Statement or accent walls

 If you are limited on time, energy and money consider a statement wall.  An easy commitment.  Here are a few of our favorites.

• rainbow corner accent wall.  A beautiful mess shows us a few incredible accent walls but one of us is drawn to this rainbow corner one.
  
• While visiting A beautiful mess we had to show you this wall using old picture frames.  
• Young house love post is on installing removable wallpaper, but we also liked the wallpaper and it is a neat way to have a statement wall.
  
• Again Young house love shows us a beautiful painted mural.  
• Apartment Therapy shows us an idea with a small can of paint.

Brush strokes.  Yep that's it a brush strokes.  I'd practice a bit first.

Painter tape and a good chalk line should work for above.  

There is also taking your color swatch and going with a darker color on the swatch.  One of us did that in our living room and looks great. You know it goes as same paint swatch.

If you have a neat idea for an accent wall let us know.

How to choose a cottage

 We had a face-to-face get together and started discussing cottages.  A few of us are renting a cottage or camping.  What are the draws to a specific cottage?  We thought we'd share our thoughts.

• Location - isn't it always!  How far do you want to drive from home?  Know it might depend on length of time at the cottage.  Most of us don't want to drive five hours for two nights. Some people love to drive so that factors in.
• Water - lake or ocean or none at all!  Are you a beach person? A swimmer? Would you prefer to swim in the ocean or a lake?  Do you need a beach to swim or can you dive off a dock? Also some people don't want to get in the water but they do like seeing it. Renting a place with water views. 
• Size does matter.  Seriously if you have a large family you need a larger cottage. There should be enough space for people to escape to. If sharing a bedroom fine but enough bedrooms for the odd person to crash/nap if they want.
• Rustic anyone?  Yes know rustic can be a broad term. For some people it is wood paneling on the walls and for others it is limited electrical and water. We won't get into camping as that is a whole other category.
• Having cottage fully equipped.  Renting a place with towels, linen, pots and pan already there. You walk in with your stuff and that is all. Most Airbnb are fully equipped which is nice.  Remember if they list coffee maker ask what type you don't want to bring a package of coffee to find a Keurig. 
• Privacy.  Do you want to see your neighbors?  Maybe just a roof line or through the trees? For some people wanting to escape this is a major consideration. They don't want to walk out to the deck in pjs and have a conversation with the neighbor on their deck next door.
• BBQ, outdoor fire pit and/or fireplace.  For some people having a fire pit is a deal breaker. If they can't sit around a fire in the evening that listing is off the table. 
• Outdoor area.  Does it have a deck off the main living area?  Or is there a sitting area over in the grass?  What do you want to do at the cottage? Kids running around? Does the outdoor space work for you?

These are a few things we thought should be considered when looking at renting a cottage. It is time, money and energy and should be looked into.  What are your non-negotiables?  Privacy? Water access? Make sure those boxes are ticked.  What can you give up? Can you deal with wood paneling? Your not living there full-time.  

We have rented cottages and it is such a great experience. Change of scenery.  Downtime. Two of our non-negotiables are privacy (don't mind seeing a house in the distance) and water. Not necessary a beach but there is something about water that is calming. 

Hope everyone is making the most out of summer!!    

Outdoor furniture - thoughts??

 

Summer is here in out part of the world. Parts are having a heat wave (awful).  Some people are still tossing their butts out car windows.  Hmm.....forest fires anyone? Everywhere in British Columbia seems to be on fire.  Seriously people butts? Won't express my true feelings here as would be a totally different post than outdoor furniture.

What do you think of these chairs? Swinging chairs seem to be the rage right now. Would need a solid roof or something to hand them from.

Nothing beats an Adirondack chair. A must is having the arms stairs so a glass of whatever your choice of beverage is on it.

Then there is the living room in the backyard.  Need space for some of these. Also some look better than my actually living room furniture.

Then there is wicker or wicker look.  I think always a win. 

Do you have a favorite outdoor furniture look? Hope everyone is curling up with whatever chair they have and enjoying the weather.  Take care and make the most out of whatever season you are in.

What have we lost and what have we gained during COVID-19

 Yes another COVID-19 post.  I'm sure you are sick of them. This post will be positive we are all aware of what we have lost in the past year and a bit. Time, money, energy and heaven forbid family and/or friends. This is random as we all had something to say!

