push me to start decorating my house the way I want to live, and stop “making do”. For years I’ve cheaped out on buying furniture and decor items. I’ve made the excuse that I have better things to spend my money on, and that “someday” I’d buy nicer things or take the time to figure out my style. Of course it didn’t help that I was living with someone who had similar tastes to mine – not not the same tastes. Often the furniture and decorations we chose were a compromise. We liked what we chose well enough to live with, but it wasn’t the first choice for either of us. And because it was a compromise, we bought cheaply, with the thought it mind that at some point we’d upgrade.

This year I turned 45 and I decided that it was past time for me to start living my real “grown up” life. I took a big step at the end of January by buying a sofa that’s very different from (and much more expensive than) any piece of furniture I’ve ever owned before. Now that the sofa is in the living room, it has absolutely changed the look and feel of the whole downstairs. That makes me ready – and even impatient! – to keep going with this revamp of my living space.

With a mindset of “someday”, I’ve been I’ve been a mad pinner on Pinterest and have compiled a huge number of pins in all kinds of House & Home related categories, as well as a Projects category, an Art category, and a Hacking Life category. I plan to use these boards a LOT this year to help me make decisions and bookmark “how to” and tutorial guides.

I’m really excited to start making my home a place that is warm and cozy and reflects who I am! And I’m looking forward to blogging all of the steps along the way.

Oh, and yes, I’ll be blogging about the sofa very very soon. I just need to get photos of it in place, where it’s not surrounded by mess and clutter!