Hi. A lot of people have written me wondering where the hell I went. I’m not dead yet, but lately anything beyond merest survival has eluded my grasp. In any given day juggling a newborn and a three year old leaves me about five spare seconds to rub together, and I’m just wondering if it’s worth it to come back to blogging.
My kids need me. My husband needs me. My laundry piles need me.
But decorating is a disease, you know? I can’t stop fantasizing about kitchen and bathroom renovations, pasting wide swaths of wallpaper over anything that will stand still, and of course… repainting.
Because who would I be if I didn’t redo everything I’ve already done? I live in an experimental lab, and someday soon I hope that people will hire me to experiment on effortlessly redecorate their homes, too.
Also, it appears I am hosting a HUGE Thanksgiving party at our house… PANIC MODE!!!
Really who would I be if I weren’t a complete and utter basketcase? I know a lot of you are concerned about this aspect of my personality, but I kind of get off on pressure.
(Cue Queen and David Bowie)
So I suppose my endless, self indulgent stress is something worth blogging about. Maybe.
Anyway, let’s take a look at what I need to do before the masses arrive for dinner.
#1. Figure out how to seat 20 people. Or at least eight in the dinette area.
Our replacement marble table may or may not arrive in November, so we could be stuck with a rickety piece of vintage pecan shit. Hopefully it won’t collapse under the weight of an 800 pound turkey and enough casseroles to initiate myocardial meltdown. I think we may have to get rid of some furniture…
#2. Renovate entire kitchen.
Yeah, I never got around to painting our hideous cabinets before the baby came. Surprise!
I’d rather just rip everything out anyway. Should I go traditional?
Euro – nouveau?
Or somewhere in between?
Who am I kidding? I have even less money than time. But just maybe I can figure out a way to paint those god forsaken cabinets.
#3. Redo office/guest bedroom.
This will be the third time I paint that room… don’t tell Ben. Not yet, anyway.
I’m thinking dark sexy green. I’m sure the office/guest room will look EXACTLY like this.
Or this.
Somehow I managed to cobble together a moodboard for this redo (moodboards mean I am for serious). Do you want to see it, or do mood boards just piss you off?
#4. Wallpaper the damn hallway, already.
Oh, how I wish I could afford Zuber.
Or for David Hick to reanimate himself and come visit me.
Or Cole and Son’s Nuvole, which I have been obsessing about 4EVR (I must have ebola, because I can’t believe I just typed that).
I do, however, have three rolls of Neisha Crosland’s Zebra, and if I can ever paste it up it will be RAD.
Can I start a collection plate to save Erin’s brain? Thanks.
#5. Tweak the kid rooms.
They are almost done… just need a few accessories and then I can shoot them.
Or you know, I could start over and make Ike’s room look more like this.
Or this. HOW COOL IS THIS ROOM?!
And the baby’s room should probably look more like this. I must have that bed.
That is all. Basically I am unhappy with everything I’ve “made,” but don’t feel sorry for me (or, more likely, be disgusted by me). Dissatisfaction is just my normative state of being. I’ll be happy when things are perfect.
Ok, maybe you should feel a little bit sorry for me. I am obviously insane.
Also, am I insane for still blogging? This post took me all day to write… and if you haven’t read this post by Jenny then you should, because then you will know I am not alone in the to-blog-or-not-to-blog conundrum. Writing a quality post (which this may or may not be) is a lot of work.
I have so many post ideas about art and fabrics and trends and my house (duh), but my time is very very precious.
Yeah, that is kind of a sad little plea for feedback.
What would you like to read about here?
Ok, gotta clean the baby puke out of my bra and make sure Ike isn’t playing with knives…
Good to proverbially see you guys again. I’ve missed you.
Toodles.
[pictures via my pinterest, because I be tired]
No related posts.
yay, new post! I’m glad you’re still alive
But why still no word of Karly??
I just came by to leave a link, knowing your love for staged photography, and considering your current priorities, I think you will love this: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1447807309/worlds-best-father-2013-calendar
Feedback-wise, please don’t stop. If you need a break, TAKE A BREAK. But please come back, I’m sure your readers won’t forget you in the meantime
I LOVE reading your blog. I live in Austin and want to be your friend.
