Resolutions Schmezolutions

I am not making any resolutions this year - I made them all during the year and am in the process of carrying them out.  And rather than calling them resolutions, I call them habits, goals, things-I-meant-to-do-but-never-found-the-time, etc.

I love hot yoga, and I see, this week at least, many new faces in my class.  Good for you, I say, but I hope it lasts.

Something that is lasting are improvements you make to the place you live.  Why live in a hovel when you can live in a palace?  Why stare at that stain on the baseboard when you can spend a couple hours buying paint and painting it!  Little changes make vast improvements overall, and over time, if you add to your abode's charm, you will see a better quality of life take shape.

With that in mind, I should introduce you to a book that my dad got for me from the library.  At first, I thought it looked simple and a bit silly.  However, upon opening this tome of decorating wisdom, I found it dense with useful information.  Much of the knowledge I have learned through arduous and long decorating projects at college, through trial and error, but here it is for you, all laid out and without all the huffing and puffing and head-scratching that I had to do.

http://jamesswanco.com

Some charming advice from the first chapter, "Entryway":

"5. A Mirrorless Entry Hall

...the first thing I look for is a mirror.  The cry, "My kingdom for a mirror" bounces around in my head as I scan the walls of the halls of entry (be it sizable or small) hoping for a little help.  Wind, rain, or a treacherous seatbelt can put an end to even the best hair days.  Is it too much to expect a simply framed, mercury coated, plate glass reflective panel artfully hung in a friendly way?  You know, something that reminds the visitor "Before you walk into the crowd just around the corner you may want to fix that bird's nest of a 'do teetering on your forehead!"  Or, the even more intimate suggestion that hints, "Although we love you dearly, we fear that children and the elderly will be spooked by those false eyelashes masquerading as earrings."  A casual glance in a mirror (that tool of vanity we thank the warlords of dynastic China for) can either send you boldly in to the social fray without a worry in the world or cause your fingers to speed-dial a hair and makeup rescue team from the nearest beauty emporium."-p. 9