Mirror, Mirror On The Wall

Maybe I never thought about it in this way before, but one thing struck me today: there are two kinds of objects that I have in literally every room of my house. I carefully verified and it's true. I have at least one mirror and one clock in every room. It may sound strange but I'm not vain at all, I don't need to look myself in the mirror often – on the contrary, as time and life start to show in my face I'd rather skip the mirror -  no surprise there.

I try to understand why I need a mirror of some kind in any room. Is it for decorative purposes? Is it to reflect the light? In Feng Shui mirrors should have the effect to double in real life what reflects in them: food, money, flowers...so one should choose very carefully the place to hang a mirror. I'm not really following that advice but I do mind what reflects in a mirror.

What I know for sure is that I love to check briefly several times in the mirror as I prepare for work in the morning. This starts right in the bedroom: what do I look like today? Restful? Tired? Do I have to work hard to make myself presentable? It continues in the bathroom where I put my day cream and my make up. Then when I dress I also check for flaws, on me or on the clothes. And just before I get out of the house, one last check...you never know. And I said I'm not vain? Hm, got to think about this...

And what's with the clocks? Even in the bathroom? I simply need them to reassure me in the morning as I am navigating trough the house and preparing for work. I have my little routine and clock checking is part of it. Yeah, but why am I checking the clock even on weekends? I guess I always need some “time orientation” even if it's not for work.

The worst of all, and I'm going to be very embarrassed now, I put a clock on the wall on the exterior of my house in the summer, on the patio to be more precise. What should you think of that? But that's not all. Guess what hangs on the same wall over the clock? Little round ornate decorative mirror! Go ahead, shoot me...What's with you? Do you have some must-have objects in every room of your apartment / house? Mind to share?

Mirror, Mirror On The Wall

Decorating With Pink

What comes first to your mind when you think of decorating with pink? Try this: girly, old-fashioned, country, shabby chic, romance, glamour...I bet you are  already preparing to run in the opposite direction! But hints of pink can be very modern and set  warm and soothing points of interest in your environment. The most important thing is to find a balance and to mix it with other colors such as grey, cream, brown, even white or black. Pink can look good in all rooms - even kitchens and bathrooms - if you don't overdo it. Here are some pictures from my inspiration file:

Decorating With Pink

Salvation Art - part two

Today I would like to present the second piece of my "Salvation Art" collection. Click on the link to learn more if you hadn't read my first post about it. This is an original print that I especially love. It hangs in a perfect place, in my bedroom over the bed.

I love everything about it: contrast of black and white, almost dancing movement of two bodies, so close yet so different, the yin and yang feel to it, energic lines, simple frame...

Sorry for the reflection in the picture, I use my old 5 Mpg digital camera since I lost my new one in the unusual way. I guess I'll have to wait with the purchase of another one till I find a new job - but this is a different story. This is a 3/8 print, signed by what appears to be "N. Jager" but I'm not so sure because I haven't found anything on the Internet about an artist with this name.  The best: I paid the incredible price of only 2 $ for it!!! Less than a cup of coffee.

Salvation Art - part two

Recipe for my Homemade Cleaner

Healthy living is one of the major concerns today for everyone and especially for families with little children. All the chemical stuff like additives, pesticides, fertilizers that we consume without even knowing it! It's literally  everywhere: in food, clothes, water, air, paint, cleaning supplies, cosmetic, furniture... Even if you try really hard it's very difficult to avoid it but one can try to change the habits step by step. There is so much useful information today that can be found on the Internet, recipes for homemade everything... That's what I did after being fed up with commercial cleaners. There was always something wrong with them: smell to strong, irritates skin or eyes or nose, to much bleach in it, don't work at all... After a bit of searching I came up with this formula that I love. So I wanted to share today with you the recipe for my homemade all purpose cleaner and another one for "heavy duty" cleaner . It's inexpensive and inoffensive (and it rhymes, lol) and it's made from the ingredients you probably already have at home.

