It’s just after 3 am here in California, and as is usual these days, I can’t sleep. I could blame the chaos around me in the form of moving boxes, but I think my brain just won’t stop going over all the things that need to be done now that I’ve returned.

Returned? Yep. I spent the last week roaming California. It started out as part of a press trip to the incredible Holman Ranch in Carmel Valley, and ended up including stops all around California. I covered more than 1,000 miles by car, and saw some amazing sites (and I’ll be posting about them over on Examiner and Broke Girls Travel, among other spots), but real life beckoned. Even before the week of traveling was over, I felt other responsibilities creeping in—though a lack of cell service near the end helped a little.

So, here I am. Back to real life. Yesterday, that meant priming over the chalkboard paint that was put up in the kitchen as part of my DIY kitchen make-over. I loved that chalkboard paint! It gave the space something unique, and was fun. If you remember the make-over post, the redesign was the brain-child of my friend, Meghan. She was there for 90% of the work, too. And so was the boy.

We had just started dating, and he thought that volunteering to paint would win him points. And it did.

Now, nearly a year and a half after the renovations began, I need to make the space a bit more of a blank slate for the new renters. Luckily, the complex is doing a series of their own renovations, so most of my changes won’t cost me. But it has been a strange process, this undoing of projects.

Change is coming quickly now. The boxes are starting to multiply, and the final removal of my stamp on the place should be done soon. But for the moment, it looks like I’m caught in the middle—not yet having moved on, but the place that was mine is fading.

Luckily, there’s chocolate in the cupboard to ease the way.