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This spot in front of the stove was my happy space. I loved cooking here, even with the lack of counter space.

Behind-the-scenes I'm embroiled in file organization for myself and a client. I have a literal mountain of note transcribing and digital file moving/sorting/modifying to get through! While I was on a roll, I've started organizing my blog posts (1236 published, 743 unpublished ones in draft!) so they're finely categorized. (for your reading pleasure!) Along the way I'm determining which posts "light me up" inside, to point me in the direction of what to write in the future. A couple hundred posts in, the first post that made me "light up" was one sharing photos of my 2nd apartment's kitchen from 2010! I remember custom-making the huge pieces above with origami paper to fill the wall and add some color to the otherwise drab, utilitarian kitchen. My mom found the frames at the thrift store. They used to be in Doctor's offices. There was no where to put them in my current kitchen so I ended up throwing out the collages and giving the frames back. I still have that origami paper. I'm going to use it to make a bunch of little boxes for organizing tiny odds and ends. And maybe cranes? Fish? I'm excited to craft with that paper again soon. These old photos "spark joy" for many different reasons. They give me a nostalgia rush. I like them better than the shots of my living room which I was proud of at the time, while considering my kitchen a failure. These photos bring back memories of living alone, and the benefits and pitfalls. I worked without distraction, I didn't have to pick up after or cook for anyone, but my horror movie habit was torturous living alone! I watched Psycho and had to shower with my curtain open, after Rosemary's Baby, I heard whispering through the wall and never felt less safe! I remember the acquisition of each vintage cup, retro magnet, and find on trips to thrift stores or kitschy boutiques. I recall making lots of vegetable soup (and so much popcorn) out of busy and laziness. It's the kitchen where I first transitioned to eating as healthfully as possible. It's the kitchen with my incredibly-hard-to-keep-clean "Beetlejuice" tile that charmed me into renting the space in the first place. Looking at the photos, I remember taking them after making and hanging my new art pieces and doing some arraigning to make the kitchen cozier. I remember hating them and the post idea, I almost didn't share it. I should take it as a little lesson on some of the things I struggle with in life: letting people in, just letting go, not obsessing over perfection on a project, and just posting on this blog with less anxiety. Quality is paramount, but not if it's at the expense of progress, I struggle with the balance.

I can't recall why the hell I took this blurry picture at a dutch angle above and felt compelled to post it like that, cracking the necks of then-readers (and I'm still a tad embarrassed to re-post them), but six years later, I'm happy that this memory is here.