February home

 

Happy bonus blog post day, friends! 

No matter the season, I love having a home that feels inviting and cozy. One way I like to accomplish that is to make it a haven of space that brings me joy. I can't say for sure if the guys in the house care one way or another, but if I'm happy, that usually overflows into their lives as well. Apparently, I decorate our home according to each season that we're in, and I am okay with this. I love the feeling of contentment this brings to me when I'm at home. This is why I love being home so much! 

Last week while I was at home, I spruced things up as I cleaned one afternoon, and got our home all ready for February. I thought I'd share it all here today! 

First up, I shared this picture above on social media today. I wanted to remind people that they too can have a piece of "framed art" on their television screens in just a few steps. You search for "framed tv art" or "Valentine's day screensaver" on the YouTube app (NOT YouTube TV), and voila!

One area in our home that I love to decorate is this bookshelf. I added that heart banner, and I pulled some pink and red books from the shelves to display on top of the shelf. I love using the books I already throughout our home as decor. I once read an article about this— that when decorating in your home, you should use what you love. It's no secret how much I love books! I also added the little potted roses that I got from Marshall's a few years back.

Do you use artificial flowers in your home? It's a little "trick" that I like to use, and I love that there is zero maintenance required. Have you heard the decorating tip that each room needs a little bit of black? I think the same can be said for the color of pink! 

I love these tulips that I bought at HomeGoods two years ago! I couldn't find them last year, but Jonah recently discovered them as he cleaned out the attic a few months ago. I'm so glad he found them! Funny story: I'm terrified to go into our attic because of my fear of heights, and because of the bugs that are potentially up there. (Specifically, the roach and wasp variety.) 

I changed my candles and pulled out my red and white ones for now, but I need some newer ones that are more spring scented.

I added more hearts to the kitchen window where our tables sits, along with the birds on top of the heart that you see in the stained glass ornament. That ornament is one of my most treasured possessions! It belonged to Mom when she owned the florist, From the Heart.

I added my bird and spring time nest arrangement to our backdoor leading to the laundry room...

...and a few of my favorite magnets to our refrigerator. These have special meaning to me, and were given to me by people I love.

I cleaned off the dining room table again...(dang boys and their car parts)...

...and repurposed some things that were in other places throughout our home, like this glass globe with the brass house inside.

I straightened up the desk in the living room...

...and brought out one of my favorite purchases from last year.

I cleaned off our kitchen table and switched what had been sitting there for January with this little potted plant.

I flipped the pages of my calendar...

...and dug out my Valentines trivet and tea towels. 

And that's it! Just little touches of fresh color after all the heavier (darker) fall, Christmas, and wintry decor all over the house that make me happy. I also change the soaps in our bathrooms at the sinks, and I switch out my Mrs. Meyer's cleaning products for the more current spring smells like mint or peony. What do you do in your home for this time of year? I have discovered that most people don't change out their things as frequently as I do. I do this in the bookstore at church as well! 

Maybe you're inspired to do a little something in your home now; if you are, let me know! Or post about your home on your blog. I love to read about that and to see pictures. Thanks for reading my blog, friends! Love to all. (Linking up with Joanne for Talking About it Tuesday.)

behind the scenes blogging

 

Happy Tuesday, friends! I thought I'd share some behind the scenes blogging things today. I hope you enjoy reading this kind of post! 

In the years since I've been writing on this blog, my style of writing has changed, the content has changed, and how I post has changed. I can remember in the early days getting up and being inspired at some point to write, then writing and publishing the post on that day. I never planned this, it was literally a moment by moment thing. Sometimes I'd post several short posts in one day, especially as the boys were growing up and something happened that I wanted to remember. 

Looking back at old posts, there are some big gaps of time when I didn't write at all, for lack of inspiration, or maybe just growing weary of it all. I always came back, though, after my unplanned breaks from the computer and online life. Don't we sometimes miss those days? The days when we weren't all so "plugged in" all the time? I know I do, but I'm also grateful for this space on the internet. I love the feel of community here, and the encouragement that so many of you give to me. Thank you! 

At this time in life, my posts are always planned out well in advance. I already have most of my blog posts planned through June of this year, if you can believe that! This idea was not original to me, but one I got from Andrea at Momfessionals. It's genius, and I'm so glad that she shared how she goes about blogging with us, because I was inspired. I hope this does the same for some of you today! 

