Queen of the Castle

Keys to the castle

In May of 2014, my husband and I bought our first home: a 1,500-square-foot, attached townhouse in Coppell, Texas. I affectionately refer to it as "the castle." It's littler than I imagined my first home being, but after 18 years living with my parents, 4 years in the dorms, and 17 years of apartment living, I'm thrilled to have a place that's truly mine. I have an actual backyard, a garage, and no restrictions. For the first time in my adult life, I can decorate however I want.

Decorating long has been an interest of mine. Magazines are an addiction, and second to food magazines on my list of favorites are decorating magazines. I scoop them up and scour every page, marking ideas I love with tiny yellow post-it notes. Before now, I only could dream of putting the tips to the test. My cozy castle is a place to make those dreams real.

The settling-in phase is just about over. A majority of the boxes have been unpacked, I have trained myself which drawers hold silverware and which hold oven mitts, and the cats have gotten comfortable enough to spend their days lounging on the window sills rather than cowering under the bed. Now it's time to put my stamp on the place. Paint, rugs, curtains, plants, art, furniture. Though the size presents some challenges, I'm excited about the possibilities and the prospect of documenting the transformation for you.

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A 22-year veteran of newspaper, magazine, and online news, I am in my fifth year as an assistant professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Texas at Arlington. I teach a variety of journalism skills courses, including feature writing, public affairs reporting, and digital storytelling, as well as graduate seminars in communication history and public opinion.