Thursday, February 20, 2014

Happy 300th Post!! 8 Weeks Left ~ Dining Room

Wow! 300 posts - it's just crazy how the time flies. I went thru some of my early posts and I can remember the moments I wrote them. Is that weird? I am just really happy that I get to share those moments with you. There are some types of posts I want to get back to ~ the beauty and recipe posts are my top ones and I still need to post the house remodel ~ I have the world's largest DIY/CRAFT list ever that I need to get started on and with any great luck I won't be in my 90s when I am done LOL




Ok, back to the task at hand .. the dining room.  This room wasn't too hideous, it just needed me to put my stuff back (and yes it is always me who is the pile maker) and clean up the hutch. Angel always has a great time when it comes down to his cage being cleaned since he gets to come out and fly around. About a year ago I started putting snails in the fish tank to see if the tank will stay cleaner and I do have to say that they (Eleanor and Rigby) did a fantastic job. And when they passed away I didn't know if I would replace them but I found that I had to clean the tank much more often so back to the pet store I went .. I got a grey/blue and a  yellow/orange, so their names are Jean Grey and Phoenix. LOL .. I can't help that I am such a spaz =D  ** Incase you were wondering about the fish .. the orange and white one is Two Tone and the orange with a black tip fin (which looks like a mohawk) is Magua from the Last of the Mohicans **  I usually have my stand-by creamy yellow table runner that I use but I think I am done with it .. the other side has a southwest design and now I am going for a clean relaxed grandma's farmhouse kind of look and so I think it needs to go, along with several napkin rings which I have never ever used and our outdoor place mats which have been rarely used. We are not those fancy people who do tablescapes .. I love the look but it just isn't in my nature to overly decorate the table with stuff so I need to let go of what I don't use. The tablecloth I got 2 years ago at Target and I really haven't had a chance to use it. Well wait that's not true, I've had several chances to use it but I like having nothing on my tables but a plant or candles, that I just haven't used it. This room houses tons of our little treasures: the antique phone belonged to my Husband's grandfather, the tea pot set belonged to my Husband's aunt and the Mola above the fish tank was my father's and we have had it since I was a child, the little quail stitch work was something I started the 1st year of our marriage and it took me about 4 years to complete (it's been a running joke in the family) and our hutch holds our china and silver which we use for Passover and have wonderful memories. Again the motto: IF I DON'T LOVE IT OR IF IT DOESN'T HOLD A SPECIAL MEMORY THEN IT NEEDS TO GO. Besides maybe perhaps someday getting a bigger fish tank and stand, I think this room is about as decorated as I want it. It's clean, simple and easy to maintain.

Both this room and the living room are in the 'fame' section .. so I need to think red, triangles and flames and all I can think of is natural, airy and bright. I do want to make a redwork table runner  .. I love redwork I think it is so beautiful and I really like it when it is used with a cream or tan background. So I will put that down on my project list .. I think that is project number 515 LOL

The next rooms are the living room and front entry.

9 Weeks Left ~ Craft & Laundry Room

Tick .. tick .. tick .... BOOM!!!!!
craft room - before
craft room - before

Doesn't it seem like a bomb went off in here? Well it didn't this was the crazy holiday mess I was talking about. We dragged all the holiday containers from the closet and tried to organize them as we put up the decorations, then came the gift buying and saving the packages they came in, then I also was cleaning the guest room getting it ready for company so all the cast offs came in here .. I don't know at some point I just let go and it became the HUGE mess you are seeing now *.* Then after the holidays I was so sick I couldn't do anything. And all I wanted to do was to get into this room and clean it out but by the time I got to it I started to feel overwhelmed. I usually don't feel like that over a room (maybe the kitchen) but it has been a while since a room looked like this. So what did I do to feel less overwhelmed? Watched YouTube de-clutter videos .. of course on my phone since I could barely see my computer under all the stuff. And I have to say my absolute favorite hands down without thinking twice is PinkSoFoxy - she is clever, sweet and funny and what I like THE MOST about here videos is that she doesn't show you a messy room and then cuts to a clean room and told you she cleaned everything out .. you are actually seeing and hearing her thought process 'I already have 2 of these why would I need back up' or  'Oh gosh, I forgot these were in here' and she has been really helpful. My motto is: IF I DON'T LOVE IT OR IF IT DOESN'T HOLD A SPECIAL MEMORY THEN OUT IT GOES.  This way I am constantly surrounded by loving memories.  I haven't gotten to any of my wall projects yet .. I want to put up some of my pictures that I have taken as my wall art but I haven't taken the time to through them all to select what it is that I want to display. And I still need to make 2 cork boards .. one for above the sewing machine and the other above the desk. But what I did do was reposition everything to make the room more functional.

One of the first things I did was to make sure I didn't take anything out of the room that was going to be put back in .. in other words I didn't clear the room, clean it and then bring back stuff. I walked in and the first item in my way was either put away or put in the donate pile and I systematically went around the room like this and then I worked on the shelves by clearing each shelf, purge items and examined my placing habits and keeping items that I loved. This was hard when it came to the books and magazines but it had to be done. So now I have room to showcase Elder Princess Easter basket, a postcard and shells from our Hawaii trip, a few dragonflies scattered about, my old cameras had to stay even though they don't work, paintings made by Husband and the kids when we homeschooled and stitched projects made by Elder Princess when she was younger. It is a great room and I feel pretty blessed to be able to have it. 


