30 Days to Wellness Challenge Day 28: Choosing The Right Task Lighting For You

via Amazon

Back when I was a poor student, I rented the attic room in a boarding house.  Because it was the attic room, the rent was slightly less than the other rooms.  At the time, I thought I was getting a great deal.  I had the whole of the attic to myself.  It wasn't until the end of the school year that I realized that I had not gotten such a great bargain after all.  There was only one tiny window at one end.  The room which was panelled in dark laminate and had dark carpeting was in perpetual gloom even if all the lights were on.  I would get severe headaches after long bouts of sitting at my desk.  Eventually I realized the headaches were caused by the constant squinting.  With all the studying I was doing, I ended up permanently damaging my eyesight.  Ever since, I have been quite anal when it comes to proper task lighting.  So for Day 28, I want to chat a little about proper lighting in the home.  Broadly speaking, there are 2 types of lighting, ambient and task lighting.  I live in a condo and so changing ambient lighting which usually involves ceiling lighting is not really an option.  This challenge is about relatively easy, doable changes so I am going to focus on task lighting which usually involves desk lamps or lighting for specific tasks.  First, think about your desk or work space and whether you believe it to be adequately lit for the tasks you perform at that area.  Do you work there during day or evening hours?  Simple tasks performed for a minimal amount may only require a decorative table lamp that gives off 360 degree light.  However, if you are there for long periods of time, a desk lamp that shines a light focused on your work space or electronic devices might be better suited to your needs.  You may also wish to think about adjustability. OttLite is a highly respected brand and the OttLite Executive Desk Lamp pictured above is an example of a desk lamp designed for task lighting. A rotating shade and and height adjustments mean you can angle it to suit your lighting needs.

Source Image 

There are so many styles to suit all sorts of needs.  I like this OttLite because it comes with a space saving craft organizer.

Source Image 

I really like this sleek Turcom LED Desk and Table Lamp as it has a USB port, it's dimmable and has a touch sensitive control panel.  The fact that it is LED leads me to another consideration and that is the type of light bulb that the lamp uses.  Ask yourself whether you want the yellowish light of an incandescent bulb or the cooler light given off by an LED or CFL lightbulb. 

Source Image

There are so many styles ranging from traditional to contemporary to choose from, it would be impossible to cover them all.  I am sure we are all familiar with the traditional banker's lamp that is often placed over a piano.  I like this modern interpretation by OttLite pictured above.

I hope this has given you some ideas to tweak your work space so that you are able to work with greater ease and comfort.

This is not a sponsored post.  Some links are affiliate links. 

30 Days to Wellness Challenge Day 24: Ceramic Fry Pans, Gotham Cookware, Le Creuset Cast Iron Skillets

via Amazon

When I first set up house with Monsieur, he noticed that I didn't have any PFOA coated nonstick (Teflon coated) cookware in the house.  He promptly went out and bought a nonstick fry pan, much to my chagrin.  My protestations regarding the dangers of PFOA fell on deaf ears.  Those fry pans never last, the coating inevitably starts peeling off.  Eventually, I couldn't stand it any longer and started researching alternatives.  By that point, fry pans with a ceramic coating had now made their appearance in the world and were, to my way of thinking, a viable safer alternative to the nonstick dilemma.  I started bringing home ceramic coated fry pans and, unbelievably, Monsieur was quite pleased.  I guess my exhortations had fallen on fertile ground after all.  So for Day 24, I want to talk about switching out cookware coated with PFOA.  

Please bear in mind that all of my suggestions during the Challenge are ones that I have been trying out and aren't directives.  We all lead different lives and have different needs.  What works for me, might not work for you. As with cookware, maybe you don't have any problems using cookware coated in PFOA.  But as was the case with Monsieur, who didn't even know that a safer alternative was available, it was nice to bring it to his attention and then let him decide.

The current fry pan that we are using is the 12.5" one made by Gotham.  The coating is made of ground ceramic and copper so the interior has that flashy copper colour.  It is PFOA, PTFE, and PFOS free.

via Amazon

I had assumed that a ceramic coating would be more durable than a PFOA one but you do need to be gentle with it.  No metal utensils or harsh scouring pads.  So far, our Gotham pan is holding up and Monsieur is really pleased with its performance.  I like the fact that the price is comparable to a good quality name brand stainless steel fry pan.

