First of all, thanks so much for all of your encouraging words yesterday. It’s not that it was a bad day, but I was in a bit of a funk. I’m in my third day of a new healthy routine and I know I’m going through some sugar withdrawals. I also get a little depressed in a messy, dirty house. I got some good cleaning done today, some diet encouragement on Twitter and my husband talked me through the things I was feeling overwhelmed about, so I’m doing much better. This evening I was also finally able to fully bend my left arm (which has been cramped for two days.) I have a baby sitter and a helper coming tomorrow, so I should get myself sorted out even more.
For today, I thought I would share a couple of recent finds. If you look at this picture you’ll understand the post title. Isn’t that a random thing for a crate to say? Look out for what? Did it hold TNT? A rabid squirrel? Really stinky cheese? Whatever the reason, I found it at a yard sale and just couldn’t resist it.
87 Responses
Il est difficile parfois d'avoir un lieu très bien rangé lorsqu'on doit bricoler! mais il est certain que de temps en temps il est bon de faire du tri et de replacer les choses…
gros bisous.
Love that Crate! and your curiosity– comments about it made me chuckle…
…stinky cheese.
The cupboard is great too. Can't wait to see it with some lipstick on.
As for that room– YAY! I'm not alone. I have one of those too.
Have a great rest of the week. Hope you get some R and R soon… Pat
Actually mine looks just like yours. Maybe I can make you feel better! Have a great day tomorrow! Deb
I'm so glad you are feeling better!
I love your mess because I know you have treasures in it 😉
I have room that looks just like that! I'm glad you arm is feeling better, it sure can cramp your style with the amount of work you do and have little ones, too.
That is a great cupboard. It will be a beauty with some waxing. And the look out box…fabulously funny and unique.
You will soon feel better and better with changing your diet, and with adding exercise. The only proven fountain of youth. 🙂
Look out, she's back! Glad you had a better day today. Love the cupboard and I can't wait to see you work your magic on it.
Marian ~
You have totally made me feel better!! I HAVE to organize my room because there is only a pathway from the door to my computer to my sewing machine ~
I love that you are real sweet friend! Sometimes blogs can be overwhelming that everyone's world is so perfect ~
xoxo
Lori
Oh my gosh…you made my day! I even dragged my husband over to the computer to show him. I was feeling like we should audition for a spot on "Hoarders"….(as you say minus the critters) but suddenly I don't feel so bad. Thanks for sharing!
Peggy
not only did you get to feel better, but your nonfunctional work area made me feel sooo much better. i have its twin in my house. thanks you. now go to sleep. the rest has done you well.
xow.
I've been away from blogging and now I realize what I have been missing. Your words have encouraged me to work on some chairs that I found on the curb a few weeks ago….at 11:00 p.m. walking home from friends house. 🙂 Mr.and I had our hands full..what a site it was. 🙂
marian- i LOVE the cupboard! i have a thing for pine. in the first photo of your office, the picker in me looked right past the mess and went straight to the wire baskets! 🙂
~christine
Glad you are feeling better. I've got so many projects going right now, I feel like my whole house looks like your office sometimes. I really need to regroup and get a better system going because it stresses me out and makes me not want to work on anything because its such a mess. Love that crate!
Oh boy…I feel much better about my mess. Although mine isn't any better…but I will be showing hubby so that he MIGHT feel better about the woman he married, lol.
I love your pine cupboard. I am sure you will make a believer out of your husband. Well, I don't think that room will make the pages of "Where Women Create" anytime soon (tee-hee), but once it is organized again, I think you will feel a new burst of creative energy. Not that you don't have enough already! But I know how frustrating it can be to try to work when we feel that our home isn't "up to snuff" as my mom would say.
Hi Marian!
Great cupboard. Love the patina. I know your hubbie will love it once you work your Mustard Magic!
My office goes in and out of foot traffic availability too!
It means you are working and something great will come out of it, right?
🙂
xx
Alison
I love the cupboard and you were telling it like it is about your office..Have a great week..Glad your arm is feeling better..Take Care..
Janet
oh, you are not alone!!!! I have been feeling just like you, and I swear that picture is my house!! feel better!
Ohhhhh, that was soooo good. I love it when people show their messes, it makes me love them even more. That is a beautiful perfect wonderful mess… bless you…
and, oh yeah, that cupboard is wonderful!, and i love the LOOK OUT on top…
Cindy
Thank you so much for posting that! I'm very sorry you had a bad day yesterday but so appreciative of your perspective. I'm in the midst of a transition – quit my day job to start doing this work full-time. Happily, on my first day I got a bunch of orders but now, rather than easing into this, I'm in full production mode with no time to organize or clean. Very comforting to know I'm not alone. Thank you! Hang in there!