It’s so hard with a new baby. Take it easy on yourself and post when you can or want to, but I would be sad if you stopped.
please keep posting! you really do have a unique voice and your posts crack me up! also you make me feel better about all of my own re-re-re-decorating and painting
I have been missing your blogging! i pretty much like anything that you blog. i know it must feel tedius blogging when you have so much to do.. i think you should only do it if it is an outlet for yourself. that you have something you want to talk about and design crisis is your outlet and your medium… you shouldn’t feel obligated to update a bunch of stranger friends on your life, but a lot of people do like your voice and what you have to say.. i am happy to read whatever you have to say when it pops up in my google reader.. please be well and know you only have to do what makes you happiest… take care!
I’m so glad your second born hasn’t murdered you (yet)! Huzzah! And I’m in agreement with those above who say if you need time off, take it. I, for one, will always want to know what artist is inspiring you, what conundrum you’re in, what project you’re re-doing, or what you’re wishing you could do to your place if you had zillions of dollars. I’m always inspired by you – you find the art in interiors and I think that’s rare.
I also would love for you to post on some other famous (by famous I mean established, or have portfolios of work you can share) designers/artists whom you admire. I’m always seeing your pins, and wondering, how the hell does she know who they are? I need me some education, design-crisis-style. Your own home woes are dead fascinating, but I’m in no hurry to see everything finished. Sometimes, the process is just as fascinating as the end result.
And, for serious, tend to your family, and your needs. If you post once a week, great! If it’s once a month, super! Follow your heart, your gut, and your own timeline – the rest of us will happily cruise along with you.
Congratulations again on your new addition. I’m sure in no time this overwhelmed state will be a thing of the past, and you’ll be happily snapping and writing away again. At least I hope so. xoxo
I have also missed you and am always happy to see you come up on my reader – but yes, if you want to stop or take a break, then go for it.
Erin! i really hope you don’t give up blogging all together! who else would make me feel like my visions of custom upholstery, pricey wallpaper, and constant (re)painting are normal?! seriously, i know it must be exhausting to have 2 little ones, but i was so happy to see your post today. btw, i love moodboards. they mean i’m serious too. now, with all of your spare time, please put that gorgeous zebra wallpaper in your damn hallway and show us pics. i could care less if there are drop cloths and paint cans in the photos. like what one reader already said, the process can be just as fascinating as the end result!
I don’t even have kids and I can barely find the energy to blog. I hate the guilt that comes with being absent for so long though so I get the conundrum. Good luck with whatever you decide.
DON’T EVER STOP I NEED YOU.
That sounds creepy, huh?
But for serious, man.
Ok, so I’m a loyal blog reader, but I don’t comment much. Trying to be better about that. At the risk of sounding a little pathetic, I’d be sad for certain blogs to go..the ones that are written by people that I would want to hang out with in real life. It would feel like losing friends. Geez, dramatic much?? Yeah, I know I don’t really know you or Jenny, but my real life friends are not into obsessing over interiors and craig’s list re-do’s so reading blogs by people I can actually imagine being friends with gives me that little fix. With that being said, I have gone back and forth for years on whether to even begin blogging and I have zero kids so I get the pros and cons etc. I hope you don’t quit, though
First of all, I just love reading your writing. You could talk about Ike’s bowel movements and I would be enthralled.
I’m not sure this is possible, knowing what little I do of your personality… but take some pressure off yourself. Post when you can and when you are inspired. Once a week without guilt.
I’ve been pressuring myself to post everyday and even though I have no babies ITS JUST TOO MUCH.
Share moodboards yes please! Share your rooms before you repaint them (crazy.) I’m all about your original content- though I know that takes the most time!
Whats up with that slow table? And hosting Thanksgiving? You double crazy.
So so soooo happy to see a post for you. I don’t personaly feel a lack of inspiration for blogging, but I do totally FEEL it out in the blogosphere. I’ve been scanning my reader and feeling depressed. You are one bright spot in my world.
smoochies
Naomi
First Jenny, now you? Please please please don’t go anywhere. Take time, do what you need, but please don’t leave. I too am a loyal reader who doesn’t comment much (sorry). While my style differs from yours, I so very much appreciate your design aesthetic and love the images you post (here and on Pinterest). What I appreciate most though, is how you are tackling your new house. I find the odd spaces, high windows, oak everything, cheap fixtures of “modern” housing confusing. Seeing how you have transformed your house (even mid-transformation) has been eye-opening and inspiring (honestly). So be indecisive, be dramatic, be a perfectionist – just please take us along on the ride…when you have the time to do so.
