Cozy Living

Daily Life in Pictures and Words

This week I'm participating in Ali Edwards' "A Week in the Life" project, at the end of which I'll have a small scrapbook album documenting the everyday events in a regular week in our lives.  This is the kind of thing that I wish I had from my grandparents or my parents.  How did they deal with the stresses of everyday living, especially without all of the modern conveniences we have now?  What did they do day in and day out?  How much did their groceries cost and what did they buy?

I think I'm going to try this every few years, just to give a glimpse of the stage of life I'm in as I go.  Imagine how different my everyday life will be in five years...  I'm really enjoying photographing the little meaningless stuff that adds up to be so meaningfully "us."

I'll be putting a little journaling onto each of the days of the week in my scrapbook...a schedule, some little tidbits about the day, what I was thinking about, what our moods were.  My thoughts on faith throughout the day and the way my prayers transform my attitude will have a big part in the book, too.  My faith is such an integral part of my life that it's sometimes unnatural for me to write about topics close to my heart without delving into my faith and why I value certain ideals in my life.

Have you ever been forced to play that horrible baby shower game, where they give everyone a clothespin and you can't say the word "baby" or someone can take your clothespin as her own?  I hate that game.  The moment it starts I simply say "baby" and get rid of the clothespin so I can simply enjoy myself.  I know, I'm such a poor sport.  At times I feel like I'm playing that game here on my blog.  Trying not to offend or sound preachy with my thoughts on God, trying to stay neutral and sound universal.  But it's hard to talk about the everyday things in my life without talking about the One who keeps my life afloat, both physically and in my spirit.  I'm ready to give up the clothespin.  I hope it won't seem presumptuous of me to share about my own faith, knowing that your faith is most likely different from mine.  It may be taboo, but you'll be seeing a bit more writing about my own faith around here, because I'm simply not me without it.

Our faith is important to all of us, really, whether we trust in God or the government or our network of friends and family to sustain us in hard times and rejoice with us in good times.  We all turn to someone when we're proud or we're struggling, even if it's only to ourselves.  I hope when I mention the One to whom I turn throughout my everyday life, you can still follow along here and be strengthened in your own faith, or be challenged to think about what's sustaining your own everyday.

Here are some everyday moments from Monday through Wednesday.  I'll share more soon.

Ty helps with the crock pot stew.  At dinner that night...me: "I hate it when no one eats the dinner I work so hard to make." greg: "Then don't make stew."  

haircuts...jake's came out a little uneven in front...just in time for picture day.

greg's usual late evening pose...with the t.v., the remote, the favorite chair, and the cat.  I'm still in denial.  But her name is Mittens Elizabeth, which means the boys just couldn't let go of calling her Mittens, but mostly we all call her Ellie.  (Thanks for your votes on names.) And she's such a sweet kitty.

Finally taking a walk again, and the tire's flat.  Trying to change it.

On our walk...taking a break as the boys play at the park...to read my current book, which I'll post about (along with her other wonderful books) soon.  I love the walking shoes, park bench, lenscap, pen and book...so everyday for me.  (Well, except the walking shoes part!  Gotta get back into that.)

Dyeing the halloween costumes.  What a project.  "Tub dyeing...it's easy!" proclaimed the instruction manual! Ha.

Jumping on the bed during quiet time (which around here means 'go upstairs and play with your brother and work everything out on your own' time.)

Sunset in the corn maze at the pumpkin patch last night...I told you we go multiple times in October!

Pumpkin Love in Pseudo-Summer

Our October Summer has cooled down by about ten degrees, and the evenings are getting cool.  I am still wearing long sleeves and pants, in hopes that the weather might cooperate, then finding myself changing into a tank top when I find out that all I'm really getting out of it is sweaty.  But as I mentioned before, that doesn't mean I'm not going to celebrate Fall!

I LOVE decorating inside my house for Autumn.  I am lucky enough to host our Thanksgiving dinner each year, so I feel like the decorating is all worthwhile, knowing that lots of people will appreciate it along with me.  We also do a lot of entertaining for church, and I like knowing that the atmosphere here is festive and fallish, even when the outside world is not.  So here are some glimpses around my fall house right now.  Nighttime candlelit pictures would be so much better, but these will have to do for now.  Our dining room table is above, which I set for Thanksgiving about a week or two beforehand, just so I can enjoy the sparkling of the glasses for a little longer!  I'll be sure to post a picture when the time comes.

