Creating a home + life you love
As I redo my home office space I am trying to pull together some of my favorite things to make it bright and inspiring.
An office can get pretty boring.
Do you have dedicated space to take care of those pesky tasks like paying bills or fun things like writing and creating? It can be something as simple as the corner of a room, a closet with the doors removed or a nook under the stairs that you have claimed for yourself.
We all need a special little spot that is ours. [Read more…]
We have had a few days of glorious sun here in the Pacific NW, and it has been SO wonderful.
You don’t realize how much you miss sunny days until you have a few of them after a stretch of
rain, and it’s like having a new lease on life!
Seeing the first daffodils, and spring buds form, with green shoots forcing their way through the soil,
it makes me want to be outside sprucing up my space and getting ready for warmer days.
That’s just what I have been doing while it’s nice outside, planting a few primroses, cleaning up the
flower beds, and giving the porch a nice scrub down. [Read more…]
Hello from the house of runny noses and coughs, I seem to forget that we always catch a cold in early January.
Similar to forgetting exactly how fun it is to give birth, get a root canal, or cough until you pee your pants…
Our New Year Week of Sickness has blindsided me yet again, and boy is it a hoot.
But fear not!
While I may be a few days behind in our No/Low Spend Challenge for January I have a pretty thing for you
today. I bet you will forgive me if I tell you how awesome this looks printed out and framed.
And it really is totally appropriate for all year, but this mentions love, so it’s totes Valentines Day-ish too!
While deep down I know that we need a few things in addition to love, I believe that love is the greatest of
all things, and because of it you and I are alive, have joy, and live in this beautiful world.
Plus I am a Beatles fan, it’s genetic. [Read more…]
So…this is one that I am super duper guilty of, that is not asking this question, and therefore never
throwing paperwork away.
Like, I am fairly certain I still have my ticket stub from Madonna’s Virgin Tour, yes it was quite a while ago.
And a cancelled check for something.
And bank statements, so many bank statements.
If this sounds like you even a teeny bit, this awesome printable from Clean Mama will help us both out!
I am loving this!
I have this printed out and am putting this awesome free printable to use right now, organizing
one file and drawer at a time.
Alright, that’s 3 days in to a month of ideas, DIY’s, recipes and tips to save money, and try getting our
year off to a great start the thrifty way!
If you missed the last few posts for our No/Low Spend Challenge here they are:
Day 2: Enchilada Quinoa Casserole
Day 1: Pantry + Freezer Inventory Printable
Have a wonderful & blessed day friend!
Welcome to our very first No Spend Challenge!
I am so excited to be doing this, and if you are reading this for the first time, let me tell you what this will not be.
This is not a 31 day exercise in making you feel like a financial failure, because you are not!
This is not a way for me to make money, it’s a fun challenge we can do together to purge, save & use what we have.
This challenge is not designed to make you feel deprived but liberated by changing a few simple things that will make
a big impact.
I know we are probably not going to pay off all of our debt, set aside our retirement and win a Nobel Peace Prize
in the next month.
But we can make some positive changes, that are small and attainable, that we all have time for.
One thing a day, added together makes an impact.
If I learn how to make a few more recipes from scratch or bust out my slow cooker another night or two per week,
I may not save $500 that month. But I might in a year, and that is a lot! [Read more…]
When I was a little girl, I was convinced that I was Dianna Ross.
With my hairbrush in hand, I would sing my guts out, standing on my bed,
waving and blowing kisses to all of my adoring fans.
They were so supportive, those invisible fans. They never told me that I couldn’t do something.
A few years later, I was introduced to my first pair of legwarmers, and Flashdance came out.
I had a new passion, it was dance. And I was going to be a professional dancer.
And live in a converted warehouse, and have a cool dog. And a cute boyfriend.
Fashion design & marketing came along, and well, I hoped to have my own runway show
at some point. In the meantime I could rock the largest shoulder pads to be found.
And some sweet hot pink lipstick. [Read more…]
I know we still have a handful of days before Christmas, but this phrase has so been on my heart all day today.
