Sometimes I actually accomplish things....

Summer feels like it's just getting going for me. The temperatures are super hot - which I never like - but it also means that July + August are almost here and lots of exciting things are happening! We leave for our glorious 10-day British getaway next Friday afternoon and I am itching to get started on packing! I love packing for a vacation, but always procrastinate unpacking once we get home. The opposite is true when moving - I don't enjoy packing up a home, but love the process of unpacking and setting up. I have been keeping an ongoing list of things to bring so as not to forget when it comes time to put everything into a suitcase; sure I'll remember my toothbrush and passport but I might forget to pack a spare pair of contacts or my jacket if I don't write it down.

Something that I really wanted to get before we left was a new DSLR camera. My Canon Rebel was fine, but sometimes the quality wasn't what I had hoped for in such an expensive camera. As it turns out, Dodd Camera was having a "buy your old equipment" event at the same time a really nice Nikon camera I now own went on crazy sale. I still have to learn how to make the most of it's capabilities. But I'm hopeful it'll live up to my expectations.

I tested it out for the first time last week after I'd had an unusually productive day in the "being creative" department. These days are few and far between, so it was worth documenting. First, I finally got around to making a pom pom garland for our front window. It cost me all of $2 to make in about 40 mins. I found the pom poms at the dollar store (2 bags of various colors) and then strung them together using a needle and some white thread. Simple!

This isn't exactly a huge achievement, but I also figured out a way to get some vegetables in my kids! They used to love them as babies but now I can't seem to persuade them to eat anything except maybe potatoes. It's the oldest trick in the book, but I decided to blend a ton of spinach into some homemade pasta sauce. At first the color was a bit brown so they probably would have passed on it based on presentation alone, but after adding a tin of tomato paste I was back to some basic who-knew-it's-full-of-green-veg spaghetti sauce. And they ate it all! Woo! I even got a smile out of Jack.

Today was spent less productively killing a ton of flies which I suspect are coming up from our basement. SO stressful. Although I guess I was successful if you count that I'm 20 for 20 in terms of flies and their squished little bodies.

Kitchen Wall

I've been wanting to paint a wall in the kitchen for a few months now. I like the color scheme but it was lacking a certain something. The cabinets are white and the walls are beige, so I wanted to throw another color in there that flowed with the rest of the house. We had a gallon of paint downstairs that we got for free. It's a shade similar to hot chocolate - not something I'd typically pick out but since it was free we figured we'd make use of it. Last spring we tried it out as an accent wall above the mantle. It took a little getting used to, but now I love it. Here's the mantle decorated for winter - thank you to my talented + thoughtful sister Andrea for making me the "Maranatha" banner (which means "Come, Lord!" in Aramaic) for my birthday.

So when I had a hankering to give the kitchen a bit of a facelift, it made sense to use this color again.

Very blah. Clearly needed something.

Ok so the change is subtle. But the contrast of colors (the beige in the kitchen is the same as the color on the window walls by the mantle) makes it feel a little more thought out. I also added some things to the wall.

1. I repainted this picture frame (that was sitting in a box in the basement) 

a shade of gray and filled it with a picture of London.

2. Another basement box picture frame that I took the backing out of and used as a dry erase meal planning board. I have some fabric I might use as a background instead, but for now this works.

3. A letter holder of my parents' that they no longer wanted. 

I also repainted this a shade of mint green.

All together, this project cost me $0 to do! I'm telling you - it's all about using what you have lying around the house and re-purposing/repainting it. Speaking of painting - thank you Tim for doing the hard work and painting the wall for me! And with only a brush as your tool!

Celebrating Advent

As promised, the advent post. 

Up until this year I don't think I even really understood what advent was except in the general sense that it was the Christian term for the weeks leading up to Christmas Day (the birth of Christ). I definitely felt clueless as to how to fully recognize it. Easter always felt easier to invest myself in emotionally.  The power of the Cross is always so tangible for me - it is by His blood that I am healed. The power of the manger seemed less so. I loved thinking about holding a tiny baby Jesus in my arms and what that might be like, but beyond that it just didn't hit me in the same way as imagining Jesus on the cross, dying for my sins.  So I always left it at "The birth is nothing without the cross" or something like that. Maybe it was because, as I mentioned, I just didn't really know what to do with the advent season. After all, nowhere in Scripture are we called to recognize this holiday (or Easter) in a certain way - it's based on human tradition but is truly a matter of personal conviction.

