Spark Joy

If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook (links to both over there-------------------->) you have seen that after finishing up Marie Kondo's The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up I started on her second book Spark Joy. Her books can be summed up with her quote, “Discarding is not the point; what matters is keeping those things that bring you joy. If you discard everything until you have nothing left but an empty house, I don’t think you’ll be happy living there. Our goal in tidying should be to create a living environment filled with the things we love.”

The goal is to go through your whole house, in very specific steps (KonMari), and only keep the things that "spark joy" for you. Which essentially means that you will be discarding a lot, but only so your house can end up sparking joy for you.

Spark Joy shows what the first book spelled out, but in much more detail and with illustrations. So while the second book is not a must have if you have read the first it does go to the next step and helpful for those who are not quite clear what Kondo was explaining in words when pictures are more helpful.

The book itself is a bit humorous, though not intended to be that way. I laughed several times when Kondo explained how socks don't like to be balled up and prefer to rest. Or how we need to welcome our house each day when we arrive home. How about wishing each of our items goodbye as we throw them away. I have to remind myself that she is from a different culture which does things differently. Otherwise it just seemed way too "new age" for me.

Starting with clothes you go through each and every piece you own (she recommends you only doing your own items - and letting others do theirs). If you decide you love that piece and it sparks joy, keep it. If not, get rid of it. Once you decide what to keep you fold it up in a certain way which really does save a whole lot of space in your drawers and looks more organized as well.

Then you move on to books, misc., and lastly memorabilia and photos. 

It seriously works. After one week of off and on work my bedroom is finally finished! This was my view this afternoon as I took a 5 second break towards the end of the task:         

This is my shirt drawer:

And my pants drawer (I think I can purge a couple more pairs!):

My bedroom looks amazing! The closet is completely organized, my dresser drawers have been thinned out and make it easy for putting clothing away now. My tween even peeked into the drawers and said "this looks fun!" and went straight to her room and started weeding through her clothing. I got rid of almost 1/2 my wardrobe (and donated it to the clothes closet at the church) and realized that most of what I had did not spark joy and was rarely, if ever, worn. What a waste of money and space that was. I think this will help me in my future purchases as well, really asking myself if something "sparks joy".

Now it's time for me to weed through my books. This will be a hard challenge!

This book was given to me by Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest review.

Cats in Paris

Cats in Paris: A Magical Coloring Book by Won-Sun Jang is different than my typical coloring books.

It's a coloring book of the secret world of cats as they explore the city's famous parts.

I thought there would be more of Paris, but many of the pages are simple collages. Some pages are very detailed, 

whereas others are pretty simplistic.

I ordered this one to color with the kids so am very happy with the more simple illustrations on certain pages. The kids will learn a bit of history of Paris while coloring their favorite animal - cats! 

I will enjoy the more detailed pages, especially any involving books! That cover just spoke to me - cats and books being two of my favorite things!

This book was given to me by Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest review.
 

Whatever is Lovely

"We live in such a busy, hectic world—but what waits for you inside this cover is a way to quiet the noise, express creativity, and spend some sweet time with God." Whatever Is Lovely; A Coloring Book for Reflection and Worship by Waterbrook Press

While I've been on the adult coloring bandwagon for a good 6 months or more, this is the first inspirational one I've picked up. I think this is my new favorite for several reasons:

*Each page is one picture (whereas my other coloring books are double sided). This makes it perfect for tearing out and framing the artwork that speaks most to you.

*The back of the page tells where the quote, poem, or Bible Verse is from and elaborates on it.

*It's encouraging. My coloring time is my mediation time. Focusing on coloring an inspirational verse or poem gives me some time to reflect on those words.

I plan to buy a frame for the new year and change out the picture once a month with a new colored page. The words will be present to see daily on my office wall and will bring some reflection and wisdom to mind.

This book was given to me by Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest review.

Create!

The cooler, rainy days have lead to some creative inspiration recently. Probably as a way to "fluff the nest" for the upcoming months stuck indoors due to cold and snow. Make pretty things and it won't be so difficult to be stuck indoors? One can hope.

