Woman in Real Life

With all the talk about pumpkin spice lattes this week, I think most of us are ready for fall. Beach days, sandals and picnics in the park are pretty much behind us, and we're thinking about autumn walks through the woods, creamy soups and cozy throw blankets. Not that we won't miss summer!

My husband was home for the summer, and we spent a lot of time on the house, decluttering and tackling projects in various rooms. It felt really good to clean out and go (a bit) more minimal. We have loads of books and collectibles, but my goal is to have them all neat and tidy and in place, without clutter on counters and floors. We're not quite there, but I feel more confident that it will indeed happen. As we worked on our house, I browsed some decor books to keep me motivated. Here are a few that I found really inspiring. I think you'll like them too.

At the start of each new year, a lot of us think about making some small (or big?) changes in our lives, maybe starting up a new hobby or taking steps towards discovering our inner selves a little bit more. I believe that we keep finding out more about ourselves - our preferences, our passions and our paths in life - no matter how old we are. I also believe that books are a powerful tool to assist us in finding our passions. That's why I started off the new year by perusing some interesting titles from DK Books.

As I said in part one of A Book Lover's Christmas Gift Guide, books make the best of gifts. And there's a book that's right for absolutely everyone you know! You simply have to give some thought to their interests, passions and preferences. And don't forget to consider an e-book for those who prefer them. I know my mom has trouble holding books now with the arthritis in her hands. She prefers e-books.

I always love to get a book as a gift. There are so many wonderful things about books as gifts. You can find a book to please pretty much everyone on your list. The right choice of book can speak to how you feel about someone. It can bring your gift recipient pleasure, new knowledge and possibly some laughs. And books are affordable - you can get a great book for under 20 bucks.

Some of you may recall that I embarked on a 4-month purge back in May, with a goal of finally weeding out ALL (or most) of the abundance of excess stuff we have in our home. You might well wonder, if this was a "4-month" purge and began back in May, why am I writing about it still? Good question.

I wouldn't want to say that the purge was a failure, because we actually made great strides, getting rid of an unprecedented (for us) amount of stuff - clothing, magazines, papers, VHS tapes, etc. But progress got stalled somewhere along the way (mainly when the kids were home for the summer) and frankly hasn't picked up all that much since. The really good thing is, though, I have more confidence about my ability to toss unneeded items. I saw some real successes and I am ready for a solid phase two. In that spirit, I want to show you the success that my family had in paring down and organizing our books. Books are a tough category for us, because we hold them dearly in our hearts.

It's September 8th already! Gosh, I didn't see that coming. (Okay, I saw it coming, but I stayed firmly in a position of denial.) The kids are off to school today, feeling no doubt the usual first-day mix of excitement and nerves. I wish all the kiddos starting school this week the best! Here's hoping it's the greatest school year yet!

It's a month past my birthday, but I saw my sister recently and she gave me these Carolyn Keene books that she so thoughtfully purchased for me. When we were kids, I was quite the reader - often preferring my books to outdoor activities. Nancy Drew was one of my favourite series to read. My sister (who is also called Nancy) recalled that I had a few of these 1970s Nancy Drew books and thought I'd want some more. She is an accomplished gift giver, suiting her choices to the person so well.

If you follow me on Instagram, you'll know that I suffered a bit of a setback recently in my 4-month purge. I was working on my books category, already a challenge because my husband and I have hundreds of books between us. (I'm doing the kids' books separately later.)

My husband mentioned casually that there were "a couple" of boxes of books under the work table in the storage room. I dug them out and found that there were actually six more boxes full of books! Prior to that moment I thought I had the books well in hand, but this presented a challenge. After a brief moment of despair, I decided that this should prove to be motivation to purge even more freely.

But I digress. I plan to post a separate post about my book organization later. Really I just wanted to show you a few of the vintage books I uncovered in those six boxes.

I was chatting with Project Little Smith's Lilly on Instagram the other day. She was making an effort to organize her large collection of books. That got me thinking (as I frequently do) about how to best organize my own books in order to both enjoy them and keep a tidy home. (Can it be done?)

We have books everywhere in this house - piled on both sides of our bed in the master bedroom, on bookshelves and in drawers in the kids' rooms, on bookshelves in the basement, living room and family room and in boxes in the basement. Don't get me wrong, I love having books all around us, but I would like to get up the courage to toss a few and organize the remaining ones better.

