Coffee with Yoko

   As I state in my little box at the top of my blog header, design and inspiration is all around us - even where we least expect it.  It is my observation that it is within those mysterious nooks and crannies of our everydays, that the profound pieces of the puzzle, we call life, are provided.   

 

 

About 12 hours before the ball dropped in Times Square this year, it had already dropped in another sense of the word - in my world, anyway . I won't bore you, dear reader, with the details. All I knew for sure was that, in what felt like a heartbeat, the New Year was already full off changes that I had no part in creating - not knowingly, at least.  And it got me thinkin'.  Then, this morning over coffee, out of the blue, my hubby pulled out Yoko's CD and read me her sleeve notes and lyrics to Rainbow Revelation.    And those got me thinkin'.  All THAT thinkin'  combined with the thinkin' I was already doing about what to share on my next blog post, provided the perfect  coming together of, well, thunked thoughts,.... aka,  inspiration.   

Our mission, if we choose to accept it, is to be conscious and conscientious; to step outside of ourselves as often as possible. As we move along through each moment of each day, it is up to us to make sense of those puzzle pieces in order to help us see the bigger picture, so to speak.  On occasion, those pieces have clean and predictable sides to them. Finding their tidy little niches comes easily. Mindless stuff. Smooth as "butta". No major investment required. Then there are those pieces that just don't make any freakin' sense..... what...  so.....ever. Some of us get stuck holding onto  those "stupid" pieces determined to override and overrule every aspect about them.  Wonder sets in about how to shove 'em, squeeze 'em and even manipulate 'em into where we want them to fit. God forbid we are left feeling powerless . Frustration creeps in. Before we know it, we find ourselves spinning our wheels like a car sinking deeper and deeper into the mud while randomly spewing muck all over everything and everyone within range. When this happens, it is a sure sign, my friend, that it is time to play the mindfulness card cuz mindlessness really isn't all that it's cracked up to be.
By now you are probably thinking -"ummmmm, wait - I thought this was a design and decorating blog!?"  The short answer to that is - Yes - it is.  The long-ish answer to that is- Yes, - it totally is. For me, design and decorating is fundamentally a reflection of how I happen to process life; part of the whole puzzle-putting-together process while doing my best to not track mud into the house.  People. Places. Things. Time. Food. Money. Weather. Pets. Events. (etc etc) = Color. Texture. Placement. Lighting. Furniture. Art. Style. Perspective. Scale. Form vs Function. (etc etc)  My wishes for a Happy New Year to anyone who may take the time to stop by and read this. If I could, I would brew up some coffee and share it with ya while we chatted about life....and how you decorate yours.  So instead, perhaps you'll feel inspired to share some thoughts here before heading elsewhere.  I'll go put the coffee on. 

 

Rainbow Revelation
by Yoko Ono

It was after the rain. I was looking out from my window. The buildings on the opposite side of the park were shining with a touch of pink in the evening light. There was a faint rainbow hanging in the park right in front of my eyes.

I said to myself “Wait a minute, an arch is a segment of a circle and usually it has a support underneath it. Is there a support for a rainbow like the fertile ground that supports the trees? Is there a part of a rainbow we’re not seeing? It could even be that a rainbow is a circle!”

Then a tiny voice said to me “Yes, a rainbow is a circle, and more. You are just shown an inkling of a rainbow. Just like the best of you think and communicate in shorthand, things are shown to you in little bits.

And you know why?” I heard myself say

“Why?” with an exclamation point.

A perfect silence is what came back. Only the park was shimmering in its full glow. The little voice started to whisper to me again, this time in what i call long hand. I kept writing it down as it came to me until it was about a hundred pages, and the sun started to rise from the window.

This is its first page. I hope it will be of some use to you.


Bless you for your anger for it is a sign of rising energy.
Direct not to your family, waste not on your enemy.
Transform the energy to versatility and it will bring prosperity

Bless you for your sorrow for it is a sign of vulnerability
Share not with your family, direct not to yourself.
Transform the energy to sympathy and it will bring you love.

