Still walking...

Back HERE I shared about 'walking the room'  and offered a free download sheet you could use to walk your own rooms...

(you can still download it here)

If you used that sheet have you found it helpful?

Knowing it's a year long project helps me stay on track. 

This week I'm autumn-cleaning  our bedroom, and I've taken time to 'walk the room' and make notes about what I'd like to achieve - like de-cluttering drawers, sorting through the wardrobe and donating what's not being worn or used, planning projects to create that will add a sense of 'us' to the room, adding indoor plants to help filter the air, and making a new bed for Bob-the-dog because he sleeps there as well.

Overall the plan is to give our bedroom an air of sanctuary and rest...

I also printed up my mission statement for 2015 and framed it because I need to read this daily as a reminder and an inspiration. It's too easy to succumb to busyness and forget the importance of 'living life' and looking after self. 

As soon as my bedroom is re-organised this will be displayed on my bedside table. For now it's in my sewing room...

If you haven't yet read about my Year of Gentle Domesticity you can find it HERE.

Part of choosing to bake more in 2015 has been finding recipes that suit our gluten-free and 80% paleo diet.

I love to be in the kitchen but when I succumb to busyness with work our meals can tend to become rather repetitive because that's the easiest option - making what I already know. 

So in keeping with my framed mission statement (above) recently I've purchased a few new cook books. Some of them are e-books which are stored on my Ipad, but a few have been too good to not own the hardcopy, like this one by Australian cook Irena Macri.

I browse through it every time we have a meal or smoothie at the Paleo Cafe, and finally decided we should own it. 

Yesterday I baked Irena's Banana Bread and seriously, it was simple, delicious, and mouth-wateringly addictive...

You can eat it as a cake, or toast it.

I added dried apricots and peaches to my mix and scattered walnuts across the top...

 

Irena has a blog HERE filled with wonderful recipes so if you're gluten free, Paleo minded, or just want to freshen your menu planning it might have some ideas to inspire you.

You'll find her free recipe for the Banana Bread HERE.

I also made Irena's Lemony Harissa (recipe in the cookbook) and used it to marinate chicken breasts for a few hours before grilling.

Another winner. Repeat performance tonight, but with lamb this time.

 Another great place for recipe ideas is your local library. 

Why not go for a wander down the cooking aisle and borrow a few books that catch your eye?

Have a great day! 

I'm back to that bedroom and some drawer de-cluttering...

hugs

Quick tasks that reflect who you are...

Have you printed out my free "Walk The Room" sheet yet?

I'm so happy to have my lists because when I am feeling a little overwhelmed by work, I go have a look at the ideas I've written for each room and choose one that I know I can accomplish in my given time frame.

On Tuesday morning, whilst another baked rice custard (pudding) was in the oven, I decided there was time to clean the top of my DVD shelving - which is actually a $10 bookcase we bought years ago at a garage sale  - and refresh the display.

Removing the ornaments and runner that had been there for too long, I polished the wood...

...before dusting off my ornaments and trinkets.

I'll need to make a simple 'made-to-fit' runner for the top of this bookcase another day, but for now I used a smaller one that was made a couple of years ago for a magazine and filled the empty space with a pretty cream doily....

Rather than displaying more pears (which I seem to have everywhere) I brought some of my birds together with a sweet message Blossom gifted me a while back...

...and added my "Year of Gentle Domesticity" framed stitchery and the Dream inspiration that Vikki sent me for one of my birthdays.

I didn't stress over whether the colours all co-ordinated, but allowed this little vignette to represent things that hold a place in my life...

When it was done my heart smiled.

15 minutes of my time and a small but nourishing-to-the-soul  task was completed.

Are there some little projects like this on your "Walk The Room" sheets too?

If you don't have them yet, they are still a free gift download over here. and you can read how I use them on this blog post.

hugs

Walk the room - planning the way...

With an entire year to immerse my soul in the domestic arts ahead of me, I've been meaning to fill my diary with all my 'home-centred' ideas so I don't forget them, but...I keep forgetting to write them down.

Do you find yourself doing that?

A great idea (or three!) comes to mind and you plan to follow through but are remiss in making a note of it, so pretty soon you've forgotten what it was?  The story of my life. 

Another thing that stalls my good intentions for bringing some domestic control to my home is feeling overwhelmed by the amount of work I see before me and simply not knowing where to begin. 

As I was walking through each room around New Year my memory was jogged by a scene from one of mine and Blossom's favourite lazy day chick flicks - "Under the Tuscan Sun".

(I will just let you know that I fast forward through some of this movie - what we love about it is the entire process of transforming the villa)

Let me set the scene:  the main character, Frances, has arrived in Italy newly divorced, and on impulse purchases an old run down Tuscan villa called 'Bramasole' which she plans to renovate and call home...

 (source)

Naturally there is an aftershock when she takes possession. Arriving with her suitcases and nothing else it dawns on her the enormity of what she taken on, but as she walks through the villa and slowly takes in her surroundings she makes this observation that resonates very strongly inside me:

"Pick one room and make it yours. Go slowly through the house. Be polite, introduce yourself so it can introduce itself to you." 

(Frances Mayes, Under The Tuscan Sun movie 2003)

Over the ensuing months she works relentlessly with the help of some odd Polish handymen...

...to create a home from the rubble.

Even though I am not renovating a neglected Tuscan villa, I do desire to make every room in this rental house a place of 'welcome' and refreshment, a sanctuary even,  so I decided Frances had sage advice for me to draw from this year. 

One room at a time, politely re-acquainting myself with it's nuances, writing myself notes about the things I need, and want, to do with it to fulfil my vision. 

That's when my phrase "Walk The Room" was birthed.

I purchased an inexpensive clipboard, covered it with more of Blossom's scrapbook paper and some clear contact, and set about creating a 'walk the room' planning sheet...

On the top line of my paper I wrote the name of a room, and over a few days last week I 'walked my rooms' and made notes on everything I could think of that I'd like to do for them...

As you would have noticed, I've been in my kitchen a lot this month. 

The kitchen (to my thinking) is the heart of a home, and the projects and chores listed for it on my sheet is longer than the plans I have for my other rooms....

...but each 'walk the room' list is just as important as another.

I will spend my Sunday afternoons reading through each room's plans and decide what I'd like to accomplish over the following week. 

I'm sure I'll add to each list along the way, but I'll also be crossing things off them.  I envisage a lot of satisfied smiles over early evening cups of tea in the months ahead as this house becomes a 'home'.

If you'd like to 'walk the room' in your home too, you can download my free printable planning sheets HERE.

They're not fancy, because this year is about simple.

MARCH 2017 UPDATE

I'm still loving the journey through a life of gentle domesticity and decided to update my "Walk the Room" downloadable sheets for you.

Download the NEW printable sheets here or here.


have a blessed week,

hugs