When I was in my teens and my twenties, most of the thrifting I did was for books. My then-boyfriend, now-husband and I used to find all kinds of cheap books in the basement of the Amity in downtown Hamilton. Back then, I stumbled across this strangely wonderful medical book. Published by Abbott Laboratories in North Chicago, ILL., it's called "What's New: Special Christmas Edition 1953."

This weekend was soccer-free and, as such, a great time to visit family members. We started on Friday with a visit to my parents at the cottage.

Here's the World War II airplane that rests outside the nearby Dunnville Public Library. I have to say the little head inside freaks me out just a bit. We always attend the library's annual summer book sale with my mom. Here's what I bought.

When I wrote about how I store all of my thrifted and inherited dishes about a month ago, it really made me think twice about doing any more thrift store shopping. How many dishes can one family use, after all?

This past weekend, I once again visited the small town near my parents' home ("the cottage"). I couldn't resist checking out the local thrift shop, which has all sorts of amazing vintage dishes. But I was strong. I decided anything I bought would have to be useful in some way, and I only bought two small things. I plan to use this pretty dish, above, to hold soap in our master bathroom. It would also make a nice candy dish but candy wouldn't last long out in the open around here. It cost me $2.

Last week, I showed you the vintage books hidden away in my son's closet. I really enjoyed hearing about all of the classic stories that made an impression on you guys as children.

Some of you expressed an interest in knowing what books were hidden behind the books in the front rows of my son's bookshelves. So, here they are. I see why these ones were tucked in the back - because I've never read most of them! Many, like these ones above, are adventure stories - dare I call them boys' books?

You know I love books. I do. I love them. My love for them is irrational. I continue to covet them, collect them and display them even though I already have waaaay too many - way more than I could ever possibly find the time to read.

But rarely have I been so excited as when a package arrived at my door recently from Gibbs Smith. I know that some of you are already familiar with the BabyLit series. When I posted a photo on Instagram, some of you told me how much you love the collection.

Tucked into my son's closet, between his bath robe and his t-shirts, is one of my favourite collections -  the books I enjoyed as a child.

We put them on a bookshelf behind closet doors a few years ago. I didn't want to box them and forget about them. I wanted to share them with my kids when the time was right. But, we had to keep them out of sight for the most part because our kids tend to destroy everything in their paths.

Today I'm sharing a look at an easy, fun sewing project I did recently. How do I know it's easy? I made it. That means it has to be easy.

This was only my second sewing project ever (unless you count Valentine's hearts or felt donuts). I used to think that I hated sewing, but it turns out I just needed the proper motivation - making something fun! Have a look at my first-ever sewing project, a dress for my daughter's Canadian girl doll, here.

Food, friends and great books. It's one of my favourite combinations (not necessarily in that order). Luckily I have two wonderful friends who are on the same page (pun intended). My beloved book club gals and I met this past Sunday after more than a year without a meeting. I'm afraid that, as much as we love our meetings, work and family commitments keep us pretty darn busy most of the time. 

Now that spring has truly arrived, I am looking forward to spending more time exploring some of Toronto's lovely, artsy neighbourhoods.

Last weekend, we hung out with my husband's cousin in The Junction, an "up and coming" area of the city that sits near the junction of four railway lines. Regular readers will know that I was drawn to the area by a desire to go to Bunner's vegan and gluten-free bakeshop. My travels are often inspired by food in some way. If we are going on a trip, I will google vegetarian restaurants before I even look for flights or hotels. I'm greedy like that.

It's Insta-Friday again and time to share simple photos from the past week.

The highlight of my week was when my friend Jackie and I attended a taping of the "Steven and Chris" show. Chris from DK Canada invited me to be in the studio audience while they presented DK's Smithsonian Fashion book.

I've said it before...occupying the kiddies over a March Break spent in your own house can be challenging. I recently picked out a few special craft books to feed us with ongoing projects ideas. While the kids and I had a great time sewing these fun sprinkle doughnuts, I thought it would be wise to have them pick out their own books for personal inspiration. It's always best if kids find books that appeal to their own interests and tastes, right?

The kids browsed the selection of books available in DK's March Break boutique. I secretly hoped that one of them would select a learning to cook type of book, because then they could learn to cook in place of Mom. Alas, they chose otherwise.