From Preaching to Crafting....

I just saw this great project on VenusZine for revamping and reusing your old shoes.



Instructions are here.

In fact, VenusZine has a great DIY category that you should check out.

Think before you buy...

I wish I didn't feel that I have to say this...

If you already have a reusable tote bag, or two, for groceries and such, great!

However, do not buy any more.

Even if someone comes out with a cuter design.
Even if a high-end designer comes out with a bag.

Since everyone and their long-lost uncles are designing tote bags, if you already have all you need, do not buy another one.

It totally defeats the purpose.

Reusable; in order to reduce waste.

From one who knows better...

I was having a dark day but this put it all in perspective:

Let us rise up and be thankful,
for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little,
and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick,
and if we got sick, at least we didn't die;
so, let us all be thankful.

—Buddha

Seen on Angry Chicken

A Jovial Way to Feed Hunger

Here is a way to test the intelligence of your mind while helping people around the world. It's called FreeRice and I found it via How About Orange.

It lets you test your vocabulary and every one of your correct answers will supply 10 grains of rice to the United Nations World Food Program.*

The great thing is that it is truly addictive. On my first try I achieved this...

"You have now donated 2,830 grains of rice" and reached a vocabulary level of 42.

So that's what I get for reading Agatha Christie murder mysteries when I was in elementary school, moving on to Austen, García-Márquez, Wharton, Scott, and Adams as I grew older.

Go HERE and have fun.

*This is the sister site of Poverty.com.

I Also Could Not Resist This

I Could Not Resist

Take the Quiz here!

Clorox buys Burts's Bee company

Yes, Clorox, they of cleaning items containing chlorine bleach, which leaches into our drinking water...

They have purchased the earth friendly, natural, no artificial preservative-using Burt's Bees, maker of some of my favorite cosmetic items.

I don't know what I think about this yet.

ViaTreehugger

Employment and Self Esteem

The job I had at the beginning of this year eroded my self esteem by asking less than I was capable of giving, causing lethargy, and stagnant thought.

However, having no job here at the end of the year is also effecting my self-esteem, by denying me a way to prove my usefulness, intelligence, and talent.

I need to find a way to keep my self esteem separate from my employment status.

It shouldn't be based on:

1. whether I have a job or not;
2. if that job challenges me or not;
3. or whether my employers act ethically or not*.

It's sad, but after studying my past that's the only way its going to work.

This is definitely a year I can't wait to see in my rear view window.


*A former boss altered several junior executives' manuscripts; "rewriting" them before submission to the printer on a government contract. Luckily, the company's copy editor discovered that the rewriting consisted of inserting plagiarized material . No formal apology was ever made to those junior executives and this person was later made a vice president of the company. Of course, by that time, none of those junior executives were still employed there.

Two of My Favorite People

Amy Sedaris and Todd Oldham talking about a green lifestyle on Bravo.

Click the link and the video will start immediately. The 30-minute show is recorded in 6 segments, that will play one after the other. Enjoy!

Watch What Happens on Bravo.com.

SHELTER - Before and After Color

Front door after

When Stephanie (aka Stefshep7 on Flickr) and Dave, her husband, decided to move to San Diego to take care of her ailing grandfather, I'm sure they didn't expect their living space to look like this.

Front door before

This is the before front door
Does that say "Welcome!" to you?

Once there, they had to contend with what condition the former tenants had left the place in when they left. There was peeling paint and a stale smell in the air because few windows could be opened. To top it all off, they had left loads of stuff behind, bed frames, mattresses, bookcases, and books, lots of books. ALL of the items in the before pictures are the previous tenants.

However, Stephanie and Dave were able to not only bring this place to a point of cleanliness but they went above and beyond and made their apartment an incredibly cozy looking beach house, full of color and light. Please enjoy the pictures and what they have to say about their beautiful home.

