Inspiration Friday: Mamma Mia!

*Updated version of Inspiration from: Mamma Mia at Everyday Planet*

I have a confession.

I'm totally obsessed with Mamma Mia.

Yes, that Mamma Mia.

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The one with Meryl Streep & Colin Firth & Amanda Seyfreid & Greece & um...Pierce Brosnan. 

All singing ABBA songs. 

I just can't help myself guys. I love it.

Here are a few reasons....

1.  Decor. 

I read somewhere that you should watch this movie on mute and then you'll love it. It's just so pretty! And kind of makes you want to move to a Greek island. 

• blue & white
• plants
• water- fountains, the sea
• candles & twinkle lights

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• patterns - on towels, bedding, curtains, etc. 
• light
• I even love all the sparkly scenes & suddenly feel that I really need a little more glitter in my life. 

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2. Female relationships. 

I love how totally open the women in this movie are- with themselves & others. Yes, I know this movie is based on songs by ABBA, so they are obviously portraying extremes. But I love the idea. 

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These women scream when they're excited, cry & run away when they're sad, & tell each other exactly how they're feeling, even when it's not always nice. They are super close and supportive and they know how to have fun together, which brings me to point #3...

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3. Fun. 

Seriously. Meryl Streep does a toe touch in this film. They dance, sing, laugh, and wear sometimes insane clothes. 

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Because as Dr. Suess would say, "These things are fun, and fun is good." 

Seriously though, this movie always makes me think, I really need to lighten up and just have fun (plus, you never know when a feather boa might come in handy!)

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3. Style

Don't even get me started. Oh wait...

• deceptively simple outfits
• lots of blue & white plus the occasional 70s bellbottom pantsuit. 
• wavy hair & barrettes.
• dresses & skirts.

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• fun jewelry (necklaces, rings, anklets)
• That cowboy hat!
• I've noticed they actually wear fairly not-simple outfits (lots of jewelry, patterns, etc.) but in a very simple- just walk out of the house- way. I love it. 
• They don't always wear things that look perfect on them (see above picture of Amanda Seyfreid: no offense, but the swimsuit/white skirt combination is weird. But I still love it). This works because of the next point: 
• Confidence. Amanda Seyfreid spends an entire montage wandering around the island in a one-piece swimsuit. When was the last time you even felt comfortable wearing a swimsuit by the pool? Confidence goes pretty far. 

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So you've got the simple "I grew up on this Greek Island" clothes and then the "my mom was a hippie/ABBA singer" clothes. 

• bellbottoms
• sequins
• sparkly shoes 
• blue eyeshadow
• feather boas
• platform shoes
• going all out. 

Come on, guys, those scenes are awesome. 

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4. Lightening Up. 

When I found out a good friend of mine also liked this movie, I said "No way! I love it! But everyone I talk to hates it cause it's so crazy." 

She said, "Anyone who says that is just taking themselves too seriously." 

I concur. Let's lighten up. 

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5. Meryl Streep

Yes, I know that Pierce Brosnan sings in this movie, and I agree: it's a travesty. It shouldn't have happened. 

But can we just all contemplate for a moment how awesome Meryl Streep is? She can basically play anyone, and I love that she chose this film. 

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She dances, sings, and wears overalls and a cowboy hat. 

The woman can do no wrong.

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6. That scene with the scarf.

Ok. If you still hate this movie, you have to at least give me this one: the scene where Meryl Streep sings The Winner Takes It All is Just. So. Amazing.

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7. Dancing Queen. 

Who doesn't love some ABBA? And 2+ hours of ABBA songs + Meryl on a Greek Island sounds like a good time to me. 

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The Dorm Room Rules

*Updated version of Dorm Room Decorating at Everyday Planet*

College is awesome, isn't it? Yes, it can be one of the most stressful times of your life :), but there are also so many things about it that are fun. I went to a community college for two years (living at home) then transferred to a Bible college and was there for three years (my school pretty much required you to live on campus, so: dorm room for three years. I was on the same floor all three years, but lived in two different rooms and had four awesome roommates (all at different times).

