Hey y’all! It’s a new month and that means it’s time for some new simplified goals for the month! Before we do that, though, let’s take a moment and look back at what our goal was for last month – catch up on all those unfinished projects. Here’s how we did: Basement: – paint windows and retrim – paint doors and trim – finish up built ins (caulking, paint, organization, fabric panels – sadly this isn’t 100% done even after a YEAR…) – curtains (all rooms – some are make, some are hem) – IN PROGRESS Living/Dining Room: – paint – put together new furniture (sofa table and new dining storage) – move old shelving to new homes – have new lighting installed DONE – buy and install new door to powder room – move thermostat Kitchen:  – Pantry – demo, patch, paint and install DONE (You can see the blog post here) – Command wall –…

Hey y’all! And a special hello to those of you popping over from the Summer Fun Series at Nap Time Creations today! If you’ve never been here before, I’d love it if you’d poke around some! Today, in honor of the 4th  of July next week, I thought I’d share with you how I decorate our home for the holiday on the cheap! What you need to know first, is that I was raised by a Southern mama, who would never have left a table un-“scaped”. (I’m going to say that’s a word…just trust me.) As a result, I’ve become quite the tablescaper too! There’s just something “homey” about it to me. It helps that it reminds me of my mom. Anywho, thanks to that lovely lady, I have tons (and I do mean tons) of table linens that I inherited from her when she passed. I rely heavily on those…

Y’all, I had planned on writing out a big, long post and get everything just perfect before sharing the before and after of my pantry with you, but I just can’t stand to wait any longer. No, it’s not exactly the way I want it yet, and I haven’t labeled anything but oh my! Check it out. I honestly thought my system was pretty darn good. I loved all of those labeled baskets and the pantry itself was so big and roomy! So much better than the tiny, black hole we had in the apartment. Everything had a place. We could find what we needed. But… Well, the more we used it, the more we knew that we wanted something more custom. Those big wide shelves were OK, but you couldn’t adjust them so tall things like bottles of oil and vinegar which I buy in bulk were kind of a…

Y’all, I love a good barbecue. For real. It’s a good thing that I have a husband who loves to grill – like love, loves. And he’s really good at it. We’ll definitely be grilling on Monday, and I can almost bet you or someone you love will be grilling too! So why not get some yummy new recipes to try out, if not on Memorial Day, then throughout the summer. Lucky for you I’ve pulled  together some amazing recipes from some amazing bloggers around the net that I’m eager to try and I know you will be too. Um, is there anything better than bacon? Yep! Bacon wrapped pork. Oh yeah! So I knew when I saw this Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Pork Loin from Miss Information it had to go on our “to make” list. Sometimes, I want the barbecue flavor without having to heat up the grill and these Buffalo Wild…

So, why a new blog? I wish there was an easy answer for that. Instead, it’s somewhat complicated. For awhile now I’ve been unhappy with blogging and to an extent, the blogging community. Let me be clear though, through blogging I’ve met many wonderful people, who I consider now to be good friends. But as with anything (like say, high school) there are also cliques, mean girls, and the popular crowd you never quite seem to be a part of. Maybe that’s just me. Either way it felt really disheartening. It was hard to never feel good enough. “Don’t compare yourself to others.”, friends said. Easier said than done. When I began blogging it was a way to share my adventures in being a new housewife. It gave me an outlet as I transitioned from full time teacher to full time housewife. That was a big switch, let me tell you. A…

I’m not sure how it happened, but the last three Sundays Adam and I have taken an hour or so for a quiet drive in the country. It’s been a nice time to catch up, talk, and just relax. If you follow me on Instagram you’ve probably seen some of the pictures I’ve posted of the things we see along our journey. In this year of simplifying and embracing peace I’m really enjoying stepping away from things, even for an hour on Sunday and just “being”. Here are some of my favorite pics:    It’s not so much about where we go, or what we talk about. It’s just a time to de-stress before the new week starts. With an anxiety disorder, sometimes relaxing is a hard thing to come by, but this seems to help. It’s just one more thing I’m attempting to make a habit for better…