Life changes on the horizon....

 

Life changes are afoot friends!

 

Big ones!

 

See, there I was, in the midst of my Chinoiserie-Hollywood Regency bedroom makeover, and having a fine time painting anything I could lay my hands on, when I received a phone call.

 

I got dressed like this, went for a comfy chat with a friend...

 

 

...and was offered a job!

 

A real outside-the-home corporate one.

 

With money.

 

Well, I thought about it for a while, because, you know, I've worked pretty hard a being retired and content.

 

But here's the thing.

 

It's a job helping people. A role where I know I truly can make a difference.

 

And it's only for two years.

 

So. Why not? I mean really. I've actually already been performing this role on a volunteer basis. So why shouldn't someone pay me to do what I've already been doing for years?

 

I start very soon.

 

Meanwhile, with a commencement date looming and unfinished projects the order of the day at Maison Mimi, I'm in uber-productive mode!

 

I painted this vintage lacquerware stacking thing a new colour....

 

 

Look! Pretty, isn't it?

 

 

 I painted a $3 thrifted frame pink..

 

 

 

I painted these cranes pink too...

 Then changed my mind and painted them Hermes orange instead...

 

I love them now.

 

I scored a pair of lamps at the thrift store for $6. I embellished them with Greek Key trim.

 

I love them too now.

 

That there underneath...that's my first attempt at faux tortoisehell. More on that later. You may recall me saying I try things 27 times before I give up? Well I'm on my 19th try of faux tortoishell and by jove, I think I've got it!

 

These fabrics are somehow coming together harmoniously for the new bedroom décor. I think my brain almost has that one worked out as well.

 

Thankyou to Judy for that stunning crane print. Isn't it divine?

I admired some Blanc de Chine figurines, inwardly cursing myself for not snapping up the one I'd seen at my usual thrift store haunt for just $7.

 

They I remembered my collection of Willow Tree figurines, gifted over the years. I love their sentiment, but not entirely loving their colour.

 

So, as you do, I painted them with gloss white spray paint.

Behold a new sort of perfection...

 



I adore them now. Honestly, is there anything you can't learn to love with a lick 'o' paint?

 

Back to that tortoishell. Here was attempt number 6. It wasn't quite right either.

 

I gave up on that for a minute and painted my cherry stained desk, satin black.

 

It's rahhhhther glamorous now. Especially after I refinished the handles with a bit of Rub 'n' Buff. It comes in a tiny tube and is a thick cream. You rub it on, and voila! Gold leaf perfection!

 

 

I liked the black desk so much, I painted the chess table black too. It has this lovely carved detail.

 

So I looked at that, and looked at the Rub 'n' Buff, and well, you know what happened next....

 

A bit glam, right?

 

No, not me. This is me in some new corporate wear. Different?

 

In the midst of all that painting and Rub 'n' Buff-ing, I trotted out this Hatchimals cake for Granddaughter number two.

 

It's true my love for the Grandies knows no bounds, nor limitations of imagination or creativity.

 

Here's version 5 of the faux tortoishell. Kinda nice, but not quite the look I was after either.

 

This faux tortoishell with gold overlay got my attention though!

 

 



 Leading me to Version 18 of my attempted faux tortoishell, which, if I hadn't sponged like the tutorial said, would have been almost perfect.

 

Of course with Rub 'n' Buff in one hand, and an old etching stencil in the other, I had brainstormed a way to replicate the above look, no worries at all.

 

 

I'm well on the way with that project now.

 

This needs to be glazed, embellished with flourishes, and preserved under a glass top, and I will be in heaven.

In other news, work has commenced on a She-Shed!

 

The slab was poured just this morning!

 

It's not a pretty back yard one.

 

Mine is under the house.

 

But it will still look a little like this...

 



 

...and this...

 

Nice.

 

Feast your eyes upon my pewter shantung bedspread.

 

$6 thankyou very much.

 

I had admired a similar one for $450.

 

Happy me.

 

And this wee box?

 

I was about to donate it, when inexplicably, one almost identical, showed up in my Pinterest feed.

 

I think it's valuable.

 

Either way...I've rescued it from the 'donate' box and given it pride of place on my bedside table for now, until I find out more about it.

So that's all my news.

 

I'm sorry to have kept you in suspense.

 

Life changes. But it's all for the good.

 

What's changed in your corner of the world lately?

 

Motherly Advice...stay busy...

 

Some days I struggle to get anything done.

 

Other days I'm a whirling dervish. I don't know what that is exactly, but Mum used to say it a lot.