...and a closeup of my favorite decorating element...these little stones come in every color.  Ikea usually has a few colors at a time, or you can get them at other decorative stores sometimes, too. I use them all the time in decorating.  Just sprinkle a few around the edge of your display and it seems to finish it off just right.

And aren't these little turkey salt and pepper shakers wonderful?  I need to ask my mom where I got them.  She remembers these things.

My mantle, which is pretty much the same as usual, plus a few pumpkins and a fall quilt I made years ago but have nowhere really to hang right now.  Mr. Turkey here has a wife, but she's currently indisposed...Tyler has adopted her and she might be hidden under a bed somewhere, just calling for her Tom to come save her.  Poor little turkey. 

Our kitchen island (oh, I'm just still thrilled that I chose wood, even months after our remodel finished!  Even better that my dad and my uncle and I made the island together.) now decorated with an easy to move fall arrangement, including some flower shaped napkin rings. I love using odd things in my arrangements.  Pomegranate from the farmer's market today, inspired by Selena.

And what would fall be without some kind of pumpkin cake?  I  cheated  did the smart thing and used good old Trader Joe's Pumpkin bread and muffin mix, because I knew I wanted to make these adorable little pumpkin cakes.  

They're made with miniature bundt cake pans, and you can put one on top of the other to make a real pumpkin shape, or just leave it as half a pumpkin.  Drizzle orange frosting over and finish with a tootsie roll that you soften in the microwave and twist and stick in the top with a toothpick, or if you just don't have the time to make a special trip out for tootsie rolls, you can pipe a little thickened frosting in green on the top for stems.  We host our church's Young Families Fellowship every other Friday, and I love having an excuse to a) clean the bathrooms and b) make fun desserts like these.  But seeing as I have 30 people arriving in less than three hours, I better scoot.  Today I told you about the turkey Tyler adopted, tomorrow I'll tell you about the creature who's adopted him.  See you.

Cozy little spots

Today I'm just being thankful for the cozy little spots I carve out around my home.

The spot where I stack my current books (Anne Lamott's Traveling Mercies...the most irreverant and hilarious and touching book about faith ever; The Produce Bible...my go-to book when I get my CSA basket, with gorgeous pictures and information about produce, along with recipes and what seasons to buy them in; daily inspirational readings by Dietrich Bonhoeffer; Devotional Classics...a compilation of excerpts from classic writings; the Patchwork gift book I mentioned a few days back; Cottage Living magazine...my favorite; Home Companion magazine...etc.etc.etc.)

these beautiful flowers greg gave me in a vintagey box, "just because," the card said. so sweet!

this little nook in our family room...with the plaster birds I bought when I was with my grandma at a boutique near her house, backed by old books I recovered from her house after she passed away last fall.

this other family room nook, with papa's old microscope and wooden case that he had when he was a boy, and another bird...this one from cousin debby who is so much fun to be with.

Have a wonderful Monday everyone.

The house is finished!

Before...

And After!

Well, do you remember our excitement about our remodel? It's done! My dad came by on Thursday to install the countertop of the island. That was the last touch and now we're done! We love the new look and have finally gotten most of our stuff back into place (halls and closets remain to be unpacked fully.)

Here's a look at the final product!

Being my own maid.

Oh, the things that will be vacuumed in this house in the coming days. Look at my new toy. It is a lean, mean, backpack vacuum machine and it is beyond cool. 

I always balk at the idea of hiring a maid to clean our house. I had a crew clean here the day we moved in (previous owners had trashed the place,) and a few times here and there while I was busy having babies or feeding newborns and other such trivial tasks. I had planned on getting a maid to clean after the remodel, but the only one I've ever really liked refuses to return my call. I think my family is just too dirty for her. So I've resorted to becoming my own maid. It's about time I stop relying on outside help when my house cleaning failures have just added up too much. And now I have a new "friend" to help me in my plight.

I will admit there was a hint of embarrassment and "I hope the neighbors don't see this" as I took my Carpet Pro out of the car and brought it into the house. This bad boy is big. Just the sucking pipe alone is giant. Getting him settled in the house was a bit of a chore. Then I strapped him on and took him for a spin. Oh, my.

He has adjustable straps around the shoulders and waist, just like a hiking backpack. He has a fifty foot extension cord for reaching everywhere in the house from one outlet. He even has a belt clip for the power switch. I tell you, I'm in love with him. Boy, is he fast! And strong, too.