I’m a brand new reader but please (begging/pleading) keep blogging when you can.
You gotta do what you gotta do. We’ll be sad to see you go if you no longer pop up in our feeds, but I think we’ll all understand.
That said, I really love your blog and would certainly keep reading even if you only posted once a month. You have a great voice and impeccable taste. (I think I repin every other pin of yours, which makes me feel a little creepy sometimes…) I love watching you decorate your home, from idea conception to final execution. And yes to moodboards!
So go if you must, but we’ll still be here if you decide you enjoy blogging as an occasional creative outlet.
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your blog, and like Naomi I too would read about poo if you were writing it!!
I read Jenny’s post and I’m in the same boat. It’s all a little too familiar these days. I started my blog for me, not for the masses (Masses-ha! I have like 10 readers)! I’m totally guilty of craptastic posts as of late. However, I finally realized that I’m the only one putting pressure on myself to crank out these awesome daily posts. I just don’t have it in me and really I don’t want it in me-that’s what she said! I want to spend time enjoying my children before they’re angst ridden teenagers (Lord spare me!!)! My family is WAY more important than blogging. Having a baby is like one big epiphany for your life-huh!? So, do what works for you, we’ll all understand.
Oh and yes to moodboards and don’t worry I’m hating my house too.
PS-When David Hicks is done at your place send him my way!
I just wanted to pop in and tell you how excited I was today when I saw there was a new post from you. Your blog is one of my absolute favorites!!! I love all the rooms and inspiration pics you choose to share and loooove the way you write. I am always reading out loud to my husband different comments you say or stories you have shared. I understand family comes first always, but just know your hard work and dedication to your blog is truly enjoyed!
I understand not having the time or energy to blog, but I also would be sad to see you leave blogging. I love your design sense and when you share the decision making and results in your own house. It’s very inspiring and an opportunity to learn about mixing pattern, metals and color in a unique way.
Can I just say you were my first blog crush and I have yet to find your equal? Yes, I can. So keep it up even though you are pulled inexorably toward the vortex of motherhood. Just post when you can and we’ll be watching and waiting.
It’s great to see a new post from you, Erin!
I think that blogs are being killed off by Instagram, Tumblr and Pinterest — at least in the sense that every young woman has one. I periodically think about killing mine and just staring a Pinterest, since that’s basically all my blog is anyway.
If you want to use your blog for monetary gain or career advancement, it requires a steady serious commitment; it’s a job. Better to just keep it fun! I always enjoy reading what you have to say, as well as finding things like Cole & Sons Nuvole (love it!). Post when you feel like it. No pressure.
Start w/baby steps. If you can offer one post a week then do so. Eventaually maybe it’ll be two posts a week, but there is no rush. Just know you have a lot of readers who adore your blog & would hate to lose your writing & design conundrums & the like. And while it would be tragic to lose you & your voice, make sure you are still writing this blog because you enjoy it. That’s most important. And for the love of Chanel please paint your kitchens cabinets because I am dying to paint mine but we live in a rental so I need to live vicariously through you.
More please! More please! Frankly, though, I have only one wee toddler, and I’m totally impressed you wrote that post in one day. I totally respect where you are… take your time so you don’t burn out… and then please come back.
Please don’t stop. It seems as though truly interesting and original blogging is headed for extinction.
Dear Erin,
After all these years, it’s hard to say goodbye but I’m leaving you! Seriously, why have you not become a wealthy and much admired professional writer? You have a great talent and perhaps, when your children are both in school, you will allow yourself to be hunted down and made to write regularly. (for money of course)
Life is too short to waste on needless obligations and I urge you to write for yourself instead. I was deeply moved by your homage to Cy Twombly and startled by your clear, witty, wise and honest voice. It was a GREAT piece of writing. Perhaps you are not too busy to write but are simply outgrowing the design blog format. I hope I will hear of you again one day – a book perhaps?
My deepest apologies to you and Karly for only the occasional comment to your site but please know that I have enjoyed reading Design Crisis (from my home in far-away Ecuador) for as long as you have enjoyed writing it!
