Bringing Color Indoors (especially when winter doesn't end)

Typical for January in Pennsylvania, it's snowy and bitterly cold these days.  Winter generally doesn't bother me, yet I'm starting to itch for life beyond the gradient hues of white, gray, and whitish-gray.

Plus, my parents currently are vacationing in Florida, and I anticipate several phone calls interspersed with adjectives like colorful and lush and nouns not part of our Pennsylvania vernacular like lanai and bougainvillea.

Until this bright lushness migrates north, I'm inviting as much color as possible into my own environment and getting a jump-start on spring cleaning.  Yesterday, I began with the bedroom belonging to my two youngest daughters -- de-cluttering here, organizing there.

Then, I hung crepe paper decorations from the ceiling, which created an instant celebratory vibe that transcended all of the white, gray, and whitish-gray that has been happening outside.

The girls were delighted by the simple addition.  Plus, if I get desperate, I can imagine that those hot pink poufs are actually the center of the sun radiating warmth. 

Please don't get technical and say, "But Robin, we only have one sun and you have three orbs of fluffed tissue paper, so your explanation doesn't line up scientifically."  And please don't point out that these decorations eventually will collect unsavory amounts of dust, because I've already imagined the aftermath of good-intentionally dusting them with the attachment on my vacuum cleaner.  (I've got three words for you: tissue paper carnage.)

No, just hold those thoughts quietly to yourself and let a girl dream unscientifically and without regard for dust.

While we're at it, please let me invite you to visit here these next several days.  I'm feeling inspired, and I have several decorating, organizing, and "life hack" tidbits to share with you in my upcoming posts.

I'm spreading the sunshine, friends.  Just spreading the sunshine.