I wanted to turn it into something that I could print out and hang on what will be my updated gallery wall in
January. It’s just so true, the worrying, fretting, regretting.
All belong in the past and behind us.
They just don’t seem to be part of ringing in a new year, full of possibility and hope.
And I figured that if I love a free printable, you probably would too.
Oh what a thoughtful and thrifty gift to frame it and give it to a friend, I wanted to make something that
makes us think about new beginnings and second chances. [Read more…]
Our Japanese Maple is in full regalia, and fanning her gorgeous feathers for Spring. Around her are
bright pink Azaleas, and various mid to late spring flowers beginning to push through to the surface.
I was cleaning out a few bins of trim & craft supplies recently and came across a yard or so of a couple
different types of lace. Like most craft supply hoarders, I cannot remember why or where I found them,
and since they are flat and wide, I’m not sure where I would use them.
I began looking at my jars and decided to experiment with a little Mod Podge and lace around a few different
sized jars headed for recycling.
Each year I watch at least two large garbage sacks of gift wraps, ribbons, tissue and bows head for the garage to mostly be thrown out. I save every bag, flatten and reuse the tissue, but there is still so much leftover. Not to mention what good quality gift wrap can cost for a pile of presents. So in an attempt to see if I could create pretty gift wrap from found objects in my home, or free items while I am out running errands, here are a couple ideas I came up with.
I hope this has inspired you to make the outside of your gift just as creative and thoughtful as the contents on the inside. And, if you can make something gorgeous on the cheap {or free} you are awesome. As always, thank you for reading, I appreciate you so much. Hugs from me to you 🙂Monday
Making The World Cuter Monday , Be Colorful, DIY Home Sweet Home,Covered in Grace, Between Naps On The Porch, Craft O Maniac, The Southern Institute, Keeping It Simple, Skip To My Lou,
Brassy Apple, Delectable Home, C.R.A.F.T, Get Outta My Head Please, Krafty Kat (button below)
http://makingtheworldcuter.com/2012/07/cuter-monday/, The Dedicated House, Alderberry Hill (button below), Kampen Lane Designs (button below), My Favorite Finds, http://makingtheworldcuter.com/2012/08/making-the-world-cuter-2/, Just Dawnelle, Mad In Crafts
Tuesday
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia,Sugar Bee Crafts, A Diamond In The Stuff, Home Stories A to Z, Reasons To Skip Housework, Domestically Speaking, How To Nest For Less, Organize & DecorateEverything, Ladybug Blessings, Cherished Bliss, The DIY Dreamer,The Sasse Life, The Winthrop Chronicles (button below), Cozy Little House, Homework (button below), Organizing Home Life, Today’s Creative Blog, House On The Way, The Inspired Room, TheNY Melrose Family
Wednesday
Savvy Southern Style, Someday Crafts, Ginger Snap Crafts, Clean & Scentsible, The Trendy Treehouse, Uncommon Designs, Southern Lovely, Lil’ Luna (button below)
Family Home and Life, Practically Functional, Vintage Gwen, Rae Gun Ramblings, The CSI Project, I Gotta Create, Tales Of A Trophy Wife, Pincushion Creations, Adorned From Above, The Style Sisters, http://www.howdy-honey.com/2012/11/wanderlust-wednesday-3-christmas-signs.html, http://simplykierste.com/
Thursday
Delightful Order,The Shabby Creek Cottage Somewhat Simple
Embracing Change, House Of Hepworths, 52 Mantels, Thrifty Decorating, Not Just A Housewife, Beyond The Picket Fence, AKA Design, Crafty Scrappy Happy,Christina’s Adventures, The 36th Avenue,Johnny In A Dress
, Hubby Made Me, Lil Pink Pocket, Two Yellow Birds Decor, One Artsy Mama, Saving 4 Six
Check out the product review and enter for a chance win a Target gift card…woot-woot!
http://www.homestoriesatoz.com/2012/05/3m-mobile-projector-review-150-target-gift-card.html#respond
Tanya 🙂
