e s t a t e    s a l e 

In the spring on 2019 my family moved from our large farmhouse to a sweet spanish style  house a few blocks away.

With the layout being completely different, most of my antique pieces from my personal collection didn't fit.

I am finally pulling them out of storage and having my own mini estate sale.

Tacoma, WA local pick up only.

Inquiries mcchomedecor@yahoo.com

Pending Pickup - large buffet (in the palest of grey) $540 

66L 21W 32H

 PRICE DROP to $325 

mercury glass cabinet. $395 42L 15W 60H

SOLD- PRICE DROP to $170

gun metal dresser $240

18 1/2L 35W 36H

SOLD- classic white buffet, $520. 

SOLD -grey dresser (blue undertone) $395

38W 21 1/2L 53H

'

PRICE DROP to $370

dark grey empire $420. 42W 20L 45H

(see details above)

Pending Pickup- PRICE DROP to $140

petite desk $210. 37L 19 1/2W 31H

SOLD -White Buffet, larger than it looks in picture. Really special piece, $420 

28W 56L 33 1/2H

SOLD -chippy beauty. Very heavy, great antique piece. $320 

38W 21L 32H

SOLD- PRICE DROP to $180

petite dresser, $250 

31W 19L 34H

SOLD -Deep grey, bow front dresser. Dimensions to come, sale $310

PRICE DROP to $210

light grey antique dresser. $240 40L 17W 44H

----------------------------------------------

SOLD- Green Cabinet 

m y   w e e k e n d

I needed this weekend and I could use one more day.

I didn't get as much walking in as I wanted but I did spend a day painting another coat on the basement ceiling and I fixed up my new little space and my friend Linda's shop.

And watched Out of Africa tonight and thought it was a very sad and beautiful movie.

This week will be busy but next weekend will be here before I know it .

w e e k  9  q u a r e n t i n e

If you asked me 3 months ago about the thought of working from home full time, I would have said YES! 

We have been living in this house for a year and I have so many projects that I would have loved to put my 8 hours in of work and fit in a project or two each day. 

It hasn't happened that way. 

In a weird way I am really enjoying being at home and not fully relaxed about it either. And by the weekend I am exhausted. Full on, I don't want to do a thing exhausted.  I sat on my couch all day last  Saturday watching Little Fires Everywhere. For 10 hours.

I am not getting the projects done that I hoped, my kids are doing just fine, I am tired. 

Anyway, I have done very little of the above quote and I have been doing a lot of looking at my phone. 

I have a lot on my work to do list, maybe I need to make a "me" to do list as well. 

Maybe coffee and kissing tomorrow.

w o r d  o f   t h e  y e a r

I haven't done a word of the year in a few years. If I am remembering correctly, that word was balance. For that year, that really fit. It was the last year of my old MCC shop, when I also shared Clementine Home and when I had a pre-teen and teen going through all kinds of teenage emotions. I was getting a lot of calls from school and I was getting constant calls from customers. I took charge of my balance that year and took all kinds of things off my plate. I stopped volunteering, I stopped being available to everyone other than my family and I closed my MCC shop. I listened to my gut and fixed my balance.

I got pretty good at balance over the last few years. It means saying no a lot and being ok with people not liking you for it.

This year my word is happiness. I am not so good at this one. I think because it means so much to much to me and I am not sure how to not just be content but happy. And happy not in perfection. I know that making this word my word of the year that I am opening myself up for a lot of testing it. I know that this is how things work.

I am a feeler and I don't just feel my own emotions, but I walk into a room and feel everyone else's emotions as well. It can be exhausting and it can leave me not feeling very happy. I have also encountered people who like to project their unhappiness on me, I stay away from those people.

I learned pretty young to build up boundaries around myself. I think pretty healthy ones, but people tend to gravitate toward me with negativity and my walls go up. I have been told that it takes a long time for me to let people in. So if I open up to you, we are friends - then I love and trust you.

Ok back to happiness. The last few years have been heavy, and I am totally sure why...I think it was bringing me to this year.  Letting myself be happy even when things are out of my control. 

Oh and there are people that don't like happy people. I am going to definitely stay away from those people this year ( I already sort of do this ). 

And people that think that happiness is a weakness. As if people can't be kind, happy and successful. This has always baffled me.

I am sure that happiness will take practice but I am totally up for that challenge.

Here's to a happy 2020.

-Alison

c a m d e n   a t   1 7

I remember a post I did about Camden at age 11. 

She would come to the store with me every weekend and just sit behind the counter.  In some ways always my shadow. When she was a baby she wasn't happy unless in my arms. Her spirit always bigger than mine but the same. I am her mom for a reason.

As I think of this Christmas specifically, I can't help but think about Camden and me. 

The last few weeks I have been very busy at work but this weekend Camden and I made her little apartment in our house a little more magical. It was our whole weekend.

