Introduce Yourself

"Pick one room and make it yours. Go slowly through the house. Be polite, introduce yourself, so it can introduce itself to you." This is one of my favorite quotes from "Under the Tuscan Sun".

Lately, that's what it's been like with the condo. Been feeling overwhelmed with fixing up the entire place, even though it's such a small area. So take baby steps, small moves and slowly but surely the place will start to feel more like home.

Unfortunately, it's bringing me more stress than relaxation. I find it's not feeling homey or comforting, but rather, everything is not clean and nothing is in place. The walls are still bare white. The furniture is in but there are very few personal touches. We've been living under someone else's roof for so long, I think I've forgotten how to decorate a room or a place to make it your own.

The master bedroom, master bathroom and kitchen are the most settled in. Functionally it was very necessary to get these in shape very quickly. Spiritually, the place does not feel like home. I think this is the most disturbing. I'm still getting used to the noises, the quirks and they're not all cute or adorable. It's only been 2 weeks, but I've never taken this long to settle into a place. Perhaps it's time to really decorate, because it's the personal touches that make a place yours. Currently I feel like we're living in a model living room in Ikea.

So, it's not quite home yet, something's missing. I don't know what it is, but I hope it starts to feel more like home soon.