I couldn’t take it any longer. The kitchen cabinets were nearly ostracizing me from the area. I had to conquer. So I did…and much has been banned from the kitchen, including appliances we don’t use, plastic drinking cups and TONS of mason jars! On this cabinet above, the doors came off to create open shelving,

[...CLICK for more article goodness!---->] Our Kitchen Shelves

I couldn’t take it any longer. The kitchen cabinets were nearly ostracizing me from the area. I had to conquer. So I did…and much has been banned from the kitchen, including appliances we don’t use, plastic drinking cups and TONS of mason jars! On this cabinet above, the doors came off to create open shelving, and is now mostly filled. Only glassware and creamware will be allowed and I still have to locate and install that last shelf. I love it so much more already and enjoy looking up and seeing all the pretties on the shelves.

This blog post would have been 100% more effective had I shown a ‘before’ pic here. Just take my word on it: the cabinet was an ugly, disorganized mess previously. These therapy sessions are working great, though!

Are you a fan of open shelving or do you prefer the closed cabinetry look?

Here is a cute but inspiring vid with tips on staying creative. A dear friend shared it with me a while back, and I just rewatched it for a memory jog.

Which one of these ideas are you in the most need of right now?

Sorry that he didn’t want to wake up for his interview…It’s a lot of work being a puppy, you know.

We’ve been wanting a dog like this for a long time. Barnabas is 8 weeks old, and is a Great Pyrenees. He will be helping us keep up with all the animals outside once we get

[...CLICK for more article goodness!---->] Meet Barnabas.

Sorry that he didn’t want to wake up for his interview…It’s a lot of work being a puppy, you know.

We’ve been wanting a dog like this for a long time. Barnabas is 8 weeks old, and is a Great Pyrenees. He will be helping us keep up with all the animals outside once we get our farm all situated again. We just got him on Saturday, and it already feels like he’s been here for forever. The children can not get enough of him and we are all head over heels with this little guy. Oh yeah, he won’t stay little for long. His paws are already the size of a normal large dog’s paws. This little dude is gonna be biiiiig!!

He has a playful but sweet personality, and is incredibly even-tempered and laid back. He’s smart.

Oh yeah, and sleepy, too…

The recent sick stuff we had going on here transformed to this annoying, lingering cold and congestion dealio for my hubby and myself. My mindset is to avoid the doc/hospital unless absolutely necessary, so we’ve been treating this here at home and getting some relief. Just thought I’d share a few of the natural remedies

[...CLICK for more article goodness!---->] Natural Cold + Congestion Relief

The recent sick stuff we had going on here transformed to this annoying, lingering cold and congestion dealio for my hubby and myself. My mindset is to avoid the doc/hospital unless absolutely necessary, so we’ve been treating this here at home and getting some relief. Just thought I’d share a few of the natural remedies we use when there is a cold with congestion here:

Power Blast Tonic

2 cups of boiling water

2-3 garlic cloves

1 tbsp. chopped or minced ginger root

2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar – with the mother

1 lemon

2 tsp. raw honey

capsicum, high quality [optional]

In a glass pitcher, put in garlic cloves and ginger root. Pour in the hot water, and let steep for 10 minutes. Next, juice in the entire lemon and add in the apple cider vinegar. Pour through a fine mesh sieve into your mug, and add in 1 tsp. honey. Stir until melted in. Last, sprinkle on some capsicum powder, if you wish to kick this up a notch. Only do this last step if you are extra brave. It really does work, but it is NOT for the weak!

Guzzle it down as fast as you can. The taste is not bad, but kinda punchy. Our kids enjoyed drinking it when sick. I do okay with it, too. Hubby, however, usually has to force it down – but is always glad of it after the fact.

Does this work? Absolutely. The garlic and ACV have natural antibiotic properties, while the ginger root helps keep your stomach settled while offering a delicious taste. The lemon and honey are also delish and help soothe a sore throat. Capsicum, if you choose it, helps clear out the mucous membranes even more, while also fighting a cold and cough.

I should mention that you should be prepared in advance with a box of tissues, and maybe even just go stand at the sink. The junk in your head will be so scandalized that it will do whatever is necessary to get out ASAP. After it’s passed, you will feel a LOT better as your throat and sinuses will be clear. Repeat this process 2-3 times a day until gone completely.