Good junk in your mess/office. I keep moving stuff from the office to the kitchen and then where? It is driving me nuts. Too much stuff comes in, I deal with most of it but there are always two or three things each week that don't go in to my booth – and it adds up. Working on the mess problem again this week. This time there are boxes for – give away – in the mix. Should help at bit. Glad to hear your arm is feeling less painful. Love your blog as always. It is my top favorite blog to follow/read/talk about etc.
I too bought a very similar primitive pine cupboard. It's in my crafting/office space, and like you, my hubby isn't so sure about it. I love it though!
This makes me feel so much better about the state of my studio. I'm moving it to another room in a week and I've known for awhile so it's become the dumping ground for EVERYTHING. We've had company and a huge party over here so basically everything that was messy was put in there. I just close the door and try to pretend it's not there.
Actually, MMS, I've been thinking about posting a pic of my work area, just to make people feel good about how messy their areas really aren't.
Fondly, Tami
http://www.thisandthatfromtami.blogspot.com
Hey, how did you get a picture of my dining room?! (LOL) Glad to see I'm in good company clutter-wise. I think it's just the way with creative types. Wish my husband understood that concept a little better, it drives him nuts. BTW, LOVE the cupboard!
i soo feel your pain! come take a look at my place…LOL you'll feel better…i feel like a hoarder as well…ugggh http://www.labordableu.blogspot.com seriously i with ya.
good luck cleaning! xoxo's Nancy
Totally have those days too! I can't imagine it without my hubby-he keeps me grounded and is a great sounding board. I just cleaned up the office last week and it took me all week to do it. I even found stuff I was looking for-Crazy I know! Then I went back in and created a new mess. We are doing VBS this week too and I'm the Cook. 150+ kids and helpers-Just finished making 17 pans of homemade mac & cheese for Friday. I won't have time to make it tomorrow cause I'm setting up for a show on Friday night! Thought I would caught up on some blog reading before I went to bed tonight-Just wanted to say Hang in There!
Hugs,
Jody
I love the cupboard.. I'm kinda digging the unfinished look to it. I feel kinda the same way about the dresser I found. Someone already sanded it..and I planned to paint it, but for some reason I haven't been able to bring myself to do it because in someway I like the warm worn feel it has. I like your idea of some wax. If I don't like that I can always chalk paint over it.
I love how honest you are with your readers… Good & bad. It's refreshing to hear that we aren't alone. I absolutely love the crate and cupboard. Thank you for the continued inspiration!
This is my first comment to your site. I have been a fan for quite some time though! I now exactly what you are feeling and many of us do. You are not alone and I say good for you and best of luck with your transition into a new life and a better well-being! These changes are very difficult and do give yourself time to overcome the obstacles! You can do it!
I think the "Look Out" is directed toward your craft space…you are going to come through there like a hurricane to whip it into shape! Even if it is putting one thing away at a time…you'll get it done 😀
I just sucked in my breath when I opened your blog this evening. My mother has a piece just like your cupboard sitting in her garage. I've always told her that I'd like to have it, but it too has some really fragile and brittle spots. Please, please, please share with us how to strengthen those spots. I can't wait to see what you do with this piece. It just may give me the motivation I need to dig my mother's out of the garage and give it a new home!
Thanks for the honesty…but again you're living this thing we call life. I love the cupboard. I too love the simplicity.
Thank you, thank you, thank you…I needed that. I thought I was the only one that got sooo busy that my house went to shambles. Mind you, I have only 450 sq ft in which to eat, sleep, live, design, refinish and sew in. So, its a little bit of a challenge. Marion, you inspire me. I think you are amazingly talented. Keep up the good work and thank you for your blog. It's fantastic.
Love the cupboard. I had to pass up one like that which sold for a dollar (can you believe that?) this last weekend at an auction. I had nobody to help load it to bring home! I coulda cried.
My 11yo neighbor girl asked me today if I was a Hoarder, so I had to explain to her just what my plan was, that there was a method to my madness. She said as long as she can keep chasing the butterflies in my yard, she's happy! Of course, she also likes to dig through my boxes from the auctions with me.
