Valentine Colors for your Home

It's Valentine's Day, and the supermarket was filled with men
 - most of them trying to decide between the red roses,
which he thought she said yesterday were cliche,
or the heart-shaped box of chocolates with Snoopy on the front.
I loved seeing them stand so seriously by the flower display,
rushing over to grab a card,
then streaming across the parking lot with romantic intentions during their lunch hour.  

Pink and Red balloons were all over the place,
and everyone seem a little bit happier today.
Maybe we should have Valentine's Day more often?

Color (and a box of chocolates) cheers everyone up,
so here are some fun (sugar free) ways
 to sweeten up your own home.

Sources:
Main Photograph by Richard Avedon via Pinterest
Coat in Entranceway  Vintage Clock  Keep Calm Rug  Flowers Paint Red Cart Sofa Pink Lamp
Bird Plate Bathtub Front Door Egg Cup Sweater Pillow Laundry Room Bedroom

Thank you!

Remember when I wrote about my obsession with Smeg appliances the other week? Well, I was drinking a cup of tea with a friend yesterday, and my daughter went to get the mail.

On the doorstep was a package. Despite my (still recovering) addiction to Ebay, I knew I wasn't expecting anything, so we all crowded around this box, wondering what it was.

Inside, was another box, then another, holding a brand new Smeg tea kettle. With no note saying who had sent it.
To say I didn't know what to do is an understatement.
I nearly passed out with shock at my own surprise birthday party a few years ago, and while this wasn't quite on that level, I don't like attention, and I am easily overwhelmed by the generosity and love of the people that surround me.

Refusing to open it, I didn't know whether to cry or smile, so we just kept drinking our tea, glancing over at the box every now and again, waiting for me to say or do something.

Eventually, about an hour later, my gratitude (and my friend and daughter) talked me down from the ledge, and I opened the box. Inside was the most beautiful, cream colored tea kettle I have ever seen.... We all oohed and aahed like children on Christmas morning, while we tried to guess where it had come from.

Several hours later, we decided that it truly was a thing of beauty, a gift to be accepted ....... and it made the most delicious cup of tea in the entire world...

Thank you!

Closet Confessions

With the Winter, comes my slight addiction to Ebay shopping. It arrives in the form of clothes, and I can easily justify buying several tops, or a cute dress, if I am paying no more than the price of a cup of coffee and a muffin for each. Never mind that I don't usually buy a cup of coffee and a muffin, but if I wanted to, I would imagine that it would cost no more than paying for an inexpensive dress on Ebay - which means that I am actually saving money, and is completely justified for some reason that I am not quite sure of.

But, if I bought a cup of coffee and a muffin, they wouldn't need space in my closet, and, considering I only have 53 hangers in my closet, when my Ebay purchase takes me to number 54, I have a problem.

You see, we can't organize and declutter if we don't have a place to put everything. So, no matter how much I stare at number 54, a new coat hanger doesn't materialize, and I still have nowhere to put that delicious, pre-loved, silky top. I can't buy just one coat hanger at the shops, and even if I could, there is absolutely no more room in my closet.

This is the sort of thing that gets us into a pickle. Before we know it, we have too many clothes, too much mail, or too many widgets, and nowhere to put them. It's not that we don't have the space, it's just that our space is already full.

So, what do we do?
Me? Because I don't want to spend my life staring at number 54 sitting on my chair (and I am not buying any more coat hangers) I decided to go through my closet and donate at least one thing (I ended up donating seven, so that was good, which also means (if my math is right) I can buy six more things on Ebay.....).
You? Find homes for what you already have, don't use your floor as a storage unit, count your coat hangers, and try buying a cup of coffee and a muffin instead of a new widget.