Simple Home and Happiness

My Mom is an incredible woman. She can make just about anything, whether cooking, baking, painting, sewing, or more. Plus she can hold her own out on the farm doing the dirty work. I inherited about half of that and quite frankly being just half the woman my mother is, is a pretty lucky thing. As a kid I remember making homemade play dough all the time with my Mom. We lived way out in the country, like hilly billy, back woods, distance. We didn't have the luxury of buying new play dough if we left the play dough out and it dried up. Instead, we made our own. I've always made play dough with my girls since they were teeny tiny as well. Today, I switched it up just a bit. I added scents! I used the same recipe my mom has used since we were kids, and when it came time to add the dye, I also added an essential oil to each of them. Now, lest you think that I am bragging, or running for Mom of the year, yesterday the two oldest spent several hours out in the cattle pen, literal...

My house is a mess. Not just run of the mill, I have kids messy, but real deal, it would take some serious hours of deep cleaning to tackle this mess, mess. With little energy and time being at a premium, I tackled the most visible thing that I can handle right now that is driving me crazy. The girls do most of their crafting, sewing, homework, you name it, at our dining room table. I am constantly nagging at them to put away their project for meal time and yet inevitably I end up scooping it all up and dropping it on the fireplace mantle next to the table. This has led to a fireplace that was overflowing with piles of discarded projects. I began looking for a free standing piece of furniture to put in the dining room, something multifunctional to hold all of our puzzles, crayons, papers, crafts, board games, etc. I thought perhaps a buffet with lots of storage or a hutch would do the trick. Right away I found the perfect piece, but at $425 I wasn't prepared to invest that ki...

It's here! It's here! It's really here! Ok, I have been going on endlessly about Fall for so long that you all knew this was coming. In honor of the official start of all things pumpkins, I am busting out old and new copies of my Fall magazines for inspiration and my box of Fall decor and browsing the internet for ideas as well. We have been blessed with beautiful fall weather here today, cool and overcast, which makes it even better to do all things Fall-ish. I have been simmering a creamy vegetable chowder with bacon since ten a.m. I just had my first bowl for lunch. The five year old told me it was "the best fall soup". Yes, I am starting them young. Also rising on the counter right now is Mom's Homemade Bread . My mouth is already watering. And just for fun here, are some other ladies from around the web who are just as excited about Fall as I am! Grab a cup of apple cider, a warm muffin and a cable knit throw. Wrap up and click aroun...

I finally cracked the ole paint bucket back open today. I got about half of the first coat of edging in the office done before life beckoned and I had to wash the brush and shut things down. What can you do? That's just DIY in real life. I start one project just to stop and start another. Painting walls isn't exactly kid friendly, so when the babes are around I try to do something a little less messy or just wait till nap time. So I decided to do a small project after lunch. By little, I mean it took less than ten minutes. I have a storage box that I use to store the girls' shoes in. There is over twenty pairs of shoes in this thing and the girls are in and out of this box several times a day. I bought the storage box for cheap, because the top cover was wearing off at the time. Soon after I got it, I pulled the torn cover off and it has sat in our entry way looking like this since we moved in. It needed a little update. I unscrewed the hinges that held the...

We've been in Lucky for nearly a month (still can't believe that!), I think it's time to quit procrastinating and finish up some of the little projects that I was planning on finishing as soon as we moved in. On this list are; finishing the paint touch ups in the office, living room, dining and kitchen. Once that is complete I can really start decorating. But alas, I have been lacking the ambition to get out the paint and trays and brushes after all the painting I've already done! Instead I've been pinning away like crazy on Pintrest. Here's a little of what's been inspiring me lately... Via Loving this gallery wall.  Via Oraganized entry? Yes please! Via I have two little girls that would squeal over this room! Via Love. Everything. About. This. Kitchen.  Via And what I really need, an inviting place to rest.  What's been inspiring you? Thanks for stopping by! 

My sister stopped by the other day on her way through town. There were still boxes in corners and not really any official decorating done. She commented in the not-so-subtle that only a sister can, that she was very surprised with how nonchalant I have been about taking my time in putting the house together. Not exactly sure how to run with that, but I'm going to take it as a compliment! It means I am being calm and patient .   Thanks sister :) In fact, I just put my first screw in the wall of the addition the other day to hang a mirror. I was terrified of messing up and having to do it twice. In the old house it didn't really matter, if I missed a stud it was just fake paneling, so I didn't care, but in this house, I don't want a hundred holes in the new sheetrock! Luckily it only took one try. I used my stud finder, took a couple measurements and bada-bing I have a mirror hung! Elsewhere though, its another story! The walls in the existing house are all pla...

People.... I am so excited! Seriously, there was dancing. There was squealing. There was behavior that I am glad no one was around to see. But guess what?! I finished the hardwood floors last night! Two coats of stain and seven coats of polyurethane total throughout the house and I am officially done with the floors! Oh my, if I could even describe to you to the excitement and refief I feel... The floors have consumed my life for the past week or so, but now it's over. It was hard for several reasons but one that I forgot to mention was that the kiddos couldn't be with me because it is such a stinky, messy, dirty job, so there were many late hours and odd hours working with the Hubs' schedule so he could watch the girls. Now it is all over and I can relax a bit. I can bring the girls with me. They can run and play. I may be jinxing myself, but I am going to say it.... It is downhill from here. Now we can bring in the washer and dryer, and the fridge. They will join the di...

Large mug of coffee number two? Check. A foot of snow? Check. One set of floors done? Check. I have officially called it good enough on the old house floors! One coat of stain, three coats of polyurethane and a whole lot of tears later and I am done. Do not ask me why these floors brought me to tears so many times. I cannot tell you. At least not specifically. I believe it was a combination of not planning on doing them in the first place, and then the amount of hands on time it took and the mental exhaustion block that I have recently hit. It was all these things wrapped up in one that brought me to my knees. But now I have beautiful, shiny floors to set my knees on, so it all evens out I suppose. I don't have many pictures of the process, partly because I cannot find my camera and secondly it was such a hands on project I didn't have much time to take pictures. Here's how I refinished the floors. First I rented two sanders from the local hardware ...

I could write about how excited I was that the plumbing was hooked up and I was finally going to have a toilet. I could write about how dissapointed I was when the water valve turned out to be buried six feet under frozen ground. I could write about how upset I was when they dug out the valve and turned it on and water began to gush out. I could write about how we had to abandon the original water line and reroute a new one. I could write about how they cut the fiber optic line to the internet and phone while trying to fix the Hub's water tank. But I won't write about any of those things. They are simply to depressing. I will show you this. I finished staining all the old house floors last night! I could tell you how I drove all around town today trying to find 'lambs wool' or a 'synthetic pad applicator' that the directions on the polyurethane label call for. I could tell you how none of the four, FOUR, hardware stores in town sell either of tho...

I have primed eight room and painted eight rooms so far. I say so far, because I still have four rooms left to paint. I am nearly done priming though. One small wall left in the dining room and priming will be all done. That's a lot of painting and priming. But the end is in sight and I am still in love with the kitchen color. So in love, in fact, that I went to the local hardware store and had them color match it so I could do the living room in the same color. We are in a major time crunch overhaul. My carpenters are trying desperately to finish up with my house so they can move onto their next job and I am desperately trying to finish all my projects so we can move in by the end of the month! Yesterday morning I did a walk through with my iPad and took a bunch of photos. They are not perfect pictures, but who needs perfect when things are still in the crazy stage?! Carpet is in upstairs. It is a bit more white than I imagined when looking at the sample. It didn...