The dorm rooms were tiny, with two small closets, lots of regulation furniture and about 2 inches of floor space. Decorating each year required some creativity but was so fun.

Now that I am gainfully employed, I am shocked to remember how poor we were as college students (my roommate and I once turned down going to an event because it cost $2.00. Two dollars.) So here are a few things that are helpful for decorating your dorm room (or other small space) on a college student budget:


1. Creativity

If your dorm is like mine was, there are about a thousand rules for what you can't do to decorate (no nails, candles, paint, etc). So you have to get around those rules with some creativity. Case in point: Note the mirror in the picture below:

yup, that's me studying in college.
One of the few pictures I could actually find of my room. 

We couldn't put nails in the wall, so we painted 3M hooks, stapled two pieces of ribbon to the back of a ($5 Target) mirror, and hung it sideways. Voila! Something on your wall, and bonus: it made the tiny room look bigger.

2. 3M hooks

I realize now, I should have bought stock in 3M hooks as a freshman. Some ways we used them:

*the tiny clear ones lined the wall next to the ceiling to hold twinkle lights
*for holding back curtains
*painted different colours and hung vertically, to hold mugs
*hanging pictures, obviously.
*the larger ones can hold bathrobes or a pretty dress on a hanger.
*small hooks hung horizontally over a dresser to display pretty necklaces.
*just the tape is also great for hanging maps, posters, and pictures.

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3. Paper.

I was lucky enough to have both an art supply store and a Paper Source two blocks from my dorm room. We would buy sheets of decorative paper and maps each semester (I now have some of those cheap maps framed in my apartment!). Girls on my floor got pretty creative with this stuff.

*Use large pieces to cover almost an entire wall.
*Hang them diagonally and write a favorite quote across them.
*Origami! My friend Kate has a star on her wall in her apartment now, and it's awesome.
*As a background for favorite pictures.
*Use to cover anything ugly. We covered light fixtures (don't start a fire though!), and a myriad of other ugly things in our dorm room.
*leftovers can go in the front of your class notebook or to a poorer dorm room neighbor.

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4. Comfort 

Dorm rooms are often filled with wooden furniture. Soften it up! Make sure to have lots of cozy blankets and pillows for studying, chatting with friends, and the all-important nap. Put down some throw rugs, have framed photos of far away friends and family, and a few favourite things from home.


5. A beverage corner.

Tell me you don't drink more coffee then ever in college! Make sure it's out of a cute mug. My roommate and I had a whole set up on top of our small fridge: coffee pot, electric tea kettle, spoons, etc. Fun coloured hanging mugs on the wall. It was always fun to have girls in for a cup of tea or coffee and a study break.

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6. Pretty storage

This goes for both your school supplies/ notebooks (that could be a whole separate post as I spent 4+ years refining my school organization system :) as well as all your stuff. You probably have to pack a lot into a small amount of space. This requires some ingenuity. Some ideas:

*one of my roommates and I put one of the two regulation-dressers into the closet: we had less closet space, but it made for a lot more space in the room.
*Under-the-bed rubbermaid bins. Lifesavers. Label them so you can easily see what's inside.
*Fabric/Paper-covered boxes. For computer cords, extra school supplies, snacks, you name it. Hide the stuff that's not cute!
*Use baskets to hold bigger items: blow dryers, dishes, etc.
*Stacking rubbermaid drawers. These can go in your closet or you can use the top of one for your beverage corner!


7. Light 

As if all that homework isn't already giving you a headache.I don't know if it still exists, but in college, we were all in a Facebook group called "People Against The Use of Flourescent Lighting." Open your blinds, turn off the overhead lights and bring in some ambience!

If you can't light candles in your dorm, Target has some great battery operated candles (some are even scented!). Paper lanterns from IKEA are fun, and get some cheap standing lamps for lots of light. Plus clip on desk lamps and fun beaded lamp shades. Make it cozy!

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Twinkle lights: everywhere. These are great for getting ready on those early mornings after a really late night of studying. No one needs to see you looking that tired.

