Simple Country Wisdom - A Book Review

I am a huge fan of Country Living magazine  - Who isn't? I love their decor ideas, interviews and the country lifestyle that the editors at the magazine stay true to every month. So you can guess my excitement when I had the opportunity to read Simple Country Wisdom by Susan Waggoner.

I would describe my design style as country classic and since I live in a rural country area - I guess it fits! I like all things that encompass the country way of life such as: rustic decor, antiques, and home -made baked goods.

I have been a guest in homes that exude the country charm and welcome that I long to achieve in my own home. You know the homes that you just feel welcome in, comfortable in? I have often left wondering what is the homeowners secret? Obviously, they are great, welcoming people but there is something more to it. Susan answers that question for me in Simple Country Wisdom. The truth is it's not one thing that makes a home welcoming - its a sum total of several things.

The author Susan Waggoner gives the reader several (501 to be exact!) ideas to help you make your home feel more tended to, organised and harmonious. The ideas in this book are not limited to decor but also include tips on gardening, saving money on your energy bills to controlling pests and what to do with leftovers.

I hope that you get a chance to read this book and that you enjoy it as much as I did. I believe it is a must have in any well styled book case!



P.S. Country Living and Susan Waggoner have no idea who I am. I simply liked this book and wanted to share it with you.

Groundhog Day Adventure

Hi Friends! I hope you are having a grand weekend so far!

This week I took a couple of days off work to be with the family and basically do what I want to do, when I wanted to do it. Such as get groceries at 11 am instead of the evening, jog at 3 pm instead of 7 pm when it is dark. It's the simple things :)

On February 2 it was Groundhog Day, and as the legend says: if the ground hog sees his shadow we will have 6 more weeks of winter, if on the other hand he doesn't see his shadow we are set for an early spring. Believe me, I was hoping he wouldn't see his shadow :)

We took Abigail to see Shubenacadie Sam - the local groundhog. He didn't see his shadow which means an early spring. Yahoo! As I am typing this it is - 18 c with the windchill - spring cannot get here soon enough for me!

The natural resources park had some activities for the little ones such as face painting, balloon animals, hot cocoa, and free admission to the park that day. If you are in Nova Scotia and you can make it to the wildlife park it is well worth the visit. There is also a really nice trail through the wetlands at the park that we walked last summer and plan to again this spring when the park opens regular hours.

Abigail had lots of fun at the festivities and really enjoyed her doggy balloon animal. Many of the animals were out enjoying the crisp winter air such as the wolves, cougars, foxes and horses which made for lots of excitement.

I hope you have a great weekend! Go Pats!

Doors and Windows Revamped

With people being more conscious of reusing and recycling for the betterment of our planet, it is definitely causing us to look at items that were once regarded as junk in a new light.

I have noticed a trend with repurposing doors and windows into various furniture and home decor items. There are so many different ways one can incorporate this design into their home and in their outdoor space to add charm.

Here's a few I found that I am sure you will really like too:

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What a wonderful way to differentiate areas in your garden. And as the years go by, the more weathered and beautiful they will look.

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What a great way to repurpose cabinet doors. In my opinion one can never have too many bulletin or message boards!

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Don't ya just want to curl up in that bed with a great book? The weathered patina of the doors really fits with the decor and feel of the room.

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You can incorporate a beautiful door or frame as in this vignette in your home to add texture and depth and interest.

This decor is not limited to those with a more rustic decor scheme. You can refinish the wood and give it a coat of paint to incorporate it into your decor.

Burlap Wreath

I am a fan of double duty decor. I enjoy having decor that works in my home year round and since I really enjoy making wreaths (feel free to check out my autumn wreath), and Valentines Day is coming up, I thought why not make a Valentines Day wreath?

Here are the steps:

• Gather materials which include: wire, burlap, scissors, ribbon and pliers.

• Cut lots of squares of burlap (I didn't cut my burlap perfectly because I knew I would trim the burlap after the wreath was finished.) 
• Make a circular form with the wire (you could use a clothes hanger)
• Thread the burlap onto the wire form (This takes some time - I watched Secretariat while doing this task - great movie!)
• Twist the wire closed with pliers
• Tie ribbon to finished wreath and hang

A cute and free wreath (I had the materials left over from other projects). I can update year round for our decor by removing the ribbon, adding embellishments or changing the ribbon.

