Shortcut through the Turkish district!

I do believe that there has been a blanket fort revival since the airing of NBC's Community episode 3.09 'Conspiracy theories and Interior Design'. The idea of a blanket fort has been a childhood dream for me. In the past, I have built cubby houses out of blankets and fabric scraps, but never anything as big or elaborate as a fort. This was until a fortnight ago when an opportunity presented itself: my parents were going away, and my sisters and I had the house to weekend. Other kids would jump at the opportunity to throw a house party, and perhaps we would've if we didn't live two houses away from our grandma, or if the design of our house wasn't intended to be so cramped. So, we realised our childhood dream instead. 

 

After three hours of intense pegging of fabric scraps together and delicate placement of fairy lights, it was complete. And it couldn't have turned out any better. Apart from a kitchen and bathroom, the fort was literally a small apartment (however, not so small that it could've been a centre for ants). We managed to include two couches, a television, mattress, beanbag, treadmill, and a coffee table. Impressive, I know. But don't take my word for it; here are some testimonials:

• "SO. PUMPED." - Michelle, of Fried and Dried (via Facebook)
• "...this is WAY TOO COOL. Where was my invite?! I want to be there too. The lights are just MAD." - Katrina, of One Sentence Movie Reviews/Thoughts (via Facebook)
• "YOUR FORT LOOKS REALLY COOL AND NOW YOU JUST NEED SOME LIGHTSABERS, DISCO LIGHTS AND BUBBLES FOR SOME EXTRA FUN!" - Sophia, of MoulinFrock (via Facebook)

And now for some advanced praise:

• "I know I love this fort because my tail is going at a hundred miles per hour!" - Sonny, our dog.
• "Totally worth it." - Clothing pegs, who strained to hold the fort together
• "Crawling is the new walking!" - my hands and knees

We held a sleepover in the fort, and squat danced to Foster the People, and 'Breathless' by The Corrs (in which Andrea assumed an egg roll position, as she was overcome with too much nostalgia), while sipping on our lemon lime and bitters under a canopy of fairy lights and lanterns. It was glorious and one the best projects my sisters and I have ever accomplished.

We kept the fort erect for the entirety of the weekend, refusing to sleep in our own rooms (our dog included). And here's where my weekend was cooler than yours: I got to sleep in a blanket fort.