Taking it easy

I've had such a lovely relaxing and productive day at home today. As you can see above, Jessica is feeling contented too. Yes it's only a two-seater, but if she unfurled her rabbit feet, she could almost stretch the whole way across it. Can you see her tail along the cushion back?

And below: contented snoozer. Jessica is quite a snuffly breather so I can hear her cat-snoring softly while I fold washing and dust the coffee table.


Catching up on housework and making our home a haven is what I have been up to the last few days. From moving into our place four months ago, there are still areas which items had been thrown into (literally) to get everything unpacked. I didn't have the time, energy or inclination to do it in an organised manner.

I redid the kitchen cupboards today though, cheered on by a blog I came across a few days ago called The Quiet Home. I have been particularly enjoying the Housework and Home Sweet Home tags and found my attitude towards housework was changed to something altogether more positive. This lovely lady's enthusiasm really is contagious!

I started by emptying out just one cupboard, a big corner deal with pots, pans, the slowcooker and loads of other items in it. It was a bit of a bother having to reach all the way to the back to get something I used often and there really was no rhyme or reason where things were placed. Still, I have been putting up with it since last October so it obviously didn't bother me that much, or perhaps I'm just a little 'busy' (or lazy?).

Of course that led onto other cupboards and finished up including the pantry. In the end all items were placed in clean-wiped and dried cupboards that made the most sense regards usage. Little used items are at the back, and there is a frequent use cupboard so we don't have to open the big hinged door of the corner cupboard to get out the vegetable steamer pots which we use 6 nights out of 7 at least. I'm now really looking forward to cooking tonight!

I was talking to my husband on the weekend and we both agreed that we are still a bit out of sorts and not really in a routine yet. With moving house, the shop being busier and employing a part-time staff member, we need time for things to bed in.

Even though all this change is positive, it can still be unsettling. We charge into something new (or perhaps are just following the road of our life) and expect our body and mind to be fine about it! So I'm soothing my soul with routine and small jobs done well, and knitting, reading and movies for leisure.

We saw The Descendants after work on Sunday and it was so enjoyable. After originally seeing the preview and deciding it looked too depressing, it was thanks to my Mum who said it was a good watch. And it was. George Clooney does his humour so well.

So nothing ground breaking today, just wanted to stop in and say hi.

What to wear at home

I have always been interested in how to live a life of style covering all parts of my life. I don’t just want to look stylish when I go out though and be a slob at home in a house that is dull and dirty.

I want to be like those magazine articles that describe what off-duty models wear, and also the ones that interview famous, fashionable faces.

These interviews ask many questions and the famous, fashionable person describes how their typical day might run, how they decorate their home, what they wear when they do their errands. There are little pictures scattered around of their favourite things too. Have you noticed there is always a Diptyque candle pictured in these spreads?

Often the stylish people are described as wearing a practical day-to-day outfit and a face scrubbed of makeup. Come on. They have spent hours getting ready!

One of the topics that interests me though is how to be stylish when at home with my loved one, to be comfortable and practical but sexy and not frumpy.

Once upon a time when I was first married (to my first husband) I remember in the winter wearing tracksuit pants with gathered ankles (and a gathered waist), a sweatshirt and socks at home. The only boxes it ticked were comfortable, practical (and frumpy). Not sexy or stylish.

No wonder that marriage bombed (I sound like I am taking marriage too lightly, I’m not, it wasn’t the track pants that were to blame, not entirely anyway).

Over the years I have been refining my home ‘lounge wear’ two ways: firstly by using items of clothing that are no longer good enough to wear to work or out (but are still in good nick) or by purchasing inexpensive but good quality basics for the express purpose of wearing them at home (first photo at the top of this post).

I haven’t bought anything for a while, and I was becoming in danger of slipping into frump zone. A friend gave me a pair of leggings that I thought I would never wear (due to having worn them in the 80s and apparently you should never wear a trend twice, and also the fact that my bottom is very round).

However, one day I slipped them on with a clingy long-sleeved t-shirt and found that not only were they much warmer than my wide-leg yoga pants (there was no air getting up the legs) but my husband’s eyes almost fell out. ‘Oh’, he said ‘those look very sexy on. You should wear leggings more, they really suit your figure and are so flattering.’

That was last winter. Now it is summer here and too warm for heavyweight full-length leggings. So I went shopping and spent not much at all for my new summer home loungewear.

Last night I debuted a pair of black leggings, ¾ length with ruched sides (at the hem), and a frog/grass green long singlet/tunic top. It comes down over my bum and almost looks like a mini-dress over the leggings. It clings becomingly around my ribs, without being skin-tight. I tried a larger size than normal but it just looked the dreaded frumpy. And a long top balanced out my short-waist.

(picture below, in new lounge wear, grey marle and green)

I was comfortable all evening, could curl up in the armchair like I imagine an off-duty model or actress might (that’s the thing that might inspire me to be slim, being able to curl up that way, because I put on weight around my stomach!) and my man’s first words? ‘That’s sexy’, said appreciatively.

Not frumpy! I am not doing frumpy at 41, I am doing sexy (sexy at home, just for him, I’m not going out to the pub in this just so you know). And I’m not exactly thin, just a good solid medium size. But with a comfortable bra on, one that I don’t mind wearing at home (the underwire doesn’t dig in, hoorah!) and the slimming qualities of the legging waistband I didn’t have any undesired lumps and bumps and could almost pass for slender.


