Making Peace With The Holiday Creep

“Time waits for no one.” That certainly rings true during this season. This is the time of year that's been dubbed, “The Holiday Creep” - the commercial phenomenon created by retailers that accelerates the start of the holiday shopping season.

Yes, it’s that time…again. If you’ve ventured into the stores lately, you’d better watch out and you’d better not pout.

Last year, I wrote a post called, “Decking The Halls Too Soon”. It recalls how I had popped into Macy’s two weeks before Halloween to get a birthday present, and the trees were trimmed and the tunes were humming. This was not the case for those who visited Nordstrom's. Those folks encountered this sign:

This year I’m on a bit of a retail diet, and much of the hoopla will pass me by. But, according to the National Retail Federation, nearly 40 percent of Americans started their holiday shopping before Halloween, and nearly 40 percent started in November.

Instead of the Holiday Creep with its ceramic Santas and faux-pine trees, right about now couldn’t we just gear up for the season of peace? I could really get behind this. I might even break my diet, hit a few local stores, and throw up a peaceful decoration or two. It’s much more dazzling, and much less creepy, don’t you think?

Photo Credits: Desire To Inspire, Nordstroms

Solutions For Living With Wood

At the beginning of the heating season, I'm all gung-ho about heating with wood. Hauling wood is exhilarating exercise, and the oh-so-toasty radiance of a wood fire is enchanting. After the initial infatuation wears off, I start grumbling about it…mostly, about the mess.

2 Problems, 2 Solutions:

Problem: There are splintery pieces of wood that gather around the stove which makes walking barefoot treacherous (and messy).

Solution: Remodelista presented a beautiful wall-mounted log holder via Skona Hem. Not only does this wood holder look handsome, it frees up floor space. While it may be an  inspirational solution, I can't read a word of Swedish, and there are no particulars of where to purchase such an item. Has anyone found an off-the-floor solution for the in-house wood stash?

Problem: This morning I piled up a few logs into my arms, stoked the fire, then ran out to have breakfast with friends. Someone commented that my jacket made me look like a porcupine. I looked down and there were spikes of wood embedded into the fleece. Geeze.

Solution: While writing Stalking The Wood Pile, I came across this DIY wood tote on the Whipup site. It’s stylish, functional and easy to make. The creator of the project was in the process of building a house and says, “I made this firewood tote to help move all the logs to the house site. This firewood tote sews up super fast, and will make carrying wood to your fireplace, or building a house just a bit easier.” Brilliant!

Download the DIY pdf instructions and CLICK HERE FOR MORE

Photo Credits: Rais, Remodelista, Whipup

Out My Window

I’m on a film kick. Last weekend I watched a few movies, and my last two posts were unabashed testimonials of a minor YouTube obsession. Bear with me while I share another visual beauty. This one comes via my husband, Ted.

Ted and I wholeheartedly embrace environmental issues, and we share our thoughts and ideas about the subject often. As with most marital relationships, we usually notice different things. Ted is an environmental planner and he sees important environmental concerns that many people glaze over (me included sometimes), like wetland delineation, signage, transportation issues, zoning changes and permit regulations to name just a few. While he is a champion at writing comprehensive plans for municipalities, his passion is sustainable community development. He sent me a link from Smart Growth with a documentary about vertical suburbs (yawn). It came as no surprise that I passed right over it. After a few prompts, I took a reluctant look and almost dropped my laptop.

Out My Window is an online documentary that gives a 360 degree view of apartments in different urban regions around the world. The director, Katerina Cizek hopes to bridge the realities between suburban and urban areas, and to raise awareness for proper access to public transportation, infrastructure changes (water and roads), and the cultural needs of the apartment dwellers. While the 49 stories from 13 different apartments come from diverse areas, a GOOD article says: “It often feels as though the subjects of Out My Window could be found in the same building in some global metropolis.”

For the interactive experience of Out My Window, CLICK HERE.

Dreaming: Desire To Inspire

3 things I love about Desire To Inspire (besides the room porn above):

1. Desire to Inspire is run by two women who have never met. Well, they e-met on Flickr and shared bookmarked images. Kim lives in Canada, and Jo hails from Australia. The mission of these two design junkies is to inspire the world one room at a time. I just love the way they share a long-distance relationship and their passion for all things beautiful for the home.

2. Desire to Inspire's "Pets On Furniture" feature each week is hilarious, and so very shameful. If my pooches only knew how the other half lives…Hey, that dog looks like one of mine!

3. Econesting was highlighted in Design To Inspire's latest reading list. Cool…and thanks!

Photo credits: Desire To Inspire

Cuff Cup Cozy: The Easiest DIY Project Ever

Last year, a new laptop inspired me to transform an old sweater into a laptop case. The sweater I used had a complicated Fair Isle design and a gaping hole on the sleeve. It was too short to repair and wear.

It's magical the way a sweater will shrink up in the washer and dryer to create a thick piece of felted fabric. The fabric can be cut (just like store bought felt) and will never unravel like a handknitted item will. You can see the process and learn how to make a felted laptop sleeve from a sweater here.

When I wrote An Inspired DIY Idea: Recycled Sweater Sleeve Cozy, I retrieved the sweater from the pile of felt scraps. The sweater cuffs are getting repurposed to make cup cozies. I’m lovin’ these cup holders because you can cradle a hot beverage in a stylish heat-resistant cup without a handle.

Once the sweater is felted, this has to be the easiest DIY project ever:

To Make: Measure the cup you want to cover and cut sleeve cuff to size. I positioned the ribbing on the bottom because the cup I used tapered.

What do you think of this sweater cuff cup cozy?

Photo Credits: Jen Kiaba