When we downsized to this house just over a year ago, I had already done a pretty good job editing our belongings down to only what we needed, loved and used. But on the actual moving day, many things were thrown into the attic. Some, rightfully so. Like Christmas decorations and questionable college pictures. Other things were stored in the attic to get them out of the way until we needed them or found a legitimate spot for them elsewhere in the house. There were those few items that I liked and couldn’t quite let go of even though I had no idea when/where I would use them. Throughout the past year, more items came into our house that I didn’t have the energy to deal with {seriously, why am I so lazy?} and were quickly carried up to the attic never to be seen again.

Sure, the attic contents were out of sight but I knew they were up there lurking, not being displayed or used. The literal and mental weight of the stuffed attic was always on my mind. I am the type of person who feels best with little clutter hidden away in closets, the attic, the basement {we don’t have one} and the garage {don’t even get me started on the garage}. This past spring I finally made myself go up to the attic and confront the mess. After all the pre-move purging, it took two more trips to Goodwill to really get our stuff under control. Now the attic is nearly empty and I feel so much lighter!

The best part about organizing an attic {or other cluttered storage space} is finding stuff you loved enough to buy and keep in the first place. Here are five things I came across in my attic that I will be incorporating into our decor and sharing with you over the next few weeks. One has already made a blog appearance!

The wire basket on the bottom shelf of HH’s nightstand was an attic find. It was part of a set that I bought at Kroger a few years ago. I’m not sure where the other baskets will end up.

I also found this forgotten woven bowl. It’s pretty large and would be a good paper purgatory. There is always a random stack of mail, clipped coupons, kids’ drawings and to-do lists hanging out on the kitchen desk. {Catch a glimpse in the background.} Throwing our paper trail into this bowl would help the kitchen look less cluttered.

Next up is this commissioned painting of our very first house in Illinois. Our BFF’s in Illinois hired a friend to paint it for us as a moving away gift when we moved to Ohio 6+ years ago. This piece means so much to us. I’m ashamed it’s been living in the attic for the past year. It needs a proper home pronto.

I also found two matching pictures frames that I think will work well in either the boys’ room or the hallway. They match the painted one seen in this post and I had totally forgotten we had THREE!

Finally, I’ve fallen in love all over again with these wooden sculptures. I bought them at a local Ballard Designs outlet when we were living in our temporary apartment during renovations. I had no idea where I was going to use them but I loved them grouped together and the price was right. I’m thinking they need to live on the open shelves in our living room originally seen here.

Expect to see more of these items on the blog soon! Have you recently rediscovered long lost loves in your attic, basement or garage? I have been referring to my recent finds as my ‘flowers in the attic.’ {Any V.C. Andrews fans out there?} If you have a neglected dumping ground in need of some attention I encourage you to spend a little time purging and organizing. You will feel so. much. better. and likely have fun “shopping” your stuff along the way. Just do it!

images: Dana Miller for House*Tweaking

Last year was mine and HH’s tenth year wedding anniversary. We always thought we’d do something fun and new together to celebrate the big 1-0. Well, that fun new thing turned out to be the arrival of a surprise lil’ girl into our family. Don’t get me wrong. We’re head over heels for her and cannot imagine our lives without her but we weren’t able to seize the opportunity for a getaway anniversary celebration. Mabrey refused to take a bottle until she was almost ten months old. I was happy to breastfeed her until she was ready to wean and so our getaway was postponed.

Until now!

Next week, HH and I are headed to Bryson City, North Carolina for seven nights. WITHOUT KIDS. I am so excited but I have to say I am a little sad about leaving our boys and babygirl. They’ll be staying with grandparents and in good care so there’s really nothing for me to be worried about. An “adults only” vacation is unfamiliar to us. HH and I went away for three nights once when Everett was a baby and that’s it. Even before kids, we only went on one short vacay just the two of us. So, yeah, this is BIG. The mommy guilt has been plaguing me all week.

But HH and I desperately need some time together. He works long hours and travels frequently for work. On the weekends that he is home, he’s usually tackling a home improvement project while I watch over the kids. If you have littles, I’m sure you can relate to putting “us time” somewhere near “cleaning under the fridge” on the list of things to do. We’d really like to change this and this vacation is a start. Obviously, we can’t take weekly vacations {man, wouldn’t that be nice?} but we’ve talked about trying out monthly date nights for starters. We don’t want to be one of those couples who don’t know how to be together after the kids fly the coop.

We’re staying in a one-bedroom cabin in the mountains and, to be honest, I have no idea if it has wifi or not. That wasn’t a must-have. I may or may not be offline next week. Here are five things I will be doing:

*zip lining over the mountains on a two mile course {a first for me}

*white water rafting {another first}

*reading a book from start to finish {nowadays this rarely happens and if it does it takes me weeks or even months}

*eating locally {i.e., not cooking}

*mountain biking

And hangin’ out with my HH, of course. We’ve been to Bryson City, NC, once before. {You can read about that trip here and here.} It’s a great quiet place to just get away from everything. Phone coverage is spotty. The scenery is beautiful. Don’t worry. I’m taking my camera ;)

Tell me. Do you do kid-less vacations with your significant other? Or regular date nights? What do you do to keep the old flame burning?

image: City-Data