Manifesto

My students wrote their own manifestos this year, after I showed them the Holstee Manifesto:

They wrote such beautiful, insightful words. There is wisdom in thirteen year olds. Trust me. If you are disillusioned by youth these days, spend a bit of time with me. I'll tell you some stories that will change your mind.

I always make my students a gift for the end of the year to celebrate the amazing learning that has taken place. This year, I decided to frame their Manifestos. I just printed them in colour on a colour printer. I got these inexpensive frames and Ikea, and they happened to be two-sided, so I added my own manifesto on the back - words of advice for them to keep in mind. 

In my Manifesto: Always read. Read often. Read what you love. Read to know.

Their spelling isn't perfect. But they made all the decisions in their Manifesto: what words to choose, how to lay them out on the page, and what (if any) their background would look like. And that's an authentic writing assignment, if you ask me!

I'll give them to my students tomorrow, on their last day of school. I hope they keep these words somewhere where they can see them, so they can always remind themselves what they believe to be true and what they think is important. What more could a teacher ask?!

P.S. Seed bombs were last year's gift!

Spring Freshening Up: Living Room

The weather here is so beautiful this weekend! I have my windows flung open (the cats are happy!) and the melting snow and warm sunshine are making me think of spring.

And, for the first weekend in a really long time, I had absolutely no obligations and could spend my time doing whatever I wanted. Report cards are done, so now I can have some relazing time for me.

So I decided to bring some spring to my living room. I made some new pillow covers and some new curtains and decluttered. And put together a nice little grape hyacinth planter for the coffee table!

My favourite fabric is the kind of tie-dyed looking one.
It reminds me of the night sky.

I love the curtain fabric, too. The grey part is velvet.

Aren't these vintage berry containers darling? I foudn them in an antique store a couple of weeks ago.

Happy Birthday to Me

Today is my 30th birthday. I know lots of people freak out about 30, but I'm kind of zen about it. 29 was much worse!

If I think of everything I've accomplished in the past decade, it's been a pretty great 10 years! And I'm at a really wonderful place in my life right now, large in part due to my lovely sister and roommate, Selby.

Selby has the biggest heart of anyone I know. She cares so much about others, and is so generous with her time and love.

Today, she just proved that over again. Look how she spoiled me today:




She wrote down 30 reasons she loves me.



All taped to a door with washi tape (which she bought me for Christmas - the girl knows me well!!!).

She made us mimosas to have with breakfast today.

Normally, on our birthdays, we'd take the other person out for dinner, or make them a dinner of their choice. But Selby works at the food bank and works the 12 - 8 shift. I have choir practice tonight and won't be home until 10, so Selby decided to make me a special breakfast instead.

And bought me a birthday outfit!



And got some mini cupcakes from a local cupcake shop.

As further proof of Selby's awesomeness, you should check out her new blog, Extracting Happiness.

Be Less Lazy: Repurpose a Tension Rod

I think I saw this idea in a Martha Stewart magazine ages ago.

I bought a tension curtain rod and put it in place under the kitchen sink. It's a perfect place to hang cleaning products, rubber gloves, and cloths and things. And then there's plenty of space underneath to keep other products.

Be Less Lazy: Faux Pantry

One of our biggest storage issues is the pantry. We don't really have one. Well, we do have one, but it's the width of one can of tomatoes. Honestly.

So in a small-ish townhouse, what are two girls to do? Fashion a faux pantry! We bought a couple of shelving units from IKEA and set them up in the garage. Already it's been amazing to have the space to store things like pop, beer, and wine, potatoes and onions, and rarely-used dishes and kitchen appliances.

I also put a little carpet in front of it, so we can walk in there without freezing our poor little feet!

Be Less Lazy: Why not a Branch?!

The best storage solutions are FREE! This is another project done awhile ago, but while we're on the topic of the vanity, I figured I'd show you.

I drove into the country and pulled this dead branch out of a ditch, then stuck it into a pot of river rocks. Instant necklace rack!

Be Less Lazy: Printing Press Storage

This project was actually completed a while ago, but I forgot to post about it. Short and simple!

I bought a printing press drawer at an antique shop for $30. I then mounted it on the wall, and it made a brilliant place to store earrings and other small jewellery.

P.S. Funny story: I wore that bow tie on the day of our school photos this year. The photographer looked at me, and said, rather condescendingly, "We're not doing silly photos this year." I blinked at her, and finally said, "This is my outfit." She mumbled her apologies and quickly took the photo.