We are taking the month of October to unplug and connect as a family and with the Lord. Be back in November.
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Thursday, September 11, 2014
THE FACES OF CLUTTER
About once a year we end up having a yard sale. And every year it is always the same. Pick a weekend. Have a hard time gearing up to get motivated to fill boxes and empty the house. But there is always a defining moment.
The moment when the first item is tossed into the box that will not be coming back in. Tossing leads to more tossing. You start to see empty shelves and that is really when the ante gets upped.
It feels fabuloso to fill up brown boxes of things I haven't been using. The things that I don't 100% still love today get the boot.
Yesterday I headed into my kitchen and started opening cabinet doors and pulling open drawers and tossing things into my box with abandon. It was in the middle of my kitchen decluttering spree that I realized some things.
You show me a name brand label and I'll show you a girl who has a hard time letting it go.
Then you have the skinny version of you clutter.
The moment when the first item is tossed into the box that will not be coming back in. Tossing leads to more tossing. You start to see empty shelves and that is really when the ante gets upped.
It feels fabuloso to fill up brown boxes of things I haven't been using. The things that I don't 100% still love today get the boot.
It forces me to look at my home with fresh eyes.
If I see something and decide I really do still love it then it forces me to find a home for that thing.
Yesterday I headed into my kitchen and started opening cabinet doors and pulling open drawers and tossing things into my box with abandon. It was in the middle of my kitchen decluttering spree that I realized some things.
I have problems letting go of my name brand clutter.
Talbots
Pottery Barn
Pampered Chef
Ralph Lauren
You show me a name brand label and I'll show you a girl who has a hard time letting it go.
Then you have the sentimental clutter.
Wedding gifts
Birthday gifts
Kids things that have good memories attached to them
The steal you found on that something at that yard sale
My wedding dress
Then you have the skinny version of you clutter.
All those cute little t-shirts that don't fit right now? Mmm hmmm, yeah Kool-Aid t-shirt I'm talking about you.
I have found that if I have a motivator it helps me release some things that may otherwise be hard to let go of. So, I give you my recliner I am working towards.
This chair is cute and comfy. For years I have wanted a chair like this. It rocks, swivels, reclines, and dusts baseboards on demand. This beauty is my motivation to let some of the good stuff go so that I can have something better. Every time I pick up something that is pretty but not useful to me anymore, I think of my purty chair and in the box the pretty something goes.
Thursday, September 4, 2014
Homemade Baby Food
You know how some afternoons
you just decide you are going to go for it and try your hand at making homemade baby food for the very first time ever? Yeah, that was me yesterday.
I didn't have a book or anything. Just some fresh produce and a blender. Have you ever seen Fresh Produce clothing? Oh my gosh it is so cute. And comfortable. And probably healthy for you to wear.
I added a small amount of water to make my dish blendable and it really worked!
I liked being able to control what went into my baby food. I did not peel the apples and tossed them in with the seeds. It was so pretty to see red flecks of apple peel in the food.
After freezing them in the ice tray, I popped them into a freezer bag labeled:
So how did the baby like her homemade baby food?
She was all smiles and told me she could not wait to try the Beef Bourguignon.
I didn't have a book or anything. Just some fresh produce and a blender. Have you ever seen Fresh Produce clothing? Oh my gosh it is so cute. And comfortable. And probably healthy for you to wear.
I added a small amount of water to make my dish blendable and it really worked!
I liked being able to control what went into my baby food. I did not peel the apples and tossed them in with the seeds. It was so pretty to see red flecks of apple peel in the food.
After freezing them in the ice tray, I popped them into a freezer bag labeled:
September 2014
spinach, apple, banana
So how did the baby like her homemade baby food?
She was all smiles and told me she could not wait to try the Beef Bourguignon.
I'll never forget watching Anna Duggar make homemade green beans for her precious baby. Boy did I ever think she was a rock-star mama who loved her baby a little more than I loved mine. I mean, she was feeding her baby real green beans while I was feeding mine Vegetable Turkey Dinner made by some lady named Gerber.
I am thankful that I don't have to make my own stuff every single time, but it does bring me joy to serve good things to the people I love.
It feels so good to feed the people we love good things doesn't it?
Tonight the rest of us are having Pioneer Woman's Calzones for dinner with a spinach salad. Mwah!