Garlic Poultices

Another thing you can do is to make garlic poultices. Take a cloth or paper towel, lay it flat centered over a small plate. Chop up a couple of garlic cloves, and place it right in the middle, on top of the plate. Wrap up the sides of the towel, and pour on a little boiling water. When it is cool enough to touch, place it immediately over your neck and hold for 60-90 seconds. Don’t leave on too long or the powerful garlic can burn the skin. However, a little bit of it is really good for the throat. Do the same thing, but this time place it on the soles of your feet. Your body absorbs the good stuff from the garlic through the feet and can help bring faster healing.

Healing Foods

I try to keep citrus fruits around and fresh squeezed orange juice makes for a yummy healthy treat when you have a cold. You can boost your Vitamin C levels even more by also taking Emergen-C mixed in with some water. For dinner, put a whole chicken in a crock pot with lemon and thyme to eat with a salad or something light. Save all the bones and put them back in the crock pot, fill up with water and continue cooking to make a delicious chicken stock. It’s extra tasty when you add in chopped onions, garlic, mushrooms, carrots and celery. Don’t forget plenty of salt and pepper. The next day, you will have lots of super tasty, super healthy homemade chicken stock to make soups with.

Stop the Cough

The above remedies help fight off any cough you might have, but sometimes it can still be an aggravation to try to sleep at night with any cough what-so-ever. Put VapoRub [or make your own version with coconut oil + some drops of eucalyptus oil] on the soles of your feet…slip on some cozy socks, and go to bed cough-free.

Past all of this, remember to keep drinking lots of water and get rest when you can. You should be better in no time!

This past week, we have celebrated the 5th birthday of our oldest girl, Gianna Belle. We have 5 children, and it never ceases to amaze me the speed at which they grow.

My daughter, was it not but recently when we wrapped you snug as a bug in the blanket your great grandmother knitted for you?

[...CLICK for more article goodness!---->] Gianna Turns 5

This past week, we have celebrated the 5th birthday of our oldest girl, Gianna Belle. We have 5 children, and it never ceases to amaze me the speed at which they grow.

My daughter, was it not but recently when we wrapped you snug as a bug in the blanket your great grandmother knitted for you? I did not know then how obsessed you would become with the color purple…or unicorns…or random fierce animals that some little girls are afraid of.

[Gianna has always had an affectionate place in her heart for alligators, snakes and dragons. I can assure you that she does not get this from me. I am actually relieved to see her just starting to grow out of those things, so now it is all about unicorns...something that I can get on board with a lot easier than the others, even if it DOES drive me crazy at times.]

So we had a small, friendly celebration at Amelie’s French Bakery this week. Joined by a few friends [some long time out of town friends and my good friend, Steph], we chatted and dined on wonderful sandwiches and the most delectable treats. And the birthday cake for Gianna? OH WOW. I can’t begin to do it justice by describing it to you, but will just say that it was wonderfully soft layers of vanilla chiffon cake with rich chocolate mousse and diplomat cream sandwiched between…masked…covered in buttercream and then topped with a perfect ganache. I admit it – it was heavenly. And we had ordered so many treats off the menu for our guests that there was no way we could eat it all in one sitting. Everyone got a good sampling of food, and a good bit of it [not pictured] still sits in our fridge and freezer, waiting to be devoured. In addition, Amelie’s gives you a free eclair on your birthday, so Gianna got one of those and it’s packed away in the freezer, also waiting on her.

Part of our family had to stay home that day because some sick stuff was just starting to play out. Oh goodness, what a mess! We don’t get sick often, but this was extra annoying to happen during a birthday celebration week when we had lots of fun stuff planned. In the end, we’ve just tried to make the best of it. So we did! It was pretty much a girls’ day out for our family – so…

…Ruby Jane got to be there, and she was pretty happy about THAT.  =-D Don’t know if you could tell…

…And then Sarie Beth was stoked about being there, too. She loved trying a sampling of as many different things as she could!

We’re so proud of our oldest girl. She is getting so big all too fast, and is turning out to be such a lovely, poetic and artistic little lady. Happy 5, Gianna~!

We’ve recently gotten some decent rain – and afterwards? …This lovely double rainbow filled the skies behind our homestead. The kids thought it was so cool! Nolan was so sure he saw gold at the end of it! =-P Well, we didn’t find it, but we were thankful for the rain and did enjoy the

[...CLICK for more article goodness!---->] Double Rainbow

We’ve recently gotten some decent rain – and afterwards? …This lovely double rainbow filled the skies behind our homestead. The kids thought it was so cool! Nolan was so sure he saw gold at the end of it! =-P Well, we didn’t find it, but we were thankful for the rain and did enjoy the rainbows at the end. It was a lovely day~!