Farewell and thank you!
oh but it is nice to see you come up in my reader – all though I feel the guilt of taking up your time!!
this might help you with your budget kitchen makeover – you will thank me!
http://www.rustoleum.com/CBGCategory.asp?cid=50
xx
I just found you, please don’t go away. Your writing is real, fabulous, and I think, uncensored, which I love. Clearly, many design bloggers must have staff (nannies, housekeepers, gardeners, and generous trust funds) or ghost-writers who allow them hours each day at their computer. I prefer great style achieved through trial and error, mistakes admitted, corrected, and re-purposed elsewhere, with anecdotes about normal life, kids, relationships, and neurosis – in real language peppered with expletives. Take care of those babies, but come to entertain and inform us when ever you have a moment.
I have a four year old and another one on the way. The fact that you managed to write this post really inspires me. If you need to take a break I will understand. But please know that your writing and design taste has inspired me many, many times. You have talent and surely should be able to find clients who are willing to pay you for your work. Good luck in whatever you decide to do.
I’m starting to realize that facebook and pinterest keep me connected to my cyber-friends (all 4 of them) and it is MUCH the easier, softer way….
…children, the house, the husband, the dog, the laundry, the job, the running, the meal-making; I’m feeling like blogging is just not so important anymore.
And I can’t imagine having a newborn and trying to do it!!
That said, your blogging voice is so clear and distinct, and so loved, that you would be missed if you completely went away. A new post by you in the feeder is a gem, and I will read with joy *whenever* you write.
Yes, mood boards do make me irritable, but I’m so glad to read a post by you that I’ll take it. Congratulations on the new human.
Baby is napping so I have a few seconds to say, thank you! I’m a little bowled over by your kindness, both from old pals and new.
I’m going to try to keep the posts coming… we’ll see what happens.
xo,
Erin
This is actually the very first time I have ever left a comment on a blog. I have started reading your blog recently, and I think your voice and writing style are unique, funny and relatable. So don’t stop! And as for the content of these blogs being “the same”, how many original story lines are there out in the world really? And yet, sometimes we love hearing the same one told all over again from a smart and witty perspective. I think your readers will still turn to you for your take on something we maybe have seen before- just to see what you think. I know I will.
So glad you are back, if even momentarily. I need your insanity to help make me feel sane
Please don’t give it up completely! I don’t think you understand how rare your voice, taste, and design knowledge are in the world of blogging. You don’t have to make any decisions – just post when you can, and when you do, don’t think it needs to be mind blowing and perfect. I think all your long time readers realize your perfectionism tendencies, but two young kids means that goes out the window. And time changes all things, and at some point you will want to get back in business, baby! thanks for the post~
Hello hello!
I have never commented before but I want to let you know that I LOVE your blog.
I check in almost everyday and when I only have time to read a few of my favorite blogs? you are still on my can’t-miss-it-list. I don’t have an opinion on what you post so I just wanted to send a little encouragement your way. Your real life should absolutely take 100% top priority but when you do get that appetite for blogging and are considering posting, please know that when you do, it will be appreciated. A lot. By me. Thanks for all your hard work- you do your thang with style and wit.
you. are. awesome.
Just saw this post today, so what can I possibly say that those before me didn’t? Yours is among a very short list of blogs that I visit regularly, and is far and away my favorite for all the same reasons everyone else has noted. I think you should post when you can, when you feel like it, when the spirit moves you and not more than that. I check (almost) every day just in case, and what a treat to be periodically rewarded for my curiosity!
I’m glad you posted. I was starting to think the new Peanut was sick. Glad your beautiful family is doing well.
Ok. I rarely post, but you asked, and so I will…About blogging… It’s dying, or dead, for sure. It’s kind of like oversaturated reality TV for the home decor/lifestyle people now, except instead of Honey Boo Boo and Pawn Stars, we’re choking on chevron rugs and starburst mirrors. Everyone blogs, and most do so with rather poor writing and predictable images, if I may say so.
HOWEVER, your blog is an exception. Let’s celebrate you for a paragraph! Instead of using phrases like “ridiculously talented,” “nourishing,” and “flex my creative muscles,” you come up with “Hotastic” and the liberal helping of profanity. Keeping it real, hooker! Thank you for not posting pictures of every fucking thing in black and white. Thank you for not blogging about The Smiths or Michael Jackson, and thank you for not posting shit tons of pictures of your living room rearranged every weekend. And most of all, thanks for not posting pictures of your pets! You push boundaries, and that’s a good thing.