If you have the budget for it, you really can't go wrong with classic Le Creuset.  A well seasoned cast iron skillet is practically nonstick.  

via Amazon

Any foodie or chef will tell you that they develop a deep relationship with their favourite kitchen tools and Monsieur is in love with his Le Creuset skillet.  But then, of course, he would be a fan as he is French!  They  really are workhorses in the kitchen (I am referring to Le Creuset but then, come to think of it,  Monsieur is a workhorse too) and were made to endure decades of usage.  Personally, I am just glad that my mind is at ease with the cookware that we are using.  I don't see the point of being careful choosing the food we eat but then negating all that effort by preparing it in cookware that might be leaching toxic chemicals.  I know that Le Creuset is pricey but they last for years and for me, it is a thoughtful, mindful purchase.

How are you doing with the Challenge?  The finish line is close at hand!

This is not a sponsored post.  Some links are affiliate links.

30 Days to Wellness Challenge Day 23: Mrs Meyer and Pet House Soy Candles, Flameless Candles

I am sure I am not alone in saying that I love candles.  They create an instant sense of intimacy.  But what I didn't realize is that ordinary paraffin wax candles are a petroleum byproduct.  So when I was merrily burning those candles, I was breathing in the equivalent of exhaust fumes!  In this case, ignorance really is bliss. So for Day 23, I would like to discuss alternatives to paraffin wax candles.  Myself, I have switched over to flameless candles.  No more fiddling with matches or trying to clean out the tar and soot from the candle holders.  You can even get ones that come with a remote control and timer here. 

via Amazon

They even flicker like the real thing.  How cool is that?  But I must say that sometimes I do miss burning a scented candle.  Enter the world of soy candles.  Soy candles are all natural.  We have all heard of Mrs. Meyer's cleaning products but did you know that there are soy candles as well?  It comes in scents such as lavender, basil, geranium.

via Amazon

The jar is a jelly jar that can be repurposed once the candle is done.  I do love being able to reuse something.  And for those households with pets, you can even get soy candles from Pet House Candle designed to tackle doggy odours.

via Amazon

The one pictured above is Pina Colada but there are 15 fragrances total to choose from.  After all, our furbabies need to breathe clean air as much as we do.  I am really pleased that there are so many options available now to help us create a well home.

We are moving towards the finish line of the Challenge.  Woohoo!  If you have any suggestions, there are only a few days left to include them in the Challenge so please leave them in the comments.

This is not a sponsored post.  Some links are affiliate links.

30 Days to Wellness Challenge Day 20: Vitamins and Supplements

For Day 20 of the Challenge, I want to chat a little about supplements.  Now I want to be clear and state that I am not a healthcare professional and I am just doing what feels right for me.  Everyone has different needs and requirements and, if in doubt, please use common sense and consult an expert.  So now that's out of the way, let's carry on!  There was a time when I tried and tried to take a vitamin supplement, usually in the form of a daily multivitamin.  But a few days in and I would get a persistent low grade headache which would not go away.  Later, I realized that the headache was similar to the headaches one gets when doing a detox cleanse.  I could never get past it even though I knew that, if I could just get over the hump and soldier on, I would come out the other side feeling better.  However, when my health took a nosedive, I decided to give vitamin supplements another try and, lo and behold, I didn't experience any headaches at all.  I have been taking them daily for the better part of 7 months now.  The composition changes slightly depending on what I think I need.  Right now, I am taking an Omega 3-6-9 supplement, a Calcium Zinc Magnesium supplement and am trying out a Biotin supplement which I have heard is really good for healthy hair.  I was taking a Glucosamine supplement but didn't really notice any difference.  I know it can take a few months of regular use to see an improvement so I might try it again.  Normally, I get my supplements at Shoppers which is a Canadian pharmacy.  You can collect reward points at Shoppers and get notifications for flash specials.  For example, today between 6 and 9 pm, it was BOGO on select supplements.  Do you take supplements?  Any recommendations?  Have you noticed any discernible benefits?

This is not a sponsored post.  Any suggestions for the Challenge, please let me know in the comments!

30 Day Wellness Challenge Days 9 to 13: 5 Day Mini Decluttering Goal

I am a firm believer in the adage "Messy Home, Messy Mind."  Yet still, there have been many times when I find decluttering to be emotionally unsettling.  I have written about the mini 5 Day Decluttering Challenge here,  where on Day 1, you discard one thing, on the second day, 2 things and so on.  At the end of the 5 days, 15 things will have been decluttered.  It is a relatively simple and easy way to get the ball rolling when it comes to tidying up the home and achieving peace of mind.  See you on the flip side!

