My beautiful Mother's Day Card

Today is Mother’s Day #1 for me, and motherhood is the only thing on my mind. So today, I’m going to indulge myself a little and not feel the least bit guilty about it since half of our young blog’s subscribers are Rich’s Mom and my own (that’s right, we now have 4 followers – w00t!). I need to talk a little bit about my Mom and my Bonus Mom, and what little I’ve figured out in this first year of motherhood.

Baby Love

My Mom is my business partner (ok, boss…but she treats me as an equal) and my best friend. If you had asked me 10 years ago if I’d like to spend as much working time and personal time with my Mother as I do now I would have laughed (and she would have too) – what a ridiculous idea! But the decision to work with my Mom has opened new doors, both personal and professional, and has brought us closer than I could have imagined – we found the one thing that we had in common, love of beautiful spaces, and built it into a relationship of mutual respect, trust, and friendship. Mom, this respect, trust, and friendship that you’ve shown to me has given me a belief in my own talent and strength as a daughter, a writer, a designer, and a mom. You’ve had my back, without question, through every new endeavor, you’ve sat through tears and laughter when I go on and on about my new family when we should be sourcing sofas or choosing paint colors, and you’ve given me the opportunity to spend my days doing what I love with the people I love. You’ve sacrificed for me, and loved me unconditionally all of my life and taught me that family truly is the place where you can always turn. Thank God we don’t get to choose our own Mothers, because I never could have chosen so well. Happy Mother’s Day!

Ori and MeMe

Shirlie is Rich’s Mom and my Bonus Mom. Shirlie, let me tell you how my day started today: Rich and Orion woke me at just before 7, letting me sleep in just a little. I came of the bedroom to breakfast and coffee, thoughtful gifts and cards from both of them, and freshly painted, beachy rattan chairs that Rich stayed up all night painting so that he could surprise me with them on Mother’s Day. And everyday is like this – he consistently sacrifices his own comforts and indulgences for mine and Ori’s. He’s an amazing partner and father, and I credit you. I know that it’s you that instilled these things in him, because I’ve watched you sacrifice for your own family in the same ways and many more. I’m afraid to tell you that you do too much for the people you love, because you’ve been here for us in every selfless way that I can imagine, but you do. I hope that today, on Mother’s Day, you let the rest of us fend for ourselves and indulge in yourself – you deserve it! Happy Mother’s Day.

What I know about motherhood today that I didn’t know a year ago is that it’s a study in opposites. A number of studies have shown that people with children are less happy overall than childless people, and that makes as much sense to me now that I am a Mother as it did years ago when I thought I would likely stay single and childless forever. The fear and the stress and the responsibility of motherhood weighs heavy when compared to the carefree lifestyle of my single days so I can see how overall happiness could be sacrificed in the daily grind. But what those studies didn’t tell me, is that my moments of joy and gratitude would be so much more meaningful and so much more deeply felt – there’s a whole other part of my heart that I didn’t know existed. For every bit of terror at having this small, new life in my hands, there is delight in watching him explore his new world. For every bit of self doubt when I look at what’s facing me as a mother, there is deeply felt strength – I am MOM, I will figure it out and do what’s best for my child. For every sacrifice, financial, emotional, or physical, there is reward in the moments of overwhelming love that I didn’t know I was capable of. I can see how a carefree single lifestyle could seem “happier” than parenting, but the little boosts that I get everyday…I wouldn’t give them up for any amount of money, or nights out with friends, or beautiful, clutter free homes. They are so much more amazing than I could have imagined, and I love being a Mom. And today I am strengthened by the knowledge that through the gifts, the advice, and the love we have received from our own parents, Rich and I have the tools we need to give Orion a strong foundation for a good life.

