After keeping a somewhat-slightly-regular schedule with my original blog I have been fortunate to stay busy as a freelance writer these last few years. I admit I was also absent from blogging due to my hesitance to write about current events. The state of the world, and the country I am blessed to live in, has been somewhat crazy these last few months. The overwhelming barrage of media coverage during the Presidential election followed by the ridiculous aftermath left me feeling safer staying under the radar. I’m not scared of the world–oh no. I have too much faith in God for that. I am scared of my MOUTH and what it might say, or what my fingers might type…. so it’s been a pretty good idea for me to hide out. I try (at least publicly) to follow the advice of Miss Jane Austen and restrict comments to the weather or the state of the roads when I have nothing nice to say– so I have felt it best to zip my lip and sit on my hands to keep myself out of trouble. I have chosen to break my silence now not to berate or chastise anyone or any group but rather to take things in an all new direction. We have enough ugly, negative, hateful information being thrown at us on a daily basis so I have decided to commit to something lovely. (And by the way–there’s a LOT more lovely out there in the world than there is ugly. You see what you look for.)
After years in the thick of things down on Scenic Highway 30A, my family decided we wanted a quieter more slow-paced place to spend our time. We started looking for a place on the bay about two years ago and last winter we finally hit the jackpot. It’s a precious little cottage near Grayton Beach, Florida (and is a definite fixer upper) but once we saw the view (seen in the shot above) we were hooked. After only a few short visits, we have already fallen in love with the quiet, tree lined street, the delightful neighbors and the charming setting.
I am certainly not a decorator or designer by trade but like so many others I enjoy pretending I am– at least in my own home– and I already have a file full of fabric swatches, paint chips and magazine tear sheets lined up and ready to go. The “fabric closet” in my basement will be put into full use and my husband will finally get to see why I needed all of that fabric to begin with. Like I’ve told him for years…….you buy the whole bolt because you never know what you might need!
I definitely know what direction I want to travel with this project but I am trying to keep in mind that it will be a lengthy journey. I firmly believe it is much better to take your time and be sure to choose things you love rather than trying to fill a space quickly with things you’ll soon grow tired of. It has taken me years to learn that lesson but I now know I would rather have an empty room than one filled with items I chose quickly when I wasn’t sure of myself.
The house was built by a delightful family long ago and I can easily tell that it overflowed with love for many, many years. Although it has been a long term rental property for quite a while; I hope to recreate that original loving environment for my own family and bring it back to life. While I know It won’t happen overnight; I’m looking forward to sharing the transformation here as I go along.
Here are a few “before” shots of the outside and even though you can see there’s quite a long way to go, I can’t wait to get started so…….stay tuned!
lingerlongercottage.com 