I use the recycled spray bottle for mixing the ingredients directly in it. You need only 4 ingredients:

• Water - 2  cups
• White vinegar - 1/4 cup
• Rubbing alcohol - 1/4 cup
• Dish soap - a dollop

Start by pouring 1/4 cup of vinegar and 1/4 cup of rubbing alcohol (from 70 to 90%, everything goes) in a clean spray bottle. You can buy a new spray bottle and make your label for it if you are a neat freak. Squeeze in a dollop of dish soap (1 tsp max) and fill the bottle slowly with water until full. Put the spray nozzle on it and close it firmly. Don't shake it yet, turn it slowly (like a lava lamp) to mix all the ingredients, you don't want to make bubbles. That is the basic recipe. You can add other ingredients to it, like eucalyptus or any other essential oil you like, lemon juice,etc. For the dish soap, I prefer to use Palmolive Original.

I love to use this cleaner in my kitchen for every surface, you can even clean glass with it - spotless! I also love to clean my fridge with it in and out, it leaves such a nice smell of cleanliness and it's not at all overpowering like some commercial cleaners. You can use it to clean the bathroom also, but for the bathtub and for the shower I have a recipe for my "heavy duty" cleaner. Very easy to prepare but you have to prepare it each time when you want to clean - or so I do, I imagine that the power of the ingredients combined is at its highest right after mixing. You will need similar ingredients, without water :

• White vinegar - 1 part
• Baking soda - 1 part
• Dish soap - a dollop or two

In a little plastic, metal or glass bowl or even any recycled container, add 1/4 cup of baking soda, add a dollop or two of the dish soap. Add 1/4 cup of white vine vinegar and let it build a foam for 30 seconds or so.    Mix with a sponge and apply immediately on the bathtub or in the shower then rub lightly with a sponge the entire surface to clean. Let sit for 5 to 10 minutes, wash it of and dry the surface with a clean cloth if you wish. If you have mold stains you can add several drops of the Tea tree oil in the mixture, that should help if regularly applied. That's it - nothing complicated, you really should try it.

Recipe for my Homemade Cleaner

Taking Pictures Inside Stores

First thing first: I did it only once and I felt awful during and after. As if I was a thief... It happened spontaneously, I didn't plan it, I was just looking for some color inspiration for my second bathroom. There were some lovely combinations and since I take my digital camera everywhere with me, I decided to take some pictures instead of writing down  the ideas. Just the fact that I looked around to see if anyone is watching me can  tell you for sure that I knew I wasn't supposed to do it. And, I didn't use flash on my camera either to avoid capturing attention of the sales people. Sneaky little...blogger!  Did you already do it? Do you find it awkward taking pictures inside stores? Tell me about your experience or tell me what you think about it. Anyway, here are some of the pics I took that day:

Taking Pictures Inside Stores

Salvation Art

I had an opportunity, completely involuntarily and independently of my will, to build and rebuild what is going to be my home three times in my life. And when I'm talking about building a home, I'm not talking about building a fancy house with an architect and a designer on my side. I'm talking about building a feeling of home after having lost it once for historical reasons and another time for political reasons. I promise I'll explain it all to you one day when I'm ready.
My first home was a very humble rental, I can remember exactly how it was furnished and decorated, but at that time it didn't matter at all. What did matter was that I was madly in love with my husband and so over happy to live with him under one roof after four years of being together. Then we had our first child and two years later our second. I still remember how impatient I was to fill that fourth chair around our little table.
Our happiness was brutally interrupted by an (now) historical event in 1992 and we were forced to leave our home with nothing but our lives - yes, we were lucky.
Then we were installed in Germany for six and a half years, working hard to build from scratch a sense of home for children, to protect them and to give them them a happy life. Tragically, for the political reasons this time, in 1998 we were not allowed to stay in Germany any longer  and we were forced to search for a new country to call home.
Since 1998, we have been living in Canada. It wasn't easy at all, starting a new life from scratch again, learning a new language, a new culture, having to acclimate to the new weather conditions. But from the first day on, I continued to dream about building a home for my little family, I wanted my children to be able to play in their own yard. We started by learning a language first (French, imagine!) then finding a job and saving every penny in order to realize our dream. It took us six years, many sleepless nights and lots of tears to get there. I didn't know we could be so strong...
A hell of an introduction for what I was going to show you today! I can't change it, it's my life...
I thought often about things that make me, make us feel home. Each time when I was confronted with an empty space, aside from getting the basic furniture, I went and bought large plants and art for our walls. This two elements gave me instantly the feeling that I was already there for a long time.
Arriving in Quebec, Canada, I discovered the Salvation Army shops and, to my surprise, I was able to find many original paintings and prints for a couple of dollars only! And so I started my Salvation Art collection that didn't stop to grow since.

