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Of course the snow storm hit Atlanta the day after our Free-cycle day and we decided to wait out the poor traveling conditions. I made plans for “bowls of bliss” from Lemongrass in Annapolis with two dear friends as a good-bye lunch. It was so heavenly! I mean what is better than great food with great friends? It’s something that is so important to me; it’s been on my vision board for three years in a row!
OK, so now in this story, it’s January 10th and night falls and I get the strangest sensation… Utoh… Watery eyes, runny nose, sneezing, and a fever…
It doesn’t surprise me, that after all that letting go of possessions; my body decided to knock itself into bed to rest. I was in bed for roughly 3 days consciously focusing on (it’s OK that we haven’t left yet… it’s OK we haven’t left yet…) That time afforded me the opportunity to slow down and remember what this is all about. We were blessed to be able to stay at my Stepmother’s beautiful home on the Severn River that she shared with my father. Both of my biological parents have passed away and it was such a treat to be in her home feeling that comfortable even though my father is no longer there.
I took some time to go through some old journals and throw them away. It felt good to discard that old, kind of sad – little girl and realize how incredibly blessed and happy I am! Talk about a color shift! Reading all that teenage/young adult heartache just made me diagnose myself as a dark/gray/purple mess. And now I can look at myself and see those intuitive golden rays of sunlight and know that’s me! For someone who has always sort of been turned off by yellow – that’s saying something!!!
Back to the story – I finally felt human again on Friday the 14th and we planned to leave Saturday the 15th. We set about packing and getting ready and before we knew it, it was dinner time on Saturday! “Sunday it is,” we said!!! “We swear!!!!” Well, it happened. Maryland is back there about 350 miles away from this chair and we are here on our way to our new life!
We made sure we stopped in a hotel with an indoor pool, so it wasn’t just a rented bed for the night, but the start to our adventure!
This has been a great day, and I’m full of the hope and anticipation of all that is happening right here and right now! I love life and I’m so happy to be sharing it with you!
The Thule box and roof rack made it on top of the car.
We are only 7 feet tall when all is said and done! That’s exciting because we even fit in some of those underground parking garages!
I figured out how to fit all those clothes into a bag that is versatile and so incredibly handy! I love my Kelty Basecamp Bureau! I’m so excited about it! I can fit so much into these “drawers” and then I’m actually still organized when we get somewhere. I just cant imagine living out of a messy bag for an undisclosed period of time!
Unfortunately, even though we pared down from an entire 4 bedroom house to a Scion XB; we still have a too much stuff and need to get rid of more!!!! Here I am trying to squeeze as much as I can into this contraption!
I still wish my Scion was just a foot longer in the trunk. Boy the amazing things I could do with an extra 12 inches!!!
We did it though, we fit all our possessions into this car. OK, wait, let me be fair… We have 5 boxes stored at a dear friend’s house (temporarily). 2 boxes of pictures and memorabilia, 2 boxes of toys and one box that is mixed toys and memorabilia. Still not bad in my head!
Now the adventure can begin!
I know I’m a little behind in sharing the unfolding of our adventure. I will be posting a few blogs tonight and over the next couple days to catch you up. This one will pick up from the emptying of our home…
We were planning on heading to Atlanta by the 4th of January, and here is it the 16th and we are still not there. (I’m sitting in a wonderfully comfortable Holiday Inn in Salem, VA). But as the emptying of our home proceeded in its own time, we realized how long something like this can take. Luckily, Alex and I allowed ourselves to take the time we needed in order to feel good about leaving. It’s a major change! Granted this is a really exciting adventure we are undertaking and we wouldn’t change our decisions for the world; but we both honor the amount of letting go that we are asking of one another. Alex has allowed me to take time paring down my wardrobe and jewelry and art supplies and memorabilia. I’ve stayed out of Alex’s guitar selling and music collection selling and recording equipment donating. We have allowed Everett to store a lot of his toys! And we gave him two bags (one huge Lego bag and one medium toy box) to bring on the road. We do not expect a 5 year old to comprehend what his life is about to be like, when we barely understand it ourselves! That being said, it’s been a beautiful two extra weeks to get going on our adventure…
It was our goal to have very little to take to the dump when it was time for us to leave our adored home. As you heard in a previous post, it was amazing how word of mouth spread and people came over the past couple months and bought furniture and musical equipment and art work and more. We never really had to do much in the way of advertising or anything. Facebook and social networking took care of all of that for us.