Nevertheless, I didn't like that Christmas felt void of the fullness experienced at Easter. I felt like I was missing out on a wonderful opportunity to marvel at the humble beginnings of the Word made flesh (John 1:14). So this year, I decided to stop letting my lack of "powerful feelings" keep me from experiencing the true joy that can be found in intentionally taking part in the advent season. One of those ways is by following along in the Desiring God: Good News of Great Joy daily devotional. The reflections are brief but packed with good stuff. I really appreciated the preface which gave a short synopsis on what Advent is and why it's celebrated (helpful!):

Advent is an annual season of patient waiting, hopeful expectation, soul-searching, and calendar-watching marked by many churches, Christian families, and individual followers of Jesus. There’s no biblical mandate to observe Advent. It’s an optional thing—a tradition that developed over the course of the church’s history as a time of preparation for Christmas Day. Many of us find observing Advent to be personally enjoyable and spiritually profitable. The English word “Advent” is from the Latin adventus, which means “coming.” The advent primarily in view each December is the first coming of Jesus two millennia ago. But Jesus’s second coming gets drawn in as well, as the popular Christmas carol “Joy to the World” makes plain: 

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found.

I never knew that advent meant "coming." Knowing that helps direct my heart towards fostering a sense of anticipation. This may be obvious to others but for me, as I mentioned, this year is the first time I am approaching Christmas with new eyes and my whole heart. That said, I highlighted the part about there being no biblical mandate to observe Advent because I think it's common within Christians circles to promote the opposite - that you have to keep it strictly about Jesus and nothing more. Which is why I also appreciate this part:

Christians throughout the world have their different ways of celebrating Advent. Some light candles. Some sing songs. Some eat candies. Some give gifts. Some hang wreaths. Many of us do all of the above. Christians have developed many good ways of extending the celebration of Jesus’s coming beyond merely the short 24 hours of December 25. The incarnation of the Son of God, “for us and for our salvation,” as the old creed says it, is too big a thing to appreciate in just one day. Indeed, it’s something the Christian will celebrate for all eternity. Our prayer is that this little devotional ebook might help you keep Jesus as the center and greatest treasure of your Advent season. The candles and candies have their place, but we want to make sure that in all the December rush and hubbub we adore Jesus above all.

Yes. Good. Amen. Indeed all the trimmings of Christmas can be a serious distraction but are not all bad so long as they're kept in the background while Jesus stands at the forefront. We love putting up Christmas decorations, watching Christmas movies, and taking part in the usual Christmas festivities.

But the commercialism does bother us and now that we have kids, we are more conscious of how the other side of Christmas (Santa et al.) effects their (and our) focus of the season. For those of you wondering, we aren't doing Santa. But he won't be banned from our home - he'll simply stand in the same line up as any other fictional character - not real but fun to think about. Speaking of our kids, another way we are celebrating Advent is to do a 12 Days till Christmas countdown with the focus being again on anticipating the birth of Jesus. Jack is already solid on this knowledge, and I'm thankful that he really does show excitement that "Jesus was born on Christmas day!" But we'll also do something like this as a tangible way of experiencing the anticipation of his coming (thanks to Jami Nato for the inspiration):

In the future, I'd love to do a Jesse tree and make ornaments like this (thanks again, Jami Nato) - but it was a little ambitious for this year and a little advanced for Jack.

I've always loved the lighting of the advent wreath growing up.  My mom always bought the colored candles: three purple for the wise men, one pink for Mary and one white for Jesus. I guess you're supposed to use evergreens as well as a symbol of life but I adopted this design from the author over at Simple Notebook a few years ago. I didn't find a bundt cake pan until a few months ago (there not as easy to come by as you'd think) so this is the first year we're actually lighting candles. I found the filler + place mat at Target for $8 - total steal!

We also invested in a Nativity scene this year.  I love Fontanini sets the best, because they're more realistic and they remind me of the one my mom has. But they're seriously expensive, and this one was on sale (Tim went out at midnight on Black Friday to get it - a first). I felt it important to have the visual reminder a nativity set offers, especially for Jack. Right now it's kept on top of the book case in our dining room but as the boys get older and more responsible, I hope to keep it in a more accessible location where it can be interacted with.

Of course, these are all just visual cues and material ways of recognizing Advent. I could read a piece of Scripture a day, or light a candle every Sunday or glance up at my manger scene throughout the day but if my heart isn't right, none of it matters. The key for me, as I mentioned earlier, is to put my heart into this. Which is why I want to commit the next 14 days (and in future years, the whole advent season) to taking time each day to be in prayer and in the Word in hopeful expectation that I will wake up Christmas morning filled with a new revelation of God's presence in my life. My desire for this came when I began to think about what it would have been like two thousand years ago to live without the knowledge of the Gospel because it hadn't yet been fulfilled. Imagine being a Jew knowing that the Messiah, your Messiah, was going to be born in a few short weeks. Or, to bring it closer to home, imagine if you knew for certain that Jesus was coming back in the flesh this December 25, 2012. Imagine if on that day you knew you'd see him, touch him, hold him. I know I'd be giddy with anticipation. I'd be preparing. I'd be telling everyone. I'd be freaking.out. So I want to anticipate Jesus coming into my life in a new way on December 25. I don't know exactly what that will look like, but I do know that if I'm earnestly seeking more of him this Advent than something is going to be changed within me by Christmas morning. 