Bless you for your greed for it is a sign of great capacity.
Direct not to your family. Direct not to the world.
Transform the energy to giving.
Give as much as you wish to take, and you will receive satisfaction

Bless you for your jealousy for it is a sign of empathy.
Direct not to your family, direct not to your friends.
Transform the energy to admiration and what you admire will become part of your life.

Bless you for your fear. For it is a sign of wisdom.
Do not hold yourself in fear.
Tranform the energy to flexibility and you will be free from what you fear.

Bless you for your poverty for it is a sign of great possibility
do not hold poverty in your mind.
Every drop of your generosity will come back in 10 fold.
Give as though you were a king, and you will receive a king's due.

Bless you for your search of direction for it is a sign of aspiration.
Transform the energy to receptivity and the direction will come to you

Bless you for the times you see evil.
Evil is energy mishandled and it feeds on your support.
Feed not and it will self-destruct.
Shed light and it will cease to be.

Bless you for the times you feel no love.
Open your heart to life anyway, and in time you will find love in you.

Bless you, bless you, bless you.
Bless you for what you are.
Remember you are loved.
Remember I love you.

from the sleevenotes of the album STARPEACE by Yoko Ono
images courtesy of flickr - credits listed in properties of each pic

Alan Dunn's Inspirational Perspective

It seems we've turned into quite the blogging family. Actually, my hubby is more of a spectator/commentator/contributor on literally hundreds of music blogs. He recently shared one with me that I enjoyed so much, I just have to share it here I'm Learning 2 Share! It's a marvelous compilation of , well, interesting, cool stuff. His latest post was relevant to the world of design. Check out the link and enjoy!

A few Alan Dunn architectural cartoons from "The Last Lath"

Everyone Has A Story

St. Paul Winter Sports Carnival 1940

Dscriber

Just stumbled across this cool pic on this cool site...

and this

And there's more! After the frenzy of the day, cuddle up with a hot chocolate, slide on those new fuzzy slippers and enjoy a stroll through this History of the Snowman.

Warm and Merry wishes to all!!!!

Some Things Never Change

As we put up our Christmas tree this year, I considered taking the decorating into a whole different direction.

                                                                            
                                                    Or...maybe something like this?

I mean, after all, ever since I was a kid, I've basically had the "same" tree year after year after year. And, I do claim to be pretty good at this design and decorating stuff. Shouldn't I have a tree with some edginess to it?

Most of my ornaments were handed down from my grandmother to my mother, and then to me. They're all the same ornaments that have adorned my family's trees for generations! Naturally, having my own family now, there have been additions. When I married my husband, his little cardboard box of ornaments from his childhood came with him. (He was a huge fan of dinosaurs in the 1st grade. Enough said)

So those are on our tree.

And what's a tree without those grade school masterpieces that come home with our children every year (at least up until about the 6th grade when it's just not cool anymore to be making Christmas decorations anymore)?

 Adore those. So, of course, those are on, too.

The ornaments from my grandmother and mother? - well, actually, many are vintage Shiny Brites of all shapes and sizes and STILL in their original boxes.

Love 'em. Although, not so much 20 years ago. But I am older and I'd like to think wiser now.


And not to mention the strands of glass bead garlands from the Italian side of our family. Love those, too.

Needless to say - as I opened the boxes to reveal all of these artifacts that honor and represent our family, past and present, I immediately became absorbed in the reminiscing that each evoked. Memories can become as fragile as these ornaments. But with traditions like this, hopefully we can do our small part to preserve not only these delicate mementos, but more importantly, our family's legacy.

From my family to yours, wishes for a loving and healthy holiday season!

Lights, Camera, ...Blog!

Isn't it fun to drive around at night and look at houses - the way homeowners light up (or not) their entryways and yards? I especially love it when a glimpse can be had (from the road, of course) inside lit windows. It's similar to driving along on the highway and reading an entire billboard in 3.5 seconds. Traveling at an average speed of 35 mph, one can get a pretty good mental snapshot of what's going on, decor-wise, inside people's rooms. Actually, I am digressing. This morning I was inspired by a friend to get busy at an idea I have had of doing a photo essay on this very topic.  Since this project is slated to begin after the holidays, my thoughts were then led to this time of year and how people decorate the outside of their homes. Then, I zeroed in on this even more and my thoughts went to how people decorate their doors for Christmas. Phew. At least I reached some kind of destination! It's been that kind of morning---crazy weather and crazy schedule. Anyway - since I am cloistered indoors today, I went driving around on the information highway instead of on the one outside my own door. There are so many great images out there. It was a challenge, but I edited them to a small selection that I found on a newly discovered blog Neutral Dwelling that I was fortunate enough to stumble upon. In a later post, I will post my own (after I stop thinking about it and roll up my sleeves and do it!).

