the happy living Blog

intermission

As if you haven't noticed it has been slow around here, around the blog I mean.  Quiet.  Things at the day job are hopping and I have a busy couple of months ahead of me.  I have been agonizing over this for weeks now, whether or not I should take a break and how long if I did.  So I am.  But I don't know for how long.  Probably just for the summer.  Definitely not permanently.  There are some non-blog related things that I need to focus on for a bit.  I also just need time away to recharge and refresh.

I am pretty sure I won't ever tire of talking about home.  Whitney reminded me of a book in my library that I have not looked at in quite awhile.  Basically, if I ever wrote a book (and never plan to) it might have been like House as a Mirror of Self: Exploring the Deeper Meaning of Home.  I have quite a few more renovate! projects in my clip file to show you.  And I enjoy being a part of this blog community both as a writer and a reader (sometimes even more so!) that I won't be able to stay away for long.  You may also find me as a guest on a fabulous blog.

Before I go I will share a few of my current favorite things.

Flederhaus prayer flags at Art Star Craft Bazaar.

This new flickr group s t i l l is really inspiring and I am generally addicted to my flickr contacts lately.

1. brownie batter..., 2. film.234, 3. still 4, 4. ready for fall, 5. another spoonful, 6. orange reflect, 7. window ledge floor, 8. new desk, 9. Setup

I will be around.  You can find me here and here and here.  And I won't be missing a beat with all of you out there that have your own blogs.

It has been quite an unexpectedly wonderful 16 months of blogging.  I feel that the next 16 could possibly bring about a lot of changes both here and beyond and I welcome it with an open heart and mind.

Wishing you a wonderful summer!

putting fires out : a swanky fire extinguisher

I have a confession to make.  Many times when I am using our range I leave the oven or the stove top on after I am finished cooking.  Tonight I left the broiler on.  Luckily I had to put my piece of salmon back in the broiler because it wasn't quite finished.  The second time I took it out I remembered to shut the broiler off.

Thankfully we have never had a fire, not even a grease fire.  I am beginning to think my luck might run out and we had better get a small fire extinguisher to keep in the kitchen.

HomeHero sells pretty cool looking fire extinguishers that I wouldn't mind putting in my kitchen prominently.

They also sell a 2 in 1 Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm.

Sexy.  I know it's not so fun to think about these things but isn't it better to be prepared?  You can purchase both of these products at Home Depot.  Be safe.  And remember to turn off your ovens. :)

a programming note

I am not sure if it's typepad or my email but I am not getting copied via email on all comments.  I tend to either reply via email when I receive the notice from typepad or comment in the actual post, but I am now replying to all comments in the posts.  Just an FYI.

peace.

recent travels: Warroad, MN and Baltimore, MD

Pretty much in one weekend I made it to Warroad, Minnesota and Baltimore, Maryland.

Thursday morning I flew out to Minneapolis, took a twin-prop plane up to Warroad, spend the rest of Thursday and most of Friday touring the Marvin window factory with a bunch of other architects, then flew back down to MSP and arrived back in Philly at 12:30 AM on Saturday morning just as the boy was arriving home from Atlantic City.  I unpacked and then repacked on Saturday morning and we mozeed on down to Wilmington, DE to grab some lunch and then on to Baltimore for a one-night stay. 

Warroad is not the most exciting place on earth (neither is West Chester, PA for that matter) but the people there couldn't be nicer and the tour of Marvin Windows was mind-blowing.  I love seeing how things are made and this was way better than the Herrs Potato Chip Factory tour.

I haven't been to Baltimore in over 14 years.  It would be an understatement to say it has changed.  We took the water taxi around the harbor and walked around Fels Point.  We ate at an amazing tapas restaurant called Pazo in the East Harbor/Fels Point area.  Did I say it was amazing?  Sunday we slept late, had breakfast, walked over the lighthouse and headed on home.

It was actually quite amazing to be in two such distinct places in such short a period.  We have an amazingly gorgeous country and a lot to be thankful for.

duty and the earth : roadmaps : spring cleaning

I did my civic duty today, or did I just exercise a right?  Either way I voted.  Honestly, I did it purely because I have the right to do so and think of all the oppressed people in the world still who would like to also have that right.  When I think of our government and politicians I don't get all warm and fuzzy but I still have hope in mankind.

And today is also Earth Day 2008.  And since I am being honest I did not really do anything to celebrate.  Well, I did forego the paper cozy at Starbucks this morning and I walked to the voting place.

Some housekeeping...I have a new email address.  It is erinn at happylivingdesign dot com.  It is all part of, as a former colleague put it in a recent email, taking 'happy living Design, LLC' to the next level.  I also have my talented cousin who is a graphic designer working on a HLD logo.  It's all about your 'brand', ya know. 

Speaking of business stuff and following your dreams, Erin has a great new series called Roadmaps on her blog.  She just recently quit her day job and if you are thinking of doing the same to pursue another career or turn a passion into business you might like to check it out.  It compliments what is going on at decor8 and Creative Thursday.  All good ladies, all good stuff.

It's spring!  And there is sun and I have a farmer tan to prove it.  This past Saturday we went fishing and canoeing up in Coal Country, PA with the boy's dad (my FIL) and Poppy (his grandfather).  Do you think any other Dwell subscribers fish while reading the latest issue?  I caught one fish but it wasn't big enough to keep.

Do any of you actually do Spring Cleaning at your home?  I always have great intentions of accomplishing a great big Spring Cleaning Checklist on a sunny Saturday but it never happens.  I think it is hard for most of us to have large blocks of time to get through a big checklist.  Somehow the important things get done around here (most of the time!) but just at our own pace.  We whittle away at our list and projects, sometimes with a big spurt of energy here and there.  When it comes down to it though, I really need to visit with my 90 year old grandmother and my windows will still be there when I get back.  I am sure of it.

productivity principle & being pulled away

Productivity Principle no. 81

A single focus is infinitely more productive than a split one.

