{50 things. challenge accepted.}

One of my absolute FAVORITE sites/magazines posted this today...and I think it's a lovely little list of reminders. So, I am going to challenge myself to each and every item. Feel free to comment if you accept the challenge!

To spark your own love affair with life again, here are 50 simple ways to welcome joy back in:
1. Have monthly picnics in your favorite park.
2. Bake with the intention of sharing.
3. Swing on a swing set.
4. Write anonymous love letters to those in need with The World Needs More Love Letters.
5. Volunteer reading books to children at your local library.
6. Try a new DIY project like beautiful shebori dying.
7. Send postcards to those you love.
8. Take a Sunday drive with the intention of getting lost.
9. Join a community garden.
10. Trade cookbooks with friends to discover new cuisines.
11. End the day by naming 10 things you’re grateful for.
12. Compliment strangers for the sole reason of making someone else’s day.
13. Say ‘I love you’ and mean it.
14. Devote Saturdays to doing only what you really want.
15. Wear your favorite lipstick and heels to run errands.
16. Get a pedicure.
17. Subscribe to a new magazine.
18. Shop at your farmer’s market as a way to get to know your community.
19. Ride your bike to run errands.
20. Light candles at the breakfast table.
21. Give yourself permission to stay in bed longer than normal.
22. Take a social media fast for two days or more.
23. Sun-brew tea in a windowsill or on a porch.
24. Declutter your space.
25. Wear glitter and sequins often.
26. Search out the perfect lake and rope swing.
27. Make a pot of midday tea.
28. Hang your laundry to dry in the sun.
29. Decide your “someday” is today.
30. Make a running list of fun things to do for each season.
31. Give yourself reasons why you can and will.
32. Snuggle more.
33. Leave inexpensive flowers on someone’s doorstep.
34. Choose faith over fear.
35. Give $5 worth of gold coins to a child.
36. Unabashedly ask for what you want.
37. Each day, use a new word like some from this list.
38. Host a wine party.
39. Have a glass jar full of positive affirmations.
40. Learn how to preserve food.
41. Have s’mores inside around your fireplace.
42. Create a signature perfume for yourself.
43. Make a fort out of sheets just like you did as a child.
44. Stop trying to be someone else’s perfect.
45. Take more baths.
46. Discover new music.
47. Return a favor.
48. Eat healthy foods that make your body scream YES.
49. Invest in yourself.
50. Love genuinely and love often.

{touch: bed linens.}

I am on a mission. I want to not only use all 5 of the senses I've been blessed with... I want to indulge in them.
I want to literally stop and smell the roses (and any other scent that crosses my path...)
I want my taste buds to tingle from the delicious (and maybe not so delicious...)
I want my fingertips to brush the fabrics that make this world soft, my feet to feel the cobblestones and sand and woods that hold it all together.
I want my ears to delight at the sounds of  life. music. nature.
My eyesight may not be 20/20 but I've still got it, and I want to truly see my days.
I'm done with breezing through on autopilot. It's time to really live.

jersey sheets, Target. $39.99

I will no longer wish that I could find my life's passion.
I'm simply going to be passionate about life.


I spend the majority of my hours sitting at my desk, working.
I spend the second largest amount of hours in bed.
I can't really do much to change my desk situation (for now), but I sure as hell can make the place where we lay our tired bodies the most cozy of places. That's where I'm starting.

We replaced our worn out pillows with fresh ones from Ikea. When we noticed the dogs had put a hole in the comforter, I grabbed the plush, kingsize "throw" blanket from the sofa and spread it all the way out. It's not thick, but man is it soft! It's working pretty dang well. We put a set of jersey sheets on the bed...if you want cozy and warm, get yourself some jersey sheets! I'm sleeping like a baby.

Gosa Pinje (king) pillow, Ikea. $16.99

We also got rid of our big, cold, hard wrought iron headboard and hung a few chair cushions from World Market in it's place! Added some major softness when you want to sit up while reading or watching tv. They no longer have ours in stock, but here's a similar style.

chair cushion, World Market. $14.99

The mattress should probably be replaced soon, but that's gonna be a large purchase....so we'll see.
Next up for our bedroom will be:
smell~ our room stays pretty closed up (we have blackout curtains and a window unit), so it needs fresheners.
sight~ we tend to be really lazy with laundry and clutter...enough said.

