Corner View {Open Doors}

We decorated the house for Christmas yesterday!  It was great fun. 
This little house is a new decoration this year ... A candle burns inside it.
The door is open ... all are welcome.
:)

Time to go visit the other Corner Viewers ... starting with the host FuoriBorgo.

Corner View {One Color}

The theme for this week's Corner View - hosted at FuoriBorgo - is one color. My favorite color is green. A deep emerald green. Mmmmmm, I love that. But my one color today is YELLOW. When we are talking flowers ... yellow are my favorite! And this yellow beauty is currently stretching towards the sky in my backyard.

Corner View {One Song}

I wasn't going to make a post today as I haven't had time to think let alone make a post about a song. 
But I decided I still wanted to go visit the other Corner Viewers and halfway through, 

I got inspired 

and remembered a song I LOVE. 

It's actually a television ad but I adore it ...

Corner View {TrèsBonn} - Home Alone

Oh hello my poor little neglected blog!  How great to see you again.
I thought that a Corner View might be the perfect way to get you going again!
The theme of "What You Do When You Are Home Alone" is perfect for what I have to share!

I've been busy ...

A month ago, I opened an Etsy shop!
I called it TrèsBonn ... a play on my name, Bonnie, and the French words for 'very good'.

It has been a bit of a whirlwind and I'm loving every minute of it.

At the beginning of 2014, I took an online course that dealt with being ok with imperfection. 

The course involved keeping an art journal ... 

something I had never really done but found I really enjoyed. 

Each week, I had an 'assignment' or two that I very quickly finished. I wanted more.

In my art journal, I had begun to experiment with water color paints. 

Having always loved quotes, I decided that I would try 'painting' some of my favorite ones. 

I posted them to my various social media sites and got a very encouraging response.

As family and friends started telling me how one of my little paintings meant 

something to them, I started mailing them to those individuals. 

I loved being able to send a little encouragement in the mail .... 

especially when I was able to do it as a surprise!

Another love of mine is birds.
I could watch birds all day long ... if only they would stay still for me!
One night I discovered that I could paint them. 

Again, I started posting them on social media and got a favorable response.

After a while, people started encouraging me to open an Etsy shop. 

I thought, why not? Might as well give it a go!

So, here we go!

I'm excited to see where this next step in my journey leads ...

Never been to Etsy? 
Well ... if you follow this link and sign up, Etsy will give you $5 towards your first purchase! 

PS ... I can't wait to come visit all of you Corner View friends, old and new!
I've missed you.

Corner View {Inspiration}

The theme this week comes with perfect timing. I really wanted to share this with you all! My Dad posted this to facebook the other day and I just love it!! I love that he stepped out of his 'normal' and did this very creative piece!

He wrote this ... Inspired by Bonnie, I decided to try creating something different from my norm. Here is 'thank you" in many languages. Thank you, Bon, for being an inspiration, among so many other things.

 

Isn't it just amazing!?  I love it!  Handwritten and everything!!

I've printed it out and put it on the wall beside my desk
where I see it and can't help but smile about it a gazillion times a day!

***

Corner View was created by Jane at Spain Daily and is now hosted by Francesca.     It is bloggers from all over the world, posting photos of a specific    weekly theme.  To join, just post to your own blog and then link up  over   at Francesca's Corner View for the week.  Then, visit the other  Corner   Views ... that's my favorite part !  Seeing the interpretations  of the   themes, visiting different cultures, learning something new !

No Act of Kindness {CV} Close By

This little guy is always close by ...

***
Corner View was created by Jane at Spain Daily and is now hosted by Francesca.     It is bloggers from all over the world, posting photos of a specific    weekly theme.  To join, just post to your own blog and then link up  over   at Francesca's Corner View for the week.  Then, visit the other  Corner   Views ... that's my favorite part !  Seeing the interpretations  of the   themes, visiting different cultures, learning something new !

Little by Little {Corner View}

 

The theme of Corner View this week is travel.  Oh how I love to travel!  If only I had traveled recently and could post a fun photo for you!  Instead, I decided to share another of my little quote paintings.  I love this quote ... I think it is so true.   At 40, I can look back and see the 'little by little' that has gotten me to where I am today.  I look forward to another 40 years of 'little by little' and can't wait to see where that takes me!
 

  ***
Corner View was created by Jane at Spain Daily and is now hosted by Francesca.     It is bloggers from all over the world, posting photos of a specific    weekly theme.  To join, just post to your own blog and then link up  over   at Francesca's Corner View for the week.  Then, visit the other  Corner   Views ... that's my favorite part !  Seeing the interpretations  of the   themes, visiting different cultures, learning something new !

Wreck This Journal - Circle Words You Like + CV {Renewal}

 

This was a bit of a shock.

I grabbed a cool looking page from a magazine, glued it in and then went about reading it to complete the rest of the instructions which were to circle words I like.  Great right?  Yeah ... until I started reading and there were a whole bunch of really really really inappropriate subjects and words ...  I was all, um ... my kids love looking at this journal!  I'll have to black those words out!!  ha ha.  And So, I did.

