Monday, May 10, 2010

Coney Island Fever

What's not to love about this lounge chair? Besides the fact that it's a pretty nice looking recliner, it's actually made of Coney Island boardwalk planks! No kidding! I know what you are thinking...I'm sure that the creators, Uhuru Design did a thorough job cleaning the planks before the construction. I just love the fact that it reminds me of the Cyclone....cotton candy and hotdogs anyone???

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Cardboard Box Trees

Wouldn't it be nice if these kids were not walking through this but.....
photo: margaretalekiccardboardboxes.blogspot.com

This?????? Now it's possible!!!
photo: http://landscapearchiteck.wordpress.com

I deal with cardboard boxes all the time. Probably more than I'd like to. Aside from helping my clients organize, relocate and donate stuff (that's a separate blog entry), we've also moved homes quite a bit in the past 3 years. And during this process, I have obtained cardboard boxes in many different ways, but mostly in ways that hurt the earth in the most minimal way - recycling grocery boxes, purchasing boxes from www.usedcardboardboxes.com where boxes are gently used and recycled (I've used them many times and are great), or inheriting them from recent craigslist re-locaters.

My all-natural sleeping pills

But when I saw this wonderful idea from The Life Box Company, a big smile creeped across my face. I can finally openly admit that I lay awake at night worrying about what happens to the these poor boxes once the last person is done with them. That is if it's not me of course.

So basically this is the recipe - Use your box/es. Reuse em until you can't or don't want to use em any more. Tear em up. Plant em in your garden. Add water and watch. In about 2 months, little trees will start growing! Eureka! I can now finally sleep soundly. I'll just have to resist the urge to plant them on my balcony with my tomatoes.

Monday, May 3, 2010

What are you Thankful for?

Alright, I know the economy is lousy, the unemployment rate is the highest it's been in my lifetime and overall morale is pretty low. But you know what, I feel GREAT!!! How is that possible you may ask? Well I have taking my own Feng Shui medicine and counting my blessings and focusing on what I do have and not what I don't. Yup, it sounds simple but it's not an easy exercise at all. I can fall into the depths of self-pity as easily and quickly as the next person.

I'm finding with regular practice of mindfulness and appreciation coupled with Feng Shui adjustments that my little world is getting brighter every day. I'm not sweating the small stuff like the construction noise outside my apartment or the metro card I lost last week. Seen from this perspective, those are really minuscule things compared to how wealthy of my life really is. So think about it, what are you thankful for today?
Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful.    - Buddha
The Buddha knows what I'm talking about.