"Don't Yuck On My Yum"

While fixing dinner last night, catching up with my husband on this and that, he responded to an experience I was relaying by saying, "It's like something I read today, don't yuck on my yum." Wow, I like that. Where did you hear it? So he sent me the link.

It is just one of 43 points in a post by J.D. Roth, written in celebration of his 43 years.

This I Believe: 43 Lessons from 43 Years

19. Don’t yuck someone else’s yum. Just because you don’t like something doesn’t mean it’s bad. Pursue your passions, and let others pursue theirs. If you don’t like something, fine. There’s no need to make a big deal about it. (Note: This is a tough one for me to actually practice in daily life.)

The other 42 points are a really good read as well, but this one just struck a cord with me. We all have different opinions and thank goodness we do...it'd be terribly boring if we all thought the same. But there's a way to have differences while respecting another's yum!

Alexandra Angle Interior Design

And just because this is a blog and you expect pictures, here's a fav I came across recently! It's today's yum, for me.

One Year Ago

One year ago, I was sitting in this house wondering what was next.

While spending a few days with my family at a friend's beach house, I was trying to figure a way out of a slump brought on by a little run-in with "ageism".

See the post on that event here: Doesn't Everyone Know 49 is the New 29?

I knew I had to find something to get excited about, for myself and my career, if I didn't want to buy into the message that my best days were behind me.

That is when the idea that led to the launch of House of Fifty began...

{three issues to date with another in the works}

One year later, I'm thrilled. It was been such a rewarding venture to work on and I am so thankful to all the people who have become part of this project, and to the reception it has received from you. I think it is very fitting the "anniversary" of the idea for House of Fifty falls on the week of Thanksgiving!

{now available in "print to order", and as an App from the iTunes store}

Here's to being thankful for all life brings to us.

Slow Decorating

I've decided it's time to embrace the slow decorating movement...I've looked for a book but can't find one. Do you know of one? I think I first heard about this approach on the Nester's blog. But anyway, after rushing about my house for the last three years getting rooms redone and spruced up, I'm ready for a slower pace.

I like the idea of considering options more thoughtfully, and perhaps saving up money to get an item that I know I'll be thrilled with for years and will stand up to wear and tear. Or waiting until I find just the right item or solution for a space, instead of grabbing what I've found and making do.

Besides..."slow" is about all the time I have to put toward decorating these days! However, I did get one little project complete: The hanging of the wallpaper art.

Got some pictures to hang? You must get a package of OOK picture hanging hardware! 

{the best, bar none}

A couple measurements later, the Ikea Ribba frames showcasing colors of the vase wallpaper were hung...

...and pretty straight at that. Or close enough.

I'm loving them. Happy bursts of color & pattern!

And now I'm heading off to the coast with a group of girlfriends for the weekend...

Long overdue, we'll be finding lots to celebrate I'm sure.

Enjoy yours!

HOUSE RULES

To set the stage, these 'House Rules' would be fun lining an entry wall. 

from Urbanwalls

HOF Reader Karen Chisum

How much fun to receive this message from a reader of House of Fifty!

"I love love love your online magazine! I lost my job last fall and am now living my creative dreams like so many and appreciate all of the resources. Here is a photo of what I am up to…"

studio 6 fresno

"We use only vintage frames, so each one is unique and one of a kind.  Our work can be found in 5 boutiques in California, including Inventori owned by Tori Spelling. Thanks for the creative inspirations!"

Oh, you are welcome! And look at some of the fabulous finds available at Karen's Etsy shop.

As Karen shares on her site:

"A leap of faith has provided our family of 6 with an opportunity to share our love for the unexpected by turning our creative urban hunting hobby into a small family business.

Our products are a mixture of urban + antique + vintage + retro + industrial styles."

Yes, I am loving these and can think of several uses...

Continued success Karen!

The Problem With Comparison

Spotted recently on a friend's Facebook page, this caught my attention.

Oh, is this ever true. 

Whenever I find myself tempted to compare something I've achieved or something about myself with another person or their accomplishment, I can literally feel the joy seeping away from me. You'll always be able to find someone smarter, more talented, more accomplished, prettier, funnier, something just better.

So, I've learned to stop. (Well mostly...telling myself, oh don't go there, when I start down this path!) 