 

Mostly, my mantra is 'do one thing, then do one thing more'. Mum said that a lot too.

 

But still, some days it's harder to do even 'one thing'.

 

I do it though. Doing one thing, then one thing more is how I stay busy and productive.

 

Some days I choose which sort of 'one thing' I'm going to do.

 

Some days, cleaning and decluttering just ain't my thang, you know what I'm saying?

 

That's okay. I find other things to do one of, then one more of.

 

Yesterday I was supposed to be sewing and finding a new desk. But I didn't. I just didn't. I fluffed around on Pinterest a bit. I did a couple of loads of washing. At least I did that one thing.

 

Husband and I had a Thai inspired baked fish for lunch. Isn't it pretty? He's home on Tuesdays so we always try to have a particularly delicious lunch.

 

Other things I've baked recently, include Bacon and Egg pies, and Custard. Such simple things, yet so comforting, and full of memories.

 

Other things I have kept busy doing lately...

 

I looked at lots of tassels on Pinterest. I hate and love Pinterest in equal measure. You sit down at 11am, and the next time you look up it's 3pm. Well, not really...but it's a vortex for sure. Handle with care is my Pinterest mantra. Set the timer, Pinterest away until it buzzes, then get up and walk away.

 

I liked these buckled tassels so much, I made some myself.

 

I prefer my diamante buckle. I have no idea where to put this. But I love it, so for now, it's laying elegantly on my desk.

 

 

Other tassels I admired were these fuchsia ones on a delectably emerald lamp. Adding that to my list of Chinoiserie Things to Do.

 I admired the graceful lines of this pretty vase...

 

...and the Springtime colours on this antique planter...

 

..then found a vase the same shape, with a design in the same colours at my local op shop...lucky me!

 

 

 

 

I'll be filling it with a suitable floral arrangement today. I just looked in the garden, but it's sadly bereft of anything suitable. The Bromeliads have all finished for a minute, the Clivea are just starting, and I missed out on my heirloom Gerberas because I wasn't watching. My friend Jane says I should get some Frebeesia.

 

Here's the pic she sent me.

 

 

Janes' great. She's helped me appreciate my tropical garden, and weaned me off pining for the roses I am destined to be incapable of growing. I think we have some Frebeesia actually. I'll ask Husband later. We have lots of things in the garden that he just plants and waters and we have no idea what they are till they flower. Gardening in ignorance might sound strange, but it's loads of fun.

 

Speaking of fun, I also admired lots of things on Pinterest that I cannot possible afford.

 

This Italian Chinoiserie inspired sideboard caught my attention. I didn't even click on it because I just KNEW it was expensive. I'm going to have a go at making something look like it though. How hard can it be, right? A bit of gold trim, a decal or two, some faux bamboo?





 

 

I loved this fabric since I first laid eyes on it. It's out of my price range too. For now. I have a chair just like this. I'm not sure I could bear to cover it in this fabric though. Where does the eye look, really? Chair or fabric? Fabric or chair? It's a bit confusing. Mine is dark wood and dark green leather. I found it in a thrift store for $50. Bargain. I think it's staying green.

I saw this brass shell planter on Pinterest.

 

I wished one into my life. $6.50. You know where from.

 

Tassels...I love them. I do not like the price of them. I found a curtain tieback at the thrift store. $3 and with the makings of all kinds of fun.

 

I pulled it apart.

 

I got two tassels, and the makings of two more out of it. That diamante buckled tassel I made, above...that's the hollow slide adjuster from this curtain tieback, some costume fringing rolled up and wiggled inside it. I'm nothing if not inventive.

 

I beaded a bit of florist wire and put a loop on it to tie onto my bedside table.

 

 I added a potential DIY artwork to my ever lengthening list of things to help me stay busy. Because really, if you have to do just one thing, then one thing more, then surely sometimes that should be something you LOVE to do.

 

 

I tried to persuade Husband to add a Chinoiserie inspired bookshelf to his list of things to do. He wasn't convinced. He has a long list as well.

We both love being busy. We both love having a long list of things to choose from when we have a day where we just need to do one thing, then one thing more.

 

It's a great strategy.

 

How do you stay busy, when busy ain't your thing?

Motherly Advice....Be your dream self...

 

Life is short.

 

I'd like to add...so have fun with it.

 

We all here, you, me, us, try to live a frugal life, not just for the sake of living frugal, but also to allow us to splurge and have the 'good things in life' sometimes too. It's not all just endless frugality with no reward. No, no, no. What would be the point of that?

It's all a pathway to being able to live a certain kind of life, right?