And we talked about college again today and it seems like she will be going to New York in 2021... she will have the world in her hands. If I have showed her anything, I hope she is always true to herself, follows her our instincts not fear, works harder than she could ever imagine and does all things in LOVE.

the spanish house

Last summer we decided to be open to the idea of finding a new home.

We had lived in our Victorian Farmhouse for about 12 years, it was really the only home that my kids ever remember living in but it wasn't working for us anymore.

They yard was large (corner lot) and way more than we could handle, and I didn't want to pay someone to take of it for us. So it felt like a chore and never really looked as nice as it could. 

It was a gorgeous home, 12 foot ceilings and pretty moldings but you did not get the warm feeling of being home when you walked in the front door. It felt like a home that was beautiful but cold and dark. All of the bedrooms were next to each other and with teenagers there was little peace in the house. 

A sort of funny story about how we moved into that home originally- We had a suburban home in a town nearby when the kids were born. We all hated it, we regretted it almost immediately after we bought it. I was always drawn to old homes and beautiful architecture and that 2001 home didn't do it for us. So, after 4 years of living there we decided to sell, then the housing recession started and it took us  almost 2 years to sell that home (not at a loss thank goodness) . 

We knew we wanted to move to the Northend of Tacoma, but we didn't want to buy then. We needed to wait out the market so we rented a really small bungalow on N 28th street. 

I went back to work right around this time, commuting to Seattle everyday, and it was nice.

One day at work, six months after we moved into our rental, I found the Victorian Farmhouse for rent that was two houses down from us. It was one of my favorite Tacoma houses.

I found a new tenant for our rental (who would end up being one of my best friends) and we moved into the Farmhouse on the corner. We ended up buying it two years later once the market had stabilized.

My friends knew I had a love / hate relationship with this house. It served my business well as a background to stage pieces but we had put a lot money into it and it really needed about 100k more to be a show stopper. And we didn't want to do that, it wasn't the forever home.

So that brings me back to the new house we bought.

I wanted either no yard, or a little yard. I wanted some sort of deck to sit on and to be near the water. 

My daughter will be going to college in two years and my 14 year old son might end up living with us for a few years after graduation. He is on the autism spectrum so we wanted to find a house that either had an apartment/garage or a basement apartment. Neither are easy to find in our neighborhood.

I started looking last summer with my friend and agent Tiffany. 

We toured several and I would save homes I liked.

On a run last March I ran by the cutest Spanish bungalow. When I got home I pulled the listing, called Tiffany and we looked at it within a day or two.

I think everyone in my family thought I was crazy. But I have vision and if there is one thing that I know I am good it, it is taking something worn out and making it beautiful again. It is my thing, always has been.

The house needed major cosmetic work, but the price was great, we had room to make the improvements needed. The bones are great.

So we put in an offer, it got accepted and I had two weeks to get my house ready to sell. It was bananas but we did it.

Our Spanish house is actually a duplex. There is a basement walkout apartment with a living space, kitchen, bathroom and bedroom. It is also accessible inside from what I call our upstairs apartment. It has 3 bedrooms, a bathroom, dining room, living room, kitchen and a rooftop garden that I love. The upstairs apartment sits high above the street so it feels like a treehouse and there is a water

view. It is perfect for us.

The downstairs apartment is great for my daughter right now when she wants quiet. I hang out with her all the time down there, we bake cookies and watch movies, it is really nice. She also spends most of her time upstairs with us. When she graduates my son will either move down there or stay upstairs and we will Air B&B the lower level apartment. If we do that it will more than cover the cost of our entire mortgage. The home gives us a lot of flexibility as an investment so it is great.

I would love to go all out with the remodel of this house but we will do it in phases, it is nice to not spend everything we made off the last home. Right now I am replacing all of the old finishes and painting pretty much every room when I have time.

Phase 2, which I have no idea when that will be, would include painting the outside white, replacing the garage door with carriage doors, wood shutters on the windows, window boxes with boxwood and a door to my little rooftop porch. Mostly exterior fixes.

Right now we are definitely living in a fixer and I have very little time to work on it but it is by far my favorite house that I have ever lived in.

It definitely has the feel of home.

-Alison 

u n p a c k i n g

We have lived in the new house for a little over two months. I am beginning to realize that unpacking everything and being settled here is going to take a good six months to a year.

My husband inherited hundreds of books about 9 years ago that once belonged his author father. In our last house we had several bookcases build in, and a huge walk up attic for them to live in.

Right now they are in our a storage room filled so much we can't walk in or really unpack. 

I ordered several bookcases last week and I am sure I will order more if what arrives, I actually like.

Once we unpack the books and place them onto shelves I can start to un- bury my furniture projects that are also being stored and start to work on those as well. I am thinking that will be sometime next winter.

