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My apartment a year after KonMari. My sock drawer.
January 6, 2019
in Apartment, Bathroom, Bedroom, Kitchen, KonMari, Living Room

KonMari, a year later.

I just finished watching Marie Kondo's new show, Tidying Up, on Netflix. If you're not familiar with Marie Kondo she's the best-selling author of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. Basically, she is the queen of organization. Using...

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My Chicago Hardy Fig Tree - After Replanting
September 27, 2017
in Apartment, Bathroom, Bedroom, Cats, fig tree, figs, Living Room

On getting rid of my fig tree.

Two years ago I bought a fig tree. It was at once a thoroughly calculated and yet impulsive buy. I'd wanted to get a fig tree, I'd thought about getting a fig tree, I'd researched where I could even get a fig tree in Chicago,...

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AFTER I don't think KonMari takes into account people who exclusively wear fuzzy rainbow socks but my sock drawer is now more organized than anything I've ever organized before in my life.
September 6, 2017
in 40×40 List, Apartment, Bedroom, Hallway, KonMari, Living Room

On KonMari, Clothes, and Cleaning Up.

I spend my entire life cleaning. OK, maybe that's an overstatement. But, no, I spend my entire life cleaning. Or, at least, thinking that maybe I should clean. There's always laundry that somehow gathers in a pile next to the hamper. There's always a sink...

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Miniature metal souvenir buildings from around the world.
January 28, 2016
in Apartment, Living Room, Travel Souvenirs

Collected: Miniature Metal Souvenir Buildings

It was my first time in Europe. My first time out of the country. I'd tagged along on my friends' three-week backpacking trip - eight cities in six countries- a pace that now has my quivering. Paris was our last stop. And, like many American...

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Artifact Uprising square prints of travel photos hanging from Urban Outfitters Henna Medallion Photo Clip Set.
January 14, 2016
in Apartment, Hallway, Living Room

A wall of travel photos.

I take a lot of photos on my travels, as most people do. OK, no, I probably take about a million times more photos on my travels than most people do...

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East Meets West (Elm) - a teal, aqua, and gold mid-century modern meets global-inspired living room.
January 4, 2016
in Apartment, Living Room

East Meets West (Elm) – My Living Room

East Meets West (Elm) — my teal, aqua, and gold mid-century modern meets global-inspired living room.   Over the holidays I had seven extra days off from work, everything from Christmas Eve through New Years. Combined with the weekends, that was eleven days off in a row....

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Chicago Hardy Fig Tree in a Chicago Apartment
December 2, 2015
in Apartment, Chicago Life, fig tree, figs, Life List, Living Room

Life List #69: Keep a plant alive for six months.

When I was young, maybe eleven or twelve years old, I got a cactus. I named my cactus Mr. Bean and put it near the window of my bedroom. And it sat there, for a while, until it eventually died because I never remembered to...

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Selection of arm chairs in blush pink and brass. Featuring chairs from Jonathan Adler, Anthropologie, and West Elm.
November 4, 2015
in Apartment, decorating, Living Room, shopping

Blush Pink & Brass Chairs: An Obsession

Not much has changed in my living room since I last checked in five months ago. I guess I added the fig tree (I have a FIG TREE!) and the side table-turned plant stand. And I added the ugly-but-ever-so-necessary air conditioner. But really, not much...

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An Ocean-Blue Couch: My Living Room So Far - West Elm Peggy Sofa in Eucalyptus
May 26, 2015
in Apartment, Living Room

I live here. With a couch and everything.

I live in Chicago. I think that's official. I've been here for seven months. I have a job. I have an apartment. I have furniture in said apartment. I think that means I really, truly, live here. It's something I'm totally fine with until those times...

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Valryland - My Lincoln Square Apartment
March 4, 2015
in Apartment, Bathroom, Bedroom, Dining Room, Hallway, Kitchen, Living Room

Living in between.

For the past four months I've been neither here nor there. At the end of October, after over three years of living nomadically, I "finished" my travels, flew back to Chicago on a one-way ticket, and accepted a full-time job. But, in the four months since, I...

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Hi, I’m Val. I spent most of my 20s in a standstill, unable to pick which path in life I wanted to take. I wanted the nomadic life of a traveler but also wanted the husband, the condo, and the teal couch. Unable to decide which life I wanted more, I did nothing. I lived my life in limbo. When I turned 30 I’d had enough of putting my life on hold and decided to start “choosing my figs.” So, I quit my job and bought a one-way ticket to Europe. After 3 years on the road I’m back in Chicago, exploring the city, learning guitar, decorating my apartment in too much teal, cuddling my cats, and planning my next adventures.

            

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2006 –

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WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO IN YOUR LIFE?


Feeling stuck? Sick of living your life in limbo? Want to finally do all those things you always say you're going to do? Sign up for the Choosing Figs newsletter now to get a FREE e-book with tips on starting your own life list, inspiration for things to do in life, and worksheets to get your life goals out of your head and into action!


Your information will be used to send you our Life List e-book and subscribe you to our bi-monthly newsletter. View our full Privacy Policy.



            


MEOW | Is Val in Chicago?