In case you didn’t know, tomorrow is the first day of spring. Whether it looks like it outside or not doesn’t really matter. Spring is here and there is nothing a snow storm can do about that. I love when the seasons change. I don’t even care if the weather cooperates. I feel a sense of refreshment and new beginning. Tomorrow is spring and I am ready for a fresh start. I’d like to start off the season by showing you my favourite things right now. So here is what I am reading, wearing, carrying, and decorating with this season. reading Cereal Magazine Issue 12 Cereal has got to be my favourite magazine. It is a travel and style magazine with stunning images, a bonus literary supplement, and articles worth reading in every issue. It is the cleanest and most curated magazine where even the ads are beautiful. It is a quarterly periodical and since tomorrow is spring, the first issue of their 4th year comes out tomorrow. I can’t wait to get my hands on issue 13 but in all fairness I have yet to finish issue 12. These magazines are seriously packed with goodness and one of them lasts me the full season. Forgive me if every time I tell you what I am reading it includes a Cereal Magazine but I can’t imagine there ever being a time when I am not reading one of these beauties. Visit their website here. wearing As soon as the snow began to melt I ran out and bought myself a pair of white slip ons. Nothing says spring to me quite like a fresh pair of white sneakers. This pair is no longer quite so fresh but I am loving them and have zero regrets. Mostly because they were less than $5. With seasonal pieces that I know will get ruined or go out of style I try to stick with cheap versions. It’s an easy way to inject some life into your wardrobe in a fairly noncommittal way. This pair came from Ardene during a 3 for $10 sale but similar shoes can be bought on their website here. carrying What am I carrying with me everywhere this season? This stunning Olivia + Joy wallet. My past 3 wallets have all been Olivia + Joy because I just love everything they make. I own a gorgeous purse from them as well. I love a wallet that is big enough to be a purse all on its own — that is it can hold all my cards and cash and whatnot, but also has a place to slip my phone and a lipstick or something. My favourite feature in this particular wallet is a small detachable zippered portion that can be taken out and slipped in an evening bag. I keep my drivers license and back up credit card in here which is all I would need for a fancy night out. The Olivia + Joy company is changing so their website will be too but I bought this wallet and all my Olivia + Joy wallets in the past at Winners so I’m sure you could find it there. decorating with
You know it is almost Easter when the tulips and daffodils start to pop up in stores and from the ground. Tulips may be my favourite flower and it is one of the main reasons I adore spring. Flowers are a great way to add life to any decor (literally) and can brighten up the gloomiest of spaces that feel tired from the long winter. Even if the flowers in my garden aren’t in bloom having flowers in the house makes it feel like the temperature is warming. My must-have spring decor item is definitely a fresh bouquet or 2 or 3 or 10. I guarantee it will freshen things up, add some cheer, and pop some colour into your home. Cut flowers are also great if you are a plant killer like myself. I can’t even keep a succulent alive. But cut flowers are going to die no matter who you are. Even Martha Stewart has to throw out cut flowers after a week or so. However, if you have a green thumb, good on ya, and a potted plant may be the route for you. These tulips are PEI grown complete with red dirt in their leaves. T.G.I.S. - Thank God it’s spring. It makes me feel fresh and alive! And I hope you do too. In a world that says the spring may never come, dare to hope that beauty is just around the corner. After every winter comes spring. The ground is beginning the thaw. I hope beauty bursts forth in your life this spring. Truly. Tasia.
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I think it's time for another throwback. Sometimes it just hits me out of the blue: how much I miss living in Scandinavia. I could be doing anything, grocery shopping, walking down the street, or just sitting on my couch, and BAM! My mind drifts to a memory from life in Copenhagen and I feel sad that it is over but incredibly blessed that it happened. I have such happy memories could not feel more fortunate that I have lived a life full of happy memories. These things have a lasting joy that outlives any I have ever gotten from material possessions. Sometimes I forget this. I just caught myself saying, “I miss my bike in Copenhagen” when what I should be saying is, “Wasn’t it great to have the opportunity to ride bikes in Copenhagen?” The difference is subtle but can affect my joy. All that being said, let’s take a look at the apartment I lived in while in Denmark. I often miss these material possessions but what I really miss is having a piece of that time of my life with me here. The apartment was serene, and its clean aesthetic has inspired much of my home in Canada. The owner of the apartment was a young hip dude who clearly had some style, enough to own expensive furnishings that gave the apartment an urban loft feel. Once we moved in we took a trip to IKEA and bought a few things just to add our own touches, but we were fortunate that the canvas we had to work with was already nicely styled. The brick wall down the entire length of the living room/dining room was one of our favourite features. It made the apartment feel urban and hip even in the quiet neighbourhood we lived in. The pops of primary colours would not have been my choice but in this funky space they were fitting. The bedroom was a bowling-alley-bedroom lined with clothing storage. It had very little personality when I moved in. I didn’t want to break the bank with something large to spruce the room up so the main feature became a small vignette. The window sill and stool bedside table became the focus of the room. A simple lamp, some books, and a plant added life to the space and took it from cold to homey. It doesn’t have to cost a lot (or even anything) to add a piece of your personality to any corner of a room. Similarly, adding a nice laundry hamper can be enough to add life to a barren corner. Exposed pipes and bare hanging light bulbs furthered the industrial feel that made this space simple yet chic. In the bathroom, layering whites helped the standard tiny European wet room feel larger. When the only standing room in the bathroom doubles as your shower it is vital to not have any excess colours or things in the room. This tiny room became a haven once we drowned it in white. I can still feel the steam engulf my body as the shower would begin to heat the room. The kitchen held firmly to its industrial identity with a gas stove and exposed red pipes. The open shelving was an opportunity to show personality in the small yet functional space and made for easy access to the most used items. Aside from Copenhagen’s hard water that required we scrub out the kettle often and the lack of a dishwasher this kitchen was perfect. Everything was within reach and even the decorative elements were functional. Finally, the yard, although shared with the many neighbours, made the apartment feel as if it were situated in the Danish countryside. This communal space was quiet and serene when just on the other side of the building was the street with bus stops, transit stations and traffic of all kinds (foot, bike, car, bus). The fenced in spaces and ample shrubbery made it feel like a secret garden away from the street in the front. It was my favourite view to look on from the 3rd storey apartment.
