Image via Dress, Design & Decor

Although I'm not a big fan of flying, I do love the airport people-watching, hours of free time to peruse my favourite magazines, and an excuse to indulge in some chocolatey goodness along with a big bottle of water.   As long as I'm prepared with my in-flight must have's, I am able to enjoy the travel almost as much as the destination.

I'm heading out of town for a few days this Thursday...here's what you would find if you peaked into my carry-on bag.

1.  Consonant Lip Therapy. This Canadian organic skin care company recently introduced this unscented lip balm with over 60% almond oil.  Super moisturizing and 100% natural.

2. Organiko Dark Chocolate with Fleur de Sel: This organic chocolate from Madrid, Spain comes in delicious gourmet flavours like Olive Oil, Vanilla and Honey/Almonds.  Also available at Pistachio.

3.  Banana Republic Wool&Silk Scarf: I have a beautiful cashmere scarf I bought when I worked at Banana Republic almost three years ago that is still my favourite scarf for travel (or anything!).  Pretty yet cozy...like an adult version of a baby blanket.

4.  September Issue of Harpers Bazaar. I love Vogue too, but I am a Harpers Bazaar girl at heart.

5.  Jurlique Jasmine Hand Cream. This hand cream smells amazing and is super moisturizing without being greasy at all.  I adore using it but be prepared to share with your travel partner!

PS.  I love my Longchamps tote for travelling.  It is lightweight, zips closed and can be folded up and tucked away if needed!

What are your in-flight essentials?

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Technorati Tags: Banana Republic, Consonant Organic Therapy, Harpers Bazaar, Jurlique, Organiko Chocolate, Travel

How do you handle challenging times in your life?  Do you hide, retreat from the world, or reach out and confide in those around you? My response in the past has definitely been the former.  Recently though, I've pushed myself to reach out and open up and I've found that I always finish the conversation feeling better than I would have on my own.  Phoning a friend when you are faced with a tough decision or situation is about more than just pouring your heart out.  It is about connecting with someone who cares about you and wants to be there for you.  Here are some other reasons to phone a friend:

• Sometimes, you opening up allows them to start talking about things that have been on their minds, and gives you the opportunity to listen and be there for them.
• Your friendship deepens as you share more than just laughs.
• Ultimately, your friend hangs up feeling good that you reached out and that they could support you.
• You realize you are not alone.

Next time you are hesitating in reaching out, pick up that phone.  That's what friends are for.

Image via weheartit.

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Technorati Tags: Friendship, Your Life

Katherine J Lee Organic Tea Towel via Silver Lining

As the wife of a creative cook and all-round whiz in the kitchen, I'm often relegated to dish duty.  Recently, as I stood elbows deep in dishwater and lamented my inevitable dish-pan hands, I thought to myself, there has got to be a better way!  And there is!  As I began to research the antidote to the ubiquitous yellow rubber gloves, I realized that there are so many ways to make common household chores more of a pleasure (starting with the Katherine J Lee organic cotton tea towels above via Silver Lining).  Enjoy the goodies below and please share your own!

1. Twist Sponges:  100% biodegradeable, all-natural, and super effective yet super cute!  Also available at Pistachio in Toronto.

2. Rubber Gloves:  I love these cuffed rubber gloves from Sur la Table and will be picking up a pair next month in California.  Yes, they are still yellow, but what a soft, buttery yellow they are.

3. Striped Broom:  Imagine sweeping bad karma out of your home with this fun broom from Alice Supply Co.  I also love the rainbow-striped bucket.

4. Sapadilla Eco-Cleaners:  These cleaning products are plant-based, biodegradeable and highly effective, but also smell AMAZING (essential oils of grapefruit + bergamot or rosemary+peppermint do the trick!) and look perfectly lovely on your countertop.  Also available at Pistachio in Toronto.

5. Housekeepers Box:  I love the thought of storing all your cleaning essentials in this retro inspired caddy box.  Very Martha.  Not very Kena (until now).

Who said cleaning is a chore?

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Technorati Tags: alice supply and co, cleaning, domestic goddess, Organization, Pistachio, sapadilla, sur la table, twist sponges

Image courtesy of Lonny Magazine

We recently moved from a furnished apartment to an unfurnished, more spacious space in the sky (21st floor!).  Moving is usually  a pain but the joy of decorating and arranging our new place has overshadowed any of the normal headaches!  One of my favourite decorating pass-times is to organize bookshelves.  The contents of bookshelves are a reflection of you - your interests, hobbies, inspirations and memories.  They are also the perfect opportunity to add an intensely personal touch to your home.  It is my dream to have a room full of books one day - complete with a crackling fireplace and a ladder on castors.

Here are some of the tips for decorating and organizing bookshelves that I've picked up here and there.  What are yours?

