the space between

upcycle, repurpose and reinvent your space

Hello … hello

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Hello … hello? Is this thing on? (Picture Midge Maisel walking up to the mic.)

I’ve been playing around with this here blog for about the last month. It all started when I got a message that it had been shut down due to suspicion of it sending out malicious emails. (Enter all of those mind blown, WTF and general shock and awe emojies here.) Turns out I was hacked. Something you don’t realize if you’re not paying attention, so it was totally down for a good week minute. But after a security company was hired to clear it all out and get it back up and running I started messing around with cleaning up some old posts that still get some decent traffic.

Turns out this old shower pan series is a winner, and a lot of people seem to either need this type of outlet cover or are struggling to get their outlets to sit flush with their outlet covers.

So then the wheels started turning about dusting it off and getting back at it. But where to begin? What to write about? I started the blog in 2011 and other than one post last year I essentially stopped in 2016. Three short years ago that feel like a lifetime. Isn’t it something how time does that? I mean, I just graduated from college last year, how can I also be 42 years old?

And on one hand I really like the idea of continuing this little venture, while at the same time feeling particularly private (or is it insecure?) about it all.

Then this morning I saw this:

Somehow this put into perspective my fears. I am not the same. I don’t know how I’m different, I just know I’m not the same. First of all we live in Maryland. I KNOW! No more Caribbean island life for us (for now). I’ve actually blogged about our Maryland house before. I repainted the front door a few years ago (and have already repainted it a totally different color) and spray painted the old door hardware and mailbox. We have already replaced the hardware with the keyless entry we love so much in our Key West house. You know what they say, once you go keyless you never go back, or something like that.

We left Maryland for 8 years with no intentions of ever moving back, and yet did move back and into the exact same house no less. We never sold it, we were literally thisclose but didn’t go through with the sale, that’s a funny story for another time.

rental property to-do list
our Maryland house

In Aruba I got really tan fit. After living in Aruba for only a short time I wasn’t motivated to put a lot of time or energy into updating our apartment that was owned by Joel’s employer. It just wasn’t as gratifying as it had been renovating our entire little conch house. So, as tends to happen, I replaced one habit with another, I found a really great group of people at a gym I had joined who, over time, ended up becoming incredibly close friends. We connected over shared suffering during the hours we spent together challenging our limits in the gym. And somehow this experience spiraled into an adventure I could never replicate if I tried.

Looking for a photo of me looking “really fit” I found a whole collection of old videos from the gym. Too funny. We would do different online qualifiers for different competitions around the world and would have to video our submissions. Now, I am definitely not the strongest girl in the room, so I don’t post this video to say look how strong I am/was, I just had fun discovering these videos I didn’t remember I had and thought you might get it a kick out of it. Maybe?


I am already not the same person I was in that video. And I really liked that person. I really, really liked her. But if moving every few years has taught me anything it is that I use my surroundings to help structure a bit of who I am. I think we all do to some extent, for better or worse. I think it is a big part of what has made the moving lifestyle work for us for so long. 20 years to be exact. Like exact-exact. Joel and I moved in together 20 years ago yesterday in South San Francisco, California.

moving
@2001, first house, 2nd move

I’m thankful for that girl right there, she learned some lessons that have served me well throughout the last 18 years and 5 moves.

I guess all this is to say I may write a post or two here and there. And who knows what they will be about. haha We still do our fair share of DIY. In the year and a half we have been back in Maryland we have expanded our fenced yard area (oh, yeah, we have two new pups!), repainted 85% of the interior of the house, made a couple of Adirondack chairs to sit by the new firepit area we made to go along with some new landscaping around the new fence. And I can see it all from the kitchen window which brings a smile to my face every single morning.

Enter pic of said side yard as seen from the kitchen window, which I don’t have, because, you know, not a blogger. I will need to dust off the camera, quite literally, and see if I still remember how to use her.

Speaking of landscaping, you guys, I am totally into plants right now! It was the winter blues that inspired me to buy my first houseplant in January and my collection has grown exponentially in the last 2 months. And now we are seeing some life in the plants outside that we bought and planted last fall with pretty much a hope and a prayer at deep discount prices as our local greenhouses were clearing out inventory before winter. The anticipation over what they will all actually look like is pretty intense.
We’re also trying our hand at vegetable gardening and bee keeping. Man, did we miss having a vegetable garden!

solo and santo

These are our girls!! They are sisters!! Sorry for the terrible cell phone picture, it had no aspirations of being on the internet. We named them Solo and Santo, meaning Sun and Sand in Papiamento, the national language of Aruba, where we adopted them.

So, here I am, dreaming of spring in Maryland, and potentially ready to share some of it along the way, but I definitely wanted to say hi.

