The Office is DONE! (Okay, almost)

First things first - PRAISE THE LORD! Daylight savings has ended and Bekah's good spirits have returned. Mom called last night and said, "Do I need to remind you to change your clocks?" What kind of question is that?

Okay. Now on to the news of the day. My office is (almost) done. Done enough that I can give you a tour. I'm so excited about it!! I decided to give you the full tour - not just stuff in it. (Although we'll do that too!)


This is the office as you first enter it. You can see, over there on the left, the fabulous new bookshelves!!

Oh did I mention the bookshelves?? I present them to you! I couldn't decide if I wanted to paint them or stain them, so for now...I did neither. Drives my Mom NUTS. Fortunately it's not her house. The very top shelf has ivy and Christmas lights and some other pictures and things you'll see closer, later. I have plenty of room to grow in these shelves, which means I can now go book shopping again! I'd had to stop entirely because I was stacking the books on the floor and I hated that. I do have a system for the books. Someone asked me that. So yes. They're in an order that makes me quite happy.

At the bottom of the picture above, you can see the desk, so that should help you know where you are in relation for this picture!! Mom and Dad gave me this desk earlier this year - for free. YAY for free! I wanted something small and very simple - no shelves, no drawers...just the desk. And they had just that very thing and didn't need it anymore, so I got it.

BECAUSE I have no shelves or drawers, the ladder shelves on the right (which used to be on either side of my bed) and the phone stand (which I got at a garage sale for $5) make up that need. Love it.

And on around the corner is my reading spot (for now anyway). Found the chair at Bed, Bath and Beyond during the college supply sale - it's very comfy, actually. Got the rug at Meijer on the college supply sale, and got the laptop stand at Wal Mart on the college supply sale! The laptop stand doubles as a snack holder. :)

My diploma and then another little telephone stand I've had forever that I use for seasonal decorations and pictures. Nice little entry-to-the-office spot. I didn't paint the office...I mean I did a few years ago, but not just now. It's two shades of green. I love it.

My office is a "totally Bekah" office. I try to fill it with things that inspire me and bring back great memories, because that's what gets me in the mood to write. So here's a little tour of the "stuff" in the office. First stop? A picture of me back at my college graduation. Ten whole years ago. Wow. I well remember this moment. Totally thought I was going to throw up. They took it right before I crossed the stage to get my diploma.

This is one of the groupings on the top shelf of the bookcase. Me with Kaegan (right) and with Braeya (left) on the first day I owned each one. Please pardon the scary hair in BOTH pictures. And in the middle - the two kiddos staring out the door. One of my favorite pictures of them.

Another grouping up above the shelf. My little silver bank (it's empty) and a silver cup engraved with my name. Two of the few things I have left from my childhood. And next to it - a picture of me sitting on my sister's bed. That was back when, as we say in my family "I parted my teeth down the middle." Oh heavens. I would have been pretty scared if I was my mom. I had several questionable looking years. Starting right about then.

The first year I lived in this house (which used to be my grandparents' house, if you didn't know that), I hosted Thanksgiving just like Grandma had always done. (Only she did it way better.) Anyway. I have always loved this picture of my grandparents because they were a great model of a marriage that lasts. (Somewhere around 60 years when Grandpa died.) So I found the picture and had little wallet size copies made for everyone in the family, and attached them to the front of a stack of copies of recipe cards containing Thanksgiving recipes in Grandma's handwriting. Then I made this 5x7 for me and I keep it here by Grandpa's old hard hat as a reminder of their legacy in my life!

The porcelain figurine actually plays music. It was a high school graduation gift from "my good buddy, Betty." Betty kind of became another Grandma to me alongside my own - in my high school days and even through part of college. She was spunky and fun and we had many hours of fun working together at church in the nursery. The green pitcher is some family piece - but I don't remember much about it. I got it because it matched the room! HA!

This collection is college stuff. The mug was signed by my fellow English/writing graduates and holds my tassel and honor cords. And the little frame next to it was a graduation gift from the writing department. It contains a piece of a book page written by a woman who was a professor in the department back in the early days of IWU.

This is actually a church bulletin cover from many years ago - but I love its message. In fact, the first women's retreat I ever did was based around this verse and I displayed this frame throughout the day of speaking. Now I keep it in my office to remind me to use the gifts God has given me!

I don't have many pictures of just me because it's probably 50 kinds of vain. But this black and white one is one of my favorites. It's one that Lindsey Hawk took last December when she did my photo shoot for Mom and Dad's Christmas gift. Next to it is a quick sketch of me that the guy who sat behind me in chapel did one day just to show me how fast he could draw a person. I loved it!

This is my other Grandma, and even though she never lived here, I thought she deserved a spot in the office. Probably my favorite picture of her. Just how I remember her. The little wooden box was a souvenir my dad brought from Israel. and the lunchbox is my prayer tin I made earlier this year on a crafty snow day.

Hi, I'm Rebekah. I have an addiction to scrapbooks.

A little name plaque my parents gave me a few years ago. I love it because my life verses are Proverbs 3:3-4: "Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man." And I love the reminder that my name is about being faithful and steadfast. And on a complete side note from any sort of faithfulness...my little sandbox. I think every writer should have a little sandbox. Mine has to stay up on the shelf because of the cats. :)

Pretty self explanatory. :) I actually got this when I was going to redecorate my bathroom with a princess theme...but it never happened. So I just stuck it here. :)

In college, my friends nicknamed me Princess, so I frequently get princess presents. This was one.

This was for the princess bathroom too. It doesn't so much have a battery yet so it's just pretty for now. But if it HAD a battery, I would have moved it an hour last night. (Did I mention Daylight savings ended??)

The books I'm reading right now. Olivia and I are doing Believing God together. We read a chapter every week and discuss it over the phone on Saturday mornings. I love it. It's been the perfect book for right now when I've needed to believe in God's goodness in the wake of heart-disaster. Our Sunday School class is reading Forgotten God right now...we only have two chapters to go. I bought The Prayer that Changes Everything when I was trying to find a way to pray my way through to an Isaac victory. I confess that when he left, I stopped reading it because it was too hard to continue, but I think I'm ready to resume now. I know God is still good even though that path ended. And the one on the bottom is 90 Days with Jesus the One and Only. I told Jonathan's mom I needed some Beth Moore in my life and our bookstore didn't have a SINGLE book of hers in stock. But Ronda had this book that she'd never read so she graciously shared it with me. Bless her heart.

These were pricey (in my book) but I have loved the investment. I bought these boxes to store my stuff in. Notepads and scissors and bookmarks and all sorts of stuff. I love how neat it all looks. Inside each box? TOTAL CHAOS. Ignore the evident need of dusting as well, please.

This is a typical look. Braeya has to help with everything so she usually sits on the desk while I work. And as for the box o Puffs? Well I'm Bekah. I go through a lot of them.

The office is ALMOST done because I'm waiting on someone to help me hang up my new white board. (I'm not permitted to play with hammers and nails. It's not safe.) And the picture in front needs reframed because the hanger broke...but it's another office staple. The picture is of Grant Cunningham, who was a songwriter for Avalon, Point of Grace, the Martins, and many other artists. He died after sustaining a head injury in a Sunday afternoon game of soccer with some friends. I think he was about the age I am now - and it just reminds me that we have no idea how much time we have, and we need to make the most of our talents while we can use them!

Imagine the white board here.

And here, imagine one of those vinyl wall quotes. :)

Thanks for visiting the office!