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Be kind to yourself

Sorry for the quietness around here. I went through a little detox from social media/ blogging for the last bit.  Sometimes the pace of life needs to shift, and I found myself craving, needing calm, clarity and quiet.

I’m always worried that when these things start to happen – that I feel my moods shift – that it may be an incoming black cloud of depression – which I have experienced in my life. But I found that meditation, self care, saying no to things and keeping life simple seems to have gotten me through that stage, and I’m on the other end feeling lighter and my mind is clearer.

I’m still being kind to myself, and giving myself the permission to not overdo it. I used to think being busy = being successful. That one had to say yes to friends in order to keep friendships. But our priorities in life sometimes shift, and I found myself needing to retreat and enjoy my little man, go swimming as a family after school, go to the cottage with family, take a day off to be with my sister and work at my own pace – which is still sometimes at midnight in bed on my laptop, but it’s not with the feelings of guilt that I had to do something. 

Anyhow, here’s to self care, long hot baths, snuggling with your loved ones, sleeping in on the weekends. I hope that if you ever feel unsure about what direction your life is going, that you give yourself permission to say no to things and let your mind be quiet. I find it’s truly helpful and has gotten me through some gloomy days. xo

In My House/ Updates

The Backyard Studio Reveal

Many moons ago, we started building a backyard carport and studio in the back of our garden. This was the blog post that showed you the reveal of the outside space. It’s finally time to show you the inside.  When you open those double doors, you come in to…

It has been forever, but these things take time and although we have been using it throughout the winter and, up to now, the final piece of the project was completed recently (adding all the furniture and accessories). Real life projects take time (and money) and this wasn’t your “One Room Challenge” makeover.  Taking you back through the project – I chose to plank the with Metrie Shiplap (blogged about here) as I felt that it added some sturdiness to the room, and finished it off better than just drywall would. I wanted a cottage feeling, and shiplap gives you that feeling without being overly “decorated”. Behind the walls the space is insulated and in the winter, we have a space heater going which does a great job of keeping the tiny little space warm.

I added a dining room table from Structube and four gorgeous wishbone chairs from G-Furn. To soften up the backs a bit, since I sometimes have meetings back here, or entertain, I added four sheepskin throws / rugs from Ikea to the backs of the chairs. There are two Ikea cabinets in the back, painted white, that were used in my One of a Kind booth display, but here they act as storage for photography props for business, and in the other – games, crayons and paper for when kids come out here.

We use the space as a cottage in the city, we can often be found playing family games back here, or hanging out around the table doing our thing – Oscar playing on the iPad (the wifi reaches back here thanks to a booster in the house) and I on my laptop or sketching.

A fan above keeps the air moving and the bugs away from us, and the two chandeliers brighten up the space and don’t demand too much attention in the space. Everything works together to be a cohesive,chilled but finished space.

The flooring is tile, which was a last minute decision – originally we were going to go with a polished concrete look but it didn’t feel right once the walls started to go up and it started to come together as a polished room. The tile is AMAZING as dirt and snow gets on it and all I do is wipe it or brush it up.

Back to the studio to play some Trouble…

SHOPPING GUIDE
Chandeliers ………. Lowes (Only available online, not in store) or  Wayfair.ca or Wayfair.com
Fan ……….. Amazon, Wayfair, All Modern, 
Construction ……….. North Sheds
Walls – Metrie Shiplap (see post here), Painted in Simply White by Benjamin Moore
Table ………… Structube
Chairs ………. G*Furn
Artwork ……….. Minted (originally in our kitchen)
Lanterns outside ………… Artcraft
Outside Colour ……… Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter
Door Handles …………. Emtek

See other blog posts by following the Studio tag. 

In Updates

New Patches

I recently did a talk at my alma mater, Trent University, Lady Eaton College to a group of students about life after University and the world of self employment. When explaining my company, and the breakdown of the three brands it entails (Penny Paper Co., Lindsay Stephenson Collection and The MOQ Agency) I talked about how The Penny Paper Co. was my heart. The reason being (providing finances allow) if I come up with a product idea I can run with it and do it.  I come up with ideas and can run with them as I like, which is CRAZY fun. Alternatively the other brands I have less control over – the bedding and swaddles are picked by others, and the MOQ we’re creating product for others. All unique and fun, but with the Penny Paper Co. I can do rainbow patches if I feel like doing rainbow patches. Huzzah! Which leads me to … Rainbow Patches! We launched some patches – if you couldn’t tell. Pop over here to see. xo