Domestic Diva Wannabe

The Domestic Diva. You know who I’m talking about. She’s the neighbor down the street who is always cranking out delicious meals worthy of a spread in a culinary magazine. She’s the mom in your playgroup who not only whips up a superman cape for her little guy out of a spare piece of fabric, but has a whole imagination-packed trunk of handmade dress-up clothes in her kiddos’ playroom and ornaments her entire home with cute, made-from-scratch curtains and bedding. She’s the one who has a whole room in her house dedicated to scrapbooking and its materials, who can dream up anything and then knows exactly how to create it (AND make it look good!). She's the lady with an eye for detail that is reflected in every beautifully decorated room in her house.  That gorgeous flower garden you drive by every day on your way home? She planted it. That cute blog background? She designed it. From making her own soaps and shampoos to finding natural alternatives to cure just about any common ailment to changing the oil in the car, domestic divas are popping up all over my friendship garden.

I aspire to be one of them.

In an age of post-feminist culture, homemaking seems to be a lost art. Today’s little girls are being raised very differently than their moms and grandmothers. Basic skills, like cooking and sewing, that girls used to learn while growing up, have died out so much that to meet someone who can sew a new cutesy duvet cover for her bed is every bit as cool as meeting the President - and he probably doesn’t even know how to sew!

I have decided recently that I am tired of not having these real-life skills in my toolbox. I’m tired of letting myself rely on other people to do things for me because I don’t know how to sew a new hem on a curtain that’s too long. Granted, I haven’t really ever had much time to learn to do these things, since I have spent much of my adult life in school or working two full-time jobs at the same time. And to my mom’s credit, she really did try to teach me to sew. The teenage me simply did not have the patience for sewing, or care to learn how to do it. 

Now that I am a stay-at-home mom of one darling baby girl, my priorities have changed and I finally have time and a need to know how to keep my home. I have an obligation and a desire to raise a daughter who knows how to cook, sew, maintain a home, and fend for herself BEFORE she marries her prince. For as much as we girls try to compete the with men in our lives to keep pace with all the things they can do, I have discovered that my husband is the most appreciative when I serve an awesome new recipe at dinner or put a button back on his shirt; not because he is chauvinistic (he’s not) or thinks I should do those things (he doesn’t), but just because it really is kind of cool to have someone in your home who can do those things.

So this summer, I am going to use this season of my life to my advantage and set a new course and a goal to learn how to do a few new things so that I can one day pass those skills to my children. For starters, this blog was sorely in need of a major facelift (tadaaaaa!!!!). I’m going to plant an herb garden (and with any luck, I’ll keep it alive!), and I’m going to figure out what in the world I’m going to do with the overgrown ivy in my front flower bed. My daughter’s room is finally going to be complete when I put the finishing touches on some curtains, and I plan to make a new ring sling or two. And in my spare time, I’m finally going to start (and finish) those fun crafty projects for my house and the nursery. 

In my quest for new knowledge, I’ll be using resources like books, Internet articles and Youtube videos, asking friends for a little tutoring, and maybe even finding some cute blogs to link up with and share. And I’ll probably be asking you, dear reader, for advice as well. And while I’m at it, I’m going to scratch the itch to write and maybe actually keep this blog somewhat current (although you’ll have to bear with me – baby’s naptimes are still somewhat short!). So I invite you to join me on my new summer school adventure and choose something new to learn and share it!

I am going to be awesome. I am a Domestic Diva in training.  (Hey, that line would look really cute on an apron…)