• Gain - time at home. Maybe not everyone has appreciated working from home but I have. I'm getting my work done and also a load of laundry. Seriously. People think you won't work as hard or long but I think we do. There is less office chat with co-workers. Meetings in the hallway and sharing of what our plans are for the weekend.  I don't feel bad putting a load of wash on or running the dishwasher. I have gained a bit more time in the evenings working from home.
• Lost -time at home.  Okay above had her take on it. Mine is different. I think I am working longer hours as, maybe this is my workplace, seems to think I will answer emails after five. The expectation I'm finding is we seem to be on-call more. So load of laundry or not, I'm rather come to work and walk out the door and mean it.
• Lipstick - lose or gain you decided. Mask wearing does not lend itself to lipstick. I so don't want to see a stain of pink, blush or red on my mask when I take it off. Someone said the lipstick industry is losing money? I can so see that as I just don't bother. So a lose or gain let me know.
• Gain - reading.  I have read more during COVID-19.  With less places to go I've started reading more. I used to read all the time when I was younger than life happened. COVID-19 has given me permission to stay home and read.
• Gain - awareness.  COVID-19 has made me aware of essential services. I mean before this I wouldn't have classified grocery clerks as essential services. But seriously they are! They worked during the whole damn thing. Getting groceries didn't stop during COVID-19.
•  Gain - crafting.  I found on-line painting tutorials and loving them. The classes run one to two hours so in-depth and a great escape. Not saying they all turn out but have enjoyed doing them and being in the moment.
• Gain - house. Being home made me more aware of how I spend time in my home. What rooms I use and don't. What rooms I need and don't have. Open concept has been pushed in recent years and yes it lovely seeing the family in the kitchen, dining and living room. COVID-19 not so much. I would have loved having am extra room for school, crafts, office.  Hmm...like a separate dining room maybe?
• Lost travel. I think this has been major for me as I live for a plane ticket. 2020 and 2021 basically a write off. Plus not sure what travel will look like in the future. Will it be so expensive it will be out of the average person's budget? 

What do you think you have gained or lost because of COVID-19?

Happy First Day Of Summer ! !

 Happy first day of summer!  Can you believe it.  This year is racing by. The days at times feel long but the months are fast. Does that make sense? I guess getting older makes me appreciate time more. Having less of it. Always waiting for the weekend, which is what 28.5% of my week.  So basically racing through 71% of my life for two days.

That was got to stop. 71% WHAT!  Or people that live for summer and heat. I just want winter over with.  Again that could be three-five months for some people.  Which is a good chunk of your life. Think about it.  We are willing to write off 50-70% of our lives because of the weather or a work day. I for one don't like those numbers.

What can we do? Well to start with enjoy all seasons. If you find winter long take up a winter activity. That can range from skiing, curling to reading. Work days don't leave all your housework until the weekend and complain you had no free time. Break it up into manageable pieces you can complete during the week. You can take two evenings to clean the bathroom. Toss a load of laundry in. Free up more of your weekend but managing your week better.

Oh yeah what about taking a class one night a week. Setting boundaries over screen time. Creating a bucket list of events/festivals in your area. Supporting local business. Seeing what is offered twelve months a year in your area. The library is a good place to start.

The biggest take-away is stepping back and realizing we are wishing over 70% of our lives away. Seriously. That has to stop. Make the most of each day. If you hate your job that much maybe you need a major overhaul.  Make the most of each day and each moment. Create moments during the day whether you are at work or not.

Don't wish life away once it is gone.......just saying.

Artisan Boxes

 It has been an incredible hard year plus for everyone.  Kids have been in and out of school. People are working from home that never signed on for that. Grandparents are not seeing grandchildren and travel is well non-existent.  

Small businesses are struggling. Yes things are opening up and hopefully will stay open for the summer season and local tourists can take up the slack from no out of province visitors. This will be another hard summer for small business that rely on visitors coming to cities and local areas.  

We wanted to showcase one way people can help small business and local artisans by purchasing gift boxes. These boxes are put together to showcase artisan products. These products range from jewelry, soup, pottery, essential oils, candles and more.  WOW something for everyone. So if you want to support artisans here are a few boxes we think would do the trick.

Blush Box some high-end products that are not sample sizes. The spring box had a beautiful gold necklace, earrings, candle and more. Definitely check it out.

Hodgepodge artisan box is cheaper than the Blush Box so maybe more affordable for individuals. Again local Nova Scotia products in this one.

Happy Artisan Gift Box this box is made from Alberta artisans producing small batches of products at home. 

Joy Box a larger producing box. Can also build your own box. Has seasonal and special occasion boxes as well.

We know this is a small sample of artisan gift boxes out here. They are all Canadian in different areas of the country. If you know and/or have an artisan gift box you can recommend please drop it in the comments so we can check it out. It feels good to support artisans and this gives you a taste of more than one!

Planters we are crushing over

 Not everyone has a large backyard. Plus even if you do have a good size yard, there is something welcoming having a planter by the front door or on the desk.  Here are a few we are crushing over.

Found the above at Target. Like the glaze and if blue is your color this will pop.

Love these - it is the shape I'm drawn too. 

Like the width at the top. Can see a variety of plants here.  Pretty on the corner of your desk.

If you are lucky enough have have a corner we think these rock. Backyard or a deck. 

We wanted to include something fun.  There are also rubber boots that are sweet with plants in them.

Lots of possibilities and now is the time to start gardening. Enjoy.