Podcast: Today I Choose: Creating Beauty & Finding Delight with Anne Reeves

  

I am so pleased to share my interview about Finding Delight in Everyday Life on the podcast Today I Choose with Melissa Bingham. I talk about Visual Vitamins, Rosewater Shortbread and the importance of volunteerism. 

Melissa has been my friend for the last 20 years and I was honored to be a guest on her podcast about Living with Intention. Melissa is a spiritual mentor, soul teacher and author who helps spiritual seekers unlock the magic of intentional living through meditation, mentorship and teachings. She is the founder of the “Everyday Living with Intention” community, author of “Today I Choose: A Daily Guide of Living Life with Intention,” and host of the “Today I Choose” podcast.

#podcast #todayichoose #everydaylivingwithintention #todayichoosepodcast #intentionalliving #mindfulliving #mindfulness #melissabingham #meditation #intentionsetting #anadesigns #finddelight #annereeves #intentions

Creative Home Office: Driven by Color

I call myself an Architect of Delight. I look for beauty in everyday life and am thrilled by the intersection of things that are beautiful and interesting. When we were moving to Seattle, I kept saying that I wanted the office we set up to be overwhelming. I wanted to be able to see what I have and to look at what I love. I needed my huge stash of fabrics, ribbons, beads, threads, buttons, tapes, paint etc. to be clean and organized in a dustfree environment, but I also wanted to be able to arrange an area into a little color story if the mood struck. 

I thought that I would make a creative hive - and that it would be a mess. In truth, it looks great because I found the right wall unit that allowed me to contain and display.

I was hoping I could find something at IKEA and the BESTA cabinet with glass doors turned out to be perfect. They are like a giant Lego wall unit with spring hinge doors. The sections with glass doors also have glass shelves to enhance viewing. 

(Note: We paid to have a professional IKEA installer put this Besta unit together because it came during a hectic week for us. It took him more than 6 hours and he is proficient with IKEA instructions. If you buy this marvelous unit, you may want to budget that kind of professional help into your office project too.)

My home office is working well for me. I can be creative and handle my business all out of one room, depending on which half I'm focusing on. When I'm really making, everything explodes everywhere and consumes much of the first floor. For this post, though, it was important to me to show everything in order so that you could see these fabulous cabinets and get a sense of how they might work for you.

One of my favorite elements inside the cabinets is my bead and bobble storage in empty Bonne Maman jam jars. My best friend in Michigan gave me a steady supply there for a while and it set me up for a remarkable system. Isn't it pretty?

On the other side of the room is where I can write, print, sew and think. This is where my next book is percolating. I'd really like to write a modern coffee table book about Finding Delight in the Pacific Northwest. Someone asked me what my favorite word was recently and I immediately thought: potential. Stay tuned.

P.S. Do you like my watercolor palette? Would you believe it is a panel of fabric by Hoffman Fabrics? I loved it so much I had mounted on foam core as art. 

#homeoffice #creativespace #ikea #craftspace #beautyofeverydaylife #wherewomencreate

Unusual Vases: Showcase Color from Vase to Bloom

Remember when I went "vase" shopping in the canned food section of Uwajimaya in Seattle?  Well this beautiful almond jelly can was one of my purchases.  I couldn't resist the pink ombre label and graphics on the can.

When I was passing the floral department of the grocery store, I found these unusual carnations and tight raspberry rose buds in separate packages in the clearance section. It was kismet. 

I always put a plain drinking glass inside of the tin to avoid any water/rust and Voila! It looked so pretty that it inspired me to pull out my 3 antique lustre teacups and sandwich plates. 

Who wants to come for tea? 

#uwajimaya #unusualvases #flowersfixeverything #visualvitamins

Embellish Eggs for Easter

I am loving my Easter table decorations this year. I always have something spring-like and Easter-y out on the table or island in the weeks leading up to Easter. It looks beautiful and it makes me happy. 

And it doesn't mean that this is what my Easter table is going to look like. This is like an advertising campaign leading up the the glorious season. I am in a taupe, pink, wood, gray, aqua faze and these Easter eggs are everything I want to look at right now. Truly a dose of Visual Vitamins.©  

Most of the wooden eggs are from Target and the speckled brown eggs with feathers are from the grocery store (!). Always keep your eye out for beautiful touches, you never know where you'll find something great. I bought small paper flowers and hot glued them to some eggs. I added 3D adhesive embellishments to others.

