Simplified Elegance

How to make a picture wall

2011-04-26T20:37:00.000-07:00

Every where you look everyone has a different idea as to how you should do a picture wall. Should it all be family photos, random generic photos, different mementos from trips, or all of the above combined together. Do you have to have the same color mat or frame? Do all of the pictures have to be black and white or color? Well honestly you can do your photo wall anyway. Here are a few examples of different ways people did their own photo wall.

Typically if you do a picture wall theme try and keep the mats and or the frames in the same color. If they are random family pictures, postcards, letters, and trinkets really anything can work.

What should I frame??

Buy 2 of the same post cards write on one what you love about the place and mail it to yourself. Frame the 2 post cards together.
Letters
A momento from your first date with someone special ( coaster, menu, picture)
Kids artwork
Family photos
Artwork
Cards
Old maps
Flags
Old copies of money
Baseball collection
Silverware collection
Plates

Frame the things that you love or remind you of something special. This way everytime you look at that wall you will smile and remember all of the great memories. Hope this helps!!

Attitude is Everything

2011-04-19T11:56:00.000-07:00

A dear friend of mine sent me this in my e-mail today. It's very easy for people to get down on things in their life, bt this e-mail reminded me that everything is a choice. You can lead your life depresed every day, or you can live your life to the fullest. I hope everyone reading this lives their life to the fullest and has a wonderful day!!

"LET IT REALLY SINK IN......

THEN CHOOSE ..

John is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, 'If I were any better, I would be twins!'

He was a natural motivator.

If an employee was having a bad day, John was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.

Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up and asked him, 'I don't get it!'

'You can't be a positive person all of the time.

How do you do it?'

He replied, 'Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or...you can choose to be in a bad mood

I choose to be in a good mood.'

Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or...I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it.

Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or...I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life.

'Yeah, right, it's not that easy,' I protested.

'Yes, it is,' he said. 'Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people affect your mood.

You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live your life.'

I reflected on what he said. Soon hereafter, I left the Tower Industry to start my own business.. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.

Several years later, I heard that he was involved in a serious accident, falling some 60 feet from a communications tower.

After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, he was released from the hospital with rods placed in his back.

I saw him about six months after the accident.

When I asked him how he was, he replied, 'If I were any better, I'd be twins...Wanna see my scars?'

I declined to see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone through his mind as the accident took place.

'The first thing that went through my mind was the well-being of my soon-to-be born daughter,' he replied. 'Then, as I lay on the ground, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or...I could choose to die. I chose to live.'

'Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?' I asked.

He continued, '...the paramedics were great.

They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read 'he's a dead man'. I knew I needed to take action.'

'What did you do?' I asked.

'Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me,' said John. 'She asked if I was allergic to anything 'Yes, I replied.' The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Gravity''

Over their laughter, I told them, 'I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead.'

He lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude....I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully.

Attitude, after all, is everything.

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.' Matthew 6:34.

After all today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.

You have two choices now:

01. Delete this

02. Forward it to the people you care about.

You know the choice I made."

Easy Easter Ideas

2011-04-17T13:13:00.000-07:00

Fun Easter ideas

Get an egg shaped cookie cutter and use it to cut out egg shapes in your child's sandwich.
Cut a 1 inch thick slice of watermelon and use the egg shape to cut shapes out of the watermelon. You can also do this with bunny and duck cookie cutters. Try different fruits too!!

Crafty Easter eggs courtesy of Plate and Pattern
Plan an Easter egg hunt/ party this year. Have all of the guest bring over 6 cold hard boiled eggs and thing they would like to use to decorate thier eggs. Here are a few ideas: ribbon, stickers, gliter, and rinestones.

A few great ideas for your party from Plate and Pattern

Tasty treats for the party

How to make a House a Home

2011-04-14T10:06:00.000-07:00

Whether this is a new house or you have been living there for many years you want your house to be a reflection of you. The easiest way to Simplified Elegance is to follow the 4 C's color, convenience, comfort and character.

Color- Most people are unsure as to which colors they should choose to decorate their home. Here are a few easy rules to follow to help you pick your colors.

Look at your wardrobe- do you wear bright colors, neutrals or various pops of color. Pick the colors for your home according to your clothing, because you already love those colors.
Pick a main fabric- This main fabric should have all of the colors in it that you want to use. Then pick related fabrics with the same colors or different textures or prints that complement the original fabric. For example use a large scale black and white floral as your main fabric and a black and white stripe or solid as an accent fabric. this bedding is from Target.

Avoid trendy colors on main pieces of furniture- Today you might love the idea of having a pink sofa to go with the trend but will you love it a year from now??? Put trendy colors in paint accessories, pillows and throws. Keep your furniture pieces neutral so they can grow with you as your taste change.

Convenience- Make sure your house is convenient for the way you live.

Storage- plan storage into your design, you might not need it now but in the future you might. You can use bookcases to hold books and accessories, trunks or ottomans as an end table coffee table or at the end of your bed to sit on when you put your shoes on. These invaluable pieces will be used more times than you can count, and in multiple places.

Comfort-Design your house according to the way you live or the way you want to live.

Fabric- Use different textures to build your room silks, cottons, suede's, etc.. These fabrics will give your room a more layered and comfortable look.
Furniture- Choose furniture that woorks with the way you live. If you love to sit and read by the fire choose a larger more comforable chair and a floor lamp.

Character- What type of style/character do you like? Do you want your house to be laid back or more formal?

Meaning- find an item you either already have or a building you love, and use that as your inspiration for designing your home.
Mix old and new items- Use your grandmother's desk with a cool modern lamp, or spray paint a vinatge dresser to give it a new feel. Give your house a more lived in eclectic feel by combining different pieces together.

Before you go and buy new pieces shop your home. You might have the perfect piece that needs a coat of paint or an unexpected twist to make a new impact on your home.