Taking a Pause

March 19, 2019

When we go on vacation, I always find it amazing how tired we can be.  While we’re out of town, we are sleeping in late and hanging out in our PJ’s for half the day.  And when we return home, we ‘re still tired!  How is that?

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Based on this past week, there are no words other then this pause was much needed.  When life gets going, don’t you find yourself just jumping on the Merry Go Round and hoping for the best? There is always some sort of school work, housework, meal or sport practice that is in constant need.  We are spinning and spinning just trying to keep a balance and stay on top of this craziness.

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Taking care of yourself is important and we hear it all the time, but when do we have time? As I’ve said before, our kids are allowed 1 activity of their choice outside of school and church.  But even with that rule, things can still stay pretty fast paced.

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It was Kendall’s Spring Break and she really wanted to head south.  “Anywhere warm, please, mom” were her words and we did just that!

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We packed it up and it was fabulous.  Even though it was no where near warm enough for a dip in the pool or wading in the ocean, it was wonderful!  We had no agenda, nowhere to be, and everyone was loving the new short lived pace.  The kids brought games, we rented bikes and we spent time in the sand.  Smore’s was offered nightly and lemonade and cookies at 3pm daily.  Wow! What a treat! Taking a Pause and allowing someone else–a total stranger to manage these extracurricular activities is fabulous!

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It’s the middle of March now and we are approaching the first day of Spring.  Take time and truly Pause and enjoy the beauty that is beginning to unfold outside.  Sometimes when you need to break the cycle, you can’t get away, but you can pause even if its for 15 minutes a day.

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Here’s to your 15 minutes!

XO, 

Susan

Repurposing Quaker Oats Containers

February 4, 2019

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Hello Friends!

Before Kendall headed back to school, we worked on a quick little project.  The project started with two Quaker Oats oatmeal containers, scrapbook paper and ribbon.

The containers will give her storage for her pens and pencils at school.  Kendall has lots of pens, pencils and markers as well as paint brushes and paint.  Artist at work you might say.

First we selected our paper.  Trying to keep the two close to complimentary.  Then we measured and cut the paper to fit the container.

After the paper was cut, we put glue on the paper and rolled the container over the paper.  We used clear Elmers Glue this time and I don’t think it really made the project dry any better.

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Once this dried, we added the ribbon and a chalk label.

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To finish the project, we added paper to the lid.  Not only an easy project, but it met a need and repurposed a couple containers.

You can mix the lids and add a little personality to your new containers.  Look at all those writing tools.

Try this at home when you have a few extra minutes.  The hardest part for us was picking the paper!

Have a wonderful Day!

XO,

Susan

First Project of 2019

January 31, 2019

Hello Friends!!

January has been an amazing month for us! Not because there was anything spectacular going on, but because it took all the hustle and bustle of the three previous months and slammed the breaks.  Have you felt like January has been rolling at a nice leisurely pace?  Me too! And we have truly appreciated the slow down.

So, lets talk projects.  Is your list as long as ours?  We will hit our 3 year anniversary in our home in April and we haven’t changed much.  When you build a new home, there are a whole lot of little and big expenses.  Last year we put in an irrigation system.  It was a must if we wanted any grass to grow.  That was our big expense and then there were a few other items–nothing to get excited about. Thank you, gutter guards!

When we built our home, there were things that we just chose to go basic with.  One was the floor in the Laundry Room.  It was fine, the builder didn’t have any tile that we just loved and after almost 3 years, we decided that it was time to replace the vinyl with tile.  Our son is an Architect and he suggested we look at Floor and Decor after finding some well priced tile for my MIL’s bathroom reno.  Wow! What a selection and the pricing was great.  We have always been Farmhouse Rustic — way before it became popular.  The tile we were looking for was a rustic hardwood style.  We have a generous size space; close to 6 x 12.

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To reduce some of the cost of the project, we did the demo ourselves.  The cost we were quoted a few years ago had tripled.  My guess is the labor is in such short supply that their rates have really jumped.

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Once the room was demoed, the contractor put a new drain in.  Originally, there was a PVC pipe with a plastic tray.  The pipe was put in the wrong spot and did not match up with our washing machine so, Mr Chaos really wanted that fixed.

Side note: It’s always amazing to me when you clean out a space, you discover how much junk you have accumulated.

The tile went in very quickly.  We chose to do a water barrier; hopefully, that will never be tested out. Steve, the tile guy, discussed a couple different options for laying the tile and we all agreed on the layout.

The tile was installed in no time and the next day they came back to finish with the grout.  It’s a charcoal black and finished out beautifully.  I am loving the tile!

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Our Washer and Dryer are new too.  We have had LG front load machines for 10 years and decided to upgrade when my brother and sister in law sold their home.  They already had a set in their new home so, we brought these beauties home from the house they sold.  Who doesn’t love a red washer and dryer? And my second question, did you have any idea the number of color options available today for appliances?

The light fixture was changed out as well.  Nice and bright, but I didn’t have the right light bulbs so, I will show you a picture after I take care of that problem.

Obviously, we are still working on this space.  Mr Chaos is going to add wainscoting or bead board and we are waiting to hear back from the cabinet vendor.  And, don’t forget the paint! Kendall and I are very excited about the paint color; not so sure about Mr Chaos.

Well, that’s our first update! We’d love to hear if you have any projects planned for the year.

Have a wonderful day!

XO,

Susan