So that's me.

What are some ways you and your family recognize Advent 

or simply celebrate the Christmas season? 

How to Create a Photo Wall

The voting was a bit split so I'm just going to start with the photo wall. The advent post was a close second but I still have some thinking to do on that subject, so it will have to wait a few more days.

The story behind the creation of the photo wall is this:

Some time ago, we purchased a large framed mirror from our neighbor's garage sale. It was nice (like, Pottery Barn nice) and I'd been trying to find something for a big blank wall in our dining room. At $30, it was the right price and seemed to be just what I'd been looking for. 

Our dining room is the center of our home in the sense that it's the room which connects the front of the house to the back of the house so we walk through it frequently throughout the day. This also meant that I was walking by that mirror countless times a day and looking at it. It's no secret that I'm someone who struggles with self esteem, and beauty and appearance is totally an unhealthy obsession of mine. I feel awkward confessing this, but it's the truth and I'm positive I'm not the only woman out there who can't seem to walk by a mirror without looking into it. Yes, out of vanity but more so out of insecurity just to make sure I look ok. Some of you probably think this sounds totally self absorbed, and you're right.. it is! But it stems from years of believing that my value as a woman is found in my appearance, and never feeling as though I measure up. Which is why I had to take that mirror down. There are days when I'm so consumed with the displeasure I experience when seeing my reflection that it brings me to tears. Sometimes anger. Sometimes anguish. This has been my pattern for years. I think it's the pattern of many woman. For those of you interested, Killing Us Softly is so worth the watch if you struggle with self image like I do (I think this is just a trailer, but you can find the full version presentations elsewhere on youtube). It was eye opening for me. And it explained a lot about why I feel the way I do about myself. I bet this whole conversation was not what you were bargaining for with a post on home decor!

Anyways, long story short, putting a giant mirror in a high traffic part of our house was probably the worst decision ever and only fueled the fire of an already serious issue. It was after a few Providential conversations and "ah-hah" moments that I realized the mirror had to go. It was an idol in my house. If I could have, I would have smashed it with a baseball bat. Instead, it's in our closet because we hope to sell it - hopefully not to a woman with self image issues. 

Of course, now I was left with that giant blank spot on my wall again and nothing to fill it with. 

Or so I thought (dot dot dot). 

A picture wall, like these, is something I've been dreaming of for a while. But to achieve this, you need... you guessed it, a large blank wall! Thank heavens that mirror was removed from it's throne and in its place I now have a beautiful collection of photos depicting our story. God is so good. He gave me beauty for ashes. Max Lucado once painted the picture of us as little children sitting and eating dirt and God, being the loving Father that He is, coming over and wiping our mouths, giving us a sip of water and handing us an ice cream instead. As cheesy as it sounds, this picture wall is my ice cream (and that mirror was my dirt). I can not tell you the freedom I feel now that mirror is gone.

Phew. Ok, well here's where the heavy stuff ends and the easy part comes: the how to! 

First, you need frames (duh). Ideally, you're one of those people who has the patience to make multiple trips to thrift shops to slowly build an eclectic but inexpensive collection. I am not one of those people. Thankfully, I was blessed to already have a number of frames around my house to utilize. Another option is to buy a pre-made collection (which I tried at first), but that can be expensive and I prefer picture walls with variety rather than uniformity. It was amazing once I started looking around the house how many things I found to build my collection - even though it meant pulling a frame or two that was already in use elsewhere. Truth be told, all of the included pieces were better showcased on the wall then they had been elsewhere in the house. I did purchase two frames (about $25 total) - one large oval one and a smaller decorative one to complete the look. So far, that's all I've spent!

Once I had my frames together, I played around with the arrangement on my floor to visualize spacing and placement. The trick, of course, is figuring out how to transfer your setting from the floor to the wall.  Lauren Conrad's blog, of all places, is where I found my answer. She suggested arranging the frames on top of butcher paper,  tracing your placement and then taping it to the wall (you can read the whole tutorial here). Ingenious! Except I didn't have butcher paper on hand (who does?) so I just used sheets of computer paper for the small frames and some plain brown wrapping paper I had for the larger frames. I then cut them out individually and placed them on the wall as I had on the floor:

If you think you'll have a hard time remembering which frame belongs to which cut out, then I suggest you number both.  After you've done that, it's time to hang! The best part about using pieces of paper as placeholders for the frames is that they'll help you determine where the nail should go; once the nail's in, just rip the paper down. I have to give a shout out to Tim who did all the nailing and hanging himself. He's far better at this part than I am. Of course, he may have had a tiny helper.