Much better =D

Special Treasures

I love my Aloha post card .. it's glittery and cute

My new Christmas surprise from my sweet Husband
it's a modern sewing machine with a retro look
painting made by Husband
top painting made by Husband
bottom painting made by our Prince
Hey what about the laundry room? I forgot to take pictures .. what can I say `.`  Nothing much happened in there but cleaned through the drawers. This room seemed easier since it doesn't hold anything of sentimental value. If an item wasn't being used it got passed on. But I am indefinite need to put some wall art in this room.

Next room is the dining room .. that room should be a snap. 

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Eeeeek!!!!!


Having issues posting *.* All I seem to be doing is cleaning and when I am not cleaning I am dreaming of cleaning ... is that weird? It seems weird to me ... seriously I feel so tired, like I have been moving.

Last week was craft room and laundry room and this week is to be the dining room and since I moved everything out of the laundry room and put it in the dining room I feel like I have been cleaning it for over a week (and technically I have). 

Tomorrow (Thursday) is the posting day. I wrote it down .. 'Post update tomorrow'.  Now I am off to bed. Nighty night =D

Friday, February 14, 2014

To The World ... A Not So Romantic Valentine's Day

The Kiss by Hayez
Now before you begin to panic and start commenting responses of condolences let me explain. I used to - before my Mr. came into my life - half heartedly celebrated Valentine's Day. Some how this holiday always seemed to fall short on the romance meter but I never really wondered why. So one day - or several days - I really pondered the question "Why don't I LOVE this holiday ... I like flowers, candy and kisses?" "Why do I approach this day of love with such animosity?" And I figured it out! It's not romantic. Somehow pressuring - not by me but by society - a guy to creatively profess his love for me is not romantic. Or getting me the same flowers, candy and dinner on the same day that a trillion other women are getting theirs isn't romantic to me. I just don't get it. And frankly I am too special to treated as if I am "like every other woman". I have often have said that if my husband wants a divorce all he needs to do is come home with a box of chocolate and bundle of flowers on Valentine's Day. This even goes for the children. So there is no, non, niet Valentine's to be celebrated at my house! Now mind you I AM NOT anti-romance. I am a girl in every way and we girls LOVE our acknowledgements of endearment. But ladies define what you find to be romantic.


The End Of The Quest by Dicksee
Being woken up with a kiss good-bye every morning, my yard maintained, the way he never thinks twice of spending his free time with me, just they way he looks at me *sigh*, makes an ice cream run (even during half time on Super Bowl Sunday), cooks meals (even after he worked full day at the office) and a million other little things my Mr. does 365 days a year is romantic to me. So tonight when others are panic ridden and stressed about the gift they will present to their loved ones at an over crowed restaurant where they can't even hear each other talk just to hurry home to relieve the sitter and drop into bed because of the sheer exhaustion of the day - which all frankly fall short on the romance meter but high on the "not tonight honey I am exhausted" list -  I will be cuddled up with mine watching our favorite shows, having a wonderful home cooked meal, laughing at inside jokes and blissfully enjoying our happy marriage but then 10pm comes and we end like it began, lots of cuddling and a kiss and quiet whispers of good night.

So cut each other some slack - drop the one over hyped day and just enjoy your marriage 365. Become each others number one fan. If a couple spent a tenth of that energy on their marriage ...  WOW! what a fantastic relationship it would be and then there will be no need to celebrate one overly commercialized day. So save going out to a nice place or those perfect roses or that beautiful watch for your anniversary - a special day that belongs to just the two of you. Now doesn't that sound much more romantic?

 

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

9 'Til Passover ... 10 'Til Easter

 
Weeks that is. To prepare for these two extra special holidays I am doing another Organizing The Home 'Challenge' .. I think it has been two years since I challenged myself, so I am definitely due. What I will be doing is picking a room (or 2 if I fall behind) and totally clean it from top to bottom and ALL the crevices in between in one week ** my sweet Husband will take care of the outside and cars .. thank goodness ** And all I will have to do is maintain the room with a quick dusting and sweeping and the day (or two) before the holiday just run thru the house and sweep/mop and wiping down dirty handles/knobs and a quick dusting and ... voila` .. ready to enjoy a beautiful holiday.  Now for me this a workable schedule - I just pick at a room for about an hour every night and by the end of the week it is clean. YEA!  For some, it might be more practical to spend a day or two doing a super deep clean .. either way the results are the same. Tip 1: make sure you have the items you need to do a good job - light bulbs to replace the burnt out one, batteries for the smoke detector and remotes, squeegee for the windows, steam cleaner for the carpets - it will make the job go by so much easier. Tip 2: you might want to break it down into chores rather than rooms - all the walls one week, carpet cleaning the next, windows the following week - tailor it to your cleaning style and needs.  And because I am super insane, this year I am including the purging part .. usually I just clean .. one thing I do to prepare for the Passover/Easter season is 'give up' something for Lent and it is usually the same every year - soda or chocolate or some other trivial thing - but this year I am going to go bold and give up my possessions. No not all of them =D  I am simply going thru my home and really examining what I use, what holds wonderful memories and/or that I truly love and if it doesn't fall into any of those categories then out the door it goes.  So that I can make space for new memories  =D  Good-bye guilt gifts - enjoy your new home elsewhere. And for those with children you might want to skip the purging until summer when the kids are out of school so they can help go thru and learn the gift of 'giving away ones used items freely'. Yes .. it is a gift to give away an item that you either no longer use or never used to someone who will use it and it makes a kid feel really great about helping someone else.

