I’ve always loved the idea of having a really huge world map covering an entire wall.

Of course as a child of the 80′s I was raised on James Bond movies, so somehow in my mind, that meant that the world map had to be accessible behind secret sliding doors disguised as bookshelves, revealed at the touch of a button (which would be housed under a leather and wood paneled desk which would also hold the all important red telephone of course).  There would be lights, and we would be able to see the exact positions of nuclear submarines around the globe.

I’m not entirely sure, at this point, what exactly I planned to do with the knowledge of the worlds naval fleet positions, but it was an integral part of the world map vision.

Fast forward to this summer, and we’ve finally purchased a wall map of the world, albeit of a more benign nature and easily procured from one of my favourite establishments. I speak of course, of IKEA. (Ooooh You can dance…You can jive…having the time of your life) Are you singing it in your head yet?

I give you… the Premiär Picture

It’s a fantastic size (200cm by 140cm) and looks great against the wall of our open plan dining room/family room area.

You can find it online here, decorating with maps – and this is one of those great times when you can flex that IKEA family card because swiping it at the till gave us a great discount too.  It came boxed up, with the map rolled up in a tube, and the fittings to mount it inside the box. It took me all of 15 minutes to assemble it, and that was while being extremely picky about getting it perfectly straight, and whilst the kids were trying to help me.

Upon closer inspection, it may not be the most accurate map ever (in terms of country size etc), but since it is a flat canvas and not a constantly updated satellite image (and alas no nuclear submarine tracking system), it does it’s job perfectly well.

Note: I found a cushion to match – from John Lewis, which will go beautifully on the white sofa that is currently opposite the map. You can see it on my Decorate and Organise Pinboard at Pinterest. This composite illustration below shows the two items I already own, and the cushion I’d like to add to the ensemble.

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A couple of years ago someone emailed me a  YouTube clip called “Where the Hell is Matt?”  - which I watched purely because the person sending it had captioned it “this is really good” and it was a person whose opinion I respected.

What I was watching was the third of a series of movie clips that Matt had made (the 2008 one), and I was absolutely captivated!

In a nutshell, Matt was a software developer, living a very ordinary life in the USA, when he decided to travel. One of the things he did was start doing what he referred to as “the happy dance” in all the places he went to and video taping himself after which he made a compilation and became a bit of an internet sensation.

Word got out, and soon he was planning to sequel and then yet another “where the hell is Matt?”  this time he had people joining in from all around the world.

This video below, is the latest one from this year 2012, where instead of everyone doing the “happy dance” they’re various things as a big group, but above all, I love how the fact that they’re just dancing and enjoying each other, regardless of whether he’s in Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and even North Korea, people are happy, smiling, and we get to see each other as human beings. People with whom we share nothing in common other than the fact that we share this little blue bubble called Earth.

If we remembered that fact more often, who knows, maybe we’d even erase things like war, poverty and pollution.

One small spark is all it takes.

You can view the 2008 version of “Where the hell is Matt” by following this link. They are both worth seeing and in both cases the music is fantastic as well.

You can find Matt’s website here. Where the hell is Matt?

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In a perfect world, I would already have laid out the kids uniform the night before, had all sports bags and lunches packed and stacked in the entrance hall, and set the table for a good family breakfast, before going to bed for a solid 8 hours of sleep.

Did anyone else laugh out loud at my statement above? I jolly nearly did. The truth is, we do not live in a perfect world by any means, and yes, there is always room for improvement.

Two Tips for a Stress Free Morning

1. Trying to get at least two of the above things done in my “perfect” scenario listed above before collapsing into bed for an interrupted 5 hours of sleep (7 if I’m really lucky) and if not, then at least one.

2. Music

Yes, really. I put my iPhone on the music player in the kitchen dining area – and cue up the classical music.  This means either streaming Classic FM through my phone (amplified by the music player), or if it’s too heavy a selection, then I usually pick my current favourite playlist, which includes what may well be one of the most relaxing pieces ever composed.

Have you heard Elevazioni by Domenico Zipoli?

It sounds as though it could have been composed as the original score to a recent movie, and yet it’s more than 300 years old. It’s the perfect accompaniment to our morning routine, and definitely helps to keep us calm and focused and stress free.

Of course, on other mornings, some electronic trance music works equally well to wake everyone up and get us moving fast enough.  But hey, whatever works !

Vector Illustration by aleksandr-mansurov-ru from Photodune.net

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My enjoyment of Pinterest stems from the fact that I love to organise things, especially if I get to use some form of web application to do it. My mom would probably tell you that I should probably spend as much time *actually* organising my life and house, as I do fantasizing about it on Pinterest, but hey, I have a family that I love, and they occasionally require feeding, and you know, attention.

That coupled with the fact that I need to have some semblance of a life, means that while I would love to take photos of my *cough* PERFECT HOUSE *cough* and talk to you all about how fabulously easy it is to keep everything organised and perfect, chances are I’m going to probably spend more time daydreaming about having it that way than actually doing it, and that in a nutshell is where this blog is headed. To the place I’d like to get to, with my house, my lifestyle, my cooking and let’s see what else happens along the way shall we?

For now, please follow me on Pinterest it will give your hair extra volume*

Oh, and hey – leave a comment below and say hi!

*results not guaranteed.

If you’re not sure what Pinterest is, then a) it’s pronounced “Pin-trist” and b) follow the big red button below…

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