I was ten years old. Scrawny and lanky even back then. A mouth filled with too many teeth… but I was not afraid to smile. Braces would eventually come, or so I was told.  And we were moving.

Again.

Fifth grade.

43rd house.

I walked into my new bedroom, laid my cloth sleeping bag on the floor. Propped up my two teddy bears and three dolls. Pushed thumb tacks through my three  “Disney Princess” posters- being extra careful to use the same holes that had been previously punctured from the last dozen homes. One corner already covered in scotch tape.

My big sister’s job was to organize our few belongings. Also, to line our Troll dolls up in a perfect line on the window sill. Her sleeping bag laid safely next to mine.

Three brothers tore through the rest of the house claiming their domains.

We always made it a game of who could set up their room the fastest. Us girls always won. duh.

And then I was home.

It didn’t matter that these walls and neighborhood were foreign, that I would hear new sounds of creaking in floors I didn’t yet know, or that I hadn’t been programmed to find my way half asleep to the bathroom in the middle of the night.

What mattered was my space. My nook. My sanctuary.

My Little Mermaid sleeping bag. My dolls just how I liked them, my posters hung with care. And obviously-the family that came along with it. I didn’t know there “needed” to be more. I just knew that I loved my space. That my ten year old heart felt grateful for those belongings, and I cherished them.

This blog will be many things. A place to inspire. A place to grow. A place to feel safe.

I want to share with others what I learned long before I had straight teeth- that you don’t need money, you don’t need groundbreaking ideas, you don’t need a degree. All you need is a little determination…and you can make your OWN space. Your nook. Your sanctuary. Created somewhere inside your walls that makes you feel H O M E. Mark your territory. And define what makes you happy.

This may all sound incredibly dramatic for someone starting a design blog. But there it is. I have a simple passion for making things your own.

This world-where we sit in our own messy, imperfect, understated, “regular” homes- while we scroll through squares and snapshots of other’s sunlit and magazine staged lives. Its straight up weird.  I mean seriously, what would our ancestors think? And we covet. And we are jealous. And suddenly we “NEED” those things.

W R O N G.

Not everyone has a farmhouse in Texas they’re renovating with hundreds of thousands of dollars. Not everyone has the eye for design. Not everyone can hire Joanna Gaines to direct men where to lay the subway tiles. We may believe it. But it just isn’t so.

But do we all want a space? YES. Here is my vision- and one of the things I want this blog to become (hopefully among others.) To help you create the nooks in your homes that will fill your heart with happiness and joy the way you assume those giant open floor plans are doing for everyone else. But the real kind of joy. The kind you couldn’t care less if anyone else thinks is beautiful. Because to you- your space is perfection.

I want to start by sharing my current home renovations with you. nook by nook. nickle by nickle. Because that’s pretty much my budget people. I want to inspire you as you inspire me. And I want to tackle these projects in tiny bite-sized chunks. Because this is real life. And I’ve got other freaking things to do. And I want to smile with my big straight teeth and wave my gangly arms in the air as I find joy in these little spaces.

And then. When that is finished. Or “finished”. I want to come help you. I recognize that a lot of you could be helping ME. That you’re more qualified. More experienced. Or at least have better spelling and grammar than I do! Who am I to write a blog?! Or pretend I know eggshell from satin? But who cares. No big deal…I want MORE!!! (sorry, Little Mermaid on the brain now.)

I want to come to you-and take your budget (be it ten dollars or ten baziliion) and work together on making your space. I will work for free. duh. and I will gain experience. I will build a portfolio. I will GROW into a designer. And you? Well, you’ll get a little bit of crazy. And hopefully a Nook you love. It can be the awkward space at the top of your stairs. The corner of your bedroom you want to sit and read. The half of your dining room table you pretend is your desk. I don’t care. Just pick a place that you dwell most often. And let’s make it something.

The “paper” nook?  Why “paper” you ask?  Well, paper is cheap my friends, and has been a loooooooong time staple in my designing “career.” I tend to think outside the box. I rearrange. I reuse. I craft. I paint. Craigslist and thrift stores are some of my closest friends.  And can promise you will feel joy in the square we create.

So, lets spread the word…lets get others following along this crazy idea. Maybe you can all watch me crash and burn!…which is fine, because Ill just go sit in my cozy nook and still be happy.