The last time we moved I was a stay at home mom (12 years ago). I had the time to get us settled in very quickly. 

It is in my nature that I get things done quickly. I am going to have to be patient with myself since this time we are having professionals do the flooring and I am doing all of the minor cosmetic work myself and painting most of the interior rooms. 

Which is what I am supposed to be doing today but instead I thought I should unpack my stress instead. 

I wanted to walk down to the new waterfront park that opened in Tacoma. An hour later and halfway there I turned back home. It was much further than I thought. But it was a beautiful walk and I unpacked some of the stress I wanted to get rid of.

I had a boyfriend in college that said my theme song was by Alabama "I'm in a Hurry".  The line after that is "Rushing, rushing until life's no fun". He was't the nicest to me a lot of time and must have only saw the hurry part, because I really do try to make my life fun.

I am "fun" and "cute" remember (joke)? See last post for reference.

I am realizing that this year is about slowly unpacking my house and myself. Giving myself permission to take my time. 

My house and myself do not have to be perfect.

-Alison

s t a r t s   a n d    s t o p s 

I have been thinking about blogging again for a long time.

Something always stopped me. Either I can't find the time for it, or I wasn't open to sharing. 

Probably a little of both.

The last 3 years I have had a lot of starts and stops. Most of it not perpetuated by me, but other life circumstances. I have been learning to navigate, embrace the change, and find the lessons.

I grew up in a small town, middle class, church every Sunday family. I was a spunky little brown haired girl. Big green eyes and chubby cheeks. I was told I was always smiling, would change my clothes 10x's a day, and loved to sing and perform for anyone that would listen. 

I was a gymnast, cheerleader, runner, A- student, and on the executive committee of my sorority for 3 out of the 4 years in college. It didn't always come easy to me but I worked hard.

 I have always been a "go-getter" .

I was cute, for some reason that stuck with me. My mom told me once my sister was the pretty one and I was cute. I am 43 now and someone actually called me cute last week. Kind of funny to be called cute at my age but I guess I will take it.

Part of what I have been going through the last few years is bringing me back to the smiling kid, who loves clothes and enjoys being happy.

I had lost my "go-getter" a few years ago. 

It started to really bug me this year that I was letting myself not be grounded, in one place so I could take root. At first I was really mad about it. Maybe even angry and sad about it. I know those close to me knew it. I have never been one to rock the boat, I hate drama and you won't find me being the person to call other people out. I usually just walk away from negative people. But I started to voice my opinion and what I wanted, really for the first time in my life.

So I am in this spot now where I am navigating what I want the second half of my life to be. Without the shift and stress of the last 3 years, I don't think I would be in the place where I can do that now.

I feel like I am starting over in my career right now. It is a bit frustrating, yet exciting. I have this nagging feeling that I shouldn't have left the corporate world to run my business for 8 years. Even though looking back on it I am very proud of myself. I did everything- hiring, firing, training, accounting, marketing, sales, merchandising, lease and vendor negotiations.... and a million other things.

I was a boss-lady. But the corporate world doesn't know where to put you once you step back in it. 

Human Resources only wants to hire you based on a singular path. 

So, I am trying to figure out what I want to do for the next few decades of my career. Now that I have the "go-getter" back what do I want to be? I am thinking about taking some graduate classes in marketing and program management staring in the fall. I can get additional certifications that will accompany my BA and count toward my MBA if I ever want to finish it. But...I am not sure I want to get school loans, so I am praying about it.

My gut is telling me to hold off a bit. Enjoy the summer, start working out again, and work on my new house.

If I blog again, it will mostly be about my new house, but this is also a nice place to process my path and maybe you can relate to that more than pretty pictures.

-Alison 

l e t t i n g     g o 

I have been quiet here. I had the type of day today that brought me back to the blog.

As I opened this blog template to write, I noticed that I have posted 398 posts over the last 8 years.

Well, I had no idea (or remembered) that I have done that many posts over the years!

I spent the evening with my friend Kathy on the water having dinner. Kathy was my neighbor and friend for all 8 years of The Modern Cottage Company and she was also in the antique business. We are bonded that way.

She brought some perspective to my week about what really matters.  

I will tell you, I don't open my business Instagram or Facebook much anymore and when I did today I got the pang of inadequacy. The inactivity of my account(s) means that followers are falling off quickly. And that is ok. I was talking to my husband about it tonight and I said, I have to let that go. I need to be okay that what I built isn't there anymore and evolve myself. It was all surface and not substance anyway.

 I am not building that anymore. I am busy building more important things.

I am not in a really creative business chapter of my life, and I think that is why I stopped posting. But it is good, I am at peace with that. I wanted for this chapter for years and it is unfolding the way it should.

 I am challenged now in a different way with work each day and I love it. My (new-ish, been there almost a year) work family is quirky and fun. Each day is completely different and I get to put my professional and event strategy business hat on. I love the travel component of my job.