I use a notebook to keep up with all of my blog posts.

I have a cute composition notebook that I got a couple of years ago that I'd never used before and designated it as my blog notebook. I use one page per month, number each weekday (and sometimes a Saturday), and put a box to the left of each number. As I write the posts, I check off the boxes. I start with the scheduled link parties that I always join each month, and make sure that those get a spot on the right date, then I go from there. It's nothing that's difficult or original, but it's just something I'd never done before three years ago. As the months go by, I fold each page in half alternating between folding the top and bottom halves. That way I can always find which page I need, and can get to it quickly. 

I also use this bookmark on a page to keep track of all the books I read each year, since I talk about them on my blog each month. For the times when I don't know what to write, I rely on Pinterest and other blogs for inspiration. Sometimes I'll see something and be inspired from Instagram, other times I'll gain inspiration from my quiet time, a song, or a life event. Sometimes I have one thing scheduled and I'll postpone it until later when something happens that I want to share here. I like to at least have an idea of posts, though, and not just fly by the seat of my pants. I've noticed that when I plan in advance, it's easy for me to be faithful in writing each day. I didn't do great at this last year when I worked full time; I gave it my best, but I had to let something go, and my blogging was a little more sporadic. I like to work on this on the weekends, especially on Sunday afternoons and evenings. I like to get my posts lined up through Wednesday, and then I work on Thursday and Friday posts during the evenings. 

I try to take pictures throughout the week to add new content to each post, but sometimes I'll repeat the pictures during the week. It's funny how taking pictures changes when you start thinking in terms of what you'll post on your blog, but that's what has happened to me. I'll take pictures of food or what we're doing at that moment to save for later to share here on my blog, like I did yesterday afternoon. But more about that one day next week. 

So that's how I go about scheduling my posts in advance each week. How do you blog? I'm so curious to know how you go about this! Thanks for reading my blog, friends. Love to all! 

Hello Monday and Prime Purchases

 

Happy Monday, friends! I'm linking up with Holly and Sarah for today's post. I hope you had a good weekend! Mine was decent, but because I'm still recovering from being sick, I took it easy and stayed home all weekend. I don't have a lot to post here in terms of things I did that were fun this weekend, but I thought I'd share a few things that took place. 

On Friday night while Todd was helping our oldest son with something outside, Jonah came through to tell me he was going to pick up Subway for his dinner, and my ears perked up. I haven't had much of an appetite in the last week, but something about a Subway sandwich sounded so good to me. He offered to buy me one when he went to get his, and I ate the entire footlong sandwich. It tasted so good to me!

I got the roasted turkey sub (toasted) on white with lettuce, pickles, light mayo & mustard, oil & vinegar, and salt & pepper. Todd came in and had dinner as well (taquitos in the air fryer), and then he went to ride his motorcycle. Can you believe it was 61 degrees here on Friday, and 70 on Saturday? This, my friends, is why so many of us are sick! I enjoyed sitting outside some with the dogs while they roamed the yard, and tried to soak in some sun. (As I wrote that sentence, a mosquito just flew in front of my face.) I watched a Hallmark movie, and worked on blog stuff for next week while he was out. When he got back home and changed, we settled in for an evening of The Amazing Race. We love watching reality tv! Our favorites are the one I just mentioned, Big Brother, and Survivor. We have also loved Deadliest Catch, and World's Dirtiest Jobs. 

He did the same thing on Saturday, and while I contemplated getting out, I gave myself one more day to stay home all day. I had church yesterday and a funeral this morning, so it was my only day to stay home one more full day. You've all read about my bonus son, Alex on here, right? For anyone new, Alex is our fifth son, or bonus son, and lives on our street. His mom died when he was in elementary school, so his aunt and uncle became his legal guardians. Alex was truly an extension of our family, and God gave me a supernatural love for that boy. I literally love him like he's my own son, and I always will. His older sister died a week ago, and that's the funeral we're attending this morning. My heart breaks for him! If you think of him, will you pray for him, and their whole family? They have had way too much loss in their lives. 

