Repurposed Drawer

This was a fun simple DIY project that I didn't even know I was going to do!

I had been looking for a napkin holder because well, my napkin holder was being used for something else.  Funny, I know.  I had a crock of utensils, salt and pepper shaker and oil dispenser (is that even what it is called??? That does NOT sound right...) that would roam all over the countertop, so I grabbed my napkin holder to corral them.

Well, that is fine and good until napkins are flying all over the place.

My mom, sister and I were out shopping one day in a cute little store that happened to have random odds and ends in the back corner.  I found this!

It was this small square sized old drawer and knob for all of a couple dollars.  And my immediate thought was, "hey! that would work!"  I wasn't even looking for the napkin holder that particular day, it just jumped out at me.

So, I sanded it just a bit, grabbed some black spray paint, and Voila!

I was so excited to get it all put together.  Shannon had to find a new screw for the knob, and once he did, it all came together!

But, guess what?  It's not holding napkins. 

But, it works super well as a catch-all caddy!  So much excitement here, for something so small, but I love it!

Sometimes, you just have to think out of the box! ;)

Nativity Scene

I love our super simple nativity scene.  And when I say super, simple, I mean Mary, Joseph, Jesus and a shepherd.

Addie made this her first year we started going to the church we attend now.  She was in third grade. That is Jesus in a Pringles snack container.  The bodies are made out of clay pots.  And yes, that's straw you see poking at baby Jesus' back.

I really love that it shows who really was there on that very first night.  It's not fancy, but I'm sure the stable wasn't either.

And that's why it's so special...

Luke 2:8-20

8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Simple Soap

Aren't those beautiful?!?  

Just so you can appreciate my excitement over a simple thing like soap, let's step back.  

I love to find the simplest way to do something.  I also do not enjoy clutter.  So, if I can find something that will work for many things, I am there.  Enter this.

I had this revelation.  Why not just use this hand rejuvenation soap everywhere I have a soap pump? So, I use this at the kitchen sink, and both bathroom sinks.  I love that I can wash my hands and dishes at the same time.  And, I really love that I have just one bottle of soap to fill all of my soap dispensers. And, I have to say it. It's pink. :)  

But, I treat myself from time to time, especially at Christmas.  And TJ Maxx is the best for finding beautiful, yummy soaps.  So, my bathrooms are now decked out with this.

And this.

And, it lifts my mood every time I walk in the bathroom.  It's just a fun, little extra way to add some holiday cheer and smell!

I still have my hand rejuvenation by the kitchen sink, so I can wash the dishes.  Can't go too crazy, you know!

Decorating for Christmas

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

I have come a long way in my thinking on decorating for Christmas.  I used to go all out.  I'm not going to even tell you how many Christmas trees I used to put up and decorate.  It was a bit ridiculous. We had a much bigger house then and I felt every room should be filled.  Please don't get me wrong, I truly appreciate the beauty of it when I see it done at someone else's home and I just cannot get over lights and garland and ornaments and candles and on and on and on.  It really does make me happy.  But, what makes me even happier is a scaled back version!

We live in a much smaller ranch home now, which is more peaceful and pleasing to us.  A lot less to take care of!  So, I decorate a bit in the kitchen, which is the first room people see when they come in, and I decorate in the living room.  This year the kids each put a tree in their rooms as well.  They haven't done that for along time, but this year they were both on board!  Those though, were all them, so I didn't have any work there!

Here are the festive touches in the kitchen!

This candle smells heavenly and it crackles while it burns!

Pistachios and M&Ms

These were tins I found at my beloved Hobby Lobby.  I absolutely loved the retro look to them and the colors were perfect!  Behind are sprigs of evergreen that match the look of my Christmas tree in the living room.

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Fun wreaths in each of the kitchen windows!  Shh, these were really candle rings!

We have a larger doorway from the kitchen to the living room.  On the kitchen side I have a garland decorated with reds and greens and on the living room side an identical garland decorated with the colors matching the living room.