Commentary

Much like decreasing the diameter of a pipe will increase the strength of the water flowing out of it, the ability to think and do is optimized when focus is concentrated. Trying to focus on two things at once will diminish the results by much more than half. "Multitasking" only works when all but one of the "tasks" is on automatic, such as driving home and wondering when you got there who actually drove! Rapid refocusing (which is what really happens in knowledge-work environments – from email to phone to interruptions, etc.) does not hinder productivity, as long as there is a clean break from one task to the next, and you are not retracing steps. Work is diminished when the focus is split, or when refocusing requires having to repeat the reframing of context and content for the next task (as in rereading sentences you've already read to find your place again).

Copyright 2008, David Allen & Company. All rights reserved. www.davidco.com

and trying to focus on two or more projects around the house diminishes results too, I think. :)

I wanted to check in with you all.  Work is busy.  Home life is busy and it was the boy's birthday today.  I just keep getting pulled away from the blog.  I have all these drafts saved up in my posts folder but no mental capacity to finish them.  Since daylight savings started I have been really scatterbrained.  I'm not sure if it's really DST, spring fever or just having too many things on my plate that are causing it.  My mantra is "people first" these days.  When things get crazy and I am not sure what to let go of, I always remember that family and friends come first.  That is why it is hard to be away from you all, so I am keeping up with everyone elses adventures.

I had a lovely friend recommend The Power of Now and The New Earth to me and I bought both on half.com.  Has anyone else read them?

I was reading about the huge 'self-help' industry in our country that is constantly offering us new ways to make ourselves better.  It can be a little overwhelming, can't it?  I was wondering if the home improvement industry is starting to do the same thing.  We used to live in a time where your average homeowner did not change their home or decor for 25 years and now we are constantly changing, updating, redecorating and moving.  Are we on the hunt for the perfect home?  Are we just lucky to live in a time in which we are more aware of how our environments affect us emotionally and have access to the resources to fashion a happy place?  Are we trying to keep up with the design-joneses?  Maybe a combination of everything. 

That lovely friend and I talked about the impact that our environment has on our well-being or lack there of and the need for a lot more awareness about it.  Just some random (or maybe not-so-random) things I have been thinking about.  We've started demanding quality goods and Target has brought us "Design for All".  We (all of us) need to start demanding quality spaces, at home, at work, in our communities and in our cities and big companies like Toll Brothers will start to listen.  I am sure of it.

We had an early spring bbq here for the boy's birthday today.  I tried two recipes from Cottage Living, Lemon Dill Potato Salad and Leek and Onion Tart with Herb Chevre which were very good and delicious respectively.

I wish you lots of sunshine.  It's good for you.

You would never know by the picture that my home office in under attack by carpenter ants.  We had our trusty exterminator come out to the house today to assess the situation.  Our neighbors have had a couple of trees cut down very close to our property so it could have disturbed the colony(ies), but more likely it is a result of a fairly mild winter that we have had this season on the east coast (mid-atlantic).  We have already spotted ticks and mosquitos which is really early for both of those creatures around here.

Regardless of why they have chosen to take residence up in my office (luckily there are none in the bedroom on the other side of the house), it is always a terrible thing to have ones home invaded by unwanted multi-legged pests.  It is a nuisance but it is also a bit scary.  I spent a lot of my day on Saturday on the internet doing research first to determine what kind of ants they are and second to find a way to make them leave.  I don't have a problem with paying our exterminator to do his work, but do have concerns about using poisonous chemicals around the house.  We don't have children or pets, but the environment and mini eco-system in our backyard is always a concern to me.  Unfortunately, carpenter ants are really hard to get rid of and we had friends over on Friday who confirmed that for us since they have had them in vast numbers at their house.  So I called the E-man this morning.  You gotta do what you gotta do.

Between the ants and my aging laptop, blogging has been difficult.  Tonight my home office will temporarily move to our kitchen so I should be on a more regular schedule since I won't have to worry about creatures around me.  I just have to sort out my computer woes.  I think that will be more expensive than the ants.  Sorry for the lack of posts.  I have another really cool renovation project to show you!  Really.  I promise.

design for mankind

First off, I am so glad that you guys enjoyed the first renovate! post.  Isn't it an amazing project, a great transformation?  I'll be posting some more thoughts about the first project and then posting another project probably next week.  Stay tuned.

I would like to give Erin from Design for Mankind a huge blog hug and say 'thanks' for including me in her blog series the dailies.  I am honored to have had the opportunity since I am a huge fan of DFM every since she launched last year and of the series.  So if you ever wanted to know what my typical day is like, go here.

You also must check out her ezines.  There are two of them so far and they are both full of wonderful inspirations and inspiration boards from all your favorite artists and bloggers.  I can't wait for the third one.

sun oh sun

It's about this time of year, even though the days are now finally getting longer, that I start to daydream about sunlight.  I may suffer from very mild cases of S.A.D. but luckily it has never prevented me from going about my days.  But I do not yet get to leave work while the sun is still high in the sky.  Maybe I should look into a Vitamin D supplement.  In the meantime I cherish times like this.

This was taken last week at a house that we have just finished renovating (at my day job).  Unfortunately because of disclosure agreements I cannot tell you anything else about it or they will take my first born child.

It was the coldest day of the week, but the sunniest.

Hope you all have a bit of sun in your day tomorrow.

on my way home...

...last week.

Those are the days that I am thankful that 1. I now get to walk home, 2. I own a tiny little camera that I can carry everywhere with me and 3. I am alive.

I snapped the photos, but I take no credit for them.