I had the most interesting talk with the cute little old British man down at the Sew and Vac store about vacuums. "Why don't more people buy backpack vacuums?" I asked. He told me that maintenance people do, which of course, is why I'd had the idea of buying one in the first place.  If it's good enough for them to use day in and day out, shouldn't it be good enough for me? We chatted about suction and speed and advertising, which he thinks is the main reason these bad boys don't sell like the others. 

Dyson vacuums, it turns out, for all their clever advertising, are the worst, he says. He actually shuddered when I mentioned their name. He couldn't resist calling me over to look at the filthiest filter you've ever seen. This is the $72 filter for a Dyson, he says. Disgusting. Made in Malaysia, he tells me, not Europe, where most people assume, because of the great accent of their front man. This little Sew and Vac gets 3 or 4 Dysons in a week for service. I'm embarrassed to say that I never would have thought of taking a vacuum in for service. I usually just figure that after several years of good service, it's time for a new one. You should have seen the cute little old red vacuum in there, waiting for service. That sucker was old. And then all the Dysons, of course.  Well, thank goodness I skipped that tempting brand and went for the choice of maintenance people everywhere. 

My new Carpet Pro backpack vac. My, do I love him.  I'll have to think of a name for him and keep you updated on his performance. So far, I know I want to get some kind of self retracting cord because the 50 foot one is now in a big knot on the floor of the hall closet. But beside that, it is love at first vacuum.

Getting there...

the view from my office desk into the clearing chaos

We have my desk back in place!  And the office floor is literally shining after my first laminate floor cleaning attempt.  Had to take a detour from remodel furniture replacement this morning in order to troll the neighborhood for treasures at our Painted Trails garage sale.  Found lots of great toys for Grandma's and some cool kid-sized bongo drums to add to our parade play box.

Three guys are hard at work in the family room, so we may actually be done with the workers after today. Hallelujah!

Utter Chaos.

It's been a long time.  I know.  It seems like even longer around here.  The house is in a state of utter and complete chaos.  The kind where you never quite have anywhere to put anything because every surface is covered with junk and every piece of furniture is in the middle of the room.  The kind of chaos where there's some sort of sour stink coming from the kitchen somewhere, but you can't find the offending odor, much less remove it.  There are two crews in the house this week, one floor, one baseboard/backsplash/window casing type.  There aren't too many places left to which the boys and I can escape.

However...

Next week will be wonderful.

Next week the paint will be dry and the furniture back and the boys and I can take over our home again.  Next week I'll catch up on the laundry that's been piling up for four weeks now. Next week my office will transform into our new family art studio.  Next week I can shop at Trader Joe's again and actually have somewhere to put the groceries when I get home. Ahhhh...next week will be wonderful.

Things I've decided during this remodel:

1. We will return to our healthy (or at least healthier) eating ways when this is all done.  We've been on a bit of a hiatus since Christmas, then birthdays & Super Bowl, then Amy's wedding, now this.  Vacation over. Whole grains, vegetables, plain nonfat yogurt. Mmmm. Yes, it does sound so appetizing to me right now. You know that feeling you get after too much restaurant food?  The feeling that you really shouldn't have eaten what you just did, and now you'll feel it for two hours? This is everyday life for us. Can't wait for real food again.

2. After Laundry Catch-Up Day, I will once again begin a load a day, so as never to have to do this much laundry at once again in my life.  What is Laundry Catch-Up Day, you ask?  This is my new invention to make the boys and I happy when the laundry piles up.  I get as many piles of laundry onto the family room floor, and the boys watch a movie while I catch up on doing, folding, & putting away the laundry.  Saves me from their groans about being trapped inside, and from my guilt for letting them watch a movie in the middle of the day.  Mission accomplished.

3. Bread.  I want to get Dad's breadmaker back and try some recipes.  I'd like to make fresh bread our usual second breakfast.  Yes, we have a second breakfast.  Usually that means that the boys ate with Daddy but now beg to steal whatever measly breakfast I've managed for myself.  Fresh bread will be a much better option for all of us.

Looking so forward to next week.  I hope it turns out as perfect as I've dreamed for a month.

House excitement

The process has begun...new floors, new counters, 'new' cabinets!  For six years I've thought about what this home would look like if I had the chance to design it, and now the time has come! 

This excitement brings craziness, of course, and the realization that the house will be a mess for at least a month.  Hmmm...we'll see how I handle that one.