Simple Home and Happiness

I cook. A lot. Two to three meals a day, seven days a week. This is how I grew up. This is what I know as normal. The hubs and I live in the country. Albeit only five miles outside of town, it is still not in our nature to run into town and pick up fast food. And so, I cook. A. lot. I like it though. Most days anyways, except for the dishes. What's good for me is that cooking has become cool. I mean we live in a world with celebrity chefs for goodness sakes! Can you imagine what Mrs. Patmore would say about that!? So there is an endless supply of recipe ideas coming at me all the time; magazines, TV, books, you name it, I gather ideas from it! I have a point here, I really do. I have tried and tried, but I haven't mastered taking quality photos of food yet. And let's face it nobody wants to try a recipe accompanied by a bad photo. So I've decided to start sharing some of my recipes with you all, sans pictures. I know, I know, we eat with our eyes fi...

Let's try something new today shall we? I am trying to embed an ideabook from my Houzz account. I'm not sure I know what I'm doing or if this will even work. So if the link below doesn't go anywhere I'll try this again. Thanks for humoring me and being my guinea pigs! Exteriors   If this link works it'll give you an idea of what kind of house I'm looking at. Some of the homes are huge compared to what I'm considering or could even afford but it's fun to daydream. Houzz is one of my favorite home websites. I have an app for my iPad but there is also a regular website. I spend wayyyy to much time at this place, so I have to share!   If you have a couple of minutes or a couple of hours (oh yes, HOURS!) check out Houzz . It's such a fun place to get ideas for decorating, organizing, and day dreaming.   I'd love to hear what you all think of it! Have a great Tuesday! Posted with Blogsy

Waiting is the hardest thing in the world for an impatient person like me. I struggle to keep from bouncing around when I have to wait for something. The hubby and I were discussing it one day and we agreed that I think things through till I've become obsessed and then when I've made up my mind, I want it done that exact moment! It's my nature to just go for it the moment my mind is made up. Mind you, this doesn't always work in my favor. I am aware of that. Here's what I am so excited and anxious about... the hubs and I have been approved by the bank for a loan to build the house. Yes. I. Just. Said. Approved!! Insert me jumping up and down in excitement while fighting back the urge to vomit due to nerves. So, now that we are approved, it's in our hands whether we decide to go for it. You may think, we'll you're approved, what are you waiting for? Wellll.... We first kind of wanted to see how the whole fiscal cliff thing was going to work out ...

Calm. The sun hasn't even come up yet. I am sitting on the couch with my mug of coffee and a sleeping baby, who will turn one in twenty four days, laying on my lap. I am using one finger to peck at my iPad to tell you this. It is beautiful, it will probably last only for a short while. No one else is awake. The three year old is still sleeping, as is her Daddy. The weather forecast is calling for snow and wind. But everything here is still calm. Calm. Layla, over at the Lettered Cottage , talks about choosing a word of the year. I like the idea much better than making a resolution. My word for 2013 is calm. I am high strung by nature, tightly wound, if you will. I try to hide it, I fight it everyday, but I know that most days I yell at least once, usually more than once. I will be feeling relaxed and fine. The day will be going on as days do, and then something will happen, a spilled glass of milk, the kids picking a fight, something so small, a calmer person woul...

Booyah! Homemade stockings hung by the fireplace? Check! I am so thrilled to have completed these! You have no idea! Let me preface this by stating I am not a 'sewer', hmmm I think that is sewer like where your toilet water goes, and I mean sewer as in 'one who sews'. Ok, you get the idea. I did sew for 4-H growing up, but otherwise I really just bust it out only when circumstances call for it, such as these stockings. So now that we have covered the fact that I am admittedly not going to call myself a seamstress, that's a better word, here's how I made these babies! I have a general sense of what sewing is. I do not do the whole, buy a pattern and pin it together and mark where to tuck and etc etc. No, I'm to impatient for all of that. I am more of a trial and error kind of gal. And I have to say there was very little error on these stockings. In fact my first one turned out the best. Probably because I took my time and was careful. Also plaid is my new f...

It's the Christmas season, so let's get in the spirit by taking a little peak. Ok, really it's just a preview of the stocking project that I am finally getting to. I wanted to let you know that I haven't been sitting by the fire eating Christmas Crackers and drinking Holiday Slush. Yesssss, I have been doing that too, but I am also going to check off one of the projects on my list before Christmas, and I'd say I am about half way there. So I thought it was time to let you take a little peak and get you all excited. Or at least throw it out there, cuz I'm super excited about how these are turning out and all I've done so far is cut out the pattern and thrown some scrap fabric on top! Here's my inspiration photo... ( Again I apologize I don't have a source .) And here's where I am at now... I've got a ways to go, but I think I'm going to love them! Plus throwing this out there now gives me the incentive to get on it! You all need t...

One of my favorite stores, West Elm, has now opened a special section called The Market. It specializes in kitchen, garden and personal care. Lets just say I am in love. If I had unlimited resources to spend in one store to do a total overhaul on my house, it would be West Elm, and now with the new Market, I am in lust too. So here are a few of my favorites. Check it out and maybe you'll get some great Christmas ideas for someone on your list. Or maybe my hubby will see this and get a great idea for me! Hint, hint! Enjoy! Incredibly large, amazing cutting board . I've seen these boards doubling as art hanging on the wall, then they take up no storage space! Cast iron Dutch oven . Great for one-pot meals. These glass jars come in varying sizes. I'm thinking they would work well for brown sugar with that rubber seal. I would definitely get plenty of use out of a cheese knife set during the holidays and all year round. Copper measuring spoons . Seriously? Fantastic...