Hello lovelies, so weekend has started. And this is India and we celebrate an amazing festival here tomorrow. I am doing a special post tomorrow describing Diwali to the world. Don't miss it out!
And here today, we have February Grace, author of "Of Stardust", which I will be reviewing in the next month. And she has given us a great guest post with adorable images of her life. I loved it and I hope you do too.
Welcome, February!
My habitat has changed a lot in the past year or so. For fourteen years we lived in 1000+ sq. foot, two bedroom townhouse- 200 square feet of which consisted of storage space in the basement. When my daughter moved out and we needed less space, we opted to downsize in a major way: to a small one bedroom apartment in a more desirable area, at the cost of space to store stuff.
Going through the process of sorting/donating/giving away was exhausting but also liberating. I have come to love our little 800 sq. foot, one bedroom apartment. For one thing, I have to think very hard before I bring anything new into the place, and I won't do so unless I know for certain exactly where it's going to go!
At the old place, I wrote holed up in a dark little corner of the living room. Now, we have a living room with a cathedral ceiling that feels very open and I have claimed what would have been the 'dining area' in that open plan for my workspace for writing, painting, making collages, and collecting the things I do collect. It is wonderful to write comfortably out in the open, (well, except when he decides that he wants to try to push the laptop off of my lap.)
I don't write at a desk at all anymore. This came about of necessity as I have a very bad back so I need to sit in a comfortable position to be able to write at all. This is my favorite glider rocker.
I actually use a lap desk for my laptop and the rocking ottoman to prop my feet up while writing. This is what I see from where I sit.
This is one of my favorite views in the apartment. Being that it is so small, I have tried to infuse personality into every little corner I can. On this shelf you'll find some of my favorite books, as well as notebooks from novels past and present, a figurine or two, and a couple of things that are keepsakes I've picked up representing key items in my stories (note the model of Gus's 1958 Chevy pickup from OF STARDUST in this shot.)
To the left of the bookshelf is another little bookshelf, with a memory board behind it and little boxes and my favorite place to keep my pencils.
To my right, there is some of my own artwork on the walls. I favor bright colors. I always have, but after losing my sight entirely for a time and then only regaining part of it back (but gaining what I call 'hyper colors' thanks to my eyes not filtering UV anymore after several surgeries) I especially love having the white walls to showcase the colors of my paintings and also collages that I make. Many of those are also inspiration pieces for stories I am or have worked on.
If I turn to my extreme right and look almost over my shoulder into the kitchen (the place where all-important coffee and chocolate ice cream sodas- my fuel- are made) I see some of the Disney keepsakes I have picked up over the years. I am especially fond of Disney Monorails so you can see, my kitchen shows that. There are several more Monorails in other locations in the kitchen.
Finally, when I sit on the couch (which I like to do when I'm editing stories on paper away from the screen) I'm facing the other direction. There is a huge, sunny glass door wall to let in lots of light on summer days, and another of my favorite views in the apartment: a Disney themed painting I did, along with a bookshelf/bench holding my collection of hardcover Victoria Magazine decorating books (which is one of my few prized possessions) and a few plush friends.
Notice the throw pillow in the middle- I picked that up on my last trip to Walt Disney World and felt it quite an appropriate addition to my home, especially now that I have made such close friends with a few Fairy Godparents : It says: "Believe In Magic."
I hope you've enjoyed this peek behind the scenes at me in my unique habitat! Thank you so much to Vidya for hosting me today!
And here today, we have February Grace, author of "Of Stardust", which I will be reviewing in the next month. And she has given us a great guest post with adorable images of her life. I loved it and I hope you do too.
Welcome, February!
IN MY HABITAT
- Guest Post by February Grace
My habitat has changed a lot in the past year or so. For fourteen years we lived in 1000+ sq. foot, two bedroom townhouse- 200 square feet of which consisted of storage space in the basement. When my daughter moved out and we needed less space, we opted to downsize in a major way: to a small one bedroom apartment in a more desirable area, at the cost of space to store stuff.
Going through the process of sorting/donating/giving away was exhausting but also liberating. I have come to love our little 800 sq. foot, one bedroom apartment. For one thing, I have to think very hard before I bring anything new into the place, and I won't do so unless I know for certain exactly where it's going to go!
At the old place, I wrote holed up in a dark little corner of the living room. Now, we have a living room with a cathedral ceiling that feels very open and I have claimed what would have been the 'dining area' in that open plan for my workspace for writing, painting, making collages, and collecting the things I do collect. It is wonderful to write comfortably out in the open, (well, except when he decides that he wants to try to push the laptop off of my lap.)
I don't write at a desk at all anymore. This came about of necessity as I have a very bad back so I need to sit in a comfortable position to be able to write at all. This is my favorite glider rocker.
I actually use a lap desk for my laptop and the rocking ottoman to prop my feet up while writing. This is what I see from where I sit.
This is one of my favorite views in the apartment. Being that it is so small, I have tried to infuse personality into every little corner I can. On this shelf you'll find some of my favorite books, as well as notebooks from novels past and present, a figurine or two, and a couple of things that are keepsakes I've picked up representing key items in my stories (note the model of Gus's 1958 Chevy pickup from OF STARDUST in this shot.)
To the left of the bookshelf is another little bookshelf, with a memory board behind it and little boxes and my favorite place to keep my pencils.
To my right, there is some of my own artwork on the walls. I favor bright colors. I always have, but after losing my sight entirely for a time and then only regaining part of it back (but gaining what I call 'hyper colors' thanks to my eyes not filtering UV anymore after several surgeries) I especially love having the white walls to showcase the colors of my paintings and also collages that I make. Many of those are also inspiration pieces for stories I am or have worked on.
If I turn to my extreme right and look almost over my shoulder into the kitchen (the place where all-important coffee and chocolate ice cream sodas- my fuel- are made) I see some of the Disney keepsakes I have picked up over the years. I am especially fond of Disney Monorails so you can see, my kitchen shows that. There are several more Monorails in other locations in the kitchen.
Finally, when I sit on the couch (which I like to do when I'm editing stories on paper away from the screen) I'm facing the other direction. There is a huge, sunny glass door wall to let in lots of light on summer days, and another of my favorite views in the apartment: a Disney themed painting I did, along with a bookshelf/bench holding my collection of hardcover Victoria Magazine decorating books (which is one of my few prized possessions) and a few plush friends.
Notice the throw pillow in the middle- I picked that up on my last trip to Walt Disney World and felt it quite an appropriate addition to my home, especially now that I have made such close friends with a few Fairy Godparents : It says: "Believe In Magic."
I hope you've enjoyed this peek behind the scenes at me in my unique habitat! Thank you so much to Vidya for hosting me today!
