Littles

The other day Child #3, my little one, suggested a walk to the beach. It was a lovely morning so we went down. Lots of little glass but look what I found! What a nice, little surprise! Love my littles!

Marie Kondo

Have you heard about the book Marie Kondo wrote called The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up- The Japanese art of decluttering and organizing ?

It really is life changing and it is one of those books that I want to share with all my dear friends. I have always loved organizing and decluttering, well Marie Kondo, has loved it her whole life and now it is her profession.

Here are a few of her thoughts copied directly from her book:
"Every object has a different role to play. Not all clothes have to be worn threadbare. It is the same with people. Not every person you meet in life will become a close friend or lover Some you will find hard to get along with or impossible to like. But these like people, too, teach you the precious lesson of who you do like, so that you will appreciate those special people even more."

"When we really delve into the reasons why we can't let something go, there are only two, an attachment to the pas or fear for the future." 

"Once you learn to choose your belongings properly, you will only be left with the amount that fits perfectly in the space you currently own."

In a nutshell, she teaches the clients she works with to
1. Gather all the similar items into one place. The best sequence is to start with clothes first, then books, then papers, miscellany and lastly momentos.

So I gathered all my clothes, coats, shoes into one pile/area.

2. Then one piece at a time I held up the article of clothing and asked myself, "Does this spark joy?"
And it worked! I found myself discarding perfectly good pieces of clothes, that I wear but never feel good in or don't fit right or they have served their purpose.

3. Then I carefully hung up my dresses/sweaters (she suggests hanging light to dark). They fit perfectly on my side of the closet.

 

4. Then I folded up the rest. She suggests not folding items and then stacking them on top of each other but folding them so they stand up/lie down next to each other. See below (those are my workout/pj items).

 

This is another of her quotes "The act of folding is far more than making clothes compact for storage. It is an act of caring, an expression of love and appreciation for the way these clothes support your lifestyle." 

 How thought provoking is that? Much of her book focuses on giving thanks for our "things". It is a very cultural characteristic, that we don't see in America. I really loved her thoughts and I do feel freer after this process. Now I need to move on to books!

Happy Reading! Kirstin

Good times with Sea Glass

 This glass has a story! It was a rainy, stormy afternoon. But I took a quick look at the beach and saw the most amazing rock wash, so close! The kids were home but watching TV and I took my chance. I left a walkie-talkie at home and ran down to the beach and gathered as fast as I could for 15 minutes. The only casualty was my boot. They got wet crossing the creek and I took them off, setting them away from the creek edge, or so I thought. When I went back to get them, they weren't any where and there wasn't anyone else on the beach. I found one half way down the creek and the other boot is no where to be found! But I found some awesome glass, so it was worth it.

 I finally finished filling this jar up only to have Child #2 play with it and break the bottle minutes later. Oh well!

This was weeks ago and I forgot to post it! It was so exciting!

Same piece just a different setting...

 

 

 

:) Kirstin

Wet Walk on the Beach

The weather was sunny and we took advantage and headed down to the beach. Last outing had been so cold but this one wasn't as bad. But the creek was flowing pretty quick and to cross over was a task. I carried all the kids (child #1 on the first trip, child #2 and #3 on my next trip). My pants, wool socks and boot were soaked but no matter! We found glass! Wahoo!

 

 

 

 

The glass is getting better!

We call this guy "Bald Robin", he is Robin from Batman and Robin but just missing some hair! He was an awesome find for my jar of "unusual things that I find on my beach walks".

Wahoo! Kirstin

Christmas Beauties

I'm not sure why this didn't post weeks ago. Sorry it is late!

These are a few photos that capture the beauty of the season. I have felt such joy and peace this season.

My sister-in-law gave me this our first Christmas. It is 10 years old. I still love it!

 

 This display box is a favorite gift from last year. I love seeing all my treasures on display. It brings me such joy!

This is my favorite nativity set. My mother-in-law bought it in Alaska for me. Such a thoughtful, perfect gift.

Seeing nativities rearranged and combined by my kids makes me smile.

This photo was snapped as we were decorating. It is fun to have my kids help me. They remember where everything goes and how to put it together.

The card wall in the kitchen. I LOVE Christmas cards!

Here is a close up. I love this purple marker art work of the 1st Christmas done by Child #2.

 

 These beauties were started last Christmas but I was emotionally spent. This year they were much easier to complete. One is for our family to replace the one the was ruined (it was a relic from my childhood). The other was a gift for a dear friend.

These goodies were so delicious and so beautiful and so diverse! I had to photo them. We found them on the front steps without a note. We speculated for hours who gave them to us and then I listened to our home phone messages and we discovered who left them. YUM!

On our outing to Palo Alto, this house was around the corner from our friend's house. It was so Christmas-y and festive. I had to take a picture. I have looked at it at least 5 times since I took the photo. Beautiful!

 

Despite the rain and wind, I went to the beach this morning. I found some good pieces and then when the sun came out, I went to the beach again with the kids. We had fun and I found these lovelies.

 

 

Merry Christmas! May the beauty of this season fill your heart.

Kirstin

Fort Bragg

We took a little family trip to Fort Bragg to see Glass Beach. Luckily we visited at low tide and at sunset the first day we drove into town (even before we went to the hotel). It was cold but lovely! And not many people and the glass.... really it was so cool to see it everywhere. Mostly white and browns, with some greens and small blues. I was hoping to find some red or orange but no such luck! Here are a few photos from the day:

 

 

This is Glass Beach in the stormy morning. It was super windy. We stayed about 15 minutes and then got breakfast at Denny's!

 

 

 These little bitty ones are from my beach! When we returned home from our trip there was about 20 minutes left before the sunset. I ran down to see what I could find and while it wasn't much, it was my beach!

I am thankful for sea glass! Happy Thanksgiving. Kirstin