It's been a long, long time. Over a year. Geez.
So many things have happened in that time.
Work was awesome.
I finally felt like I found my groove.
I felt appreciated.
I was a rockstar.
Everything was going my way.
Life has a way of pulling your balloon back down.
I lost my mom on August 27th, a little less than a week after her 67th birthday.
There is nothing worse in the world.
Dozens of times a day, I think "I can't wait to tell Mom" this or "I'll call Mom when I get home tonight".
As an only child, I always expected to have to take care of my parents when they got older. Half the reason I agreed to this house is that there was more than enough room for either - or both - of them to come live with us when the time came. I never even dreamed that she would just be...gone.
Everyone says it will get easier, and some days it is. Then there are the days that I swear I'm having a panic attack, and it would just be so easy to cry all day.
"Life carries on. I guess it always will. Deep inside my heart, time stands still".
Don't hesitate to call or see the ones you love. Tell them you love them every time you get a chance. You never know when you won't have the opportunity to "do it tomorrow".
10.11.2014
9.30.2013
bolin b.
Today seems to be a fitting day to jump back in. Both of my grandmothers were born on September 30th. Both were creative beyond measure. One sewed; one crocheted. Both baked and were outstanding cooks. One, I found out after she was gone, wanted to design furniture for a living.
Surely my creativity stems from the genes of these two incredible women. I've decided that if I ever have the opportunity to have my own firm/store/legit creative outlet, I will name it bolin b. in honor of the two of them.
Paying it forward.
Surely my creativity stems from the genes of these two incredible women. I've decided that if I ever have the opportunity to have my own firm/store/legit creative outlet, I will name it bolin b. in honor of the two of them.
Paying it forward.
12.12.2012
Ahhh....At last.....
I don’t hate the chairs.
I adore the chairs!
They are perfection.
I don’t want to sit on them. I just want to look at ‘em.
Of course, now that table has to go. At least the glass top. Maybe a round marble top on the same base. Maybe this little World Market metal and wood table.
Who knows?
Now Lovey hates the idea of the big brown leather chair where it is. Has he no vision? That is going to be our "reading nook". Doesn't everyone need a reading nook?
12.06.2012
This is a story of a chair.....
Well, we bought a house. And while I have many stories about that particular venture, let’s talk about the reason I’m so excited today!
My chairs are coming! The most perfectest chairs in this entire wide world. And it only took me four months to find them. Yeesh.
Back in August, I visited the TJ Maxx in my widdle hometown. There I saw the most perfect chair. Linen. Simple lines. Silver nailhead trim. Swoon……but only one. Of course, there was only one. Naturally. Because I? Wanted two. I took a picture of the chair and the tag. Because this is how I shopped when we were in house-buying-spending-freeze mode.
I formulated a plan to find the second one. First, I dropped a check by my mom’s office. This way she could buy the first chair when (how optimistic) I found the second one at one of the Charleston TJs. Second, I called my friend ReRe who lives in Mt. Pleasant. She would visit their Marshall Superstore and TJ to see if they had a match. I would go to Summerville, North Charleston and West Ashley to check those stores.
None of the stores had a second chair – none were even close. Heart. Broken. I googled as many terms as I could to find the chair. Come on It’s google! If you can’t find it on google……well, I couldn’t find it on google. The only close match was in Australia and way out of my price range. If I hadn’t taken a picture of the chair, I’d swear I’d dreamed it.
Over the last few months, I’d case the random TJ to see if by chance the chair was there. (Of course, the first chair was long gone by then). So, I kind of gave up.
Lovey had been online shopping for new outdoor lights for our house for a few weeks. On Black Friday, he showed me a picture of a chair on one of the home sites he had been looking at to see if I liked it. It was nice, but it wasn’t My Chair. Friday night, he was watching some action movie I had zero interest in. I settled in with my laptop and googled My Chair again. Nuthin’. I went to Overstock.com and started looking through chairs just to have something to do. Scrolling, scrolling, scrolling.
WAIT! Back up! I grabbed my phone and found the picture of My Chair. I looked from the phone to the computer about a dozen times. I showed it to Lovey and asked if it was the same chair. It was!!!! I double-checked the dimensions of the chair to the tag I had luckily taken a picture of. The same exact dimensions. The linen color looks to be just a little lighter than the one I originally saw. After a quick measurement of where I wanted them in the greatroom, I ordered them. And! Extra 10% off for Black Friday, $55 coupon for first order and free shipping. Merry Christmas to me!
They will be here today. This afternoon, I will scotchguard the poo out of them. I will probably rub up against them in disbelief that they are mine. I hope I don't hate them.
My chairs are coming! The most perfectest chairs in this entire wide world. And it only took me four months to find them. Yeesh.
Back in August, I visited the TJ Maxx in my widdle hometown. There I saw the most perfect chair. Linen. Simple lines. Silver nailhead trim. Swoon……but only one. Of course, there was only one. Naturally. Because I? Wanted two. I took a picture of the chair and the tag. Because this is how I shopped when we were in house-buying-spending-freeze mode.
