kitchen dreams...

It's Sunday night, early September, and for some reason this is the first time I've felt like I've had the time and headspace to write a blog about something in about 4 months. There's been so much to occupy me and Tom lately - not just the final and frustrating parts of renovating our home, but in fulfilling our roles as bridesmaid and groomsman in my brother's wedding (T minus 2 weeks!), and generally just enjoying spending lots of time making happy memories with our amazing friends and family.

Like most people I know, I have a few (hundred) boards on Pinterest, each embodying a little piece of my brain on my computer screen. My board, Kitchen Dreams, has featured an awful lot over the last few months as we've tackled our physically tiny, but theoretically mammoth, kitchen redesign project. Whilst I realise that our kitchen probably won't ever achieve the grandeur of the ones in my board, I think we've achieved the best we could with the space we had available, and what's more, we absolutely love it!! 

Here's a few before and after pictures so you can see the transformation...

before...

after...

Now, we have a few things to finish off, like putting up a blind and some up stands, but it's mostly there now. We had some major challenges opening up the space by shortening the pantry and taking away the doorway in to the dining room, but the overall effect is much more open and spacious and the hard work was most definitely worth it. 

We bought the kitchen from IKEA and installed it ourselves with the help of my amazing parents. Couldn't have done it without you guys, thank you so much!

I hope you like it, let me know what you think!

happy world IBD day!

It's been quite some time since I've posted anything on here. I don't really know why to be honest, but for one reason or another, posting a new blog seems to have fallen to the bottom of my list of priorities over the last few months. So why have I chosen today to start posting again? Again, I don't really know, it just felt right. I've felt particularly inspired today. Scrolling through my Facebook feed reminded me that today is world IBD day. It reminded me that through an IBD forum I'm part of, I'm connected to so many inspiring people, people who raise money, raise awareness, and never let their IBD own them. Thank you for inspiring me you beautiful people, you know who you are.

I'm getting to that age where I can't really remember my life without Crohn's disease anymore. To a point, my illness is like an arm to me now, it's such a part of me that I'd feel pretty lost without it. That's sounds perverse, but it's true. Sure, I'd love someday to be disease free, but I can't deny that I've lived with this illness for so long now, it's part of who I am. To a point, it does define me. Now, you might think that that's a really negative way to look at illness, that you shouldn't let it define who you are, that you should be a better person than the illness makes you feel. All true. However, if I hadn't had Crohn's disease for the last 18 years, I think there's some good parts to my personality that I'd be missing. 

Suffering from IBD has given me strength and perspective when it comes to illness. I know what it feels like to suffer, but the sweet calmness of remission brings with it an appreciation for wellness that I just can't describe. Crohn's has also given me drive and ambition to be the best I can be in my periods of wellness, and it has given me sensitivity and empathy towards others' suffering. In particular, those with invisible disabilities who are often on the receiving end of a scathing look for using a disabled bathroom or parking space. We already have a chronic condition to contend with, we don't need your negative judgements and confrontations to deal with too. 

Some might disagree, but I think that strength, empathy and drive are good qualities, and I definitely owe at least some of them to living with Crohn's disease for 18 years. Yes, I do wish that I didn't have Crohn's, but if this is what I have to show for having it then I guess it hasn't all been bad, and Im grateful for that. Happy world IBD day everyone, and if someone you love is living with IBD, give them an extra big kiss and a squeeze today, they deserve it.