Use A Whip And A Chair

My day started out just fine. On Sunday, we all seem to do as we like at the pace we want to move. No real demands, no phones to answer.  And in my world, I thought I'd take the quiet time to do some laundry. It was all going pretty well.

Until the fitted sheet was ready to join the party. And my Sunday became a fight for my life.

I am a pretty awesome house keeper.  I've been taught how to do most everything that's part of living in a structure.  My Family calls me The Laundry Fairy. Hell, I even know how to can and knit.

But handling a fitted sheet?  I need a whip and a chair.  You cannot back down from the fitted when it comes out of the drier.  You must immediately command control.  If you even blink, the fitted sheet will be on you like white on rice and you will be totally consumed by it; especially if it is the most deadly of all the Fitteds...

THE FITTED KING SHEET!!!!

In my mind, In HollyLand, where I live and it is orderly and sunny all the time, this what I thought I'd end with; look at that!  Isn't it gorgeous?  Can't you just imagine opening your linen closet to see all of the sheets in their contained habitat?  You know you want these little packets of bed linen!  Admit it! Go ahead, I'll wait...

Not one to be outwitted by domestic wild life, I went on-line and studied countless hours of videos and articles.  Here's one that I came across.  First let me say that anything that takes 18 steps no longer falls within the classification of EASY....

...next, and perhaps more importantly, take a look at that woman's vacant, even a tinge fearful, expression.  She knows the fight she's in for and well, she doesn't have much hope of surviving.

So after hours of research and even more time in attempting to replicate the process, this is what I ended with and it is SUNDAY and I don't have to do everything the way it's supposed to be done because it is SUNDAY, (did I mention that?) and it's supposed to be an easy day when I do what I want at the speed at which I want to do it!  So, I am satisfied with what I did. Yes, that mushroom at the very bottom is the dreaded THE FITTED KING SHEET! Don't you dare judge me!! It was Sunday!

But, for those of you who are more evolved than I, and you want to know how to do this correctly so that your closet looks like Martha Stewart sprinkled Magic Martha Dust well, just follow this video. I've watched this so many times, I'm sure this woman has had two more birthdays by now.



You're welcome!

Namaste' Till Next Time,
Holly aka Her Own Domestic Goddess 

If I Could Do My Home Over

The father of the Arts & Crafts Movement, William Morris, had a golden rule about living in and decorating a home:

"Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful." Through the course of my various homes, that's what I've attempted.  Living close to Frank Lloyd Wright's, Falling Water and visiting it rekindled my interest and love of this very influential movement.

If I had to do it all again, I'd search for the perfect bungalow.  One with great bones.

A home with a welcoming front porch and painted to blend with its natural surroundings.

A sweet space that makes you want to stop and stay awhile.

And an interior full of honey colored wood with bright pops of paint.

With a fire place or two large and commanding.  One that can warm you from head to toe.

I'd have a Craftsman home that tickles the senses with lots of built-in useful spaces inviting you to rest and renew.

With great attention to detail where no surface is considered to mundane for artistic touches.

And where all parts of a home are useful and ingeniously fashioned. No space is wasted.

A home with tiny spaces that charm and sooth.  A home with an inglenook or two...

And my windows are interesting and allow the home to be flooded with natural light. Light that touches the oak and turns it to honey.

And my bungalow would have stained glass accents; art for the common man and not just the wealthy.

A home where textiles delight with the fanciful colors rich and drawn from nature.

A Craftsman home where a kitchen invites one to create and share.

And, while I might not want the bathroom to go back to the early 1900s, there is something charming about the rustic simplicity of it all.

If I had to do it all again, I'd live in a Craftsman Home with arts & crafts of artisans close at hand to remind me that Human Beings are so very creative and where you'd feel safe and loved when you sat here with me.

I'd live in a home where you feel special and unique and where it seems possible to have days of ordinary miracles all around you.

Namaste' Till Next Time,
Holly aka She Who Always Has An Open Door

Tiny Spaces Huge Charm

The Tiny House movement that is huge right now fascinates me! I suppose it is a push back against the trend of McMansions that swept the nation in the 90s. And for Millennials, who aren't big on possessions preferring experiences instead, a tiny house is a way to live mortgage free so money can be used for other things.

I have always preferred small spaces.  Creatively designed.  That function well and don't rely on square footage in order to work.

I prefer apartments to houses with multiple floors.

I prefer charming to impressive while being impressively charming...

I like the idea of being able to stand in the center of my space and immediately see my world.

Looking out from my tiny corner of the world to what waits beyond a gate...

A wee outdoor space to recharge and renew...

If one is to live successfully in a tiny home, an outside living space is a must...

And inside, one must pair down stuff to the essentials making all that remains a treasure easily seen.

There's a story book quality to tiny homes....

But of all of them, this one....this one is the tiny home of my dreams!  Isn't it lovely?! Wouldn't you just love to visit with me here?

How about you?  Could you, would you live in a Tiny Home?  I suspect that if it looked like these, the answer is a huge YES!

Namaste' Till Next Time,
Holly