And if you were around during my last home challenge you will see that I am a slight follower of Feng Shui and in no way am I an expert (there are wonderful resources available for free at your library or on the net).  I say slight because even though I don't believe that my money or fortune will go down the drain if I don't keep toilet lid down - I do think that there is something to be said about too much clutter constantly surrounding you and being bad for your overall mental being.  I know that for me, when my home gets too cluttered or when I have accumulated too many items I get overwhelmed and it puts me in a funk *_* Since I have 11 rooms and 9 weeks there will be weeks when I will need to do two rooms - and this week they are the craft room and the laundry room - which both fall in the wealth area, which is located in the farthest left section of the home. They seem to be my catch all rooms so I will try to be diligent to really unclutter these rooms.  Clutter dams up the Chi and it doesn't allow the flow of good energy. This area is the 'wood' area and the wood color is green (great for me since my craft room is green) and the corresponding wealth color is purple (and also red to enflame the wealth in ones life) - example is a picture of purple and red flowers with a wood frame. Both of these pictures would be suitable.

 Anything with water (fish tank) or the corresponding color which is black are also good for this area since water nurtures wood - so the laundry room in this area is 'a good thing' =D So if you are a black wood frame freak like me, well this is the room to go crazy in. I am wanting to make a few large black framed corkboards so that I have an area to hang my patterns and material swatches (along with other ideas).  It's the laundry room that I am having difficulty figuring out how to decorate it.
So again the 'challenge' is simple - tackle a little bit a day and by next week-end you will have a super clean room.

Monday, February 10, 2014

Happy Birthday Princess

 

May this year be filled with

all the joy and love your

heart can stand



Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Another Blessing Indeed!

 
Madalynne Maria
6 pounds
1/19/2014 

They are always generous and lend freely;
    their children will be a blessing.

 Turn from evil and do good;
    then you will dwell in the land forever.
Psalm 37:26-27
 
We have been truly blessed
with another grand child.
At this rate I will have
a grand child a year =D

Monday, February 3, 2014

Catching Up ..

Tea Party by Tasha Tudor


Hi! Believe it or not but I have missed you. Grab your coffee or tea - this is going to be a long post - don't worry I will wait for you :D 

First is that I am sorry for seeming to have dropped off the face of the planet. I have been crazy sick .. right before Thanksgiving I caught an ugly bug that lasted about a week and the day before Christmas here it came in full force. I mean that sucker took me out for 3 1/2 weeks - ended up that I had bronchitis *_*  I usually don't go to the doctors but going into the 3rd week I knew I needed to go and this is how much I don't use 'western' medicine .. I ended up getting a Z-pack (antibiotics) and when I went to pick it up I had to have the pharmacist go thru it again with me  *.*  My ever so sweet husband jokes that I am a light weight and I guess he is right since ibuprofen is the strongest thing I take.  All I did was veg out .. and cough .. that it is feels so great to get out of the house and move around. Especially clean .. my craft room was the dumping ground during the holidays that I could barely walk in there. All I want to do is organize and declutter .. throw everything out and start off the new year on a 'lighter' foot. This leads me into my next 'project'.

I am going to do another 'Organizing The Home .. Challenge'. I have 10 rooms and there is 10 weeks until the Passover/Easter holiday. This year though not only will I clean the house (walls, windows, blinds) but I will go through my stuff to see what I can donate .. I am already looking around and thinking 'I don't need that' or 'I will never read that so why have it cluttering my space?'  I am excited and a bit nervous .. I am a 'collector' of just about everything .. I am going to need all 10 weeks.

I have yet ANOTHER big announcement but that one deserves it's own post. So expect the craft section of this blog to blow up with projects.

We have been eating (some what) clean since last summer .. which I think is why it took so long for the cooties to really get me .. but I have some recipes I want to share that are simple and super nutritious.  Positive changes whether it is mental clarity or adding a healthy green smoothy into your morning routine is what healthy living is all about.

There is not only going to be a book challenge but also a movie challenge. There are sooo many classic movies .. Casa Blanca, Gone With The Wind, Citizen Kane, On The Waterfront .. I have never watched. Now what kind of movie buff would I be if I have never watched these classic films? A horrible one that's what kind *_* I got done with 'Run For Your Life' so expect a quick review on that.

OK I am going to let you go now .. I have so much going thru my mind and projects to start that I am going to let you go so I can get started.