I bought this large frame at a garage sale for $1 and intended to use it in Amy's room with her initials inside of it. But then, as I contemplated a way to keep my jewelry organized I decided instead to use it for our bedroom. 

A sheet of wire from the garage. Some S hooks and clips for hanging the jewelry. Perfection.  

It looks pretty on the bedroom wall and is quite functional. I just need to buy a few more hooks for the rest of my necklaces to be hung up. 

I'm beginning to get my Etsy shop stocked back up with goodies for the Christmas rush coming in late fall. You can follow my Facebook page to get updates of new items.

I had to start on a cuff for myself first, as the words have been tumbling around in my brain.   

A reminder at hand (literally) to truly LIVE LIFE...every single day.
 

This & That

** spoiler alert ** I thought this was a chick-lit book, happy and carefree. Boy was I wrong! As a mother I can relate to being pulled in a million directions and finally asking yourself, "What's the important things in life?" 

 I was confused, and annoyed, with the business plan in this book. Too much lingo and jargon made some pages hard to follow along. But the actual business proposal was somewhat amusing so I'll look past that.

 But more so, I related to the health issue of a parent in this book. Because it happens...we will all probably have to say goodbye to our parents in our lifetime. Reading about Alice's father brought back memories of my own father. I stayed up until 1:30 am to finish this book and bawled through the last 1/4 of it. I think Egan wrote these feelings/emotions/issues out perfectly and made it all so believable. Because the father in this story had no voice (due to a cancer operation) I think it made it easy for me to imprint my own father into the story. Any book that can make me cry is a good book. 

 “When you're a kid, you think you're going to have this deep well of time with your parents when you grow up and you're all on equal footing. When I had kids of my own, I thought that time would come when my kids grew up and I had a little more freedom. I imagined myself as a fifty-year-old woman, strolling around the duck pond with my eighty-year-old dad. I might have looped my arm through his.
Now I knew, this was not to be.”
A Window Opens  by Elisabeth Egan

*Remember all the rainbow profile pictures in support of gay marriage on Facebook? Well, September is National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and I would love to see people "go gold" in support of that. And please read this article to learn more about Childhood Cancer. We need more awareness, more funding, more support!!

*I've heard people say "Why bring a child into this horrid world?"
I think, "What if that child changes the world?" 
I loved this picture on Humans of New York. This boy brightens the world around him, like so many others do in their corner of the world.

* This article makes me feel sick to my stomach, and quite confused as I don't really see the authors point. She's glad she has her daughter now but wishes she had had the chance to abort her? She didn't sign up for a child with health challenges and doesn't think other parents should have to parent a child with varying health ailments? 
Becoming a parent to ANY child means the possibility of parenting a child with issues...autism, cancer, child falls down the steps and gets brain damaged, teen gets in a car accident and is paralyzed. What would we think of a parent who walked into a hospital room after that and said "I didn't sign up for this!" and walked out forever.
 That's what parents do - love their children no matter what, take care of them no matter what. This women, holding her child in her arms, feels angry that she didn't know beforehand when she could have done something about it. This is so, so sad. What happened to our society to make some people "less than"?

*On a happier note, some blogs of family and friends that I enjoy:

~A DIY blog with fun projects Laura Ann's Home 

~A book blog for bookworms Pursuing the White Whale

~My mom and her co-author's blog Mary & Me 

~Another stay-at-home mama blog The Space Between This and That
 

A Snappy Side Table

This past spring I picked up this beverage cart at a thrift store for $10.

I had plans on painting it white and using it on the porch for potted plants. It sat in the garage waiting for some inspiration to hit.

This past weekend I moved some furniture in the living room around and realized that I was now in need of an end table. 

Inspiration finally hit.

I put hubby to work on "my project" (yeah, it pretty much was his project as he did all the work for me!). 

I wanted a shabby chic feel to it and love the color of the paint he chose and the distressing that he did.

It fits in with our shabby chic little corner (I'm not sure what's up with the lighting in this photo...I couldn't turn the lamp on or there was too much of a glare...so just roll with it. :)

I'm going to find the perfect little basket for underneath and this is where we can store books and magazines. 

