January Recap: Relax, Relapse

1. I’m My Own Worst Boss
2. Found: Vintage Dixie Chinese Chippendale Dining Set
3. My DIY Wedding
4. Midcentury Brass Floor Lamp
5. Thrift Score Thursday Week 1, Week 2)
6. Abby’s In The Limelight
7. DIY Ikea Hack Plank Top Desk with Copper Pulls Reveal & Tutorial

Oh how the days fly by! I just wrapped up my fifth week of piano lessons for the new year, and I can’t believe there are only five more weeks until spring break. It really feels like Christmas was only yesterday! Perhaps because of the snow we got all morning here on Thursday!

Snow days are a rare treat for us here in the Dallas Fort Worth area. And a major nightmare. When it snows, it’s a best-of-times/worst-of-times scenario. Big fluff puffy pompom snowflakes flurrying outside the windows are always lovely. Not as lovely: major traffic incidents and accidents because we southerners aren’t used to snowy icy road conditions. I was glad to stay inside, wrapped in a fluffy house robe, catching up on blogs, and wrapping up a few loose ends on a project…

So, January…

The Gathered Home got a facelift! Did you notice? From the header image to the sidebar to each category in the navigation bar up top, everything’s been tweaked and redesigned just a little bit! I hope you enjoy the new look – I’ve been craving a little color lately 🙂

Fun fact: the colors of the triangles were inspired by this closeup shot of my beloved dragon couch:

I’ve also updated my About Me page – click through for fun facts 😉

And the Home Tour page is sporting new before & after pictures and a collection of related posts:

The Gathered Home’s Facebook page, Twitter page, and Google Plus page also got happyfied!

So, January…

Remember my little post about new year’s reflections, getting lost in the business side of blogging, and spilling my guts about ambition, inertia, and balance? I decided to proclaim my “word of the year” as relax. And I thought I would chat today about how that’s working out for me.

I am so much more happy with a less-stringent blogging schedule. I’m not scrabbling to patch together a decent post each time, or wracking my brain trying to come up with an inventive new Valentine’s day craft that no one has ever thought of before… (Speaking of which, is anyone else a little tired of Valentine’s day already? Or is it just me?) It’s been much less stressful, much more fun, and I’ve felt so much more creative and inspired since easing up on the self-imposed pressure!

However, I’m finding that it’s very easy to relapse into manic-overproductive-mode and sink back into obsession over managing each and every minute aspect of blog design, maintenance, promotion, and social media management. Panic at the disco? More like panic at the computer screen.

So, January…

Has been a much happier and healthier month for me. I’ve experienced a resurgence of creative spirit and found much joy in this blog of mine once more. I’ve balanced. I’ve teetered off the edge of the balance beam. I’ve fallen to the floor a couple of times… But overall I feel very hopeful that I’m starting to get the hang of this of relax, relapse choreography.

Abby, of course, is very inspirational in this endeavor…

I aspire to one day achieve her master levels of relaxation and leisure!

I hope you enjoyed The Gathered Home circa January 2014 and will stick around for good things to come in the rest of the year! February is a short month, but I’m hoping to pack some fun projects into it!