life – Page 2 – Tuesday Update

Clutter Cluster

Published on June 15, 2017June 15, 2017 by fabulouslepLeave a comment

I have recently come across one of my stress builders. You know, the foundation that supports all the other building blocks to your breaking point? Clutter.

I have always taken pride in being over the top on organization, whether it is in school, my room, or life in general. I focus on a clean-cut, fresh look. The less clutter, the better, but the Target dollar section just doesn’t agree. I truly believe that clutter in your house is the ultimate source of clutter in your brain! No one needs “I need to clean the basement” in the back of their mind on a Tuesday afternoon when they have more important things to accomplish- NO ONE.

When I was in high school, finals would roll around, and I would become a completely different person. I needed to clean out the fridge, rid my under-sink, purge food that we hadn’t touched in a while, and refold all of the clothes for my drawers before I could actually focus on studying. Casual? No. I needed all of this to be done around finals, but in reality it was always in the back of my mind and never being addressed. Then when a stressful time snuck up on me, I couldn’t have it there to be completely narrowed in on getting good grades.

Well, I have come to the realization that lately I just have not been pulling my best organization strings. This first year of college was hard to come home on a short weekend and clean my room because I wanted to spend ALL of my time with the family. On the other hand, I was living out of a duffel bag for a few days, which turned into one big mess for normal people and one excessive, overcrowded clothes party for Lindsey people.

It took me a quick minute to know that this is not how summer is going to go! After an unnecessary melt down to dad that he needed to build me a bigger closet, I pulled myself together with a pep talk. I will not live in this cluttered room with clothes I have not worn in years. I will not save these hair products under my sink that I am no longer using. I will not look at an email inbox full of spam. I will not keep things that I do not need.

And that is exactly what I did. I went into my room and stripped it. Other people could use these items more than I can, and if I had not worn it in two years or more, it had to go. Yes, yes I wanted to hold onto every t-shirt that has a memory, but I am not about to wear them, so I either put them aside for a t-shirt quilt, or they went to my memory box. (Praise the Good Lord for fabulous memory boxes). After the sorting, I took {several} trash bags to their appropriate places and am now basking in a simplified, organized, and oh so fabulous bedroom, with my favorite people only a few steps away. (I really couldn’t be happier!)

Processed with VSCO with f2 preset — FRESH drawers. #fab

Our homes are not only places to recharge your electronics, they are our place to regroup, re-juice and relax, while enjoying the company of our closest humans. Some people spend more time in their homes than others, but everyone should make time to clear their space. Like I said, a cluttered home (or workspace, for that matter) is a cluttered brain. Clear your head with a cleaning spree! I promise promise promise your shoulders will raise and your brain will have more thinking room. An organized life is a fresh and FABulous life!

Processed with VSCO with b1 preset — Alllllllllll the memories. Cue the tears.

DE-CLUTTER TIP: My mom started our memory boxes when we were born. They are filled with too many preschool art projects to count, special baby outfits, and anything that will make us cry when we open them now. Since my brother and I have been old enough to clean our own rooms, we became bosses of our memory boxes, which are just large storage tubs. I add things like my high school acceptance letter and notes I’ve gotten on retreats. One day I will open it and be able to read the birthday cards I received and relive the moments from the pictures I’ve snuck in there. The boxes that I have started include high school, college, and random memories, not counting several that my mom made. This way we get to keep all of our special things, but they slide under a shelf in the basement for “one day”.

Moving On Up

Published on May 30, 2017May 30, 2017 by fabulouslepLeave a comment

“Enough already! We get it. You had a perfect roommate in college. You became best friends. You didn’t want to leave her. We know!!!” complains everyone that follows me on any social media platform, or just knows me in general. And yes, I am sorry for the overload of love and sap, but these nine month sleepovers do not go as well for everyone, and I am just so grateful.

I won’t lie, in the beginning, there were times when I thought to myself, Is this seriously going to work? Living in such tight quarters with someone is not easy, and we will be the first to tell you that. We would also BOTH be the first to tell you that if someone had asked us if we’d become best friends by the end, it would have been a flat no. Madelyn and I went to grade school and high school together, so right off the bat we were breaking college roommate rule #1- Don’t room with a friend.

I do understand this philosophy of steering clear of strong relationships and branching out for the first year of college, but I am way too much of a homebody and creature of habit to be thrown into a brand new place with my bonus being a stranger to sleep in the same room with. Yeah, no thanks.

