Sunday, April 15, 2012

there's power in memories

This is my favourite mug.  I purchased it on a trip to Las Vegas that I took three years ago with my husband and our friends.  I love the mug, not because of the mug itself, but because of the amazing power it has to bring me happiness.  It has the capacity to instantly remind me not only of the margaritas I drank (they were tasty), but also of the friends we traveled with, the amazing food we ate, the experiences we had and the minute-to-minute laughter that made my stomach hurt.  I swear that I open the cupboard every weekend morning and my heart sings a little just by looking at it.  That will sound corny to everyone that knows me ... but it is so true.

Today, as I sipped coffee from my special mug, I thought about the other items in my home that instantly bring a smile to my face:  pictures of our children at Disneyland that are on our mantle, rocks that we picked from the beach last year that I still keep on our kitchen windowsill, a framed menu from “The Fish Market” in San Diego (is it normal that my mouth starts to water when I look at that thing?). 

My task for this week is to have my children identify THEIR happiest moments, find an item or picture that reminds them of that time and find a special place for it their rooms.  What a great way to start their day with a memory that brings them back to joy they felt in that happy moment.  So, this week, I challenge you to think back to your most memorable times – your absolutely blissful experiences.  Are you surrounded by items of your happiest moments?

Thursday, April 12, 2012

awkward spaces

There are consultants who will tell you not to purchase a certain home (or to move) because of the characteristics of that home.  I am not that person.  I believe that every home can be turned into a gem, no matter what the “problem” is and I can attest to it.  We have an awkward basement – it is a space that I dreaded going into because of weird angles, too many doors and hallways and furniture that did not fit the space well.  So, after four years of focusing on the main floor and avoiding this seemingly poorly designed area, my husband and I tackled it last weekend. 

Previously, the room was butter yellow and mossy green which is not “us” at all.  We painted the space a wonderful dark griege (neutral colour somewhere between grey and beige) and switched out our upstairs furniture for the downstairs stuff.  We put an area rug down which anchors the seating area and makes it feel more comfortable – feng shui-wise, this is because the area rug encourages the energy (chi) to slow down, rather than move quickly through the space, down the halls and through the doors.  I found two lamps that I absolutely love.  They add to the cozy feeling of the room and also work to energize the space.  We moved some of the accessories around to make the room appear wider and completely removed the ones that didn’t work anymore.  I still have a few more accents to add but I love the feel of the room now.  We have successfully dealt with the shar chi (negative energy) of the odd angles in the room without tearing down walls, slowed the energy down enough for us to relax and then re-energized the space.  We now focus on the wonderful parts of the room, like the large windows and wonderful patio doors that open onto our back deck.

Do you have an awkward space?