JUST SAY NO! (…to fuzzy key covers)
03/27/2011
Now granted…I wasn’t there in 1943. However, I’ll bet Abraham Maslow never considered including “fuzzy key cover” on his now-famous hierarchy of needs. One might argue that a cozy little key sweater could be a subset of Safety. One might also argue that truck nuts are a subset of Esteem. Enough said.
Admittedly, I subscribe to Real Simple magazine’s eblasts, which often include “6 Items to Simplify Your Life.” Kudos to Real Simple for cornering the market on all thing disguised as must-have life helpers. I’m not convinced. In fact, their recommendations make me laugh. I’ve yet to latch on to the concept that a peephole tissue box will bring calm to my life. I quite enjoy the good old-fashioned feeling of, “Shoot, I’m out!”
These little novelty items are stealthy. Somehow they creep into our homes. Sometimes they arrive wrapped in shiny paper bearing “Seasons Greetings.” Sometimes they have logos, and in a delusional moment we feel the need to take this cool swag from the trade show table. Sometimes we just lose all control and actually hand over our hard-earned dollars for this junk.
Spring has officially sprung, and it’s time for the time-honored tradition of spring cleaning. I plan to snap on my rubber gloves and hunt down dust bunnies the moment I’m done with this post. I’ll have a big trash bag handy for all the fuzzy key covers and peephole tissue boxes that have entered my life since my Purgeapalooza. Do you plan to do the same? Let me know what goodies you find lurking in the shadows!
Step into my lounge
03/02/2011
Carrie Bradshaw fascinates me.
For those of you not schooled in Sex and the City, she’s the lead diva and narrator, played by Sarah Jessica Parker. Frankly, I could do without her shopping addiction, boyfriend dramas, commitment issues, Marlboro habit and belief in soul mates.
So what’s left to fascinate me, you ask?
That simple desk in her NYC brownstone.
It’s where the neurotic freelancer brings her “Sex and the City” column to life. Often in her undies. Or feathers. Honest, well-researched, cheeky, awkward…tap, tap, tap…the words flow from her fingers to her Mac.
Point is, everyone needs an inspiring space. It’s my opinion that less is more. That is, less clutter, “noise” and visual nonsense leads to more orderly thought processing and creativity.
Carrie had her desk. I have my lounge.
It’s no ordinary lounge. It’s my very own ultra lounge. Minus the cover charge. And bottle service. And trippy projected images. And erotic ad campaign. Okay, it’s as close as a 10′x10′ spare bedroom in a cookie cutter home can get to a Vegas ultra lounge.
Picture it…Brown walls. Red leather couch. Orange accent pillow. White ottoman. White acrylic table. Retro lamp. Hip curtains. Three octagon wall mirrors. Oversized 1956 Vogue cover on the wall. Shag floor pillow. Stainless steel touches. Simple. Fabulous.
It’s my favorite place on earth.
It’s where I write, read and have my best phone conversations.
It’s a spoil, a luxury.
It’s complete, and I’ll never buy another item for it.
It’s my little protest to the suburban life I’ve created for myself.
It’s justifiable because the couch converts into a sofa bed.
As Carrie Bradshaw so aptly put it, “Every once in awhile, a girl has to indulge herself.”
What’s your inspiring space? Where do you escape to gain clarity, relax or get creative? What could you ditch to make the space cleaner, more minimalist? Share your thoughts below!
What’s playing in my ear buds?
07/03/2010
Remember Footloose, where the reverend banned rock ‘n’ roll and hell-raising Ren McCormack (Kevin Bacon) got the party re-stared and brought the town back to life?
Not that Mayor Oscar B. Goodman (the self-proclaimed “happiest mayor in the universe”) would dare impose such a ban on fabulous Las Vegas, but here’s fair warning. Mayor Goodman, I will be your Ren.
More simply put, I can’t imagine life without music. For running, for driving, for dining, for cleaning, for relaxing, for cuddling, for reading, for doing nothing at all – there’s just no better accompaniment.
The comments you all shared following my post “What’s playing in your ear buds?” suggest you also like to shake your groove thang. With your help and the magic of iTunes, I now have, quite possibly, the best playlist for running ever created.
