Last week, I was contacted by an associate at Wayfair.com to participate in a blogger challenge to share our home offices, or inspirational spaces if you will. Immediately I was on board. For one thing, I’ve been wanting to share a little more about myself lately, and this seemed like the perfect outlet. For another, the whole idea of it amused me. For those of you that know me at all, you know that I am a stay-at-home mother of four children ages 10 and under. The idea of a private work space sounds like something out of a movie- unfathomable almost; as illusive as my Paris kitchen, not the cookbook though- I’ve got that.

I have this professional idea of self. This fantasy, where I am diligent with writing, editing, photographing, projecting deadlines, making layouts. I’ve had discussions with my support team (aka my husband) about setting aside a certain amount of evening hours dedicated to my job (aka blog hobby). In reality, I grasp at as many free minutes that I can quilt together to make a post. However, in true to life representation, my home office is wherever I can get it. Thank goodness for wifi and my MacBook Air… and my Nespresso machine because at any hour I can get a good cup of coffee quickly. It helps with my research… and by research I mean catching up with my fellow bloggers, scouring Pinterest and reading cookbooks- usually done in our study.

My dining room table is most often the space I use. Followed by the kitchen table, especially while assisting the kids with homework. Of course I watch cooking shows in the family room. I can say with some conviction that I really don’t blog while I’m outdoors. Sometimes I wish I had a small desk in my bedroom, which at times feels like my only oasis (until bed time when the kids try to pile in)… but I’d have to move out that all but forgotten treadmill.

Would you like to know something? Just one month ago there was a sitting room where I have the dining table. And the dining room was where the study is, because it’s a bigger and I love the idea of our extended families having plenty of room to gather around the table. Then I was having a party and I hated the idea of putting my cheese platter in the bat cave with basically no natural light. So in one day I moved everything, every couch, hutch and table by myself. My grandparents lived in this home before we bought it. And I moved it all back the way they had it. Except, they kept their TV where we have the study, and I moved it to the great room… so we would have more room for our family to spread out. But I’ve never been able to configure this room to satisfaction. I traded the couches between the two rooms, and I think it’s a step in the right direction. I really need a new entertainment center (Wayfair are you listening?). I probably won’t be happy until it’s exactly the same as the way it was.

What is that on the cooking channel? I think it’s ice cream in a blender.

We actually do have a home office, complete with an autographed photo of Mohammad Ali. My husband uses it when he works from home. It’s full of papers that need to be shredded, statements needing to be filed, artwork I need to return to my parents, random items that need to be taken to Goodwill… And the kids school work. What am I supposed to do with all of the graded assignments and art projects? It’s overwhelming! I’m not crafty. I’m not a scrapbooker. But I don’t want to be that mom who has no souvenirs to show their adult children from their childhood. So, I put it in bags! Don’t judge me. I loathe this dilemma, almost as much as the laundry.

I do like the amount of natural light.

Just know that I am uncomfortable showing our catch-all. In general, I really try not to embarrass myself.

And yet, at the moment, I’d rather expose myself than organize this office.

Which would be destroyed in two minutes anyway.

Thank you Wayfair.com for inviting me to join in this blogging challenge. It was fun!