Home, Chic Home

If there is one thing I dread in life, it's moving. The thought of shlupping all my earthly possessions from one place to another is mentally exhausting, and actually doing it is even worse! Sadly, due to rent increases, this summer is a moving summer. And I'm not looking forward to it.

Even more than the hassle of packing and unpacking, I always feel anxious about entering a new space--something empty and foreign--and figuring out how to make it "home." The process of turning an assortment of rooms into one's sanctuary from the world is not a task I take lightly.

A home should be a place that can recharge your energy and reflect your personality. Feng shui experts will tell you that the overall arrangement of things plays a big role in that; but I've always felt that it's the little things, like coasters, and catch-alls, even the right waste basket, that give me the greatest sense of comfort and ownership.

So imagine the thrill-fest I had when I visited The Macbeth Collection's online boutique. The New York-based home & accessories company offers customized items for home decoration and organization, with a gallery of over 200 patterns, colors, and symbols. Owner and founder, Margaret Josephs launched the brand to provide customers with what she hopes will be the tools "to transform their homes, rooms and hopefully their lives into functional, fashion-forward and sophisticated spaces."

Sounded good to me!

I found some great stuff for my new place: stationery, party serving trays, and the perfect not-too-big-not-too-small waste baskets for my bedrooms and office. I'm also dead set on ordering the mail pockets, so I can stop my nasty habit of piling unopened envelopes on my kitchen table. For the patterns, I'm planning on blend of the "Marcia" the "Eve chocolate" and the "Morocco lilac"...in moderation, of course. Since I am not big on wallpaper, I think the exaggerated patterns on smaller items throughout the apartment will add a bit of personalized eclectic feel that I wouldn't find at Target or Ikea.

Don't get me wrong, I'm still not "excited" about moving, but the prospect of cutie monogrammed notepads and paperweights is ameliorating! And when my friends visit me for the first time, and coo:"This place is so you," they'll be exactly right!