KISS and Tell!

Are you familiar with the KISS method? You know, Keep it simple, Stupid (although, for the record, I much prefer being called "Schnookums" or "Sweetiepie").... Simplicity is at the heart of of joy and beauty, but we often forget that at this time of year. We get big boxes out of  the attic and spread their contents around the house, we spend lots of money buying more things to be put about, and we over-schedule ourselves to the point where we don't even have much time to be at home to enjoy all of that atmosphere we work so hard to create.

So how can we employ the KISS method this season? Here are a few ideas to beautify your home and keep it simple, Santa:

1. Almost anything can be made into a seasonal decoration, if you love it and find it beautiful. Small touches around the house, such as sprigs of evergreen on a bookshelf, a vase filled with pine boughs cut from the yard, a glass bowl used the rest of the year but now filled with glass ornaments are all simple ways to adorn your home.
2. Decorate with only your most favorite decorations this year. Consider donating those that you don't use and don't truly love. There will be less to put away on January 2nd, and there will be more room in which to store it!
3. Choose a color scheme for your decorations and use it throughout the house. With all items being cranberry and dark green, or silver and blue, or whatever your favorite combinations is, you won't need as many decorations around to create a cohesive feel and overall impact.

If what you are hoping for this season is peace and joy (and I am pretty sure you are), remember to keep it simple. The difference will be telling!

Around The Garden (Bermuda Style)

Well, my husband found out that taking a stroll with me in Bermuda can take a while....

There are just so many gorgeous blooms EVERYWHERE, and I wanted to be sure to get some good shots of them to take home.

SO...he was very patient, and took pictures of ME as I stopped every 10 feet or so to take another picture.

The resort where we stayed, Cambridge Beaches, was so breathtakingly beautiful it wasn't hard to find lovely things to snap a picture of.

There were bees at work...

delicate blooms swaying in the breeze...

and flowers in saturated colors that were so well paired with the buildings they were planted next to that it was truly a feast for your eyes ...

Gorgeous. 

All the while, if you just turn your head, nine times outta ten you will see water that looks like this:

I am kind of amazed that we were able to remain conscious.

AND, as if all this beauty wasn't enough, Mother Nature just had to throw in another delight....

a RAINBOW.

I have to say that winter in Philadelphia is going to seem especially hard this year.....

Bermuda Bliss

This year my husband and I celebrate 20 years of marriage.  Holy Wow. And for the first time since we had our children, we went away for a few days.....just the two of us.

Again, HOLY WOW.

I didn't realize how much we needed this time alone, away from it all, just to reconnect and recharge.

And what a picturesque, stunning place Bermuda is. I can't wait to share my pictures of all the gorgeous blooms, historic buildings, and colorful houses later this week! Stay tuned!....

Things I haven't Had Time To Tell You About

Here are some pictures that I have taken over the past few weeks. As you know a lot has been going on in my family...and there are things I haven't had a bit of time to tell you about. LIKE... at the end of October I went to the Pennsylvania Conference for Women...

I met so many wonderful women/fellow business owners, and got to see Martha Beck speak!

It was amazing. I am looking forward to now having a little time to implement all of the things that I learned about......

Oh, and Luna Lovegood came to my house on Halloween~ We all felt very honored! Harry, Hermione & Ron meant to come too, but life is pretty busy for them right now. I know they have to be tired after just so narrowly defeating Voldemort.

There was the beautifully textured bark in the yard that caught my eye in the evening.....

and I am sure I had all kinds of things I was thinking....clever things to write....

ideas I couldn't wait to share as I walked through the woods with my faithful sidekick on a beautiful fall morning....

but, for now, I am just glad that I have had a chance to share these pictures and look forward to some normalcy returning....with time to blog again!

My Life Lately: Anything But Routine

It has been a long time since I have written...my life has been anything but routine. An important part of owning your own business is setting goals and keeping deadlines...BUT another thing that has been important to me as a business owner is the ability to take time off when needed, as I have just done for the past month when my grandmother was placed in hospice care. I was able to be by her side as she went through the last weeks of her earthly life, and finally went on home. My grandmother was a creature of habit, a master of routines. As her creative, right-brained granddaughter, it made me a little nuts at times, especially as a teenager. But as I grew up and had a family of my own, and especially over the past few weeks as our family dealt with the stress and sadness of her passing, I noticed that I had a whole new appreciation for simple daily routines.

In our day to day lives, when is life ever really routine?? However, if life doesn't give it to you, here are a few gifts you can give yourself each day (yes, they really are gifts...just disguised as routines):

1. Make Your Bed Each Morning-- This simple habit has actually been shown to increase your happiness. Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project has written about it, and pulling up the sheets and comforter as soon as your feet hit the floor takes less than 5 minutes.

2. Give a Focused Fifteen Minutes to Manage Frustration--Is there a room in your house that seems to fall apart every time you turn around? For me (and many others, I am sure), it is my kitchen.

Each Morning, right after everyone is off to school and work (and the room looks like a box full of gremlins were let loose), I set a timer and quickly straighten and put away breakfast dishes, lunch making items and and anything else that is out of place. Most days I even have time to empty the dishwasher and wipe down the counter and table before the buzzer goes off. Getting this done before I settle into my work day helps me immensely.

What room and what time of day make sense for you and your house? This little bit of time each day can make a world of difference.

3. A Load a Day Keeps the Crazies Away--Does this sound familiar? On the floor is the heaping pile of clothes that needs to be washed, on the bed is the pile that has been washed and is waiting to be folded, and on the dresser is the basket with folded items that need to be put away. UGH--how overwhelming.

So much of our daily mess stems form this task that never really can be completed (someone is ALWAYS making more to wash!). Trying to get all laundry loads done at one time, or doing laundry ALL the time, catch as catch can, will wear you out like a pair of old underwear with a spent elastic band.

Completing one load from start to finish every day can give you a sense of mastery, accomplishment, and peace. Simply don't start a new load before the last is put away, and do the process all the way through (wash, dry, put away) once a day. You will be amazed at how easy it is, how little time it takes, how there isn't stuff just laying around in transition, and how good it feels to not have a  mountain of smelly socks staring you down on Sunday afternoon. I first started doing the laundry this way after reading about it via the Flylady...and each time I have strayed away from the method, I feel bogged down again by the task & I wonder why I ever try any other way.

Pick one of the routines I have listed above, commit to it for the next week, and see how it changes things for the better.  Simple routines can make stressful times (such as the holidays) more manageable, and give you more time and peace.

I wish you and those you love a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. Giving thanks is another routine we should all practice daily. Amen!