{Me and Martha.}

Well, it is officially 2014, which means my year-long project has begun. Sort of.
We've been in that after-the-holidays-funk, so we haven't really tested ourselves in the kitchen. That will change this weekend! I was going to cook my way through Martha's Cooking School book, but then I thought, wouldn't it be more fun to live this year through her monthly "Living" magazine instead? I mean, she covers everything appropriate for every month on the calendar- cooking, crafting, good thoughts, good things, etc. I'll still use the book, but the magazine seems like a better fit.
Problem- it's now the 3rd of January, and I still haven't seen this months edition on newsstands or lighting up my kindle screen :/
What's a girl to do?
I'll tell you what I did. After a crap day at work, I stopped by Michael's (conveniently located at the end of our street) and picked up a few things for something I had in mind. Not a Martha craft per se, but I definitely think she would approve!

(...until I get home from work, and can get better ones, this photo from my phone will have to suffice)

 

I took a wooden picture frame (10x10) and replace the generic picture with a sheet of burlap and the glass that the frame came with. I topped it with some birch wood slices (for coasters) and 2 small (faux) magnolia buds in that beautiful blue vase. I think it makes for a very pretty little setting!

Decorating goal for 2014: bring more of the outside, in.

{simplify.}

When did everything become so completely over-processed? So cold, so mass-produced?
Most store bought items are wrapped in several layers of plastic packaging.
Popular music spends hours or even days being "edited" on computers, the end result being catchy but without true heart and raw emotion.
Every photograph in every magazine is subjected to so much photoshop that the final image looks nothing like the beginning.
Even things that should be simple are complicated.
Clothes. Food. Beauty products.


My New Year's Resolution: strip away all of the plastic and chemicals and excessive...mess. All of the overwhelming colors and sounds.  Live more natural, simplified. Be conscious of what I am using and throwing out. What I am feeding myself. What I am reading, watching and listening to.

I want to end 2014 having embraced all of my 5 senses.

For my ears to be delighted by the sounds of nature and...life
For my tastebuds to be awakened by the flavors of the world.
For my body to know the softness of well-loved flannel, the warmth of real wool, the coolness of cotton.
For my nose to smell the natural perfumes of the earth.
For my eyes to see the wonder and beauty all around me.

{...home}

...they could hear dad in the shed...

...yes, she does know how to open doors.

{...home.}

keeping cozy on a cold, rainy, late november day.

{...home}

{...home.}

I was reading an article today at Apartment Therapy about using the 5 senses to decorate your home... since I'm taking the night off from cooking (dinner on this chilly autumn evening was soups & sandwiches from Panera Bread) I've got an evening free to do laundry daydream. Okay so I'll be doing some laundry too...
maybe.
The sense of smell: I've already got this going. Vanilla. Home to me smells like vanilla. I have 2 scentsy burners and a few plugins making that happen. Our little home also smells like whatever is cooking. Sometimes that's a good thing, sometimes...not so much.

The sense of sight: This is a major "needs improvement" one... our home currently looks like chaos. Boxes everywhere full of random stuff. Either junk, goodwill donations, papers to be filed/shredded/burned when it's time to light the fireplace... I want it to look clean. Maybe even a little sparse. I want the walls adorned with long wood shelves and meaningful art. I also want to tone down some of the natural light just a smidge.

The sense of touch: This is already in progress... our furniture is pretty comfy. I want more cozy blankets and pillows though. And I want our bed to feel like Heaven. I want textures. Cotton, chenille, cable knit, fleece, wool...all the good ones. I also love burlap and canvas. We just need a doggy door so that one of our sweet girls (who shall remain nameless) will stop ruining the rugs. and the hardwood floors :/ Oh, and I want a comfy reading chair.

The sense of sound: I love it when the windows are open and I can hear the tinkling of my windchime, so definitely more of those.  And when the neighborhood birds are singing. I should give them some garden to play in. And I love it when it rains. We have vaulted ceilings and windows all over....so a good thunderstorm always sounds amazing. Music...always music. I want to build a record collection. and dance while the vinyl spins.

The sense of taste: I'm proud to say this one is already a go, with the Martha cooking project and all. Our kitchen is quite small but after I get the right tools and hone my skills some more... this little house will be filled with wonderful tastes.

Okay...time to get started on that laundry.