...but that would never work for me

i'd love to have a coffee bar, but my kitchen is too little.
that would never work in our house.

i'd love to decorate with whites and neutrals, but i have boys/dogs/too many kids.
{boys/kids/dogs = all the same thing, right? ;)}

i'd really like to have my counters clear, but i don't have enough storage space.
it just won't work in my kitchen.

i wish i could make those pillows, but i don't know how to sew.

i don't have thrift stores like that near me.
i just don't have the creative flair.
i don't have the money to redecorate.
i don't have the time.
i don't have the room.

...and on and on the list could go.

the reasons we tell ourselves why we can't do some thing...any thing.

if there's one thing that this month of "intentional in decorating and housekeeping" has taught me, it's that i need to take a second {and sometimes third and fourth} look at all the "i can'ts" i've registered in my log of doable feats.



early this month--actually it was late last month--i had the idea cross my mind that i'd like a coffee bar area in my kitchen.
i quickly dismissed the idea because...
we don't drink coffee enough...i mean, for pete's sake, i can only drink decaf!
we don't have enough room...all our cabinets are full.
we don't even have a coffee maker...we've been french press people for years!
but the idea kept popping up.  and the more i pondered it, the more i craved such a space.
and once i eliminated the option of dismissing the idea, i realized that there were actually two spots in my kitchen that just might work for the little drink station i had in mind.
you'll have to wait for the reveal post to see what i came up with, but i'm super-pleased.
and most of all, i'm glad that i quit listening to my "that'll never work" mentality.


i remember, years ago, when my mom bought her first white couch.
i thought it was one of the most ridiculous, impractical decisions she'd ever made.
fast forward ten-ish years later, and i have a white sofa...with the matching white armchair and ottoman.
my how time changes things, eh?
and i can't tell you how many comments i've received, from real-life friends and internet friends alike--about how they could neverrrrrrrrrrrrr, ever have white furniture {see reasons in diatribe at beginning of post}.
people.  look at me.  would i ever lead you astray?
no.  the correct answer is no.
people, if you saw theeee pure filth that's wrung from these gloriously white slipcovers every time i throw them in the wash machine, you'd think twice about your permanently-upholstered germ-trap that "is so good at hiding dirt!"
mind you, in no way am i discrediting your sofa choice; but please, believe me when i say that no amount of kids {we have four}, dogs {we have one}, or cats {one, also} could convince me to go with an un-wash-able sofa ever again.
it's amazing what hot water, krud kutter {i get mine at menard's}, a washing machine, and a good soak can do to keep whites white...even in the most challenging of surroundings.


i could go on...this post could go on.
my point is not to address every last little excuse you have for why you cannot do that which you want to do.
my point is to get you to question the "i can'ts."
we get an idea, an idea we like...
and then, so suddenly, so easily, so naturally we fall into default mode of i-can't-ness.

no.
stop.
think twice {or thrice or four-ice}.
and ask yourself if there's a way.
is there any way for it to work?

i have my coffee station.
my living room is rearranged into a totally different configuration.
my counter is cleared.
my mail center is moved.
i'm decorating with a shadow box my dad built ages ago.
i've painted my walls white.

all...capital ay-double-ell...ALL of these projects are things about which i out-loud expressed an "i can't."
but guess what?
one friend gave the nudge i needed to paint my walls white.
another gave me the idea for a coffee station.
and yet another gave me the not-so-gentle push to rearrange my living room.

so that's what i'm here for today.
allow me to be that friend for you.
consider this your idea-booster...your nudge...your not-so-gentle push.

and when you do whatever it is that you've been wanting to do forever and "couldn't" do,
by all means, contact me and let me know!!!
there's little more satisfying than accomplishing something--no matter how little--that you've been convinced you "can't" do.

it's the weekend...
get out there and do it!

happy friday, y'all!

xo

4 comments:

  1. LOVE this post!
    and, love my white slipcovered sofa and ottomans in our PLAYROOM!!!
    thank you for helping me learn how to keep them white!
    happy weekend, friend.
    xoxox
    steph

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