A Wanderlusting Mama stays at home

So, how does someone like me, filled with wanderlust, survive times like these—when we are forced to stay at home and everything is closed anyway (including parks!). It has only been a couple of weeks but I am surviving so far. A big contributor to my state of sanity was having been able to travel right before the craziness erupted. I may be saying something differently had it not been for that getaway. But I am coming from a 2-week self-imposed quarantine from our travel where we did not even go out to the backyard or walk the dog. Now, before you worry about my dog, this senior #TravelingYorkie hates walking and does get her exercise going up and down the stairs.

Anyway, I used the time from self-quarantine to this current state of going out only for groceries to recharge. I do have to work from home and the kids have online homework so really it is just the weekends when it is unusual for us to be at home. I had been feeling drained from the travel, from work, from the worry. Having this time to recharge and relax is a blessing. There are no appointments, no place we have to go or errands to run. This enabled a much-needed rest.

When I got a bit of energy, we did some spring cleaning (and we are still at it). We were going to do it anyway as it is that time of the year, but now we had been able to focus on cleaning without rushing to finish as we had to be somewhere--without being too tired. Our house is cleaner than ever!

We are blessed to have space in our home where each of us can do their work during the day without being on top of each other. So, when we finally reconnect for meals, there was still something to talk about. In the weekends, we had family game times which DD#2 leads (Kahoot, Jeopardy and such). It gave her more to do during the week as she prepared, and it was fun for the rest of us when we finally play. And while our popcorn consumption has increased, our family movie times have also increased—with no one begging off to do a school project or work overtime. I am relishing this additional family time.

There is definitely more home cooking, but we did have some Uber Eats deliveries and we are also going to do drive through/pick up. This is always a welcome treat for everyone (especially Grandma, the cook). We also had some more involvement from the girls in the kitchen. I managed to get more baking supplies when we finally got our groceries. There will be more baking lessons and the house will smell delish. The kids continue to learn new skills.

While I can hardly wait to be traveling once more, for now, I have time to make those photobooks I’ve been meaning to do! We count our many blessings and take advantage of doing all the things we need to do for the house, spend time with the family and not drain ourselves doing so much. This whole experience has put many things in perspective. I look forward to the future, going to places in a world where folks do not overcrowd, pay more attention to hygiene and sanitation, and have more gratitude for things we are able to enjoy.

Am sure the novelty will wear off. Am sure I will be at my wit's end if this goes on for a long, long time. But for now, I will have to make the most of it. Be safe and healthy!

Interior Design Heaven: RH gallery at Yorkdale

RH Gallery @Yorkdale Mall

As we went from room to room, floor to floor in the massive 4-floor, 70,000 sqft Restoration Hardware, RH Gallery, at Yorkdale, I felt like I died and went to Interior Design heaven. Each floor was symmetrical and each room was so well-appointed. It was divine. The beautiful home furnishings were set up gallery-style, inviting you to imagine having these to come home to. I loved the rustic classic design of many of the pieces—I tried but could not find any one item that I didn’t like. Down to the last light fixture, pillow, or even candle, they were all something I wouldn’t mind having in my home.

RH Gallery

RH Gallery

We started from the Fourth Floor, which was the Conservatory and Rooftop park where they had the patio furniture and the CN tower as a backdrop. 

Rooftop @RH Gallery

Conservatory @RH Gallery

The Third floor was all about Modern design while the Second Floor featured the Design Atelier where you can choose from the vast variety of fabrics and finishes.

RH Gallery

 Design Atelier @RH Gallery

At the main floor, they also have a beautiful Courtyard Café and Barista Bar should you need to fill up after exploring or to get some energy before embarking on this journey of being inside a magazine turned real. We will have to try the Courtyard Café some time as I would love to sit under trees with glittering chandeliers and enjoy seasonal menus as well as curated wines. I totally LOVED this place and can spend hours and hours here.

Courtyard Cafe @RH Gallery

More decorating tips for homes with kids

Now, I hope you got something from the tips I posted previously. Here are some more tips to help you along:

Let it Hang. Now if you have houseplants that you do not want to be part of your toddler’s daily vegetable intake, chose some nice hangers and hang your plants. This is if the variety is lush enough to hang. Otherwise, refer to the previous tip and put them on a shelf.

Lighten up. If you want a little more challenge, try changing your light fixtures. Modernize your chandelier. If you haven’t made the switch to CFL (Compact Flourescent Light) bulbs yet, then now’s your chance to do something for the environment and save on your energy bills as well. You can also make the switch from floor or table lamps to pendant lamps or sconces. That will not only put the lights away from the children’s reach, but it will also change the ambience of your room.

Box it. Get decorative boxes or a trunk to put all the toys in. You can make these match your new look or your new paint. Putting toys away after play is not only good training for the kids, but is also a practical way to de-clutter. Not that you haven’t done enough cleaning and putting away things all day, but this is when you will need to find the extra energy at the end of the day. When the kids are asleep and the toys have been put away, you can have your space, even for just a few precious hours.