This is not a sponsored post.  Use #30days2wellnesslbh on Instagram so I can find you!

Subscribe and never miss a post.

30 Day Wellness Challenge: Day 8 Unitasking versus Multitasking

For Day 8 of the 30 Day Wellness Challenge, I am going to focus on Unitasking instead of Multitasking.  The ability to multitask has been glorified as a marker of hyperproductivity.  Get one million things done in 10 minutes flat all while doing handstands and juggling!  The problem with multitasking is that this approach can drive up stress levels to untenable levels.  One's attention span is stretched thin and the likelihood of doing one's best on every single task starts to drop.  Enter Unitasking.  How about focusing all of one's attention on just one task at a time?  Bring all of your energies to bear on that one task, complete it then move on to the next task.  Try it for one day and let me know what you think of this method.

This is not a sponsored post.  Use #30days2wellnesslbh on Instagram so I can find you!

The Road To Wellness and Slow Living Begins With One Step: 30 Day Wellness Challenge Day One Bolthouse Farms Green Goodness Smoothie

I had always imagined that the road to slow or simple living would be easy.  First, I started decluttering.  Let me just say here that I have been decluttering since at least the beginning of the year and I am still not done.  Decluttering brings up all sorts of emotional issues which may delay or hinder the process.  Then other areas of one's life comes under scrutiny.  What one puts in to one's mouth, the people one surrounds oneself with and how one spends one's time get parsed on a microscopic level.  And if one lives with other people there may be a lot of negotiating going on.  One may be negotiating how to redefine the home or living space and even how relationships are conducted.  It can seem incredibly overwhelming.  So I decided that I had to go back to basics.  I would do just one thing a day that would bring me back to center.  It didn't have to be a huge grand gesture like chucking everything and going backpacking around the world.  After all, who of us can do that?  Most of us have bills to pay, responsibilities to uphold and children to raise.  And it had to be something that didn't require buy-in from the entire family (although it would be great if they did join in).  But doing one actionable step every day, day by day, no matter how small, I figured I could do.

  

I used to joke about green smoothies.  "It's swamp water!" I cried gleefully.  But my health issues had plateaued.  I wasn't getting worse but I wasn't getting better either.  I needed a kickstart in the right direction. So, much to Monsieur's amazement, I came home with a bottle of emerald green sludge.  And you know what?  It tastes great!  It would take me 10 minutes to type out all the ingredients but there is stuff in there such as Nova Scotia dulse which I would never have thought to add in to a homemade version.  This is why, as a newbie in the green smoothie arena, I decided to purchase a bottle from Bolthouse Farms, rather than attempting to make my own.  I knew it would be a huge time crunch to go to various grocery and health food stores to gather all the ingredients.  For example, I don't have the faintest idea where to go to find barley grass, let alone Nova Scotia dulse.  More to the point, it had to taste good for me to continue with it.  Now, knowing that it tastes eminently palatable, I will be able to down a glass of this on a regular basis.  Day by day, it will become a habit that infuses me with goodness.  And each time I do it, I am reminding myself that I am being respectful of me, that I am worthy and that I am coming back to center.  And tomorrow I will pick some other step to take.  And all these incremental steps, strung together will guide me towards a new horizon.  So, any suggestions on what my next step should be?  I need running buddies to tow me across the finish line.  And if you want to join in, leave a comment telling me what small or large thing you did to move you along the path to wellness.  Or use #30days2wellnesslbh on Instagram.

If you have any green smoothie or healthy smoothie recipes, please let me know!

This is not a sponsored post.  