I formulated a plan to find the second one. First, I dropped a check by my mom’s office. This way she could buy the first chair when (how optimistic) I found the second one at one of the Charleston TJs. Second, I called my friend ReRe who lives in Mt. Pleasant. She would visit their Marshall Superstore and TJ to see if they had a match. I would go to Summerville, North Charleston and West Ashley to check those stores.
None of the stores had a second chair – none were even close. Heart. Broken. I googled as many terms as I could to find the chair. Come on It’s google! If you can’t find it on google……well, I couldn’t find it on google. The only close match was in Australia and way out of my price range. If I hadn’t taken a picture of the chair, I’d swear I’d dreamed it.
Over the last few months, I’d case the random TJ to see if by chance the chair was there. (Of course, the first chair was long gone by then). So, I kind of gave up.
Lovey had been online shopping for new outdoor lights for our house for a few weeks. On Black Friday, he showed me a picture of a chair on one of the home sites he had been looking at to see if I liked it. It was nice, but it wasn’t My Chair. Friday night, he was watching some action movie I had zero interest in. I settled in with my laptop and googled My Chair again. Nuthin’. I went to Overstock.com and started looking through chairs just to have something to do. Scrolling, scrolling, scrolling.
WAIT! Back up! I grabbed my phone and found the picture of My Chair. I looked from the phone to the computer about a dozen times. I showed it to Lovey and asked if it was the same chair. It was!!!! I double-checked the dimensions of the chair to the tag I had luckily taken a picture of. The same exact dimensions. The linen color looks to be just a little lighter than the one I originally saw. After a quick measurement of where I wanted them in the greatroom, I ordered them. And! Extra 10% off for Black Friday, $55 coupon for first order and free shipping. Merry Christmas to me!
They will be here today. This afternoon, I will scotchguard the poo out of them. I will probably rub up against them in disbelief that they are mine. I hope I don't hate them.
10.17.2012
There'll Never Be Another Duffy
We lost Duffy a week and two days ago.
It's weird that such a little dog can leave such a large hole in our lives. Lovey rescued Blanca and Duffy when we had only been dating about six months. Duffy was seven; Blanca was six. They were neglected by their previous owners. I still cannot fathom someone not loving those little guys to death like we did.
Although Blanca seemed much more affected by the neglect, Duffy was always such a chill little guy. He rarely barked. Mainly to express his happiness when we came home at night. There was never a cuddler as cuddly as our Duff boy.
Even though he was almost nineteen, he only showed his age by a stiff back leg. So when he got a cough a few weeks ago, it was noticeable that he wasn't feeling well. Trouble breathing led us to believe that he may have congestive heart failure like Baby Girl did. We thought we'd take him to the vet, get some meds and problem solved. He'd be fine.
Monday morning, Lovey took Duffy to the vet. Thirty minutes later, I got the call that Duffy's heart was fine. He was much worse off than we imagined. Fluid had built up in his body which was pressing against his lungs. This was causing his breathing problems. In addition, his kidneys were only functioning at 15%. He was in pain.
Lovey and I had to make the worst decision of our lives. We needed to put Duffy to sleep. We just couldn't let him suffer. We stayed with him, We stoked his head and told him how much we loved him. A few short minutes later, he went into a peaceful sleep and then he was gone. It all went so fast.
For such a quiet little dog, his absence in this house is deafening. I find myself looking for him a dozen times a day.
There will be another bichon in our future. We've discovered we cannot live without a little white dog in our lives. But there will never be another Duffy. None will even come close.
It's weird that such a little dog can leave such a large hole in our lives. Lovey rescued Blanca and Duffy when we had only been dating about six months. Duffy was seven; Blanca was six. They were neglected by their previous owners. I still cannot fathom someone not loving those little guys to death like we did.
Although Blanca seemed much more affected by the neglect, Duffy was always such a chill little guy. He rarely barked. Mainly to express his happiness when we came home at night. There was never a cuddler as cuddly as our Duff boy.
Even though he was almost nineteen, he only showed his age by a stiff back leg. So when he got a cough a few weeks ago, it was noticeable that he wasn't feeling well. Trouble breathing led us to believe that he may have congestive heart failure like Baby Girl did. We thought we'd take him to the vet, get some meds and problem solved. He'd be fine.
Monday morning, Lovey took Duffy to the vet. Thirty minutes later, I got the call that Duffy's heart was fine. He was much worse off than we imagined. Fluid had built up in his body which was pressing against his lungs. This was causing his breathing problems. In addition, his kidneys were only functioning at 15%. He was in pain.
Lovey and I had to make the worst decision of our lives. We needed to put Duffy to sleep. We just couldn't let him suffer. We stayed with him, We stoked his head and told him how much we loved him. A few short minutes later, he went into a peaceful sleep and then he was gone. It all went so fast.
For such a quiet little dog, his absence in this house is deafening. I find myself looking for him a dozen times a day.
There will be another bichon in our future. We've discovered we cannot live without a little white dog in our lives. But there will never be another Duffy. None will even come close.
3.09.2012
Wedges
The angst of working for an antiquated company which prohibits open-toe shoes. Especially when Target has such cute wedges right now.
2.19.2012
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