Would you consider yourself an artistic person? Do you use it in your daily life? No, not artistic in any way! I did used to work in a "design" related field. I was a Lighting Designer and Consultant in Nor Cal for 14 years. I couldn't design it, but I sure could light it!

Kitchen before

Kitchen after!

What motivated you to go with the "all out" decor? I think it was the fact that moving here was a necessity...to care for my grandpa. If it weren't for that, I wouldn't have left Nor Cal. I loved our home there. So, I felt I should make it as "fun" as possible to live in.

What specific difficulties did you have when decorating your space? Oh boy! Well...my hubby Dave and I have very limited "hands-on construction" experience. So that was a big one. I think the biggest thing for us though...was dealing with the junk left behind (Over 3 tons of stuff had to be removed, and that was prior to any demo!) as well as the filth! I was not sure how anyone could have lived that way. The carpet was so bad; we would not walk on it without shoes!

Living room before

After!

How comfortable are you in your living space?

Very! We are still working on things, but have been able to make it a very nice place to be!

What drew you to the vibrant colors?

It just came to me while still living in Northern Cal...months before the move. I wanted a festival of color! Being so close to the Mexican border (only 15 minutes); I was inspired by a color scheme you might find there. I actually wanted to go with a lot more busy patterns and colors...kind of like a colorful pinata, but since my artistic ability and capacity to create patterns and colors together, I figured it best quit with the color while I was ahead.

Do the colors of your home show up in your closet? LOL...actually not really. I am a bit more understated with my wardrobe!

What was the inspiration for the blue on blue bathroom? That was ALL my hubby Dave! He said the beach was the inspiration, we are only a couple of blocks from the beach here...so that was his biggest influence.

After!

Do you think your decor style matches your personal style? Well...our last home up north was quite rustic, we used a lot of golds, and even dark chocolate brown on the walls, I loved it. I am not sure if you noticed, but all of the furniture you see in the "redo" is exactly the same as what was in our "rustic" place. Which did present its adaptive challenges as well. I was so happy when I found the pillowcases you see on the couch, not only did it have the pinks and oranges I wanted, but it actually had the burnt red-maroon color of my sofa in it too! That is what pulled it all together! I saw the couch as a big hindrance when we started. Getting back to the question of my style...I really have no idea! I LOVE conservative funky I suppose. If there is such a thing! LOL..........

Does your decor match your personal style? I suppose it does!

Would someone who knows you say the style represents who you are? I would have to say, not what they would expect necessarily, but after taking it all in... yes, I think they would say it does.

What was your biggest influence in choosing this decor? Mexico!

What has been the most expensive change you made? It was the new windows, about 3.8k, then the cabinets in the kitchen about 1.6k.

What has been the least expensive, yet most influential change? Definitely the paint!

Master bedroom before

Master bedroom after!!

Have you done any of the decor yourselves?

Absolutely all of it! Dave is the one who deserves most of the credit! All I did was choose color rugs and accessories, paint and scrub wood floors!

What changes are you most proud of? That’s so hard; really, the cabinets and windows would have to be our proudest moments.

Guest room after

What do you plan on doing next?
Hmmm...repairing the bathroom floor, near the toilet and tub. Lots of rotten boards that we can only disguise for so long! LOL....

What decorating style are you most attracted to?

Country rustic, and definitely Craftsman! My hubby loves contemporary design.

What kind of homes do you most admire or lust after? My ideal [home] would be a classic Craftsman; my hubby Dave just loves the "pueblo Santa Fe" style best.

Have you seen any homes in movies that you would want to live in? Only one comes to mind, that's the funky place Barbara and Dustin lived in "Meet the Fockers" I just loved everything about that place inside and out! I guess you could say that would be my dream home!

Meet the Fockers

How different is your grown-up style from the places in which you grew up? Not very, my mother loved Native American art, and her style was very rustic. Since she passed away in 1998, a lot of her things have ended up in our home. Rustic feels like home to me. As for Dave, his grown-up style is very different from the classic formal home he grew up in.

Thank you Dave and Stephanie!