Make it Personal: Break up a line of books with framed photographs and objects that mean something to you.  On my shelf I have a framed photo of my Dad when he first got off the plane from India in California, a mini brass fan I picked up on my last trip to India and two antique pheasants (that hubby hates )

Stack'em Up: Use horizontally stacked books as a bookend to a line of vertically stacked books stack books.  Mix it up to create interest.

Colour Combo: Choose a colour or two to pop from your bookcase, whether they come from the books themselves, or from personal momentos.

Balancing Game: Create balance, but don't worry about symmetry.  A bookshelf should be unpredictable and fun to explore, so don't worry about lining everything up perfectly on each shelf.

Organize in groups: Organize books from tallest to shortest, hardcovers, softcovers, paperbacks grouped together to create a cleaner look.

Peruse the lovely images bookshelves below (all images courtesy of Lonny Magazine).  For more ideas, visit Lonny Mag or this very thorough, fantastic post on book storage at Design*Sponge.

Horizontally stacked magazines and special objects

Pool blue and white and framed pieces of art

Red, horizontal stacking and lots of layering

Asymmetry, personal objects, grouping by size

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Technorati Tags: books, bookshelf, decorating, inspiration, Organization

Me, blogging my a$$ off on our new balcony after work

Hopefully some of you noticed that my latest post was almost six weeks after the previous one.  Well, it has been a busy six weeks of husband's hospitalization, subsequent triathalon (beaming with pride!) and move to a new apartment along with exciting things happening at work.  Although I went on hiatus, know that I will always come back to blogging and writing.  Pourquoi?  Because I love sitting at my laptop, feeling inspired and sharing it. Even if one person reads and is inspired/entertained/gets-a-good-laugh-at-my-expense, I am happy.

Is there something you love to do that much? Share please.

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Technorati Tags: blogging, inspiration

Image courtesy of Real Simple

When I was a little girl, I loved to sift through my mom's jewellery box.  I would stand on my tiptoes, reach out my chubby fingers and delight in all the sparkly, colourful, shiny treasures I found there.  I didn't know the difference between plastic and 24 karat gold, but I knew that I loved it all!  My mom had (still has!) a large, beautiful, sandalwood jewellery box and I loved lifting its intricately carved lid and feeling the velvet inside almost as much as I loved the jewellery.

Over the years, I have collected, along with some beautiful jewellery of my own, a variety of jewellery boxes, trays and pouches.  As my collection grows, I have found it challenging to keep it all organized.  If you don't know where it is, you won't use it!  That is my experience.  We have just recently moved apartments, and it is my intention to neatly organize my jewellery so I make the most of of all my treasures as in the lovely image above.

Here are some other ideas to get your treasured jewels in order:

1. Petite Magnolia Jewellery Tree, wrapables.com

2. Jewellery Box, Bombay Company

3.  Design Hut USA, Etsy

4.  A variety of boxes and dishes, Real Simple

5.  Medallion Jewellery Boxes, West Elm

How do you organize your collection of jewels?

Me, snooping through my Mom's jewellery circa 1978

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Technorati Tags: bombay company, etsy, jewellery, jewellery box, jewelry, jewelry box, west elm

Hermes Spring 2010 Ad Campaign

The temps have really been heating up in Toronto this week. Those of us who have lingered in pulling out our summer wardrobe are now rushing to hide away wool sweaters and hang up breeezy tops, light dresses, and cotton tanks and shorts.  A recent trip to India and this gorgeous ad campaign by Hermes has inspired me to dive into colour this summer.  Here are some tips on how to take the plunge:

1.  Know what colours look good on you. These will be the colours you will then naturally gravitate towards whether for your wardrobe or home.

2.  Add colour to your living space with bright pillows, linens, curtains, fresh flowers, or artwork.

3.  Paint an accent wall in your favourite colour.

4.  Wear only as much colour as you feel comfortable with. You could wear colour from head to toe or just let your neutral outfit pop with colourful beads, a handbag, or a bright shoe.

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Technorati Tags: Colour, Hermes, Summer

Charlotte Ronson Inspiration Board

Style or inspiration boards are used as a tool by designers as they plan a new collection for a line.  They include inspirational images, fabric swatches and photographs of inspiring people.  All of these images together create a mood, or a feeling that the designer then uses as a guide while working on a future collection.

Why not create style boards for your own life? Cultivating and creating your own sense of style takes a little bit of work. Why does knowing and defining your style aesthetic matter?  It matters because developing your own sense of style results in being surrounded by things that are beautiful to you and pleasing to your eye.  This in turn makes life itself more full and beautiful.  If you discover you love colour but always wear black, you will never feel comfortable or happy in your clothes.  If your home is filled with contemporary objects but you really crave the story behind antiques, you won't feel at home when you walk through the front door.