I love the whimsical look of these ornaments!

Into the living room we go.

Last year, I bought this Christmas tree.  For years I had a tree that I had to string lights on before I decorated. I know, poor, pitiful me.  But, I splurged and bought a new one last year and Oh. My. Goodness.  Prelit heaven!  I put it up and plug it in and Voila! It's magic.  Addie actually put the ornaments on for me this year.  She did an amazing job.  We don't have many ornaments, but the tree also has pine cones on it and I just love the look!  The close up picture at the beginning of the post shows that a bit more.

It could be because I was a teacher once upon a time, but I have a thing for children's books.  I have kept all the Christmas/Winter related books the kids have collected over the years and put them out each year under the tree.  Even now, they pull books out of the basket and read.  There is just something about reading near Christmas lights that is magical!  

Old favorites.

A have a couple of vases of ornaments on top of the piano.  Addie says it cramps her style because she likes to throw her piano books up there.  She was really wanting the fall garland to be removed. Little did she know or remember that it is replaced with something else at Christmas!

Here is the garland on the opposite side of the kitchen doorway.  These are our two main living spaces! It's a short, sweet tour :)

I used to hang this wreath on the outside of the door.  But, we live out in the country and no one really uses our front door to come into the house.  I know that sounds strange!  I wanted to enjoy the wreath more, so I hung it inside.  I love how real it looks! 

I get to keep this candle out all through the winter months.  It makes the snow and cold more bearable!

And these are a couple old classics.  The kids still love this little snowglobe and the gingerbread box houses the Christmas cards as the roll in.  And oh, my December issue of Better Homes and Gardens just came in the mail!

There you have it!  I love that it's simple and sweet.  I love that it only took me a couple hours to pull everything out and put it up (thank you Addie and Reece!) I REALLY love that it takes even less time to put it all away come January.   

Let the festivities begin!

Portrait Display

I hadn't gotten the kids' pictures taken for three years!  I do not have a fancy dancy camera, so really all of the pictures I have of them are on my phone/computer.  I actually cherish the candid shots I have of them, but I really wanted to get some "real" pictures taken.  Our good friend, Kristi, is a professional photographer and was having a "mini shoot" day, so I jumped on that.  I just wanted a few before Addie actually got her senior pictures...that's only two years away.  Let's not even go there.

It was a cold, blustery fall day.  The week before it was 70+ degrees. Go figure.  But, boy did she get some great shots of them.

I wasn't sure how I was going to display them, but I new the hallway wall was where I wanted them. I looked around online for some shelf ideas.  I wanted it to be very simplistic and I found a picture of a plain, floating shelf.  I showed it to Shannon and so he went out to his shop, found some wood and went to work.  He asked for my measurements and just like that whipped it up for me.  

I wasn't sure what color stain I wanted.  I knew I didn't want it painted white or black because I wanted it to be a bit different than the woodwork and frames so it would stand out a bit.  I also didn't want to go buy a small can of stain just to do this small project.  

Yes, I am cheap frugal. 

I scoured his shop and found some stain from our old house.  We haven't lived there for over 9 years. So, yeah, it was old, but we opened, stirred and wiped it on.  It worked just fine for this project and it was free. Really free, because it was left by the previous owners of our old house.  Okay, it may have been REALLY, REALLY old. We stained it, went out to eat, and then Shannon hung it for me that night.  

I am so happy with the color of the shelf, because it looks so pretty with the fall leaves in the pictures!

I just love the simplicity of the look and of course, love those sweet faces smiling back at me!

Rainbow Book Shelf

Addie had been mentioning how she wanted to arrange her bookshelf in rainbow color order.  She looks at a lot of online posts/pictures of bookshelves.  She loves pictures of bookshelves and libraries. The girl LOVES to read and has since she was 3 years old, no joke.  Her nose was in a book for so many years.  It still is from time to time, but now its more in her phone!  In her defense though, she reads a lot on her phone too!  

