Talk Less, Be Happier, And Know Who Kim Jong Il Is

This is me, being wordy on the blog. Or else online shopping.

 

As someone who loves words – the more, the merrier – this pains me to admit: there’s something to be said for brevity.

The fewer the words, the better. Over the past month I’ve read this advice from two, separate experts. This is either the universe telling me to button it up or there could be some wisdom here. (Or possibly both.)

One article was about what you should say to your kid after she plays in a soccer game or performs in a musical or any kid event.

The words are the same.

“I love to watch you play.”

That’s it. No play by play analysis of her moves. No subtle encouragement or not-so-subtle critiquing. Just 6 simple words.

I tried it. And, just like the writer said, my kid liked it.

Huh. How about that?

Then I read an article in “O” Magazine about simple steps to a happier life or something. The secret to domestic bliss lies in 4 simple words that should be uttered the next time you’re arguing with your beloved or your roommate or your offspring.

“You may be right.”

I may have to get this tattooed on my wrist for easy access the next time I’m angered by my fella.

Because who wants to win the battle on the home front but lose the war? I’d rather be happy more of the time than right all of the time. So I’m gonna try this one too.

And the last brief-is-better entry for today is the Skimm.com. This website is my new favorite because every morning it e-mails you a summary of the biggest news events of the day.

So much less wordy than a newspaper! Editors at the Skimm share the highlights of each story in the chatty, accessible voice of your favorite girlfriend. None of the summaries are longer than 3 paragraphs so it takes only 5 minutes to read and send your world knowledge -- even of sports! --  skyrocketing.

It’s free to subscribe, which I did just yesterday, so expect a lot more geopolitical references on the blog here. Because, thanks to the Skimm, Guru Girl’s gettin’ schooled. (Click this link to go to The Skimm to check it out.) 

Houzz.com: Soccer Mom Crack

Sparsely decorated bookshelf that my realtor made me do.

 

There’s nothing like a public proclamation that you’re going to do something to make you, well, do it.

A few months back I grandly proclaimed that I was going to color code my bookshelves, style them up in a way that would make Houzz.com proud. (Have you checked out the houzz site? It is home decorating crack. Positively addicting and tough on the pocketbook because you will want to redecorate every room in your house once you check it out. But on the plus side, houzz.com addiction has no negative health repercussions and, despite frequent use, you get to keep all your teeth.)

So I said I was going to color code my bookshelves, then I went and moved to a new house that has no bookshelves. But I now have a bookshelf (actually, it’s that credenza that I dumpster dove out of the alley last year), and I finally had time to style it up.

Before shot of the bookshelf. A little sterile, no?

The process is still underway as I need to get some cute tchotchkes to intersperse among my favorite titles, but the color coding made such a huge impact that I had to share it immediately.

After shot of the bookshelf.

A color coded bookshelf is a cheap and easy way to cozy up a room immediately. I recommend it, even if you don’t have a million books stashed in various boxes. In most towns the public library has an annual sale where you can buy dozens of books for hardly any cash. Hit the sale, and buy a bunch of books with spines of different colors. Then get yourself a bookshelf. It doesn’t even need to be a nice one. Outfits like walmart.com will deliver one to your door!

Once you style your bookshelf up, it transforms this corner of your house into a cozy library where you can lounge and do nothing more literary than peruse “In Style” magazine. Lotta look for little lucre.

Try it, you’ll like it! Or at the very least, check out houzz.com which has dozens of pictures of rooms decorated in every style imaginable. (Click this link to go to houzz.com.)  

 

 

 

Gotta Read It: "The Goldfinch" & John Mayer's Liner Notes

I love a good back story. It’s what makes Taylor Swift and some other pop stars’ songs such guilty pleasures. Because yes, you can dance to them, but you can also psychoanalyze them all the live long day.

Which is what I just did to the latest John Mayer album, specifically: “Paperdolls” and “Love Who You Love”. Both are totally danceable and

 ** bonus ** both are filled with “Where’s Waldo” clues about John’s former girlfriends.

Give “Paperdolls” a listen and try to determine if it’s about Jennifer Aniston or Taylor Swift. Bonus points if you think about how mad Jennifer and Taylor were when they first listened to “Love Who You Love”, a duet which features John crooning sweetly with current lady love (and bad judge of boys) Katy Perry.

Because c’mon, you know Jennifer and Taylor listened to the songs, at least once. Wouldn’t you?

This is how I feel about subsequent books from authors whose debuts I absolutely loved. Even if the reviews are bad, I read them. Because the first book was just that good. I can’t help myself. Once an author has my heart, she or he has it forever.

This is why I just ordered up Donna Tartt’s latest, The Goldfinch. And why I’m planning to go to bed at 8 o’clock tonight so I can burn some serious pages. Because Tartt’s debut novel The Secret History was one of the best books ever. And even though her last book wasn’t that hot, I remain hopeful about this new one.