Here's a picture of the final product. I was so excited to be able to use those white shelves (which Tim got for free a while ago) because they add such a great dimension to the space. 

That big gap at the top is where the oval frame goes (I wasn't sure if I was keeping it at the time). It's currently hanging in it's place but it's a gloomy day and this shot was from a sunny day with better lighting. Plus, the frame is still empty as I'm waiting on some photos from our family photo shoot with our friend Danielle. Here's a sneak peek (in case you didn't see it on Facebook).

So that's the story of the photo wall. 

Or the story of me taking steps towards a healthier self image. 

Either way, my heart is lighter because I'm eating ice cream instead of dirt.

We Already Decorated.

First of all....

source

I know that proper etiquette says that one must wait until after Thanksgiving to break out the Christmas decor. Our celebration of Christmas seems to get earlier and earlier each year (November 17 to be exact). Since I'm Canadian and their Thanksgiving was celebrated last month, I'm actually right on time. Boom.

I love everything Christmas (except for the consumerism, of course) and that definitely includes the decorations + Christmas cheer. It does make me sad to think there are people out there who find this holiday depressing, whether it be because they are alone or missing someone or because it reminds them of what they don't have. And it'd probably be a good idea for me to start thinking of ways to reach out to those people and try and make their Christmas spirit bright. But I'm also really thankful that the Lord has blessed me with a family and friends to celebrate with, and a home that has a spot for our (fake) Christmas tree, and for Marc's discount store where I got a 9ft string of garland for $4 to make my kitchen pretty.

I love the lights, I love the movies, I love the excitement that surrounds the season.

I also love Christmas music and the fact that this time of year is the only time in our culture where we hear the Gospel proclaimed wherever we go in the form of Christmas carols. Carols are some of the most powerful hymns ever written and my favorite, by far, is O Holy Night. I'm moved every time I stop and really listen to the words. So. profound.

Thank you Lord, especially on this day of thanks, for giving my soul worth and hope and life. You are so good, all the time no matter the season.

Seasonal Robot

Yesterday I had big plans. Big plans for great art. I had this frame that seemed perfect for a four seasons theme and I had big plans to hang it somewhere in Jack's room. At first I was thinking I'd just find some images on line. And then when that wasn't happening, I thought I'd just draw them myself.
The results, in my opinion, were totally underwhelming and not really what I had envisioned. However, Tim loved it and insisted we hang it somewhere where we'd see it often. That somewhere was next to the bathroom sink - the "go to" spot for most priceless art, right? Anyways, here it is:

The Fort Reveal!

Ta da! Here it is!

And here's the break down in cost + supplies:

Obviously this project is far more expensive than $21. Just because I had a lot of things around the house I could use doesn't mean I didn't pay for them at one time. Something like this, when starting from scratch, probably would cost over $100 to make. If you think that sounds unreasonable, consider that it took:

Four curtains (never cheap!)

Four pillows (2 large, 2 small)
A sleeping bag

A duvet cover

The IKEA star (which probably cost around $15 at the time)

Fabric + ribbon for the bunting

A hula hoop (which wasn't cheap at $7!)

And a spring hook

I point that out only because I know when I see DIY stuff like this on Pinterest I think "Wow, it'll be so much more cost effective to make this then it would be to buy it." At $100 plus, I'd say you're not really saving all that much money - unless, like myself, you happen to already have most of the supplies needed. And of course, I also get the pleasure of saying I made it myself (with the help of others). Thank you to Tim for being patient with me as I fussed over the whole thing and to my sister Andrea for making the bunting. It was the finishing touch!

It's Clean!

Remember that time I said I'd clean and organize my house every day 

for 31 days and then quit after Day 2?

Yeah, well yesterday I did about a week's worth of organizing in less than 12 hours. I barely ate or drank anything because I was so committed to the task at hand (I'm pretty sure I was dehydrated by the end; my lips were all shriveled and I felt light headed). Once I get it into my head that I'm going to do something, there's no stopping me. Just ask Tim, who very kindly watched the kids for most of the late afternoon/evening so I could carry on interrupted.

And what is it, you ask, that I was so consumed by? Our Hoarders worthy spare room + closet. The one our baby sleeps in (room, not closet). It's one of those rooms that requires a closing of the door when guests are over or that requires a disclaimer before someone's allowed to enter "Yeah, this room is kind of a disaster, sorry...." Don't let the following images fool you (which were taken mid-purge) - Moses' pack n play is the only livable area in the room. The closet was about three to five feet high in stuff (depending on what you're looking at) and completely impassable. And yesterday, I'd just had enough. It was time.

