My New Project...

Many of you know I LOVE to decorate!

Last weekend, Aaron announced he had a project for me. At first, I said "No thanks." Hearing the words: "I have a project for you" took me back to my childhood years. The project usually was to bag all the sticks outside (there is NOTHING worse then trying to bag twigs) or to weed "Florida" (a flowerbed shaped like the state of Florida - it felt like I was weeding the entire state when I was younger...). Then I reconsidered my answer and asked what the project was.

Re-do the Basement.

I had just been given a green light to purchase new furniture, wall hangings, decorations... whatever I wanted. You would have thought I had died and gone to heaven, right??? Instead, I was quiet. "What's wrong with the basement??" I like the basement.

So what if I have filled the basement with all the left-overs. Yes, the curio and matching sofa table that is dark wood with black swirly paint and gold brackets is a little OUT-DATED, but it holds items that mean something to me. Things that remind me of someone or someplace or some time in my life.

So what if the basement is a hodge-podge of different eras, different furniture sets, different styles of decorating. The colors pull it all together.

So what that the basement has that "newlywed" "poor dental student" "grateful to have any furniture" feel. It reminds us of the "good old days."

I thought the basement looked great, felt great, even smelled great - especially when you sit in the ivory recliner that my Grandpa (who was a closet smoker) used to sit in and watch golf aaaaaaall daaaaay loooooong. The smell of cigarettes make me think of him and how kind, generous, funny, and sneaky he was.

Then I came to my senses.

Saturday, I started my project. Aaron and I purchased a new dark brown leather sectional in the shape of a half circle. A coffee table with dark wood and ivory stone in the center. We bought a square dinner table and chairs with dark wood and black legs. I was excited!! I still didn't know how I wanted the finished project to look but I was excited.

Sunday, I started taking the mismatched items out of the out-dated curio and started the move into the storage room. The excitement all of the sudden turned to guilt or sadness or ... something. I had to hide a few times as my emotions got the best of me. I felt like I was boxing up all the people that have passed away and left me something special. I was somber and teary all day. Completely opposite of the day before. Monday, my heart still hurt. I got to the gym and chatted with Jenn for a few minutes and ended up walking to my car in a full bawl. What is my problem??

This project has turned out to be harder then I thought.