The other thing that happened on Saturday was that Drew asked me if I would help him cook something for him this week so that he would have dinner each night. I love that he asked me this! He's having a hard time as well; he and his girlfriend broke up last week. I will tell you this—break ups are very difficult on a mom's heart! There is nothing as terrible as watching one of your kids go through something hard. I know it's part of life, but I also know that if it were humanly possible to shield them from things that hurt them, I would do everything within my own power to do that. As it is, I know as much as I love them, Jesus loves them even more! He will take care of them, and guard them, and watch over them; He always has and He always will. But it's been a rough couple of weeks, completely aside from all of us in our house being sick. 

Enough about the sadness, though. Drew requested chicken and rice, so I found an amazing recipe and made that for him. He had to go grocery shopping for the week, so he came to our Kroger in The Ville, and I sent him the specific ingredients I needed for him. We're doing it again next weekend! He loved the recipe that I found, and per his request, I added small florets of broccoli. Here's the recipe I used, in case you're interested. It was so good that I made some my own dinner that same night. On a positive note, he was okay when I saw him. He looked good and he was smiling, so that did my heart good to see. And that, my friends, was my weekend in a nutshell. 

And now for the Prime Purchases portion of today's blog post. I'm linking up with Tanya for this one and will jump right in with the couple of purchases that I made. First up is this bright pink Meoky tumbler that I fell in love with. Unfortunately, it's no longer on sale like it was when I bought it, but I still love it as much as the day it arrived. (Click on the picture to be redirected to Amazon.)

And believe it or not, friends, other than a few household essentials, that is the only thing I bought in January from Amazon! By essentials, I mean things like water flavoring, dog treats, conditioner, and vitamins. Nothing too exciting, but all the same, I'm kind of proud of myself that I didn't spend a lot of money there this month. Especially after buying #allthethings from there during December. 🤣

How was your weekend? What did you do that you loved? What have you bought on Prime lately that you think I should hear about? I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for reading my blog, friends. Love to all! 

Friday Favorites, 2.2.24.

 

Happy Friday, friends! I'm linking up with Andrea and Erika for today's favorite blog post of the week. How's your week been? Mine has been pretty good, despite not feeling my best all week long. I'm hopeful that things will have turned around for me by the time you read this post. 

Moving on...this has been my favorite thing at work all week! I love having more counterspace in the bookstore's kitchen. 

It's such a small thing, but it makes such a huge difference! 

This pizza dip was a favorite this week. 

You can find the recipe at the bottom of this post, in my Monday recap blog post. It was more of a post about the food I ate all weekend.

These pancakes were another favorite! I love blueberry pancakes.

This mix is how I made them. I'm glad my son Graham introduced me to it recently!

This picture that I saw on Instagram this week took me right back to my teenage years. 

Did you love Debbie Gibson as much as I did? I wore this tape/cd out!

I shared these pictures below on my Instagram this week, in a weekly edition of what's for sale in the bookstore. If you're in need of a new Bible, here are a few of my current favorites!

This seven arrows Bible gives you prompts/things to consider to make you slow down in your reading.

I love the wide margins in this Note Taking Bible! And the cloth cover is beautiful. 

I love this (in)Courage study Bible!

And my She Reads Truth Bible is my all time favorite. I have it in rose gold, but it now also comes in champagne gold!

This may just be my new favorite top!

The sunrise this morning was also my favorite. This picture doesn't do it justice! 

Lastly, you all know that changing the wallpaper on my phone is always my favorite. Here are a few that I found yesterday that I loved, but I'm using that top one that you see above. All I do is go to Pinterest and search for "February screensavers", then I find one I like, take a screenshot and crop the edges, and "use as" my wallpaper and lockscreen. Easy peasy, and it changes the look of my phone each month! 

Did you happen to catch my other blog posts this week? I'll link them below.

 

Saturday was the first Share 4 Somethings post of the year!

Monday was a weekend recap/all about the food we ate post. 

Tuesday was when I talked about the books I read in January. 

Wednesday was a double post day! First was What's Up Wednesday, and second was an accountability check-in type post that I'm doing on the last day of every month this year. 

Thursday was another double post day; the first one was Thankful Thursday, and the second one was all about things (new & old) that I've been wearing and loving.