 Because of the above, and because of what follows:

Another downfall of comparison (when you find yourself coming up on the short end), is the tendency to then want to find fault with the other person or accomplishment, simply to make ourselves feel better. 

It's just not worth it, is it?

Back To Basics!

{Please welcome Kathysue from Good Life of Design}

Do you ever look at your home and feel like you need to change things? You get out your list of wants, and it seems like it is a mile long! So many of the things on our list aren’t doable right now, and then we start to feel at sorts with the home we live in.

We can get so caught up in what we want that we don’t see what we have right in front of us. When I am starting to feel at sorts with my home, and the projects that need to be done or the furniture that needs to be purchased, I go back to the basics, the simple things.

I get great pleasure out of making my home more comfortable and pretty. I know I am not alone in this desire to nest or play house! After reading the comments on a previous post it was very apparent to me how many of you also like to nest. One reader wrote about putting flowers in her Grandmother’s silver pitcher. She not only had a beautiful container, but she had memories attached to her pitcher of flowers from the yard.

I am sure we all do different things when we nest, but we are all trying to achieve the same goal. We are trying to make our house a home for our family and friends, but it does not have to be a new sofa or a new rug. It can be the simple things.

I discovered in my thirties that is was the simple uncomplicated things in my life that truly made me happy. Guess what it involved? My family, and making my home comfortable and pleasant for them. A simple meal, a clean house and everyone being together. I realized then that it was not big stuff or complicated stuff but simple little pleasures that seemed to make me and my family happy.

When I did the post on “Simple Flowers” I realized that many of you felt the same. I could tell by how you all spoke of bringing in flowers from the yard and putting them in a simple vase. It also made me think about how we go about nesting or playing house as I like to call it.

Sometimes it involves bringing in greenery or a flower from the yard, or filling a bowl with fruit...

Fresh hand towels on the sink...

...and clean sheets that have been sprayed with lavender water.

Spraying down my counters with lavender cleaner and making them shine, or even the fresh scent of citrus will give my kitchen just the right scent.

A special candle with a lovely scent...

...these are only a few of the basic things we can do that virtually cost only a positive attitude and a little bit of effort!

I am sure most of you already do most of the items I have mentioned. I hope you don't mind me reminding myself and YOU about getting back to the basics. How about you? What are some of the basic things that you do when you are nesting?

“Enjoy the Process" of Nesting by doing some of the simple things in life!

Kathysue of Good Life of Design

{All above images via Pinterest}

Need A Bit Of Inspiration?

Sometimes a well written inspirational quote can say it better than a long collection of sentences and paragraphs. Here are few favorites found at Pinterest.

The Wabi-Sabi Approach To Enjoying Your Home

Have you heard the term Wabi-Sabi before? While I have, I hadn't heard it explained in regard to interiors quite as simply as this before, so felt these thoughts from Pauline of the English Organizer were definitely worth sharing!

One of the surprising perks of running a small business is meeting a wide number of new people and gaining fresh perspectives. I had a perfectly good (British) education, in which I excelled in my chosen subjects, but it may have been just a little narrow and I apparently haven’t worked too hard to broaden it since.

So when talented silk artist Ellen Brook mentioned that she is fascinated with Wabi-Sabi, I found myself scrambling to Google before my ignorance was revealed. Upon discovering the meaning of the Japanese term, I was struck by its applicability to our homes and expectations for how we live. With the world’s eyes turned towards Japan recently, perhaps this is the perfect time to remind ourselves how much we can learn from this incredible culture.

Dwyer Design

Thanks to Wikipedia, I learned that wabi-sabi is sometimes described as beauty that is imperfect, impermanent and incomplete. It nurtures all that is authentic by acknowledging three simple realities: nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect. The distinction is made between this aesthetic and the Greek values of beauty and perfection, often upheld in the West.

It's The Little Things

Think for a moment, have you been striving towards the ideals of the ancient Greeks? Would you instead feel more relaxed, more content, more ‘at home’ in your home if you could appreciate the beauty of your imperfect and unfinished surroundings? And would your organizing projects be less daunting if you could view them as a transient work-in-progress, where the perfect solution is only a myth?

