good morning

this was today's daily thought from real simple (do you subscribe?) and i liked its simplicity and truth.

falling for fall

are you enjoying the beautiful fall colors and relishing the coziness that is true fall? the colors  seem to be at their peak over the last few days where i am, and i'm trying to savor every single moment. 

i'm off from work this week, and inside the house i'm burning harvesty scented candles for their scent and their glow,  and i'm boiling whole cinnamon sticks on the stove to squeeze out every drop of their aroma. how do you take your fall? are you loving it?

time out(side)

 

i've always felt like a special place outside is so important to my mental health. it's huge to me to be able to sit somewhere quiet and enjoy a breeze, a cool drink and watch the trees sway. it's a bonus if there are birds and flowers and a windchime.

over the years, mitchell and i have lived in places with abundant outdoor space and places with less, but i've learned that even when you don't have a lot, it's what you do with it that counts. i'm totally inspired by these pictures which show different ideas with all kinds of spaces...some large, some small, some with everything perfectly matching and coordinated and others that look like they came together at a moment's notice, from the necessity of having somewhere lovely to be.

do you have a place to be outside? if you don't, could you throw one together this weekend? i bet you could do it without spending a dime...

images from here, here and here

hats off

there's something about sunhat collections that always gets me...they're so casual and seem to suggest a vacation or just a generally relaxed atmosphere.

i also love the feeling that they're there in case anyone needs one...it's a very sharing kind of display, especially in an entry way, don't you think?





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take care

when we were growing up, my sister molly was really neat and i was quite the opposite. she took good care of all her things, kept a tidy room and regularly dusted the dashboard of her car when she got one. my room and my car were both train wrecks. like, scary. think tunnels to walk through.

since then, i've improved quite a bit - i've learned the pleasures of a clean space, and i believe in the link between positive self-care and caring for your surroundings. so it always makes me smile when i sit across from this one woman on the train. she meticulously goes through the same routine each time she settles in. she sorts through her bag, putting things where they belong...she applies her makeup and handcream, wiping off each bottle and tube before putting it away. then she takes out her sunglasses and cleans them carefully. the care she uses with everything she owns reminds me of a little girl who takes impeccable care of her dolls, and as an adult, i respect it because i believe it connects to the way we care for ourselves.

i try to remember the examples of the train lady and my sister as i go through the world with all my stuff. i try to respect the money spent on things, the time spent creating them and my own enjoyment of owning them. all those things warrant extra care in their care.

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remember the rituals

starbucks always has good one-liners...i love that when they serve you your coffee they say "let me know if your drink's not perfect." it's not even just posted on a sign somewhere - they say it!

so i wasn't at all surprised to see a sign on the door recently that said "take comfort in rituals." AMEN. isn't a good ritual something we can all take such comfort it? whether it's the way you make the bed in the morning, the few minutes you sit quietly and sip a hot tea, even where you place your keys, your umbrella, your wallet when you get home at the end of a long day.

often, the first things to go when we're stressed out or overtired are the rituals and routines that keep us grounded and sane. i know when i'm rushing around in the morning, running late, my inclination is to skip the 2 minutes to make the bed - that's 2 minutes i could use somewhere else. but it's the wrong choice, i've learned, in so many ways. first, the simple act of taking that 2 minutes is calming - it makes me feel more in control, and reminds me to put one foot in front of the other and take it easy on myself a little. it also makes me feel less frenzied when i'm turning off the light and leaving the room, knowing i'm leaving a neat, calm bed behind me.

and when i return home after the long day i rushed to, it's a terrible feeling to walk into a bedroom in disarray. it's far better to be welcomed by a pretty, relaxing space - a small but crucial reward for a day of doing and going. other than in some filmic sliding doors situation, that 2 minutes doesn't slow me down very much and certainly doesn't affect monumental change, but skipping it could change everything.

another ritual i have been loving recently is my ikea milk frother which you might remember me talking about as a tiny treasure last year. it makes the milk frothy but not hot, and gives a whole new level of luxury to the morning cup. in all seriousness, you need to get one. and they're $1.99.

for more on rituals and keeping our heads on straight during the holiday rush, read on.

at sea

i am not afraid of storms, for i am learning how to sail my ship.
--louisa may alcott

image from free desktop backgrounds

nighty night

nightstands are kind of like a little apartment within your home, right? they're self-contained, just a lovely little tableau of whatever happens your first and last moments awake each day.

here's what's on mine:

