I'M STILL HERE!

Wow! It sure has been awhile since I last posted! I just wanted all my blog readers to know that I am still here and I plan to start blogging regularly again very soon.

Life has been full of distractions over the past month. Between Jeremy, Spencer, and me we took turns being sick through mid-January. Something about having your face hurt from sinus pressure just takes the blogging energy right out of ya! Then I made a trip to Utah with my mom and sister to attend a women's conference and spend a little girl time together.

While I was out of town, Jeremy called me to say that there had been a fire at our house (we live with my in-laws currently)! I'll admit I didn't believe him at first. We were very lucky. The fire was contained to the sun room at the back of the house and we didn't lose much. Everyone got out of the house ok and the house mostly sustained smoke damage. It could have been MUCH worse and I continue to remind myself everyday that we are blessed. My family was certainly protected that night.

We have been living in a hotel while things are being cleaned up and repaired at our house. The hotel will be our home for several more weeks...I am trying to keep a positive attitude. Living in a hotel is not my favorite thing. But I am grateful :). Life will go on. We will be back in our house soon enough. And I will be blogging again someday soon...until then...here are just a few pictures my father-in-law took of the fire damage.

The door from the living room to the sun room

My whole spray paint collection was destroyed :(.
I did most of my spray painting in the sun room.
I'm sure having all those cans out there helped fuel some of the fire too...
ooops.

Spencer's picnic table completely melted over his water activity table

Hi, my name is Nicole and I like STUFF.

It's true. I like STUFF. STUFF makes me happy. Sometimes. Not just any STUFF. Decorating STUFF. Entertaining STUFF. STUFF that has the potential to make life more beautiful. The whole process of acquiring STUFF can provide quite the thrill. I am a bargain hunter. The thrill of the hunt gives me a nice dose of adrenaline. I have become quite the impulse buyer. When you garage sale you have to be impulsive or someone else will buy it right out from under you.

However, when you are dealing with the kind of space issues that I am, it is difficult to continue acquiring STUFF and not start feeling overwhelmed. The past week I have felt this overwhelming need to PURGE. Get rid of. Donate. Throw away. I have also read a lot of blogs in the last few weeks that have strengthened my desire to simplify my life. Sarah at Thrifty Decor Chick tells about her journey with stuff HERE. I love that Jen is sharing her desire and journey to create a House of Order. She has a lot of good tips.

I hope that my desire to conquer my STUFF can have an impact on you too. What STUFF do you need to get rid of? Take a look around. Are there things in your home that are keeping you from living the kind of life you want? Let's help each other out. Maybe we could start a support group for "Lovers of STUFF." Would you come to our meetings :) ?