Clearance dishtowels (Anthropologie) + binder clips = $11 bathroom curtains and nearly zero effort! Shabby-chic cottage charm. It’s hack, but that’s kind of the point. The look can easily be refined to speak to your personal style.
Desk Week Day 1-Paper & Notes
In honor of my new job (starts today!), this week is dedicated to office supplies; pretty ones. Ones you just have to get your hands on. Today is about paper as decor. Here are some fun clearance finds from Anthropologie this post holiday season. I couldn’t resist the embossed textures. Displayed below are gift tags, note cards, and wrapping paper. I have the cards perched with other trinkets on my mantel. I use the pretty paper to cover the back of my open media shelves; it hides ugly cords, while allowing accent light to pass through . . . you know, for mood.
Yogurt: let your tummy do the thinking!
I’ve experimented with a variety of diet types. But the most interesting discoveries happened after I read a digestion book, did a gallbladder/liver cleanse and focused on eating the least processed of foods.
The most amazing part was how inexpensive my grocery bill became! I cut out processed sugar, alcohol and coffee while increasing my consumption of fiber in things like brown rice and kale (both very inexpensive). Suddenly I was never starving. I’d get hungry at normal meal times, but it was a slow and gradual occurrence. Not the crazy-ravenous-monster-attitude with unstoppable-stomach growling like before. With that time came an interest in expensive yogurts like Siggi’s. It is expensive when you compare the volume with other yogurts. It is not expensive when you realize how little of it you’ll need to consume. I use the drinkable stuff over fruit and cereal. If you don’t feel well in general, or have new allergies, learn the digestive system.
The ancient Egyptians believed that’s where all thought and mood stemmed from. When I was a kid I thought that was the funniest thing I ever heard! Now I think it is one of the most insightful.
Hooks
Anyone ever see that early 80s movie Suburbia, directed by Penelope Spheeris? It was incredibly sad and extremely low budget but it had a really memorable plot line. To this day I still remember that punky boy ranting about putting nails up all over the wall to hang up stuff so it could be found, yet no one was using them. It was an organizer’s monologue as told by a teenage misfit! I never forgot it and I think of him every time I use my hooks. It is my favorite way to organize. Even better, I can justify going high end because the cost of a few nice hooks is still far cheaper than furniture. Also, I hate ironing. So clothes clutter is just fine as long as it doesn’t create wrinkles (aka more work).
Black owl; from a thrift store. Metal hooks with ball tips; Anthropologie. Plastic hooks by 3M, Command. They really work! Truly wonderful piece of product development. I love them for hanging pictures.
Older-world charm. I opted for 3-cute hooks instead of a towel bar in my tiny upstairs bath. The above (and below) are also all from Anthropologie. They have great hooks (and no screws!). I use acrylic paints to match the finish then go over the shiny-silver screws so they blend right it. See below. I got lucky with this one. The brown flecks in the metal work happened to be an exact match to Burnt Sienna. Even if you do a mediocre job, the effort is still worth it since the point is almost all about camouflage, and not craftsmanship.
Nesting Stoneware
Izmir Measuring Cups, Anthropologie. Ornamental and functional these cups are beautiful enough to have just lying around, no need to actually use them. HOWEVER, you should use them because they’re delightfully handy. I admire them for their ongoing visual appeal and usefulness. They nest for easy storage, have cute pinch spouts, markings for measuring and each is a different color and design. I use them for serving nuts and olives—I get to feel fancy without putting in the effort. (The tiniest one is for the pits.) They’d also make for perfect bathroom or dresser accessories.
I never did get to have a set of those nesting Russian dolls when I was a kid, but having these seems to have filled that void.
ShizIBoughtToday 