It's all still wonky and wonderful but I am working on it.

- Alison 

I feel like I need to give you an update on what I am doing.

I am not going anywhere. If anything I will have more time to dive into my interests, make things more personal, share more tips.

There wasn't one reason I decided not be a store owner any longer. It wasn't my new job, I had it decided before. It definitely made it a huge juggle but it wasn't the only reason. 

For me it was mostly the season had changed for me. Really I never felt the same after I closed my shop a few years ago. That was me. I became less inspired, I never got time off, felt creatively tied down a bit. And the wheels in the retail world have been slowly coming off, any small business will tell you this. 

Mostly, I need a break. You don't get a break when you own a store. There are no excuses in the service industry. It wasn't for me any longer. I need a weekend to turn off my phone.

I am very, very different than when I went into this business. At the same time a bit more cynical, I have seen some things, I have done some things. I would say for the most part I came out softer and more self aware. Way less judgemental of what others are doing in their world and only focused on my lane. I wasn't always this way but I definitely came out this way in the end.

The thing is, I want to do my thing. Be fully creative, a free spirit, and make mistakes.

I could do none of those things running a store. And I had 6 years to work through that.

I will say that professionally I am taking a pause. But I am not done. 

I am open to what comes my way. I have already had a few......

We should always believe the best is yet to come...

I am excited to share the ride with you.

So, lots of love to you on this day of love!

-Alison 

holding pattern

I spent the last year and a half in a holding pattern. If you have known me before this time, you knew my sparkle was gone. There was a point last year when I was so scared of the future, even the next day. When everything seemed to be going wrong. Hard, sad.  Like the door shut on me and I couldn't open it. I needed to be shut in though, I needed that year to be home with Cooper. 

I lost myself in that space though. I battled the fear but I started leaning on faith. I would have days that I would drop off Cooper at school and cry all the way home. I was also holding on tight to my business, even though I knew it wasn't ever going to financially support us the way it needed to. We were starting to sink. I knew I needed to let it go but I didn't have another plan. I had spent 7 years building it, it was like a child to me.

And then I started to resent it. It started to become a stress on me and not a joyful creative outlet. This sounds negative but I think it was actually a good turning point for me. A way of letting go. I started to have this desire to just close every MCC social media outlet and just be Alison. 

I started slowly this summer with a part time job, and now with a full time marketing job. I started to find myself and let go of weights on me. Pressures and expectations of the business. I am still in a holding pattern, but the weight is slowly coming off. 

I am learning it is not only ok to let go, it is necessary. I need to pivot, let go and be ready for the next thing. Even if that next thing is finding myself again.  

The last open studio ever!

Held at The Modern Cottage Company Studio - Tacoma

Studio is behind the home, it has it's own entrance. Address will be provided prior to date. 

Limit is 6 people per date, 3 hours.

Must bring your own project. A good example is a set of matching side tables or a small desk/dresser. Be mindful of the space but it is best to bring a project you want to work on to make best use of your time. 

This is not a formal class, but I am there to help. You have access to all of my supplies. Primer, basic paint colors, wax, brushes, glaze. Basic paint colors I will have available are white, off white, navy, red, light grey, dark grey, black, green. You can use these colors to mix your own custom color. 

Most open studio participates take up the full 3 hours. It is a fun way to get that project done that you have had in your garage! $89 non refundable 

t h i s   w e e k   4/2/17

 

 

 

As I type this Saint and Cooper are about to be home from a 5 day road trip to San Francisco. We went round and round last month trying to decide if any of us were going to go or the whole family. We decided that it would be the most fun if just the two of them went. 14 hours in the car with an 11 and 14 year old with various sensory processing disorders and vastly different ideas of what would be exciting, didn't sound that fun to me or Saint.

 

 Plus this is absolutely my busiest time of year at work. April-June is buying season for my furniture business. A huge amount of my business comes from people moving, buying a first home or remodeling. Most of this happens in the Spring. Amanda and I have been blessed with a blossoming design business along with our retail store. The design side of our businesses is at the heart of what we are loving to do creatively right now. We don't often show that side of our businesses, but we should because I think it would surprise people. Currently our clients are going for a mix of very modern, a touch of classic, and a hint of vintage. It is fun.

Oh, and staging, We are staging homes right now too. This is in fact home buying season. There is a lot going on behind the scenes.

I had a great week of antique buying last week and this week I spent painting and restoring a lot of it. With Coop and Saint gone, I spent long days in my studio. I almost never do this when we are all home. The door to my studio usually shuts at 150pm for the day, when I pick up the kids from school. Camden didn't mind me painting all week, she spent long days sketching and using her drawing pad. There was a lot of creative energy going on this week with just the two of us home. I have to say my house stayed pretty clean with just the girls home this week. We are excited to have them back though.

