A friend and I drove past my old apartment last weekend. It’s been about 18mths since I left Brisbane and I’ve only had a couple of trips back there, none of which took me anywhere near my old stomping ground. I had wondered though… what the new owners had done with my old place. A bit like wondering about the ex’s new partner/wife/husband, I guess. Are they treating them well? Are they better than me? 

When I first bought that apartment (in mid 2005) I loved it more than anything. I was incredibly house-proud and scoured magazines for design and décor ideas. I wanted everything to be just perfect.

And then… we had building issues and for almost two years my apartment was a place I dreaded coming home to. By the time the work was finally finished my apartment and I never quite re-discovered the closeness which once existed. 🙁

When I decided to leave, had sold up and was packing I felt a bout of nostalgia. I was excited about my seachange but downsizing dramatically and I realised I was going to miss the spaciousness.

It took a while but I eventually came to terms with the size of my new apartment. Its vista is stunning and the place itself is lovely, but it’s small. And kinda cramped. Regular readers of my blog will know that – when I first moved – I did a range of things to try to help myself feel at home and (unlike my previous places) I added a lot of colour.

In retrospect I probably went through change-of-life blues six or so months ago. And no… not the female kind and not even a mid-life crisis of some sort. I struggled to find work (something I hadn’t considered would be an issue) and though I was still loving my new life, I realised that my lifestyle needed to change. A lot.

And on that note, I fell into a rut.

However, I’m also often reminded that I’m incredibly lucky to be living where I do and (mostly) how I do. I still need to work out where I want to go in a business / work / financial sense (ie. if I can imagine a life of just ‘getting by’) but when feeling slightly ‘rich’ and celebratory a month or two ago I bought my first house-y magazine in over a year.

I poured over the magazine and again felt those twinges of excitement… the allure of again becoming enthusiastic (or at least contented) about life-in-general and house-proud.

I found myself starting to feel more positive and realised that (bizarrely) manifests itself (for me) in my surroundings.

So, I’ve been making a list. It occurred to me that I didn’t need to spend a huge amount of money. Small changes are possible on my small budget.

And my newfound frivolity started with a trip to IKEA before heading home from Brisbane last weekend. I had a list: hat/coat stand; rug for my lounge room; retro mirror / clock for the lounge room wall etc.

In the end though I only ended up with the rug. Not exactly the rug I wanted but something cheaper, given my belt-tightening commitment.

But… it’s a start and I’m aiming to pick up where I left off a year or so ago and continue to make some small (affordable) changes.

Next on the agenda I hope to visit some second-hand stores or garage sales for a funky clock or mirror (like these on the left in the rooms at QT on the Gold Coast) – which will result the rearranging of my wall hangings and pictures and make everything feel new and exciting again.

And I’m sure you’ll agree we all need a bit of excitement in our lives!

Are you house-proud? 
Were you once and now a bit #meh as I recently was?

PS. Don’t forget to enter the competition on my blog to win 24 bottles of organic softdrink, compliments of BIONADE!