Frugal Tips: Getting Creative With Accessories

Because of ongoing health issues, the easiest type of tops for me to wear these days are ones that button up in front.  Tops that I have to pull over my head are difficult for me, at best.  Trawling the shops, the only button up tops I found were preppy, masculine shirts.  The last time I channeled the prepster look was when I was a student which was many moons ago and it's a look that I am not particularly keen on revisiting. Give me a few frills, a few lovely details to help lift my mood!  When did the traditional button up blouse fall out of fashion?  Am I so far behind the times?  When I wasn't finding racks of traditional button down shirts, I was instead finding a strange, modern variant of it, the "popover shirt".  The name is a Halloween joke as it is a pullover top masquerading as a shirt.  A shirt to me has buttons going all the way down the front and mysteriously doesn't stop a third of the way.  Another fashion trend at the moment are large statement necklaces that are almost collar-like.  This is another trend that I have not gotten on board with as they don't suit my face shape.  Longer necklaces work better on me but I didn't have any on hand.  Time to get creative!  Lately, I have been obsessing over this vintage glass Christmas ornament.  I love it so much that I didn't want to pack it away when Christmas was over and left it out.

I threaded a long cord onto the ornament-now-pendant.  The heart is seasonless and isn't specific to Christmas.  I love the fact that the clear colour works with everything I have on and makes a statement in a discreet subtle way.

I have been wearing it almost daily for the last couple of weeks now and the other day Monsieur asked me, "What is that you are wearing around your neck?"  Hah!  Do you ever have those moments?  If you have any frugal fashion tips, please let me know!

LBH Weekly Roundup: Festive Scented Candles

The trees are changing colour and heralding the arrival of Fall.  I do love this time of year.  I pull out my favourite cozy sweaters and fire up the radiator.  If you are lucky enough to have a fireplace, this is the time for hot chocolate and roaring fires.  But, if you are like me and don't have a fireplace, go for the next best thing which is a candle (or two) scented like a fresh wintery forest. This is the only time of year that such candles make their appearance in the shops and I can't tell you the number of hours I have spent in gift stores happily breathing in the woodsy scent.  Here are a couple of my favourites.

via chapter.indigo.ca

The Thymes Frasier Fir candle is a perennial favourite of mine.  It really does smell like a Christmas tree.

via chapters.indigo.ca

This Balsam & Cedar candle by Illume is an interesting combination as the cedar base note gives it an earthy, woody tone.

 Now I am off to light some candles and put my feet up.  Do you love scented candles?  What is your favourite scent?

This is not a sponsored post.

What I Am Wearing

Hello All!  I admit that I am a bit of a nosy parker and really love "What Is In My Handbag" and "What I Am Wearing Now" posts.  I can have a virtual rummage through someone's handbag and ogle their closets.  So today I thought I would do a "What I Am Wearing" post.  Winter came late this year and so I am still wearing a winter coat and boots when I go out.

The red tote bag was a Christmas gift.  It is vegan leather so I am curious to see how it will hold up over time.  I love how leather ages over time and just looks better and better but I am definitely open to trying vegan leather.  Of course, I remember when vegan leather was simply known as "vinyl" (!!).

Do you get bored with wearing the same winter outfit over and over again?  I have really embraced having a capsule wardrobe but when faced with the winter glooms, wearing the same winter coat for months on end does tend to add to the general seasonal dreariness.  One way I get around this is to switch out my accessories on a regular basis.

I have a small collection of vintage brooches, all thrifted, which I love and I will pin one to my coat just to add a bit of fun.  I love the penguin as he is such a cute little guy and reminds me of "March of the Penguins" (which I have never been able to watch all the way through because I get too caught up in the fate of the penguin chicks).  Do you have a favourite?

I do hope Spring will finally show itself.  Then I will switch out my wool scarves to a silk scarf.  I have a small collection of vintage scarves too which I love.  Scarves are a great way to change up an outfit.  Because almost all of my accessories were thrifted and/or vintage, they didn't cost a fortune and, when I look at my wardrobe, I don't feel a sense of deprivation because I know I can switch up a look if I am feeling a sense of ennui.  Do you have any thrifty fashion tips that you would like to share?

I am linking up with Share Your Cup and Woman In Real Life.

Simple Hair Care

Hello friends!  I never thought the day would come when my hair would become a topic for discussion but the day has now arrived.  Of late, I have noticed that I have been losing quite a bit of hair.  I know that the hair shaft tends to thin with age but I think that stress may be playing a large part as well.  Monsieur is a baldy and soon I think I will end up being his twin.  I had been using Jason Aloe Vera shampoo and conditioner for a while but I suspect that they have changed their formula as the last bottles I bought smelled absolutely vile. So I thought now was as good a time as any to overhaul my hair care routine.  I searched around and ended up getting Desert Essence Organics Fragrance Free Shampoo.

