Joy in my Day

Recently, as I was driving in my car, I listened to an interview on CBC's Spark program, hosted by Nora Young.  The premise of the show, which originally aired in April 2011, discussed ways in which to transform your work and working environment.  While the entire show is worth a listen, it was Ingrid Fetell's interview that resonated the most with me. 
Her blog, aesthetics of joy, explores "the intersection between design and positive emotion", and it is truly worth checking out.  The images are truly beautiful, but beyond that it is the message - to design your life with joy - that is truly inspiring.

I have awakened every morning and fallen asleep every night, since listening to that radio interview, deciding how I am designing joy into my life.  In every moment of my day - the smile from a wee one, a song being hummed from the back seat, dinner conversations with my little family, tickles before bed, the clothes I put on, the colour painted on the wall in the basement - I am actively creating and absorbing joy.

And so I will continue with this focus in the way that I approach my family, my home, myself.  Here's to 2012 and all that will come from it.

via Oh Happy Day



Tickle Me Pink

I'm on a pink kick and I only just realized why.  Valentine's Day is just around the corner.  I know, I know, I'm a little slow on the uptake sometimes but it seems to have crept up on me so quickly this year.  Though I had every intention to work on some sweet Valentine's Day craft with my wee ones, we've been so involved with astronauts & martian stuff that my plans got side-lined.  Perhaps this weekend we'll squeeze in these heart-shaped melted crayon craft that I really wanted to make as gifts from my wee ones to the other little ones in the family.  

via frugal family

But beyond Valentine's Day on Monday, I'm thinking I may just have to add a splash of pink somewhere in my house.  I'll  be flipping through some of these inspiring photos to get me going.

via Family Chic

via thekitchn

via Style at Home

Party Time

I love a good party and while I haven't thrown an official, full-on, decorations, hors-d'oeuvres, invitations in the mail party for awhile, you will often find me hosting an informal dinner with friends or family. That being said, my party sensors are up and I have been thinking about hosting one soon. I think it's that post-holiday, January/February lull that is getting to me. Who else needs a little pick-me-up around this time of year?

Hmmm...I will need to start with a theme, find the invitations, decide on the decor and finally the menu.  So I'm off to find some inspiration.  Here is what's been peaking my interest of late.

A dinner party with a table set like this would be lovely, don't you think?

Image from Alberto Pinto's Table Settings via Shelter

Maybe a blue and grey Valentine's Day party....just because I love the colours blue and grey (and it would go well with the paint colours in my house!).

via aesthetic outburst

Mmm...cake!  This one would definitely brighten up a party on a dull February afternoon.

via one charming party

 So many ideas to play with.  I can't wait to get started!

Hello again

After taking a hiatus from my first short-lived stint on the blog, I've decided to try again. To be honest, I have been thinking about trying again for awhile but could not, for the life of me, remember my password to login. How I finally did figure it out, I'll never know, but alas the stars aligned and here I am again.

Snapshots has evolved in my mind to be a place for me to express the little snapshots of my life, my thoughts, ideas and inspirations. Here will be the intersection of all things related to that which I find interesting, beautiful, creative and fun. Enjoy - and do please let me know what you think!

Now that 2011 is here, I am hoping to finally realize my...wait for it - long dramatic pause - POWDER ROOM RENO!! I have obsessed about, scoured magazines and stores, desired high and low items and finally, after three years of waiting, will complete it! Here are some inspiring shots I'll be looking at to keep me on track as I finally go forward with my little reno project!

Who knew that a toilet could make me do a double-take? Ah, well it's the simple pleasures in life that make me happy.

I'm loving the contrast of the rich wood and the clean, crisp white of the vanity and storage units. Oh, and that sink!

photos via Style at Home

Rustic charm. The old planks on the floor and the old vanity juxtaposed with the more modern sink. Loving it!!

photo via Better Homes & Gardens via decorology

A bright, cheery bathroom. The bold yellow wallpaper against the whiteness of everything else makes me smile!

photo via House and Home

I'll keep you posted with photos of my own budget bathroom reno as we go and maybe inspire you a little too. Until next time!

Spring is in the Air!

Spring is in the air.  We spent the morning outside today, colouring on the back deck, playing ball on the front lawn, digging in the garden and playing a game of chase in the backyard.  I love these days.  The breeze is cool, the sun is bright and the first crocuses have come up in my garden!  

Here are a few other signs of life coming up around the house.

  

There is nothing quite like the colour of green in the spring.  It is my favourite colour at anytime time of the year, however it is really during the springtime when I always fully appreciate it.  It's everywhere, breathing life into trees and shrubs and grass and giving me a renewed sense of how good life is.  

I can't wait to get into digging in the garden and watching my little patch of garden grow. Heaven!

What are we reading? What are YOU reading?

** Check out the giveaway at simplemom for a chance to win a pair of Crocs.  Ugly or not I've been a fan from early on...

Books.  I love them.  I surround myself with them.  A library or bookstore can send me into a tizzy.  I love the sound a book makes when it is opened up for the first time.  I love the smell of a new book.   The sight of an interesting front cover (yes I do judge a book by its cover!) can send me reeling in anticipation of a good rainy day (only to give me good reason to curl up on the couch and read, read, read).  