I also bought the ruched ¾ leggings in grey marle, and ankle length pairs for Autumn in navy and black. My other singlet tops were bought in black and navy. Lots of mixing and matching can go on and I will always have a clean set.

I wash my black/dark clothing separately in ‘black wash’ too, which keeps it looking fresh and new. My legs encased in black leggings flecked with white is not good at all, but that will never happen. The thrifty me says ‘throw everything in together, then you’ll only have one wash’ (warm water, power cost etc), the French Chic me counters ‘don’t you want to look after your clothes properly and have them looking nicer for longer?’

So I do it.

An added bonus of feeling chic and elegant and Parisienne was being more mindful of the amount and quality of calories I put in my mouth. I was still comfortable, but aware of my figure. A winning combo for me.

Creating A Peaceful Oasis Outdoors

The house we moved into three months ago, despite being about twenty years old, didn’t have much of a garden. There was plenty of lawn, a fair amount of invasive plant, some scrappy, spindly trees which had seen neither water nor pruning shears for a long time, a few dull shrubs (even the word ‘shrub’ is dreary isn’t it?) and many patches of overgrown white Arum lilies (too funereal for me).

Before I could even get my head around how we would make the outdoors here our peaceful oasis, my husband and his Dad went on a spring cleaning spree with chainsaw and weedkiller. It’s not quite as bad as it sounds though, and we now have a lovely blank canvas in which to shape over time. What did survive the cull was a petite lemon tree (yay!), one other tree which I will find out it’s name one day and another citrus, which citrus as yet unknown.

I have also banned weedkiller from here on in. My father-in-law’s answer to a lot of the garden areas in different spots was to, and I quote, ‘cover in concrete’. I love him to bits and he does many little jobs for us but he’s a very practical man.

We have a difference of opinion on companion animals (the politically correct name for pets these days) – I think they are a necessary part of enjoying life and he thinks they are an unnecessary hassle. So it doesn’t surprise me we also have differing views on a garden.

After reading The Palace Diaries by Sarah Goodall and getting to know Prince Charles (he seems a really lovely guy), I was interested to hear a little more about his pride and joy, the garden at his country residence Highgrove (gloriously pictured above). I borrowed a book from the library called The Garden at Highgrove by Candida Lycett Green (a wonderfully English name).

It is such an inspirational tome, even if Highgrove is on a slightly larger scale than our small section. I love the structure, topiary and many different shades of green used. I also really enjoyed the introduction written by Prince Charles himself.

He talks of wanting to heal a countryside decimated in the name of progress although admitted ‘trying to translate a series of rather vague feelings into practical, organic action was considerably more challenging than I thought’. I feel just the same, although sadly I don’t have a staff of gardeners to help me along my way.

One of our old neighbours is a landscape designer and although he said he doesn’t accept money from friends for plans, he is happy to come and have a walk around our property and give us some advice. I just cannot wait for this to happen so that we can start putting some structure into place that I can then fill in over the years.

And even if we didn't have this option, I would be educating myself with gardening books and internet searches. I'll see what style of garden I like and how different plants grow in our climate.

I already have plants in pots that I have taken from cuttings at my Dad’s place – box hedging and hydrangeas. I have visions of a path with hedging, white stone or shell, lavender, lemon, lime and mandarin trees, a Daphne bush for winter fragrance, a herb garden and summer vegetables.

I’ve dabbled in gardens to varying degrees over the years, more when I was a homeowner previous and in pots whilst renting, but am still very much a beginner.

I spent 15 minutes weeding last night before dinner as it was such a beautiful and balmy summer evening. I thought 15 minutes often is a good way to deal with maintenance such as weeding, especially as I have put my foot down and instituted the ‘no poisons on our property’ rule.

And of course I will be doing all this on a small budget, over time, a la Kaizen.

I am cheered on with turning our place into a mini-Highgrove by this quote from Joan Collins (really, how many times would you read of the Prince of Wales and Joan Collins in the same post?):

‘Make plans even if they might be a touch unrealistic. One of the keys to being happy is to believe in a beautiful future. Hope springs eternal.’

From ‘Joan’s Way - Looking Good, Feeling Great’, by Joan Collins

Kaizen

I was talking with my husband tonight about making our new home better over time, both with cleaning effort and low-cost updates. He told me about kaizen, which is Japanese for small and gradual improvement and that’s how their successful companies work.

I actually got very excited by this as it's how I live my life, and there’s a name for it. How often does that happen? I don't really go for high-cost, high-maiintenance but enjoy finding the d.i.y. low-cost, creative route.

Because we are focused on paying our home loan off in a much shorter time than the standard 25 years, we have decided to wait and see what improvements we want to do that require serious capital input.

We also practice this with our shop. I see other retail stores that spend big dollars on a fancy fitout (and make me feel like we should do the same) but within a few years have closed down.

Everything we do in our business we ask ‘how many pairs of shoes do we have to sell to pay for this, and is it worth it?’ Of course we have to be professional, but there are many, many ways to waste money I have found.

And we want our shop to be around for a long time. Being fiscally responsible is one way to ensure that as much as possible.