Oh Marian, you need an assistant! You can't do it all. You poor thing. I wish I could be there to help you out, there is nothing like the felling that things are out of control, but it will get better. Melt downs really help, so you are on your way to better days. I love the cupboard! I can just envision it all waxed up, it is going to look beautiful.
I am very happy because I really like how honest you are with your readers. It helps to them who manage only in 450 sq ft in which they eat, sleep, live and design.
You will catch up when the kids are grown. Until then enjoy the challenges and organize when there is a sitter.
I too like simple piece but my husband often looks for style so until it is sitting in the house for some time he thinks I will just ask him to move it so he stays silent.
Enjoy your post and all your work. Keep on keeping on!
Yes! You did make me feel better! My sewing room looks just like your office, and my office is getting pretty close. : )
Der Schrank ist ein Traum – und es freut mich, dass es nicht nur in meinem Arbeitszimmer immer ziemlich chaotisch aussieht. Mach Dir nicht zuviel Stress und hab einen schoenen Tag – herzliche Grüße aus Deutschland von
Jacqueline
Husbands are the best at helping us figure out ourselves, aren't they? Glad your elbow is better. Love that cupboard and can't wait to see the wax finish. Enjoy having some help today and hope you can get organized!
Love that cabinet. What a wonderful find.
And I have to say I have a room for crafting that looks just like yours. Got it almost all sorted through and cleaned up and granddaughter moved back in for the summer. Leaves in one month again for Grad school so hopefully I will get my room back next month.
Karan
You've got a great sense of humor. Your office does have some clutter. I just broke my camera, but I'd love to show you a pic of mine. Same here!
Awww girlie, I'm sorry you had a rough day yesterday and that I wasn't online enough to read about it and help you out. I'm glad you worked thru things and turned that funk back into spunk! Great new finds there – stinky cheese? LOL! I guess any number of things could have been in that crate – glad it's empty now! Your rustic cupboard is very cool! I know what you mean about your office. I was working on getting mine all slicked up, but it was taking away from project working time, so now half looks pretty good and the other half is still a work in progress. Doesn't that sound much better than calling it a mess? At least even my messy part is better organized than it was but I'm working on it today as it still needs improvement. Oh, and your diet? Don't use that D word – it's too negative. I prefer "alternate eating plan" =:) Take care – talk to you soon Hugs, Leena
No Offense to "Where Bloggers Create" and all, but really wouldn't it be nice once and awhile if it was shown what our work areas really looked like. I mean when creative people are in the flow, everything else goes to hell in a handbag!
You have totally inspired me to clean out my garage today! Thanks so much for sharing your office pictures! I saw some beautiful treasures buried in there! I also love the "Look Out" crate!!! So cute!!
Nothing wrong with a dumping ground. You have the basement to work your creativeness in…. You do so much Marian. Seriously, quite beating yourself up! Even Superheros have bad days, get down on themselves, have areas of their lives that aren't perfect. If your office is a dumping ground, and I believe I have seen you post about that in the past, there is a reason. We all need a place to throw our stuff. That's just life. We are not perfect. 🙂
Love that crate!! Maybe it held cans of sardines?
http://www.virtualbargains.com/home.cfm/page/Products/Category/2_Vintage-Labels/SubCategory/9_Food-Beverage/Product/500_Lookout-Brand-Norwegian-Style-Sardines.html
I am wondering if the LOOK OUT sign indicates it is a look out post…you know somewhere you go to be on the look out! Anyway, I love the humble pine storage closet.
I really think you should have your own TV show. You are such an inspiration!You are REAL!!Happy to know you are feeling better. My art room looks the same. Oh well, today is another day thank the good Lord. Can't wait to see what you redo next.
Mary
RENONFL@YAHOO.COM
Three years ago I (we) took on the task of taking in five children from a relative who was in no position to parent. Since then I have entered menopause (insommnia, weight gain) and been up and down the "blue ladder" more times than I can count! I decided to turn my love of decorating and beautiful things into a quasi business less than 1 yr ago just to save my sanity. So, you are not alone! God has blessed us tremendously (mainly with keeping me out of the nuthouse) and I know He will sustain us through this. Highly creative people often cannot even contain their ideas and become frustrated when they cannot complete everything they dream of! Your talent and ability (for work AND writing)cannot be denied…one day and one pile of stuff at a time! Blessings for today…
Thank you for making me feel better about my mess. I really do! My son is going to college next month and most of me is really sad but there is a small part that is excited to take over his room for a creative space. A spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down…
Thanks so much for sharing your mess with us. I am in the middle of one too. It started with cleaning out my craft room then it spilled over to the kids playroom-and like you I know there is a floor under there somewhere!
