I pride myself on being pretty independent and self-reliant. I absolutely love when people tell me that I don’t live up to the only child stereotype. And most of the time- I don’t expect others to go out on a limb for me- no matter how large or small the ask. While some people may think this is a respectable quality or trait to have, it sometimes defeats me as I don’t always recognize when to ask for help when I really need it.
In September, I moved into a sweet 1-bedroom apartment in Boston’s Back Bay/South End. My new home has pretty much all I was hoping for upon my return to Boston- a large bedroom, a walk-in closet, and an open kitchen/living room layout. I even have a spacious patio out my backdoor which will be perfect once the crazy amounts of snow decides to melt (come onnnn spring!). I’ve done a fair job of decorating my place. I have the essentials- a new sofa, chairs, and bedroom furniture. Other than that, I literally moved back to Boston from New Orleans with a refurbished chair from Katrina, a wine fridge, and some art. Sounds about complete, right? Unfortunately, six months later, my place still looks as though I recently moved in. My TVs remain unhung- actually, I still have one that I ordered on Amazon for my living room in the box on the floor (pictured above). Sad- I know! I come up with a million excuses of why my sweet spot has not been decorated yet- everything from I am SO busy (worst excuse ever) to I’m not exactly sure what I want.
Luckily, one day at work, a co-worker of mine was mentioning that his fiancee, Jess is looking to get into interior decorating as her full-time job. She can’t quite make the leap into interior decorating as she needs to build her client portfolio. As it turns out, I live around the corner from them, and Jess is itching for a new project. Score! I’m slightly self-conscious of what she’ll think of me when she sees my place as I’ve only had a few close friends and my boyfriend over to see my digs. When I was describing my situation to my co-worker, he said it sounds as though I live like a clean bachelor. Sounds about right! Over email, I explained my current situation to Jess and she assured me that this is exactly why she’s here to help. Phewww.
Transitioning my place from a clean bachelor pad to home won’t happen overnight, but it’s comforting to know that it’s on it’s way, and I have some guidance from someone who is passionate about making others feel at home.
The funny thing is I’ll often offer the advice to others that they shouldn’t be so afraid to ask others for help when then need it. Maybe I should take my own advice more often. Sometimes you need a good smack in the face, or a fateful conversation to make you realize that you need help, and it’s okay to ask for it.
I typically am bopping all around town, but perhaps once my place is a little more put together, I’ll start having more people over instead of meeting up with them elsewhere. After all, what’s a better way to #RadiateDaily then to feel comfortable about hosting good company under your own roof?