I often think imagine if you had a camera set up that took time-lapse photos of your home. It would show from the date you moved in how much better it looked month on month and year on year.

I’m sure ‘kaizen’ isn’t a better known term (or maybe you’ve already heard of it) because it’s not as exciting as the ‘big reveal’ of a makeover programme where everything is changed in an instant and everything is brand-new.

Just like a diet, slow and steady brings gradual and permanent change. As others have wisely noted in the comments section, our tastes change over time too, so if you redecorate your home all at once (obviously having just won the lottery), mightn’t you get sick of it soon?

As with personal style, I think it’s better to grow into your home look.

Click here and here for Wikipedia entries on Kaizen.

New House - Our Bedroom

As with the living room, Miss Jessica enjoys the sun streaming into the master bedroom. Most days after work we find her in our bedroom upstairs. In fact I don't think there has been one day she has been downstairs when we've arrived home.




How fortuitous that these lovely ropes were already holding the curtains back when we moved in. They're just my style.


One of the things I liked about this place before we bought it (OK, the main thing) was the triple width wardrobe in our bedroom.


We're going to get fancy built-in wardrobe people to come around and quote for us as there's a lot of space in there and I think we can get rid of our drawers and just have a spacious hotel-like bedroom with a bed and a wardrobe.


My makeup area. The larger of the two mirrors I found on the side of the road. I love it.



The ensuite off our bedroom. This is one end.


And this is the other.

New House - The Living Room

First up in my mini house-tour is the living room. Our main living area is open plan living/dining/kitchen, in the classic L shape.

Jessica loves how the sun coats her fur through the French doors.


As tempting as it is to update the whole house straight away (after all we plan to be here for quite some time), it's a more exciting prospect to pay the mortgage off quicker whilst making do, and doing things over time and within our everyday budget. That actually thrills me more.


Creativity will be called in, and the style will evolve. Things that I would have considered non-negotiable when we moved here (less than a month ago), I now can live without.

It helps to have a father-in-law who lives just down the road and is very handy and has kept every piece of timber or curtain rail he has ever come across. We even have a rimu bannister coming from one of his friends.


We have joined the 21st century with wireless internet. I made the tablecloth from a $10 curtain remnant.


I feel so content and at peace that we own our own home. It is such a fantastic feeling and I am so grateful.


The gorgeous handmade bookshelf from my Dad a few years ago. Both my father and father-in-law are retired engineers. We are doubly blessed.

Bonjour

Bonjour chic friends! I’ve so enjoyed my month ‘almost’ away from technology and would heartily recommend it to anyone wishing to regain some equilibrium. I did check email and bank accounts daily, and had the occasional blog read, but just knowing I didn’t have any commitments was wonderful and so calming.

Of course I wasn’t sitting on a poolside lounger with a trashy novel and a drink with an umbrella in it, but I did get in some relaxation time in between moving house, unpacking, running a busy shop (in school holidays no less which is at times insanely busy) and trying not to have takeaway dinners too often.

It only took a handful of nights for us to get sick of eaten-out dinners and craving home-cooked real food and lots of veges. And we only had one fast-food breakfast– it was quite a novelty because we very rarely do it, but I somehow don’t think my ideal Paris girl would be caught dead eating a sausage and egg muffin with deep-fried hash brown at 8am (or anytime!). At least I was sitting down at a chair and table, that was probably the only French-inspired detail.

The funniest breakfast was at our old place when mostly everything was packed and I found my husband eating Weetbix made with hot water (rather than his usual hot milk) ladling it into his mouth with a large-size black plastic serving spoon out of a cooking pot. He was very happy though and said it was like an adventure. I think he was quite proud of himself for improvising.

Even though I still haven’t unpacked two of our three bedrooms (the guest room and office/sewing room), the rest of our house is pretty much set up, albeit in a slightly haphazard manner which I am tidying as I go. Just being in our own house makes me so happy and content, even though there are many little maintenance and decor things that need addressing.

I actually enjoyed cleaning our twenty-year old oven last week because it’s our oven, and I have to say it sparkles. We will update the kitchen eventually, but for the moment I am more than happy cooking in and keeping clean and organised my outdated kitchen because, yes, it’s our kitchen.

The area we live in now I am very pleased with too. It’s where my husband grew up, so he feels instantly secure and happy here. It has a really nice family feeling, with people walking their dogs and out with their children after work. There are even ducks which waddle around in pairs, and I saw a Mother duck and her ducklings. There are some ponds nearby which explains exactly why you sometimes have to wait for the ducks to cross before you can turn into your driveway.

I haven’t picked up Jessica cat yet, I go in a few days time. But at the top of this post is a photo of her which the cat shelter kindly sent me. I remembered her as being quite homely but perhaps she was having an off day as she is quite the pretty girl here. I felt mean looking at the most beautiful cats thinking which one I should choose, so I asked the shelter person ‘which one needs a home the most’ and came away sponsoring Jessica until we could pick her up.

Another thing I love about our neighbourhood is, while we are out in the suburbs, it is on a direct and nearby bus route into the city, and there is a big supermarket, shops, and restaurants within walking distance. It took me eight minutes to walk to the supermarket the other day to pick up a few items for dinner. I am glad we can continue to live well with one car. I never mind taking public transport either, it always makes me feel like I live in a big city. I just have to remember to tuck a book into my bag.

