Hi sweet friends, from me and smiling Jack! How are you? So much can change in a week, yes? As I wrote in Dwelling, “staying in is the new going out.” I had no idea how true that statement would become this year! Here we are, hunkered down here in our home trying to stay calm and healthy. Seattle is basically the epicenter of the recent health crisis here in the US, so life as we knew it changed pretty quickly!
My empty nester days were short lived (LOL) as two out of three of my kids are now back home! Courtney is here by choice living in our lower level to save money for awhile, Luke is back home because his college is now closed for a month and they will hold remote classes the rest of the year. They are not allowed to stay in the dorms, so he’s back with us until fall!
I’m actually quite happy to have my kids back under our roof (well, except Kylee who is safe in her home with her husband Lance!). Life is definitely going to be different for awhile, but at least we are together! We just have to roll with the changes, pray for protection, and trust that we are going to be OK, in spite of how frenzied and strange it might feel in the world right now.
I know so many are in a more dire situation than we are and our prayers go out to everyone. I’m so grateful to those of you who support our family through this small business and for all of the ways you enable us to continue to do what we do.
As a homebody I love the “staying home” part of this situation, of course, but I don’t love the very unsettling circumstances outside our door. I don’t love that people I love are sick, or that so many people are impacted or will be in the weeks to come.
But even through all the uncertainty, I still want to be a gatekeeper of our home. More than ever, I want our home to be a place where we experience peace, joy, faith, beauty, comfort and wellness. I choose to focus on the privilege of doing what I can to make our home our sanctuary. This is an opportunity to create a safe shelter in every sense of the word. I am honored to continue to inspire you to do the same.
We’ll stay positive and uplifting and encouraging but still real. This is a difficult season. The world feels very unsettling right now, but as a community we will continue to do what we can to support each other as we bring beauty, joy and hope to the place we call home.
I have some fun things planned for us all, so let’s stick together!
I hope you enjoy the inspiration in this week’s Home Style Saturdays!
Southern Hospitality | Spring Home Tour
StoneGable | Beautiful Chinoiserie Egg DIY
The Inspired Room | Our Trex Deck Reveal: Before and After
Designthusiasm | Where to Buy a French Farmhouse Couch
On Sutton Place | Easter Egg Centerpiece
Shabbyfufu | How To Make Tissue Paper Pom Poms
Stay well, friends!
Thank you. I needed to read something positive like this today.
I love your emails, post and blog, so much visual stimuli, I want to run out and shop! Oops probably not a good idea right now, but there is on line shopping. Time to start cooking and nesting, which I love too!
Blessings to you, your family, and your community, Melissa. We came to your lovely city last summer after after visiting Olympic National Park. I think anytime you’ve traveled to a place, you always feel some connection to it, and in this case, worry for the people there. Even here in Missouri where we’ve had only a few confirmed cases so far, students like Luke are coming home to finish the semester remotely and event cancellations are widespread. Thank you for your beautiful and uplifting spirit for which we are always grateful, no more so that right now. You’ve helped inspire me to do some spring cleaning and decorating today!
I hope you stay well “up there” in Seattle! I’m a bit further South (SF Bay Area), but feeling just a bit nervy … I’m in the “high risk” age group! But I’m settling in with the cats and making Easter cards for friends and family, so I’m keeping busy! Your email brightened a rainy morning for me!
Both my children are being faced with either kids returning from closed colleges, or an only-child, middle-schooler’s classes being conducted on-line. The latter is probably the most climatic because she is a very social teenager and the isolation is “traumatic!” I so appreciate your positive and faith based approach to this difficult time. We are reminded again that we are not in control, but an Almighty, sovereign God who loves us is. He can be trusted!
I love that you include your dog in everything!
Yes! My husband and I (in Portland) are choosing to invest in love and comfort right now. We’re surveying through our freezer/pantry, using our fun kitchen items (like our mixer and cast iron), and learning new cooking techniques. Yay for homemade pizza crust, focaccia, pasta, and hamburger buns! And yay for making sure our home is comfortable, clean and pretty right now.
I hope his university is at least refunding his prorated room and board.
There are no confirmed cases here in the U.P. of Michigan yet even though the lower peninsula has some. We all need to observe extreme measures of social distancing, cleaning and sanitizing to slow the spread. Schools are closed through the whole state for the next 3 weeks and colleges and universities have gone to online only. Unsettling for sure. I check your blog daily, and look forward to all your posts, thank you.