Hello, friends! Lately I've been in the mood to decorate. There are a couple of rooms in our house that still need my personal touch so that our house doesn't look so much like a rental. I'm pretty happy with our living room and library and I don't dare touch Ashley's Dallas Cowboys room. A girl has to know her limits, ya know? So that leaves my office and our bedroom. I decided the office would be easiest to tackle first.
Last year we lost our sweet kitty, Cricket, due to cancer. I had Cricket for more than half of my life so losing her was pretty tragic. Putting her down was the compassionate thing to do, but it was so incredibly difficult.
Cricket suffered from severe anxiety. She was the epitome of a "scaredy cat". As a result, she spent most of her time tucked away in my office. As she got more and more sickly, she stopped coming out from underneath my desk. It was heartbreaking.
For the longest time, after Cricket's passing, I avoided my office. Instead of working at my desk, I worked from the couch in the living room. It was the point that I didn't even keep my laptop in the office anymore. My office door remained closed and it was avoided like the plague.
Now that I've started Maps & Monograms I'm using my office on a daily basis. I decided to give the office a bit of a face-lift so that I'm once again happy in my private space.
That being said, I wanted to give you a sneak peak of my office.
The theme of my office is: Everything Me. Sure, it's self-centered but it's my office. ;) My two greatest passions are traveling and researching my family history. I've filled the space with trinkets I've inherited from my family members and bits and pieces of memorabilia that I have picked up throughout my travels.
This small gallery wall honors my Scottish-American heritage. I discovered the flag in the top frame while cleaning out my grandmother's garage. In the middle is a magnolia wreath that I created to represent my Southern Roots. The bottom frame features the shield of my ancestors, the Clan MacRae.
When we purchased a nicer set of shelves for the library, all the old IKEA shelving was moved into my office. This is my children's literature (that isn't at work) and any books that didn't fit in the library. It also gave me some extra space to display some more heirloom pieces and souvenirs.
This shelf holds some of my favorite items.
Left: My grandfather, Charles Fairfax Payne, was an amateur archaeologist. He found these Iroquois beads on one of his digs. I inherited the beads from my grandmother, his daughter. For now, they are being housed in these simple frames. Eventually, I think, I'd like to put them in shadow box frames.
Middle: This small trunk has been used by family members since the 60's... to hold crayons lol My mom, my aunt and my uncles all used the crayons in this old box. When we got older, my brothers, my cousins and I all used the crayons from this very same trunk. Here we are in 2017 and my nieces use the trunk when they come over to my house. It's a silly little thing, really, but it means a lot to me.
Right: This frame holds the inspiration for my blog name, Maps & Monograms. I cut the letter E (for Elle) out from a map I picked up in Paris. Maps & Monograms gets it's name from my love of travel and my love of Modern Farm House decor (represented by the monogram in this case). I almost named the site Maps & Mason Jars but I liked the flow of Maps & Monograms. I liked that it represented my style and that it followed the alliteration of my name: Michelle MacRae.
Now, it's not exactly finished yet, but I like the direction that I'm going. I still have quite a bit of work to do before my office is complete.
To Do List:
Find a way to display 1 photo from each country visited (19)
Restyle shelves
Reorganize the hutch
Organize the closet
Put away items on the ottomon
Organize office supplies
Replace the blinds
Be sure to like me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter so you don't miss the grand reveal of my office! Next month I'll be unveiling the "Maps" side of Maps & Monograms with my first travel related post. Get a sneak peek of what's to come under the "Travel" section!