Again, these were taken after already having cleared out stuff. As you can see, the mess took over most of the apartment.  

Um, we don't normally keep boxes stored in Moses' bed....it was a temporary holding place.

All those empty diaper boxes came in handy for the donations + recyclables!

Tim had to go to a meeting while I was in the thick of it, so Moses kept me company even busier for about an hour before I had to pause so he could nap in the still hazardous room. He enjoyed army crawling from box to box so he could tip them and pull everything out.

Tip: Don't let your 10 month old crawl around in random junk because soon enough you'll find him chewing on a tiny piece of plastic. Then you'll wonder where that penny went that was sitting on the floor next to him. After that you'll have to google "what to do if baby swallows something?" and will be paranoid until said penny is located. 

 Twenty four hours later, I am still dealing with the after effects of cleaning out three years worth of stuff. Things like spare buttons and an old file box that I don't want to throw out/ give away, but that doesn't exactly have a place either. The good news is, the stuff I did put away now has a place and a location I actually know. I also found $15 cash and discovered our awesome, thought to be dead pocket camera has been given a second chance at life. These next pictures were courtesy of it's revived body parts:

The closet: It finally has space to walk! And I actually know what is in every one of those boxes.

Sorry for the terrible yellow hue in all of these pictures - as great as our camera is, it's no match for bad lighting (and I hate using a flash).

I'll be doing a future post on organizing and staying organized, but one of the keys here was getting rid of the desk. This was mostly prompted by the need to reclaim floor space without moving Moses out of the room (I'll talk about why another time) as well as the fact that we don't actually use the desk, except as a catch-all. The only real purpose it served was to hold the printer, which now happily lives on the book case.

We also needed a place to keep the IKEA Poang chair + ottoman, since Jack now has a sweet fort hanging in his room! It still requires a few finishing touches but I can't wait for the reveal - coming soon!

DIY Forts (an Ode to Pinterest)

Ok, confession. I was all "I'm swearing off Pinterest" and then I literally signed up for it (a second time) the same day. Sure enough, I spent about 40 minutes pinning tons of ideas that I'll probably never get around to implementing.

Here's the thing: I've said before that I'm terrible when it comes to coming up with creative ideas for fun activities to do with my kids. Pinterest is great for that. Hello homemade finger paint and glow in the dark bubbles!

My main reason, however, for re-subjecting myself to such a time-sucking website is that I really (really) want to create some permanent nooks around the house for Jack and Moses to hide away in. Jack is already in love with forts but I find them a bit of a pain to set up and tear down (laziness, straight up.)

Teepees are the trendy hipster thing for kids these days.

(source)

And what's not to love? They're cozy, they're spacious, and they blend well with surrounding decor. That said, they sound like an absolute pain to DIY - not to mention you have to be a sewer. Of course, you could always buy one on Etsy - for like two hundred ridiculous dollars. So, as much as I would love, love, love to have this be what my boys play in, it's just not practical at the moment (re: space, time, cost).

Thankfully (because Pinterest is the place for Plan B's and C's) there are some other options out there that I think I'll try to recreate. The first is totes ingenious!

Um, obviously I'd change the color scheme to be more boy-friendly. But this is created with just a few tension rods! Naturally, there's no link to how to make it step by step, but I'm sure I could figure it out. And we have a perfect spot in the living room that would work for this! Exclamation points unite!

This I would put in their bedroom. It's more open than a tent or a teepee, but it's still a neat little spot to go and sit. Not to mention, it's probably super inexpensive to create (I might try using some spare curtains to create this). Apparently all you need is a quilting hoop. I say apparently, because yet again there isn't a link to the original source on this image. However, here's a link to something similar, using a hula hoop instead.

Man, I really hope these things don't turn out to be expensive or time consuming to create. Of course, if anyone feels like making me a teepee - we would probably be best friends forever.

The Best Day of the Year

 "It's just awesome. I just love that day." 

That's what Tim said after we got home from Nature Bin's Customer Appreciation Day. Nature's Bin is a small, independent grocery store around the corner from our house. They sell lots of organic, healthy food/products so they're a bit pricey but occasionally we shop there for specialty stuff. And on Customer Appreciation Day, they hand out a ton of free samples.

