About 6 months ago my sister recommended a book to me that she was absolutely in love with. It was called Domino: The Book of Decorating. Being an art and design major for 4.5 years, I've seen a lot of great books for design but nothing quite like this. This book is so different from the rest because it is for anyone interested in making their home a place they love and actually shows you step by step how to do it. It is all about your personal style and filling your home with what you love, not so much what the current trends are. I spent this afternoon paging through it, falling in love all over again.
One of the first steps the book recommends is to compile pictures in a file of anything you love (a piece of furniture, a color, or a photo). Basically anything that you want to see in your home or anything that you find inspiring. I have been trying to do this over the last few months keeping in mind we will be moving again and I will have another opportunity to make a new space my own. I particularly focus on magazines, but also use images from the internet and photos of my own. I plan to keep up this collection until we move, then I will move on to the next step of putting rooms together and hunting for new pieces to complete each room.
The book gives great examples of all of the rooms in a home in a variety of unique styles. Some of the rooms I don't love, but others I would like to cut and paste into my own home. The book encourages spaces that are timeless, pulling pieces from different time eras and combining them in ways one would never think of. I have to say the book is worth picking up if you are at all interested in home decorating.
I am so amazed looking around at my house to see how much "stuff" has accumulated over the last 9 months (when we moved in). We will most likely be moving again in a few months and I am psyching myself up for some major decluttering. There is a possibility that we will be moving a few states away or even more (depending on certain current job possibilities) and I refuse to move all of this clutter.
Having a daughter who is almost two, we are constantly fighting the build up of toys. During Christmas we specifically asked grandparents not to get her stuffed animals or dolls because of the ridiculous amount she already has and she still received around 8. That really adds up for every special occasion. I hate getting rid of things that were given to my daughter as gifts, but there comes a time when I have no choice. My new plan for holidays is to get Faith a very minimal amount of stuff and instead take her somewhere fun like the zoo or kids museum. That way she has a ton of fun and I don't end up with more stuff, a win-win situation!
So getting back to my decluttering talk, I think my plan for the next few weeks is to do a massive overhaul in each room of our house. Then before we move, I think we are getting rid of some of our furniture and large electronics because they are just not worth moving (they were hand me downs when we were living the college life).
Talking about this always makes me think of my sister who got rid of practically everything she owned when she moved to Albany, NY for grad school. She was the queen of stuff before that, so it was an insane amount that she got rid of. Everything she kept fit into her tiny Saturn (and a few things in a room at my parents house, like photo albums). She is now living in a small apartment with her boyfriend in the Bronx and still living by her no clutter rules.
I feel like I've really said a mouthful, but this is a subject I am very passionate about. I am constantly trying to cut down on the "stuff" that I buy and bring home. Well wish me luck, I think I am going to start this afternoon!
I love making things to give as gifts, it makes everything much more personal. Gift giving can be frustrating for me because I am so anti clutter. I want to give gifts that I know the recipient wants and will use. I become frustrated when it comes to people like my parents and grandparents who do not need anything, but gifts are still expected for all gifting holidays. My default gift for birthdays is a handmade set of greeting cards and for weddings is a crocheted throw blanket. Here is an example of one that I made this Fall that I still need to get sent out (oops!). I like blankets that are looser (more holes) because they are so much quicker to make yet have the same effect of one that is more time consuming.
Since my daughter was born almost two years ago, I have had two 8x10 frames hanging on her wall where I display various scrapbook pages. I switch out the pages about every three months - usually with the seasons or when I develop a new batch of pictures. Here are the two pages I recently made with Faith's Valentine pictures. I found the adorable polka dot paper and shimmer paper at JoAnn Fabrics during one of their awesome 4/$1 paper sales. I'm trying to curb my purchasing of paper and other crafting things in order to use up what I have, but it is so tempting when the paper is that cheap!
It's Valentine's Day today and a few weeks ago I came up with a fun idea for a project my daughter could help with. I planned send out valentines to some of our closer friends and relatives from our daughter. I made the layout similar to a postcard instead of a card that opens. The front I made using patterned paper and a heart stamp, then I had my daughter draw and put stickers on a separate piece of paper which I adhered to the back of the postcard after she was finished. I also took some current photos of her playing in her valentines dress and slipped two pictures into each envelope with the valentine. Faith loved helping with the project and it is a great treat for some of our friends and relatives. Above is a sample picture of a valentine and below is one of the pictures of Faith in her valentines dress (the blocks even spell out love if you look closely!).
After giving it some long thought a few weeks ago and after continual review since, I have come up with my New Year's Resolutions. I have to say that I look at resolutions more as goals for the upcoming year, like stepping stones to my larger goals. As I have stated previously, I have been at a bit of a loss for new goals since graduating from college. I think I had the same big goal for so long (since the beginning of high school) that once I reached it, I felt like "now what?"
Also before I write my list I have to say that I refuse to say "lose 10 pounds" or anything along those lines because I do not believe it is healthy for me to think that way. I am more focused on feeling good and being overall healthy. When I was 14/15, I had a eating disorder that put me in a very scary situation with my health (at my lowest I was a size 0 in juniors and weighed less than 100 pounds when I normally weigh around 135 and am a size 6 or 8). Since getting back to my normal weight, I refuse to own a scale and only base any weight loss on how my clothes fit. With that said, here is my list for the upcoming year:
1. Try 2 new recipes a week
2. Make a meal plan and grocery list each week
3. Use coupons when I go to the grocery store when possible
4. Practice Pilates 3x a week
5. Find one more workout I enjoy and alternate with Pilates
6. Read 2 books a month
7. Post to my blog at least 8 times a month
8. Learn to knit
9. Finish my portfolio
10. Find a "big girl" job
I have to say I like my list and feel that it is both attainable and challenging for me. Lists and goals make me accomplish more and the best part is the feeling I get when I am able to cross something off my list! It is probably the reason I keep To-Do lists everyday.
So I have been putting off doing my portfolio again... I have been working on it like crazy this evening while listening to my favorite tunes since my Photoshop trial period is done after tomorrow. Therefore I need to finish up my pages and turn them into pdf form so I can bring them to the UPS Store and pay an arm and a leg to get this darn thing printed! It is a little crazy to think that this is a book of my best work over the last 4.5 years. It will feel amazing to have it done, it really has been hanging over my head lately.
I currently am taking a small break from it (obviously since I am typing away on here). I am trying to decide which pages to cut, a seriously tough decision, and playing with layouts for a coverpage.
On another note, I have been a reading maniac recently (which is part of the reason my portfolio has been put off until the last minute). This past weekend I read Grave Secret by Charlaine Harris (LOVE her!) and today I finished up The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks (also a favorite author of mine). Both were very good books. Grave Secret is the first in a series and so far is very interesting with strong main characters. The Lucky One is one of my favorites that I have read of Nicholas Sparks. My number one is The Guardian followed by The Rescue. Last semester I ended up feeling deprived of reading since I was so busy, so I am taking extra joy in it now. I just love a good book.