We realized on New Year’s Day that we had a ton more to do!!! When we loosened out departure date, and let the expectant Atlanta folks know we were unsure how this was going to turn out, Alex and I felt an enormous amount of relief. Why put undo pressure and stress on a situation that’s motivated by Joy? It just didn’t make any sense…
By the 5th of January we decided to have a rummage sale on Saturday the 8th in order to get these odds and ends out of the house! That was an amazing day!!! I was blown away by my interactions with people during this process. It was amazing to come across so many kind-hearted people who gave our possessions loving homes. One by one people came to our home (even though it was sort of snowing…) and lovingly picked through our discarded treasures. I told people that whatever they wanted to pay for something we would say yes. The generosity was amazing! By the end of the day there was a lot less in the house, but we still had more!!!
On Sunday the 9th, we had a FREE rummage day and posted it on Free-cycle. What a spiritually uplifting day that was! My artwork left our home in the arms of people who truly treasured the opportunity to hang my work in their homes. My easel and art supplies went to an artist who needs some abundance in her creative life. A mother of four took some of our kitchen ware and she turned out to be a Christmas-time enthusiast and was thrilled about acquiring all our decorations. It was beautiful story, after beautiful story! I even made tea and shared a few cups with “strangers” while we talked about our upcoming adventures.
After a few more trips to some friends and family to drop off specific things, the house was empty! And we NEVER went to the dump!!! Let me say that again! Yes!!! WE NEVER WENT TO THE DUMP!!!!! Granted we had some big trash days, but most of it was recycle and not trash!
Thank you universe for allowing us to reuse SOOOO many things!
Well, it’s getting harder to stay…
We are out of couches; down to a couple of chairs.
It's amazing all the JUNK you find as you are going through stuff. But there are no couches here!
Everett’s bunk bed has been sold; he’s left with a mattress on the floor.
Just a mattress in Ev's room
The guest room is empty except for odds and ends for donation and another mattress on the floor.
Just a mattress in the guest room
There are no dressers in the master bedroom…
No dresser for Alex & Everett's clothes
No bureau for my clothes...
Thankfully we have two closets, so there is space for clothes for now.
Thinning the wardrobe
The wardrobe is slowly witling down, and hopefully I’ll be ready to let go of another chunk so as to fit everything in my luggage. I’m now convinced that I will use two bags for the clothing and shoes. One will be for cooler weather and the other will be for warmer weather. That way I could potentially keep one stored on top of the car.
I still have more wardrobe thinning to do
Speaking of the top of the car…
Our departure date now depends on Thule (www.thule.com). We are purchasing a rack system and box for the car roof. Only, we seem to be missing a part for the rack portion, and they have to organize shipping it directly from Thule. It takes some time for Thule to ship the part, so we may be here a bit longer than we originally thought… So the short answer to the question – “When are the Gordons leaving Maryland?” – is right now, “I don’t know…” I promise to let you know when we know.
This whole process has been a lesson in Law of Attraction. We have intended on selling our things, and people have come into our lives that are looking for a deal on good furniture. We had the idea that some of this stuff has to be given a good home as donation, and opportunities to give our “things” away easily and lovingly came into our experiences. People keep asking us if we listed stuff on Craig’s List or had and Estate Sale. I have to say we simply keep following inspiration, and opportunity arrives at our doorstep (literally).
So, I have to believe that the missing Thule part is just part of the Universal Law of Attraction at work, and we will be on our way to Atlanta at the PERFECT time.
So I have a question for my readers…
What part of getting rid of almost EVERYTHING would be the most difficult for you? And what would be the easiest?
One last thing…
I decided on my last pair of shoes to take.
Official third pair of shoes (see earlier post)
Black Merrell Moc
Check back soon!
Jes
I know it’s been a little while since my last post. I left you knowing that we are going in a new direction. That JOY is our ultimate goal. That we are making decisions as a family to go out and only do what we love. In the name of my late parents we are all about living for the moment.
If you knew that retirement wasn’t an option and you weren’t going to be able to do what you love when you retire, how would you live your life today?
Joy is where inspired actual LIVING occurs and this blog is about doing that in our careers, in our home, and in yours!
I love color and I love art. And that is what I KNOW!
