Somewhere in between

So many times I've heard and read how you should 'live in the moment'. I agree. I've also read that 'Anxious people live in the future; depressed people live in the past'. I get that, too. And I suppose I spend my time in all three spaces depending on how I'm feeling.

Right now we're living in the moment but have lots of plans. The house has been on the market since 2012. It's reasonably priced; it's in a so-called 'desirable' area (if commuting is your thing, at least) and the decor, heating and so on are all new. Yet still it languishes on the books of various estate agents. We've just switched agent (again) and dropped the price (again). Which meant taking more photos of the interior.

I'm as nosy as the next person and love seeing inside other people's homes. And as I often use images here at Mitenska which are close-up, I thought you might want to see where and how we live.

So how does all this tie in with the whole 'living in the moment' thing? Well, for starters we have to keep the house 'neutral' in terms of decoration. And tidy (fortunately, I'm a bit of a neat freak) - we don't have a great deal of 'stuff' anyway but the house is small and we haven't got the luxury of a third reception room which could house toddler things, an office area etc. and which we could close the door on each evening.

I'd love to be more adventurous in terms of decor. I'd love a house with 'features'. I'd love more room. I'd love to invest in wooden floors, a woodburning stove and all those other gorgeous things. But at the moment we're here and we make do.

So the photos here were taken to (hopefully) appeal to potential buyers. Which is why we hid the highchair.

In terms of looking to the future... I continue to collect things for our 'forever house'. Squirrelled away are my collection of vintage mirrors, trunks of fabrics, old books, china...

At the moment I make the house 'ours' by dotting little vignettes around - on the mantel shelf, on the sideboard, by the bed. I change them regularly. I enjoy it. And I use Pinterest an awful lot too. There are one or two 'secret' boards full of images which capture some of my hopes and dreams for the future. We don't aspire to having lots of possessions, or a huge house, or luxurious holidays. 

In fact, since having Joe and making the decision to stay home with him, and consequently having to tighten our financial belts, I love the whole process of simplifying our lives. Investing in the things which really matter: time spent with one another, experiences, being outdoors, eating good food.

So I have one foot rooted in the present and one tapping away, itching to move on. It will happen.

In the meantime, I refuse to list the frustrations of living in a too-small house. Because it does have its upsides: small mortgage, small bills, not many rooms to clean. 

And there you have it: chez Mitenska. A slightly sanitised version in these photos, but that's what the house-selling business is all about!