Great style may seem effortless but it is not! Style mavens are usually obsessed with style and  therefore study and absorb it and surround themselves with it every day.  If style and design are not your passion but you find yourself craving a home that suits you better or a wardrobe that is a better representation of you, then a styleboard is a great place to start. (Note: You could also start a file or binder, but a board is the best option as you can see how all your favourite images relate to each other)

Here are some tips for creating a style board:

1.  Flip through magazines and tear out any pages or images that appeal to you for any reason.  Don't question why, just know that you like it and rip'er out.  If it is just a door knob or a pair of shoes that appeal to you, cut that specific image out.

2. Review all the tearsheets in front of you for common elements.  You may find that you're attracted to clean lines and lots of white.  Or in fashion, you prefer structured dresses and blazers.  You are learning something already!

3.  Pin these images up on two separate boards.  Add new images to the boards as you go along.

5.  When it comes time to shop for yourself or your home, refer back to your board.  When I look at my style board I know that I like ethnic inspired prints, utility and safari shapes, jewel toned colours and preppy stripes and blazers.  I know never to buy graphic black and white prints or overly structured or conservative dresses.  These elements combine to form my style (for now).   When shopping for your home, your style board will remind you not to make purchases just because of great deal, but because you truly love something.

My current style board

Before you decide you don't have a sense of style, spend a little time exploring what you like through a style board.  You're more stylish than you think!

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Technorati Tags: charlotte ronson, inspiration board, style board

Hmmm....the red stilettos, black pumps or ballerina flats?

Two of my favourite bloggers/writers, Seth Godin and Leo Balbuta recently wrote about the consequences of having too many choices.  We are in an age where we are priviledged to have endless options.  We can do anything, be anyone, and go anywhere we want.  Yet research shows that having too many options actually decreases our level of happiness because 1) we have a more difficult time making decisions and 2) when we do make a decision we end up second guessing every choice we make. Should I take this job or that one?  The advice column says this industry is the hot place to be, but my Dad think option B is better for my future.  After you make your choice a second set of questions begin: Did I choose the right job, the right mate, the right outfit?  Should I have gone with the condo over the townhouse?

Too many choices.

There are a few dangers of choice overload:

1) You make a decision using the wrong set of criteria:  what your family or friends think, what the media is talking about, what is on trend.

2) You spend so much time reviewing your options you don't properly research them before deciding.

3) You avoid making a decision altogether.  (A sure fire way to remain stagnant and stunt forward movement and growth in your life).

So how do we balance the many opportunities that lie before us with strategic decision-making?  Here are a few tips:

1)  Determine your own set of criteria. Before you spend time researching all your options in depth, take time to determine what is important to you in making a decision.  If you are looking for a new career, first consider what is most important to you whether it be salary, a flexible schedule or proximity from home.  Then use your criteria to direct your research.

2) Don't let fear become the deciding factor. It is easy to rule out options because of fear.  Yet, often if you fear something it is because it secretly excites you.  Try to understand what you are afraid of before you rule something out.  It could actually be a signal that you are headed in the right direction.

3) Trust your intuition. Sometimes you just know what is the right decision without having concrete reasons why.  Trust your instincts - it is your subconcious guiding you in the right direction!  Instincts pull as much weight (or more) as rational decision criteria on paper.

4) Finally, Choose. Any decisions you make will lead to experiences you will learn from.  But if you don't choose, everything stays the same or changes around you and leaves you behind.  Choose and then commit to your decision wholeheartedly, so if it doesn't work out, you will never feel it wasn't for lack of effort.

How do you overcome choice overload?

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Technorati Tags: choice overload, decisions, leo balbuta, seth godin, Your Life

Jenna Lyons, Creative Director of J.Crew suggests wearing feminine pieces like this sequined dress with tomboy accents like a utility jacket! Image courtesy of Oprah.com

Spring has sprung and with it so has the urge to ditch heavy layers for lighter pieces.  How to dress for brisk mornings, warm afternoons and cool nights?  Start with a utility jacket, my favourite piece for spring.  Easy, functional and so versatile.   Here are some ways to wear one:

1.  Pair with something supremely feminine like the sequin dress above or a floral skirt.

2.  Add a colourful cotton scarf to uplift the neutral colours of the jacket

January Jones

3.  Avoid literal interpretations of the safari or military style - stay away from cargo pants and too much animal print.

4.  Resist the urge to stuff your pockets.  A cell phone and lip balm are ok, but not the entire contents of your purse.

5. Roll up the sleeves and wear it open like a shirt

6. Create more shape and structure by adding a belt.

How do you wear your utility jacket?

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Technorati Tags: Fashion and Style, J Crew, Jenna Lyons, Military Jacket, Safari Jacket, scarf, Utility Jacket