This was my first one. It's an original print named "Flammes" ('Flames' in English), 4/5 prints signed by an artist named Marc Martel in 1972. I really liked it so I readily payed 19$ for it even if the glass was broken.

I still like it very much. It hangs in my dining room with two other pieces. I'll continue to present you the rest of my Salvation Art originals collection. Many of the pieces that I found are made by renowned artists and are worth much, much more than I payed for them.

Salvation Art

Lovely November morning (for DIY post)

As I was preparing  my coffee this morning I couldn't help but wonder: is it possible to have such a long beautiful autumn, sunny and temperate even in November?  So I grabbed my camera and took a picture of my kitchen window bathing in the morning sun, with African violets still blooming.

So, and now back to work! I wanted to share with you an idea for reusing, or recycling, an unusual object. For quite some time now, i had in my shed an old utensil basket from my old dishwasher. It was in good shape and I stored some little things in it. Then, last weekend, as I was cooking in my all but practical and ergonomic kitchen, I reached for the olive oil bottle so clumsily that several bottles with oils, vinegars and sauces started moving very quickly, and in the same time, in the direction of my head. I must have used some cool move at that moment because somehow I managed, after wrestling with diverse bottles for several seconds, to save them from falling. On my head. I was furious at my kitchen even if it was entirely MY FAULT. And here is why: when we bought our fist home over 4 years ago, I didn't like the existing kitchen at all. Not one bit. But we bought the house because it had some nice features for our two teenagers and that was very important at the time. And even if I dreamed all my life of having a nice kitchen and hoped to get it with our first house, I said to myself: OK, calm  down, you can function in it for a while, see what is wrong with it and renovate later. And I did it. Except renovating, that part isn't done yet, I'm still in the dreaming phase because of  'peanuts'. And you should know: I really love cooking for my family, love making them happy when the smell of their favorite meal starts to spread from the kitchen and they come running to see when it'll be ready. Back to reality, there is not one day that I don't hate my kitchen, it is so small and very badly organized space wise. And the list goes on, it's very long, believe me. I'll save it for another post dedicated to my kitchen. See?! There is no stopping me when I start talking kitchen. Anyway, back to my DIY. Having survived the accident with my oil bottles, I started to think of a rapid solution for them. What you don't know: all these bottles were placed in the cupboard over my old integrated oven. And no, there was no other solution for them at the time. Last week, as I was finalizing some prewinter rearranging in my shed with my DH, I saw my old dishwasher basket and the light went on! Back in the house, I put my bottles in it - perfect! So I took some very simple loop screws and fixed it on the inside of the cabinet door beneath my stove without having to change it a bit. And without using any tools. Ta-da!!! Look at this smart, simple, free, practical, ecological, green solution:

This basket has a grip in the middle, very practical for cooking outside in the summer. Just grab and go, everything is ready. Here are some more pictures:

Lovely November morning (for DIY post)

Yellow Cure

Earlier this week I promised you another post on my severe case of color craving. I'm self medicating at the moment with the "moyens du bord" as my friends Quebecers say, meaning with the limited means at my disposal. In this case I brought home some nice branches from my autumn stroll and I used on them the rest of the yellow wall paint I had. Let me tell you one thing ( preferred sentence introduction of my DH, btw): painting those willowy branches slowly with a brush  dipped in sunny yellow paint was the best meditating activity I had in long time...

After two coats of paint, with the benefits of two free sessions of meditating, I put my yellow cure in the green guest room saving it for those cold, stormy winter days...

