Who is the space between blog?
Hello there! Thank you so much for stopping by. My name is Karah. There was a time that at any given moment I was a hot mess doing some sort of DIY project, tools strewn about, paint in my hair or hot glue all over my finger tips. These days the projects have slowed, but the desire to create a haven we love at home continues. Along with my husband, Joel (the unintended DIYer in the family), I am on a journey to make the most of our every space.
Over the past 20 plus years (I still have a hard time believing we are old enough to have been doing this life thing together for over 20 years!) we have been lucky enough to live in 6 different US towns, throughout 4 different states, plus two Caribbean islands, Curaçao and Aruba. I’m no mathematician, but I’m pretty sure that equals a lot of new spaces to try to make feel like home.
Why DIY?
My passion for DIY started at a young age when my brother and I would try to make anything from a desk to a boat. The boat may have turned out to be a soggy experience, but somehow it stuck with me that making or doing something ourselves was fun and thrifty.
Fast forward to 2001 when Joel and I bought our first house in Indianapolis, Indiana, a cute little mid century modern ranch in need of a lot of TLC. With more than our fair share of help from my dad we tackled DIY projects large (three tier deck around two trees with a built-in seating area and fire pit) and small (updating all of the outlets and switches). And learned that with a little research and practice we really could do almost anything that we could pay a professional to do. And that it ALWAYS takes twice as long and costs twice as much as you think it’s going to. 🙂
Indianapolis was also where our beloved first pair of pups joined the family. Marley, the blonde, was with us for 14 1/2 years, and her sister, Mico, for 13. They literally were sisters from another Mister, and you will find them in many a photo around this blog. Their tendency to find their way into the most perfectly arranged shots was impressive. They moved from Indianapolis to Maryland, and then to Curacao, Key West and finally Aruba.
Where are we now?
We left the island of Aruba in 2017 with two souvenirs, rescues through an organization doing amazing work, ARF-Aruba. Solo (the tan one) and Santo, are sisters from the same litter, their names mean Sun and Sand in Papiamentu, the language of Aruba. They really couldn’t be more different from one another. Where Santo is constantly on high alert and extra cautious of all things, Solo is a little more blissfully ignorant, always looking to snuggle and loses her ever loving mind over any sort of meat. Part hound dog, maybe?
With the new pups in tow, for the first time ever, we moved back to a town where we had already lived, into a house we already owned in Cambridge, MD. The same house we had lived in for 5 years, the first time we lived in Cambridge, and then rented for the 8 years when we were moving among the islands. We certainly weren’t expecting this move, but as tends to happen, it has turned out to be exactly right for us, right now.
What is “the space between”?
Redefining our space is something that is always on my mind, heck with so many moves under our belt it’s a constant battle between relishing in the new-to-us space and making it feel like our home. We move every few years following Joel’s career … and after over 20 years, still find it incredibly fun and exciting … exploring the unknown and making a new location home. And I’m lucky that Joel has let me drag him into this DIY adventure along the way, date night in the crawl space installing new duct work, anyone?
Yes, that actually happened, and we lived to tell about it. The couple who DIYs together stays together perhaps?
To me “the space between” is exactly where we are right now, wherever that is. It is partially defined by location, but increasingly defined by mentality. What feels like home to us at this stage in life? Do we walk into our home and think “this is where we belong”? Is our surrounding yard a sanctuary where we want to spend time. And how do we create that without blowing the budget, or making it too much about the “things”?
Join us on this DIY journey to make it the best space we can with as little cash as possible. Heck, grab a paint brush, these projects are always more fun with friends. You can see everything we’ve accomplished using the menu tabs at the top of the page, itemized by location. All things Key West being among some of our favorite projects, retirement home someday, maybe? And take a peek at our awkward little rental in Curacao here.
Things really started to slow here on the blog while we were living in Aruba. It was that time in life where we lived in a hotel apartment, with the most spectacular ocean view, and our beloved first girls were getting up there in age. It’s where I really learned that life does not always need to be lived full speed ahead.
Sometimes the projects are less visible to the outside. And they don’t get written about on the blog. But with any luck, there is constant transformation happening, leaving us here, as always, in the space between.
So poke around, let me know if you have any questions and be sure to enjoy your space today!
To see where this whole thing started, check this out! And thank you so much for visiting.