I really like the fact that it is fragrance free as I am not fond of heavily scented body care products.  It is 100% vegan/wheat & gluten free and doesn't contain any parabens, sodium lauryl/laureth sulfates, phthalates, artificial fragrances or colors, silicones, EDTA, glycol or petroleum based ingredients.  And most importantly, to me anyway, it is cruelty free.  There is a fragrance free conditioner but I have found that the shampoo is so mild that I am going to try skipping the conditioner.  I do find that organic products tend to be a bit on the pricy side so I thought that, if I can skip the conditioner, the cost of the shampoo will be somewhat mitigated.  Also, with one less product to buy, it means that my hair care routine is now much more simple.  There was a time when I used a plethora of hair grooming products, but I found that none of them really delivered the magical results promised and I grew tired of the constant hit to my wallet.  Plus with stress levels at maximum, I just wanted a straightforward routine without a lot of fuss.  If you have any recommendations on shampoos, please let me know!  I have been researching vitamins and supplements to help my fast diminishing strands so if you have any tips or suggestions, please let me know as well!  Of course, I can't leave a blog post, even if it is on hair care, without a quick snapshot of something vintage.

I was very pleased to thrift this vintage gilt mirror tray.  The gold is still lustrous and the gilded edge really pretty.  I have always had a fascination with vanity tables and all the lovely things associated with them although I have never had the room to have one.  However, a mirror tray on a dresser has the same impact and is a good compromise.  On it, I have a vintage wooden brush. I have heard that regular brushing helps to restore the hair's vitality.  I also use a wide toothed comb for sorting out tangles and knots.  So that's it, my simplified hair care routine.  Do you have a hair care routine?

A quick note that this is not a sponsored post and I have no affiliation with Desert Essence.

I am linking up with A Stroll Thru Life.

Denmark Obsessed

Recently, HBC (the Bay), ran a promotion called "Copenhagen Obsessed."  I loved looking at the store displays which featured Danish companies that I had never heard of before.  The main floor featured a home goods label called "Muuto."  Love their pepper mills.

The clean lines and streamlined aesthetic really hit home for me.  What do you think?

I thought the pillows would be perfect for creating that frosty wintery look.

And saving the best for the last...

The world's biggest Hoptimist!  I know!  I want to take it home and stick it in the foyer so I can see it every time I come home.  It's huge and yes, it does jiggle when you press down on it.  Obviously it isn't for sale but these were...

Lots of Hoptimists in a multitude of colours.  I wanted one in every colour but ended up with this pair.

So not a thrifty purchase but I couldn't resist.  I have them on a thrifted vintage teak board.  I was so happy that these fun toys have been reissued but are still made in Denmark.  So, often, a reissued product is lacking in the quality that made it famous in the first place.   Looking around my home, I realized that I have a fair few Danish things, all thrifted and vintage of course.  This vintage teak tray with glass inserts was a recent find.

I think it will be perfect for hors d'oeuvres like olives and cheese and we all know the festive season is fast approaching.  Scary, huh?  Are you ready for the holiday season?

I am linking up with We Call It Junkin, Sir Thrift A Lot, A Stroll Thru Life.

Anthropologie Birthday Party

I was so excited when I received an email from Anthropologie that they were throwing a birthday party for ME.  Ok, not really for me but for anyone with a March birthday.  Any avid Anthro shopper knows that if you sign up for an Anthro membership card, you get a birthday coupon to use during your birthday month.  I don't know about you but, invariably, I forget to go to an Anthro store or wait until the last day of the month and am unable to find anything that I like.  So I thought that throwing a party was a really clever idea to entice shoppers into their store and use the coupon.  And as the party was just two days past my actual birthday, I was still in a celebratory mood.  There was a pretty table with yummy treats such as mini cupcakes and cake pops.

There was even a sweets section with plastic bags that you could fill up.  After all, what's a birthday party without a candy station and goody bags?  Refreshments included a delicious strawberry lemonade with mint.  I will have to ask next time I'm in the store whether the lemonade was bottled or made to order because it was so refreshing.

It is always so much fun visiting Anthro not just for the fashion but the fun and interesting store props and housewares.  I have heard of crafters searching for old Reader's Digest books with pretty covers and then repurposing them, have you?  Here is a display of books that have been cut into letters.  Have you tried cutting up old books?  As a former English Lit major, I am a bit leery of cutting up old books but it does make an eyecatching display.