I used to blog, when I was trying to fix up my 60′s house that has a GLITTER POPCORN CEILING and I was looking for ways to make it work as I couldn’t afford a $50,000 remodel. But then, I went to graduate school and I just had no time and was tired of it. I have kids too. Two kids under the age of 10. And my family needed me to. And I would say this to you, because you are probably younger, and you live in Austin too, and you are a good woman…go with the family. The kids grow up so fast, you don’t want to miss it. Trust me. Before you know it, they’ll be in middle school and looking at porn on the internet. And your house will never be done, or perfect, or just how you want it. The time we take to look at screens takes away from being present in the chaos that is real life. We need an escape, but you should do this only if it’s enjoyable for you.
In the end, you do whatever the hell you want, chica! But thank you, for the inspiration.
Wow!!! I told you. Them Roy’s Ain’t Bullshitting!!
I love your blog. After I found you I read it all the way to the beginning (too stalker-ish?) I would be sad if you stopped writing.
I only read a handful of blogs and find them to be unique so I don’t see the over-saturation that the other commentators are talking about. And I like reading it all on the blogs I do read – before and afters, mood boards, recipes, pet photos, kid photos, pictures of their homes, etc. I find that its not so much the topic of the posts but the tone and voice of the writer that I enjoy. Pretty pictures help.
I also have a little blog and try to post only when I have something new to say. And my pictures are pretty crappy. I use it a little bit like a diary or journal. My 12 readers seem to like it.
Don’t feel pressure to post. I think blogging should be enjoyable. Post when you can, when you have something to say. I’ll be here to read it!
This is my first time commenting. I discovered your blog at around the time you were on new-baby hiatus, and I read a ton of your older posts. I love your style, and your writing is hilarious, so I’m selfishly hoping your life settles down and you’re able to find time for blogging again. But don’t push yourself. The transition from one kids to two is huge! Take care of yourself, sleep, eat, enjoy your kids, cook 800-lb turkeys. The blog will always be here.
Hi there! Well let me just start by saying I KNOW…I have three kids (7,4, and 1) so again girl, I know!!! But if you are considering the “not to blog” side of the coin bc no one out there really appreciates you, please know that is not the case! I get it; I’m replying to this 9/26 post on 10/20 so the demands of motherhood are not lost on me, but you are such a killer creative gal, i’m pretty sure that blogging is good for you (insert the take time for yourself lecture here) and believe me, it’s good for the rest of us too. Here’s a couple of pats on the back for you:
1. You are the ONLY blog I read…yep, only one and you are the winner!!! Your personal & writing style are rad and you actually give tons of inspiration about items/labels/styles I never knew was missing all my life until you you used em. You are so different from all the other stuff out there that may appeal to the masses, but certainly not to me. So I for one totally need you in my life.
2. It was single handedly your blog that convinced me it would be okay to follow my husband from metro Atlanta to the sticks of middle Georgia…you helped me realize that it was not where I lived but who I was that would make my home, well home. And I love it here. It is a fun college town with umpteen thousand markets/ art fairs/ festivals I would have never ventured out to if I were still in the Atl. And I thank you for that, as well as for the idea of what to look for at said gatherings to make my house seem (if only to me) somewhere in the realm as cool as yours. Btw, of you are looking for a challenge, how bout a post on how to make a lakeside cedar cabin look chic??? Totally kidding, I know a challenge these days is remembering what side you last nursed on. But my baby is almost two, and I have lived to tell you that someday in the near future you are going to be able to pull up your shirt without your nips poking through those weird triangle things, because you were too busy chasing after a toddler to actually strap yourself back up. Ahhh, the problems you never dreamed you would have
Anyway, take some time for the fam, take some time for yourself, and if you can, take some time for us with a little shout out every now and then and know that you will be out of the weeds before you know it. And mostly I just wanted to say a big “thank you” for sharing your funny, identifiable, inspirational self with us!!!
Awwwwwww, THANKS! That warmed the cockles of my cold, sleep deprived heart
Although I prefer a darker aesthetic myself I found your use of items and sense of style fascinating. Humour shows itself a companion to good taste methinks!
You mentioned a desire to replicate a metal finished kitchen in Copper and brass…Foils! Embossing grade brass and copper foils can be glued over existing cleaned and prepped surfaces for the fraction of the price of actual sheet-metal. With simple techniques they can be bent and folded,even molded to fit into most nooks and cranny’s..If you can do Origami the you can work with foils.
Hope that’s of some help to you, you can let the metal return to it’s natural patina or highly polish and clear coat it with epoxy for an enduring gleam.
jeff