And I took a lot of pictures of trees this week. I don't know why, they were pretty... 

 

 Next week is more painting painting painting! And maybe some weeding. With the sun, the weeds have come up. 

 

I kind of like this weekly post. I think I will keep it up.  

Hope your week has been smashing.

-A.

 

 

t h i s    w e e k   o n   I G   MCC

I thought I would start a new weekly post. Really it is a rundown of what I did that week and my Instagram pictures are the guide. My kids are off school next week so I kind of buckled down and worked in overdrive this week. 

Two weeks ago I had an open studio and my studio was pretty much cleared out of projects. For some reason the furniture angels (my pickers and friends) found me a months worth of projects (about 20) to work on. Some are slam dunk painters and some I will spend time rebuilding before I can prep for paint. They are all gorgeous and inspiring. And when I have pretty pieces in my studio - I get to work. I don't sit on projects. I never have. Ever. It is not how I work. I buy it, I paint it. Year 7 and it is the way I groove artistically. So I painted a lot this week. And I sent some pictures to long time clients looking for specific pieces that might work for a custom paint job. 

(I don't normally custom paint. I like to pick the projects. For some reason I have been doing a lot of it lately and it has been fun~!)

I spent Sunday with Camden going to Vashon to pick up pieces. It was grey, cold and rainy but we still had a good time. On the way home we drove though the 5 mile drive at Point Defiance. I haven't done this 30 years. It was breathtaking. The moss on the trees looked magical. I need to get there and shoot a picture for you. 

I started off the week just looking at what I had in studio and jumping in. I have been painting more than I have room for in the shop or in my studio so I haven't totally figured out the solution to this yet but it will come. It always does. I had an idea just today that I will put away and see what becomes of it.

Monday came and I was full of energy. I painted, cleaned the house and hung pictures that I had been meaning to hang for a year. Coop has been doing great again at his new school and things have been running more smoothly.

Tuesday rolled in and I started getting anxiety. I hate it, I have never had anxiety before in my life until the last few years. I just plug through it. It usually teaches me something. I still hate it though.

Wednesday I shared a picture of my first shop 5 years ago this week. It seems like forever ago. I also know I am a really different person than that lady that walked into that first shop- that was handed to her. It is sad, inspiring, sometimes embarrassing to think back to that time and fast forward now. I think if I had to do it over again I wouldn't have been open and inclusive. I would have been stronger on my own and a bit more selfish (I know this sounds weird but it makes sense to me).  I was a lot more naive, I was probably a lot more competitive. I am neither naive or competitive now, at all. I could get carried away in the drama of things around me. Which really isn't in my nature. Time humbles you a bit and I think it strengthens you. But in someways it makes me think 1000 times more about every decision I now make and ask myself is this going to be what I want - not only in the end, but in the middle.

Last night the family went to Cirque de Soleil and we had a really great time. We took the train up to meet Saint (Coop loved this and I didn't have to drive in rush hour traffic up to Seattle). I saw Camden light up during the performances and it is cool to see a 14 year old excited about something.

Today I dropped of a piece at Clementine and then I went thrifting. Saint was home to get the kids from school, so I could take my time. I haven't had a day of thrifting in a very very long time. I can't even tell you the last time I did. And I had a blast, by myself- in the junk. And I found a truck load of treasures to add to my stuffed studio.

So even with a week of hard work, looking forward, a step back of anxiety, a couple moments of self doubt, a few more of keep plugging through, I ended with a full studio of projects to paint and paint.

And I think that is a sign to keep chugging along.

new year

 

I can easily say that this year has been by far the biggest roller coaster for our little family. We still have so many things up in the air, not everything has landed softly yet for us, but I am trying not to be impatient.

 

I am painting like crazy this week and next, I want to get through all my back stock. I am moving out of my storage unit and only now buying week to week. I made my 2017 business plan and the number one thing is to buy less for the business! Only buy what I know I can get finished and in a shop within a week or two. Back stock is nice to have, to feel secure that I know I have pieces to paint, but I also think of it as wasted money when it is sitting in storage and not in a shop for sale. This is how I used to operate years ago and I want to revisit it. It was healthier financially for my business to run that way.

 

In January I am starting a part time job working at a shop that my friends are opening (details soon!). I went to see their space on Saturday and they surprised me with my own MCC area in the front of the shop, right when you walk in! I am excited to approach the space differently than one I have curated before. I will have my usual painted pieces but I want to make it different too from what I am selling at my own shop, Clementine Home. Only furniture, no home décor. I might have some more found pieces, and I might dabble in selling some mid century pieces. It is a high end consignment shop, and they have some amazing dealers and furniture lines coming in. Tacoma has needed a high end consignment shop for years. It will be so fun for me to have my space, come to work and not be the owner! The owners are my dear friends. They have such a positive approach to life and business, I just love being around them. I am looking forward to putting my dealer and employee hat on, it will be a good change for me. I will fill you in with more in the next few weeks.