-an alarm clock i've had since high school
-a small crystal bowl my grandpa gave me which holds rubber bands and odds and ends
-a glittery silver box for my rings
-a bottle of lavender and vanilla pillow mist
-a box i painted in mexico to hold my inner child - story for another day
-a face-shaped box from my grandma which holds q-tips
-a book or two and my blackberry
-anywhere between one and four water bottles at varying levels of fullness

i'm curious to know...what's on your nightstand?

image from house beautiful

a tree grows

on one of my very slow, very calm post-surgical walks around my neighborhood, i noticed this little house with the most charming tree on the front lawn. i pictured kids sitting under it playing, and a little girl peering out over the tree from her bedroom window above. for all i know, an 80 year old man lives in that room, but this is my fantasy, so it was a little girl who reminded me of me. obviously.

i couldn't figure out why i felt so drawn to it, and then i realized that growing up, there was a big old tree on my lawn, and i remember looking down over it from my bedroom window, jumping in leaf piles and building snowmen under it, even sitting under it trying to smoke a cigarette without applying pressure to my cheeks after my wisdom teeth came out. ah, memories.

that tree was removed a few years ago because it had died and had started to pose a threat to the house itself, and the cars in the driveway. though they left it bare at first, my parents filled the space with a pretty little cherry tree.

though it doesn't tower over the lawn the way the other one did, and it never will just based on its type, it will grow bigger and fuller, and i like thinking about a little girl peering out that second floor window, my old bedroom window, one day.

the magic kingdom

have you heard this one? a few years ago, while searching for pictures for their wedding, an engaged couple discovered that their paths had crossed as children at disney world. in the foreground of this picture is donna and her brothers, and in the background is alex in a stroller being pushed by his dad.

at the time, alex's family lived in canada, and donna's in florida. they wouldn't meet until many years later when they found themselves falling in love at work.

it reminds me of this michael buble song i'm in love with that i posted a few months ago. it feels so good to watch this video, just go for it again. it makes me smile in a can't-stop-smiling way.

the universe works in funny ways - don't you just never stop being amazed?

photo from mouse info

easy breezy summer

did you spend a lot of time outside this past weekend? for me, it was a bit too hot to sit outside for any length of time except in the evenings, but i saw plenty of people grilling and lounging outside all day long. i hope this weekend coming up is more temperate like these past couple days have been because i'd love to spend the majority of it outside, hopefully with a nice breeze and golden sunshine.

i love how by the time spring and summer arrive, we're all dying to be outside for every conceivable activity - eating, drinking, playing, reading, napping, etc...it's all just better outside when the weather is perfect.

i love the extra relaxed vibe of having gatherings and parties outside too - it always looks thrown together and casual, not in a messy way, but in a way that says "come on over, we'll throw some steaks on the grill and hang out." even if it's not truly that care-free to entertain at all summer parties, that general mood sets the tone for a relaxed get together, and those are usually the most fun.






are you planning any gatherings this summer?

check out my piece in overlook view (go to page 42 of the pdf) on summer entertaining for some ideas!

photos from country living, southern living and the kithcn

cat naps

aren't afternoon naps the best? up until pretty recently, they weren't a practice of mine, but after years of hearing my friend kelly sing their praises, i started and let me tell you...best new discovery ever, and i hope the summer that starts this weekend is full of them.

here's my favorite scenario for a weekend summer day: wake up early, procure a big iced coffee, visit a farmers market, run errands, chat on the phone, hit a few tag sales...and then home. i'd love to sit outside and have the breeze lull me to not-quite sleep, and then retire inside to a dark, cool room and drift away. then i love to wake up slowly, no alarm clock involved and have an air-conditioned, tv-watching night in.

what's your favorite kind of summer day?

photo from easy art

both sides now

well i know you know how i feel about anthropologie in general, but i don't know if i've ever publicly professed my love of their quilts. so let me say...

I LOVE THEIR QUILTS.

not only are they gorgeous, supremely soft and lovely feeling, they're also reversible. i love mine (shown here and above) on both sides. i'm a little worried, because they don't seem to have as many as they used to, but it's always been true that what's available online isn't a great representation of what's in-store, and vice versa.

i'm thinking about adding in a bedskirt from one of their other quilt ensembles. like this one:

thoughts?

have you checked out anthro's bedding recently? you really ought to. here are the quilts, and here are the duvets. a great way to get some of the look without all the spending is to go for the really complete selection of shams available in most of the bedding patterns.

last photo from www.anthropologie.com

a mind of their own

on my way to work each morning, i pass by a row of planters full of beautiful, wispy pink tulips. i love the way their openness looks - so sort of blase and relaxed.

but what i love most is that there are two that just don't want to conform. they are different- no matter what.

i'm glad they have each other.