by Jen | Apr 11, 2013 | Fun Style, Interior Decorating
I love walking into someone’s house and seeing something unexpected–and I mean that in regards to repurposing objects into art–not the visiting Aunt Matilda straight out of the shower. I love hearing the story behind the why too. AND I LOVE THIS FIRE LADDER as a coat hook. I have had this picture from a magazine for years and years. I don’t know who to give credit to for it–it is so PERFECT. I will have one someday. Thank you to whoever came up with this idea. Know any Firemen who have a ladder I can have?
This is thinking outside the box too. The picture above and below are from this month’s Redbook (May 2013) featuring Designer Cortney Novogratz about showing off one’s collections.
If you like her ideas she has a design book, Home by Novogratz and an HGTV show of the same name.
Fun idea. How about favorite tee shirts from concerts, camps, races, or?
Beautiful.
It’s from a book…see the binding?
Grandma’s attic or flea market finds, garage sales, architectual artifacts…
And lastly, I would be remiss to not mention children’s artwork. It’s not just for refrigerators! This is my house. The caption of the picture on left reads, “Small Robot Dancing”. Love that.
by Jen | Apr 9, 2013 | Life Reflections, Popular
I swear to you every word I am about to utter is true. THIS my friends is why I started to blog—waiting for this very moment. Now most of the time when truth is stranger than fiction I cannot share it. It involves other people’s stories—and while their stories might prove to be EXTREMELY ENTERTAINING as it relates to me, it is not my place to divulge. So family, friends, and clients know that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.
But today a stranger was involved and all bets are off.
Today was an ordinary day. I went to the paint store. I wanted to check out their scratch and dent paint—yes that is a real thing. I get out of the car and walk through the parking lot. The rest of this story will now just be flashes of images, chaotic and confusing.
A woman is walking through the parking lot with a can of paint and a dog. Why she had a dog with her continues to haunt me. Was it a service animal? Does she think this is Paris? Who takes their dog with them to the paint store? Are dogs allowed in paint stores? Anyway, these are questions that stay with me—still.
The dog moves quickly in front of the lady jerking her leash. The woman jerks to the other side. At this point I don’t know what is going on. We are both walking through the same empty parking spot. She is far from me but suddenly too close. The lady rights herself, the dog runs the other way, and the lady trips. Her can of paint is uncovered. The quart of paint she carries has no lid. If I write it again in another way will it then make sense? Why was she walking through the parking lot with a dog and an UNCOVERED CAN OF PAINT? The paint dumps. Obviously. On me.
Again. Flashes. Images. I don’t understand. I can’t explain any of it. I pray I don’t have to go into a court room and be drilled because I. AM. STILL. SO. CONFUSED.
Now this lady runs back to her car and hands me a napkin. A napkin. Really? It’s a beverage napkin.
I am like the scene from the Sistine Chapel where God and Adam are about to touch fingers. The woman extends the napkin towards me– I reach out to receive it wondering if one small white napkin will suffice for a quart of paint now dripping down my lower body…And it all makes complete sense. There must be hidden cameras. Candid Camera? Ellen Degeneres?
So now I don’t know what to do. I am not self conscious because there is paint ALL OVER ME I am worrying about what to do in front of national television. I don’t want to let on that I know–that would be boring tv. Do I make a scene? How does my hair look? Do I hug the woman and spread the paint on this prankster? And when did I last put on lipstick? I can’t get any further in this thought process as she suggests we go into the paint store and see what they have to clean me up. Ok. Got it. This is where they will reveal themselves. This is where I will see Ellen.
The paint store is crowded. They do not appear interested in my plight. The woman wants to know if they can match the color that I am wearing. I am given 3 large trash bags to drive home with. The lady leaves. I am left in the parking lot.
I put on a trash bag around my left leg and then one on my right leg. I put the third on the seat. I drive home.
by Jen | Apr 5, 2013 | Interior Decorating
Luigi and Mario
I’m having a garage sale in a week. I hope you all come:) Garage sales are not my favorite thing to “host” as they always end up being a lot of work for $37.42 not so much profit. It is, however, motivating my husband to purge. My 5 year old not so much. I’m pretty sure he is going to try to buy back every toy that was his. We’ll be losing money and gaining stuff…isn’t that the opposite of a garage sale?
Well our house is all aflutter with “garage sale talk”… “Mom how much do you think I can get for this legless Mario Lego? Five dollars?” Clearly they are in for a let down. That aside let’s talk purging.
I’ve got an assignment for you over the weekend. Take a garbage bag and set the timer for 12 minutes. Pick EITHER garbage or donate. DO NOT MULTI-TASK. It’s EITHER Garbage OR Donate. For 12 minutes you must try to fill the bag with whichever you chose. Here is a list of Don’ts:
DO NOT answer the phone, whether house or cell while you are doing this. It’s 12 minutes! C’mon!
DO NOT decide that the silverware drawer is gross whilst tossing the 14 pairs of unused (or used) chop sticks from it. Now is not the time to sort it, clean it, or stare at it.
DO NOT do ANYTHING else BUT fill the bag with garbage or donations. Say No to the multi-task.