This is a day that we look forward to all year. Literally. We even write it on our calendar. It's all because of the free swag. And it's quality products - the kind of stuff we usually wouldn't buy because they're expensive. Sure the samples are in doll-size bottles, but again, free. Not to mention the fact that they have little bowls set up throughout the store of food products you can taste. Here's a visual of everything we picked up this year:

Ok, so looking at it now, not all that impressive. But when you write it out, it's pretty great, right?:

We got free samples of:

chapstick

dishwashing liquid

chips

popcorn

toothpaste

tea

kitchen utensils

burts bees lotion

vitamins

nail files

energy drinks

dog treats (we left those)

chocolate covered peanuts

sesame sticks

protein bars

granola bars

energy snacks

vanilla chai green tea raisins

cooking utensils (!) 

cookies

cider

apples

laundry detergent

Ugh, this post is making feel really ridiculous for getting so excited about a bunch of tiny samples. It's like getting excited over the free shampoo/conditioner in hotels. Well anyways, we like it ok. 

We're a simple folk, what can I say.

Our Dream House

There was a time when I said I would never buy a house. I love to travel and renting just always seemed to lend itself better to getting up and going, whereas a mortgage tied you down.

And then I had kids. And those kids were boys. And boys need the outdoors. The city we live in doesn't offer much to renters in the way of outdoor space - and we have almost nothing. Our backyard is a postage stamp of weeds and dirt and spider-filled ivy.  There's also an old box of spices (?) that someone left back there and some rotting wood palettes. Not exactly the ideal - unless your a little boy and then it sounds great. But as a mother, no.

All that to say, I dream of the day I can send the boys outside into a safe, fenced in backyard where they can play for hours in the fresh air. I mean, don't get me wrong - we love our current apartment and are so grateful for it and our landlord (my brother-in-law!) but I think like most families, we now see the benefit of being home owners (as well as the expense, womp womp). Oh, and we're also mega House Hunters fans, so we've been plotting our appearance on the show with our "must haves" list at the ready which, I might add, does not include a kitchen with granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances or double sinks in the bathroom. In fact, we wrote down a list of what we'd look for after watching a House Hunters marathon. It'll be years (years) before we'll be able to even consider buying a home, but here's what we came up with:

We're definitely Craftsman style home kind of people. 

Here's an example of what we like when it comes to curb appeal:

We love smaller homes with big porches and lots of unique detail. Nothing over the top, but something that looks and feels classic but homey. I love when exteriors incorporate natural elements like stone and wood. And I do love a house with a red front door. In short form, here's what else we would look for:

Must haves:

Good neighborhood (location, location location!)

Lots of character
3-4 bedrooms

1.5-2 bathrooms

Nice backyard (with fence, or possibility of fence)

Lots of storage

Garage (preferably attached)

Central air + newer furnace

Newer roof

Decent counter/cupboard space in kitchen

Fairly move in ready (no major renovations needed)

Nice to haves:

En suite bathroom in master (with large tub! I love spa tubs)

Close to park or water

Laundry room

Space for playroom

Dishwasher

Wood burning fireplace

Larger family space

Eat-in kitchen

Hardwood floors 

Newer appliances

Attractive landscaping

Don't want:

Wood paneling

Fixer upper

Hideous carpet

Wasted space (i.e. formal sitting room)

Massive backyard (too much work!)

Ugly flooring or counter tops

On busy street

I feel like we're pretty down to earth when it comes to what we look for - we're not super picky. But then again, I really do base decisions on the "feel" of something, so maybe we would turn out to be really annoying House Hunters. You know, the ones on the show whose real estate agent looks into the camera and says "I've shown them over 50 homes. They just aren't being realistic about what's available in their price range." In any case, I can't wait to meet our first house - a long time from now!

What about you? What do you look for in a home?
If you already own a home, what's your favorite feature(s)?

The Body Pillow

Here's a quick tip for anyone out there with a baby whose either learning to sit up on his or her own, or still has the occasional tendency to tip over (like Moses) : invest in a body pillow!

I know the Boppy is another "sitting aid" but I never found it all that helpful - there wasn't enough all around support to keep the baby from falling backwards. The body pillow, on the other hand, offers high support on all sides if you shape it in a sort of semi-circle around the baby. The length also provides protection for a foot or two either side. While the pillow won't necessarily prevent the baby from tipping over, so long as they tip to the side or backwards they'll hit a soft pillow instead of the floor. Here, allow Moses to demonstrate:

We keep it propped in our papasan chair and it also is a great neck/back support for sitting in there. 

I bought mine for an entirely different purpose (floor seating for when friend's are over) but I love that it now serves three purposes (I've also heard its a good side-sleeping aid for when you're pregnant). Considering it only cost me $16 ($10 for the pillow, $6 for the cover) I'd say it was well worth the money. And that makes me and Mose happy.

 

Snacks are Good for Me.

snack |snak|

noun

a small amount of food eaten between meals.

• a light meal that is eaten in a hurry or in a casual manner.

verb [ intrans. ]

eat a snack : she likes to snack on yogurt.

