After staring at our future floor plan over and over, I have come to the realization that our command central will have to be in binder form. So the plan now is to try to complete it by the move, but I'm constantly having issues trying to basically put my brain in a binder. If I don't do it right, I wont use it...which defeats the purpose of the work.

So I'm trolling the interwebs looking for inspiration.

I know I want my system to be pretty since it will live on my kitchen countertop....

via

I need to be able to handwrite things in it, because I will need to update it constantly and will probably use it for brainstorming...

via

And I need it to be useful. I want B to be able to open it and run our home without an issue if I'm in the hospital. I also would love a schedule of recurring To Dos to keep me on my toes.

via

I guess I have a lot of work in front of me. I have a feeling that I won't be completely finished by the time we move, but I really, really want to have a great system in place the day we move in. Wish me luck!

As the cherry blossoms explode into bloom here, I am getting more and more excited about our upcoming move. I'm trying not to be nervous about the whole thing but, it is hard after this weekend. I had a complex migraine last weekend, and I ended up in the hospital...again. My GP thought I had a stroke, but thankfully it was much less permanent. I am so fucking sad that I had to miss my future sister-in-law's bridal shower, and I am trying to think of a way to make it up to her. I have a few ideas rolling around in my head, but so far they have been impractical. Pinterest is offering me no inspiration for once, but that may be because I'm hard-wired at the moment to focus on making our new place a home. My exhausted brain can only do one thing at a time.

I do wish Georgetown Cupcakes delivered though.

I think the reason I am so obsessed is that we are downsizing....a lot. We are moving to a 2 bedroom 2 bathroom apartment, and we are planning to stay there for a few years until we can save up a boatload of cash to buy a house here.



Pretty, don't you think? The place is beautiful, there are granite countertops (thank goodness), and the bedrooms are gigantic. The kitchen is fantastic, and there is SO much more storage space than in our condo in Omaha. Unfortunately we've spread out like crazy in this townhouse, and we really need to downsize. That is why the word of the season at the Diver house is purge!!! We are going through everything and sending most of our stuff to Goodwill. It is amazing how much stuff you can accumulate when you don't do a biannual reorganization of your home. B and I have the potential to become hoarders apparently, and I will not allow our home to be a place R is embarrassed to bring friends to.

So I may overwhelm this blog with our progress of making our new apartment into a home. I hope it will keep me honest, but I will probably just continue to sporadically post random nonsense. That is more my style.

Over the last seven months I have been unsuccessfully trying to organize our lives as we transitioned from a couple (+ a Westie) to a family of three (+ a Westie). As simple as that should actually be, I'm struggling on the best method for us to use. I've set up Google calendars, utilized a small dry erase board, updated my Franklin Covey, and nothing seems to be working.

So I've narrowed it down to two options. I want either a large wall system that can actually hold all of our intellectual and actual clutter...

via Pottery Barn

...or a home binder with different sections for different areas of our lives.

via Iheartorganizing.blogspot.com

I have a sinking feeling that I need to do both, so I'm just going to start with a binder and make my little dry erase board work for now. I also probably need to wait until we are actually in our new apartment to decide on anything that requires wall space. I guess binder brainstorming it is for now!

Our trips to Philly and New Orleans were smashing successes, and we are currently gearing up for a few more big ticket adventures over the next few months. In March we head to Nashville for a baby shower for some wonderful friends, and then to NYC to celebrate my future sister-in-law's bridal shower. In April we head back to Nashville for a family wedding, and then we move into our beautiful new apartment.

Since our condo finally sold, I was able to take a (guilt free) trip to the mall to pick up a cute outfit, complete with two pairs of heels...sorry hon! It is official, my feet have spread so much that I now wear a 8 1/2. I have all of these adorable shoes that are way too small for me, but by April they will be out of the house and on their way to new homes.

Last year I was so excited to move into the townhouse, but the third trimester, a newborn, and te knowledge that our lease was only for a year put a damper on my decorating mojo. It wasn't worth the financial investment to really make this house shine, especially since we were waiting for our condo in Omaha to sell. This time we plan to create a comfortable and cozy retreat that will hold us over for at least five years. With B going to grad school, and the extremely high cost of living here, we are planning to save, save, save while our family grows. (No, that was not a pregnancy announcement.) By the time we leave for Nashville, I hope to have a plan of attack for the whole process. I'm going to use this blog to document the process, because apparently pinterest isn't enough. I'm going to try to attempt mood boards, play with fabric swatches, and moon over paint swatches. If anyone has any suggestions on how best to do that, I would love to hear them!

In between all of that brainstorming, I'm just going to stare at this gorgeous face. It really is the most beautiful thing in the world.