Downsizing

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.*

Today, I live with my kids and cats. Circumstances have placed me in a little apartment with wooden beams, a small garden and a terrace with pergolas. The boys are in college now, and they've added Oscar Fernandez's reed paper panels to their surfer bedroom.

Small is good, as Novica tempts me every day with their amazing selection in home décor; I want almost everything I see on my work list.

What items are absolutely essential these days? That's easy. A hammock and a hummingbird feeder . From Novica, naturally.

*Phil 4:12-13, New International Version Bible

My first apartment

My first apartment was above a garage next to the flower shop where I worked during my first years in college. Looking back, it was a challenging layout – Pullman kitchen, long, narrow living-dining space and a vintage bath off the bedroom.

How to imprint a personal style on an architectural afterthought filled with castoffs? We were ingenious, working on a nonexistent budget. We covered a wall with burlap and painted the stucco a pale ochre. An Aztec calendar took pride of place, perhaps predicting the path I'd take one day.

It was tiny, eclectic and inviting, each piece related through color and texture. I remember those days with nostalgia.