Tag: Inspiration

Reclaiming a simple life!

Like many people, I find myself bouncing between feeling grateful and safe to anxious and unsettled, sometimes back and forth all day long. I try to stay occupied and positive throughout the day and look for ways to stay productive and feel like I’m still moving forward. Although this moment in our history will pass, right now it’s important to nurture ourselves with healthy and positive thoughts and activities while we wait for the relief we know is coming. It’s been helpful for me to make a list of activities I can choose from at any given moment, when I need a distraction, feeling bored or looking for ways to focus on all the beautiful things we have in our lives. Today, I’m sharing some of my distractions with you!

Things to do when I need a distraction!

  • Vacuum 1 room or all rooms
  • Dust
  • Wash the interior and/or exterior windows
  • Re-Organize /Re-Style Bookshelves
  • Balance Checking Account
  • Organize any and all closets
  • Pair food storage containers with lids
  • Clean out refrigerator/toss expired food and condiments
  • Clean Baseboards
  • Swiffer cobwebs
  • Clean mini-blinds
  • Update Bathroom with new curtain, towels and bath mat
  • Cook, try new ingredients and recipes
  • Update Living Room pillows, throws and rugs
  • Prepare frozen cookie dough for future use and for gifts
  • Bake for neighbors
  • Propagate plant cuttings for spring planting
  • Write and send cards to friends or neighbors
  • Do sit/stand exercises, use a resistance cord while watching TV
  • Do a set of crunches and sit ups
  • Shave your Sweaters
  • Mend/repair Clothing
  • Switch out your sheets/bedding for the season
  • Rearrange framed photos or update the frames and matting
  • Kiss your pet
  • Clean your ceiling fans
  • Paint old furniture
  • Sit in the sun for 15 minutes each day
  • Write in a journal
  • List all the things your grateful for
  • laugh as hard as you can, until your crying, if possible
  • Give yourself a manicure/pedicure, beard trim, bang trim
  • Do yoga
  • Try a DIY new haircolor, if your brave
  • Re-organize your laundry area/kitchen cabinets/spices/ under the sink
  • Be outside for at least 15 minutes a day
  • Create a daily “tea time” to look forward to, sit and relax for a few minutes
  • Text your Mom or better, call her
  • Find a topic to research and learn about it
  • Learn or brush up on a language, other than your 1st language
  • Do a puzzle
  • Paint or draw a picture, write a poem
  • Bathe your pet
  • Take a walk
  • Dry fresh herbs
  • Use your least favorite piece of clothing and work it into a great outfit. Or get rid of it!
  • Donate to a recycling center
  • Drink more water
  • Decorate your home entrance
  • Buy fresh flowers
  • Pick an ingredient and research a new recipe to include it
  • Rent a steam cleaner and clean your rugs and upholstery
  • Rotate your mattress
  • Change your furnace filter
  • Move your furniture around or repurpose it
  • Lose 5 pounds
  • Make a Dentist or Dr. appt, if you’ve been putting it off
  • Name any wildlife you see from your home or yard
  • Look online for homes for sale in your area to see what your house is worth
  • Throw a ball for your dog
  • Go to bed early
  • Do something that intimidates you and gain confidence
  • Apologize for something that you keep thinking about
  • Pick up a new hobby or return to an old hobby
  • Give yourself a break- You’re doing the best you can