The nice thing is that this little side table can easily be rolled out to the middle of the room and it's sides can be expanded to make a large table for movie night. Add a tray of drinks and a big bowl of popcorn and it will come in extra handy. 

$10 table, a $3 can of spray paint, and a little imagination goes a long way.
 

A Space of Their Own

When we were at Faith's Lodge everyone was drawn to the art room. Crafts were at the ready, paint and brushes were accessible for ease of use. Having it there, right at your fingertips, makes creation flow.

So I decided when we returned home that we would have a little corner of our own and got to work creating a space that is open to the kids. As long as they clean up their mess when finished they are free to use whatever, whenever, if it's on/in this desk. 

Like moths to a flame they flocked. 

Amy got her paint on.

Joe and Amy worked with markers and stickers.

While Becca said the desk is too small for her she loves the ease of grabbing an art medium and running to her room to create.

I look forward to switching up the crafts on the table. Letting the kids explore with clay, watercolors, pencils, beads, and more.  Watching the budding artists emerge.
 

Create Porch Decor

When I bought a mirror with a pretty blue frame at a garage sale for 50 cents I had plans to put it up in the girl's room. It would match the yellow one already in there quite well.

Plans change when the mirror got broken (shhhh...don't tell Joe about the seven years of bad luck!). I decided to re-purpose it into a craft for the porch.  

After buying the letter F at Wal-Mart for $1.95 I had Ben paint it grey with paint that we already had. Then I used yellow washi tape that I already had to make stripes. We Hubby then hung them separately on the siding. A very quick (less than an hour) and inexpensive (total was about $3) project!

Instead of throwing something away, look at the item in a different way to see what it could be turned into instead. You know, when life gives you lemons...make lemonade. Or when children brake mirrors, get creative... 

Edited to add: a close up of the letter for Gill who asked in the comments. Excuse the raindrops on the letter...we had a huge thunderstorm right before I snapped the photo.

 

Purge

This weekend seemed like a good time to purge excess clutter around the house. I was in a grouchy mood and felt like I was walking around, as well as tripping on, piles of stuff.

So I took everything out of the dining room (besides the furniture, that is), and then slowly brought it back in. By doing that I was able to see what items I didn't want in there. What items I didn't love. What items were just stuff, instead of needed/wanted things.

Therefore, I was left with a very basic, minimalistic dining room that feels more open, more light, more useful. 

(Why this picture is slanted I do not know.)

It contains my little corner shelf. My dining table. And my buffet which holds the kid's school items. That's it. 

Perfection!

One bag of stuff ready to be donated. One room down. A million left to go!

On a side note, we also cleaned out part of the garage and got rid of a pile of stuff on the curb. I'm glad someone else is able to make use of the items and glad we have some cleared space.

Finding Treasures

The kids and I headed off to another city wide garage sale and hit a few good treasures!

My favorite trinket find was this cute globe, which is actually a little bank. For some reason I seem attracted to globes for decorating and this is the second globe to be added to my "collection".

And that beautiful quilt underneath? It's a twin sized quilt and so original (those greens and reds just scream vintage summer to me!). The woman told me that her mother made it "forever ago". I questioned why she was getting rid of it and was told that she has too much stuff. I told her the quilt would be well loved in our house. 

I didn't even take it out of the package at the sale, as I had already fallen in love with the colors and knew I would buy it no matter the condition (for $5, how could I not?!). When I arrived home and pulled it out I about gasped at how sweet it is. Hand-stitched and in great condition with just one teeny tiny tear and a few small stains.

I hope the woman never regrets selling her mother's handmade quilt. I know I'll always treasure it - it's one of my favorite quilts to date!

The kiddos had fun too! Miss Amy with her new sunglasses and a little bag of Wizard of Oz dolls (her total came to 40 cents today!).

Joe had $12 in birthday money to spend and (surprisingly!) did not let it burn a hole in his pocket. He spent $2 on a giant pirate ship and $1 on a motorized train and has the rest saved for a rainy day.