So that’s all to report in with now. I will share some photos with you when the house is looking a little more presentable. I've taken many photos and I'll entertain you with some befores and afters one day, but I'm afraid at the moment they are all 'befores'!

Living a chic life

Originally posted on La Vie En Fifi, 3 October 2008

With my interest in all things chic, how could I pass up a book entitled 'Chic - life as it should be'. Stylish and authoritative. One reviewer said the author Colin Cowie made Martha Stewart look like a slob, and reading this book confirms that as a fact. Apart from writing books, he is a very highbrow events co-ordinator.

It is a very inspiring read, makes me get up and declutter a shelf after finishing a chapter. For example, rather than have a bedside table cluttered with everything you could ever want to reach for, Colin has the top drawer all but empty, with the essentials laid out on one of those lacy thin rubber mats cut to fit the drawer (to stop everything sliding around).

For me, body butter, hand cream, lip cream, lip balm, pen and paper, mini alarm clock and a few other bits and pieces (I'm too embarrassed to tell you about my bookmark collection so I always have a pretty one to use). And then you would have a few choice items on the top. He said his goal is to have his home look like a chic hotel.

This book also has many pictures of Colin's home in NYC. His style is a little masculine for me, however I can appreciate the stylish orderliness and I covet his labelled, stacked, grouped closets and cupboards.

An excerpt from the book:

The foundation of any well-run home is cleanliness and order. An orderly house will not only give you pleasure, it will also make everything in your life, from writing a thank-you note the day after a fabulous evening to opening your home to over-night guests, that much more effortless.

Living elegantly means creating a place you look forward to coming home to, a place where you can entertain happily, harmoniously, and generously.

If my home is in order, I feel as though my life is in order and I can take on anything. I love walking into an intelligently designed, immaculate kitchen. I love opening the freezer door and finding everything I need neatly stacked: frozen appetisers ready to be popped into the oven, decorator ice cubes available to enliven a chic cocktail, chicken stock waiting to form the base of a delicious home-made soup.

In the closet, I love finding my shirts arranged from light to dark, short-sleeve to long, beautifully starched, and hanging from matching hangers. I love clean, polished surfaces that are stripped of any unnecessary clutter. I love opening my desk drawers and immediately finding business cards, personal stationery, pens, and my cell phone charger. And at night, I love retiring to a bedroom so pulled together and luxuriously welcoming that I could easily mistake it for a five star hotel suite.

Keep the things that are precious to you close by and available so they can be used on a regular basis. Everything else should be stored in a safe place, not left out on display. Serving bowls should be on the tables only when they’re overflowing with food, and there’s nothing at all exciting about an empty vase perched on a windowsill (even if it’s Lalique!). Less is definitely more!

For example, a simple vase with one exotic flower on a central table can be more astonishing than that same vignette surrounded by fourteen framed pictures and half a dozen objets from your last European vacation.

Instead, keep a separate closet or cupboard where you can store your collection of decorative items. When you bring them out for entertaining, they’ll seem brand new again. Use your pieces to create varied and interesting vignettes and fresh atmospheres, then put them away for the next time the mood strikes.

Invest in drawer dividers, baskets, and closet organisers. Trays and decorative bowls can also be fantastic containers for odds and ends such as keys and loose change. Create areas for everything you use, which will allow you to find what you’re looking for when you’re looking for it.

Try to take twenty minutes each day to tidy up and put things back where they belong. When you’re having a few friends over for drinks or throwing a party, you shouldn’t have to do a major all-day cleaning. The longer you delay straightening up, the more burdensome it is to clean. It’s much better, and a lot less overwhelming, to maintain order and cleanliness as you move through your day.

Granted, most people work and have to scramble to keep up with household chores. But ideally, you’ll get to a point where with a bit of soap and water, a mop and a broom, some dimmer switches on the lights and a little music, your home should be ready to receive guests at practically a moment’s notice. A little at a time goes a long way.

---

I saw Colin and his partner on Oprah and he was so engaging and funny I couldn’t help but liking him. His partner said if he ever wants to upset Colin all he has to do is shake a drawer so everything gets mixed up. Colin may sound a little OCDish but he makes it seem so appealing. You can view that Oprah session here.

I think Colin's advice to take a small amount of time to tidy up each day is so wise. It really makes a huge difference to both the smooth running of my household, and my levels of serenity. I also changed my bedside table to reflect Colin's recommendations (above) two and a half years ago when I first read the book, and it is still like that today. It must be working.

Image of Colin's bedside table from instyle.com

Loving your home

Today, on my day off at home I did one of my favourite things – potter. Pottering is part housework, part moving things around, part prettifying your abode. We live in a small home, and it’s a constant effort to not let stuff take over. I make regular trips to the charity store with drop-offs and work my way around areas as they bother me.

Because our living area is petite, there is not a large difference in the way I can rearrange furniture, but I do it anyway. I swap the sofas over (they go well together but do not match) and shift the side tables around. I turn the rectangular dining table to face longways rather than sideways. The art on the wall is moved around.

All ornaments are taken down, washed in the kitchen and then put back in other areas. Sometimes some are put away and others are taken out. We have very few surfaces for ornaments and rotating them makes you appreciate them more. At the moment I have a white theme going on.