And no, taking out the trash from the kitchen does not count as filling a bag.
That’s it. That’s the assignment.
Here’s a variation: Instead of 12 minutes and filling a bag JUST AIM FOR 21 THINGS. Either purge or donate 21 things. Stop when you get to 21.
Feeling crazy? Keep doing it every day or every other day and see what a difference it will make. 12 minutes or 21 things.
by Jen | Apr 4, 2013 | Life Reflections
I learned something new. It sounds really cliche but I just really got it. Just because I’m not good at something it doesn’t mean I HAVE to become good at it. I can take a pass. It doesn’t mean I am less of a person. There really is not a report card that we have to ace or some ultimate resume that floats above our heads for all to see.
I am not good at many things. My coordination is lousy–which means I stink at wii, baseball, ballroom dancing and aerobics. My idea of relaxing is NOT baking, looking at recipes on Pinterest, or cooking. I LOVE and appreciate beautiful landscaping, but my thumb is, alas, not green. I’m awful at tracking data in any methodical way. I could go on, but must we? It can be fun to make fun of ourselves. Sometimes we make fun of others. And sometimes we don’t stop there, we just plain judge.
I work with a lot of moms helping them make their houses into something they are proud of, something that reflects who they are and how their family lives. Some are embarrassed that they can’t do it themselves, some are “defeated”, and some are just too darn tired. They tell me stories about husbands, mothers, friends, neighbors “judging” them because they can’t get it all together, have terrible taste, or are just at a loss when it comes to making a house look nice. It was really hard for them to make the move to call me. It meant that they were asking for help.
I recently read Archetypes by Caroline Myss. That’s when I got it. Or actually a few weeks after I read it that it clicked. The book breaks down about 12 different core types that we are defined by. Mine was a tie between Creative and Caregiver. I’m really good at, wait for it, being creative. I’m also good with people. I like people. I like connecting people, supporting people, and I’m very intuitive at getting to the heart of someone’s problem. I get people. (Most of the time–I should knock on wood, maybe I should delete that last statement…Oh geez…I will be in Crazy Town the minute I hit “Publish”).
I am not an Activist, Athlete, or Scholar to name a few. I might have hints here and there–I voted, I ran a 5k, and was on the Honor Roll in high school. But I’m not staying awake at night obsessed with causes, shaving minutes off my mile, or the history of the Roman Empire.
What was interesting to me was the freedom I gained from reaffirming what I already knew. I stink at many things but I am really good at others. So get over it. I will embrace my strengths and hire people to take care of my weaknesses:) Ok, not all the time, but I’ll ask for help.
So I was challenged by the StrongMoms Empower campaign to write a call to action to create a more supportive and less judgemental environment, online and off.
When you know better you do better. I’m not less of a person because I’m not good at something. I’m not better than someone else because I can do something they can’t. I’m not suppose to be able to do everything well. And I don’t have to beat myself up because I run a 15 minute mile. I just don’t care! And that’s OK!
Acknowledge your strengths and be gentle with yourself. Be ok with lousy and ask for help. And then, in my case, hire a gardener.
by Jen | Apr 3, 2013 | Interior Decorating
I am in jail today. Seven year old has stomach flu. I’ll leave it at that. It is a beautiful Spring day here in Virginia. If you live in a place that is still receiving snow–bookmark me and come back to this one later:) For my party people who have sunshine and trees starting to bud…this one’s for you. (Get it?)
So as I am sequestered I thought this would be a good time to see if I could bring Spring into my home in 5 minutes or less. Because that is really all I had. (I am able to write this post as 7 year old is entranced with TV and I am balancing a bucket and a laptop on my lap…pretty risqué if I do say so myself…what if he or I confuse the laptop for the bucket?? That could be an interesting phone call to Apple…or my husband).
Here is what you need:
5 minutes.
A vase (mine is from Walmart and cost $2.50).
Heavy duty scissors, snips, branch cutter, or regular scissors and elbow grease.
Ready? Now I base this first part on the fact that I go into a lot of people’s homes and for some reason most people have dark dining rooms.
Dark = No No No
OPEN the blinds or drapes. Yup. Let the light in. (IF you are on a roll and have say 8 minutes—OPEN WINDOW TREATMENTS throughout house–heck, you can even open some windows). And then there was LIGHT…wonderful.
Now put on shoes, go outside and trim a branch or something flowering, or maybe just something green. I trimmed 4 or 5 stems. I looked for long branches with greenery/buds more heavily grouped on ends.
I stuck them in vase.
VOILA.
I tried a variation.
This idea is good because it is free…you just need a container/vase.
Don’t like it? Don’t have anything to cut? Don’t know what to cut? These are fake. They are from TJMaxx. They cost $29.99. I bought them a few years ago. Everyone thinks they are real.
Don’t want to spend $29.99? My boys bought these for my birthday at the local grocery store. I think they do the trick too.
Flowers and light. 5 minutes. Spring on the inside.
Coffee is also a perfect Springtime aid…especially when your 7 year old has the stomach flu… I’d like to say this post was made possible by Starbucks. Thank you.