Books are everywhere in our house and we have been known to collapse haphazardly on the floor, a pile of books close by and spend hours reading book after book.  Right now we are very much into:

Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

anything in the Olivia series by Ian Falconer

Stella, Fairy of the Forest by Marie Louise Gay

and Papa, Please Get the Moon For Me by Eric Carle

I too have had a chance to read a few good books of my own as I cannot fall asleep unless I've read a few pages - though some nights it really is only a few paragraphs before my eyes tell me NO MORE!  While I love this nightly ritual of mine, it pales in comparison to the cuddling up on the couch with my boy and our books!  These moments are truly magical for me.  I have always kept a mental list of books I want to read, and lately I find myself adding more and more picture book titles to that list, as well as all my favourite "chapter books" I read as a child in anticipation of many more hours curled up together.

What books are you enjoying right now?

On Keeping Organized

I would like to give a big cheer today for all the single moms out there.  Raising kids is an adventure, but raising kids on your own is a completely different life altogether!  I experienced a hubby-free three day extravaganza this week and though we survived (just barely) it gave me a fresh insight on what this child-rearing thing is all about.

I filled my days with activities:  playgroup, playdates, long walks, toddler yoga class and an invite for dinner at my lovely sisters (thank you!!).  All the activities and running around made the days fly by, and in no time Daddy was back home and life fell back into its normal routine. First, however, I fell into bed and only after a good night's sleep did we really all feel back to normal.  

These three days got me thinking about how I manage to stay organized (most of the time) and how our daily/weekly/monthly routines and schedules help us to keep things running around here.  Here are my top five organizational tips that, though not foolproof, certainly help me along.

1) Meal Planning

Every Sunday evening, or Monday mornings (when I haven't had the energy or desire the night before) I take out my binder and cookbooks and plan out my meals and grocery list for the week.  This time-saving tip has truly reduced those witching-hour stress levels, when everyone's hungry, there's "nothing" in the fridge/freezer/pantry to cook with and there's certainly no desire to start planning something.  Instead, I always know what we'll be eating for dinner, and because I always have all the ingredients I can easily switch my plan for one night to another night if, for some reason, time is running short or I just feel like cooking what was planned for Thursday on Tuesday instead.

I think the best part about this plan is that it has really inspired us to eat well.  We eat a variety of foods (I'm not whipping up a quick and easy pasta dish say two or three times per week) and I try to attempt a new recipe from one of my many well-loved cookbooks at least once a week. I shop once a week (most of the time) and I only buy what is necessary based on the plan.  This helps us keep on budget and our food waste is almost nil.  

I have even extended this meal plan (it started out as a "supper list") to lunches and now I rarely stand staring at the open fridge hungry yet uninspired by another cheese sandwich.  

2) 5-Minute Tidy

Every night, just before winding down for the evening, I take five minutes to do a general sweep of the house.  It is at this time that I do a final clearing away of clutter, picking up of toys, straightening out of shoes at the front door (you get the idea) for the day.  It allows me to go to bed knowing that things are in order and I can wake up in the morning feeling ready for the day ahead.

3) Labels, Baskets, Containers, Oh My!

I can't tell you how many baskets, small containers, trays and bowls that I have around the house to "catch" everything from my make-up to mail to out-of-season clothes to just about anything and everything.  Some are labeled for specific items, others are not but I know that unless I contain my things in something they tend to spread out, quickly and easily!!

I try to find pretty and unique containers and am always on the hunt for more.  Though I do like the look of an organized area with matching containers, I admit that I am not quite there yet and so have opted for a some-matching/some-mismatched organizational system.  Some days it is more organized chaos than others, but I'm working on it!

4) My Five-Things-a-Day Plan

On a day-to-day basis I find it hard to stay motivated and so I have devised a little plan that I use to try to accomplish five things a day.  In my case, the "five things a day rule" is generally applied to housework type things as I can easily find one hundred other things to do in which to fill my time.  Alas, the housework must get done and so I set a plan out in my head for the day to accomplish five things around the house.  On good days this might include washing the two bathrooms, 3 loads of laundry (washed, hung to dry, and/or folded), dusting the main floor, taking out the garbage and changing the sheets on the beds.  Slower days might find me making a mental list like: water the plants, sweep the floor, wash fingerprints off the mirrors, dust, brush the cat.  

Regardless of what is on the list I know that by the end of the day I have accomplished at least five things.  It is not a rule that is set in stone, and believe me there are plenty of days when I have barely accomplished one thing on my list (if the list was made at all!).  I have found though that it is on those days that my "five things a day rule" comes in the most handy because I know that I simply have to wake up the next morning and get back on track.  

5) No Pressure

 

Finally, in order to stay organized our philosophy at home is that there is NO PRESSURE.  If we're falling behind or too tired we know that we simply just need to look around and realize that life is pretty good.  This philosophy has reduced the nagging, reminding and "you said you were going to do it..." type of conversations.  We're not perfect, nor are we perfectly organized but we're working on it and getting better - most of the time!

** Check out Design Mom's blog this week where she answers your questions on all sorts of different topics.