May Day Flowers

I just saw an article on Apartment Therapy about May Day gift baskets in the US. I know May Day is over but flowers are perennial in the magic they bring to a home or to oneself. So why not gift your neighbours, your friends and your family with beautiful and simple flower arrangements. Using your old jars of jam and recycling those ribbons that came with gifts you received is a also a good way to clear the clutter, clean up your space and recycle your goods. And you get to see a smile on someone you love. 

What do you think of bringing May Day celebrations to the rest of the world? Picnics, gifts baskets, floral-themed decor...

Shobha. 

{1} How simple and pretty, from 24.media.tumblr.com 

{2} Originally from Artsy Craft Projects by Val Pederson via Martha Armitstead

{3} From callmehats.tumblr.com

{4} Why not use a can as a vase! From skiptomylou.org

{5} From decor8.com

{6} You can find instructions on how to make this paper cone at lillyella.blogspot.sg

{7} How about making use of that ice cream container to reproduce this arrangement from flowers-online.com.au?

Recreating a Spa at Home

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I thought I would start this blog with a little rare indulgence. The home spa. Wouldn't it be lovely to have a retreat you can rely on anytime you feel the weight of the world on your shoulders? All you would have to do is close your bathroom door, slide into some warm water and listen to music that will soothe and calm your senses by the light of flickering candles.

Different people require different ingredients to relax. You can set up the place with a little tray of goodies such as scented candles, a flower, a body scrub and maybe some chocolates? Start with an aromatic oil massage before you get into your bath (Flower by Kenzo bath oil - I love the fragrances and skin care products by Kenzo). Bath salts and creams are great for reinvigorating and nourishing the skin. Check out the floral collection of Marks & Spencers. You might want to use a scrub for your tired feet, and one for your body. A bubbly and a good book are two things I highly recommend too. I’ve been reading Architecture of Happiness by Alain de Botton. I am a big fan of his. The way he sees our daily existence and finds beauty and meaning and sometimes the funny side in the things we do. This book reminds us of the beauty of architecture and how it influences our lives, our very well being.

Enjoy yourself and let me know what makes you relax. 

Shobha.

References:

Kenzo

Marks & Spencers Floral Collection
Alain de Botton 

Keep life simple, uncluttered, organized and fresh!

I have lived most of my life confined to my bedroom or sharing a house with others or in small studio apartments. With time and all the travel that I have done I had accumulated a lot of things, not to mention all the books I read. My father decided he wasn't going to carry any of my stuff around after he sold our home, so he got rid of it all. It has been 10 years and I am still recovering from it. 

With the space constraints I've endured (and it really sucks to live in small spaces - on the other hand, it means less cleaning!) I realized that my space needed to be maximized in order to keep the stuff that was really important to me. I also wanted to make everything easily accessible to me at all times.

 So I have been learning through my experiences as well as those of others how to keep it simple, uncluttered, organized and fresh. Now that my physical space has been taken care of, it is time to do the same with my personal life: keep it simple, uncluttered, organized and fresh.

Seeing the trend everywhere of incredibly small apartments with even smaller bedrooms and kitchens (have people stopped cooking?) we have to make the most of the space available. And with all the high speed, high tech lives that we lead we really must try to keep it all simple and fresh for our own sanity.

Here I propose a space where we can all share our experiences and learn from each other on how to make our lives a little less crazy, a little more easy to manage, and a lot more beautiful!

Shobha.