Room Tour

Lately I’ve been challenging my definition of rest: you won’t have to ask me twice to take that #selfcare time for myself, but I can multitask, so with a face mask on and wine by the beside, I’m still rooted and tangled in a state of restlessness, in the pursuit of restfullness. I see this mental balance-beam walk extended into how I organize my bedroom and my belongings - I'm always tinkering, organizing, stacking, and exploring, thinking that if I can get everything juuuuust right, I will feel the fullness of rest. I am programmed for a growth mindset but I struggle to express gratitude for today’s inventory.

So, I’m thankful that a few weeks ago, you challenged me to share a room tour - a space that, if I’m honest, I haven’t felt that much peace with since moving in over a year and a half ago. It’s an architecturally beautiful space with great size, fantastic light, and beautiful floors, but the way I inhabit it has always felt a little undone, incomplete, and in progress without a destination in mind.

But after cleaning out some items this past weekend that no longer add value and distract me from the presence of God, I took some photos and saw my space through a totally new lens - I celebrated all of the items that I’ve collected over time and the pieces that I’ve escorted carefully through countless moves instead of seeing them as clutter. If my room is an expression of my story, I felt called to honor her again for who she was today, instead of always humming along to a melody of “not good enough, yet.”

In this season of quarantine, I am reminded each day that I am enough, and I am learning to rest in my space in a new way. I hope that in this little visual catalog, you’ll also appreciate and laugh at the very dusty book covers and magazines stacked on the floor, that dirty wine glass and my retainer, which I probably haven’t worn in two years, on the nightstand, and the restaurant menus from places not-too-far-away that take me right back to the cocktail I enjoyed there. You’ll see my dad’s Leica camera, one of the few items I have to remember him by, a witty and charming postcard from a trip to Amsterdam last spring, and the plants that call my bathroom home. In a space that used to feel tangled with uncertainty, I finally feel untangled and see stillness.

My desk space, including all of the crafting supplies I plan to get rid of (bottom left);
just a portion of my pen collection (top right);
postcards, stationery, and menus from restaurants I’ve travelled to (top left);
stickers of champagne glasses filled with glitter and photos of my family (bottom right)

chair from Amazon, philodendron that I’ve revived twice and named my Google Home speaker after, illustration by Marcella Kriebel

a blanket my mom made for me (bottom left);
Monocle, one of my favorite magazines that I can never finish before a new issue arrives (bottom right);
a clock from the MoMA Design Store (top right);
the edge of my magazine and stationery collection (top left)

I have six plants in my bathroom - I don’t blame them, the light is just right and the humidity is ideal. My fiddle leaf fig just sprouted a new leaf!

rocking chair for my reading corner that a friend found on the sidewalk in Capitol Hill (top left);
little spot for the things that matter most (top right);
books stacked in the windowsill because I refuse to own a bookcase - aspiring for built-ins, obviously (bottom left);
magazines on the floor and a basket for my stationery collection - I always look for a letterpressed map when I travel! (bottom right)

my dad’s camera and my statement earring stash (top left);
some of my favorite books (bottom right);
favorite fragrance and candle holders from an antiques store in Leesburg - they were dated 1890! (bottom left)
my Marie-Kondo approved athleisure drawer (bottom right)

frames from Framebridge, antique chest of drawers

the shoe rack from Container Store is a God-send (top left);
a recently color-coded clothing lineup (top right);
budding straw-bag lady (bottom left);
honestly I wanted my closet to feel like one of those Pinterest photos, so I reorganized it until it was that way! (bottom right)

my favorite card

An illustrated gumbo cheat sheet and a holiday wreath I made with my church family

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