change.

Well, it's official. Come September 1, 2012, I will no longer call this place home.

As I sit here on the sofa trying to stay cool on this steamy Sunday evening, I can't help but feel sad. Sad at how much I'll miss this place. At how much I really don't want to leave it. Like any home, it's crazy to think of all that's happened in these six rooms over the past two and a half years. So many memories that I fear will slowly start to slip away once I'm no longer here. It's as those being in this space grants me instant access to them; like they are somehow swirling around me at all times, and the sounds, smells, and sights of these rooms can take me back to any moment at any time. And I don't want to forget it. Any of it. The laughter, the heartache, the friends, the boyfriends, the long hours in my office, the game nights, the experiments in the kitchen (both successful and not), the sick days where all I wanted was to stay curled up in bed, the New Year's Eve party where I met the great guy I've since fallen for... I've learned and grown and changed so much since moving in here. My first real grown-up place. It's been my refuge. My design playground. The first place other than my childhood home that actually felt like home. But most importantly, this drafty apartment has helped me do exactly what I set out to do when I sat down and started this blog three years. Create myself. Pursue my passions. Build a business.

From writing LCY, to designing blogs, to drawing logos, to helping launch an online magazine, to guest editing for Chicago Home and Garden Magazine, to landing my first styling projects, to launching The Everygirl; I've done it all from this tiny, 6x9 feet, color-splashed space. I think I'll miss this room the most. My creative haven. My hideaway when everything else in life seemed pear-shaped. Where I've often sat from 8am until midnight, lost in work, with my pups at my feet, singing along to whatever playlist I had on loop at the time, writing and illustrating and emailing away, planning the next big thing... yes. I'll miss this room most.

All of that being said, I have to admit, I am equally so excited for this move. As of right now, it looks like I'll be getting my own place come fall. It will be the first time in (almost) 27 years I'll have my own bathroom. I have no idea what that's like! Danielle says she thinks everyone should live alone at some point. And I agree. Not to mention it means a whole new home to decorate (I'm constantly looking around my apartment deciding what's coming with and what's going on Craigslist)! As for inspiration... let the pinning begin!