 

Clementine Home is doing great! Amanda and I have some amazing plans for the shop for next year , including expanding our hours a bit. The shop is growing we are enjoying the process. I am looking for another picker so if  you know what one is, and if you are one, contact me! I am very picky with age, quality, and price but if you think it is something you are interested in, let me know. I can email you more specifications on the service.

 

I have some back stock already done for Clementine and the new shop I will be working at, so I am going to take two weeks at the end of the month to work on own house. Saint is off a lot then too, so I am going to have him help me paint walls, and declutter the basement. I need to ask for help, I look at the tasks and I know they are too big for me to do myself but I am not good at not doing things on my own. Maybe that is something to look forward to in 2017, delegating more!

 

We are still up in the air with Cooper's school situation. We are now on the waiting list for a brand new school in the district that just opened. It is only six blocks from my new part time job, funny how life works out like that. So, I hope he gets in. It would be nice to have him so close to me. Camden just applied to a charter school for high school next year. AH! I can't believe she will be in high school.

 

So things are changing, not changing fast enough for me, but I need to enjoy the process more. Enjoy the holiday season. Be with my family, get my home in order, and look forward to the new year.

 



whiskey or tea, a new job for me

My son's autism is getting worse. l should clarify it might not be worse but as a family we are moving in circles around it constantly. It is in the air with an exclamation point. When you live with a family member or two with autism, it is a roller coaster. You never know moment by moment, if it is going to be an ok day or a really hard day. Are we are going uphill or down. It is hard to prepare yourself for what the day is going to be like. There are so many factors in play from hormones, to the stress of a over crowded middle school, to diet, to it might just be a bad month for him.

Yesterday was Monday. Every time we even talked about school to my son this weekend, he was inconsolable in tears. Curled up into a ball. It is heartbreaking. On Monday I put my most positive pants on, I climbed into bed with him and told him he needed to get up in 5 minutes. If you have a spectrum child you are always counting down daily transitions so there are no surprises. Surprises cause meltdowns. This morning I drew him a bath thinking this would relax him. It didn't - it was one of those bad days. When it was time to get dressed he melted into noodle legs and tears. I had to carry my son to the car while he was inconsolable. I waiting in the car with him at school for 10 minutes before he could walk in.

Tuesday morning I had a tough shop experience. It was a lesson in what is most important to me and my family. My heart was at the school with my 11 year old, not in my business that morning. Really my heart is so much more at home right now than painting furniture. A negative experience puts my opinion of the importance of my business into perspective vs. my son.

We have gone round and round about what to do about  Cooper's schooling. Currently, we on the waiting list for a charter school to start in January. We have been such squeaky wheels, I would be surprised if he doesn't get it. We exhausted every option. We really wanted to send him to a private school but every school in the area has a $9000 a year tuition and we are barely making it now, so that was just not an option. This breaks my heart. It makes me feel bad for him and guilty as a mom I can't provide that for him. I just have to keep the faith we are on the right path and it will work out.

I am starting a wonderful part time job in January, for really good friends starting their own shop, along with my own shop and my design business. This is necessary for our family right now but it is also going to be a big transition. I am excited and taking it day by day.

If this year has taught me anything it is to look at what is important in life and shut out the noise. It is a lesson in faith and to try to find joyfulness in the day to day. Even when that day to day is a roller coaster. 

b a l a n c e

 

 

I remember in May, my word of the month was simplicity. I think that was a good word for me at that time to really dig down and figure out what the really key things in my life were. What was best for myself and my family to figure out the balance. I won't repeat how my life was out of balance but you can read about it in my previous posts. It has taken me a few months of stepping back to really dial down and figure out where I was out of balance.

 

The first thing I needed to do was get all my ties to the MCC store buttoned up and checked off. This took a while. Moving out, moving merchandise to various locations and financially going down the list to cancel accounts associated with the store. There was actually a lot to this.

 

The next thing I needed to do was to spend more time with my kids this summer. I tried to push everything else that was out of balance in my life and focus on my kids. I didn't paint much this summer. I didn't really even need to, I had so much inventory left from my store closing.

 

Once the kids went back to school I wanted to spend a good month going through my furniture back stock, assess where I was in my business, paint through some things, get my studio organized and fixed up, get my bookkeeping sorted out with my bookkeeper. I am almost there.

 

I got several big road blocks out of the way towards balance but I still was unsettled and uneasy and I now that some big things are buttoned up I can start to dig deep and try to figure out this balance thing.

