Tour the new office — it won’t take long.

I promised earlier I’d show you my updated office. Here it is when we moved in this past summer and it was painted apple green. Now, I happen to like apple green, so if you have a house painted this color, please know I think you are groovy. But for this tiny office, I wanted to put my own touch on it. So . . .

Ta-da! The walls became blue and colorful valences (sewed them myself!) and a rug that almost perfectly matches.  I asked my husband, “is it too much?” And he said, “yes, but so are you.”  That’s his favorite thing to say.

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I think I should paint the chair white, and yes, it’s comfortable. It was in my parent’s house for years, and I hate to paint it because I’m hoping I get the other three sometime in the future! — What do you think?

A clever caricature from AL.com political cartoonist, J.D. Crowe, and my Phi Mu certificates ( one for academic achievement – ONE — 1, one.) hide power cords and make me smile. The green container full of my reading glasses belonged to Fannie Flagg.

Favorite books and a spooky porcelain doll head . . .  just because it freaks my son out. All my state SUPERIOR medals from high school band. — The next best thing to being Miss America.

The antique light fixture was Bob’s grandmother’s and originally painted pastel colors. Although it still has some rough age spots,  I dabbed on new paint to match the deeper colored window treatments and rug.

I have little do-dads everywhere just because they make me happy. I need to find tiny photos for the itty-bitty silver frame, but it’s pretty even without photos, so I keep it there for now. The office is used for writing my weekly column, book headquarters of the world, and homeschool. The cabinets are large, but outdated with sliding drawers for old time computers, so we may redo those at some point. Our printer fits in one compartment, but it’s a tight squeeze.

Just a little motivation for the day, and a favorite photo of us with Bobby Bowden (love that coach). The picture at the bottom is an old one of my brother in high school that makes me giggle every day,  because it looks so much like my son Joseph.

My MKA – Mary Kay Andrews coaster keeps my coffee from slipping and is another way to stay motivated! She taught me the value of sitting my bohunkus in a chair every day and getting the work done — even if it happens to be in a tiny speck of an office! The greeting card is from my dear 98 year old friend Jule.

My grandparents traveled all over the US and many foreign countries and would always bring me a doll from their trips, so now I have a place to keep them.

I’m forced to separate some of them. The Moroccan and Amish dolls keep trying to convert each other,  and the cowgirl laughs at the Indian/Native American and tells her she’s outdated and politically incorrect, and Miss Alaska just keeps whining, “I’m hot in this coat!” — I just close the door so I don’t have to listen to them. Miss Germany on the top shelf, in the back has just fainted from the stress of it all. Bless her heart.

I put a roll of cork on the side of this cabinet to pin things. Extra credit if you spy my blue ribbon from the Baldwin County Fair for baking cookies.

The hound-dog/Gayfers ad is from a sweet reader who worked in the art/advertising department of our favorite department store and gave it to me last year when I spoke at The First United Methodist Church in Pensacola. the frame didn’t work when I moved, so I need to get it reframed, but I still love looking at it every day.

The greenery outside is a huge satsuma tree that attracts giant butterflies.

There isn’t much wall space, but I had to hang my autographed Mitford Map from Jan Karon, and my Mary Poppins paper dolls found a spot as well. (love). I’m still so in shock about having a real-honest-to-goodness book of my own, that I saved the poster Page and Palette made for my book signing! (nerd). I don’t know what I’ll do with it, but for now, it sits in the corner. Come on now, how many times do you have your own poster?

And the story behind my personalized autographed picture from the President of the United States is, years ago, I met his main speech writer and book collaborator, Meredith McIver, and she brought this to me as a gift. I’ve always admired Donald Trump’s business savvy, and since he was just a famous regular guy, I kept the photo in the laundry room for years. When he became President, it got upgraded to my office. So happy he spelled my name correctly! Having the President stare at me and tell me to keep up the great work is another good source of motivation.

And yes, my childhood baton is in the corner. It helps to clear my head to take a break, step into the adjoining kitchen (with a high ceiling) and give it a spin and a toss. And yes, I really do.

Thanks for touring my cozy, tiny, minuscule office. Come visit me sometime! I’ll squeeze you in.