"Winter Cleaning"

Everyone talks about

"spring cleaning" and even "fall cleaning"

but I think the weather that time of year

is just too nice to dedicate

so much time to fluffing, scrubbing and cleaning.

(photo credit)

The way I see it,

winter gets too cold

and Texas summers are waaay too hot

to do anything outside

so you might as well use your time indoors to

get some hardcore cleaning done.

This way, when spring and fall get here, you can

run and play and frolic and not have to clean a thing.

Since I'm on vacation all next week,

I have every intention of

doing some deep cleaning.

This will also help me cross something off my

New Years Resolutions list

even before I have it written up.

Decorating on the brain

I am constantly thinking about ways to decorate our master bedroom.

Even though we're not in a position to do any redecorating,

I still love to day dream.

I really love these chairs with the pretty, frilly slip covers!

We have quite a bit of extra space in our bedroom, I'd love to put in a reading/conversation area.

It would be a great sanctuary from the always blasting television.

This isn't exactly my style but I really love the yellow bed, colorful quilt and paneled walls.

The green walls, white headboard, white linens and charming lamp - what's not to love!?!?

Oh, and the ric rac on the pillows... looooove!

Yard Sales and Thrift Stores

Please swing by Southern Hospitality and Coastal Charm!

I'm linking to their parties today!!!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Like I said yesterday,

I didn't get to do as much garage saleing (yes, that is how I spell it) and thrifting as I wanted to.

Still though I got to hit up about 5 garage sales Saturday and ran by Goodwill yesterday afternoon.

Spice Rack - $2

I tried to talk the lady down to $1 but she refused! I'd never met someone so set on the price of a small ticket item. She was a cute old lady so I bought the piece anyway.

I really love it although I'm not totally sold on its location. What do you think about it propped up on the counter? Should I paint it? If so, I'm thinking a variation of kelly green!

Books - $2.00 (total)

I am trying to find some good child-friendly history/science books with great pictures that I can put in frames in Ethan's room. He's way into the History Channel and the Discovery Channel so that's the theme I'm going with in his room.

Indoor plant book - $ .75

Last but not least {cause it's my FAVORITE} a book about indoor plants.

It is absolutely beautiful!
You can tell somebody really loved it, the binding is very loose but the pages are still in place. Judging by the dates on the inside, this was first published in 1970 and I scored the 1975 reprint of it. Still... it fits perfectly on my sofa table.

Hopefully this weekend I'll be able to get in some quality thrifting/garage saleing time!

~~ I just found another thrifting link party at Apron Thrift Girl's place! Run by there and show her some love! ~~

My Weekend 'To Do' List...

From the last few posts on antiques/goodwilling

you can probably tell that I've got a quite a bit of decorating ahead of me.

Here's my "To Do" List.
(FYI: all of these pictures are repeats)

Paint this and hang it in the master bedroom.

Can you suggest a good color?

The walls are white (thank you apartment complex), the curtains and sheets in our room are brown, the duvet is a white and red floral print (from Ikea) and the pillows are greens and whites. I would LOVE to see more blues and greens in the room.

Paint/reupholster this and put it in the corner of the master bedroom.


Hang this is the big guy's room.

Paint these and hang them up everywhere.

Find a frame/matte for this and hang it in the entry way.

Other things to do without pictures:

1. Sand, paint and hang headboard.

2. Find vintage books/photos to hang on the wall in Ethan's room.

3. Commission uncle to build a hanging book rack for E's room.

4. Curtains - my poor boy need some curtains!

Master Bedroom and such...

While my husband is out shooting at wild hogs, I'll be hitting up some garage sales (depending on weather), a few antique malls and spring cleaning.

I've been given a small budget to makeover our son's room,

the living room

and the master bedroom.

I'm excited to see how much I can do with a small amount!

I'm even more excited to show you all the transformation!

Spring Cleaning To Do List

- Switch from cardboard boxes to tubs in the garage -

- Buy an Ikea Markor bookcase for the living room -

- Queen headboard -

- Find cute blackout curtains for the bedrooms -

- Score a sweet deal on an Amish style bench -

- Get some hanging plants for the patio -

- Organize the laundry room -

May I vent for half a second? -Thanks!

I have a really hard time getting inspiration for decorating my apartment!!

We live in a standard 1000+ square foot two bedroom apartment.

We're not allowed to paint.

We have awful carpet (even in one of our bathrooms - BLECH!), linoleum tile in kitchen

and vertical blinds that cannot be removed.

There's just nothing out there for decorating under these conditions!

