Author: labell33_wp

Every Day Is a Holiday!

Everybody celebrates at least a few special days – birthdays, national holidays, religious observances. But in our house, a few is not enough!

We expand the list by creating annual holidays of our own. There are lots of special things in life that are worth remembering or honoring.  Why not enjoy them?

Because they were both witty and creative, we adopted Jane Austen and Benjamin Franklin as the “patron saints” of our home, so naturally their birthdays are always on the calendar. My favorite poem is “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” so we celebrate that not on T. S. Eliot’s birthday but on the first day of the month the poem was published.

Jane & Ben celebrate too.
They summer at their lake house!

Sometimes our holidays are reminders of wonderful trips.  I Love Paris day marks the anniversary of our first trip to that beautiful city, and the day is observed with a French feast.  Barcelona Day is another, and of course I whip up some tapas for that celebration.

In the slighter harder to explain category, we celebrate Peony Day (which usually manages to coincide with the first blooming of our front yard peonies.  Then there is Founders’ Day which is in honor of the day that we moved into our home.

Peony Day Is close to Memorial Day!

In the nearly impossible to explain in 10 paragraphs or less are Hedgehog Day and Love a Pig.  Trust me when I say that they have very good reasons for making the calendar.

How you celebrate you own mini-holidays is up to you.  Ours often include decorations, special foods, field trips, readings, and/or drinking a toast to the honoree.  No matter what or how, the cost can be as little as nothing and the cheer that you bring to everyone can be priceless!


Heads Up! A Look at the Forgotten Ceiling

Each time I have moved into a house or apartment, I spend a fair amount of time fixing and decorating and making things my own. But rarely did I pay much attention to the ceilings. They were usually white. And they usually stayed that way. With not much in the way of enhancements.

But this time, I decided to take advantage of these literal blank slates and see if there were ways that they could add to the rooms. And of course, there are!

For starters, those white ceilings don’t have to be white. We have a bedroom with white walls, leaving us free to add some interest with a nice color on the ceiling. We went with a kind of goldenrod, which has the effect of feeling like it’s always sunny in that room. Rather a nice way to wake up.

Every Day Is a Sunny Day!

Some rooms have (or should have!) ceiling fans, and you can use a little paint to pep those up, especially if they are the old sort of clunky ones. The one shown here started out with white blades, but it’s easy to remove the blades, paint them whatever color you want, and then reinstall them. For this one, I added some stencil flowers that spin away on warm nights.

A Quick Bit of Stencil

Adding moldings or trim of some sort near the ceiling can not only enhance the decor but it can change the perceived dimensions of a room. The black ones here are peel-and-stick, but the small moldings were installed by a handy person.

And if you are really feeling adventurous, think about adding art to your ceiling. If you are artistically inclined and don’t mind painting or drawing upside down, you can create your own mural. But if you lack both of those skill as I do, you can add someone else’s art as we did in our second floor bathroom. Andy Warhol and the geese spend their days flying around up there, and making us smile every day thanks to a hanging system that allows safe ceiling mounts (and removal).

Andy & the Geese (Good Name for a Band!)

By the way, don’t forget adding some interest with light fixtures. I’m not big on using overhead lights, but in the areas where you need them you might as well make them interesting. This test tube “chandelier” is a perfect example. It graces the front hall, but I must admit it’s not unheard of for someone to bonk to a test tube with some tall object they are carrying. Fortunately they are easy enough to replace and refill.

Test Tubes Turned “Chandelier”

I’d love to hear ways that you have looked up and made things more elegant, practical, or whimsical – or all three. That’s useful information for all of us!


Candle Culture

Almost everyone has at least a few candles.  And they are often not used or lighted only on “special” occasions.  But they are opportunities for La Bellitude.  Let’s think about candles more carefully.

When shopping for chunky, pillar candles, make your selection for the container, quality,  AND the fragrance.  Graciously consider the tastes of others who will partake when selecting a fragrance.  My kitchen candle is sometimes fresh cut grass (which I love), pine, or sunflower.  Not too floral, not only because of my partner’s aroma tastes but because perfume and beef stew don’t really go that well together.  And selecting a beautiful container means that you can spread that elegance into another use or place when the wax is gone.  The perfect container can mean a decorative vessel that you will turn into a planter or nut dish, a simple glass that you can use for a storage purpose, or a bit of a smile that will hold cotton balls in the powder room.  Just think when you choose.

Keep one special candle in the kitchen and one at your desk, studio. or other work space; light them when you are cooking, creating, or even laundry folding.  They will calm you and keep you company.  Use your candles.  And buy candles with a high stearin content.  They cost little more (and at IKEA, no more) than other candles and they last longer with no drips.

Buy a decorative box of 4” matches to light these companion candles.  A decorative box that has something fun on it or that makes you happy when you look at it.  They can be found at gift shops and online.  Here are the pluses: 1) They will always make you smile.  2) You can buy refills for the 4” matches (in any color you like) on Etsy at a great price, enough to last for years.  3) The long stick can be held and burned down if you are in the mood for a wood fire smell, or it can be extinguished and used to spread glue in tiny places and other small craft needs.  I have Frida Kahlo boxes in the kitchen and the studio, and they make me happy every single time I light the candle!

Frida Keeps Me Smiling

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A Spin on a Lazy Susan

Lots of organizers tell us that using Lazy Susans in pantries, cabinets, and fridges is a good way to store things in the kitchen.  What they don’t mention is that buying the right spinners makes all the difference in the just how useful they really are. 

For storage purposes, you need to buy one that is utilitarian.  There are some that are are pretty or clever or cute.  This is not the time for those; rather you should be focused on functionality.

The first feature to think about is size.  You would like to find a Lazy Susan that is the same depth or just a smidge shorter than place where you will use it.  Space between the Lazy Susan and the back of the enclosure is generally wasted so you want to minimize that space.

Next look at the height of your Lazy Susan before buying.  Some are raised up an inch or even more from the surface, limiting the height of the items that you can store on it.  You will really regret that extra half inch when you find that the syrup container is a half inch too tall to fit. 

Too tall for cabinets but fine for the counter!

Look for ones that hug the countertop and yet spin easily.  Heavy duty hard plastic or stainless steel are the best materials for durability and an easy spin.

You should use Lazy Susans with rims if they are going to be in an enclosed space.  A rim of at least 1” is desirable and 2” or 3” would be even better.  Without this, small items on the Lazy Susan have a knack for falling off.  In the back corner.  Where you can’t see them.  And you won’t find them until weeks later.  Sound familiar?

med rim
Nice rim, low to the shelf.

Finally it is a really nice extra if you find a Lazy Susan that has handles so that you can easily pick it up if you need to move it for cleaning or other reasons.  And using one that has high sides but that is clear plastic means that you can both keep the items in place and yet still see everything that’s on the spinner, even the shorties.

high and clear
High, clear, and with handles. Bingo!

Now that’s useful information!