And while I’m doing all this of course I can vacuum every part of the carpet including corners and edges, and polish the tables.

I only do it when the urge takes me, that way it’s fun. It really makes everything look fresh and new, having been cleaned and the furniture and paintings/prints in different places.

When your home looks stale and boring, dusty and uninspiring, it is tempting to go shopping for some light entertainment and buy a rug, candle or doodad. Resist that temptation for when you get home again, your dusty and stale home will still be there and you will have added an extra piece of clutter.

A pottering day (or even pottering-few-hours like I had) is just the tonic. Your home will feel like a très stylish boutique hotel. Sadly the image above is not where I live. It's one of my favourite places to stay - The Langham Hotel.

Chic and Frugal Sewing

I have been sewing a long time, probably twenty-five to thirty years. In spite of that I am not very advanced. It’s because I’m relaxed and also possibly a little lazy. I like it that way.

I made more ambitious things when I was younger than I do now. As a teen watching movies like Pretty in Pink and Madonna’s one (with the lace singlet tops) I was inspired to make my own clothing and enjoyed wearing my creations out to the movies with friends. A few of us made our own clothing – we must have looked quite ‘creative’.

In my twenties I also made clothing but eventually drifted into dressing the home rather than dressing myself. The only problem with making your own clothing (when you’re as slow and exacting as I am) is that you can’t see what it looks like on. And if you don’t like it afterwards then tough luck.


My sister is the complete opposite, she started sewing when her youngest was born four years ago and is now such an accomplished seamstress she drafts her own patterns and sells online. I am happy to sit in the shade created by her capability and output and just continue on my own puttering way.

My chic and frugal sewing is what I use to make my house a home and create handmade memories along the way. I have recovered cushions, made simple patchwork cushion covers (like the ones above, and top), and even tried my hand at curtains. Curtains aren’t as easy as they look, even if they are all straight lines.


My recovered ironing board, above. Below, tablecloth made from a remnant of fabric, hemmed around the edges.


I made a duvet cover once from a sheet set I liked and (it was the nineties) it had ties all along the end. It already had ready-made pillowcases with it. It’s an easy way to get a duvet cover you like, although I would use buttons or domes rather than the ties these days. Imagine buying two sets of white sheets and using one of them to make a duvet cover. What a cloud-like sanctuary the bed would be then!

Every so often when I pass an upholstery or furniture store and notice piles of remnants and samples I take a look. I have found gorgeous, expensive English furnishing fabrics at a fraction of their original cost. These offcuts make great tablecloths, cushion covers, napkins (if thinner), placemats and pot-holders at a tiny price. They look very luxe (because they are) and make everything else around them look fancier.

Below, a table runner made from a piece of fine corduroy. I used the fringe-y selvedges to finish the pointed ends.


It’s funny how if you choose the offcuts that really appeal to you, no matter if you think they aren’t your colours or are too ‘out there’, they all blend together to make your taste. And they do all go together.

Sewing is such a great skill to have. A sewing machine is a fabulous addition to any home and they aren’t that expensive – you can buy them second-hand and have serviced (get a simple one that is mechanical rather than electronic – there’s less to go wrong). But even if you don’t have a sewing machine a basic sewing kit will help you sew on buttons, take up a hem and make minor adjustments to clothing.

Cushion covers below were made with the same $10 offcut I used for the ironing board cover.


Something like a t-shirt neckline you don’t like can be altered by hand-sewing a couple of inches of running stitch from the centre front down into the shirt. Pucker this up (or should I say gather) and you will have created a new look. I also did this with a singlet top where I felt the strap tops were too wide (it looked quite dowdy). I gathered along the shoulder seam on each side and it looked a lot prettier.

Recently a friend of my mother’s gave me two summer skirts. They were mid-calf length and a-line. I shortened them to just on the knee and now I have two new skirts. I have also finally discovered a skirt style that I like on me.

Do you make home items yourself, or reshape clothing you have bought or been given?

A Place of Order and Beauty

Today I had a productive day at home. On my day off I mostly choose not to drop my husband into work so I don’t have to pick him up again. I am then free to focus completely on being at home, whether it is cleaning, pottering, decluttering and tidying or crafting, reading and relaxing.

I did my usual homemaking tasks such as vacuuming the carpet, hand-mopping the hard floors (we have three small areas), running and emptying the dishwasher, dusting, laundry, making the bed and preparing dinner.

I also like to concentrate on one additional area in depth. Today it was the kitchen. I have additional kitchen items like the slowcooker and sandwich press in our tiny home office, because they don’t fit in the kitchen cupboards and I don’t want them out on the bench.

I was playing Anthea Turner’s Perfect Housewife dvd non-stop in the background. Anthea would never stand for that, I thought. So I emptied out our kitchen cupboards (it didn’t take long, we have a tiny kitchen), wiped and dried the shelves and then put most things back, including, wonder of wonders, the slowcooker and sandwich press. Of course they fitted, with room to spare.

Inspired, I also did the pantry, tidying it as I put things back after cleaning the shelves. I found food I thought we had run out of (including three packs of long pasta when I didn’t think we had one). And our pantry isn’t that big. It showed me that you really have to do these things on a regular basis.

