Yarn wreath

I have been determined to get a wreath for every season for my front door. It really adds to the curb appeal. So, this one is for winter, when it's not Christmas. It was very simple to do and I was able to make it with supplies I already had. I bought a foam wreath. I wrapped it with yarn and decorated it with flowers. I used scraps of an old sweater and felt to make the flowers. I also knitted a flower. I stalked Pinterest to find different tutorials that I felt comfortable doing. If you haven't figured it out by now, my blog doesn't have a lot of tutorials, because I use other people's. I just like to make things myself, and with Pinterest and other online resources, it's pretty darn easy!

How being a mom turned me into a procrastinator and why I'm not sorry

When I have a list of things to do (and I always do, it never goes away), I start to get overwhelmed. I rush through tasks, I feel anxiety and an urge to get it all done. But I can't. I simply cannot  do this anymore. I have two little beings, two beautiful little beings that need me. They have to come first when they are in my presence. If this means that I have dog hair in my dinner or dirt on my dishes, so be it. If there is anyone among you who judge me for putting my family first, I don't care. This being in my 30s is awesome. I have really given up on caring about what people think of me and do what I do for myself and my family. Of course, this also involves doing lots for others, too. I just worry that too many people don't live their lives because they are too busy trying to please others. I wish I could bottle up my stance and sell it. It has created a much happier life for my family and me.

When I have a list of things to do (and I always do, it never goes away), I start to get overwhelmed. I rush through tasks, I feel anxiety and an urge to get it all done. But I can't. I simply cannot  do this anymore. I have two little beings, two beautiful little beings that need me.

Beautiful bins

This is my beautiful mess before I added my fav: BINS!

This was the bookshelf in my dining before...it's a horrible picture, and a horrible mess.

The bottom just got overrun by toys, junk and who in the world knows what else is down there. My kids access this area a lot with the play food and play dough for the kitchen beside it. I also use it for recipe books (rarely, since I love Pinterest for recipes now.) So, I decided to do what I always do and make some bins. Check out here how I did it before. Last time I used amazon boxes, and this time I used boxes from the post office. They are strong and sturdy. As you can see, I was able to throw all of the food into one box and all of the play-dough into another box. It turned out pretty good. Of course, if I took a picture today, it would be messy again.

The bookshelf after the makeover with the two bins from post offices boxes.

A letter to my nonrunner friends

Dear non running friends,

Every so often when I talk about running, I hear you say, "I wish I could run like that."
Well, I am here to tell you that you can.

I know, there is always an excuse.
I know there is always a pain.
I know there is always a barrier.

I know this because I was there.

10 years ago, I rarely WALKED a mile.
During college, I made it to the gym on occasion because I was sick of being told that I could stand to lose a few pounds, that I was pleasantly plump or that I would be so pretty if I just lost some weight. But I didn't fall in love with the gym because I wasn't doing it for myself. I was doing it for someone else.

 After college, I met my future husband. His family was active and happy and fit. I wanted that, for me and my future family.

I started by walking the loop around my apartment complex. It never amounted to much. And then, I started jogging just a few paces. Then a little more and a little more. I added a little distance each time I made it out and before I knew it, I was running. I signed up for a 5K and was so dissapointed with my time (34:00 plus) and the way I felt, that I vowed I would never do that again. But, I did.

And the more and more I did it, the more it got into my blood. I signed up for 5K after 5K. I tried to beat my times. I decided to run 13.1 miles, and I am certain people doubted me. But your body is an amazing machine. It will do what you tell it to. Build it little by little. Baby steps. 

It got in my blood. I started biking and swimming and did a triathlon.

I am pretty sure that when you say I am crazy, what you really mean is that I am dedicated. 

What makes it work? Determination and a supportive and encouraging running partner (which can be like finding a life partner). 

Even after two kids, I just finished my third half marathon. If I had kept saying I can't, I never would have. 

So...like Nike would say...just do it.

Me and my running pal, Marie, after a 10 mile race. 