Valentines Day Inspired Decor

Hi! Thanks for stopping by!

As I look at the calendar I can't believe that it is near the end of January already! As January comes to a close, February is quickly approaching and with it comes Valentines Day or as Abigail calls it - heart day :)

Valentines Day has got me thinking about how people use the colors synonymous with Valentines Day - red, pink and white in their decor. The color red is an intense color and is a color that can overwhelm a space. I like to temper the use of red with white and cream.Pink is a color that can take a juvenile turn very quickly. I prefer to use pink as an accent color and as with the color red, I like to add cream or white to the palette.White is fresh, clean and works in either a modern or country application. White looks great alone but it also plays well with others as you can add any color to a palette with white as its base.

Here are a few rooms that I think have struck the balance of these colors and decorated with them beautifully.

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Happy Monday!

Hall Closet Reveal!

In our home, we decided not to build closets in the bedrooms. We do however have one hall closet that I used as a catch all/cleaning/linen closet.

We opted from building closets for two reasons : a) we figured we would use open shelving and armories to contain our clothes and unmentionables. That hasn't entirely worked out - more on that in another post. b) generally closets get filled with junk until you can no longer close the door and then something has to be done before you end up on an episode of hoarders.

I decided I have to clean our closet out, organise it and give it a fresh coat of paint. I figure when I have to open the door to get my mop and bucket I might as well have everything in its place - right? Plus it is so much more enjoyable getting that mop and bucket when everything is in order.

The challenge that I had in this closet makeover is that I didn't want to spend a lot of money in here - it is after all a closet and I would rather spend our money on living room furniture (it's all about priorities). I also wanted to have a distinct purpose for this closet so it wouldn't be in a state of chaos again.

This is the closet before the makeover in all its disorganized glory:

I know - pretty bad huh? *hanging head in shame* Please Don't judge!

And here is the closet after the re-do:

Much better!

Now this closet has a defined purpose as a utility/storage space. We have a large laundry room where I will be storing all the linens and such. As you can see we shop at Costco :)

Before the makeover everything was on the floor in a pile of disorganization. I can't even begin to tell you how nice it is to grab my cleaners or paper towel and not have to fight with a mound of clothes.

As I mentioned at the top of this post, I didn't want to spend a lot of money in here and as it turns out I didn't spend any! I used paint that I had used in our pantry makeover and the shelves, trim and hooks were already in the closet - they just needed a fresh coat of paint.

The piece of advice that I would like to share with regard to any space in your home that you may be struggling with organizing is: to clean it out, and define its purpose. Before my closet was a catch all mess. When I was putting things back into the closet, I only put back things that were related to cleaning and storage. It is much easier to keep a space organized that way, and hopefully the producers of hoarders will not be contacting me any time soon :)

Forward!

Happy Monday Friends! I hope you had a great weekend!

After reading Layla's post on the word of the year, it made me think about what my word will be for 2012. I really like the idea of choosing a word to help motivate and encourage you through the new year. Often times when we make new years resolutions such as to lose weight and don't see the results right away we get overwhelmed, frustrated and give up. I've been there - haven't we all been there?

My word for 2012 is FORWARD. To me, FORWARD is a positive word, one that helps me to remember that I can get through anything, I just have to keep moving. FORWARD reminds me to be accountable for what I accomplish each day, each week , each month. I want to keep pushing FORWARD every day this year, I no longer will live in the past, think about what might have been, what should have been and what I didn't get done. FORWARD will remind me that staying in one place or looking back is not an option. I will not only move FORWARD but pay it forward. I am very blessed in my life and I want to share those blessings with others whenever possible. I will have to move out of my comfort zone, achieve and fail at times, and that will be okay -  one must fail to grow after all.

Moving FORWARD also ensures that I stay positive and optimistic. I desire great things this year personally and professionally and in order to achieve these things, I must check procrastination, and excuses at the door and embrace discipline, optimism and patience.

I hope you will move FORWARD with me in 2012!

All images via.