Sunday, November 21, 2010

Good Reads...book review

Man's Search for MeaningMan's Search for Meaning by Viktor Emil Frankl

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I was captivated by Frankl's account of life within the concentration camps during the holocaust. I couldn't put it down. This pyschologists theories and stories got me thinking about how crucial a feeling of purpose and meaning in life is. Loved it!



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Sunday, November 14, 2010

40 days and counting....

Yeppers...tis the season over here! Officially started today, when I brought out the rubbermaid bins packed with decorations from years past. Is it just me or does the collection seem to multiply over the course of a year? Sifting through I came across a paper shopping bag from Pier One Imports, Cha-ching! I hit up boxing day sales last year, and tucked the bag away for next year. Brand new, sparkling, decorations with the tags on them! Exciting because I probably scored with a 50% off sale on all of them! So, on came the decorating music, Charlie Brown Christmas CD and the fun began.My favorite Christmas Cd, this version exclusive to Starbucks.

We managed to make it through the whole process with only one smashed ornament, and a few disassembled items (care of my darlings, Jalen and Ruby) It's funny because we were trying to explain the Christmas "Season" to Jalen. He was like, "So it's Christmas today?" "Where are all the presents?" We were like "No honey, this is the start of the Christmas Season, so we start to get ready and decorate for when Santa comes, much later." Registering....Registering....Jalen stares at us blankly. He'll get it eventually.

Check out the new blog logo to see my decorated chandelier and a close up of one of my new sparkly ornaments. Below is a pic of our tree that is in our main floor family room, it's a fake. However, we will be getting our real Christmas tree closer to Christmas that we decorate in our downstairs family room. I went with the turquoise and red theme, with a few touches of gold. I am very happy with the final result :) I'm still working on some felt ornaments I will add (felt ornament craft blog to follow)

Click on Photo to enlarge it :)

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Personal Mission Statement

"The Key to the ability to change is a changeless sense of who you are, what you are about, and what you value."
Stephen R. Covey


As I come to realize how much order correlates to sanity and peace in my life, I reached for a book that's been on my shelf for a while but haven't paid much attention to. You've probably seen it, or maybe you have it on your shelf. The book is, The 7 habits of highly effective people. I recommend this book, when you are ready to take action with organizing your life. The book is framed in a way that you can apply it's strategies to your work, your home, your partnership and yourself of course.

The first thing I began to take action upon was creating a personal mission statement. Which Covey describes as basically the vision and the values by which you live your life. A personal mission statement gives you direction and helps you through decisions. As you look at your mission statement you will be able set your goals and based on your principles, focus your time and energy in that direction. As I see it, this can also be used in a similar way to the law of attraction in which you begin to attract what you focus upon. It helps to create this mission statement so you can get a clear vision as to what it is you want to attract into your life.

I have started my personal mission statement that I am still tweaking, so here's what I've got so far:

I am creating beauty around me
I am inspiring
I am living my life proactively and passionately
I am giving to and connecting with people wherever I am
I am using love as a verb in my life
I am living simply
I am laughing freely
I am visualizing and attracting unlimited abundance
I am remembering always that anything is possible
I am open to learn something new everyday
I am evolving and continually focusing on being the best version of me
I am sharing what the best version of me has to offer to the world.


So that's what I have so far. I will print it out once I'm completely happy with it and frame it on my dresser! And the journey continues....

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Doll "house centre"

I'm not a feminist. There I said it. I love being a girl, and I like the fact that there are "man jobs" that involve tools that I don't have a clue how to use and don't want to. I don't care if my daughter plays with trucks, and I never forced her to play with dolls, but I kind of get joy filled when she does play with her dolls. When she sits them up and serves them tea, and tucks them into bed, I sit back and delight in the scene. I'm a girlie girl, and not afraid to admit it. I think there are many wonderful things about being a woman that the world needs. Our natural ability to nurture, our softness, our eye for beauty and our ability to juggle 10 things at once.



Now that I got that out of the way, I was so excited on one of my thrift store adventures the other day when I came across this wonderful little table and chairs and little hutch created for dolls. They aren't a matching set, but I found them on the same day, and scooped them up immediately into my cart. The woman at the store looked into my cart and said "I just put those out yesterday but I'm suprised they are still here." I totally agreed. Both Jalen and Ruby spend lots of time serving the dolls tea and pizza, in the "house center," so for a mere $10.00 for both pieces I think I got a pretty great deal!

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Creative Repurposing...Mason Jars

I'm loving the idea of re purposed items, because hey! It is a great way to save money and it's an eco-friendly choice. Piece by piece, my country/cottage style kitchen comes together. I am taking my time, not rushing to just buy stuff for the sake of buying. I make frequent trips to my favourite thrift stores and gather inspiration wherever I go. I decided that I love the look of those old mason jars, and found several on my creative excursions to my thrift store of choice. I prefer the look of the crown mason jars and keep my eye each time I go for those ones, I also I have my beloved antique ball mason jar that is a gorgeous aqua blue. Yes, I referred to a mason jar as beloved! There's a simplicity and order when I see those antique jars lined up that brings me joy.
Whenever you can, please choose to reuse, repair, recycle or re purpose!

Saturday, November 6, 2010

I'm dreaming...of a FELTED christmas

Gorgeous Wreath made entirely of felted wool balls...WOW! Love this!
photo credit: felt cafe

So, depending on whether or not you still have Halloweens remnants left on your front porch you may feel like you are not even ready for this blog post. Ready or not, here Christmas comes. It's a great time to gather inspiration because 1) November is soooo....boring here in Canada without thanksgiving to celebrate like our American friends. 2) You'll be fully prepared with your vision before you start decking the halls.

So the countdown till the countdown till Christmas begins, while visions of felted things dance in my head...
Felt strand of christmas lights!
photo credit: elsie marley


What's so great about felt anyways? Well, if you felt your own wool it is a great way to re purpose and reuse old sweaters (eco friendly) You do this by simply throwing an old sweater in the wash and let it go through about 20 cycles with the other loads you put in, until eventually it has the texture of felt. I haven't done this yet, but I adore the final product. I have a felted wool purse that is totally cute. Regular store bought felt is often eco-friendly as well.Adorable felt skates ornament for the tree
photo credit: recycled parts store on etsy.com

Pretty garland of felted balls for your tree
photo credit: Made Mary store on etsy.com
I love the simplicity of this felt stocking!
photo credit: rik rak store on etsy.com