Um, Webster's dictionary does a poor, poor job of describing the wonder that is "the snack." And yogurt? That's the best snack they could think of? What about pistachios, or crackers... or better yet cheese and crackers? How dare they for diminishing the snack to something to just get you through to the next meal. Don't they know that meals are the segues to more snacks and not the other way around?

I am so very much all.about.the.snack. I often get more excited about snacks then I do about meals *if you couldn't already tell. When you go on a car trip, what's the most exciting part? The soundtrack you make and the snacks you pack. What's the best part of your lunch? The snacks (also known as "sides")  I mean, ok, sometimes the sandwich and the chips are equal when its something like a turkey club. But chips always bring a certain fevered anticipation to the meal. Few people crack into them right away - usually you take those first polite, obligatory bites of sandwich as a nod to proper etiquette. But we all know that everyone is just anticipating the chips.

Snacks are also best eaten on the car ride home from buying them. I do this all the time. Tim had never even considered doing this before we got married. He still thinks it's weird that as soon as we get in the car I get the crackers out and start eating them. My mom used to let us eat in the snack in the store while she was still shopping (and then paid for it at the check out of course) so I hardly think having it on the car ride home is unreasonable. I mean, why wait?!

But I digress. The point of this post is to tell you all about the Top 5 picks in my current snack bank and why they deserve to be there. FYI: you'll want to take notes because not only are these snacks delish, they're pretty healthy (comparatively).

 Here's The Lineup:

1. Way Better Snacks Simply So Sweet Chili Tortilla Chips : I had these for the first time just the other day at my sister's house. I almost ate the whole bag. And I typically don't even like chili flavored things. Whenever Tim puts some sort of spicy snack in the shopping cart I usually make him trade it (sorry Tim). I don't know what it is about these chips, but they have just the right amount of heat, sweet and savory. And Way Better Snacks use simple, nutritious, sprouted ingredients. You can read about why using sprouted ingredients is so good for you here. Or you can just take my word for it :)

2. GoodGreens "Chocolate" Bars : Also introduced to me by my sister. I know the name"GoodGreens" doesn't bolster much confidence in the taste department. But these are seriously good for when you have a chocolate bar craving but don't want the calories. Not only does one bar provide 100% of your daily fruits and vegetables (I still find this hard to believe), they are packed with tons of other good things: see here. Oh, and Tim loves them. And Tim is not always as gung-ho about healthier options as I am. Let's just say, if Tim likes them, you probably will. FYI - my favorite flavor is Chocolate Coconut.

3. Trader Joe's Kosher Dill Pickles : Growing up, the pickle plate was a staple at the big family dinners we'd have at my grandparents. It was always set out before the meal and by the time we sat down to eat the pickle plate would be empty. My uncle once ate so many pickles the lining of his stomach started to erode - or so the legend goes. I come from a long line of pickle lovers. And not all pickles are created equal. In Canada, we always eat Bicks. For a while, I switched from dills to Claussens. Now I'm a faithful consumer of Trader Joe's Kosher Dills. With pickles, it's all about the crunch. No one likes a rubbery pickle. TJ's delivers on the crunch + taste factors, although every now and then the pickles on the very top are duds. For the most part though, they are the cream of the crop. And their the smaller size pickles, which are better for snacking. Perfect.

4. LUNA "Granola" Bars : When Tim was experimenting with making these, he kept referring to them as LUNA. LUNA bars are marketed as "The Whole Nutrition Bar for Women" that are "created by women, for women." So at first, before he realized his error, I was having a laugh over the fact that my manly husband was a vocal enthusiast of such a girl power product. And for the record, I still feel that creating a food "by women for women" seems a bit unnecessary. Is there really such a gaping hole in the market that a group of women needed to get together to create a nutrition bar with key "feminine-specific" ingredients such as.....? Anyways, these are awesome. They are delicious. They are more than a granola bar. They are an amazing, on-the-go snack. And they aren't just for women. My favorite flavor is Peanut Honey Pretzel.

5. Air popped Popcorn : This is pretty basic. Much like the dinner table, people just like to gather round the popcorn bowl. It brings communities together. Promotes world peace. What's not to love? We always ate air popped popcorn growing up. There was something so fun about watching the popcorn spill out of the machine into the bowl while my mom poured hot butter and salt on top. So good. Sure, microwave popcorn can be good in a pinch. But air popped is cheaper and way better for you (depending on how much butter you use...) Being a veganite means we use soy butter, but it tastes the same and looks the same and so...win win. Unlike the other four, this actually isn't a snack I eat "whenever." I think, like  most popcorn fans, I prefer to eat it with someone, in a giant bowl, while watching t.v. or a movie. This snack is also a family favorite - except for Moses who would probably choke on a popcorn hull.

Well that's it for me.
What about you?
What are your favorite snacks?