I thought the hanging display of citrus slices was a very Spring and Summery touch.  I think this is something that could be replicated at home.

Do you notice the giant vintage hen planter at the back?  I think that it is actually from a carousel ride.  I would love to have something like that in a garden, wouldn't you?  Of course, it isn't possible to resist checking out the fashions in an Anthro store.  I fell hard for this Moulinette Soeurs dress.

The skirt is much more citrus lime in real life.  I think that it provides such a fresh contrast against the crisp navy and white lines on top.

via Anthropologie.com

I really like how the back is as interesting as the front.

No birthday cake at Anthro but, yes, I did get a birthday cake on my actual birthday.  That day was one of those agonizing work days that went on and on.  You know the kind.  I felt bad because I knew Monsieur was planning a special birthday dinner.  In fact, we didn't sit down to dinner until 9 pm by which time I was dead on my feet.  But what he did while I was tearing my hair out certainly brought me back to life.  He had decorated our home with millions of balloons, streamers and banners.  Then he cooked a lovely dinner of bavette and mashed potatoes.  I was just so thrilled and touched, all at once.  You see he had recently found out that I had never had a birthday party when I was a child.  So he was determined to throw a "First Birthday Party"  hence all the balloons and streamers.  After dinner came another surprise, a wonderful birthday cake made of red velvet and strawberry shortcake layers.

On top was written "Bonne Fete" (Happy Birthday) on a chocolate disc and a special message written around it, of which one of the most important words is "Love", which you can see. You can also see some balloons reflected in the table top.  I have to admit that I was shocked at all the little details that Monsieur put into my surprise "First Birthday Party."  Most of the time I am convinced that there is a built in filter in his brain that is labelled in capital letters "FOOTBALL" which automatically filters out anything that I tell him.  And then he pulls something like this that shows me that he does listen to me.  I think the best present of all is knowing that I have someone in my life who understands me, who just gets me.  To have someone who just understands and tries to replace sadness with happiness is, as a well known cc company would say, priceless.

I am linking up with My Romantic Home, A Stroll Thru Life, The Charm of Home, and Green Willow Pond.

Green In My Life For 2013

I am sure you've heard by now that Pantone's colour of the year is emerald green.  Green is such a funny colour isn't it?  It can take on some many oppositional meanings such as new growth, Spring or jealousy and envy.  I've written about the colour green before, here, but it's been on my mind lately especially when I received a  letter from a particular credit card issued by a certain bank named after a Canadian city.  It said that I hadn't been using my credit card enough and, if I didn't start using it more, they were closing it down.  What???  I thought that, after the global financial crisis, the trend was to get people off the credit card wagon, not browbeat them back on it.  As I told the hapless client representative, if the cc company is worried I've switched over to the competition, there are more effective ways to get me back.  I see the green-eyed monster in the company's eyes, don't you?  I've had this card for longer than the age of the client rep so it wasn't a case of me being in arrears, simply that I wasn't using it enough for their liking.  So, in a grumpy mood, I went off to the local mall to see what I could charge up.  I went into Banana Republic and saw this dress.



Banana Republic Peggy Knit Shift Dress



Hmmm, I don't think I am brave enough for this dress.  Monsieur really liked the clean crisp lines of this shift dress below though.

Banana Republic Tipped Shift Dress

I liked it too.  I do think one has to be careful with an all green outfit as there is the danger of looking like Kermit the Frog.  I think the trick is with the addition of accessories to break up all the green.  However, this frugal girl really wasn't keen on being forced to part with her green and thus go sliding into the red, if you know what I mean.  So I went off to Old Navy and ended up getting this.

Old Navy Patterned Shirt

Of course, I had to go thrifting in order to recover from all that out of character retail shopping.  I picked up this vintage Swedish cast iron enamel casserole dish.



I've never seen cast iron enamelware in green before as I'm used to the traditional "hot" colours of red or orange that you often see in Le Creuset.  There was something about the green accents that really spoke to me.  And, I love the naive quality of the squiggles on the lid.   I think it would look fab displayed in a kitchen.

I celebrated a milestone birthday this past week.  Monsieur gave me this amazingly huge tote bag from Banana Republic for my birthday.  It really is enormous.  He said that it was for me to fill up with treasures when I go thrifting which I thought was really sweet and thoughtful as thrifting bores him stiff.