Conscious effort must be made to put away stuff. Do a check about twice a year for toys and other items that can be donated or recycled. That is the only way you will have some semblance of control over your house.

Soon enough you will be able to bring out the glass, the books, the fine china, and wonder, “Where did the time go?”  But before then, you can have your space somehow without banishing the kids from the room. Just one space, even if the kids have the rest of the house.

Decorate your home...even when you have kids

Now continuing that post I had last month about the home...the holidays got in the way :) And am sure your house just got another roomful of toys and other gadgets...

------------------

While you may not have that HGTV, interior-designed space, it does not need to look like a toy store or a day care either. There can be a happy compromise. Granted that you will have to put away the precious (and sometimes fragile) knick-knacks for now, make this an opportunity to redecorate your home. A little retail-therapy might help keep you sane as well even when you are up to your ears with the clutter.  Here are some tips:

Unify. Think of a theme or a look you want. This will be the basis of your new decor. You need not go out and buy everything at once. On days when you are not at the grocery, toy store, or doctor’s office, you may chance upon that perfect piece—a painting, a basket, a non-breakable vase. Splurge a little. You deserve it. My husband and I found a nice painting only three years after we moved into our home. We did not just want to buy any painting or wall décor. We wanted art that would match the theme we wanted for our living room. It was well worth the wait. The painting not only serves as a nice focal point when we don’t want to look at the make-shift playhouse our daughter made out of pillows and chairs, but it also is an interesting conversation piece when we have guests over. If you can afford an interesting, original piece, then you can rationalize your purchase by claiming that this might inspire a future Picasso in your child.

Color your world. One way to revitalize your home and make your living room or personal space look fresh is to paint. A change of color will do wonders for your mood and might just make you focus less on the clutter. There are a lot of non-toxic, biodegradable paints available now, so a weekend or two of therapeutic labor (with the kids at grandma’s) might just do the trick. Think of this as a fun project for you and your partner. And when you go get your paint at the local hardware store, you can also pick up some color swatches to help you pick out the matching colors for your other decor. The wall color my husband and I liked thankfully came with the house so we did not have to repaint. That color also helped us pick the furnishing that would match our living room. 

Go waist-up. Get wall art and décor and hang them nicely beyond the reach of the kids. By the time they are tall enough to touch them, they should be old enough to not touch them. There are also nice, stylish hanging shelves available on which you can display the figurines and other articles you really do not want to put away. Make sure not to overdo it, or your shelf will be another source of clutter. Select pieces you really cannot bear to store. You may not have your whole living room back, but you can certainly have the upper half!

A tribute to the home

Having wanderlust does not mean I do not like being at home. I love my home. In fact, I took up basic interior design a while back because I love decorating. I want to share with you this article I wrote a couple of years ago with some tips on how to deal with toys taking over the house. Happy decorating!

------

Before kids, you probably had vases, lamps and candles, plants, an assortment of coffee table books, some nice throw pillows on a stain-free fabric couch. Once your bundle of joy arrives, baby stuff start taking over your household. It starts out all nice and cute in the nursery. Then, you bring the bouncer into the living room, maybe even the play yard. A toy or two or twelve find themselves into your bedroom to entertain the baby while you try to brush your hair or dress up. With the transition from milk to solids comes the high chair in the dining room and more toys to entertain the baby with while you try to get that last bite into him and not the floor. And with crawling comes all the safety gadgets. Gates are put up by the stairs and near the kitchen, corner guards get affixed on your entertainment unit, and doorknob guards come on. You do not want to be saying “No!” fifty times a day and scrambling to get that vase out of baby’s reach. And surely you do not want to restrict your child’s exploring nature, so you put most, if not all, your decor away. Picture a bouncer stationed on the corner of your living room, blocks and tea sets found under the armchair, remote controls hidden in the sides of the couch—do these sound familiar to you? You may have resigned yourself to accepting that you will not see a toy-free house for many, many years. Not that we take this against our children, nor do we pine away for our lives before kids. It just is. The presence of toys, chaos and clutter comes with the territory. Others may just actually love this happy chaos that children bring into the home. To a certain extent, we must accept that these toys will be around for quite a while. And more often than not, we just get used to the new landscape of our home.  Some items may be outgrown after a few months and are put away, but they will be replaced by something else. Guaranteed. In place of an activity gym or entertainment center, you may find a playhouse or a tent.  In place of a bouncer, you may find a tricycle or some other ride-on toy. 

But there are days when you just find yourself wanting a change from the routine. You find yourself wanting a makeover either for yourself or your home. Some days, you just need an adult space as you try to remember that you are not just a mother, a caretaker, or your children’s playmate. There is hope. You can still reclaim a space for yourself (or for you and your partner). Somehow. This new life with the kids doesn’t mean the house has to revolve around them alone. It is still possible to have a personal space, even for just a few hours. And not necessarily only when you are expecting guests.

I have some tips coming up in the next few posts. Until then...