TLC for your Plants, Plastics and Gnomes

So, I was washing a big pile of rocks and shells in the sink the other day (as you do) and my mind began to wander to all the other bits and pieces in your home that can (and should) be washed. Whatever your style, from organic to plastic, lots of things in our homes could really benefit from a big bowl of warm, soapy water.
No matter how good a housekeeper you are, dust and grease settle around your home in the most peculiar places; after a while, everything starts to look a little dull, and it is time to give them some love.
Here are a few ideas to get your favorite bits and pieces clean again.....

Plastic Plants: 
Fill a sink, or bath, with warm, soapy water (use dish-washing detergent, or shampoo). Swish around in the water. Rinse, and dry.

Real Plants: 
Take them outside, or place them in a large sink. Use a spray attachment, or a small watering can, to wash all the leaves and flowers with cold water.

Silk Plants: 
Find a bag big enough for the plant. Fill the bag with salt, add the plant, and shake it around. The salt will stick to the dirt. Lightly brush the salt off with a paintbrush.

Nature Collections:  
(Pine cones, rocks, shells, twigs, minerals, charcoal, horseshoe crab shells etc) Most can be rinsed gently in cold water, but not for long, and should be dried as quickly as possible (we once washed a dead starfish, didn't dry it, and days later it turned to mush).

Vases: 
For normal stains, dust and mineral build-up, try a mixture of baking soda and vinegar. Let sit for a while, then rinse with warm water. I sometimes use small pebbles with soapy water if the stains are stubborn (raw rice is often recommended, but I find it is not abrasive enough).

Bone China Ornaments: 
Place them on a towel. Take some warm, soapy water and gently wash the ornaments with Q-tips, or a small paintbrush. Pat and air dry.

Cut Glass and Crystal: 
Line the sink with a towel. Wash them one at a time. Scrub with a soft toothbrush to get into the crevices. Rinse in very hot water, then leave to air dry (the hot water makes them dry quickly with (hopefully) no streaks.

Books, Paintings and other things you're not quite sure of:
If in doubt, a dry, soft paintbrush is often the easiest (and safest) way to clean these.

Gnome borrowed (and returned) to http://helpfindmygnome.blogspot.com/

No Peeking in the Windows

So, the house next door to us just sold, after four years of being empty. They appear to be gutting it, and workers are there every day moving and building goodness knows what. I am happy it sold, and glad that the house will be lived in again. It has been neglected for so long, but it has good bones, and is historic; all it needs is a little tender loving care. It will be wonderful for the house to become a home again.

But, I don't have a lot of curtains in my home. I like to see the sky during the day, and am fortunate to have a lot of trees and wildlife where I live. Plus, I tend to have a penchant for hanging other things on the wall, so to add window treatments kind of messes with my design, and can really overwhelm the already existing decorative clutter.

I know window treatments can be beautiful, and are immensely practical, but they are not my favorite thing. For those that remember, when I tried to buy Living Room curtains several years ago, I actually ended up with cream colored blankets and handmade copper curtain rods (which I still have). And, my bedroom has two panels that are too small to close (that was all they had, and they were in the loveliest moss green suede...sigh... Totally ignoring their lack of function, and opting instead for their fickle and pretty looks).

Not that I run around doing rude and unsightly things in my home (well, apart from Naked Tuesday) but now that we have new neighbors, I have to re-think the windows in a couple of my rooms. It actually makes me feel like my own worst client, because I know what I need to do, but I am metaphorically stamping my feet because I don't want to do it. Still, getting changed in the morning, peering across the trees at the contractors, is making me a little unsettled. Realistically, unless they are about 15 feet tall, with the world's largest telescope, they can't see a thing, but it falls into the "If I can see you..." category of thinking.

I think that window treatments are a bit like deciding what clothes to wear:

• Decide on the occasion (the reason you want/need them). Are you blocking out the light, hiding from the neighbors, or just want something pretty to match the sofa?
• What is it going to be worn with (other pieces in the room). Is your room minimal, busy, colorful, utilitarian, modern, organic, traditional? 
• Check the size (length and width of windows and ledges). Do you want the entire window covered all the time? Do you want an abundant look, or for it be more tailored. Higher than the window, or inside the molding? Do you enjoy cleaning blinds, or are you a once-a-year-in-the-washing-machine type of person? 
• Stick to your budget. If you can splurge on custom window treatments, then do that, but if not, don't be afraid to look at the ready-made items at the larger retails stores. (They have easy return policies, a large selection, and prices are very reasonable).

See, if giraffe's move in next door I'm in trouble....(especially on Tuesday's).

Photograph from The Giraffe Manor in Kenya (definitely adding this place to my bucket list). 

How to Bring Good Luck into your Home!

It's Halloween, and it is not my favorite holiday at all. Having a big imagination does not bode well with being a fraidy cat; I jump at the slightest thing, cover my eyes when the scary music comes on, and am still a little afraid of the dark.

So, in the spirit (ha-ha) of Halloween, I thought I would share some good luck household superstitions, that you may, or may not have heard of... 