We are here in Ocean City NJ for a week with dear friends. We are here to celebrate Thanksgiving together because we know how important it is to experience pure joy. I knew that this being the first Thanksgiving without my mother, and the fifth without my father; that family was not going to spread new joy. I’m still a little raw from the loss of these incredibly people, and I need to surround myself with new experience. So here we are in OC NJ loving life.
There is something magical about this quaint Oceanside town in the fall. I think I prefer to go to the beach now, rather than the summer. Alex (hubby) keeps talking about how the sand doesn’t stick to you because you aren’t all sweaty. The streets are so quiet. We have the beaches to ourselves. The service providers in all the stores and restaurants are so friendly and warm because they are grateful for your business. I love it here, and I think we’ve started a new tradition.
I’ve often said, I wish I could just wake up every morning and paint. This week, during this vacation, I’ve realized down to my deepest soul that I’m the ONLY one stopping myself from doing just that. I decide to put pressure on myself to accomplish other things. I decide to push myself to go after the money rather than the joy. I am the only one who worries how this could possibly work. It is my goal to set my life up so that I wake up everyday and paint. Watch for the changes because I think it’s about to get good!!!!
Thanks Mom and Dad for making it possible to experience this beautiful time. Thank you Ocean City for sharing your little town with me and giving me the continued inspiration to listen to my inner voice. Thank you to my hubby and son for supporting me to follow my bliss. Thank you to my friends who are still holding my hand whenever I ask! What’s your bliss? Are you following it? Is there anything I can do to help?
Sorry it’s been a couple weeks since my last blog. I’ve been busy with a ton of color consultations and I met some unique challenges.
I run up against a yellow conversation that seems to keep repeating itself. I wonder if there are any others out there with similar experiences.
People want a bright happy sunshine yellow to boost their mood, everyday. My understanding and my experience show that yellows need to be used the “right” way, for the “right” person, in the “right” space.
warm, inviting yellow
Residentially speaking, yellow can go so clear and so bright once it is up on the wall. So much of our lighting in residential situations has that amber mid-afternoon light which adds to the issue. I find that one needs to walk with caution up the scale of intensity rather than from intense down. I started to notice this about 8 years ago while I was working in a Benjamin Moore store. I had painted strips on the wall to illustrate the sheen level options in the paint lines. I had a can of HC-26, Monroe Bisque laying around, so I mixed the rest to the same color. Once I had these stripes on the wall, customers would come in and ask, “What is that beautiful yellow?” When I would show them the swatch of a very muted, although yellow under-toned beige, my clients would be shocked. I then started experimenting with yellows and discovered that there is a sensibility that needs to be there when looking for a yellow for the walls in the home.
There is no prescription about a yellow that will work. It will depend on your personality, your objective, your lighting, your other present colors, the utility of the space, and what time of day you primarily occupy that space. But my suggestion is this, think about what you are looking to achieve with the color. If you are looking for a sunny look, remember that you rarely look directly at the sun on a bright sunny day, but I’m sure you are enjoying that bright blue sky! And I’m sure you admire the green of the grass and trees (if that’s your environment) on a sunny day.
Where's the yellow in this sunny day?
Yellow can be perfect in the right situation, but I usually suggest that you make sure you are a yellow person before you select it for the rooms where you spend all your time. I wouldn’t worry as much about your selection if we are talking about your hallway that you pass through, or your guest room that you want to look like a magazine. The rooms I’m concerned about are; your bedroom, your kitchen, your family room, your office, etc.
Lego Store Annapolis Mall
What are your thoughts about yellow? Has anyone checked out the Lego store at the Annapolis mall? How is that yellow working for the staff? The customers? I’ve noticed that my son has a terrible time making a decision in there. Some of that is because he wants everything, but is some of his irritability related to the intensity of the yellow? I know that my eyes can start to hurt in a yellow that is too strong, and that doesn’t help in the Lego store with Everett! I wish I would have been there to help with the selection from the start. What would you have picked for the Lego store?
I’m working on the logo for The Painting Company Color Division. Buckets of Color merged last summer with this fantastic painting company and we are one. We hung on to the Buckets of Color name to make the slow move as we combined forces. This summer we are launching our official merge with a new logo and the Color Division name as we add on more color consultants to help cover the needs of our clients in the region.