I Had A Delightful Dream To Restore This Relic…

It’s been a crazy fun year and I’m grateful for and proud of the project I’ve been working on!
One Year later, after a great summer season, my house looks fresh, bright and welcoming!
This poor house was so overgrown!
The new landscape is much cleaner and easier to maintain!
The Aspen Tree is still here but,
the front looks otherwise pretty different.
The side yard between my neighbor and I…
looks better with a cedar fence and gate, Breeze material and filled in grass.
It’s hard to see the cedar garden boxes on the right. And impossible to see the gate behind the volunteer tree the contractor is walking through.
Ah, there’s the gate! And a nice clean walkway under the cedar arbor.
And the front door must have been original! Weeds were growing through the concrete step under the door and into the house.
More welcoming! And interesting to look at, from the street.
The back door was also in poor shape.
The new slider is more open, let’s light into the house and is so much prettier.
This is the back porch, but this pic was taken around 2011, before the garage came down. It had plywood paneling on the bottom and screen on the top.
No more plywood! I replaced only the necessary supports with Cedar posts and opened it all up. And a new shed shares the original garage space with a courtyard seating area.
I liked the garage, which had cool original wood siding, but it was so old! The back yard was neglected and overgrown. (pic taken around 2008)
Ahhhh…. Cleaner and low maintenance! Perfect for me!
Straight view of the original back patio.
Today, an Oasis in the City!
Amazing how different it looks now!
I want to hang out here!
The far side of the back patio had 2 different types of fencing between the neighbor and I. Redwood, which turned into chainlink. My neighbor also looked right into my patio from their back door. Awkward for everyone!
I added taller Cedar fencing from the alley to the front sidewalk and everyone is happier! Plus, I hung some outdoor curtains all the way around the patio, giving both of us privacy that can be adjusted.
The back patio concrete was poured with an angle on the left side, starting at the house and ending at the tree.
I extended the concrete to square up the patio which added extra square footage.
One of the best parts of this 893 square foot house is the patio and outdoor living space. I knew this space should be the heart of the house when I first saw it in 2005. I didn’t however, think I would live here 14 years later and make it into what I imagined it could be!
This space is so comfortable and serene. The breeze flows through the patio, keeping it cool. Ceiling fans move the air and the curtains float. Mmmm.
This is what my life looked like in August 2018, 1 year ago.
This is what it looks like today! Rocco is comfortable here too!
The old garage concrete pad with weeds growing out of the cracks.
Same spot, but now it supports my shed! Clean gravel walkway, courtyard and cedar arbor overhead.
I love how organized garden boxes can make your yard. After some clean up and a new irrigation system…
First year gardens. It’s hard the 1st year trying things out and making adjustments as needed. I’ve read that gardening teaches patience and my the case, it’s true! Every year after, becomes a game of what will come back again and eventually you have a mature garden.
Walking through the side gate, this is what you’d see ahead. This is my main entrance. Lovely!
Now this looks like a place I need to explore more!
Same view, to the left, Ugh!
I even got some extra shade from the shed, making the patio more protected. And honestly, the shed is such a focal point, it makes the whole yard seem like a stage set.
I haven’t done as much in the inside, but I’ve done some things and I have plans for more.
I added A/C, fresh paint, lots of cleaning and a new front door.
The arch on the left goes into the kitchen. I replaced the kitchen windows that you see on the left, with a slider door into the courtyard.
It really opened up the kitchen, brought light into the house and now, I walk right onto the courtyard from the kitchen. This was a huge change that made this house feel more updated.
This fun corner of the living room gives the occupant a nice view of the front yard.
I made a cozy seating area with a thick shag rug to give it texture.
A closer view of the arched wall between the kitchen and living area, where I added a new slider door.
I’m planning to take this wall down between the living room and kitchen. This space is the main living space in the house and during the winter, where I spend most of my time.
I’ll lose the upper cabinets and keep the base cabinets. I want to open up the room so it feels bigger, brighter and warmer having the living and cooking space connected.
I’ll remove the weird soffit above the cabinets to open the room up, refinish the existing base cabinets, add rustic support beams, new tile backsplash, new countertops and I’m having a shelf cabinet built…
to match the cabinet you see here, below the windows. As you can see, I need more storage space and I’ll put the new cabinet to the right of the windows. It’s tall and fits the space between the windows and the back door.
Me, happy to be at this point of my project and enjoying my simple life.
I love my newly remodeled space! This project has been so fun because I get to do what works for my lifestyle today. It’s customized for me. And I’m so happy living here.
Happy Anniversary, house!

The Magic of Inspiration arrives in practical ways

I saw this mirror on Restoration Hardware’s website and decided to upgrade my mirror to look similar.
How it looked originally…
A couple coats of spray paint and sandpaper distressing and this is how it turned out. I like it!
And this cool ornate mirror always reminded me of Indonesian style…
But after adding vibrant Turquoise paint and some distressing, it became this fun tribal artifact.
My garden boxes look great and are flourishing in their new space on the shed. However, the water runs straight through the basket and ends up on the ground. I decided to use these old galvanized buckets as planters to catch the recycled water and brighten up the area below the garden baskets.
I drilled holes in the bottom for drainage…
I planted a Clematis vine and some annuals in each bucket and they look fresh and colorful under the baskets.
One on each side of the shed door…
Looks great!
And another bigger bucket under the hanging basket by the back porch.
When I replaced the hardwood floors in the kitchen in 2012, I found these 1938 vintage newspaper pages being used as insulation.
They are beat up, but the articles, ads and comics fun to read.
Inspiration comes in unexpected places. I’m learning to listen to my heart and hear what it’s telling me. My work is ongoing, but I feel more balanced and clearer than ever before. We all struggle and fall and crumble sometimes. Let’s recognize the humanity in us all. Give freely, the support you so desperately need in your own life at times. Smile at people, say something positive, give them a hand. It’s so simple and so needed.