Live Well/Live Beautiful

I am an early riser. Usually up at 5, I love the peace and quiet of the early morning. My day begins by going downstairs to make a big cup of tea. I then head back upstairs to my husband's office where I crawl into my favorite chair and then spend the next 30 to 40 minutes writing. It is by far my favorite part of my entire day. It's my time to dream, plan, and get out my frustrations.

I'm a big believer in making life as beautiful and peaceful as possible. For years, my writing has been done in a basic spiral bound notebook. One day it occurred to me that this special part of my day should be a little nicer, so I decided to make a cover for my notebook. Bright and pretty, in my favorite colors, my little book cover makes me smile :)

It's just a simple little book cover, with piping around the edge.

I love my cover, but I have found that I can make it even better. The book below was given to me. I love the addition of the elastic band to hold the book shut, as well as the ribbon place finder. My next cover will have both as well as a place to hold my pen. 

This past weekend, the Haute Couture Club of Chicago was invited to a wonderful sale given by the Illinois Institute of Art. The school had been given over 500 brand new patterns, many of which were Vogue designer patterns. They also had fabric, trims and thread. They decided to offer almost everything to us at $1.00 per piece. What a deal!!! The proceeds of the sale went to their scholarship fund, so a win-win for us all. And even at just a dollar per item, I think they did quite well as our ladies devoured everything ;)

I made a beeline for the fabrics and trims and found 2 packages of silk remnants. Beautiful pieces that were left over from making ties. I didn't even think twice, and snatched them up!   

Most Monday evenings, you will now find me at a restorative yoga class. Just the absolute best way to begin my week. The studio has eye pillows available to use and they also have tissue so you can cover them, but I decided it would be best to have my own. The scraps are now becoming these sweet eye pillows.

  

Last night I heated my pillow in the microwave for just about 30 seconds, went upstairs, laid down and drifted blissfully off to sleep.

My pillows are stuffed with brown rice and lavender flowers. I found a wonderful resource in Oregon that sells organic herbs, tea, oils, and even natural pet care products. You can find the Mountain Rose  Herbs website HERE. I ordered a number of herbs as well as some green tea and I have been especially pleased.

If by chance you would like a tutorial on the notebook cover, or the eye pillows,or both :), just let me know and I'll be happy to do a post. 

I remember going to my grandmother's house and looking through all of the lovely linens that she had lovingly embroidered and edged with her tatting. All kept in her cedar chest, waiting for that special occasion to be used, that special occasion that never came. Many of those pieces now belong to me, and they are used, and even worn out in some cases. Life is just far too short not to enjoy and have lovely things to make us smile, even if it's just a simple little notebook cover :)