Switching out your decor or wardrobe whenever fashion changes can be pricey so I find that the easiest way to stay on trend is with the addition of accessories.  I like adding little touches like a scarf to a bag to personalize it.  But even relying on accessories may not be feasible if you are on a really tight budget.  So the easiest, fastest way to inject green into your decor is with....plants!

I have met people who think green is an unlucky colour and avoid it at all costs.  But plants are a part of Nature and it is a great way to bring life indoors. So if green is not your favourite colour, plants are a safe "neutral option."  What do you think of green?  Embrace or avoid?

I'm linking up with Sir Thrift A Lot, A Stroll Thru Life, Apron Thrift Girl, A Living Space, Thrifty Groove, My Romantic Home, The Charm of Home, French Country Cottage, Joyful Treasure Hunting, Young Heart Old Soul, and The Cottage Market.

This was not a sponsored post.  The tote was a gift and I just really liked the shirt.

 

New Year Changes

Happy New Year!  Do you make resolutions?  I've never been one to make resolutions and yet as the old year drew to a close, I felt this grumbling sense of dissatisfaction.  I felt like there were so many things that weren't working for me anymore and that I wanted to change them, only I didn't know where to start.  Have you ever experienced this?  As I began to pack away the Christmas decorations, I felt the overwhelming urge to just keep going, clear everything away and start with a blank slate.  I left out a few things that I loved and realized that there was a bit of a theme going on.  Monsieur had given me a fabulous reindeer crewel work cushion for Christmas.  It's Christmassy without being overtly Christmassy and goes with the existing cushions.  I had thrifted a vintage Beauceware planter in a sunshine yellow that was perfect for holding fruit.

If you had told me, even a few months ago, that I would be plonking down bright yellow planters and filling them with clementines, I would have laughed.  But for some reason the cheery yellow of the planter just spoke to me. And it seemed to work with the cushions.

I wanted to feel inspired so I thought I'd put together a mood board of sorts.  I've never made a mood board or an inspiration board before so I just gathered a few things together that I had thrifted recently or bought from the Boxing Day sales.

The pineapple brass lamp is another thing that I never thought I would buy.  It was a thrift purchase and was made after much deliberation.  I think I picked it up and put it down several times.  For years, I hated brass because my mother, like many mothers everywhere, embraced the brass fad back in the day and I had had my fill of it.  I walked out to the car and then I slapped my forehead and thought, "It's a brass pineapple lamp!  It's small and cute and chubby!  And it's a brass pineapple lamp!"  And I ran back inside and bought it.  The boots were bought from J Crew and the velvet pants from Anthropologie.  Again, if you had told me that one day I would be buying caramel coloured boots or velvet pants I would have laughed in your face.  Buying properly fitting pants has always been a huge trial for me.  Anthropologie calls them leggings but they fit like a snug pair of pants.  And the boots?  Well, I just tumbled head over heels in love with them.

Photo from the J Crew website.

Because I got the pants and boots at a great price on Boxing Day, I maintain that they can be considered thrifty purchases.   The cast iron lock and keys, the vintage buttons and vintage porcelain doorknob or pull were all recent thrift purchases.  I just love the lock as its face is engraved with an Art Deco design.  Even the keys are engraved.  The porcelain doorknob is huge, a good 4" or 9.5 cm across.
Here is another Boxing Day purchase, a new coat from Old Navy.  It was only $15!

I still can't believe I own a coat in this poppy orange colour.  But I did make a couple other thrift purchases (as in vintage and second hand) such as this roll of vintage yellow ribbon and this tea towel with bright yellow openwork detail.

Do you see a theme emerging?

I have been feeling so uninspired lately.  Life overwhelmed me and blog posts fell by the way side.  I felt like anything I had to say was ridiculous because I didn't live in a huge house overlooking the ocean.  My home is small with bathrooms the size of closets and closets the size of shoeboxes.  Looking at these photos though made me see that, without realizing it, I have been drawn to things that pull me out of my comfort zone.  And that in itself is inspiring.  Now, I look forward to the New Year and to exploring unexpected pathways.

I'm linking up to Thrifty Groove, Sir Thrift A Lot, Cap Creations, A Stroll Thru Life, Coastal Charm, A Living Space.
A little note:  I wasn't sponsored to mention any stores or companies named in the above post.  It's just a record of purchases made recently that have left me shocked and bemused at myself.