***

The theme of Corner View this week is 'renewal'  ... I looked up the definition to see if I was on track with what I was thinking and I was!  The creative outlet that is art has had a total renewal in my life.  I have 'resumed it after an interruption' .... I am so glad!!  I'm loving it!  Mostly I'm doing my little quote paintings ... and my Wreck This Journal ... but today I actually started another proper painting.  It's exciting.  So exciting.  I love this renewal!

***
Corner View was created by Jane at Spain Daily and is now hosted by Francesca.     It is bloggers from all over the world, posting photos of a specific    weekly theme.  To join, just post to your own blog and then link up  over   at Francesca's Corner View for the week.  Then, visit the other  Corner   Views ... that's my favorite part !  Seeing the interpretations  of the   themes, visiting different cultures, learning something new !

Corner {Bygones} View

I had to google the definition of bygones ... For me, the word has always had negative connotations but I see that it doesn't ... it just means in the past.

This afternoon, I pulled out all my swimming ribbons and book of times and compared my times when I was the kids ages with their recent swimming times.  It was quite fun to have a look at that with them. 
***
Corner View was created by Jane at Spain Daily and is now hosted by Francesca.     It is bloggers from all over the world, posting photos of a specific    weekly theme.  To join, just post to your own blog and then link up  over   at Francesca's Corner View for the week.  Then, visit the other  Corner   Views ... that's my favorite part !  Seeing the interpretations  of the   themes, visiting different cultures, learning something new !

Live There {Slow} Corner View

Is there a better way to slow down than to climb inside a book and live there for a while?

 **

Corner View was created by Jane at Spain Daily and is now hosted by Francesca.     It is bloggers from all over the world, posting photos of a specific    weekly theme.  To join, just post to your own blog and then link up  over   at Francesca's Corner View for the week.  Then, visit the other  Corner   Views ... that's my favorite part !  Seeing the interpretations  of the   themes, visiting different cultures, learning something new !

Corner View {Hobbies}

I don't have a whole lot of time for hobbies these days.  I so wish I did.
I still do some.  I read.  I sit in the bath and read, though that's not so much a hobby as a luxury.
I take photos.  Sometimes I get to do this for work ... is it still a hobby then?
I love to be creative.  Luckily, I also have outlet for this at work.
 I'll take that as a hobby I get paid for.
I paint.  But haven't in a long time. 
I hope to in the next few weeks while I am on leave from work.
I write letters ... and post them in the mail ... I've just started doing this again.
I cook.  It's a necessity, sure.  But the types of things I cook make it more of a necessary hobby.
I knit.  But only in the winter.
I bought a sewing machine recently ... I hope to learn how to use it.
I pinterest.  That is probably the hobby I get to do the most.  Just for hobby's sake. 
I like to get crafty. 

I bought the stuff to do this craft last year, and then didn't have time to do it. 

This year ... I did.

 And it was fun. 
I only had one mishap ... with pliers and my finger.  But I lived.

This took me about 30ish minutes.  It wasn't hard.  Next time I'll make sure I have coat
hangers that aren't so strong! (this is where the plier mishap cam into play!)

I also didn't have to hot glue gun all of the ornaments like she suggested.
I was fully prepared to, and I couldn't pull them apart! 
It wasn't until the end when I was trying to twist
the two wires together that a few popped
off.  I just glue gunned them then
and there.  And it worked
fine.  I wish I had a
thicker ribbon
for the
top.

Live and learn ...

**

Total cost of this project: $8

 **

Corner View was created by Jane at Spain Daily and is now hosted by Francesca.     It is bloggers from all over the world, posting photos of a specific    weekly theme.  To join, just post to your own blog and then link up  over   at Francesca's Corner View for the week.  Then, visit the other  Corner   Views ... that's my favorite part !  Seeing the interpretations  of the   themes, visiting different cultures, learning something new !

Corner View {Favorite Clothes}

I totally forgot to post my Corner View yesterday!  What a crazy day it was!

The theme is favorite clothes.

I am not much of a clothes person.  I like them and all but my favorites are the comfy ones.
Yoga pants.  Big t-shirts.  Singlets.  Ya'll don't want to see photos of me in those!

Here' s an outfit I do love!  This was taken some time ago ... 1996?  1997?
It's me and my Mom in India at my sister's graduation.
I love love love our sari's!




 **

Corner View was created by Jane at Spain Daily and is now hosted by Francesca.     It is bloggers from all over the world, posting photos of a specific    weekly theme.  To join, just post to your own blog and then link up  over   at Francesca's Corner View for the week.  Then, visit the other  Corner   Views ... that's my favorite part !  Seeing the interpretations  of the   themes, visiting different cultures, learning something new !

Corner {Self-Portrait} View

In this day and age of facebook and 'profile pictures', there is no shortage of 'self-portraits'!

Here are two very recent ones of me.

One blurry.  One not.

 **

Corner View was created by Jane at Spain Daily and is now hosted by Francesca.  It is bloggers from all over the world, posting photos of a specific weekly theme.  To join, just post to your own blog and then link up over at Francesca's Corner View for the week.  Then, visit the other Corner Views ... that's my favorite part !  Seeing the interpretations of the themes, visiting different cultures, learning something new !