And if you are reading this thinking whaaaaaat? You can read about our history, learn about where we’ve lived and take a peek at the different types of projects we’ve tackled around here.

Comments

  2. So glad to see you back, Karah! I always enjoy your take on things – it’s not just the reno that drew me here.

    BTW, I think that people who DON’T change aren’t really experiencing life that much.

    Saying that, my changes haven’t been all good. My lupus and RA are kicking my butt a lot. However, my mind’s still active! And I’m planning renos and changes in a different way now – with an eye to both accessibility AND beauty. It’s a challenge – accessibility doesn’t tend to be very pretty or soul-soothing (except when you need to get out of the bath and you need help — it’s VERY soul-soothing to be able to do that!)

    We got 2 new girls, also. We lost an elder dachshund in 2017 after 15 years. Such a darling she was! But last Thanksgiving, we adopted 2 chiweenie puppies – sisters, named Elsa & Anna by the rescue group. Ordinarily we’d rename, but it suited them and they’re darling. They’re 6 months old now.

    Enjoy your gardening! That’s one thing I’m working on. This time with raised beds, and auto-watering so I can enjoy the end-product without being distressed by not being able to care for it on bad days.

    Lisa

    • Lisa, I love your resourcefulness! And 2 puppies, you are daring, I had forgotten how much energy puppies have. haha xo

  3. Welcome back, my friend! I, too, have recently dusted off the ‘ole blog and am writing a bit here and there. Feels good to flex those muscles again! Looking forward to more… hugs!! xo Heidi

    • Heidi!! Hope you are doing well, it does feel good to play around with it again. Thanks so much for reaching out. xo

  4. Karah, have very much missed your posts. I lived in Key West for awhile so realllllly enjoyed your DIY island jobs. I do hope you’ll post again regularly as I love seeing how you enhance your properties while sharing a little about your personality and life.

  5. Miss your blog!! Hope to see you blogging again sometime!!

  6. Kara, welcome back! I missed you. I read a few things here and there when you posted. Your determination and innovation when you were in Key West working on your house was when I started following you. I’m thankful you’ve landed and planted in your Maryland house.
    I look forward to your future posts.
    Thanks for writing again.

    • That Key West house holds a special place in my heart, we still have it and will finish it one day.

  7. Hi, Karah! Just last week I looked you up on Facebook. I was wondering what youR life is like these days. I really miss the connection of your blog, but I have to understand that you have moved on in your life! Best wishes and please keep us all posted once in awhile. Ps, I love Solo and Santo.

  8. Glad to hear from you again! I missed your wonderful DIY posts, but anything you want to post I will gladly read… landscaping, cute dogs, etc.
    I grew up as a Navy kid and I always saw each move as the chance to discover new parts of me, to re-invent as it were. I kind of miss it now that I’m “settled”.
    So welcome back however far you come back!

    • thank you so much!! and I say literally the same thing, every move has been a chance to reinvent myself, I feel so thankful to have had these opportunities knowing I would have felt stifled living in one place my entire life.

  9. Welcome back!

    (you were/ARE one of my favorite bloggers!)

  10. Hi Karah! It was lovely to hear from you! You got me through a very difficult time in my life and I am so grateful. You gave me something to look forward to each day. Know that you are thought of with fondness and admiration. Wishing you only the best in anything and everything you choose to do!

    • this is the nicest comment anyone could ever ask for, glad to have provided a little reprieve from what you were going through. cheers to better days!! (and more blogging) xo

  12. One of the many reasons I love you: you’re true to yourself.
    And I love your posts, regardless if it’s on the blog or instagram, and no matter if you’re right down the road or halfway around the world.

  14. Hey! I love that you’ve dusted it off, but no pressure! Ha ha

    Hey, we’re headed to Aruba in two weeks. Any suggestions? Must see things or restaurants? Thank you!!

    • Have so much fun! I love the jeep tour of the north coast of the island because it is so different from the beach areas. And just relaxing the day away on the beach with a good book. Enjoy!

  17. Nice to have you back for a post (or more)! I, too, stopped blogging a few years ago and have almost gotten back into it once or twice then I just went in and deleted it all. I’m glad you’re keeping your space here though. Great information! Maybe you’ll inspire me to get back into the game. We’ll see. 🙂

    • I feel like we need a support group, reformed bloggers or bloggers who have moved on or bloggers who might blog again. Would be fun to chat about it with people who have experienced something similar. Hope you are well!

  19. I am so glad you’re back. I really missed you! If you have some time in the near future, would it be possible to see how the Key West house turned out?

  20. I have to say I really really really loved reading this! You’ve been so missed… miss you Karah!