Home Traditions

Okay - now I am inspired and anxious to get busy. I'll keep ya posted!



*All photo credits available by right clicking picture and viewing Properties.

There's Gonna Be An Evolution......

Ever since I could remember, I have been re-arranging and decorating my spaces. Growing up I shared a bedroom, quite a small bedroom as a matter of fact, with my big sister. My father worked multiple jobs to make ends meet and my mom stayed home with us. We didn't have much but my folks did their best to make what we did have work as best as possible.

In order to give each of us girls our own personal space, they bought 2 standing metal shelf/bookcase units and placed them side by side down the middle of our room. One faced my sister's side of the room and the other faced mine. The back of her shelf/bookcase was a laminate-type particle board. It made for a very cool backdrop to all my "groovy" artwork and images. (I was a budding artist influenced by the psychedelic era of graphics and a teeny-bopper fan of the Jackson 5, The Monkees, The Partridge Family, Bobby Sherman - ya know - that generation of Pop music. Hey, I was only 9 years old...)

Anyway - the remaining space that we each had accommodated a twin bed and a highboy dresser. Period. If we had 18 inches between the bed and the dresser, that was a lot. I just remember my parents having to walk sideways to manuever through our room. But at that age- I didn't know what I didn't have. I only saw what I did have. What I did have got decorated. And arranged. And re-arranged. And re-arranged some more. My sister would kid me that if I got even the littlest knick-knack, I would re-arrange my entire side of the room around it.

The room I would have died for when I was a kid

Old habits die hard. As I got older, I went through phases. Not uncommon.We all do. It's part of growing up and "finding ourselves". Well, in the seventies I went through my hippie period. By this time, my sister married and I had the WHOLE room to myself. Indian tapestries, buddhas in every size and shape and incense were my design staples. Actually - that all carried through most of my college years, too.

After college, my phases continued but at a faster clip. Once I found antiques and anything vintage, I was hooked. I even dressed in 1940's clothing that I could find at the Goodwill. Back then, it was easy. No one was really wearing that stuff yet.

Over the years I have been able to fine tune and more successfully blend contemporary elements with vintage and antiques so that my home didn't look like someone's grandmother's.

Presently I  incorporate Mediterranean, Federal, Arts & Crafts, Rustic and Pottery Barn-ish stuff. Amazingly, it all works. The key is finding a common element and keeping that as the common thread throughout. And keeping it simple. But that is another topic for another day.

P.S. - I hardly buy anything new. Even if I had an excess of discretionary income, full retail just isn't in my blood. Plus, I am not a fan of the cookie-cutter look. If it's all the rage, I go the other way. Plus, I love the "hunt" of finding that certain something that I wouldn't really be able to describe until the moment I see it. And you can't beat the quality of the older crafted stuff. I mean, there's a reason why it is still around years and years later.

Did I mention it is also earth-friendly to welcome vintage and antique items into your home? Called re-cycling, up-cycling, re-purposing, whatever..it just makes sense.

So, check out your area resale, good-will, thrift and antique shops. High-end, low-end and everything inbetween are waiting to be re-discovered and brought into your home. Have fun with decorating your space. Mix it up. Change things out. Add a new piece. Edit out another. But don't rush it.  It takes years and layers of experience to evolve into the person you are today. The same evolution applies to your home. Layer in the pieces over time so that your home is your home. There's no better place to express your personal interiors -your passions, interests, lifestyle and personality - than through your home's interiors.

*images courtesy of flickr

A Grateful Heart

My wish is that everyone has something to be thankful for.

Happy Thanksgiving