Two Hours One Morning :: Corner View {Home}

I had planned to write this post yesterday but the evening got away from me.   Luckily, the theme of this week's Corner View fits perfectly so I can  kill two birds with one stone, so to speak.  I would never
willingly kill a real bird.  I love birds.

Anyhoo ....

My house has been DRIVING ME CRAZY!
I've had a few piles of stuff laying around that I needed put away
or find "homes" for but just hadn't made the time to do it.

I had the day off yesterday, the children were home too, a fact that actually worked in my favor.  I set the timer for two hours, gave them a small list of tasks
and told them once those were done, they were free to do anything
they wanted, as long as it was quiet and in their individual
rooms.  They are great little workers, my two,
they set about their tasks and got them
done quickly.  I did not hear from
them much after that, but that could have been because
I had the music  cranked on the  surround sound and I didn't hear much else!
A word of warning, if you hear loud music coming from my house during the day, you should
never and I mean NOT EVER look in the windows.  The music
I clean to is pretty darn up beat ... hip hop sort of stuff ... and my feet, in the
privacy of my own home, can't help but dance!  Every Zumba move I have incorrectly interpreted is happening!  My kids think is it embarrassingly hilarious.
Seriously ... it is not something you want to see.  EVER. 
never. ever.
So ... I set my timer.



Two hours.

Before I started, I did a walk through and took "before" shots of all the
problem areas in case I got distracted.  I had to use the photos a
couple of times to get me back on track.

Here's what I accomplished.



I started by making my bed.  This always makes my room feel instantly tidier. 
I (almost) always make my bed.  I hate it when I'm too lazy and don't.



I tidied up Rory's music table and the floor beneath. 
Not much though, just enough to get the pedals up off the floor
and move the guitars out of the way of the bathroom door!



Laundry baskets full of clean laundry!  A shopping bag with toiletries to be put away.
Movies the kids have watched in our bedroom, an iPhone charger that needed
to go back to the docking station in the family room.  A library book. 
All of these things have homes ... I just hadn't put them in them!



Rory likes to refer to the elliptical as my coat rack ....
I won't lie, it's easy to hang my clothes there.
Although ... those jeans are his!



Cleaning stuff left on the bathroom sink after Alia cleaned the kids bathroom ... ON SATURDAY!
I went ahead and cleaned the sink and put those cleaners away!



Guest bedroom bed ... Alia pulled the sheets up a few weeks ago after she and her friend
had slept in there one Friday night but it was bugging me.  I remade the bed.  Baby clothes that I had to wash after the ants made a nest in the box they live in!
They are washed, dried and folded ... waiting for me to put them away. I'll get to it, that project is bigger than just putting them away!



Two boxes that I bought for the guest bedroom closet, and movies left out.
Putting the movies away was one of the jobs on the kids lists!
The boxes in the guest bedroom closet, they are a project for another time but at least they aren't in the family
room anymore!!



My sock drawer has been driving me nuts.  I had too many socks. 
The drawer wouldn't close.  I pulled out the socks that I don't
ever wear, put them in my 'to get rid of box' in the garage.
Drawer now closes. Job well done. 



Dirty laundry.  Now washed.



And dried.  And folded.  And put away.



And even a shelf labeled .... to avoid confusion with the kids. 
No-one wants to dry their hands on the dog's bath towel!



A bit of pencil art of the top of our side table.
Gone.



Junk along the top of the kitchen bench.  Gone. Except for the "junk" that lives there.

This little box sits beside my desk.  It's where I put tiny little things that need to be put away but I don't want to get up and put them away at just that moment.  You know, like things that the kids bring me or things that I had in my purse but took out.  Something I was planning to use but didn't.  Just little bits and pieces.  I just put them in the box until I have a day like yesterday and then I carry the box around and put everything away. Now, the box is empty and ready for the next bit or piece ....

The dining room table.  Most of the time it doesn't look like the first photo.  Most of the time
it looks like the second photo.  It's like my bed ... the whole house looks neater to me if the
table is clear!  Busyness had caused this little pile up ... but now it is gone.

As well, I had a pile of jackets and blankets on the back of my desk chair.  Put away.
The kids had think piled on my craft desk in the garage.  Put away.
The shoe shelf need organizing.  Done.

There were socks randomly scattered on the 'riding' toy shelf in the garage.  Put in the hamper.

On a hunch, I asked the kids to check their school bags for Tupperware containers
(even though school finished a week ago and I asked them to check then!)
They brought out 6 Tupperware between them,
complete with food and mold.
All clean now.

I needed to hang a hook in the bathroom.  Done. 

I needed to hang a fire blanket in the kitchen.  Done.

Seriously ... it was the most productive two hours EVER! Sometimes, that's all it takes!

**

Corner View was created by Jane at Spain Daily and is now hosted by Francesca.  It is bloggers from all over the world, posting photos of a specific weekly theme.  To join, just post to your own blog and then link up over at Francesca's Corner View for the week.  Then, visit the other Corner Views ... that's my favorite part !  Seeing the interpretations of the themes, visiting different cultures, learning something new !