The Scandinavian simplicity of life is one I strive for everyday. The happy people there feel so connected to their lives, they are really living them, not just going through the motions. Food is bought in small batches to suit the day’s mood, not stockpiled just to get the task over with. Commuting connects you with your own body and mind, the city, and nature. And design is made beautiful only after it is first utilitarian. You only keep what you need, and nothing more. We brought more clothing with us than most people had in their closet. I am convinced that a simpler life is a happier life, and the Danish, the Japanese, and many others would agree. I want to really connect with my life and not get drowned in the stuff. I think we could all use a little more of that, don’t you? I hope you study hygge, feng shui, and “The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up” and find a part of it that could work for you. I wish you peace in a life that wants nothing more than to steal it. Keep the peace. Truly. Tasia. *I do not endorse “The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up” unless there is something in that book that rings true for you. Find your own simplicity in whatever way makes sense to you. Hi there. In case you were wondering, I haven’t forgotten about all the exciting things I promised. Today’s post is going to be a little sneak peak into some of the work I’ve been doing. Here is a day in the life of a stay at home designer: *Disclaimer: This is not everyday of my life. Not everyday is a great, productive day where I successfully follow a schedule. Some days I follow a rigid schedule and others are more free flowing. Some days all I get done is coffee with a friend. The day outlined below is a typical good work day for me. I do not recommend anyone else follow this schedule or claim that it is a great schedule. It is just the reality of my life at this time. I have no intention of working from home forever, but in the season of being at home I have learned to embrace this schedule because it works for me. 8:00 AM - Wake up, sometimes at 8:30, sometimes at 9:00 because when you work from home no one cares when you roll out of bed. 8:10 AM - I hit the yoga mat and get my flow on. I feel most productive when I move my body. It’s easy to feel lazy when you don’t even have to leave the house to go to work. A little bit of exercise makes my body feel more engaged and alive. 8:40 AM - Time for tea. I usually have a big mug of tea and maybe a tiny snack like a little energy ball or piece of toast or something. Sometimes tea time is only tea and the snack comes later when my stomach is more awake. I am not, and never have been a breakfast person. I don’t force myself to eat early. Sometimes breakfast is only an hour or two before lunch. 9:00 AM - “Work starts." I have an alarm on my phone that says exactly that. When no one expects you to be at your desk for 9:00 AM it’s easy to not show up. My alarm is my accountability. It’s the boss, or coworker who notices that it’s time to start work and I’m not at my desk. My morning work tends to be more computer based work. I sit at my desk (or wherever I feel like it that day) and work on my website, social media, blog, emailing, photo editing, future planning, etc. The variety of tasks I do in any given week are endless. I can somehow manage to keep busy every single day. 12:30 PM - My third alarm of the day goes off informing me it is lunch time. Like many nine-to-fivers I take an hour lunch break. During this time I usually prepare a meal, eat it while watching TV so that I feel like I am not eating alone in silence, and then have about 10 - 20 minutes left where I may do some reading or something else non-work-related. This is my decompress, no stress time. I don’t worry about what I’m going to be doing next, I just enjoy my break until my next alarm goes off at 1:30. 1:30 PM - “Lunch break over” alarm sounds and I get back to the day’s work. I reserve my afternoons for more hands-on work. This is the time I spend working on creating products, doing calligraphy, or just using my hands for anything other than typing. Generally I have the radio or TV on because it’s easy for life to become incredibly lonely when you rarely see or speak to people during your day. I love talk radio. I listen to CBC One more often than not because it feels like a conversation. The show hosts feel like my coworkers at this point and they truly keep me sane. As I am gearing up to launch my product line my afternoons often include sewing or pouring concrete. Sometimes they include drawing or even colouring if I’m waiting on supplies. My afternoons are often more laborious work than my mornings are but they fuel my creative soul more. I get joy and fulfillment from the work I do on the computer but that work doesn’t refuel me. Sewing, and pouring concrete, and creating exhaust my body but fuel my soul. It’s the best way to end my day: tired, but alive.
My first few months spent at home were discouraging and lonely. I felt drained all the time and had nothing to show for it. Instead of fighting my new lifestyle I learned to embrace it. It’s ok to enjoy where you’re at while still hoping to move forward. I lived the alternative for far too long: always wishing I was further than I was and loathing myself for not being there yet. What a miserable way to live. I look forward to the day I work with other people and outside of the home. I also look forward to the day I take a break from that to have children. I look forward to one day retiring and traveling the world with my hunky travel buddy. But all of these dreams and desires will not rob me of today’s joy. This is the schedule I follow to help me embrace this season of life. I have learned the most valuable lessons during this time. I hope you find a way to learn to love today while never giving up on the dreams of tomorrow. I am worthy of joy in both. And you are too. Truly. Tasia. |
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AuthorTasia Craig recently graduated from Dalhousie's School of Architecture with a Bachelor of Environmental Design Studies and now hopes to showcase her design work on her very first blog. She is currently living in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Archives
June 2017
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