Becca bought one tiny Littlest Pet Shop and two books for a grand total of 55 cents. 

They are learning the value of a dollar and what is/not worth spending their own money on.
 

Wall Art

A month ago I bought two cute little quilt blocks at a garage sale. I think I paid a whole 15 cents for the both of them.

I had plans to make pillows with them. 

But my plans quickly changed with I decided to make some wall art with them instead. I just taped them to the wall and added some washi tape as stems and leaves. They bloom next to Amy's toddler bed and add lots of whimsy and color to her corner of the world. :)
 

S.O.S. Update

My S.O.S. Challenge (Sick of Stuff) has continued. My goal? 5 things out of this house daily. I've met, if not exceeded that goal.

Today I will be working on my clothing. I have a box half full waiting for donation and hope to top it off and drop it off today.

I noticed when putting my laundry away that the drawers are so stuffed that sometimes I just pile the excess on top of the trunk at the end of our bed. Sometimes that pile ends up getting knocked down and then I end up rewashing it all whether it was worn or not.  Extra work for no reason.

Another item has been toys. A mothering book, which one I can't remember at the moment, gave me the freedom to purge toys whether they were sentimental or not by stating, "Think of toys as expendable. Like a movie or a day out at the park. Fun for awhile but not having to be hoarded." Or something like that, I'm paraphrasing here.

The point is, I can buy the kids a bag of 25 cent plastic farm animals at the thrift store and know that by the end of the week they will be forgotten and spread around the house. I can then bag them up and send them back to the thrift store (or even sweep them up and toss them) and still consider that 25 cents well spent. Because even if it's just an hour or two - they were played with. That doesn't mean they have to be kept. The freedom to look at toys (or books, or movies) in that sense is an immense help in pairing down our belongings.  
 

Go Ahead & Like It

Go Ahead & Like It by Jacqueline Suskin is a "scrapbook-style art book invitation to write lists of things you like: small things that bring delight, intriguing things that excite, and meaningful things that make every day special."

It's really something that we should do every day - find delight in the small things. Savor the simple. Appreciate.

This book is so adorable. It's filled with other lists, pictures, and prompts of what to write. So it's not just a blank canvas, but rather a fun book to add our own touch to. It would also make a neat coffee table book and be a fun book to read out loud to see what other people think. What do others "like"? What do you "like"?

My list will include:

*Toes in warm sand

*Cold glass of iced tea

*A smooth writing pen

*The smell of paper and ink

To sit down and journal it, contemplate it, focus on it all will be a sort of mediation. And I will be left with an awesome little journal of my likes. Love it! 

This book was given to me by Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest review.  

Sunny Days!

With the slightly warmer weather comes more sunshine. With more sunshine come more energy. Which means I have been working on some crafty projects around the house.

Amy had torn her vintage copy of "The Little House". The pictures were too cute just to throw away so I added a nighttime scene and a morning scene to some frames and decorated the wall around her bed.

We got her spring quilt out of storage and made her bed up all cute.

She even pretended like she was going to sleep in the bed at night. Silly girl! Hoping that when the warm weather arrives for good she really will transition to her bed for nighttime sleep. 

Novel Interiors

What is better than reading a novel? Living in a house decorated around one! Novel Interiors by Lisa Borgnes Giramonti is a beautiful book highlighting rooms/homes that are inspired by literature.  "You don't just read a good book, you inhabit it."

This book is filled with gorgeous photographs. Also quotes from over sixty works of literature, which help tie in even the smallest decorating element.  

Can't you just imagine what the room from Sons and Lovers by D.H. Lawrence should look like with this passage from the book: "He was rather proud of his home...The chairs were only wooden, and the sofa was old...{but} there was a simplicity in everything and plenty of books." 

What about "I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers...Look at these maple branches. Don't they give you a thrill- several thrills? I'm going to decorate my room with them." Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery.

This is the perfect coffee table book for any book lover and designer. Such original, classic ideas tying our love for reading into a relaxing home in which to read. :)

Disclaimer: This book was given to me by Blogging For Books in exchange for my honest review.