Woe unto me!

~~~~

....and I'm done!

My Personal Project

Thinking about the theme of my life at this moment (being a living sacrifice), I have come to the conclusion that I need to streamline, prioritize and develop some self control. This conclusion didn't just dawn on me suddenly, it came through the sweet ladies I meet with once a month in my mentorship group. If you all don't have a mentor - get one - seriously... Not only is it Biblical but the godly direction and advice you get from them is fantastic!

Today my personal project has been to organize my plan for organization.

Redundant, no?

~~

The internet is full of resources on getting organized.

Below are a few that I have found.


~~

...for house and home...

...to organize and save on food...

...faith based financial help...

~~

Sadly, the one I'm most excited about I couldn't get a logo for!

Organized Home
Clean House, Cut Clutter, Get Organized at Home!


I've been combing this website all morning and found some great print-offs for our family notebook.

Right now I'm looking at wall pockets (you know, for file folders) to use as mailboxes for each family member.

~~

What are your favorite organization tricks or tips?

Where do you find inspiration?

Master Bedroom Inspiration

My project for the next couple of months is to decorate our master bedroom.

Right now...

You can't see the carpet for the clothes.

Our dresser is broken.

The curtains aren't up.

We still have boxed lining the walls.

The color scheme is beige, brown and cardboard.

We are without a headboard and side tables.

There is nothing on the walls.

Between projects at work I am looking for some inspiration.

Here's what I've got so far...

Where do you find your decorating inspiration?

Wanna See My Tiny Kitchen?

It's very very tiny...

but it's mine...

and I love it.

And there you have it.

Told you it was small.

I did leave out two walls but one has nothing on it and the other is just our boring family calendar, chore chart and my aprons.

Ok...maybe I will take a picture of it.

Let Christmas Begin!

I love this time of year.

I love the festive colors, special time with family

and an entire season dedicated to worshipping our Savior,

Jesus Christ!

The day after Thanksgiving I arise at an ungodly hour, shop for at least 8 hours, head home for a nap and then rise to start decorating.

This year I decided to try my hand at those popular paper wreaths (found here). I'm actually happy with the way it turned out! Much better than my lampshade re-do. Yikes.

Decorating with Ethan and Buddy the Elf.

It turned out pretty well considering a 6 year old

and an elf on tv did

practically the whole thing!

Here are my hams.

I had to include this picture just because it's so hard to get

a picture of my elusive husband.

up to my ears in boxes - the official tour

Man, do I LOVE our new place!

Yes, it's still an apartment but it's much bigger than our last and has a much more convenient layout.

Let me take you on a quick tour... after photos coming soon!

Master bedroom.

Ethan's room.

The living room. Love the vertical blinds? You know I do.


Dining room...looks tiny, doesn't it?



Was that not the most exciting home tour you've ever been on?

I didn't even include the kitchen, bathrooms and laundry because I just knew you guys wouldn't be able to handle the excitement.

We are officially moved in but have quite a bit of decorating and organizing to do. Hopefully by the end of the week I'll have the after pictures posted.



Until then...here's my to do list:


1. Defeat laundry mountain. It really piles up when you move.
2. Unpack and organize closet.
3. Unpack and sort boxes that are being stored in the master bedroom.
4. Garage - AAAAGGGGHHH!H!H!!!
5. Decorate for Christmas.
6. Organize paperwork.

What a Weekend!

Whew! What a weekend!!!



I'm proud to report that we got ALL of our housework done! Even the garage. Ok , ok...not all of the housework, we didn't get to the patio storage room but that's not a big deal.


Saturday night was so up in the air!

I wanted to take my friend Mandy out to dinner for her birthday but scheduling conflicts got in the way so we had to reschedule. David and E were supposed to see Uncle Jared play football but it was rained out. So, what did we do instead?

We took Ethan out to see Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs.

I have to admit, it was a pretty darn cute movie! Granted, there were some parts that we could have done without and just a tiny smidgen of language that wasn't great but still...the over all theme and message were fantastic.

One thing I loved, besides Steve, was the fact that all the dads in this movie weren't portrayed as lazy dolts as other famous cartoon dads.

Sadly, most kids won't even notice this but as a mom who really sees the importance of the father figure and how much quickly our culture is shoving them out the door...this was truly refreshing to see!

In fact, at one point a dad, after showing his son how much he loves him, was telling him "I love you, son." and the little guy looked at him and said "I know, Dad, you tell me all the time!"

It was SO sweet!

On to Sunday...

I barely made it through church! The sermon was GREAT and our pastor is never ever boring but I think the Comet fumes from Saturday finally took their toll and I had the WORST headache. After we got home and at lunch, I slept for more than 4 hours!

Once I got up we had to make a mad dash up to church where our friend was being ordained as a deacon. It was a great time of fellowship and certainly an occasion to be celebrated!!

Afterward, I met with my accountability partner.

She's amazing. I just love her dedication to the Lord and her committment to teaching her four children His ways. She really listens and challenges me to be a better Christian.

Anyway...that was my weekend in a nutshell - or, blog, rather.

A Canadian Dream House

I was browsing Country Living Online and found this beautiful farm house!

(site here)

Enjoy.

I'm loving the country red, stark white and iron bed.

This reminds me...

I need to get working on that master bedroom of mine.

What am I Doing Tonight?

Organizing the Home "Office"!

I may or may not post pictures tomorrow!!!!

You'll just have to come by to see.

My Dining Room

Welcome to my humbly, tiny dining room.

Even though it's small, it's my favorite room in the house.

I love my 1920's dining set.

I didn't know it was from the 20's until I reupholstered the chairs.

One of them had a little tag on it that said 1926.

I got this set from my aunt three years ago.
It was passed down to her when she moved to Texas from Germany where she was stationed in the Army.

As a single mom, her church rallied around her and furnished her entire home.

This set came from a lady who was getting ready to move into a retirement home and no longer had space for it. Her family wanted her to sell it but she wanted to give it to a family who needed it.

My aunt and uncle did the exact same thing. Instead of selling their antique dining set, they gave it to us! We were using an old table we found at an antique store. It was a piece of junk.

Question: I think I want to line the back of the hutch in light blue scrapbook or wall paper. Do you think it'll look silly? The things I collect are mostly milk glass and jadeite so I think they'll coordinate.

Opinions please!

Another one of my favorites is that mirror.

I got it at a yard sale for $8.

The woman I bought it from said that it was her grandmothers and that she just wanted it to go to a good home. I planned on painting it but after I saw how well it matched my dining set, I decided to leave it as is.

This picture has a few things I love in it. First, the stain and grain of the wood of the table. Second, my FAVORITE THING EVER - the FireKing pitcher. Third, the silver (or really good imitation silver) I bought at a yard sale last week for $2 for the whole group! I was pretty excited.

99% of everything I have in that room was either gifted to us or purchased at a yard sale/antique mall for cheap!

**oh, and I'll be changing the color of the apartment soon...any good light tan/white color ideas?**