As far as the tablescape, this winter, I ordered round woven place mats from H & M Home in powder pink and they are beautiful. The plates are a faux bois melamine collection from Target (years ago) and the flatware is faux bamboo. The platter is an antique from my maternal grandmother's cottage. It looks so pretty together and believe me, it makes a weeknight meal taste that much better.

#easterdecorating #easter #eastertable #eastereggs #decoratingeastereggs #makersgonnamake #seattleblogger #springtouches  

Some Roses, Pincushion Flowers and Love

I love a little bubble gum pink rose, don't you? This happy arrangement is comprised of an inexpensive mystery rose I bought at a garden center, verbena, lavender and the showstopper, deep blue scabiosa (pincushion flower) from my visit to the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market. 

I made this bouquet 5 days into owning the scabiosa, so the petals are a little tired, but the color is true!

#flowerarranging #seattle #momentsofdelight #visualvitamins #roses #gardener #coloriseverything

Sunflower Bouquet: Visual Vitamins

Visual Vitamins: when looking at something is good for you.

When I see this bouquet of sunflower blossoms, the word "glorious" comes to mind. I stopped into Blue Boat coffee in Leland for an afternoon latte and was greeted by this magnificent display. 

These are Visual Vitamins are there very best.

Planning for a Pretty Kitchen Sink

I have a weakness for a pretty sponges and soaps at my kitchen sink.  If I am going to spend this much time in the kitchen, my headquarters had better be cute.

I know I can't be the only one that feels this way, so I am posting my latest combination. Palmolive Soft Touch Aloe (chosen for the aqua color) in a limited edition Evian bottle, Caldrea Citron Ginger Hand Soap and an Ocelo sponge from their new Holiday collection. I have a set of Co-Rect Metal Pour Spouts that work really well for dispensing soap, olive oil or any liquid from a repurposed bottle. 

Doesn't it look pretty? These are Visual Vitamins. Do you have certain colors or soaps that make you feel good while your washing the dishes? 

The Art of Living: Make Design Decisions To Boost Visual Vitamins

My decorative touches are temporary.  I move items, vases and books around my house continually to make "the art of living" in my home an interesting experience for me.

I want to trumpet the idea of specifically designing an area in your home that you can gravitate to for relaxation or a long phone call.  Every magazine I pick up seems to rely on the bathtub as the lone sanctuary for women.  When I say "designing," I mean giving conscious thought to the items within an area. Sift through the items that you own (candles, books, souvenirs, photos) and create a combination based on color or sentiment. 

Sometimes the vignette is all about the flowers that are in bloom. Sometimes I want to highlight a book I love and I gather and add items that enhance the colors in the book jacket. And sometimes I choose to put something out that I love and never get to "see" when it is tucked away in the china cabinet.  

So many of the objects we own have a story that you never get the chance to tell, unless someone sees it and asks. That kind of storytelling is good for you.

This vignette (above) is a little Japanese lunch. I like to have an acrylic tray on the upholstered bench between two loveseats in my living room.  I change the items on the tray about every other week. I see the area as a place to display what I love.  To give myself a dose of "Visual Vitamins."  If you keep the same few items out all of the time you will stop seeing them and therefore miss the beauty and joy of looking at what you love.

Years ago, I was given a sushi rolling kit that included these dove gray ceramic dishes.  I added a set of sushi soap that tickled my fancy when I was in a Japanese museum store in Florida. You can order yourself a set here. The combination makes it look like I am all ready for a quiet lunch for two.  I popped two "Koko Loko" (crazy for milk chocolate) roses from my garden in a vase and added a small filled-glass votive candle and covered matchbox to make the peaceful vignette complete.

When I sit here, I feel relaxed and amused.  The display is for me, and if friends stop by and happen to see it, all the better. 

Delight Celebrates the Beauty of Everyday Life

This is the beauty of every day life.  This morning it was still quite dark outside and the light over the kitchen sink made one Abraham Darby rose stuck in an Evian bottle look like an opera star.  I just had to show you.

I am a firm believer in having pretty things by the kitchen sink.  That area of the kitchen is a magnet for friends/neighbors/family that stop by and having pretty dishwashing liquid and if possible, a flower from the garden in a vase makes me feel good.  It is a "Visual Vitamin" that I take every time I walk by.

I have collected some limited edition Evian bottles when they had a designer series, and I use them as vases, candle holders and I'm about to use some to house oils for cooking.  Why not? They are beautiful and would otherwise be recycled. This is my way of upcycling them and I feel good every time I see them.

The dishwashing liquid?  That is part of a new series by Palmolive called "Fresh Infusions" and I bought one of each strictly because the bottle is pretty. Market research, take note.