I used to journal… a lot.

I have a box in the attic filled with spiral bound notebooks that chronicle what I’m sure was some embarrassing teenage emotional trauma.

But when I started blogging in 2004 I stopped. While the blog is a great way to capture fun moments and some detailed stories – I don’t write every day.

A month or so ago one of the blogs I read mentioned the One Line A Day 5-year Journal.

It’s nice size – about 4×6 and an inch thick. It has a ribbon marker and gold-edged pages.

Inside it looks like this…

Each day has a space for you to write something for BRIEF – about 6 lines – for each year. So when you’re done you can glance at a page and see all the things that happened on May 31st for 2012-2017.

The small amount of space is perfect for what I wanted. I can usually fit 2-3 “sentences” or thoughts. It takes me 3 minutes to summarize the highlights of the day. Quick enough that I don’t put it off when I spot the journal next to my computer at night.

They also make a pink “Mom’s” version.

P.S. If you purchase either journal using the links above you’re helping the Kennedy’s raise funds for their adoption – an idea they got from my book

So with the new (to us) leather couch in the living room we needed a chair to balance the room out.

Walked in to my favorite thrift store just two days later and found this beauty.

Okay, “beauty” might be stretching it but the key to thrifting is to be able to see “the lines” of a chair. And I liked the lines.

The fabric was scratchy and the seat was squeaky  but the price was irresistible – $20.

I loaded it in the van, took it home, gave it a good vacuum and it’s been sitting in the living room as is for quite awhile.

The color actually worked perfectly in the current decor but I’m in the mood for change and have fallen in love with the yellow/gray combination. I had already been thinking about painting the armoire (that will eventually make it into the room) grey so I figured this was my chance.

I fell in love with this fabric at Joann’s that was $50 a yard – ouch! I kept looking but couldn’t find anything I liked as much. Fortunately the chair didn’t need much and I was able to use a coupon and get what I needed for $50 (which was enough for the chair AND a throw pillow).

The key to any reupholstery job? Take BEFORE pictures. I took pictures at every step as I took the chair apart – how the fabric was wrapped etc. Turns out my vacuum job earlier hadn’t even put a dent in the amount of dust in this thing. I was sneezing for 3 days.

It took longer than I anticipated – my sewing machine blows so I had to go get my moms; then I screwed a section up and had to resew it TWICE.

But finally it was done.

I am in LOVE with how it turned out!

RESOURCES: Great posts on reupholstering chairs 

Apparently you write one book and people assume you’re going to write more.

For a long time when asked “So, what’s your next book going to be?” I met them with a blank stare.

It matched my equally blank brain. I had NOTHING!

But during the last six months since I stopped working full time, I have been brainstorming ideas and spending a lot of time reading books about the craft of writing.

Fearfully, I think that I’m going to attempt a fiction novel next. I say fearfully because I’ve never considered myself a fiction writer. I’ve got a journalism background and I’m quite comfy in my non-fiction world.

But there is a story in me that wants to come out. I had just started writing (like 3 pages into it) when Jen told me I needed to stop and go read ”Hooked: Write Fiction That Grabs Readers at Page One & Never Lets Them Go”.

I’m half way through and I’m loving it. First, because it’s super practical. Second, because it’s confirming that my thought process on the novel so far, is right on target.

I’m desperate to sit down and start pounding away at the keyboard but I know that I need to finish “Hooked” first.

Not many people would look at this and see its future self…

But it had good lines. And the uglier it is, the cheaper it is, right.

There were about 3 coats of paint on it but after a lot of work it began to look like this…

And now it looks like this…

It’s a good thing that “shabby chic” isn’t really my decor style in the house or I’d totally keep this. But alas, it is for sale.

On to the next project. (If you’re in the market for a black kitchen table with 4 arm chairs (all solid maple), stay tuned.