you call that art?

I was on the back patio one day working on some "art" for our dining room wall. My 6 year old son asked what I was doing. "I'm painting," I said. "Oh, Are you an Artist?" He asked. I had to stop and think....Am I an artist? Well, not in any formal sense, and not because I have been trained or educated in art, but here I sit in front of a "canvas", with a paint brush in hand, so I replied, "Why, Yes I am." He thought that was pretty cool, his mom is an ARTIST! Suddenly I had a job, a place in society. Not just his mom, I was something more.

But I am a fraud. I am no artist. I paint blocks of color on plywood I found in the garage, with left over house paint from our many home improvement projects over the years, because I am too cheap to buy real art. But there they hang proudly on the dining room wall for all to see. I forget they are even there till someone comes to the house for the first time and notices them. Well, how could you not...they are quite large.

(My dining room masterpieces. Please excuse the chandelier with the burned out light bulbs!)

We have a goal to have only art in our house that is done by people that we love. That they have some significance to us. I have tried my hand at art a few other times over the years. A couple of attempts hang on the wall, these are painted on actual canvases. But my attempts pale in comparison to the other art in our house, done by the real artists of the family. But such is my life; Jack of a few trades, Master of none. I'm sure I'll give this artist gig another try sometime soon...

Here is some of the art in our home.

(Our favorite piece from Grandma Mary. It hangs over our master bed.)

(Superman painted by Quinn's sister. It hangs in my son's room.)

(Quinn's water colors.)

(I painted this one for Quinn's birthday. It hangs in our kitchen.)

(My other attempt. It hangs in the hall.)

Not Quite Like The Jones'

Over the many years of listening to Quinn talk about the ins and outs of architecture, I feel like I too, have a degree in architecture....maybe not a Masters like him, but perhaps an Associates degree. He has convinced me that while modern design is not the only form of good architecture, it is a step above the rest. I too can appreciate all types of design, but get most passionate about those that are different from the norm. I think that's why I agreed to live in a modern home. Not because I absolutely think that a modern home is best, but because I loathe the idea of living in a home that looks and feels just like my neighbors. Now, I know that we all don't have architects for husbands to design us a unique house, and that many of live in subdivisions that are designed by monetarily driven developers, where houses are either, tan, taupe, or sand color, but we can make it our own.


TV shows and other media try to convince us through shows like "Flip This House" and "Sweat Equity" that we should design our homes for "sell-ability", and that we should always keep in mind who might own our home after us. But by doing so, we end up living in homes that we have designed for someone else. We lose a little bit of ourselves when we don't follow our hearts, even in something as trivial as what color tile you put in your shower.

My fantastically stylish sister in law, moved into a tract home several years ago. Knowing this may not be the home of their dreams, but also realizing it is the home of their budget, they set to work making it their own. Here on the west coast, contractors love to put horrible texture on the walls (orange-peel, knock down, and the like) of homes. In the spirit of transforming this into "their" home rather than the developers home, or the home that looks exactly like their neighbors, they began to hand trowel a smooth finish over the original wall texture. While some questioned, "Why would you do that?", they would answer,"Why wouldn't we?" Because of their efforts, their home that originally looked the same as three doors down, now has a uniqueness of it's own.

With the advancement in technology, even those of us that live in remote areas can have unique design statements in our home. Just because Walmart might be the only store in your town, doesn't mean you have to only shop there. The internet has given us endless shopping options. While we were building our home, we spent countless hours searching for light fixtures and the like that didn't look like we pulled them off the shelf at Home Depot. (www.ikea-usa.com, www.lightingdirect.com, www.ifloor.com, www.flor.com, www.faucetdirect.com, www.formplusfunction.com)


So modern isn't your style? Great. But can you answer, "What is?" Don't give in to the Jones' down the street. Say goodbye to being the same as everyone else. Find out what you love, and if you don't know yet, keep searching. If you can't find something you love, don't buy anything at all. I'd rather live in an empty house than a house full of things that don't represent me or my character.

Beautiful Closet

When my house is clean, I feel calm. When my life is beautifully penned out on my calendar, every appointment and activity in its place, I am at ease. When I open my pantry door and all the canned goods are in a row, sorted by type, dinner gets made. The same thing applies to my clothing closet. I love it when I look in and find all of my clothes hung neatly in order of type, color and season. My morning routine becomes easy. On the other hand, when my my life is in disarray, including my closet, I fall into a slump. So lets get started, making our lives simpler, one pair trousers at a time.

Tips for cleaning out your closet:
Try everything on. Make separate piles of clothes: one for “keepers”, one for items to take to dry cleaner or mending, one for charity or a clothing swap, and one for the dumpster. You may have an iffy pile. Have a friend, child or husband take a picture of you in your outfit. When you see it glaring back at you on the screen, you’ll know whether to keep it or not.

Things no one should be wearing. Throw them away:
**Any clothes with shiny or worn patches.
**Items that bulge where your bum or knees are, even when your not wearing them.
**Those favorite things that are beyond repair.

Invite a stylish, yet honest, friend to help. Then return the favor.

If you haven’t worn something in a year, get rid of it.

Sometimes there are things that don't fit but are just too difficult to part with, like my favorite pre-prego GAP jeans, that I know some day I will squeeze into again. If you can't bring yourself to give it away, then at least store these items out of your everyday closet. It will keep you from getting discouraged that you don't fit into them. Your dressing ritual will be much less stressful. I found these inexpensive boxes below at Ikea.


Once you're done, organize your closet. Having an organized wardrobe is not about being spoiled or self-obsessed. It’s about looking the best you can, every day, with minimal fuss. Knowing what you have (and where to find it) saves precious minutes during the morning rush.

(I like to give credit where credit is due. Several years ago I read an article about cleaning out your closet in InSTYLE magazine. Many of these ideas come from this source. Since that time, I have lost the article and I could not find it in their online archive.)