Wow, it’s been awhile. And all day it’s me, hi! I’m the problem it’s me!

We’re in the midst of packing, and honestly that is exactly what I should be doing right now. But between a velcro 6 month baby and this giant house, and dreaming about leaving, it’s been hard to get motivated, surprisingly.

These last few months have been anything but a breeze.

Between crawling out of the fourth trimester, major issues with this home, less than stellar movement on solving said issues, figuring out the Memphis house, and just trying to breath, eat at least twice a day, and so on, it’s been a whirlwind.

But here we are, doing what I do best, procrastinating, but we pay for this website so I better use it, right?

Maybe now that I’m typing this post, I can really start packing, as I’ve held off in trying to capture what this house looks like one last time before we depart it and this country for good in 15 days. My mom will read this and probably shake her head in my procrastinator ways, but it’ll get done, I promise. And yet, it’s also her that pushed me multiple times (as moms do) to write again, but mostly at the request of another dedicated reader.

Hopefully this return brings a smile to your face, and I promise I’ll keep writing and sharing my new adventures.

Back to the home, being in government housing is so weird. If you’ve been scouting my home pieces for awhile, you’ll probably recall the weird tiles, or how non-functional the kitchen is, and honestly, the list goes on. The gigantic furniture, barred windows, etc. It’s even weirder to go into other homes and see how people decorate what they’ve been given here as well, as no two houses are the same. It’s fun to see how their travels have influenced their home, or also not at all.

There’s the folks that make the most of their post and decorate accordingly. There are those that bring their old style in everywhere they go. There are those that basically just enjoy the housing as it is, and I commend you. Then you see all the posts on social media from other people in this lifestyle with all sorts of styles and well traveled decor.

For me, I think you’d look at my Memphis home, and this one and I mean, there are more differences than I can count (obviously). But one thing I did not want to do was get a BUNCH of items from one place, and then be stuck with it and all my homes in the next place looking the same as the first. No offense, but I’m really over this home and already planning for the next one. I’ve got one room already planned, so maybe I will share the mood board soon.

I’m beyond thrilled by the way. I’ll just say it’s an apartment a smidge bigger than my Memphis home and not a massive house like I currently have. More is not necessarily better,

Because the housing abroad is a crap shoot, one thing is for sure that if it’s furnished, its guaranteed almost 99% of the time to be ugly heavy furniture. Who at the State Department allows these furniture contracts to be even a thought, I have no idea.

Contact your congresspeople, a waste of your tax dollars.

I digress.

When I chose to pick pieces that could follow me everywhere, still bring me joy in being neutral enough, and yet, still celebrate being here, I knowingly chose to keep it minimal. Because when we leave this lifestyle either on our own volition, or go all in until retirement, I want our retirement home to reflect our travels, tastefully.

So without further writing just to write, here is how I brought Togo inside.

One of the easiest ways for me to bring Togo inside, is using photos I’ve taken and framed them as part of my decor. If you’re an OG reader, these photos were in my second post from our visit to Palais de Lome. The little instrument (I’m sure it has a real name) is the ancestor to the banjo. And H did well by choosing one that fits the color scheme. My blanket ladder holds a piece of cloth loomed from girls and women way up in the North. Wrinkled, but subtle and yet eye catching enough to be out in the open.

This long cloth, (loomed by the same group up North), drapes the back of our couch. Our Hotel Lobby, (as it has been called) is basically a reading nook, living room, dining room all in one. I believe the draping of this piece, contrasts the beige furniture to separate the living space from the dining portion of the room.

On the dining table sits a bone inlay tray. We picked it up at the artisan market early in our tour, and I love the contrast it gives to the very brown table. A little wild of a design, but neutral and exciting enough to be an accent piece.

H will laugh because this table has not been this clean in weeks (and also everything is just shoved behind me). I replaced the ugly large embassy coffee table with a DIY by me 🙂 in order to give a narrower profile to the space and lighten it up. We sourced the wood locally, and I immediately fell in love with it’s texture. I’m unsure if it’ll come with us, but it has served us well for our time here, and for being less than $40!

Moral of the story: Don’t be afraid to make it yourself!

The guest bathroom probably is where I let it get a little wild. A few DIY’s happened in here too!

First I’ll highlight the baskets that were made by the basket man in our circle of the neighborhood. One holds toilet paper so nicely, and the baskets on the wall were supposed to be placemats, however they make better wall baskets.

I never wanted the fabric to be a huge mainstay in my home, or my homes personality. No shade to those that do, it’s just not for me other than a headboard in a room. However, the fabric is still art, and thus I decided to throw them in frames to showcase them if you will. When we get to our new apartment, I plan to put them in bigger frames, but for now, these work.

Did you know there’s a funky tile in this bathroom too?

If you couldn’t tell where it is, I took white paper and taped it to disguise it.

Here it is!

I don’t think anyone ever noticed 🙂

Renter friendly, if you will.

And last but certainly not at all least, is this 6×2 mirror we had made. It cost us maybe $150? A mirror this size in the states would certainly cost hundreds more. It was born out of a necessity for a full length mirror, as the embassy only provided smaller mirrors, and this 5ft tall girl needed something bigger to see my whole body. It definitely is making its way with us around the world for years to come.

And so with this, make your home you. Don’t be afraid to collect pieces that’ll be a conversation starter, but last through a few journeys, maybe around the world.

Home takes time.

Until next time,

Carrie