 

Honestly the first thing I started to do last month was pray hard and diligently really for peace in my heart. I am not exactly sure how to manage this balance thing so I need to pray for major guidance on it. The interesting thing about being quiet and diligent in prayer is I started to see small puzzle pieces come together that I know weren't coming from me. I would literally tear up when I noticed these small things.I also started to notice negativity coming from other people. Some people don't like it when you start figuring things out and getting your happy back. It is weird how this happens. Let me give you an example. Last Tuesday I woke up to really hateful DM on my MCC account, from a fake Instagram account. I won't go into it much further than the last sentence was "You are pathetic". That was actually not the worse thing in the email. The thing is I know who wrote it. That might even be worse that some random internet troll. At first it hurt and then I thought about how this person was trying to throw me off balance. The email was a mirror of how they saw themselves, it didn't really have anything to do with me. And this person doesn't even know me, never met me. And it didn't work. I spent the entire day in my studio painting a beautiful buffet, I knocked it out of the park. And then later that afternoon I got a call from someone in the business I admire so much and never met. Out of the blue. It was an interesting day and a spotlight on focusing in prayer for guidance.

 

The next thing I did, starting yesterday was to sit down and write a list about the things that bring me joy. The things that balance out the things that happen to me in life that I can't control and distract me from my happy. This is my list and it is really incomplete but it is a starting point. Some things might be superficial and I try to be deeper than this, but sometimes a clean house makes you happy.

 

*my list for my balance*

-Happy kids. When I really go back and figure out when I started to feel out of balance it is around the time we found out my son has autism 3 years ago. Ask anyone that has gone through this. There is a period of mourning for both parents and child. And a lot questions. Life the way you knew it changes. I could write a book about this. All I wanted to do was work so hard I could help provide financially for my children but be around as much as I can. I actually started to worked so hard that this backfired on me (hence closing my store).

 

Time with Saint- We very rarely get much time alone. In the beginning of the summer we would take nightly walks alone in the neighborhood and I love this! But starting mid summer we didn't feel like we could leave the kids alone for 45 minutes because they bicker so much. Yes, this is normal. Yes, it is different when you have a child on the autism spectrum with sensory issues. So we spend a lot of time with our kids and not alone. We are hoping for a trip to New York later this fall and we should probably find a better babysitter so we can do things like going to the movies together more.

 

Clean house- Ugh. My house is a mess. Ever wonder why I don't show my upstairs? I do not currently have my home organized the way that would help me feel good about it. My basement is a dumping ground of stuff and has been for years, same as our attic. I worked 7 days a week for years. Even when I was not at a store. I was buying, picking stuff up, going to the hardware store, painting and bringing things into a shop. There was no way working 7 days a week gave me balance for an organized house! I would love to spend more time cleaning out clutter and finishing painting half painted walls all over my home.

 

Finances- When you start a business and you want to grow it, you reinvest your profit right back into your business (after you pay expenses). If you really want to grow, you don't really pay yourself for a long time. Well, I pay myself here and there but not nearly enough for how much time I was spending away from my family and not nearly enough for my effort. And not enough to really help my family financially as needed. Again, another reason I closed my store. I am not in "building" mode anymore, just maintenance and I can slow down and pay myself more. But still, retail is up and down during different seasons and I need to have a job. This is where I struggled a lot with last year. Figuring out how to keep my business (not necessarily selling at a store but my business) and doing other things to make money. I really diversified my business services this year and this helped a lot (custom, staging, design). I also knew I should get a job to go along with my business. This is something I have prayed and prayed about. And I have decided to get my real estate license this fall. I am SO excited about it. It marries well with my business, I was a loan consultant in my early 20s and I love real estate. And I think I will be good at it. I know going into it I will be working 7 days a week again but there will still be flexibility.

 

Exercise- Oh, I lost myself  the last two years. Mostly I was working so much, and trying to balance it all, that exercise completely fell off my schedule. I was an athlete and dancer my whole life so taking this off the schedule has led to weight gain, mild depression, and not feeling good about myself. I have to get this back. I would love a running buddy in the morning. I need someone to get me up at 6am and run stairs. Or I need to go right after I drop the kids off at school. If I wait until later in the day I start working and it doesn't happen.

 

Spirituality- I grew up going to church every week. It was a huge part of my life. After I had my kids we stopped going to church. When my daughter was little she was a biter, wouldn't sit still, and Cooper (now knowing is autism, it makes sense) could not behave in church. I got very frustrated every week and we just stopped going. Then I worked on the weekends and we couldn't go. I miss it. I need grounding in it. It helps me. I am working on it.

 

Looking at my list no wonder I felt so off balance the last few years. I put my business first without realizing it and even with good intentions. I did it so I could help provide for my family but really I think it ultimately hurt us. So I printed out my list and I need to look at it everyday. It feels good to have things on the right path to balance. For the first time in a long time I am excited about things to come.

