Summertime Blues, Beauty, and Babes

Summer is not my thing.

I'm sorry. Don't hate me.

I can't help myself. I have always been an autumn kind of girl. The warm scents, the promise of cozy winter evenings at home, the snuggling and early dark. It is my jam.

This summer time gig, with the endless days, for me means, crazy bedtimes for cranky kiddos, the hub's working till sundown (nearly 10 pm), snakes, bugs, etc.

Most of these things are hard for me on their own, and as a whole, it can be flat out overwhelming.

The other evening, well after kiddo's should've been asleep, I sat outside their bedrooms listening to them NOT sleeping, and crying I told the Hub's, "I hate summer".

I was miserable and I was wallowing it in.

And it was getting me nowhere.

So I am pulling myself together and trying REALLY hard to embrace summer rather than fight it. It is not natural for me and it's not coming easy, but I am trying.

Sometimes it's all about slowing down and remembering to take in the everyday beauty. Here's what's been inspiring me lately.

The backyard view from Lucky.

An incredible sunset at home.

Ditto.

An afternoon bargain hunting.

And coming home with these finds.

A mango smoothie on a 'day off'.

Getting my feet in the dirt and making things grow.

Stopping for wildflowers.

Making new barnyard friends.

Homemade quesadillas.

Afternoons with my little one in my lap.

And growing miracles, one day at a time.

Summer will be just a memory by the time this little bundle arrives in December. All the more reason for me to take the time to slow down and savor every moment.

I hope you are all enjoying your summer. What is your favorite thing to do during these long days? I'd love to hear what makes your summer special!

Happy Monday!

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A Crate and a Challenge

One of my favorite blogs is having a Pintrest Challenge. They do it a couple times a year and its just a fun time to challenge everyone to complete a project they've pinned on Pintrest. I've been wanting to get in on the action, but never found the time. Oh yeah and a little thing called, I don't do Pintrest. It's not because I'm not interested or I don't think I'll like it. I'm terrified of it! I already spend too much time perusing my favorite house app and a bunch of blogs I follow, and Facebook. If I added something as captivating as Pintrest, my house and kids may just go completely uncared for. So in the spirit of playing along with the Pintrest challenge I thought I'd share our headboard that I made a couple years back, loooong before I started blogging. It is by far one of the projects I am most proud of! Almost three years ago, the hubs and I got a new bed, a giant sized, California King! It came with a frame, but no headboard. We had alrea…

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Making our house feel like home in the summer feels more chaotic to me than the slower months.

November through March, when its dark early and bedtimes come swiftly, meals are slow cooked all day long, and warm light comes from houses in the evening hours, just naturally lends itself to an aesthetic of quiet and calm.

At least for me.

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I am going in circles most days, feeling like I am not accomplishing anything and yet spinning and spinning and trying to not tip over.
And yet...
And yet, a couple times a month someone asks me “How do you do it all?”
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I was cleaning today, which gave me time to think, and thinking always leads me here.

The house is 'weekend messy', so decided to clean my floors, because The Nester says if your floors are clean the rest of the house feels clean too, even if it isn’t.
I have found that it is pretty good advice, so when everything else feels chaotic, I clean the floors. Of course for me, cleaning the floors also means picking up the toys, shoes, clothes, etc. so that I can even begin to vacuum, which naturally leads to a cleaner home as well.
While cleaning up I began to think about how this blog has evolved over the years, from a desire to write like The Nester about home, into what it is now.
I started writing this blog when I was dreaming of building a new home. Then plans changed, life took turns, and we ended up in a home so different than I expected and so perfect for our family.

Somewhere along the way I realized that home wasn’t in the walls that went up or in the countertop choices…

Simple Home and Happiness

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