Fast forward from the worry and the secret Pinterest board planning our beautiful temporary home (which ended up as fabulous as we dreamed), Madelyn and I did not want to leave! Yes, we do understand that with a water bottle and a good playlist, we could walk to each other’s houses, but that just is not the same as spending late nights on our rug laughing about nonsense when we should clearly be studying. Or illegally making toast and grilled chicken on our forbidden grill. Or getting ready together while staying in our towel wraps for an excessive amount of time. Or knowing when we need a group nap with little lights. It just isn’t the same.

We were calm, cool, and collected about moving out until a friend had mentioned it took several hours to move out of her dorm. We looked at each other both thinking, we have sooooooo much more s t u f f than she does. We went home, turned on music, and got to work! We didn’t even know where to start, but we began by stripping the walls. Literally, paint, drywall, you name it, it came off the wall!

We resolved this (not so) small problem like any smart girls would, a field trip to Home Depot with a piece of the wall that should have still been a part of the wall! They matched the paint, we returned, and the wall started looking better than before. No one could tell, and there was no way in heck we were going to pay fines for having cute decor.

All in all, our adorable 2409 became such a fun place where laughter and smiles came aplenty and homesick tears began to fade as the weeks went by. We have a million and one memories of our time that we made just about as fun as anyone could with plans to move on for a million and one more. That teeny tiny room gave us the friendship that we will forever be thankful for.

Next year will be much harder than I had anticipated. Don’t get me wrong, I am eager, anxious, and beyond excited to get to Mizzou, but I am sad that my best friend and roommate will not be coming with me. Instagram, we have many plans to reunite and annoy the heck out of everyone, so don’t you worry. She will be knee-deep in nursing school and I will be waist-deep in papers that I don’t know how to start, but we are moving on to bigger and better things to make our lives extra fabulous. This is my fab life, and I am oh so grateful that Madelyn is apart of it.

Her smile was constant. Mine came after the constant flow of tears. Because I was sad? No, no I just checked my final grade in Econ.

PS: we decided that we lived so well together as roommates, we shouldn’t let it go to waist. After we graduate, we will be coming at you Monica Geller and Rachel Green style until we meet our lobsters. Now THAT will be fun.

As The Table Turns

Published on March 19, 2017March 19, 2017 by fabulouslepLeave a comment

This week has been quite the step. Another step into my adult life that I just did not realize would come so dang soon. Today, the words, “I bought a coffee table,” came out of my mouth. What the hell?

Last week I was doing homework on my bed, blinked and ended up with a tea kettle on a stove with slipper sandals on my feet. I mean seriously, when did my life catch up to the “When I grow up…” part? It’s flying, but I am trying to love every single minute.

Yes, my coffee table has a new home, and apparently so do I. I signed my first dotted line on Tuesday to live in an apartment next year. My dotted line was fabulous. Fabulous, in that it was my signature, but not necessarily my money. Mom and Dad’s dime seems to pull through yet again (and, hopefully, will not stop anytime soon).

Over the past few months, I have been struggling to make one of my most difficult decisions I’ve made so far. Should I transfer? No, I should stay here. Should I step outside my comfort zone? No, this is satisfying. Can I really do this? Yes, yes Lindsey, you can.

I suddenly had the feeling that Journalism was calling my name. It is pulling me to the dark side with this intriguing life of writing. Oh yes, you guessed it. My apartment is in gosh darn Columbia, MO- home of Mizzou’s J-School and now home to me.

Even though I have finally come to the conclusion that this spin of the table seems to be in the perfect direction, my family and I have spent many hours on many worries of the big “T” word (Transfer, in case you didn’t catch my drift). I am headed into sophomore year as a first year newb all over again. It will take time and there is no guarantee it will progress as smoothly as I imagine; but I am prepared for my huge leap of faith. Hopefully, with endless nights in the library, new friends and connections, and even study sessions in my new living room, I will be prepared for the career of my dreams.

This coffee table was $25 in an antique store (I know, go me!). I would like to say it’s pretty beat up and useless, but my Mom had to explain that “college houses” are not top notch. In fact, college houses are the foundation of “Remember that one night?” stories, and under no circumstances need Pottery Barn’s best seller. The table in my trunk right now, just like me, has no idea what’s in store. We are both moving into a new place, in a new town at a new school. I don’t know many people, just as the coffee table does not know who will surround it, play games on it, or who’s feet it will support. We have so many memories to make together.

My new slab of wood with four legs and lots of scratches has brought me to a turning point that I did not know would come so soon. Each scratch it already has is a memory of its last home, and I am eager, anxious and beyond excited to put more scratches on MY new coffee table. This life is crazy and this life is fast, but oh man, this life is so so fab!