If you haven’t viewed Anthea Turner’s programme you’re in for a treat. She lives in a beautiful Surrey mansion (well, before the credit crunch in England, she had to move to a smaller mansion afterwards) and takes homemaking to an art form. I picked up plenty of tips as I watched (or should I say re-watched for the 60th time).

Something I really like that she said was to treat the running of your home like a small business, ‘because it is your business’. She also said the running of the home was not dissimilar to the running of a boutique hotel.

I listened to some podcasts of Anthea while I was working too (had to pause the dvd for those).

And here are Anthea’s top 10 tips from the same website.

1. You can’t run a home that’s a mess, so first of all you have to de-clutter it. If it’s not beautiful, useful or seriously sentimental - IT GOES. Charity shop or bin (you decide what’s best).

2. There’s no getting away from it, you have to clean - often and frequent is my tip.

3. When cleaning always start by dusting first, once everything’s cleaned down then hoover and wipe floors.

4. Make your house a home. Consider your house from an aesthetic point of view, does it make you feel good. If not what can you add to it to make it more appealing.

5. Run your home like a business and treat it with the same seriousness. Think about how you could run your home more efficiently, certain days for food shopping, budgets etc.

6. Storage is very important, for instance - don’t have winter coats on the coat rack during summer, store them away, think about shrink wrapping them if necessary.

7. Teamwork is also really important, when your children get to a certain age they can help with household chores, putting dirty washing away, cleaning and tidying away their toys etc.

8. Avoid Wastage. If you cut up a lemon and have a dishwasher put the left over half into the dishwasher. It adds a little ting and sparkle in your wash.

9. Get organised. Purchase a diary you can pin on your kitchen wall and put every event and birthday into this diary.

10. Finances, keep them up to date - if you have bills to pay keep everything in one place or buy a folder to keep them in.

I also decluttered quite a few items – I went through my candle cupboard. We burn them every night so get through a fair few, but having consolidated my candle collection I won’t need to purchase any for quite a while. I decluttered about half of my candle holders.

When I buy or are given a scented candle, often the glass is really pretty too. After the candle is used I put them in the freezer to shrink the last bit of wax and pop that out, then put the glass into the dishwasher. Apart from putting tealights or new candles in them, I use them in the bathroom drawer for cotton makeup squares, my towelling headband etc, and in my makeup area for brushes, pencils, mascara and tweezers (which are hung on the side to protect the point).

Still, I had a lot more than I wanted. So I chose my favourites and donated the rest.

A few more items went in the Red Cross Shop pile – decorative items that while are quite pretty, I just don’t use. An example is the cream coloured semi-precious agate stone (the shape and size of a chicken egg) on a small brass stand. Every time I see it I am reminded of the woman I used to work with who gave it to me. She was mostly quite nasty and condescending, and out of the blue she gave this to me as a gift. I don’t really want to be reminded of her.

Another good thing about my day of homemaking – it’s a good workout. I feel really nicely tired/relaxed. Anthea thinks so too - ‘You don’t need to go to the gym, just put on a pinny’.

30 Chic Days – Day Sixteen

Day 16: Tidy up as you go

On Sunday I had a long over-due day at home while my husband was at work. It was just me and the poodle. I pottered and tidied and did laundry and it was wonderful. I had missed my previous day off as a day-at-home because little Atlas had his vet check-up. We only have one car so I drop my husband off to work and pick up him afterwards. So my day at home included the home, but not me.

This meant nothing got done and because we’ve been busy at work I haven’t felt the motivation to get stuck into doing things when we’ve arrived home. Evenings are for relaxing! Not so relaxing though when the table by my armchair (under the reading lamp) has magazines piled piggledy, a layer of dust, extraneous extras (such as a knitting pattern I printed out for a ‘small dog’ jersey, our rescued poodle feels the cold being so thin).

Not to mention laundry accumulating and the bed haphazardly made.

I woke on Monday morning after such a good sleep, and a clean and tidy house only added to my well-being as I got ready for work. When a home is organised and neat, it’s so much easier to put something away. When I let things slide, what’s one more thing on the ‘to put away’ pile?

I am now being very diligent with tidying up as I go, as I have a few more of my days off work in the future where I won’t be able to be at home.

Just a simple thing like clearing out the living area before we go up to bed in the evening, putting remotes and tv guide in the basket by the sofa, wiping off the coffee table, putting cloth napkins in the washing basket, tea cups in the dishwasher and straighten my end table, removing things that should not be there. It’s much nicer to come down to in the morning.

Thrifty yet chic

I burn candles every day, mostly a little tea-light in a pretty glass with dinner (that's the 'minimum candle requirement'). On a day at home pottering, cleaning and relaxing, I love to light a high-quality scented candle. The only problem with high-quality scented candles though, is the high price.

I have been known to haunt the local L'Occitane shop (gorgeous French body products, as well as candles and incense) and when they recently had a half price sale on some of their candles, I was in. Around the same time I also scored a 30% off Ecoya candle.

In my dreams I burn Diptyque and Jo Malone candles with gay abandon, but I haven't reached those giddy heights yet. So we've established now that I get a little queasy spending big money on candles (which, after all, no matter how pretty they smell you just burn them, right?).

Do you know what upsets me more? Having to throw out the burnt-out base when the last little bit of wick gives in and droops into the molten wax, never to be revived. Leaving a thick foundation of wax with the remains of the walls of the candle also. All that lovely fragrance, trapped and wasted!

