The Mountain Suite: A Nursery

New year, new you, new this, new that, new everything. This year is mind-blowingly new. It feels like 2018 is a time for our family to absorb all the "new" that happened in 2017. We are just now settling into a new speed of life. These first few days of the new year have me looking back on it all, trying to catch my breath, and actually catching it! In the last 12 months we have finished renovations on and sold our first home, let go of our beloved piggy, Hamlet, partied on the Vegas Strip, shredded the backcountry of Montana, moved across the country from NY to WI, finished grad school, took another state bar exam, started new jobs, bought our forever home, tackled our first rental property, welcomed a new little one into our world, jet setted to FL and TX and ~~pause~~ HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! There has been a lot of change, and it's starting to sink in.

For me one of the biggest ways to feel centered is to organize (gag, I know, you wouldn't know it by the state of my house on any random day). I love to organize and decorate. I LOVE home decor. I genuinely find relief and release when I have successfully feng shui-ed the crap out of a room. And if a room is an undone disaster, something inside me is unsettled. The Chinese found a way to harmonize everyone with their surroundings, and it's all about finding the perfect spot for everything. So, as you can imagine, with 2 under 2, very little is in the perfect spot, at least for long.

Now, with a 3 month old - note, I had a baby between now and the last time I blogged - I am spending a lot more time in his room than ever before: dressing him in a onesie without poop up the back, diapering, dressing him in clothes without pee all down the leg, and especially the umpteen million times each night I sit in a rocking chair feeding this tiny human and hoping that both of us can find rest. There is something about tidiness and an esthetically pleasing flow of a space that offers my mind rest, even while my body screams for sleep. There is a whole lot going on in the world and in our life, but in the wee hours of the morning when I look around at the space we have created for our child, especially when that child is dozing off, I feel comfort and peace. I know, this all sounds a bit dramatic, but it's more real than I could have ever imagined.

So here we are, in our lake house and this big lake life has taken us by storm. It's all so new and beautiful, but I will always have mountains of the west in my soul. I couldn't think of a better way to honor our time in some of the places we cherish most, than by surrounding our babe in those memories of love and adventure. Tommy got the mountain suite, and I'm thinking it's pretty sweet. A place where metal, earth, fire, water, and wood - all collections of precious gifts and memories - found their perfect spot. It will somewhat resemble the "Woodland Nursery" we created in NY for Sage, but with a few twists.

This room is the mountains. From the painted range resembling the San Juans (you can paint your own mountains too! I'll do a how-to later if anyone is interested), to the Red Lady prayer flags from Crested Butte, CO, to the mobile made with an antler from Max's first buck, to the grandma-made paper cranes that dangle good luck over his crib, and the old  ski patrol sign from our time in Lake Tahoe. It's all special and makes a nice place to sit on sleepless nights.

In this new year, I hope everyone can find time to create peace within their space like we've been able to do here, even if it takes a few extra holes in the wall to find the "perfect" place. 

(ahem, thanks for putting up with me, honey).