"Keep On and Carry On"

I'm sure you've all see this poster somewhere. They are featured in cataloges, blogs, and restaurants to name a few. I absolutely love the message so in doing some research I stombled across a whole variety of messages in the same style!

I fell in love with this one since that's basically what I do all the time.  I found the image on Flickr.  I printed it out on photo paper and put it in an old frame I had laying around. It's sitting on my desk next to my mouse!

I'm totally obsessed with this calandar I found on Etsy.

There's a different motivational saying each month.  I love that it's like getting 12 posters and you can frame them and make a little series for a hallway. So CUTE!

If you're into the original "Keep Calm and Carry On" you can get them from one of my favorite blogger's Etsy site.  sfgirlbybay has them in every color and a whole bunch of sizes. They are really affordable too!

If you like the syle, go to BluLima who has some of the original but also has a bunch of others like this.

 

I have a little binder that I keep favorite resipes in and this is going on the front! There are also a bunch of fun prints 

Finally while I was out shopping I stummbled across this little book at Urban Outfitters.

It's full of little quips and quotes and details the history behind the solgan. I keep it on my desk to refer to for any problems I might have. How to budget my money: "There are plenty of ways to get adead. The first is so basic I'm almost embarrassed to say it: Spend less than you earn." - Paul Clithero. 

"Let Them Eat Cake"

On my little journey my friend and I stumbled into the cutest tea place. Crown and Crumpet located in Ghiradeli Square is such a jewel! They had the best tea I've ever had. That may only be a mild complement given how I learned to make tea but they are still the best I've ordered.

They served us three tiers of delishiousness including really good egg salad. You can have lunch too to balance out the sweet or go for afternoon tea like us.

There are more pictures on their website.  They were setting up for a birthday party and a baby shower while we were there. The decorations were so pretty.

They also have a little shop in the corner of the salon and a bigger shop below them.

Even if it's not your personal style it's worth checking out. They have some great gift ideas and of course fun treat-yourself things.  I was so inspired when I left.

I recomend trying out a real tea. It's SO much better than anything you're currently making at home.  Next time I go I'll be taking some of their tea with me. You can buy it by the ounce and even get a Crown and Crumpet tea set to serve it in.

Everyone Should Have a Belle in Their Lives

On Friday our beloved dog Belle passed away. Below is the message my mom send out. 

Last night, 17 ½ years after we brought home our free puppy, last of a litter of 8, given away outside the Gualala Supermarket, we said good-bye to Belle.

It was time. Although slower and frailer (not surprising at 116 dog-years!), she had been doing well, enjoying her walks and supervising all the comings and goings, until just a couple of weeks ago when her back legs gave out. But she was still game to get out and about with some help. On Wednesday, the front legs went too with all the accompanying frustration, pain and indignity.

Yesterday, we had a lovely day outdoors together, enjoying the sun. At 6 p.m. Dr. Jennings and Carol came and, very simply and quietly, in her own bed with her people around her, she went to sleep. There were lots of tears but no regrets.

She’s being cremated and we’ll take her ashes ‘home’ to Sea Ranch.

We wish everyone can have a Belle in their lives.

 

"Travel Develops a Man's Mind, Especially His Imagination."

On Saturday I went in San Francisco with a friend from across the bay with the sole intent of being a tourist for the day. San Francisco is too big to take it all in in one day especially on foot as we did but we did cover some ground all the same.  As part of my personal quest, I took pictures of things that caught my attention, things that could inspire me later...hopefully.

We started by the Ferry building and walked through the market there. I love farmers markets and I always forget my camera when I go to the one at home but this reminded me to try harder next week. They are an amazing place to find not just really good food that's special to your area but it's pretty. The colors and the textures are so interesting.

We walked down the Embarcadero and I almost walked right past this place.  It's a small grill with one window on the street and I loved the mood it had as I passed by.

We walked to Pier 31. I did say this was a touristy day. This was at the end facing the Merry-go-round. I thought they looked like they were lined up, waiting for a ride. I have a smaller version of this bench at home but I really like the red here. I like that color can be used at a neutral.

After tea we walked back towards Russian Hill and saw this as we crossed the street. I had a flash back moment of 5th grade when our class spent the night on the C.A. Thayer or the Balclutha (which is what this was.) I also thought it was cool how close Alcatraz looks behind the ship.

Our path was a little zig zag. We ended up walking down Leavenworth where we saw the beautiful gates and entry ways. I think this might have been both of our favorites with the red door and bronze work on the gate.

At one of the corners there was a tree all ready for spring! I adore Cherry Blossoms. They are so pretty and delicate. Here's one of many photos I took. YAY Spring!!!

We made our way back though China Town. This is in front of one of the corner markets. Like I said before, I love the fruit and veggie displays.

Not sure why but I really liked this. It might have something to do with the colors. The blue with tha gold/brown tile and chocolate trim.

Finally! Downhill!!! This street made me want to get a cart or something with wheels and roll down it like I used to do on my driveway at home.

We ended up down town and stoped at Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie. We took a break at Madelein on O'Ferrell and finished off the day at Old Navy...looking for inexpensive versions of things we had seen earlier. We had amazing weather. I can't wait to go back and walk around another area!