If fact, many people find themselves living a certain kind of life, to enable them to talk about it.

 

Why?

 

Well, I think it's for many reasons. For admiration, for a sense of belonging, to be part of a greater cause, to be held in high esteem by others, to impart knowledge...these are just a few reasons.

 

But there's a more esoteric way of looking at this idea.

 

It's called Maslows Hierarchy of Needs.

 

Here's the pyramid of needs as devised by American psychologist, Abraham Maslow.

 

He was a clever man who also said "The ability to be present in the moment is a major component of mental wellness", "I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail", and "What we can be, we must be, in order to be at peace with our life".

 

I like him.

 

 

His theory is, that we all start at the bottom of the pyramid. We all need food, water and sleep to survive.

 

But once those needs are met, we move up the pyramid to needing a place to call home, where we feel safe.

 

Being loved and having a sense of belonging is our craving once we have Physiological and Safety needs covered, and I need to add, that this is not a chronological process. Many of us live through each of these stages, not once but many, many times throughout our life.

 

Relationship, health, and financial issues impact on each of these needs, sometimes several times in a lifetime, and interestingly, it's difficult, if not almost impossible, to meet a higher need, if our most basic ones are not being met, no matter our stage of life.

 

At some point we all aspire to Esteem. The esteem of others, and hopefully a healthy self-esteem. If your needs in the lower three areas of the pyramid are being met, then you should be well on the way to having this need met too.

 

And finally Self-Actualization where expressing one's creativity, quest for spiritual enlightenment, pursuit of knowledge, and the desire to give to and/or positively transform society becomes the force that drives us.

 

Those highest two, are, I think, what motivates people to share so much of their lives on social media these days. It's not really about 'look at me', it's more about 'look how high up the Pyramid of Needs I am'...even if they don't know about the Pyramid of Needs.

 

Here's an example of that idea in action.



I just watched the film, Florence Foster Jenkins. Have you seen it?

 

It's the true story of a wealthy socialite who sang opera. I'm not spoiling it for you by mentioning that she was a terrible singer, because the whole movie revolves around that fact. But it didn't stop her from singing. Not one whit. In fact she made a gosh darned good show of singing her little heart out.

 

Now there's someone at the peak of their Self-Actualising.

 

Her basic needs were met, so she was able to meet her higher ones. She was loved by many, she helped many, she lived her dream, no matter what anyone said.

 

Go Florence, I say.

 

 

One of the final lines in the movie is actually the opposite of a mantra I've often used. My mantra is 'just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should' and in my own context, it refers mainly to the injustices of the world.

 

Florence Foster Jenkins is a shining example of a kind of reverse idea that says...'don't let the fact that you're not brilliant at something, stop you from enjoying it anyway'.

 

I love that too, don't you?

So what has that to do with the Chinoiserie Chic bedroom at the top of my post, you ask?

 

Well here it is.

 

I've been working on a bedroom makeover. If you saw my last post, you'd be aware of that.

 

I'm no interior designer, but I do have a creative eye. Hence 'don't let the fact that you're not brilliant at something, stop you from enjoying it anyway'.

 

Secondly, life is dreadfully short. The older one becomes, the more patently aware you are of that fact.

 

Having entertained a pastel French Shabby Chic home décor for well over 30 years now, my mind turned towards something brighter, bolder, and more glamorous.

 

Because having exited my child bearing and child rearing years, I too, am becoming bolder, brighter, and I hope...more glamorous.

 

The outer should reflect the inner...yes?

 

And here's the thing in relation to that Hierarchy of needs.

 

For many years now, my first three tiers of needs have been met, so now, as I approach my 59th birthday, I'm working towards my final two tiers of needs.

 

The last two years have seen a makeover of self, and a re-establishing of who I am, post child rearing.

 

Now comes the makeover of home and hearth to match.

 

That's why this pastel arrangement...

 

….now boasts bold colours,

 

 

...and metallic trims....

 

 

….and these thrifted pretties...

 

 

...are being made over with bright pops of colour and accents of gold.

 

A blogging friend urged me this week not to change. She was finding my recent obsession with all things Chinoiserie, at odds with who she thought I was. Kind of sweet of her in a way.

 

But Life is Short.

 

Have Fun While You Still Can.

 

And... Just Because You're Not The Best At Something, Doesn't Mean You Can't Enjoy It Anyway.

 

Those are my new mantras.

 

I'm determined to be Bold, Bright and Glamorous for my remaining years.

 

I want my home to be a reflection of that.

 

Hopefully my blogging friend will love me all the same.