Light as a Feather!

I am completely avoiding catalogs at the moment. And stores with anything more than food in them. And websites that try to sell me things. My new fiscal status has me penny-pinching but even more so, it has me out of the home decor hobby. Which ultimately has me a bit misty. I love decorating and following trends.

On the other hand, I have also been in pre-move purge mode, which has me doing the exact opposite of buying. I believe, since I packed up to move to Chicago, that I have actually given away HALF of my belongings. HALF! And I am not done! I still have several things to take to Goodwill before the move. At the end of the day, it actually makes me feel better. There is something about having less stuff that makes you feel lighter. I am very ready to be back in Dallas to try out my new lighter lifestyle….And very curious to see if I can make it last.

How Do You Weigh Love?

I’m having trouble gathering my thoughts these days. Sort of a form of writer’s block, but more encompassing. I can’t seem to wrap my brain completely around the last month. And the idea of moving back to Dallas is so mixed for me. Right now, I can’t wait to get back to the warmth and comfort of my big group of friends there. But at the same time, it was partially that group that had me running to Chicago. Get out dodge and get out of the drama. But I miss them. I miss them so much. I miss the comfort, and the acceptance, and the support I didn’t even realize I had.

I am sitting here on Sunday of Memorial Day weekend with zero plans. The only thing I have done with friends this weekend was go to dinner for my friend’s going away party. And she’s moving back to Dallas! I have friends here. I have a couple really good friends. I just don’t feel the same volume of warmth and love here that I have waiting for me in Dallas. But if you’ve been reading for a while, you know Dallas wasn’t the healthiest for me. It was like a mental obstacle course.

So instead of doing something constructive this weekend, I have spent most of my weekend watching The Deadliest Catch and playing Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook. My brain just can’t seem to do more right now. It’s like a real thought pops in, and it freezes. Just shuts down.

I really hope I am doing the right thing. The cost of moving is rather daunting…

Think Locally, Dear Internets

This week, the Chicago Tribune announced they will be launching a new website this June. Chicago Now, as it will be called, is a  foray into a world unknown to the newspaper industry. Sure, they all have websites, but this is a departure and a risk, that if it pays off, could prove to be a new direction for newspaper companies trying to survive. Combining news, blogging, social media, and e-commerce to create a local hub of information for Chicagoans, the Trib hopes to increase their share of the local web market to 35%. It should be an interesting ride.

There are several national sites that have gone local as of late, like ESPN Chicago, and The Huffington Post Chicago. This trend toward making the national and the global local is something that I think we will see more of in the near future. Now that we understand the vastness of the world and our inability to interact with all of it–thank you internet!–we, as a culture, are beginning to turn inward again. This of course, is being propelled by our failing economy, but it had begun long before the market crashed. We are looking for the comforts of a small town that rests on the outskirts of a large metroplex. And we are finding ways to make a life in that world.

I am very excited to see what rolls down the line in the next year. I think we will only see more and more of this sort of localization, and I love it!

Home Again

I have news. Not good, not bad…I am moving back to Texas! Chicago has been great, but I am done with this city for a while…I love Chicago, but enough is enough.

Here’s the kicker folks, a friend of mine is renting my house, and he is going to let me be his roommate…In my own house! I have even been approved to reacquire my master bedroom complete with double sink, stall shower and separate tub, and walk-in closet with floor to ceiling shoe rack.

I’ll be moving back at the end of June and it’s time to do Dallas differently. Wish me luck. This is almost as scary as it was to move to Chicago…