• Leave your windows and doors closed on November 1st (tomorrow) it can bring bad luck into your home.
• Carry bread and salt with you when you first enter a new home; the household will never know hunger, and it's pantry will always be filled. 
• When you move out of a house, leave the broom behind. Along with the dust and dirt of your old home, old brooms also carry the negative aspects of your life. 
• A new broom signifies a fresh start in your new home.
• Paint your front porch blue to ward off ghosts. (Ghosts, can’t cross water, and apparently get confused easily). 
• A spider in the house brings good luck (don't kill them), and if a spider builds its web across your door, you can expect company.
• Never put shoes on a table, it brings bad luck. (Shoes as table legs are okay).
• Don’t move into a new place on a Friday, Saturday, or a rainy day. These days are unlucky, and may prevent you from ever truly settling into your new home. Thursday is the luckiest day to move in.
• Never sweep over a threshold, or you will sweep all the good luck out the door. 
• To prevent an unwelcome guest from returning, sweep out the room they stayed in immediately after they leave. 
• A bed changed on Friday will bring bad dreams that night. 
• A frog in the house brings good luck. (It also makes you scream - last year, a toad stowed away in a flat of flowers that my friend had brought me. I found it sitting on the living room floor). 
• A horseshoe hung above the doorway will bring good luck to your home (ends up). 
• If you leave the house for the day, and realized that you forgot something, it's okay to comeback, but you have to look at yourself in a mirror before leaving again. 
• If bubbles appear in a cup of coffee, you accidentally knock over a sugar bowl, or tea leaves float to the top of the cup, money will soon come your way. 
• Sitting on a kitchen table, or counter, will cause a women never to be wed. 

And, finally, run outside after you have read this, because catch falling leaves in Autumn and you will have good luck (every leaf means a lucky month next year!).

Photograph from Houzz

What is Glamping?

Glamping - Pronunciation: /ˈglampɪŋ/  noun 
Early 21st century: Blend of Glamorous and Camping 
 A way to enjoy the beauty of nature without all the icky stuff that comes with it.

Over the last couple of years glamping has become a luxurious, more interesting alternative to staying in a hotel. Unique accommodations have been popping up all over the world, and designers and travel agents have jumped on the trend with full force. What began as a passing quirk, has now evolved into permanent outdoor structures that mimic old fashioned tents and very expensive log cabins.

I love camping (well, apart from snakes, bears, spiders, broken zippers, and heating a can of baked beans over a match and a twig....) but I think glamping would also be a fun thing to do. Kind of reminds me of an old Tarzan movie, where the safari tent was assembled in five minutes, and the expedition involved a walking stick and a furry animal. Beautifully coiffed women arrived with trunks of petticoats, a writing desk and a typewriter, and the men had an endless supply of hot soapy water and cigarettes. I guess it speaks to the romantic in many of us; we like the idea of sleeping under the stars, just not the actual camping itself.

So, I became curious about glamping, and I can really see the appeal. Most owners build their accommodations around a healthy respect for the environment, combine it with a good dose of comfort, and just enough independence to make the guests feel that they are really participating in the outdoors. Of course, they will start the fire-pit for you, warm up the spa pool, and give you a cozy blanket, but you get to find your own rock, roast marshmallows, enjoy the view, and retreat to your (mosquito free) comfy bed when the day is over.

The level of luxury really does vary accordingly, but many of them are well within a decent budget. Definitely more for a vacation than a quick business trip, every place I looked at came well equipped for a stress-free weekend getaway (no longer do you need to navigating your evening with a flashlight, leave a trail of breadcrumbs, and hastily digging a hole in the ground).

While all have basic modern conveniences, some are truly swoon-worthy. One place that I found comes with air conditioning, goose-down linens, and an antique bathtub filled with scented milk. Another had a fireplace, a flat screen television, and your own private butler. Others are more spare in their furnishings, but they still have more than the bare necessities, and the settings are always quite lovely.

I can see glamping in my future; it seems like a great way to enjoy a more scenic destination, without having to bring a map and my own toilet paper....

Photograph from Fireside Resort in Jackson Hole 

Confessions of a Messy Office

Sometimes, I write a blog, and never publish it. I read it, and it sounds boring, or too personal, or too big, or too much like a decorating lesson. That's what happened this week; I wrote two, and I liked them, but they just didn't feel right. It was a Goldilocks moment.

I'm not silly, I knew why nothing was working; it was because my office was a diabolical mess. Motivated by the conference that I attended a couple of weeks ago, I had decided to reorganize. What began as a simple clean out, turned into this avalanche of ideas scribbled on bits of paper (lots of them, that I didn't even know I had) countless pages torn from magazines, files that no longer made sense, two old keyboards, a small television that I had forgotten about in the closet (don't ask - the box isn't even opened) and a pile of cardboard airplanes from when my daughter was in pre-school.

Impatient to get going, I did the classic mistake of trying to do it all at once. And, I got distracted. Opening a drawer revealed a pile of decorating goodies that I didn't even know I had, and more notebooks than I could count (well, there were nine actually). They are very pretty, but I tend to use the same, spiral-bound 79 cent notebook for most things; I like it's size, the space of the lines, and the ease of turning over the pages. In this case, function trumps beauty, and I know the pretty notebooks would be happier living somewhere else.

It's been a few days since I started, and I am finally seeing my serene, creative office space again. I realize it is a little bit like the cobbler's children having no shoes (do children even know what cobbler's are anymore?); I am great at organizing (really) and know what I should be doing, but when life gets busy, my office is usually the first place to suffer. I tell myself I can work around it, but I really can't; I juggle for space on my desk, and my thoughts become as scattered as coffee cups.

This happens to us all at some time or another; it feels okay for a while, then you turn around, and you wonder what the heck happened. You swear it happened overnight, but it didn't, you just forgot to notice.
When this happens, which is normal by the way, here is my strategy for coping.....

- I panic.
- Close the door, go downstairs and make a cup of tea.
- Sit in the sunroom, drink tea and look at the trees.
- Make a list of absolutely everything I need (and want) to do.
- Give myself a realistic, generous, time limit.
- Turn on some really loud music.
- Grab a couple of garbage bags, and a box for miscellaneous things.
- Put on comfy, old clothes and bare feet.
- Begin.
- Add more music and tea as needed.
- Stop when I am done.

It's not complicated really, just feels like it for a moment....

p.s. The photograph above is one of the inspiration boards in my office.