So, check out what she did one morning on Thanksgiving break.  I walked in and it was pure joy! There is just something about rainbow order that is so pleasing to the eyes.  God sure knew what he was doing with that rainbow, didn't he? :)

Yeah, I filtered this picture a bit to make the color pop!

Gloria Patri

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

We painted the kitchen and the walls were kind of bare.  I wasn't really looking for something for the wall at this time, but this sign leapt out at me while I was in Hobby Lobby the other day.  I liked the simplicity of it, loved the vintage aqua color and really loved what it said.  Growing up, we sang this as our doxology at church every Sunday, so those words are engraved on my heart and in my mind. And are actually pretty powerful words.  I was so happy to have this reminder in my kitchen...the first room you see when you come into my house!

It had a burlap type ribbon attached to hang it.  I didn't really want it hanging on some random nail, so I thought about what would look a little more substantial, but wouldn't cost a lot.  I found a 97 cent cabinet pull and figured Shannon could figure out how to attach that to the wall.  :)

As it turns out, I used my little noggin and asked if Reece could take the Dremel and remove the head of the screw that came with the knob.  Then I could screw one end of the screw into the knob and the other into the wall.  It worked beautifully!

I love how the finished product looks on the wall.  It is a great reminder for all who enter as well!

Laundry Room Organization

This is my laundry room.  It is small, but serves it's purpose well.  This is where we drop off all of our things as soon as we come in the door.  It is also where the kids wash up and brush teeth in the mornings and evenings.  And obviously, it's where I do the laundry.

Now, for some fun decorating and organizing!  I bought this burlap ribbon at Hobby Lobby the other day (1/2 off, oh yeah!) and it worked so wonderfully to hide all the ugly stuff behind the washer and dryer.  I had a piece of fabric before that was just getting faded. This looks so much cleaner!  The white basket holding all of my laundry stuff was also a 1/2 off Hobby Lobby buy.  I love it so much!

That's my 3 ingredient, homemade powder laundry detergent.  Love it.

Next, a new shoe organizing system.  This was a Walmart.com, Better Homes and Gardens purchase and I love it. I have tried several different things in this area over the years. And, magically, a shoe organizer has been the best bet so far.  Who would have thought??  I had black tubs where we just threw in the shoes, which was easy for throwing in, but when you went to find your shoes the next time, other shoes were being chucked out and over.  Now, we each have four slots of our own.  Only 4 pairs of shoes for each person can be in this room.  It really works wonderfully.  I know, I am a slow learner.  

We each have a hook for our coats/purses/backpacks.

Finally, the closet.  It can get pretty scary in here as this is where the dirty laundry is sorted. Amazingly it doesn't smell too bad.  I stash fabric softener sheets in random spots from time to time, which helps :).   This is pretty much self explanatory.  I did find a great over the door large pocket organizer on Amazon.  It's now an On the door organizer thanks to 3M hooks.  The hooks that came with it were too thick and the door wouldn't shut, but now it's great.  The pockets works perfectly for what I need.  I labeled each section or group of sections so everything has a place.  I also have several containers and baskets labeled within.

Laundry sorter.  Ooooh, I so need to take an SOS pad to that bar.  That is where I draped our dirty rags before I got the new system below!  Also, our basket for magazine and paper recycling to the right of the sorter.

Dirty rags, hats, gloves, bags and all sorts of other goodies!

Lint? You ask?  We save it to make fire starter for our camping trips!

Denny is our beloved beagle.  This stores, his brush, treats, monthly meds, etc.

Well, that wraps up the laundry room!  I actually enjoy this little room now.  You caught it on a good day, of course.  The sink and mirror can get a little disgusting with two kiddos who love to sing and dance while washing their hands and brushing their teeth.  Sometimes, there is a full show going on in there.  Addie just cleaned it the other day, so it looks pretty good for now :)