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
The Market
We have a new grocery store in town called the Neighborhood Market. It took me a few times to decide if I liked it or not. At first, I really did not want to try it. I hate going to the Super Center. Like, really, really, really despise having to go inside. The people are rude, it is busy, it is generally just an unpleasant experience every single time. When our nice Kroger opened I began shopping there. It is also busy but the people are so much more friendly which is worth it for me, especially when I am shopping with babies in tow.
I am ready to make an official statement regarding the Market.
I love shopping at this store!
It is so nice. Here is what I love about it.
It is small. Small means there is not every imaginable organic option available. It is less overwhelming for me. I can get in and out in a jiffy. The aisles seem shorter than the big Kroger and the Super Center. I just whip up and down the aisles grabbing what I need. There have been several times when I was in and out in 23 minutes flat having spent less than $100 for groceries that would last about 5 days.
It is cute inside. There is a nice and warm feel inside the store. Some call it new. It is new but it also has a charming feel.
It is super clean. I mean, it is immaculate. And the shelves are always perfectly stocked and lined in neat little perfect rows. For my fellow OCD friends you will find this aspect of the Market therapeutic.
They sell Wal-Martish things. You know what I'm saying? Toothpaste, shampoo, baby wipes, Benadryl, etc...this means I can have the smaller grocery store experience, the lower prices, and get the things I usually had to go to the Super Center for, all in the convenience of this one stop.
Did I already tell you it is waaaayyyy less crowded than the big grocery stores? I really am enjoying this factor and have noticed how it takes stress off of me when it is more calm inside the store.
The only cons I have found are regarding the meat situation. There is no deli at The Market, so it is Oscar Meyer or bust. I also have a thing with Wal-Mart meat. As in I don't buy it. Here is how this is playing out.
I'm going to the Market once a week for the main grocery trip run. This includes breakfast and lunch fixin's as well the other ingredients for the recipes I'll be making that week. After about 5 days I go to Kroger for meat, more produce, more milk and bread. This week we are having left-over Italian Beef Sandwiches, Pioneer Woman Calzone's, Train Wreck, and we're grilling burgers one night.
Here is a picture of my Market trip yesterday. If you haven't tried it you may want to give it a few shots. If you are like me it may take a trip or two to really decide how you feel about the Market. It has officially become my main grocery store and I just absolutely love shopping there!
And to address the elephant in the room-No I do not go get a shake at Chick-fil-A when I am done shopping and sit in an air conditioned van reading a book before I go home.
I am ready to make an official statement regarding the Market.
I love shopping at this store!
It is so nice. Here is what I love about it.
It is small. Small means there is not every imaginable organic option available. It is less overwhelming for me. I can get in and out in a jiffy. The aisles seem shorter than the big Kroger and the Super Center. I just whip up and down the aisles grabbing what I need. There have been several times when I was in and out in 23 minutes flat having spent less than $100 for groceries that would last about 5 days.
It is cute inside. There is a nice and warm feel inside the store. Some call it new. It is new but it also has a charming feel.
It is super clean. I mean, it is immaculate. And the shelves are always perfectly stocked and lined in neat little perfect rows. For my fellow OCD friends you will find this aspect of the Market therapeutic.
They sell Wal-Martish things. You know what I'm saying? Toothpaste, shampoo, baby wipes, Benadryl, etc...this means I can have the smaller grocery store experience, the lower prices, and get the things I usually had to go to the Super Center for, all in the convenience of this one stop.
Did I already tell you it is waaaayyyy less crowded than the big grocery stores? I really am enjoying this factor and have noticed how it takes stress off of me when it is more calm inside the store.
The only cons I have found are regarding the meat situation. There is no deli at The Market, so it is Oscar Meyer or bust. I also have a thing with Wal-Mart meat. As in I don't buy it. Here is how this is playing out.
I'm going to the Market once a week for the main grocery trip run. This includes breakfast and lunch fixin's as well the other ingredients for the recipes I'll be making that week. After about 5 days I go to Kroger for meat, more produce, more milk and bread. This week we are having left-over Italian Beef Sandwiches, Pioneer Woman Calzone's, Train Wreck, and we're grilling burgers one night.
Here is a picture of my Market trip yesterday. If you haven't tried it you may want to give it a few shots. If you are like me it may take a trip or two to really decide how you feel about the Market. It has officially become my main grocery store and I just absolutely love shopping there!
And to address the elephant in the room-No I do not go get a shake at Chick-fil-A when I am done shopping and sit in an air conditioned van reading a book before I go home.
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