My front porch always starts looking pretty drab about this time of year, so I like to change out the wreath, give it a good sweeping, and put out a new doormat and flowers to spruce it up and hold it over until spring. It's still very much winter here, and I’m enjoying it, so I don't want it looking like Easter yet, but a little freshness and a little color give it a nice boost. It rained all day yesterday except for about one hour in the whole day. During the break, I ran out and quickly worked on the porch, getting it all done in less than 30 minutes. I've had this wreath since my last house--over 9 years ago! Some years I display it inside the house and some years outside. I ... Read more
Fluff the Nest Friday: Tips and Tidbits for Thanksgiving Prep
Good Friday morning! Fall has flashed by in a blur and Thanksgiving is less than a week away! I'm not hosting Thanksgiving but I did host our small group's annual "Friendsgiving" this week. Beside the usual weekly cleaning routine, here are a few extra preparations I worked into the week leading up to our little feast! Even though I'd put out a few fall-ish items at my front door early in the season, it was time to freshen things up a bit. My summer ferns were still looking too good for me to move so I left those, swept the concrete, added a fresh door mat and a couple more pumpkins from my son's pumpkin patch (more on his pumpkin patch soon!). I took one of my winter wreaths and added ... Read more
Hall Closet Turned Butler’s Pantry
I love getting creative with spaces and thinking outside of the box to make my house work for me. If I see a need for a new kind of space, a different arrangement, or additional storage, I put on my thinking cap and play around with a few ideas until I come up with a solution. Such was the case with my lack of table setting storage in my dining room. I had half of my table linens crammed in a kitchen cabinet and the rest in a laundry room cabinet. Chargers and vases were tucked in other various areas throughout the house. Having everything in so many different areas not only made it difficult to set a table quickly, but also created a challenge in really knowing my inventory. Now I'm ... Read more
7 Things by 7 Thirty
Many years ago, I heard someone say that how we spend the first two hours of our day can determine how the rest of our day will play out, and anything in our day that is a top priority should be done in those first two hours. At the time of hearing this, I already had an okay morning routine, but this piece of advice gave my routine a much better focus. I started to think about the things on my daily list that I will not have the discipline to finish if I don’t do them first thing in the morning, and came up with what I call my “7 Things by 7 Thirty”. I wake at 5:00 each morning and need to be mom of the house at 7:30, so that gives me 2 1/2 hours to get these 7 things done. Here they ... Read more
Fluff the Nest Friday: Front Porch Patriotism!
I'm feeling extra patriotic with my nest fluffing today! The hubs pressured washed all the concrete yesterday and then I put back the furniture, flowers, and FLAGS! With the disrespect so many have shown our country's flag in recent years, I felt the need to go a little *extra* on the stars and stripes this year! So, we are waving it proudly with a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our America! Now that the front porch is ready, I'm heading to the back porch to splash a little patriotism around back there! But first, I want to acknowledge some other special birthdays today! My sister, Katie, was born the baby of us five on July 3. We kids were SO excited over her arrival! While my ... Read more
Fluff the Nest Friday: Rub a Dub Dub, There’s Some Yuck in My Tub!
Around here, Friday is the day to fluff the nest, which is just a much cuter way of saying “clean the house”. Am I right? So my Friday posts are all about tidying up and getting the house fresh and in order for the weekend. Some weeks my nest-fluffing comes more easily than others. I need motivation each Friday. Today I want to share a cleaning product that has been a game changer for me. When we bought our current home, I was so excited to get a soaking tub. My then 8-year old daughter called it the DREAM TUB! Cute. The only thing that wasn't too dreamy about it for me was the fact that it was jetted. I wondered what grew inside the jets and how I could be sure they were clean since I ... Read more
Spring 2020: Counting Every Blessing
Spring 2020 was a doozy. These days just the mention of 2020 comes with sighs and eye-rolls. Covid-19 has brought hardships, stress, and loss to many. Our family has dealt with the heaviness as well in a number of ways, but the Lord has also showered blessing upon blessing on us. I love the song "Counting Every Blessing" by Rend Collective and have had that song in my head since The Rona hit. So today I'm counting every blessing of Spring 2020! And because there were so many, this is an incredibly long post, but mostly photos. Blessing 1: The Great Outdoors Not a single day passed during all of isolation where the sun did not rise! And with each sunrise came new mercies and ... Read more
Fluff the Nest Friday: Let’s Do This!
Around here, Friday is the day to "fluff the nest", which is just a much cuter way of saying "clean the house". Am I right? So my Friday posts are all about tidying up and getting the house fresh and in order for the weekend. Some weeks my nest-fluffing comes more easily than others. I need motivation each Friday. Happy Friday! It’s been a long time since I’ve done a “Fluff the Nest Friday”! I really don’t have anything spectacular to offer today as far as cleaning tips, but I wanted to hop on here and cheer us all on in ending the week strong! After the kids and I finish school today, I’ve got a huge load of housecleaning to accomplish before the weekend. We’ve had some scheduling changes ... Read more