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All of the above ideas can be done using things you already have + a shopping trip to IKEA, Walmart, or Target. Have fun!

College friends!

Playing Dress Up, Step #2: Clean Your Closet, Young Lady!

The next step in having a pulled together wardrobe is to clean your closet! I love cleaning and organizing (I know, I know), and I hope a little of that love will rub off on you today.

Does your closet look like this?

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Or (maybe worse?), like this?

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Let's fix that.

You will need:

*Your style notebook/inspiration board; a pen.
*Three trash bags or boxes & a sharpie. Mark these: Trash, Give Away, Repair.
*Some inspiring music & a cup of coffee.
*Your resolve.

In my mind, there are two camps when it comes to getting rid of clothes:

1. My mom's camp. She owns a small amount of clothes and could toss out a sweater she's had for 10 years without batting an eye.
2. My camp. I have more clothes and have trouble throwing away a ratty old t-shirt because, well, it's been in my closet for so long, and it's made friends with the other t-shirts.

Whichever camp you are in, it will be helpful to have a bit of inspiration for cleaning out your closet. Keep your inspiration board/ Pinterest close by and remember that you would like to have a closet full of clothes that reflect you and your style. And I'm just betting there are no old stained t-shirts on your inspiration board.

Before we get started, remember: this is not the time to clean out your husband's/kid's/roommates clothes, nor to finish that project hiding in the back of your closet or to sort through all your old pictures from highschool. So if your clothes share closet space with any of the above, ignore them and come back to organize those another day. Stick to your own clothes for now!

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1. Pull all the clothes out of your closet and stack them on your bed.
2. Grab a spray bottle and a rag and quickly clean your shelves & sweep your closet floor. Later, you'll be glad you did!
3. Start sorting by category (t-shirts, sweaters, black pants, tennis shoes, socks, etc.)
4. Now this is the part where you need some resolve: try your clothes on. I suppose if you have a pair of jeans or a shirt that you wear every day and you know looks great on you, you can skip that. Otherwise: try it all on. Stand in front of a mirror and try to step back and see the item and how it looks on you. This is not the time to berate yourself (more on that topic when we go shopping), but just be honest!

*Is the sweater pilling? The t-shirt stained? Do the shoes smell? Does the dress just not look right?

*Pay attention to colour: do you look amazing in a black tank top but totally washed out in that beige sweater? Toss the sweater, keep the tank top. 

*This might seem obvious, but try not to keep things you don't like. It's easy to just keep something because you feel like you should: it was expensive, it was a gift, you should wear it. But if you don't ever wear it and/or you don't like it, then it is just taking up space.

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5. Next, sort your clothes into categories: 

*Rubbish: these are the obviously-this-should-be-in-the-garbage-items. If it is stained, ripped and irreparable, makes you feel awful when you wear it: throw it in the box/bag marked Trash. 

Tip: I would like to lobby that any item that makes you feel sad should not be in your closet. What do you mean? How could my clothes make me feel sad? Do you have an old boyfriend's sweatshirt, but every time you see it it makes you want to cry/seethe with anger? Maybe a deceased relative's old clothes and you have to sift through them every morning when you get dressed? Old college t-shirts that make you miss the good ol' days when you didn't have to dress to go to an office? There's memorabilia and there is torturing yourself. Either box it up, move it to a different closet, find another way to use it (ex: make a t-shirt quilt with all those college shirts) or if you are feeling full of gumption, throw it away. Example: I love sleeping in my grandma's old UCLA sweatshirt and it is maybe one of the first things I would grab in a fire. But I felt much better about myself when I finally got rid of the t-shirts that reminded me of my ex-boyfriend.

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*Give away: this is for the nice items in your closet that you no longer want: if it's the wrong colour, shape, or size, put it in this box. Either give these clothes to your best friend or sister or take them to Goodwill. 

Tip: Because I have trouble actually getting rid of clothes, I keep this bag/box for a short amount of time. By the time I look through them again, my emotional attachment has lessened. After about a month, I go back through the box and pull out the clothes. It is usually immediately obvious to me: I either think: I was going to throw this away? or What was I thinking buying this in the first place? So if you can't throw away half your clothes in one afternoon, give yourself a little grace. 