I love it that you make us all smile when you are yourself feeling low.Man, do I have the same sort of cluttered room- no space to work- all mess! hahaha.Excellent.
Take care of yourself Marian- and for me- you CAN have that extra piece of cake.if you're not having it, I might have it ;-).
Have a great day today.
XOXO
Bea
kindred spirits. one of my old boxes that i fill with dried hydrangea says DANGER. EXPLOSIVES. i had to have it. we're so rock and roll.
michele
Oh, Marian, that cupboard is to die for. What an excellent find!
Hope you're able to make some headway on your room. My office/crapft room was looking much the same as yours until this past weekend.
I'd been dumping stuff in it for at least six months, but then when our internet went down last week and the phone company guy had to come into my office to test the modem and phone line, I knew I had to do something about the mess considering the poor man could barely walk into the room!
With my husband and son out of town on a camping trip, I picked it all up in less than 2 hours (it's interesting how much more focused and able to do things I am when I don't have a four-year-old constantly interrupting me…) and saw the floor for the first time in a very long time.
I've come to accept messes seem to go along with creativity, but it does still feel really GOOD to get it all organized. 🙂
Marian, your workroom looks a lot like my basement only your walls are a pretty color and you have a nice floor!
I need one of those 'Look Out' signs over my coat closet. Kind of like an avalanche warning. 🙂 Glad your arm is on the mend.
I'm pretty sure that our office looks the same! I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one with an office that looks more like a storage unit! I'm sure you'll organize it in a zip and get it back to a creative space. Have a lovely day 🙂
Look Out….really….how funny…what was that used for? I love your office…I did see the floor so your are farther along than you thought!!!!!!
Andrea
AndeM1@hotmail.com
you need to keep that cupboard. it's a beauty, for sure! love the look out crate too! yeah, i'd have to wonder what the heck was in it! 😉
ashley
I love the cupboard that you got. I have one just like it. My sister gave it to me…it was left in a home that she purchased. I have it in my sewing/crafting room and my room does look just like yours often. I clean it…then mess it up…then clean it…then mess it up!! LOL…
Good Luck with your office space, mine tends to get like that from time to time. I recently invited my mother over for some encouragement and a pep talk to finally get mine back in order….now I love it again. Glad your arm is better, I once hired a trainer who worked my legs so hard I couldn't sit for like weeks…so I feel your pain. I too have recently started a new healthy workout and eating regime, I'll have to find you on twitter. Hugs-Carrie
oh my guess you are human after all ;).i have a very small craft room that doubles as a laundry so i have to be able to walk thru and sort laundry. but its such a mess every surface is covered from fabric,jewlery supplies, enormas craft crap. i guess a creative mind = chaos thats my story and i'm sticking to it ;).
cupboard and box = fab
I'm sorry you were feeling a bit outta sorts but it somehow comforts to know that I'm not the only one who gets that way when chaos is near (is that wrong? 😉 The cupboard is lovely & I look forward to seeing the end result and that crate … I would have bought it too … love it!
I'm a new follower & I'm thrilled to have found you!
Ha, my office is rather similar. Full to bursting with envelopes, paper, and awesome stuff I don't have room to play with!
Love the cupboard and that crate is unique and a fun piece. I would have bought both. Thanks for showing us your mess. I do feel better about mine now.
XO,
Lisa
As one of my college art teachers used to say "a creative mess is better than tidy idleness," Not sure where it originates, but I try to think of that when the "kids" have art projects in various states of finishing in our craft room.
I feel you! We are doing major landscaping in the back yard and it has completely overwhelmed my life. The back yard is a mess because we're tearing it apart and the house is a mess because I'm spending all my time in the back yard. **sigh** I suggest a day off!
Look Out- I'm having sugar withdrawals! Been there, done that, survived it. A cluttered office is the mark of a creative mind. Sending you lots of encouragement and a smile or two.
I took vacation this week so I could tackle my sewing/craft/closet room. It took 2 full days to clean this area, two trips to the thrift to donate stuff and 3 trash bags full. Not the most fun way to spend a vacation, but it sure does make me feel better about the space.
I have a cabinet very similar to the style of yours. Mine is stained oak and was one of the first pieces we purchased as a married couple over 31 years ago. I still love the simplicity (and storage) of this piece.
Yes, I feel much better now. Yours will probably be cleaned up soon though.
