You can often get a nice scoop of inspiration and eye-candy window shopping at ebay and other cute shops online. One of my favorite past-times is window shopping both American and Japanese auction sites with friends looking for the cutest stuff. Shops on both auction and craft or indie sites, such as Refuse to be Usual and Bang Bang Crash, tend to have a low stock of items so you can be sure that everyone’s not wearing your outfit.
If you’re reading this blog you’ve probably already found lots of ways to include more whimsy into your lifestyle but here are a whole lot more. Most importantly you should enjoy every single day because every day is special. Find ways to make your days special and you have a key for more happiness.
1. Sprinkle your cocoa froth with stars sprinkles.
2. Hide sweet fortunes (found in cookies) in boxes, cabinets and drawers to be found throughout the day.
3. Adorn your walls in whimsical prints from Etsy and local art gatherings.
4. Use cherry icing as chap-stick.
5. Burn a fruity candle and a dessert candle at the same time but different areas of your living room. Feel free to include fizzypop fragrance oil in one room and vanilla in the other. Walk through your home and enjoy the candy aroumas, imagine you’re in a candy store or soda pop shop!
6. Purchase frames, paint them your favorite colors with acrylic and hang them on your walls filled with art and favorite posters and clippings.
7. Dip your finger into a container of cool whip and then stick it into your mouth. Yum!
8. Purchase some sand and a sunlamp.. place the sand in a container large enough for your feet and heat it with the lamp overhead. Feel the warm sand with your hands and stick your toes in it as well!
9. Don’t toss the sand! Add a bit of water and build a sand castle.
10. Tea party! Bake cupcakes, make small sandwiches cut-out with cookie cutters and brew your favorite tea. It doesn’t matter if no one else is able to come, enjoy your tea party! Have daily tea parties.
11. Take a bubble bath with candles and tea. Read in the bath. Relax.
12. Listen to Rockabye Baby Lullaby renditions of your favorite songs while you relax for a nap.
13. Sketch out ideas and images that cheer you up. Add color with pencils or paint. Start going with it and see where you end up.
14. Top your pancakes with ice-cream syrup topping and sprinkles for a cute and sweet dessert.
15. Turn your toast into fairy bread (see below).
Lately I feel like the only time I genuinely have fun is when I’m playing with Colette. Not only am I challenged at living in the moment but I don’t know how to have fun at home. I’m sure others do it, too.. I get into this state where if I’m doing something “fun” and not working I feel I need to be working.
I can’t just relax and let go.
I always feel there are things to be done.. as there are.
What an anxious twit I must sound like!
So now I’m on a mission to have more fun at all times.
1. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Let go of all of your hangups, You’re not too cool to have fun, you can always find fun to be had.
2. Take up new activities that you’re interested in. Always wanted to learn to knit? To sew? To surf? There’s no time like the present to master any skill you’re intrigued by.
3. Writing time. Grab your journal or a piece of paper and list at least 30 things you like, or would like, to do. If you feel like it, add 30 more. Check this list when you’re feeling bored, uninspired or just stuck!
4. Laugh more. Allow yourself to laugh more at everything, it will make you feel better instantly.
5. Take time out for fun. Schedule time out from work and the daily grind to do something you’d like to do. Give everyone a rain check and take it all in. This is your time, have fun doing what you want. You deserve it!
The Eight Principles of Fun (this is cute)
Today I spent a little time roaming around my parent’s home. Isn’t it strange when you’re reminded so vividly of a past that was both horrifying and magical?
I remember laying in my comfortable cloud bed knowing that it would be my last night staying at my parent’s home.. I would be getting married the very next day and then we would be off to Japan to celebrate.
We discussed in group therapy yesterday that really rings true.. it was about being present; forgetting about yesterday and tomorrow. There is only today. Don’t waste it.
A sign at the cemetery where I used to roam and have chats with my deceased grandmother reads, “LOVE.” It’s the best advice I’ve had all day.
Please excuse Miseducated again for looking a little curious lately, there will be lots of changes occurring over the next few weeks!
I’d love to sit outside along the water and braid delicate clover blossoms and smiling daisies.
Don’t you love daisy chains?
My daisies are gone, they’re under about a foot of snow and ice.
How will we have a relaxing and flowery day in the sunshine?
My best friend suggested we go to the craft store recently and purchase the tiny craft roses for just that purpose!
Why hadn’t I thought of it before?
A permanent daisy chain?
It’s simple!
Pick out a couple of the metal-stemmed flowers at your local craft shop.
(At our craft shop they’re in the wedding section~)
I got two bouquets of contrasting candy colors.
It’s quite easy, just twist them together similarly to the knotting you do on a real daisy chain..
When you have a chain large enough to sit atop your head twist the ends together.
I really wanted to make a big, cheesy collage for this post like I did when I started Miseducated.. remember those days?