Just a quick reminder that on Wednesday of next week (February 7), our February edition of Currently will take place; we will talk about what we're currently l♡ving, l♡♡king f♡rward t♡, d♡ing t♡ be r♡mantic, changing, and celebrating. I hope you make plans to join us! I'll announce the March prompts at the end of that post. 

What was a favorite thing from your week? I'd love to hear! Thanks for reading my blog, friends! Love to all! 

a few (old & new) things I love to wear right now

 

Happy Thursday, Happy February, and happy second bonus post of the week! For today's post, I'm linking up with Jill and Kellyann for their Fashion Files link-up. I received an order that I'd made a couple of weeks ago recently, and that is what inspired this extra post. If this isn't your thing, just scroll past this one to the next post. I have plenty posted to keep you busy! 

Because it's February, or maybe just because January was so dreary, I've been craving color lately. Last week, I decided to wear this bright red top that I bought from Marshall's recently. I was in need of something bright and happy! 

Another day I wore this taupe colored top that was a new purchase back in the fall. I consider this a neutral color and love to keep those in my closet for times when that kind of mood strikes.

I pulled out this older favorite top yesterday, because it was going to be a long day at work. I like to be really comfortable on longer days like that. 

I've been wearing this bright colored fleece pullover on the colder days. 

And while there was still snow and ice on the ground, and we all went in to work on those days, I went for warmth and comfort! I paired this old favorite Nike sweatshirt with a Columbia vest from years ago. 

Here are my recent purchases that I received yesterday and immediately tried on and loved. Believe it or not, I ordered these from Shein! You have to pay attention to the material and their size guide, and you need to read the description closely. I love all of these tops! I am always in need of new black tops, and I love the white detail on each side of this one.

This sweater is super soft and cozy, and the pearl details on each heart made me swoon!

I love this gray cable knit sweater. I don't think it looks bad with just the short sleeves, but I'll wear it with a long sleeved shirt under it while it's colder. 

And this pink colorblock sweater might be my new favorite! I love the colors, the material, the fit, and the rough edges. 

I tried my hand at a bold lip yesterday, but I couldn't pull it off. I'm going to search for a new pink or red lipstick to wear this month! Give me all your recommendations, if you have some! I'm also wearing my signature heart gold hoops, and little hearts in my second piercings. What are you wearing and loving lately? Thanks for reading my bonus post! Love to all. ❤️🩷

Thankful Thursday

 

Happy Thursday, friends! I am so glad you're here today to link up with all the things you have to be thankful for. Do you notice an improvement in your mood and attitude by being intentionally grateful each week? I know I do! I could write all the words on just that, but I'll jump on in with today's list. 

• I am always thankful for a new month! In case you're new around here, the reason I love new beginnings each day/week/month/year is because they remind me of God's mercies that are new every morning. Great is His faithfulness! All of that comes out of Lamentations 3. 

• I am thankful that even though all of us have been sick, that it hasn't been any worse than what it was. 

• I am thankful that I didn't have to miss any work this week! It's not a big deal if I miss, I just love being there and don't want to miss if I don't have to. 

• I am thankful for sweet friends who stop in to see me while I work! They come in for hugs, or coffee, or just to say hi, and they're all such a blessing to me. Also? It wouldn't be a day at work if I didn't get teary eyed at least once. 

• I am thankful that it's been beautiful and sunny here this week. That vitamin D has felt amazing!

• I am thankful for the gift of prayer. I say this each week, but in my job, I hear about a lot of different situations that need prayer. Each time I hear of one, I pray right then. This means that if they can hear me as well as they can see me on video camera in the main office, that they think I talk to myself all the time. I do, but that's not what I'm doing when I work! I am praying and I have the time to do it when nobody is in there. 

• I am thankful that I can laugh with my husband. He feels terrible, but even in the midst of it all, we can laugh together. I said something to him last week that he thought was so funny that he choked on his water. I'm so glad that he thinks I'm that funny! I think he is too, and we've officially become that couple who sends Instagram reels and TikTok videos back and forth to each other all day. 

• I am also thankful that he will eat anything I cook and never complain. So many of my friends husbands are not like this! He rarely gives me a reason to complain. (I almost said never there, and I backspaced and replaced that word with rarely. 🤣)

I can't wait to read your posts! What are you thankful for this week? I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for reading my blog, friends. Love to all! 

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