Then I started noticing a new product in shops - 'scented wax melts'. They piqued my interest. What if I snapped off pieces of leftover highly-expensive candle and melted them in my rarely used essential oil vapouriser? And do you know what? Just a little chunk of defunct scented candle placed in the vapouriser (no water) with a tealight candle underneath releases the fragrance as the chunk (sorry, 'scented wax melt') liquifies.

After a short while (around two tealight candles, so about 8-10 hours) the wax loses its scent and it's ready to be thrown out. If it was still a candle like in it's former life, it would have burnt away. But in it's new life as a wax melt, it just uses up the scent and stays put. I then leave it to harden and put the whole vapouriser in the freezer. The next day the wax disk simply pops out and I bin it. The vapouriser is left pretty clean too, just a tiny amount of wax to scrape off here and there.

That's how I get fancy candles out of jars too, put the whole thing in the freezer (when it's solid, not just after it goes out) and because freezing shrinks the wax a touch, it should come out relatively easily, sometimes a butter knife is needed.

So I'm here to say to you today, folks, do not throw away your fancy candles when you think there is no hope, because there is!

Making your home like a boutique hotel

I found this article over the weekend. It's about the 'staycation', a new-money saving way of going on holiday by staying at home. I'm all for the staycation. As small business owners, we don't get to go away much at all, but our version of a staycation is to spend the night (or even - gasp - two) at a fancy hotel ten minutes down the road from our shop. It still feels like a holiday!

What I like most about this article is that it has lots of lovely ideas on how to make your home like a boutique hotel, and quite novel ways to enjoy your staycation. They may seem a bit silly, but, like the carpet picnic, are actually really fun, and shake up the ordinary. And we all need that sometimes.

I think our next staycation will be at home. And in the meantime I will be using all the wonderful tips on making our home like a boutique hotel. Why not live like this every day?

Here is the article:

Holidaying at Home

This is how my next holiday will go: the husband and I will pack the kids into the car at a civilised hour. We will drive for 10 minutes, have a leisurely brunch somewhere new, then drive for another 10 minutes to our boutique hotel.

It will be spotless and private. There will be flowers on the table, luxury toiletries in the bathroom and plenty of toys for the kids. The beds will be comfortable and configured exactly to our needs. There will be a cosy fire and the mini bar will be full of complimentary treats. Our hosts will have anticipated our every desire.

It will be our own house.

It's called a "holiday at home". Which is not the same as a week off work that you spend at home because the bathroom needs repainting. Nor is it (necessarily) a week spent in front of the television.

A holiday at home means you become a tourist in your own city and transform your home (even just in your mind) into a hotel. That means no work, no chores and no errands. It means abandoning your routine and trying new things: foods, restaurants, parks, attractions.

Yes, it might take a leap of imagination, especially if your home is closer to a backpackers' lodge than a five-star hotel and it rains for the entire week, but if you can pull it off think of the benefits: no expensive airfares, no jetlag, no "are we there yet?", no $9 Mars bars from the mini bar, no need for carbon offsets, no driving in circles in a strange city.

Holidaying at home has caught on so strongly in the US it's got its own buzzword: the "staycation". With the financial crisis and soaring oil prices, staying home has become the new going away.

Like any holiday, a staycation can benefit from preparation. Save for it and set a budget, just as you might for a holiday overseas. Tie up household admin and loose ends before you "go". Use some of the money you might have spent on airfares and accommodation to get gourmet groceries and treats delivered and book a cleaner, a gardener, a lawn-mowing service, a laundry service, a mobile massage therapist and beauty therapist, a dog walker, a nanny - even a personal chef.

Wellington life coach Cassandra Gaisford suggests you pinpoint what you need a holiday from. "What needs to remain the same, what needs to change? If you need a break from walking the dog, or the ageing cat is peeing on the carpet you may want to think about checking them into a pet motel.

"Plan some FTEs - first-time experiences. Rediscover your sense of adventure. Break out of the comfort rut. Your FTEs don't have to be huge - they may be seeing a show or eating something different."

Transforming your surroundings can also help you relax into holiday mode. Ponsonby interior designer Fiona McLeod suggests you ask yourself what it is about a luxury boutique hotel that's appealing.

"For me it's tranquility and minimalism. Get everything off the floor except your furniture and your feet, and completely clear the kitchen bench except for a bowl of fruit. If you have a fireplace, light it, and add to the ambience with candles and aromatherapy.

"Treat yourself. Buy a pile of magazines and fan them out on your coffee table. Buy luxury bath and shower products and splash out on a few extra accessories, like designer cushions, new towels or an ornamental bowl, to make your home slightly different from the norm."

As with any good holiday, a staycation is about eating fun food. If holidays mean lobster and fresh mango, put them on your shopping list. If you regard cooking as a chore, don't do it. Go out for meals at restaurants and cafes you've never tried, or live on "room service" (home-delivered takeaways). If you enjoy cooking, buy gourmet and unfamiliar ingredients and create new dishes.

After our family staycation, we will return home at leisure, perhaps stopping at a cafe on the way to transition out of holiday mode. We will be rested and stimulated. And the bill will be very reasonable.

