The Cottage In My Mind - Dreaming of Houses In Monroe

I keep thinking I should move. Old houses haunt my dreams. And, while I love where I’ve lived all these years in Decatur, Monroe has a pull for me I can’t deny. When I closed my antique shop in Lawrenceville the beginning of 2012, an antique buddy suggested I rent a booth in Monroe. It is a destination for folks to shop for treasures, she told me. When I drove into Monroe for the first time I fell in love with the quaint downtown area and all the great antique shops. I landed in three shops initially, Davis Street Antiques, The Cotton Depot, and Hodge Podge Art, Antiques and Interiors. As my larger pieces of furniture sold, I downsized to one booth at Hodge Podge where I sell vintage clothes. I made wonderful new friends and ran into many friends I had not seen in years who came to shop in Monroe. On my weekly run to my booth, I felt more at home in Monroe than I did some days in Decatur. That is when I started looking at homes in the area. Most nights found me on realtor. com. Most likely if you tell me about a charming old home in the area, I’ve already looked at in on line or with a drive-by. 

Several months ago I was convinced my sign from the universe was to move. A job offer of sorts in Athens was dangled in front of me for a brief period of time. As a writer it was a dream job, but my commute from Decatur was more than I could handle. Since Monroe was close to their office I knew my time had come. I found a wonderful craftsman home within walking distance to Hodge Podge.  I was ready to make an offer. 

That night when I pulled into my driveway in Decatur a loud howling noise greeted me. It increased to an ear-piercing crescendo as I opened my front door. When I walked into my kitchen the roar turned to hysterical barking. I was almost mowed down by my six dogs. I’d been gone longer than usual that day talking to a local realtor. 

At that moment my reality hit me. Six dogs. How on earth could I sell my house, much less move to a smaller yard with a pack of pups? My dogs came from my local shelters during a period when I was finding myself after the loss of my husband. My rescue dogs rescued me. They live in harmony together. How could I disrupt their life style to change mine? 

As it turned out life has a way of letting us know what we need if we just listen. The job, well, it turned out to be a bit flakey. I realized I was wrong thinking my eighty mile round trip to my booth was tiring. I look forward to it now that I’ve wised up. It is a great day trip. It is relaxing to hit the country as I putter along 78.  My love of old houses got me started on a new blog “The Cottage In My Mind” with a book targeted for the end of the year. I am working on making my late forties ranch house into the perfect cottage farmhouse.  

I bought a hen's nest on one of my trips to Monroe. You can find them for sale at several of the shops there, mine came from Davis Street Antiques. I hung it on the privacy fence at the end of my driveway in Decatur.  Every day I see it and smile. It reminds me of the great folks in Monroe.  I have a bit of a farmhouse on my ranch house and love how it looks. For the moment I am happy thinking of the things I can do to the house I live in to make it feel like the cottage I want.

Does that mean I’ve stopped looking for that perfect cottage in my mind? Never! I am as fickle with houses as some women are about shoes.

Visit my blog The Cottage In My Mind and see some of the lovely houses in Monroe that caught my attention over the past months.

http://thecottageinmymind.blogspot.com/