Eye Candy --- Yummy!!

I'm a visual person. I like to see "eye candy" and so I decorate thusly. One of the things I did was make these delightful faux petit fours. Very easy to do. I bought the little strawberries in a tiny boutique in Bend, Oregon on a vacation once and they are so real looking I have to watch children who visit because they try to eat them! The little pastry stand on which they are arranged I bought very cheaply at an online store. It serves no other purpose than to please my eye. As I said: "eye candy." Oh, the apples? They're my husband's snack! They are for real.
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Beautiful Patio Blinds

I detest vertical blinds; however, when we had this house built we had to have them. I scoured the stores and catalogs until I come find one I could live with. My main problem with them is that the "swing" when opening or closing them, thus sometimes causing them to break. I may not have found the "prefect" solution, but they are definitely much, much better the way I bought them: with a sheer curtain over them. Actually the "panels" are inserted into each of the sheer curtain panels. They hardly swing at all and even provide a light filtering privacy that I adore. So you have the ethereal looking privacy; they add to the decor ; and they don't have that "swingy" effect. Very nice indeed. I've tried to capture them in the pictures below.
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Bed Sheets

Bed sheets. I'm fanatic about soft sheets. You can buy vintage sheets, but sometimes they are hard to find in queen or king size. But that shouldn't stop us from truly beautiful sheets. My ideal sheet would be white cotton. I love flowers but white sheets are my favorite. I have a blue sheet that I just love because it is the softest one I have. It is all cotton and I purchased it from a K Mart. Yes, it is the softest sheet I've ever lain on. I feel it in my whole body. It is a delicious luxurious feel to legs and feet especially. Sheets that are only polyester are rough. They may last longer but who would want a sheet that lasts longer but is harsh to lay on. So try it. Feel the difference. I would eschew poly/cotton also. I might buy cotton/poly if the cotton content is much higher than the poly, but for all out luxuriousness cotton is the ONLY choice!! Our senses are so important to us.
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Being Happy is the Goal

I thought of something today. Being happy and peaceful, especially at home but also in any place where you spend a lot of time, is the goal: stimulating the senses is one way to start. Learn to "tease" yourself into doing necessary and useful tasks by stimulating your senses. Think of the fountain pen squeaking across fine white paper. Smell the fragrance of the ink. Feel the smooth pen in your hand. Have a light bulb ring with the glorious scent of plumeria; you'll think you are in Hawaii. These oils can be bought for very little in many natural food stores or on line or ebay. Put a lovely small french style lamp on your writing table. Have a lovely little antique footstool under your desk for you feet. Set up the task so it will be pleasurable for you.
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Make Workspace Gorgeous

I'm a work-at-home-wife. LOL Aren't we all?!?! Anyway, I keep my office girly girl chic. I have so many ..... well, check below for all the things I've said so far. This is a picture of a little antique sewing drawer I bought on ebay for all of my CDs that I work with to create templates, logos, business cards (like you'll never ever find anywhere else) and gorgeous address labels that I'll be selling on here within a week or so. This is my own little world in my own home. It is a refuge for working. If I'm reading, I'm in a big cushy leather chair in my family room. Hmmm, I'll post pix of my home very soon. Anyway, all the essential are right here in this room for bill paying, writing, designing my "stuff" and all the things I do on the computer. So I try to make it welcoming and attractive for me. It's where I spend a great deal of my day. Stimulating the senses through the details of daily acts makes work fun. I set up my projects so that they'll be pleasurable for me to do and complete. I love rituals that are satisfying to my soul. Flowers, music and a glass of juice are almost essential for me. It gives the task panache!
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Being Nice

It's always in good taste to be nice. Seriously, there isn't any reason to not be kind and nice. I try to live like this, but don't always succeed. However, I am never, ever nasty or unkind to the woman who cuts my hair: the best hairdresser in this state!! Remember that because she is the woman who holds the scissors and can ruin your day - or even weeks ahead!!
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Kitschy & Whimsical!

Everyone should have something kitschy and/or whimsical in their home. It surprises your guests and makes them smile. Isn't that what we want to do - bring smiles, happiness and "unexpectedness" - in a lovely way, of course - to visitors to our homes?
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Puttering!

For me there is nothing better for me to do than "putter" around the house. I love just rearranging knick knacks, bibelots or cleaning out and organizing sock drawers that I haven't gotten to for a long time! I know, I know........most of us hate that kind of thing. But look for the gloriousness of it. You have a "clean" palette to start fresh. Old socks or nylons are thrown out. You see your treasures in a new and different light. And nobody can do it like you can. Just have a glass of ice water or lemonade near for drinking or a cup of your favorite beverage and start in on your task. Putter - one of my favorite words, too. That time is for you because you need to schedule time in your busy schedule for just "YOU"!! You could even rearrange or clean out some of your beautiful boxes. If you don't have any, I suggest you make some or go looking for them. That way your clutter will be in "plain sight" and no one would know it. I've included some more beautiful boxes and magazine holders for you to see. Now you know how beautiful they can look!
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Talk the Talk and Walk the Walk

When I talk the talk, I walk the walk so to speak. I cannot tell other people to do this or that if I don't! But I always practice what I tell others when it comes to decorating. I love color as you probably know by now. In my kitchen, living and family rooms, bedrooms, bathrooms, office - everywhere. So this tip is about your home office. For so many years people thought that their office or computer room had to be utilitarian and boring. Not so today. Femininity, softness and genteelness has entered into our everyday existence in the form of lovely offices. Mine is truly a shabby, chic, girly office. Here I've got a pale birch file cabinet in which I have my household accounts in the top, but the bottom drawer is for my personal files. Again, the file folders are pink and purple No need to have those old green or manila ones when these are available. Then the envelopes also can be colored as seen here. I used pink and purple again, but they come in other colors. Then my daughter bought me some beautiful file folders with roses and strawberries on them. I adore them. So pretty to look at and colorful yet utilitarian. Live colorfully!!
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Ribbon Box

Let the walls of your mind be filled with many beautiful pictures. Start a "ribbon" box. Just simply collect snippets of ribbon, put them in a pretty box and pull them out when you just want to play. Put a color chart in there also to familiarize yourself with colors. I have several books on ribbon work, one of which I've pictured above with the box. Also there is a picture of some of my ephemera in a box. Start a crayon box and keep all those lovely colors in another pretty box to add to your collection. Think beautifully!
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Live Colorfully!

Bear with me, please! I'm taking all the articles off of my website and posting them on here. There are 40 of them so it'll take me several days (weeks?!) to do it. But I'm not putting them on the website from now on; they'll be here. This is about living beautifully!
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Have colored pencils in a pretty cup with roses or your favorite flower or design on it and a pretty notepad and keep them by each phone. Note paper can also be lovely. Get it in the design of your choice. For me there is no other choice but flowers usually!! I also use colored staplers and colored staples. Yes, they are available and why not have something that is necessary be beautiful also?! Below are some samples of pencil cups, staples, staplers, paper clips and notepads I use in my home for both their beauty and being very utilitarian. "Live Beautifully!!"
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