Hint: It's time to comment guys - 

Don't leave me hanging!

Fast 5 Minute Project

So maybe it wasn't a great idea to start a project like this  the same day my dad goes in for quadruple bypass surgery.... (he's doing great, by the way).

I was at the hospital yesterday from 5:30 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. and was only going on four hours sleep. Needless to say, I didn't get around to accomplishing any projects. So far today has also been mostly spent at the hospital and the kids are on opposite nap schedules which means, yet again, my time is limited. However, I did manage to get one really simple, easy, fast (re: uninteresting) project out of the way: tidying up the coat rack.

It's amazing how unsightly it can become when I try to cram too many coats/hats/scarves/bags on it at a time. The reality is, the only thing necessary on this rack is the coats/hats we wear daily and our super ugly but-can't-be-bothered-to-pretend-it-doesn't-always-hang-there t.v. antenna (note the black cord.)

That's all I got done today. 

But something is better than nothing.

Sorry folks, I promise to bump up the exciting factor a little for tomorrow.

31 Days of .....

 

Last year the author of Pancakes and French Fries joined the 31 Days series and did what she calls "The William Morris Project." It inspired me to simplify my own living space and since she's doing it again starting October 1 (and because my house still needs a lot of simplifying) I've decided to do 31 Days of the same idea, whether you want to call it "The William Morris Project" or simply "31 Days of Cleaning and Organizing". I think William Morris sounds a bit more intriguing though, so we'll go with that. I even made a button (see sidebar)!

The difference this time around is that I now have two children instead of one, which means smaller windows of time to get projects accomplished. And when I say small windows of time, I mean...about an hour during the day. That is all. Of course, there's always the evening. But by the time the kids are both in bed, the last thing I want to do is empty out the junk drawer in the kitchen and put it back together again. So I'm going to keep most of my projects fairly small, simple, and capable of being completed within an hour or less. Naturally, there are one or two projects (like the closet that looks like its out of Hoarders) that will take a bit longer than that and so I'll have to schedule those for the weekend when Tim can watch the kids while I chip away at our disorganization. There are also a couple of projects from last year's list that I never ended up tackling and will do so this time around.

So far, here is my list of what I want to accomplish in the next 31 Days (as forewarned, this list is so not glamorous):

•  Organize kitchen cupboards and drawers
•  Donate/sell unwanted kitchen appliances
• Sort and purge toy bins
• Sort and donate books
• Organize sock drawers
• Sort coat rack
• Pair down shopping bags
• Choose Scripture for display around house
• Hang Scripture pictures
• Recycle endless supply of cardboard boxes
• Sort/donate/purge at least three boxes from basement
• Deliver donations to thrift store
• Organize desk
• Clean cutlery drawer
•  Tackle junk drawers (kitchen, dining room)
• Clean beside/on top of fridge
• Art for reading nook
• Organize bathroom cabinet
• Organize closets
• Tackle spare room closet
• Throw out iris plants (I'll explain later...)

While this isn't 31 individual projects, many of them can be stretched over the course of a few days. Plus, I'm sure I'll think of some more things to do as I go along. Let me know if you plan to follow along or even do a bit of organizing yourself in the spirit of William Morris!

Autumn Mantle

I love the way my friend Ellie puts together a home.  She has an eye for arranging spaces in a way I just wouldn't think of.  She also has an uncanny ability to find amazing clothes/homewares/accessories/you name it at thrift stores. So a few weeks ago, when I was feeling the itch to change some things up, I commissioned her to re-design our mantle for the fall season. I knew that if I had any hope of finding things at the Salvation Army (not to mention on half-off Wednesday) I would also need her to come along as my secret weapon. And for around $10, this is the magic she created:

1) The picture is an old hand sketched flower arrangement with "October" written below it, so it fit with the season ($4 at Salvation Army). The white candle is a delicious apple spice scent that I bought at Marshall's with a gift card. Fall candle scents are definitely the best, no? The other candle holder was 25 cents at Salvation Army.

2) The owl was another find at Marshall's that I got with the same gift card. It was originally black, so I spray painted it. Unfortunately, the spray paint caused an unwanted "crackle" effect but it wasn't terrible so I put it out anyways. The other two items (candle holder, "This House Believes" embroidered picture were bought on our babymoon in Gettysburg).

3) Picture of the boys in a frame I found in the basement. Always love that.

4) The vase was another 25 cent purchase at Salvation Army. The books are our own. The little stone owl was a gift.

5) The wreath was $3 at Salvation Army. The turkey tea light holder was 50 cents.

I'm in love with the arrangement and also look forward to changing it in subsequent seasons.

Thank you to Ellie for lending your talents and time!

Jack Was Here: A Photo Post