My husband and I recently spent a long weekend in a cottage on Lookout Mountain. The mountain is a unique one for our area, it’s tall and straight, instead of the rolling peaks more common in the Southern Appalachians.
Over the weekend we went hiking at Lula Lake, drove to Desoto Falls in Alabama, went to Ruby Falls, walked around Chattanooga, and went to the Chattanooga aquarium. I highly recommend Lula Lake, it was absolutely gorgeous and unlike any other waterfall I’ve ever seen.
The real star of the weekend, though, was the place we stayed. A little cottage off of a dirt road, I was nervous at first due to the size and lack of central heating and air. But over the three nights we were there, I fell in love.
There was a tiny front porch with a trellis, window boxes on the front windows, a small square table in the kitchen with lace trimmed white curtains, and the bedroom was just big enough for a queen size bed and two side tables. In lieu of heating, there were two electric little fake fireplaces that heated the little house almost too well.
It felt like something out of a Studio Ghibli film. I wanted to sell all my stuff and move there immediately. I would write books and sell something at farmers markets and bake so much the smell of bread would be absorbed by the house itself.
Of course, that’s not possible at the moment. We will be selling our house soon because we’re moving to Texas in a few months. At least for the first year, we’ll be living in an apartment, and even afterwards, I’m not sure that a small house will be practical for us. We’ll need office space, a guest room for visiting family, and hopefully, we’ll need a nursery in a few years as well.
Regardless of practicality and the actual environment we’ll be in, I hope to carry the feeling of that cottage with us. I don’t want to go fully minimalist, but I’ve started getting rid of things that I don’t need and that aren’t adding to my happiness and peace.
I want to find a balance so I can keep some of my sentimental items, but not feel so bogged down by all the stuff.
That house helped give a sense of peace and was so pretty to be in. I hope to keep that in mind when we move and start unpacking and decorating our future home.
Becca Baggins 