Try Liming Wax (Briwax) on that cupboard – it'll bring out the whitewash patina even more!
Ay!Que pena que yo no hable inglés para poder escribir correctamente en su idioma!Yo no hubiera podido tampoco resistirme a ese cartel hermoso y misterioso y menos aún al mueble…tiene muchas posibilidades!!! Y gracias por mostrar el estado de su estudio!!!!No,no es el de un acaparador,es el de una persona en constante actividad ! Me consuela mucho verlo ya que el mio está en idénticas condiciones y ultimamente comenzaba a sentirme mal por ello!
Hermoso su blog y su manera de escribir,lo sigo desde hace un tiempo pero nunca me animé a escribirle.
Saludos desde Buenos Aires ,Argentina!
glad you are feeling better….i get into funks as well…AND my daughter called me a "hoarder"…i told her, "thank you, i am in good company" ! junquers unite !!
Yea! I'm no the only one. Thanks for making it okay to have a room like that. I love that cabinet and can't wait to see it all waxed up.
stacinay.blogspot.com
Thanks for the encouragement, I do feel better about my messy studio now! Your pictures add a whole new meaning to "move mountains in your own home"!!! lol
Seeing your cluttered creative space makes me feel better about mine. 🙂
Maybe you could whip out one of your great signs for the door, "Bless this Mess"?
The cupboard is sweet indeed.
Glad it's a better day today. It's all about reaching out. I LOVE to clean out spaces but I am probably no where near you. It's fun for me for some weird reason. I've gotten rid of so much here there is little extraneous here…anywhere.All the best.
Glad your feeling so much better. Just need to take things one day at a time. Whenever I have a hard day I read this quote from Maya Angelou to remind me "I've learned that no matter what happens or how bad it becomes today, life goes on, and it will be better tommorrow" This simple quote has kept me calm through lots of tough times. Thanks for making me feel better today with the picture of your office. I know I am not alone.
I am so happy to see that your office is decorated just like mine… a state of confusion… 😉 thanks for making me feel better today… hope you are too!
blessings. Dixie
Thank you so much for showing the reality of a creative life. I have to see if I can still find this article I read about 18 years ago by Jennifer James a journalist for the Seattle Times – but the article said that creativity is messy…passion is messy. You shouldn't feel bad about it. No beauty comes from a prisitine space – it comes from spur of the moment and just about divine inspiration. And when you have those moments…you don;t put the lid on the paint can and return it to its proper place. No – you grab another color…another brush…another tool – and before you know it, you have 20 things open and lots of brushes used etc. So – glory in the mess. Clean when you have a boring moment!!
Linda
I Love that cabinet. I am smitten! And thank you for sharing your mess and keeping it real! 😉 bisous xo
I think we all have creative "spaces" like this. My office gets stuff "dumped" too, then there is my workspace/garage. Mostly it is organized, but when I am deep into a project, I mostly don't notice until after, then I am appalled at the debris everywhere. I always look at my life as the shoemaker, whose kids have no shoes. Things are always halfway done or piled up or just plain messy somewhere in my home. Even if 90% of it may look perfect. (which it doesn't, my son's room, for instance, a hazardous toxic site now that Football Season has begun). I think this is a fact of the creative entrepreneur. Try to not be so hard on yourself, look at what you do accomplish on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. There are 24 hours in a day for a reason, we are not meant to have everything running perfectly all the time. Also, on the sugar thing, that is a way hard habit to break. Just so you know, day 3 and day 7 are the hardest days if you are giving it up. That is about how long it takes for your body to get off the addiction to it. For whatever reason, those are the most common days and points to start jonesing for it badly. After day 7, (the toughest), it gets easier and easier. Nutrition and Exercise are my side passion. Good for you for taking good care of yourself! PS Love that cabinet! My husband would be scratching his head too, but then he has learned to just "trust" me in these types of issues. Have a great day. -K
Thank you for showing your messy side. I do feel better about my messy house. I have a little one as well so I can never keep up with the mess. I want to encourage him to play and be creative and since we have a small space it can look like a cyclone went through it rather quickly. Have a great weekend.
Your blog is among the most important sites on this industry. Nearly every write-up which you create is gold. Your writing style is eloquent, revitalizing,and fairly interesting.
Absolutely “LUV” the cupboard,keep it and enjoy it !!!! I have never read, or commented on a blog before,this is my first, I really wanted to after seeing the movie…”Julie and Julia” LOL