on staging and spontaneity

yes, this is a picture of my breakfast.  i staged it out of leftovers (for myself and for a friend whom i thought would appreciate it).  beauty matters to me even when i'm eating alone.  and, i realized after reading the decorating book, "styled" by emily henderson (which, i will admit, i have sitting out open to page 196 at a just-so angle on my coffee table) that even though i went through a phase of thinking i wanted to be an interior decorator, what i really love to do is staging.

i don't know how i know, i just like arranging things in certain numbers at particular angles, depths, and heights.  ever since i can remember i would rearrange my childhood bedroom and i'm still doing that with couches, kitchen islands on wheels, and pillows. henderson's book taught me a lot of new thing while also giving me language for the intuitive parts.

and, while spatial design is such a strong part of my life (does anyone else fluff or flop things on purpose to make them look planned-messy?!)  so is spontaneity.

the other evening, which happened to be cinco de mayo, our friends and family gathered for an impromptu party.  tablecloths were shaken out and steaks were grilled...we even found some maracas to go with the mariachi radio station.  as we sat around the fire under the party lights while the stars came out, i thought how much better real life can be as opposed to a still-shot picture in a magazine (most of those moments we strive to copy are, you guessed it, staged.  try as i might, i never look like i stepped out of a design magazine or high-end cookbook when i'm covered in flour, digging potatoes or collecting eggs).

in my favorite old sweatshirt with pants that didn't match, a couple of kids on my lap at any given time and plastic dessert plates scattered amid watermelon rinds, i couldn't help but marvel at the evening's perfectly unplanned joy.  and that can't really be made into a photo shoot (are those models really having as much fun as they seem?) we just went with the moment and enjoyed every minute!