*Repair. First: ask yourself if you will honestly repair it. If you will, do it within the week. If you won't, just save yourself the guilt and toss it now!

*Keep. We will come back to this pile later!

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6. As you go, jot down things you need to buy/replace. Need a new pair of work shoes that aren't falling apart? Did you finally throw away that ratty sweater but now you're freezing? Do you have only 2 pairs of socks without holes left? Realize that the blouse you love won't look right without a camisole? Write it down!

7. While you are at it, jot down any items that repeatedly  show up on your inspiration board but aren't in your closet. If you cut out 10 pictures of floral skirts and realize you don't own a single one, that might be a good thing to go shopping for. Or if you love striped shirts or anything in blue and don't own either of those things, make a note of it.

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7. Now, go back to the pile of clothes on your bed that you have decided to keep. Go through them and nicely fold each t-shirt, sweater and hang each dress and coat up. Put these items back into your (already cleaned!) closet. You can arrange by item- t-shirts together, pajamas together, etc. or by type- casual vs. work. I like organizing the things on shelves/in my dresser by item and the hanging things by colour (I told you I like organizing!)

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At this point, you either will not have much left in your closet (in which case it is time to go shopping) or you can just enjoy having all the clothes you love neatly organized. Either way, hopefully what you have left are things you like that fit you and your style!

Come back soon for tips on creating a shopping list.

It is art that makes life.*

When I was about 10 years old, I read a book about Mary Engelbreit called The Art and The Artist. In it, she tells the story of being 7 years old and wanting a place to make art so much that she set up a studio in her closet. I remember being disappointed that my closet wasn't big enough to put a table in it and decided that day that I wanted to have a studio...someday.

So, it's not every day I can say that I Fulfilled a Childhood Dream, but: I really have.

Welcome to the studio!

Here is the view from the living room looking into the studio. I have shelves for art, office, and sewing supplies, and of course my art books.

Turn to the left...my inspiration board, desk/art table, art supplies, and my reference books and commentaries (the desk is a glass corner desk that I bought from a friend...it is so.great.).
Turn to the right: my letter/computer/office desk, art books, etc.
A small view of the art table...

my current inspiration board...
I've had so much fun pulling out things from my childhood travels and using them in the studio...
Slow and steady wins the race....
Shelves for my commentaries and reference books. Studying the Bible in my studio in the fall...um. Yes. Please.
Art supply holders: cigar boxes, shoe boxes, pencil cases...
All my collage papers are in a basket which I can just pull out when I'm ready to use them.
A basket on top of the bookcase for holding large collages...
Postcards from around the world = uber-inspiration...
Art supplies. I can't tell you how nice it is to sit at my table and have everything at my fingertips. Easy to reach and easy to put away.
The utility cart was $25 at Ikea and I am basically in love with it.
So excited to have room for all my sewing and craft supplies and books.

Music=definitely important.
a gift from my dad after a trip to Africa...
stamps ready to go on a collage...
Inspired...


I bought this picture in Ecuador years ago and just pulled it out of storage...it is painted straight onto a piece of glass, with another piece of glass on top. Love it.
Some favorite art books and my cowboy hat, courtesy of Texas. Thanks, Sabrina Ward Harrison.
Fall leaves, twinkle lights, a crate for smaller collages, and my sewing machine. I think it's going to be a good winter.

Renoir...
I bought this desk years ago, and have had it in Minnesota, Washington, and now Chicago.
One of my first (and favorite) collages...
Jane Austen hanging out on my letter desk...
A little bit of Paris...
A view into the courtyard from my art table...
Before: rubbermaid bins full of art supplies stuffed into my closet, pulled out, and strewn all over the kitchen floor....
After: let's just say: if I don't clean up after I start a collage- I can just close the door and no one will know.

I am so, so thankful to be able to have this studio, and can't wait to share what I make next!

*Henry James quote from a ME picture.