And if you're curios to know what the object in stripes is, you'll just have to ask me ;-)

Yellow Cure

Purple inspiration for my bedroom

Last weekend I found this recycled glass vase on liquidation table for 3$ only without knowing it's going to provoke an avalanche of ideas:

When we moved to our house four years ago we decided to paint the walls in our bedroom green. It was exciting for someone who newer painted walls in color before (me!) but soon I was very limited in decorating possibilities. So I decided to repaint the walls in a more neutral color this time in order to have always the choice of details and to be able to create different atmosphere rapidly following seasons and mood changes (the latter is starting to get rather embarrassing lately ;-)  So when I saw this picture I knew I found a perfect color inspiration for my bedroom for this winter:

The shine of satin gives me the impression of glamour and luxury and the best of all is that you don't have to be rich to obtain this effect. You can go with fabrics, little paint and some details in purple / aubergine / plum / magenta. That way it won't cost you a fortune (remember: recession design?) and you can still change it rapidly when you had enough of it. And I say you should always look at your place before you go buying like crazy and you might be able to find something usable. Here is what i found in my place:

This is a fabric I bought two years ago without knowing what I'll do with it (happens to me more often then necessary). There are approximately 2,5 meter (approx. 8 feet) of it - difficult to say because of the smock effect and stretchiness. I could double it with a nice and cosy fabric and make a throw.

This little vintage dress waits to be used for a pillow cover and this will be it's occasion to rise.

I can also imagine being able to find some nice lamps to repaint and recover also and to paint my two cheaper than cheap commodes in nice rich glossy purple. And I crave a chandelier for my bedroom for quite some time now. I saw one little, modern and cute at Canadian Tire:

It's name is Opulence (how suitable!) and it's 50% of on sale right now, can you imagine? Just 49,99$! Sold to madame in a purple dress!

By the way, there is a nice article over at my beloved Apartment Therapy site about decorating with purple. Take a look.

Purple inspiration for my bedroom

My froggy's birthday

My bébé celebrated her birthday yesterday, a very important one for me, like every single birthday since the day I looked in her eyes for the very first time. I looooove being mom, especially her mom: she is so beautiful, loving, intelligent and strong. I dare to think that I helped a little making her that way (well, ok, her father contributed too...in so many loving ways). She now lives in the big city 300 km south of her nest. We drove this weekend to see and to hug her and to give her presents and of course her special birthday cake. Here is what it looked like:

And before you even ask me, here is the answer: the frog is sitting on the cake because I call her "froggy". Yes, I'd like to think that I'm a good mother but I admittedly call her names, in many different languages: frog, froggy, froggilein, frosch, grenouille, fröschlein, žaba, žabica...

I don't even remember why I gave her this nick name but we all love it!

We really managed to surprise her with this cake - she had tears in her eyes and she asked  What on earth did I do to deserve this?! Well, sometimes we ask ourselves too: What on earth did we do to deserve YOU?! We love you soooooo much, bébé!

To create this little frog I was inspired by the lovely book 50 Easy Party Cakes from Debbie Brown:

I don't know if the frog survived this weekend, I'll keep you posted on this one...

My froggy's birthday

Confession of an image junkie

I have a confession to make, I must share this secret with you : I am an IMAGE JUNKIE ! Those of you who suffer from the same addiction know what I am talking about... My computer is full with pictures, thousands of them, heck, tens of thousands of all sorts of pictures found on the Internet. I love them dearly, I save them, organize them, watch them for inspiration, or just so, because they are beautiful and they can lift my mood any time ! I organize them in folders (or at least I try to...) by interest : deco, toys, craft, vintage, sewing etc. I am especially flabbergasted by so many talented girls out there, from all over the world, who share they talent with as others, less courageous to show off our work. Thank you all, girls !

My family mocks me about this addiction of mine, but, nonetheless, they bought me a brand new computer with loooooots of storage space for my little darlings - did I say that I love them ?

What about you ? Do you have the same (no, I won't say "problem") hobby ? Tell me about it !

Confession of an image junkie