Hope you are enjoying your week!

This past weekend, my bestie and myself revisited some antique booths and both of us fell in love with a particular potted plant. Looking around, we observed lots of these plants spotted all over the place. Not only that, but women were SNATCHING them up~! We nabbed a couple for ourselves and then found out

[...CLICK for more article goodness!---->] Maidenhair Fern Care

This past weekend, my bestie and myself revisited some antique booths and both of us fell in love with a particular potted plant. Looking around, we observed lots of these plants spotted all over the place. Not only that, but women were SNATCHING them up~! We nabbed a couple for ourselves and then found out that they are called Maidenhair Ferns. Upon reading about them at home, I see that there are over 200 varieties of it, and have no clue which one we’ve got. Eek. Furthermore, I’m now being told that these plants can be finicky about their surroundings and as delicately-natured as their super soft foliage. Some say: “Just make sure that you keep them well watered!” while others say “Oooh, be careful not to water too much!” and then tales are told of these lovely plants dying off before they even get a good start.

I have no idea if any of this is true or not, but of course not wanting that to happen to mine, I went to Grandma Martha to see what she has to say about them because she SURELY knows all about these plants already! Sure enough, she has several videos on the matter, including this general one about watering house plants [and shows a Maidenhair Fern in the process]; and this one about repotting a nice size Maidenhair into a gorgeous planter, and then there’s this one that even shows how easy it is to propagate your own ferns right at home! After watching that last one, I had remembered seeing her feature this plant before – years ago – and it’s probably where I first learned of it, but forgot about it until now.

The plant is currently in our living room, but just might get moved to the master bath for a more humid environment that it seems to crave.

Do you have one of these plants? What tips can you share?

More resources:

Garden Guides

Guide to Houseplants

[...CLICK for more article goodness!---->] Colored Claw Foot Tubs I recently finished up a graphics package for a client and used a pic of our claw foot tub. In it, though, I changed up the color of the tub to pop. The current color on our tub is brown, a shade that hubby added on when he refinished our tub when we built our home. In looking through the pics I altered for the client’s logo, I tested different colors on our tub to see what I liked best. Wow! So it totally blew me away with how much that could change up the space. And now I am considering doing that very thing.

Check out these inspiration pics of colored claw foot tubs here and tell me which one is your fav:

Um, k – so the yellow + ruffles here speaks to me the most. I just love, love, LOVE this one! We can totally pull off this look in our bathroom.

I just love this with those huge butterfly pics. It wouldn’t be the same without ‘em!

This one – matched up with a huge ornate frame and simple shelving – makes all the difference in the world. It’s a totally feminine bathroom, wouldn’t you say?

You might have already seen this one floating around in cyberspace, but I like it for its simplicity all the same.

For those who wish for a more country feel to their bathing space, this one is perfection.

Technically, not a claw foot tub since it’s on blocks, but – it’s PINK! I am a fan.

I also started a new board on Pinterest for this very idea, and you can find it here.

So is this something that you would try in your bathroom to change it up?

Ah, so this has been on the brain lately. Wouldn’t a small loft above be a wonderful zone to read? For what we have here in the living – I would opt to do somewhat of a combo of the 1st and 2nd pics here. The walls would be lined with shelves of books. Our ceilings

[...CLICK for more article goodness!---->] Lofty Reading

Ah, so this has been on the brain lately. Wouldn’t a small loft above be a wonderful zone to read? For what we have here in the living – I would opt to do somewhat of a combo of the 1st and 2nd pics here. The walls would be lined with shelves of books. Our ceilings are tall, but not THAT tall – so it would be a small, cozy area. But then again, isn’t that all that you would need to kick back and read a good book? Me thinks so.  =-)

It’s been a lovely, restful Saturday here at the homestead. This pic isn’t from today, but from recently. What do you think of all those stripes? Is it fantastic much? There were soooo many of them that morning that we went out and took some quick shots. The winds briskly floated them away and brought

[...CLICK for more article goodness!---->] Happy Saturday

It’s been a lovely, restful Saturday here at the homestead. This pic isn’t from today, but from recently. What do you think of all those stripes? Is it fantastic much? There were soooo many of them that morning that we went out and took some quick shots. The winds briskly floated them away and brought in more – all over the place. So what is your persuasion? Do you believe in the hype of all the “chemtrails” talk? I am not sure….just very curious.

Hope your weekend is lovely!