I miss those.
Where do you find inspiration when you’re feeling overwhelmed?
I always ask the artists we feature here but I’ve never gotten to ask you!
When I’m feeling overwhelmed and can’t focus I like to flip through my inspiration drawers filled with old photos, papers and all sorts of useless things I’ve collected through the years. Useless to the onlooker that is but quite important to me! My favorite place for my brain to play is old magazines.. I love soaking up the eye-candy in 60s women’s zines most of all. I can’t get enough!
What can you not get enough of? What inspires you?
So here I am after group therapy finding nothing of sustenance to eat for lunch.
(Ok.. I’m being a little picky.)
I’m playing with the idea of calling my husband to bring home food when he gets back.. I want to ask him what I should make, he always has ideas when I’m uninspired.. I look around the kitchen and see it.
There’s nothing to eat … but cake.
I just had to go to the grocery and buy all the ingredients for delicious cherry and chocolate cupcakes last night because I wanted cake.
Now all I have is cake and I can’t seem to eat it.
Let me eat cake.
I eat WAY too many sweets.
How about you?
Lately I’ve gotten even more addicted to reading because my best friend got a Kindle (which I have been putting off, I have some kind of strange obsession with paper) and it makes sharing books a snap.
You can loan out books you’ve bought for a couple of weeks, perfect for an addict like me to munch on books with my hungry eyes. I highly recommend it.
Also — if you’re tight on space you don’t have the ton of books looming in the corner. I like to stack my books but now that I have Colette I’m going to have to .. why are bookshelves so scary? Is that my agoraphobia looming in the background? I love bookshelves, tall ones anchored to the wall.. however with the baby they make my nervous. Perhaps the wall-unit shelves.. but wont things topple off one they’re bumped? I suppose they’ll do. The large IKEA expedit will not fit on any of my walls.. we had to part ways. It was a sad day but luckily a friend found use out of it.
This is a Saturday post.. it’s way too wonky to be a weekday post. Don’t you agree? 😉 Mostly I just enjoy making art for posts sometimes.. would posts with art-journaling only be acceptable?
Why is it so tough? Why do I feel the need to gulp down glass after glass of coffee all day and night long just to stay awake? Is it me? My medication? The season? The amount of close family and friends experiencing the same this time of the year leads me to believe it’s not just me. Everyone feels exhausted.
One way to instantly feel better is to do something. Anything. It will improve your mood and might just inspire you to continue or to try something else. This is one I hear again and again and it’s almost the hardest one to do… just get up and make myself work? When I feel like sleeping? When I feel like pulling the blinds and hiding in bed all day? Yes, even today.
A great way to naturally produce energy is by exercising. No matter how strange this sounds, exercise actually does give you more energy and produces endorphins. I feel like I preach this to myself all day.. exercise and eat well! I’m pretty bad at going for the sweets and caffeine without hesitation. This is why I feel so great one second and like absolute shit the next. These cause you to crash and then it’s even harder to stay awake and energized.
Take a nap. I know it sounds silly. Even a 30 minute power nap. Tell yourself you’re really exhausted now but when you wake up at (set your alarm now) __:__ you’ll be ready to work on whatever task you’d like to complete.
Don’t make your tasks sound large, break them down. Instead of ‘clean up kitchen’ how about ‘wash dishes’ and later ‘sweep kitchen floor’ and finally ‘clean counters’ ? It makes it a lot easier to get things done when you make them sound manageable. At your MOST LIFELESS you’ll still feel like you can accomplish wiping the counters.
Take in the small things. Light a candle and relax while you breathe the warmly scented aroma it creates. (try mint or eucalyptus scents for energy!) Slowly enjoy and experience a cold, refreshing iced drink. Put an energizing scented lotion on and take in the whole experience as you smooth it into your hands and smell the fresh mint.
One of my absolute favorite ways to find energy is to drink coffee and tea. However be careful because as I said before, caffeine causes a later crash. Have a cup of Earl Grey when you feel like going to bed. Enjoy the tea as you drink it and take in the aroma. You should feel more energized after you’ve had your tea. I know everyone knows this but I feel like we often forget or don’t take time to experience an afternoon tea.
Do you have some more ways to stay energized in the dead winter that don’t involve cold showers? 😉
Little Oven Bakery in New York City surprised me with a little package filled with French confections recently. I was really excited because not only was it a chance to photograph and eat one of my favorite things: macarons; but I also had a little case of Sofia Minis chilled just for such an occasion.
I must say they were all delicious. Even after being mailed they were perfectly crispy, chewy and delicious. I felt like I’d just ran away from the bakery with an abundance of sugary love.
I heard they’ve been recently adding new flavors to their lineup like chai tea and peanut butter and jelly. Yum! I can’t wait for my next tasting session.