I don’t connect with poetry, generally speaking. Some of that is because it can come off as egotistical; some of it is because it often feels forced. Sometimes it seems irrelevant to my world. Mostly, I assume, poetry is something I haven’t taken the time to understand…and I’m ok with that. I don’t have time to understand everything (or even anything some days). But I stumbled on this TED talk this morning and I cried. She touched me with her poetry. It’s almost Mother’s Day, my 1st as a mother, and so I’m likely a little emotional about being a “Point B”, but there’s something else here that’s hitting hard. Get up, get kicked, get up again…like a dumb dog. But what choice do we have really? Keep trying, keep reaching, keep knowing that at the very least, you’ll be stronger for it next round. And at the most…those perfect moments of stunning beauty, humbling gratitude, and a connection to a small part of the world that makes it all worthwhile.

My ideas for the direction of this new blog feel scattered (as my thoughts so often do)…people, places, things…as if I’m defining “noun”. But when I break it down, as Sarah asks the audience to do at the 4 minute mark: list what you know is true, and think about what my personal truths are for people, places and things I find direction.

In Interior Design, we need a starting point that defines the direction of the space. This not only tells us where to start, but it also gives us a touch point for the entire process so that if we begin to lose our way, we have a road map to tell us where to go next. That’s what I’d like this post to be for Blue Star Drive – a road map for my scattered head so I can stay on track, and a place for our potential (hopefully) readers to look to understand what this is all for.

Further into her talk, Sarah suggests that the whole point of everything (for her, anyway) is to use her words to connect. And that hit me like a ton of bricks. Our blog is about people: family, friends, and the people in our communities with whom we connect. Our blog is about places: the places in our communities that we feel a connection to, either through history, or through the love and the creativity that has been poured into them. Our blog is about things: things that we love and things that inspire us to create and to build our own community, whether at home or out in the world. These people, places, and things are the building blocks to our perfect moments. And the point of our blog is to use our words to connect and to build our community beyond our physical location (it’s what the internets were made for).

1950's? Atomic Joy (not the actual name....but they should be called that...)

How cute are those? Dainty and a little bit organic and screaming for a cup of coffee and some chocolate cake (and a new home…seeing those sweet little dishes in this old cabinet definitely gives me the urge to paint it a great color!).

But we were talking about Grant’s….

This place, and these people are great. Room after creaky room, full of dusty treasures to covet and really knowledgeable staff that works just as hard at promoting their small town as they do at promoting their business. They know the truth: success for their community is the best way to ensure success for themselves and they are working hard at being active members of their community and a “hub” for history enthusiasts. In a push to get Galesburg on the map as THE place for antiques, they’ve started a campaign to welcome new antique businesses to town by promoting them directly and sharing advertising costs, and they sponsor living history events in town throughout the summer.

When we were in last, they had just purchased the old garage across the street to house another quirky building full of history.- Corner Station Antiques. I can’t wait to see the transformation (and the goodies)!

Until I can get back there again, I’ll be dreaming of paint colors and chocolate cakes to make my sweet little dessert plates sing. Maybe I’ll even do something about it and next time you see me I’ll be talking about the fabulous chocolate cake I talked Rich into making or that my Hoosier Cabinet is the prettiest, happiest, painted-est piece you’ve ever seen.

That attractive man on the left is Rich. He’s a freelance artist, a comic book nerd, a creative cook, and he does his own tattoos. The cutie on the right? That’s Amber. She’s an interior decorator, a bookworm, and is un-inked. We’re crazy about each other and crazy about the life we’re finding in the Mitten State. Have you been to Michigan? It’s a study in contrasts – thriving lake shore communities with left over rust belt communities in between and the natural beauty of our beaches and forests punctuated with industrial and urban decay. We’re searching those communities and the spaces in-between for things that fire up our imaginations:

• We’re looking for great little antique shops because furniture and treasures that contain history and a little love are infinitely more interesting than stock
• We’re looking for fabulous little restaurants and well stocked farmers’ markets because food is art
• We’re looking for the best little Mom & Pop locations because people who are chasing the American dream are “our” people

So here, we’ll share what we find and where we find it so that you can say hi to the small business men and women that keep our state vibrant, but we’ll also share what we do with those things. Refinishing, repainting, refreshing, and re-envisioning the old and discarded to bring that sense of history home, measuring out exactly how much love to add to all of the other fresh ingredients we’ve found to make your grandmother proud of your creative meal, as well as thoughts, criticisms, and ideas regarding art, design and family.