Life

Sounds bad, right?  We’ve lived in this house for about a year and half and I had not been in the tub.  I’m a grab-a-quick-shower-first-thing kinda girl.  I’m all about efficiently getting ready in the morning.  But when Pearl & Daisy asked if I would be interested in taking part in their #Take12 campaign, I knew it was time to slow down and crawl in the tub.

Life cruises by at such a rapid rate.  I’m always running here for this and there for that and I walk in the door at the end of the day and make sure everyone is feed and tucked into bed and then I crash myself.  After checking emails and FB messages and, of course, a little Instagram.  There’s an image floating around around social media of an empty cup, and it really hit home to me.  I’m so busy taking care of everything and everyone but me.

Enter #Take12.  But, you know me….there’s always a way to make it better.  See, part of the thing is our bathroom isn’t pretty and it’s on our eventual renovation list.  It isn’t somewhere I want to hang out any longer than I need to.  I started to remedy that by giving it a good scrub from top to bottom.  A little sparkle, if you will.  Sigh.  That made it feel so much better!

The one good thing is this bathroom sports an old, original claw foot tub.  And you know you’ve seen all these wonderful shelves on Pinterest that span from side to side and keep everything within reach.  So, I made one out of an old barn board that I found in our little red barn.  Washed, sanded and sealed it was the perfect shelf!

We also only have a little wall space in there but I now have it decorated with a wooden whale to match the barn board shelf and a wonderfully hand-cut card by the talented Jennifer MacPherson from the Two Macs Gallery in Cape Breton.  I also hung my mobile in there, it suits the space very well with its empty glass jars and driftwood.  Plus, it hangs right over my head when I’m soaking in the tub.

It’s finally time to soak.  The girls are asleep, the handsome Mr. Byrne is watching TV and I finally have some time for me.  I ran a warm bath, lit some candles, put in some mineral salts that smell divine and climbed in.  I’ll admit my iphone made it in the bathroom with me, not so I could scroll through anything, just so I could check the time.  I don’t do well with just sitting.  I wasn’t sure if I could handle soaking, doing nothing, for 12. Whole. Minutes.

Two things I learned that night, soaking in that warm tub.  One – claw foot tubs are so comfy.  Two – I can do nothing for 12 minutes…..or much more!  Just laying there, letting the steam swirl around me in the quiet of the house was exactly what I didn’t know I needed.  To top it off, the silence was broken by a pack of near by coyotes howling.  I was tempted to open the window so I could hear them better, but that would require the effort of getting out of that luxuriously warm water and I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

When I climbed out of that tub that night, I promised myself to do that more often.  I am worth it.  My peace of mind and my health are worth it.  Sure, I’ll still grab a shower in the morning if I’ve got to run here, there and everywhere, but I will also take that time for me and ran a bath and soak in it.  I know in the upcoming days, as I train for my next race, there will be sore muscles that need a soak. I know there will be days that my mind needs a soak, a chance to slow down and relax.  And I promise to #Take12 for me, for the sake of my family since they have to put up with me. 😉

So, what about you?  Are you ready to #Take12? Why don’t you pop over HERE and commit to setting time aside JUST FOR YOU! Not only will you feel better for it, you may also win a pretty fabulous prize to keep you committed to #Take12 throughout the next year, too!

Now, the debate – run outside to capture the beauty of winter or go run a hot bath and block out the fact that it’s still winter out?!?!?

To be continued,

Lori

All too often in life we hurry around and miss out on joy.  Or are too caught up in our worries, stresses and problems of life that we don’t see the joy, or feel the joy.

I have a memory that I’m going to share with you.  It has stuck with me over many years and left me sad for some people who can’t see those little things.  It was a cool winter morning and the shop van’s window was covered in frost.  That pretty, swirling frost that was so curvy and graceful.  I noticed it and admired it’s beauty.  I walked back into the shop and mentioned it.  I was greeted with strange looks.  I felt like the work that needed to be done was more important than soaking up life and finding JOY in the little things!  I never want to be so focused on the job at hand that I miss out on what little joys life has to offer. { This is also why I love Instagram, I would’ve shared the crap outta that frost and people would’ve shared in the joy of it! }

I always select a ‘Word of the Year’ and I thought I was going to pick ‘Bloom’.  But ‘Finding Joy’ has selected me.  So, my focus, no matter what 2016 throws my way, will be to Find Joy.  Find the joy in life.  And my goal is to share it daily with you.  I’ll be using the hashtag #findingjoywithfarmfresh on Instagram and I’ve started a Facebook page that I encourage you to join.  You can find it HERE.  I truly want to soak this up and enjoy life.  If you are sharing your JOY, please feel free to use the hashtag too so I can share in your joy with you.

I have done #100Happydays and some Photo-A-Day in the past.  And I loved having a goal each day to share something with purpose.  So, thus the hashtag was born, along with my new goal for 2016.  This year I will be taking my Word of the Year to another level!

I’m excited for 2016!!

To be continued,

Lori

Looking back over 2015 here at Farm Fresh, it has been amazing!  It is exciting to watch my corner of the world grow and expand through Social Media online and by word of mouth here in the real world.  I have been blessed with some amazing opportunities and for that I am so thankful!  It has been so much fun working with my clients, making their space their own, sourcing the perfect pieces to make their house a home!

I love that Instagram has the #2015bestnine which pulls your top photos from the year.  Here’s mine:

I love it – a stunning East Coast sunset, my little trick-or-treaters, the ice snowman from Winter Chill, our pretty Nordic tree, the stonewall in Dad’s barn, the lilac bush shot from the upstairs window, the same lilac bush covered in snow, the little folded star {that never did appear on the tree} and a selfie….

The top blog posts from the past year are:

5th  – A Beautiful View

4th – Touring with your Bestie

3rd – Bench Makeover

2nd – Farewell Fleur

1st – You Are Enough

I love that the best post of the year is the guest post Catherine wrote.  She said what so many of us had to hear.  So many people read that one, shared it and I hope really listened to it.  I hope that we are more accepting of ourselves and where we are in life right now because of that post.

I’m very excited to play the part of Design Consultant in the new ‘At Home on the North Shore’ magazine that came out this fall.  A great opportunity, to be sure, so much fun, meeting so many interesting new people and working with some great, talented folks, too.  Work on the next issue is under way already!  Here’s the cover photo from the first issue, such an vibrant family who lives in this modern home and workshop!

I hit a milestone this past year, too.  And had a big party to celebrate!  I was surrounded by family and friends and had so much fun.  You should always wake up with sore stomach muscles from laughing so hard when you turn 40! Scrolling through the camera roll on the all the phones is good for a laugh, too….way too much stealing phones and taking selfies…..but so much fun! Here’s my fav from the night!!

I’m looking forward to what 2016 is going to bring!  I hope it is filled with new projects, new clients and new ideas! I’ll take some adventures, too….maybe a trip?  On a plane?  Who knows!!! There will be roadtrips, for sure!  One soon to Cape Breton…I feel the urge to go!

Happy New Year to you all!  May it bring loads of wonderful things your way!

To be continued,

Lori