Reflections on "What Makes a House a Home?"

Hello Lovelies!

 image source via

There are many ways to make a house feel more lived-in and cozy. I love this advice: "Surround yourself with happy memories", found here at the Whole Living website, and illustrated by the above picture. I also like this advice: "Get cuddly accents", found here, as illustrated below:

Today, I'll publish another (!) excellent excerpt from the May 18th 2013 GON newsletter, because YES, it is that good and I highly recommend you subscribe to it! This short article deals exactly with the important question of "What Makes a House a Home?"

Excerpt:

***

"My friend's 7 year-old son, Jack, is a very outspoken and fun child. His new thing is to point at beautiful and big houses and declare that's the kind of house he wants to live in.

The other day, his mom reminded him that the size of a house doesn't necessarily make it a loving home. That it's the people living inside a house that make it special.

While he may be too young yet to understand the message of her statement, I wasn't...it was a GREAT mind jogger for me.

I love organizing and decorating homes. I enjoy watching HGTV, reading home improvement magazines, and scanning the latest ideas on Pinterest.

BUT a home doesn't mean spending lots of money on redesigning a space or buying the most expensive furniture. A home is a place we and our children can go to for comfort and security.

Fortunately, we can create that space by investing our time and energy with the people that matter to us the most.

I hope you have a wonderful week and make sure to enjoy the individuals that comprise your life!"

***

 

image source: Fi & Livvy's Cozy Home


Newsletter excerpt: (c) Copyright 2013 by Maria Gracia, Get Organized Now!

* Copyright, contact and reprint information:
http://www.getorganizednow.com/contact.html

* To subscribe, visit:
http://www.getorganizednow.com/free-ezine.html  


In closing:

photo source: World of Interios, via

You can find a lot of visual inspiration through commented slideshows about lovely, cozy and lived-in homes here:
at AT (cozification article)
at RS (5 ways to create a cozy home)
at Whole Living (13 ways to a cozy up at home)  
I also love the home inspiration posts by Jane, at her lovely "Ill seen, Ill Said" blog.


Enjoy your home!

-Naomi of TeaButterfly.

Maybe It's Spring? Don't Wait For Things To Happen

Hello Lovelies!

Don't wait by This Rocket Ain't Mine via the resolve project website

Spring is coming soon and it gets me excited and inspired! Right now, I am just itching to start something new, exciting and fun.

So I jumped on this photo challenge and boy! Am I having fun! It really got my creative juices flowing (try it, too!) and now I want more. So, what's next?

I believe in serendipity. Just as I was feeling finally ready, I stumbled upon the right tools online. Call it "New Year's Resolutions" for the late bloomer, if you will... ;-)

First, I found visual inspiration (and I love me some visual inspiration) in these awesome contemporary artists' resolutions, compiled online on the "Resolve project" website. Another great and funny read is this article about how famous people make their resolutions.

Then I found Rachel's food blog, with a small and inspiring blogpost about how to pamper yourself. It led me to this insightful article, that I interpreted as a sure sign that i was ready to move on, to give up on the past in order to move forward.

We can all have one or many goals for this year in our lives. Here are powerful tools for increased productivity, everyday creativity and a fave of mine, weight loss through a healthy lifestyle.

So, what am I doing right now in order to have a better life?

I'm reading Susannah Conway's story on her blog, ordering her book, This I Know.

I am reading and practising the "Joyful simplicities for March" detailed in the classic book, "Simple Abundance: a daybook of comfort and joy".

I am pinning inspiring images on my Spring Essentials pinboard, not necessarily intending to buy anything, but rather using what I already have in order to "Bring on the Spring" in my wardrobe, cleaning routine, kitchen, home decor...

I am adopting healthy lifestyle habits (and losing weight) by subscribing to SparkCoach.

I am taking photographs and doodling everyday.

Finally, i am enjoying life's little pleasures (this list is a gem!).

I now hope that all these links will inspire YOU in turn... Enjoy!

Naomi of TeaButterfly.

Winks & Pins

Sorry Lovelies!

My lavender country - photo by Lipson (c) 2011.

I had the chance to leave for a long week-end in the nearby countryside (see photo) so grabbed my bags and that didn't leave me the time to say goodbye on Friday!

Now that Monday has come (and I wish you a very nice one) I thought it was timely to share some winks (or week-end links).

You know by now that Jane's blog is one of my faves in the blogosphere... I also appreciate Diana's, aka Miss Moss. I think she is right about Pinterest, it can be addictive and interesting to sort images you are interested in, (I also started to use it in order to track where the images I use on my blog come from, instead of just apologizing and saying "photo source unknown") BUT in the long run - or soon enough - you can also discover that a lot of pins are annoying and even offensive. I try to follow like-minded peole, and when a board of theirs does not interest me (say, if it's about their private life, their wedding, or comprises too many cute babies pictures), I just unfollow said boards. No hard feelings towards cute babies, but seeing too many of them is not my cup of tea. I'm also not getting married anytime soon, so the reminder can become an itch.

And now to a new blog I've just discovered, and like a lot. Sorry, it's about home improvement again (one of my hobbies) but it's drool-worthy. It's called "A Roof and Four Walls", and that's really an understatement about the lovely house that is being renovated and decorated by the writer of this blog. Very much to my taste.

Check out Inklore's blog, too. I love Samantha's works and prints, and she has a lovely blog with short, fun and informative posts. Writing briefly is not my forte, but maybe' I should work on it. Like the aim should be: more posts, but shorter ones. We all lead busy lives!

Happy reading, and talk to you soon,

-Vic from TeaButterfly.