Hopeful in a popstar-with-blue-hair kind of way, that recent history can be bucked and a happily-ever-after can be found. (Click this link to go to amazon.com to see ordering options for "The Goldfinch", available for download starting at around $10. )

Happy reading, guru girls & guys!

 

1 Trick For Bettering Your Neighborhood & Your Brain

 

I am a sucker for “power to the people” movements. Except for Occupy Wallstreet. And folks who hang political banners from overpasses.

But there’s another community trend cropping up that I’m all over. Free libraries! Book lovers are building mini libraries themselves – they look like bird houses – and plunking them down in front of their houses.

“Take a book, leave a book, be on your way” is the idea. I love it!

What a great way to share the love (of books) and prompt neighborly conversation beyond “Can you water my plants while I’m away?”

The Dynamic Duo and I are very excited to embrace this trend. Our book birdhouse is currently in the design phase. I can already tell there will be fisticuffs between the architect (the 7 year old) and the G.C. (the 10 year old). But I’ve lived through house construction before. The end result will be worth it!

There’s even a website dedicated to the idea. It’s called “Little Free Library”. The movement started in the Midwest a few years ago, and there are already 10,000 little free library birdhouses out there, in 55 countries!

Check out the website for more details and an option to order a pre-made library birdhouse if you lack the time/know how/infinite patience to listen to your in-house design crew battle it out.(Click this link to go to little free library.)

Happy reading, guru girls & guys!

1 Easy Trick To Glam Up A Dinner Party

In theory, I love these.

-         Burlap?

-         Cute font?

-         Message preached by placemat instead of mother? (They sport sayings like "put your napkin in your lap" & "elbows off the table".)

All things I love. The trifecta of good.

And then I looked at the price.

$69 for a set of 6.

$69 for placemats that will need to be dry cleaned once anyone uses them.

Shoot. At my house they’d need to be dry cleaned once anyone looked at them. (And yes by “anyone” I mean the 7 year old ;)

So the manners placemat is off my “gotta get” list, but here’s what’s on it instead: paper placemats. So cute! So clever! So disposable!

 

They glam up Chinese takeout and make you shrug when the 7 year old makes a beeline for them, markers in hand. (I'm not saying use them every day but for a big dinner that you want to make a bit more swanky? These are the ticket!)

Gives new meaning to the phrase “try it, you may like it”, doesn’t it? A set of 50 goes for around $24 on amazon.(Click this link to see the Italian scroll placemat pads on amazon.)

Happy dining, guru girls & guys!

 

The Challenge Of Parenthood

Sometimes it’s fall break and you spend lots of extended time with your children. And you become desperate enough to play the “quiet game”, which they are still young enough to believe is really a game and not a desperate parental attempt for peace.

So they play.

And they are quiet.

For the first time in 4 days.

And then the littlest one hands you a note.

That looks something like this.

 

Here is what the note says:

“I would really like to speak. Is there a prize for the winner? Why? YAY! Are you in a bad mood? Ok, is this bugging you? Well, I’m sorry but I’m not stopping.”

And you realize the 7 year old has captured a truth about the parent/child relationship, indeed all family dynamics. “Is this bugging you? I’m sorry but I’m not stopping.”

You have to laugh. Because otherwise you’d cry and become one of those people who goes to the Alaskan frontier and lives with grizzly bears.

Because at least cubs can’t write. Or be sassy.

But they also can’t make you laugh so hard it hurts.

Happy end-of-fall-break, guru girls & guys!  

Steal Of A Deal Furniture: Overstock.com

I love free shipping. Especially when it concerns furniture. So imagine my glee at finding a company that ships for free, most of its merchandise, stuff that’s also really cute.

I just turned my mom on to a site that does this exact thing. It is great news for Mom that she now knows about overstock.com. It is less good news for my dad as I see redecorating – lots of redecorating – in their future.

I recently helped my mom purchase a coffee table from overstock.com. It turned out great! Just like the fantastic metal stools I got from this outfit last year.

It’s a little nerve wracking to buy furniture, sight unseen, from a website. Especially a coffee table where the quality of wood could be sketchy. Happy to say Mom’s coffee table is decidedly non-sketchy and pretty fab.

It looks Restoration Hardware-y, but she got it for a song. Which means grandkids and dogs and life can happen to it without my mom breaking a sweat. Not that Mom sweats. Like me, she glistens.  

Restoration Hardware stuff is beautiful, but every time I’m in that place I feel like I’m in a reverent museum. If I got a Restoration Hardware coffee table the only thing I’d be putting near it would be holy relics, not juice boxes and dog bones.

If this sounds like your approach to life and furniture and shipping costs, click on over to overstock the next time the dog can’t find the bone and chews on the furniture instead. (Click this link to check out overstock.com.)

 

Photo credit: This is a photo, of a chair, from Restoration Hardware. Bet my parents would be happier with the dog if the chair was from overstock.