Moving Towards A Slow Home

Dear lone reader in the Aussie hinterlands, I apologize profusely for the lack of posts lately.  Without going into overshare, life got in the way and blogging fell off the radar.  I was slogging along in a career that stressed me to no end, Monsieur's health which has always been precarious, took a nosedive and it all became much too much.  I went to Australia over the New Year and when I came back I took many, many steps back from everything.  The last few months have seen me trying to figure out the maze that had become my life.  I had heard of zero waste living but it seemed too extreme. I had heard of minimalism but didn't ever think it was for me either.  I just couldn't see myself living surrounded by white walls, a bed, a bowl and a spoon.  I like having things that are beautiful and inspiring to me, around me.

As you can see, no white walls but there has been a fair bit of decluttering.  Entire, once greatly loved collections have gone marching out the door.  There used to be lots of knick knacks on the piano but I am very pleased with the pared back mantelscape.  It isn't minimal by any means but the important thing is that it makes me happy.  The same goes with the new plate on the wall.  It is a recent thrifted acquisition and is the perfect size for that spot.  

Right now, I am not sure where to take this blog.  Sometimes I think that 2014 was the year where a lot of the blogs that I used to read, many of them hugely popular, decided to turn off the lights.  I am just small potatoes compared to them but I can only guess that what I currently feel is likely similar to what they felt. I used to love talking about thrifting and decorating my home on a shoestring budget.  I wanted to show that you could have an amazing home without spending big bucks.  This isn't to say that I don't love the thrill of finding something that is perfect for the home but I don't thrift as much as I used to and, when I do, I am a lot more choosy about what I bring home.   In the midst of this soul searching, somehow I stumbled on to Slow Living.  Again, I didn't think it was for me as I thought that extreme minimalism was a big part of Slow Living. But now I think that it is my life and it is up to me to make and break the "rules."  And maybe there aren't any rules, just what works for me.  So my focus lately has been on how to slow down my life in a way that makes sense for me.  Case in point, I finally ditched my obsession with vintage tablecloths.  I know that this is likely sacrilege to the vintage lovers out there but I had to face up to the fact that tablecloths will accumulate stains and the fussing over stains and hours of ironing trying to get them perfectly wrinkle free just wasn't worth the stress.  When I thrifted this French inspired ticking stripe table runner by Cynthia Rowley, it was a revelation.

  

 

It dresses up the old  table without all the maintenance of a tablecloth and gets removed for sit down meals. This shift may seem trivial to most but, trust me, for this vintage lovin' gal, it was a huge step!  And in the spirit of minimalism, the table runner is my only runner for now and for the foreseeable future.

And so, lone reader in the Aussie hinterlands, I promise to try to be a better blogger in the future and I hope you will continue to follow along with my journey.

Linking up with A Stroll Thru Life, Sir Thrift A Lot.