I have been surrounded by things for going on 2 months.  Things that cause happiness, remembrance, heartache, laughter, and comfort.  Things that are useful, creative, memorable, necessary, and decorative.   Do my things say I am creative?  Or do they call me traditional?  Am I bohemian, modern, or contemporary?   Does having this thing mean I am a keeper?  Or can I get rid of it and still have this memory?  Now that I am almost settled in my new house and  I’ve unpacked my boxes and most of my belongings have found themselves a home, I find myself looking online for more things to make my new home….more homier?  That’s what Pottery Barn would like me to think.  And Crate and Barrel, Anthropologie, and Ballard Designs.  And Houzz and Pinterest too.

But what makes a home…really?

Children laughing and running circles in your house and then racing up the stairs?  Finding a spot in a good chair and listening to the quiet on a Thursday morning?   Laughter with good friends and snuggling with your honey on a chilly evening?

A home is defined by the life within its walls.  Not the things that make that life easy or pretty.

Don’t get me wrong, I will happily sit down any day and peruse my favorite catalogs.  But I must tell my heart that it really and truly doesn’t matter.