So where do we start? And how do we take this logo that is steady, strong, powerful and reliable in nature and add the soft touchy elements of color design focused on color psychology?
We began with the colors from the Buckets of Color Logo that feel feminine and fresh. The pinks are naturally sweet and automatically bring the sensual, gentle approach into light. Just think Victoria’s Secret and you can sense where we’re coming from. It’s important to come across as nurturing when you are asking clients about health issues, stressors and sleeping habits. We also are considering the juxtaposition of multiple colors that keep the soft feeling. That immediately brought me to an Analogous color palette. It is the easiest color combo for most people to use; there is lack of tension and generally has a wide reaching appeal. By definition we are using three colors that are next to one another on the color wheel, but are we using the right three?
Next we looked at the stark black or white or red of the font and thought that softening that might help with cozier nature of my part of the painting job. The gray underlines the legible aspect in keeping in-check with visual ergonomics; and allows for a more upholstered or comfortable impression. Here are some of our first picks…
Here we are taking the boldness of the red that people already associate with The Painting Company and softening with the violets. Do we stay steady with the more feminine touch like we are looking for? Which would you choose?
Please share your thoughts with us…
Just a short post to talk about what to consider when choosing color for the exterior of your home.
- Your neighbors – sometimes it’s not the easiest thing to want to consider, but you must consider the environment that will be surrounding your color choices. Colors have meaning and sometimes a very loud voice when placed next to another color. Make sure that you are not choosing a color that will look awful because it’s next to the wrong color…
- I like to work in odd numbers. There is something about the interest odd numbers create. I like when there is at least 3 colors in a palette, but I’m usually more of a 5 color girl!
- Choose your color outside!!!! Make sure you aren’t deciding what color to paint or which siding you are using while at your kitchen table! The outside light is, oh! so much different and it’s so important to make sure that you are considering the washed out effect the sun can have. I have met many clients who are mulling over a white for an exterior, only to have every white look extremely similar because the sunlight washes out the nuances so quickly.
Here’s a recent transformation that we worked on. We meaning The Painting Company. We painted and picked the palette. Let us know your thoughts. I was excited about the end result with the new design.
Before we see the painted red brick... And after.... ahhhhh!
Some of my clients think I ask some weird questions about them, when I’m only there to pick their colors for them! Why should we care how you feel in the space? It all boils down to stress!
http://www.babyboomercaretaker.com/images/Distemper-Paint-Health-Risks.jpg
Stress is a cause of and increases the risk of diseases. They say direct symptoms of stress are headaches, sleeping issues, digestive issues, irritability, and lack of energy or concentration, appetite fluctuation, anger, depression and many more. There is known to be a greater risk of health concerns such as asthma, skin problems, anxiety, heart problems, IBS, neck and back pain, weight fluctuation, etc. all from too much stress. This is why we care about how you feel in your environment. Even if on a subconscious level we can help to eliminate some environmental stressors, isn’t it good for the health of all those living or working within the space?
It’s not a totally different approach to making sure that there aren’t any offensive color combinations. Interior Design has been beautifying interiors and making art out of living spaces since its inception. Why not take things a step further and secure aesthetics, health concerns, functionality, and stress reduction? In order to take steps in this direction it really only means beefing up your education regarding a few major points.
Visual Ergonomics – this is going to encompass all that one needs to know about the function of the human eye and how to best support that function in long-term environments.
Color Psychology – this can go in all sorts of directions but taking color into account and the mood that it can induce for the type of personalities in the space.
Physiological Reactions – this mostly has to do with color and light. When color is at its purest light we can cause specific reactions in the human body. However, there have been some studies that show that boring (under stimulated) environments can cause physiological reactions, like increased heart rate. Something to chew on for sure!
So to you clients, future clients, and friends in the field; be prepared for my out-of-the box questions about your sleeping habits and health issues, questions about your children and their learning abilities and tendencies. This all comes from a desire to make sure that you FEEL great in your space once I leave! Anything that we can do to make it feel less stressful is always a plus!
(Looks like this office could use some color help…. What do you think????)
http://a123.g.akamai.net/f/123/12465/1d/www.working.com/2242050.bin
I wanted to share an article for Home & Design Magazine’s Sourcebook for 2010. I was interviewed for comment about color in the home. I hope you enjoy! Let me know your thoughts…
bucketsofcolor.wordpress.com 