Hope you take the time to be a tourist in your town

Brunch Anyone?

Breakfast food is among the best.  People don't say lets have dinner for breakfast or lunch for dinner. Whether you're an egg person or sausage, or oatmeal with fruit, everyone (I know) is a pancake person. For my birthday I was given a Ebelskiver pan which makes amazing stuffed pancakes. 

If you've never seen one, they are little balls of delishousness. Since this was my first attempt at making them, I had to get used to the length of time it takes to cook all the way through compared to normal pancakes.

All you need is a little sprinkle of powdered sugar or a dipping bowl of syrup. My dad just popped them in one after another. I filled some with peach preserves which were my favorite. The other half was with blueberry jam...also quite yummy.

"Pictures are often hung on walls to decorate homes, but more often to cover up holes and soiled spots"

Every winter my mom and I go up to San Francisco and do a little day shopping trip. This isn't like most people. Even though this is before Christmas we rarely buy any gifts and sometimes nothing at all. We basically take the day to embrace the experience and the city and then go home and shop online.  I know it's not as fun as coming back with bags and bags and then wrap everything, but tradition is tradition. Part of this tradition (apparently) is that I take a couple photographs but since I never remember to use my camera I always end up waiting till we get to China Town or in this years case just leaving.

I'm not sure why but these are always some of my favorite photos. One day I'll go up with the distinct purpose of touring the city with my camera but until that happens I'll enjoy my two.

"A woman has many good reasons for shopping, one of which is that she cannot afford it"

Ok so I know this wasn't the best use of my time but what esle is as fun on a rainy day as shop online? At least I was only looking at sales...usually. I came across this bust at Urban Outfitters that I've decided I really want partly because I like it, partly because it goes with my jewelry holder systems, and partly because I have too many necklaces to hold only on what I have. 

With that reasoning it sounds like a perfectly logical investment...right? Well because I'm avoiding impulse with a credit card, I will wait.  It'll at least go on my 'wish list' I'm forming. I figure having a running wish list will help me separate the logic from the just 'want' purchases and I'll have something to refer to when people ask for my birthday which is around the corner.

"Into each life some rain must fall, especially when you've left your umbrella at home"

Last night I fell asleep to the rain and woke up to no power. It was actually quite a little nice escape.  I got up for some hot oatmeal and since it was too dark to read and there was no power to do any work I decided to curl up in bed with my cat.  It was amazing. It was the best nap I've had in quite a while and with the grey sky and sound of rain it wasn't hard to drift off. I got up and did a little here and a little there. I set up camp in the kitchen listening to Pandora and made muffins for breakfast, chopped some veggies for a baked pasta I made for dinner, and later I made healthier version of the classic chocolate chip cookie for my dad.  (It's actually been a big hit so if you're looking for a good breakfast dessert cross over cookie let me know).

I'm looking forward to another day or two like this. It's so relaxing!

Have a cozy night

"Happiness Consists of not longing for the things that make us happy"

So to those who know me, organized only begins to describe me. I've been playing with organization for years, which has blossomed into a side job. I will probably be sharing little tricks and ideas that I stumble across throughout this blog.  To start I have only recently really allowed myself to practice my skills and hobby on myself. I recently decided that even though I'm in this ongoing state of in between I wanted to settle into my room. I could be moving in a month or a week or in a year but I still wanted to treat myself to that moved in feeling I've put aside for 3 years. I went out and picked up some drawers from Ikea.  I love Ikea.  You can do so much with their stuff. I have a dear friend who along with her mom design their spaces primarily with Ikea and it always looks so amazing. It's bold, colorful, functional, efficient, and has a great vibe that mixes youthful playfulness with mature sophistication.

I wish I could share some pictures but all I have are of this amazing chest she got with this beautiful sketch on it in gold pen. I'm so inspired that I've started brainstorming motifs for my little Ikea drawers to make them more special.

One of the many things that I like about organizing is that it's an opportunity to make art of storage. Keep in mind that art is subjective and the goal is visually pleasing rather than a framed masterpiece. I think these drawers are such a great example and guess what...she got them as is for $25 on Craigslist! I know!

With all the rain in the area and a day off, this might be a great opportunity to give your storage a facelift with a new coat of paint, some new handles/knobs, or a pretty little sketch.



Have a happy cozy day

"The happiest man on earth is the one who never know it"

Here's a happy tip. It's actually more like emotional yoga. It takes practice. I used to keep a journal but I found that I only wrote in it when I was frustrated, angry, or sad. I made a choice to stop that. Not so much to write only positive things but to change the ways in which I described them.  It was difficult so at first I just started with more of a list format of things I liked that day. Things that made me smile, thankful, or thoughtful. In a day that didn't seem like anything exciting happened I gradually discovered that there was a lot to enjoy. I'm still in a practicing mode and so I'm going to start using the Moleskine notebooks (I LOVE them!) I have in my purse  to make notes throughout the day.

Flickr: Jo36

These notebooks are so amazing.  I have one for DIY projects and ideas, one for work/project thoughts and contacts, and one for misc. in my purse.  I even have the calendar. It doesn't have to be beautiful just purposeful.

Don't let the stuff that makes you smile pass by without a token