Baby boy closet

My cozy cape cod has some crazy closets. Built into the eaves of the house each of the four upstairs closets are huge, but awkward. Slowly, we have been trying to use what we have to make the usable. When we first moved in, my uncle came and helped me install the wire shelves from Home Depot. $200 plus later, the closet was a little more functional. The closet once housed my clothes, shoes, jewelry and purses. Two kids later, I have greatly downsized and now the closet belongs to its rightful owner, my son. These bins really don’t have anything in them. He has a dresser, and there is a closet bar, so I am hoping to use the bins for shoes, hats, toys and other odds and ends as he grows. Each bin/basket was $1 at the Dollar Tree. The bins are not sturdy, so they might be reserved for clothes, shoes. I like to grab bins/baskets full of toys and let the kiddos go to town. These bins won’t stand up to that, the plastic baskets and other plastic bins the dollar store has, will. But, this looks sweet, doesn’t it?

Downsizing feels so good

I have been in a mad dash to downsize my junk. My 1,200 square foot (rounded up) house feels smaller and smaller as our family grows. Some days I think I want to move, but really, I just want to make this cozy house feel workable. And it is. This is my home.
I fall into that trap that "I might need this later." It's taken a lot of convincing, but I finally realized that if I get rid of something that I might need, there isn't any reason I can't buy another.


This is just a small portion of what I am donating.

That being said, my goals were to move ALL of my clothes and shoes out of my son's closet. Since I joined my husband in our home in 2008, we each claimed a closet (his in our room, mine in the spare room). Well, that spare room became the nursery and I just kept sharing the closet with a baby. That baby girl moved out and into the other bedroom (at which point I moved my craft room to the unfinished basement). And, another baby moved into the nursery. I am about to go back to work and don't want to sneak into his room if I forget something.
I cleaned out at least 3 times in the last 9 months while I have been off work with the kids. I have done kids' consigment sales, yard sales, eBay, swap sites etc. On this last time around, I started getting rid of stuff I still liked, but just wasn't wearing. I mean, how many sweatshirts do I need?  And, I am just donating. It's a tax deduction and the easiest way to unload quickly.

This last go round, I think I cleared out 8 garbage bags of my shoes and clothes. I made sure to write it all down for tax records. One round of cleaning and I donated about $1,200 worth of clothes and shoes.

This doesn't happen overnight. I swear, I haven't felt able to relax since I had a second child. There is SO much stuff. I try so hard to just go through and clean, clean, clean. I have a section of the basement for yard sale stuff and try to have a yard sale every other year. Some years I do great...sometimes I do not. I enjoy having yard sales though, so it's no big deal for me.

I finally feel success. The big key for me were two questions, "When is the last time you used this?" and "Would you buy this today?" Man, did things fly onto that donate/trash pile. I still have a lot to do, but what once seemed SO overwhelming is now well under way. I organized and uncluttered so many spaces in my house during nap times and play times or quiet evenings. I have to say, I am prouder of myself that I thought I would be!

From drab and dirty to fab and fun

I am rather addicted to rescuing old pieces of furniture and making them look new and fresh. I wish I had more time to go looking for potential makeover pieces, but I don’t. It’s probably a good thing because there is a very small workspace in my basement in which I can tackle these projects. So, I do them one at a time.

 There are SO many people who are also into this hobby and are making a living off of it. I do it for fun. I have sold two desks and have another finished. The money is going into my “new house fund.”

 I like to find chairs to go with the desks I do, too. I happened to have a morning free to go to a Kids’ Consignment sale and on the way home stopped at Front Porch Antiques. I hate to offer less than the asking price for things, but I wanted this chair (and another one). This one was priced $5 and the other one was not priced. I only had $7. They didn’t accept credit and I forgot my checkbook. So, out of necessity I asked and he obliged. I threw in an extra 25 cents to truly empty out my wallet. I am too honest, I guess.

I forgot to take a before of the desk, of course…but you can see the transformation of the dirty, dusty chair into something clean and crisp. My favorite part is probably choosing the color schemes. I love seeing it all come together. I don’t love this fabric as much as I thought I did at first, but it will work.