Introducing The Lust List: Pretty Items You’ll Want To Own

Giving and receiving gifts for the holidays and my birthday (it was last week!) reminds me of all the useful or pretty items I’ve been wanting but haven’t committed to buying yet. Match that with my extreme anxiousness to clean and organize come the New Year…well, let’s just say I spent way too much time in January obsessively searching for random items and keeping Pinterest in business.

For example, I’ve been looking for a table fan duster like crazy. You know: something that I can stick between the small grates and use to dust the blades. I’d prefer not to have to take the whole damn fan apart because, let’s be real, ain’t no one got time for that.

So with the New Year and my constant distraction, I thought I’d introduce a new monthly series to the blog called The Lust List. It will be an opportunity for me to share some of the pretty items I’ve recently found or been coveting for a while. Read on to discover what I’ll likely be taking home in the near future.

(And seriously, if you know of a table fan duster, let me know!)

Commitmentment. That’s the theme of this lust list. I’m a manic list maker (evidence: this new series is a list). There’s been a few “to-do’s” on my list forever. They aren’t necessities, so months (sometimes even years!) passed without me making any progress.

Some might say it’s because I don’t really want them or I’ve prioritize other things. Both of these statements may be true, but while reflecting about this past year I realized it goes deeper than that. My issue is that I can’t commit to purchasing items because of this (irrational) “catastrophic thinking” and FOMO.

Every time I go to buy something that costs more than $50, I start endlessly researching to find that perfect one. I act as if I can never get rid of the item, that I’ll be stuck with it forever. On one hand, this is great because everything I buy is loved to death (seriously, my tailor just complimented me on this…or maybe subtly thanked me for my continued business, who knows). For example, you should have seen me trying to decide on a rug. It took me nine months. NINE MONTHS. Who takes nine months to commit to a rug?!

But what’s really at stake here is my sense of peace. I know I personally get anxious when items aren’t checked off my list. It makes me feel restless, guilty, and like a failure. By putting items on my list that I know will never get done, I’m setting myself up for failure.

So as part of my New Year’s goal list (I don’t make resolutions, I make annual goal lists because…lists), I made a commitment to tackle some of the projects on my list once and for all. This issue of The Lust List will focus on the items I need to help me:

• Finally balance out my wardrobe with some key shoe investments
• Organize my photos in albums I actually like
• Put up some damn curtains so I’m not basically sleeping in daylight
• Organize that mantle already!
• Style my bookshelf so I look like an established adult and not a pack rat
• Outfit that bar like I’ve been talking about nonstop
• Change out the earrings I’ve been wearing for years

If you’re like me, I challenge you to make a New Year’s goal list and start tackling those constantly-avoided tasks. Hopefully this Lust List helps inspire you or, who knows, even fulfill some of your own needs or wants.

Shopping Guide:
Art Prints: 1. carousel print – $24 | 2. octopus print – $12 | 3. cactus art print -$17.80 | Curtains: 4. gray curtains – $25-33/panel | Earrings: 5. 14K gold earrings – $46 | Shoes: 6. black ankle booties – $189 | 7. crimson pumps – $69.95 | 8. Sperry Top-Sider duck boot – $120 | 9. white Converse – $50 | Photo Albums: 10. mint photo album – $19.50 | 11. blue polka dot Instagram album – $11.99 | Bar Accessories: 12. Forager’s Cocktail – $11 | 13. amethyst wine stopper – $38

You can find more photo albums and curtains on my Pinterest board