- Karma Chameleon (Boy George and Culture Club)
- Takin’ it to the Streets (The Doobie Brothers)
- Escape – The Pina Colada Song (Rupert Holmes)
- Do You Really Want to Hurt Me (Boy George and Culture Club)
- Girls Just Want to Have Fun (Cyndi Lauper)
- Eye of the Tiger (Survivor)
- Listen to the Music (The Doobie Brothers)
- Smooth (Santana)
- Hotel California – Live (Eagles)
- Jump (Van Halen)
- I’ll Tumble 4 Ya (Boy George and Culture Club)
- Rock ‘n Roll All Nite (KISS)
- You Shook Me (TNT)
- Good Times (Chic)
- We’re an American Band (Grand Funk Railroad)
It’s okay if you’re laughing that I chose The Pina Colada Song. And yes, I know there are three Boy George songs in this lineup. I don’t care what anyone thinks about my musical choices, and neither should you. Admittedly, I can’t name more than 10 songs recorded in the past 15 years. Lady Gaga? You mean my baby niece who says “ga ga?”
Here’s the morale of the story. Whether choosing music, clothes, a house or a spouse, go ahead and seek input from those you trust. Then listen to your gut and do what feels – or sounds – great to you. It’s guaranteed to be music to your ears. (Sorry, had to go for the easy pun!)
Thanks for all the great suggestions! Never would have come up with this playlist on my own.
What’s playing in your earbuds?
06/19/2010
I have a $15 iTunes card burning a hole in my pocket. This is no ordinary iTunes card. My 15-month old niece gave it to me for my birthday in April (pretty hip for someone who refers to all non-human mammals as “kitty!”). You should also know I refuse to pay for music downloads a.) because I’ve digitized loads of my own tunes b.) because it makes downloading “gifted” music more special than if I just bought every little song that made me tap my toes, and of course c.) because it’s a waste of money.
With that as background, you can imagine my horror when I selected a trusty nickel to rub off the activation code…and two of the oh-so-important activating numbers disappeared with that gray dust. Nooooooo! I spent 20 minutes typing in a variety of alphanumeric combos. No dice. Where’s Rain Man when I need him?
Luckily, a friendly “Apple Advisor” named Melynda came to my rescue and promptly supplied the missing characters after I gave the serial number and a desperate plea for help. (She even closed her e-mail with “Cheers!” and let me know her work hours so I could contact her if necessary. Nice touch.)
So here I sit. A $15 iTunes card ready to be redeemed. A world of musical options. A problem making decisions. (It was hard enough when I had to choose between milk or juice as a toddler. If you’ve been reading this blog, you know too many options stress me out.)
What do you recommend? What songs make you want to run faster, pump the elliptical harder, lift more, sing out loud, smile wide and generally feel great about life? I’m open to all eras and genres. Disco, Motown, Heavy Metal, Hip Hop, 80s Fab, Classic Rock, New Age. Bring. It. On!
The comments section is now open for your suggestions. Make it good. Don’t know when the niece is gonna come through with another gift card 
Lose 35 Pounds by Memorial Day (guaranteed!)
05/28/2010
Your garden variety piece of printer paper weighs .16 ounces. Filing a bank statement here, a power bill there seems inconsequential, until a decade passes and you find yourself the proud owner of a steel filing cabinet that outweighs your vehicle. Your Suburban.
Purging the filing cabinet was just one more “to do” on my list toward a minimalist home, yet it seemed so daunting. Tossing sentimental items? No prob. Reducing my wardrobe by 50 percent? Cake. Going through 10 years of important documents and shredding those that didn’t make the cut? May I climb Mt. Everest instead, pretty please?
Rather than sift through papers willy nilly, shred a few dozen and fool myself into thinking I’d done a good job, I made an attack plan. This meant calling in the pros. I consulted bankrate.com and CNN Money to see how long I really need to keep documents. Here’s a helpful financial records timeline if you’re considering making kindling out of your Kindle receipts.
I was thrilled to learn that I don’t need to keep credit card statements and paycheck stubs until they disintegrate. And duh, now that our lives and paper trails are online, who needs a bulky .16 ounce of paper weighing her down!
Armed with my new knowledge, I shredded until snow flurries of paper dust turned my hair white. I got into my zone just as I finished the filing cabinet, which led me to 10 years of receipts – for everything from bagels to handbags – that I kept neatly organized by year. (You never know when Uncle Sam is going request your toilet paper receipts, right?)
Two full days, 35 pounds of paper, one killer workout for my shredder, and three paper cuts later, I had climbed my Mt. Everest. I had a roomier file cabinet to show for it and 10 bags of shreds (or celebration confetti for another purge well done!).