 

XO - Alison

 

 

 

 



t h e   s t u d i o

I am actually sitting in my studio blogging! I got my desk all set up in here yesterday. The wifi isn't great since my studio is pretty far from my home, so I might actually have my provider put in a second line out here just for me since it is strictly for business. I have to slow myself down with the studio revamp and look back to see how much I accomplished this month with it. I also have to ask myself what do I want from it?

We moved into this house 8 years ago. It took us 18 months to sell our suburban home. I knew I wanted to move to North Tacoma. I loved the old homes and charm of the northend. It was, and still is somewhat, a secret to a lot of north westerners. When our house sold and we moved here, we rented. The market then was in a spiral so we decided to rent until the market stabilized. We rented a house two doors down from us now. I was at work, sitting at my desk one day, browsing CL ads for rentals. Because I am crazy and we just moved, who does that? But I love old homes and real estate. I found that the house on the corner with all the windows was for rent. I just about died. It was my favorite home in the area but it wasn't taken care of. I asked Saint what he thought if we moved again and he said yes, let's go for it. If we are moving again let's move two doors down.

I was so excited to move into my house. I got up before everyone else that day, in the dark and took loads of stuff on a big platform mover I borrowed. Click clack down the street at dawn with my furniture, by myself. We moved in all in one day and haven't left since! About two years after we lived here, we were ready to buy again. We started looking and our landlords asked us if we wanted to buy this house. Absolutely! I didn't think they were going to sell it. We knew everything wrong and right with it. I also wanted to fix it up. We lived here 2 1/2 years before we bought it in a private sale.

The house has a very detached 1910 garage. It looks more like a carriage house though. It is long and narrow, sort of shotgun style. But oh, so cute. Once side opens to my yard. It has a charming 12 paned window and small antique door. The front opens up to a private driveway completely separate from my house. I have moved 1000s of pieces into and out of this space in the last 8 years. I painted for myself and friends here years before I created MCC. I have struggled to keep it clean. It was so uninspiring for most of those 8 years. I never really cared because I always had to focus more on churning out the furniture and bringing it to my shop(s).

About a year ago I finally got a storage unit. I have no idea why I didn't do this years earlier. It has kept my sanity this year. I go to my storage once a week and pull out what I am going to work on. You see, I am the type of person, if I have 30 pieces in front of me, I think in my mind I must get them all done immediately. I know it is neurotic but I am a bit type A that way. So now I just take home what I know I can get finished in a week.

When I decided two months ago to close my shop, I knew immediately I needed to revamp my studio. I am not sure why, but I just knew. It has actually given me something to focus on other than closing that shop. I also did not want to spend any money. Especially after closing my shop. I had a fairly good steady amount coming in a month for years and now that was gone(ish). Well, slowed down to 1/3 of what it was. I have to rebuild the income with custom, design, co-running Clementine Home, and staging. I am completely restructuring my business.

 Thank goodness my friend Michelle can build. I am surprised she offered but she did and she built my carriage doors in one day here while I puttered around. We had 80s music on and I eventually went and got beer and wine for us. Because that is what you do when you build stuff in my studio. You drink beer and listen to 80s :) and you get dirty and move big stuff around. This is my life. All the while wearing flip flops and paint clothes (some days it is PJs).

Slowly I started demoing crazy walls in the space that were installed over the pretty siding and took 2 loads of junk to the landfill that were stored on my rafters. This is while watching my kids so I would sneak out here when they were occupied. I might mention here that the guys at the landfill know me. In the big city of Tacoma, they know me. They don't even give me the rundown of questions anymore. It is weird since I keep so much furniture out of the landfill that I would be going there. But I get so many boxes a month and I deconstruct a lot of pieces and rebuild them way more that you know. I am pretty handy with rebuilding antiques now. So I go to the landfill at least 3 times a month. Weird, I know. I kind of like it though, I am an antihoarder. I like getting rid of stuff. This job is SO not glamorous.

I bought a sprayer for $150 that turned out to be crap, but I had a really funny day with my mom covered in white paint and we got the space painted while Saint was home to watch the kids. The crappy sprayer is worthless and guess what?! It is in the landfill pile :) But my studio is all white!

So what is this studio to me? I don't know yet. I really feel like I am back where I was 6 years ago with MCC. I have days I am SO excited and days I let the fear sneak in big time. I am starting over and it is up to me. What if I mess it up? This week I have been all over the place. I am so excited for how cute my studio is, then I have a lot of moments when I tear up, what am I doing? I have to help support my family. Why don't I go back to work full time, and why I am fixing up my studio? I am completely giving it up to God. I feel so excited by where I am at but not in control. So I am going to take it day by day. I am craving stability and it is up to me to create it. I can do it. And it the process I get to recreate neglected pieces and bring them back to life. I am hoping to do the same within myself. Something about last year broke me, and I need to get me back.

So that is what my studio is to me. It is hope. It is mine. It is rustic, old and rebuilt by me.