It’s true that wabi-sabi appears to favor a natural, minimalist approach, so you cannot simply point to your clutter and declare you have embraced the aesthetic. However, if an organizing dilemma has been troubling you, it’s OK simply to make a start and recognize this is a journey towards improvement, where some rough-edges and irregularity can and should remain.

Adwait Kher

For more tips on moving away from perfection in favor of the wabi-sabi approach, you can check out Home Design Find and Apartment Therapy.

It's Now...A Post If You Are Looking For A Bit Of Motivation

I wrote this post several months ago for my Isabella & Max blog, but it came to mind today when reading on another blog about how today is Oprah's last show. So here it is again. The below quote I mention, "I don't believe in luck, I believe in preparation meeting opportunity" are words I heard Oprah say one day, while the show was on in the background. Its meaning really struck me as powerful, and I've never forgotten them. Janell

My husband and I have been having a reoccurring conversation lately. These discussions have focused on work, life, how to get where you want to go, making your dreams come true, what are the habits that make a difference and what is really important and what isn't.

I've been playing around with the idea of writing a post on our conversations and the topic of motivation for quite a while now, and woke up this morning feeling motivated to put these conversations and thoughts down in a post. I get a lot of emails asking how I stay motivated, how I get done what I do and these conversations cover the key points of what keeps me going.

The conversations on this topic between my husband I started a few months back when we were driving and I was talking about what was motivating me to be devoted to my blog and career, in addition to my goals for my personal life. I said, "it's now or never", to which my husband replied, "it's now".

That made sense to me. "It's now or never" has a negative aspect to it, almost a threat, whereas "it's now" simply embraces the moment and says now is the time. If there is something you want to do, something you have a passion for, a goal you have been wanting to reach, a challenge you want to face, it's now. Embrace the moment and if there is anything in life that is important that isn't in your life at the moment, now is the time to find a way to get it in there.

Another component in our ongoing conversations are habits and knowing the little things add up. Do what you say you are going to do and just really try to do your best.

My kids...Now They Are My Motivation & Inspiration!

And motivation, we all need motivation! Several things motivate me, and at the top of the list is a desire to set a good example for my kids and have good relationship with them. The next thing that motivates me is a statement I heard years ago, which I am constantly repeating to myself and my husband.

"I don't believe in luck, luck is simply preparation meeting opportunity." Oprah

Someone told a very successful person in a conversation that they were very lucky. This person responded by saying she didn't believe in luck, rather she believed in preparation meeting opportunity.

After hearing the statement I kept thinking about it and thinking about it. It stayed at the back of my mind and I found that the concept would be remembered when there was something I had to do which I really didn't want to do. Perhaps I was tired, or I thought why bother, what I am doing this for anyway, there doesn't really seem to be a point. Does it even matter? If I work really hard on this or that, who will really notice, where will it get me? Then I would remember the words "preparation meets opportunity" and would say to myself, okay, do your best work, it will make a difference in someway, someday. Write that letter, respond that that request, make the effort to talk to this person, do what you said you wanted to do or told someone you were going to do...put out your best effort. At least try...

As simple as it sounds it really has been a key component to whatever success I’ve had in life. When I focus on the work or thing I’ve committed to doing and complete the task, so often an opportunity arises later and I’m ready to jump on it because the work required has already been done.

What about you? What motivates you, what has made a difference in your life?

Words To Live By

I recently read the below on my friend Jade's blog, and thought it was a wonderful first post for the House of Fifty Blog. Enjoy!

"Lovely Advice"

Health:

1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
4. Live with the 3 E’s - Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy
5. Play more games.
6. Read more books than you did in 2010.
7. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
8. Sleep for 7 hours.
9. Take a 10-30 minutes walk daily. And while you walk, smile.

Personality:

1. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
2. Don’t have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
3. Don’t over do. Keep your limits.
4. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
5. Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip.
6. Dream more while you are awake.
7. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
8. Forget issues of the past. Don’t remind your partner with his/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
9. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don’t hate others.
10. Make peace with your past so it won’t spoil the present.
11. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
12. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
13. Smile and laugh more.
14. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

Society:

1. Call your family often.
2. Each day give something good to others.
3. Forgive everyone for everything.
4. Spend time with people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
5. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
6. What other people think of you is none of your business.
7. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

Life:

1. Do the right thing!
2. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
3. However good or bad a situation is, it will change. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
4. The best is yet to come.
5. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.