The rules of a staycation

1. Set a departure time.
To help you make the mental switch to holiday mode, and declare an end date. Get excited.

2. Switch off the world.
No phones, no email, no mail, no internet and definitely no work. Tell your boss you're holidaying in the Sub-Antarctic Islands and can't be contacted.

3. Abandon routine.
Eat when you're hungry, sleep when you're tired, drink whenever you declare it to be cocktail hour. Let the kids play Scrabble until midnight and give them chocolate for breakfast and Weet-Bix for dinner.

4. Hire "staff"to do your chores.
Do not go on errands or do housework.

5. Diet be damned.
If you even touch that packet of mixed veggies in the freezer, you're disqualified and have to go back to work immediately. Daily icecreams are compulsory.

6. Go on day trips and try new things.
Be a tourist: think dolphin-watching, a harbour cruise, a wine tour, a drive in the country, the Auckland Harbour Bridge walk, shopping somewhere new for something fun. Hire a luxury car, do a wine-tasting course, try something creative, go to the theatre or learn a new sport.

7. Avoid familiarity.
Take the children to playgrounds and parks they've never been to before. Play tennis (if you don't usually). Walk or cycle as much as possible.

8. Spend your holiday allowance frivolously.
Buy a good book and new toys for the kids (and you). Turn your home into a day spa.

9. Send postcards.
Take photos, make videos, buy souvenirs.

10. Host cocktail hour.
Serve your friends daiquiris from coconuts. Better still, invite them for the weekend - even if they live nearby.

- Of course I don't agree with the point about sending your pet away. That to me is the best part of the staycation, you get to enjoy your pet's company too. -

A contradiction in style

A lot of the pages I tear out of home décor magazines show shabby chic, heavily French style, dreamy white/pink floral confections and other ornate fancies. What I actually live with is a mix of modern/plain/simple and a bit of French gilt.

A friend who visited my home for the first time many years ago was shocked that my home was not all English/French country cottage style. Her home was, and I used to love going from room to room and taking in the details.

I haven’t made a conscious effort to replicate the rooms I saw and liked. What I did was choose items which spoke to me at the time I needed them. Some are new and some are second-hand. I’ve ended up with ‘my-style’ which is actually quite different to what I thought I liked.

I made a cushion cover once, of quilted cotton cabbage roses in shades of pink, with green leaves. It was a beautiful, expensive chintz-type (bought as a bargain basement remnant of course, I’m a thrifty girl). The back was lined with layers of calico and fastened with small, creamy rose-shaped buttons which were recycled.

That poor cushion always looked out of place, no matter where I put it – on the bed, on a chair, on the sofa. It then went into the linen closet (minus its inner). Perhaps I should gift it to someone whose style suits it.

The colours I have ended up gathering around me are: mushroom, taupe, camel, caramel, white, cream, licorice and black. Lots of cream and white balanced with the neutrals and a small amount of the darker colours.

A colour I would really like to introduce is the burnt orange of a Veuve Clicquot label. I’m not influenced by the French champagne link at all, really.

When I come home I need a place where my eyes (and body) can rest. That's why I'm on the constant path of editing. The home interiors images I am most drawn to these days are ones where there are clear table tops, empty spaces, room to breathe.

I'm certainly not a pointy corner modernist though, I love the worn-in goodness of old stuff, just not too much please, and the right pieces.

I think I am going about home décor the same way I am looking at my wardrobe. Getting rid of items that are not quite right first, and then slowly filling in the spaces.

A Peaceful Bedroom

I did a mini-makeover on our bedroom a couple of nights ago. After reading about bedroom feng shui I was itching to change things around a little and have a good clean. Here’s what I did:

- Moved the bed here and there (so I could get under it), and vacuumed just about every loop of carpet in the room, and the corners and edges. That always ‘feels’ nice afterwards.
- Moved some containers of books which were behind the door to another room.
- Removed a few things from under the bed so there are now three containers at the foot end (containing hair dryer and GHDs etc, scarves and bags).
- Pinned up a canopy of natural coloured fabric above our bed.
- Put away the browsing/boudoir books that were stacked on my bedside table. Now only my current reading book is there. My browsing books are all on our main book shelf in the living room.

Our bedroom is pretty much as I want it, given the constraints of the room and the fact we live in a rental property. I’m so thankful the entire house is painted a soft off-white, including the ceilings and beams. It gives a very fresh look so we have a good blank canvas.

Anyone who knows even a tiny bit about feng shui knows beams are not good news, and especially beams above the bed. We also have a slanted ceiling on two sides in both bedrooms. Slanted ceilings and beams are not good separately let alone together.

The slanted ceilings 'press' down on you as you sleep and the beams ‘chop’ into you. I decided to create a canopy over our bed which still doesn’t make the situation ideal, but helps out somewhat.

I may have a look at getting some white, filmy, cotton muslin instead if it doesn't cost too much. I think this would look lovely and airy draped across most of the width of the ceiling. I could almost pretend I was India Hicks living her idyllic island life.

Being the shrewish wife that I am, I made my husband drag home the stepladder from work and then found I could achieve what I wanted to by standing on the bed. Thankfully he stowed the stepladder in our car the next morning without saying a word.

With excess possessions removed, a good spring-cleaning and the billowy canopy our bedroom feels new and fresh, and like the retreat from the world that it should be.