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Staying Home – For longer then expected

Sounds like people are needing to stay home for longer then they expect lately. If your not sick and bored, I’m sharing some ways I make the most of my time at home.

No, seriously, You can only binge your shows and social media for so long and your gonna need to do something to pass the time.

Since I’ve been in the “Staying Home” for my everyday living for the last 6 years I feel like I’ve gotten good at making the most of it. This is just a small sample of what I do.

Update Decor

Being a Home and Garden blogger I get the opportunity to share about our home. Home for me as a kid was growing up in a true FARMHOUSE. Not a modern home with some country farm accents.

But, now that’s me living in a 40 year old home adding Farmhouse accents.

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I need to update the winter photo on my wall. Something I can do online from home without going out in public is ordering new a new picture to update that frame. I will be putting in the Mexican sunrise. Not a lot of money to do a simple update.

I got out my simple Spring Decor the other day and put out my upcycled table runner from trimming my bedroom curtains. I still need to sew the one straight edge and it’s done.

Deep Cleaning

Once the flu hits your house at any time of the year we all hit cleaning mode. It’s not just the “hey, we are getting company” kinda clean.

I mean lets dust and move furniture around and DEEP clean. I’ve been doing my oven, fridge, kids toys, borrowing a carpet shampooer.

My intense Carpet cleaning MIGHT have something to do with our new family addition. Thankfully Potty training accidents are far and few between now. We made sure our carpet cleaner was specifically the kind that helps them not pee again and again in the same area. Only happened twice that she went in the same spot.

Purging and Organizing

If you follow me on Instagram I’ve been getting into my closest and putting away the winter gear. There’s been thrift store drop offs and recycling. I think you get the drift. You know your home and what needs to be done. If not there’s tons of great organizing videos online to get you motivated.

Anyone else binge watch organizing videos?

Yard Work

Something I’ve noticed is lots of new houses they do now is properties with less maintenance. Not our place. I’ve been out in our yard getting it cleaned up since early February. I’ve made a HUGE dent and got our kids toys cleaned up so our puppy doesn’t get into something she shouldn’t. Plus it looks so much better having a cleaned up backyard.

It looks SUPER different now. Wait for the after photo…coming soon this spring.

Baking

I’m a big homebody and making homemade food, especially if I have time is well appreciated.

BUT….

Then baking goes sideways and I burnt the cookies.

The upside to the burnt cookie moment. Life was super busy at that moment. I came home for a girls night to find my husband rolling cookies and making them BETTER then I ever have. I had too bake for 2 classes for the next day and when I burnt the cookies it derailed my day.

I’m not perfect and neither is our home. I can share all the lovely photos I want. Sometimes we burn the cookies.

Last but not least. I still attempt to make time for…

DIY

I sew or make home decor whenever I can get a free moment. Which almost feels like never. BUT, just like many other people in the world…We are supposed to be in social isolation. That means, my sewing machine is coming out. So is my paint brush. I can’t wait to share more about that in upcoming posts.

Oh yes, can’t forget about Gardening. But that’s gets it’s own posts on my blog. More to come about that here soon.

How do you spend your days at home?

Easy DIY Dog Crate Bed

Easy DIY I have to pause from the Gardening posts. I recently shared that we got a new puppy. You can see my Picking a puppy post here. Sometimes I share Kona on my Instagram.

Truth is, owning a dog is expensive and my frugal side of who I am has gone full board since we got her. We were super blessed a friend had an extra large crate for her and gave it to us. I knew right away I needed to get her a bed for it.

Every time I saw them at the store my DIY brain was like “I can make that”. I have everything at home. These also fit in a crate super well. I had everything on hand so it was just my time.

Easy DIY Dog Crate Bed

This made 2 Beds: W26″ x L48″

Here’s what you need:

1 double sided blanket. Mine was a wedding gift from Costco that I had grown tired of. Got a new blanket for Christmas.
Scissors
Body pillow or pillows or stuffing. I used old pillows we didn’t use anymore.
Sewing machine – If you can thread a machine and sew in a straight line, your good to go.
Seam Ripper.

Step 1:

Fold double sided blanket in HALF and CUT the FOLDED side.

It should look like this once you cut it. The double sided blanket now splits apart.

I had to use the seam ripper for my blanket as it had an extra stitch a couple inches in.

Step 2:

Stuff it with the pillows or stuffing. Which ever option your going to fill it with.

Step 3:

Fold the cut edge IN and pin it. Then Sew away! Your only sewing ONE edge.

This blanket made 2 dog beds. Now we have 2 crates for her in the house and both crates have a bed. Or the crate has a bed and she has a bed by the fireplace.

She wasn’t too sure about me taking pictures while she was in the crate.

This is the second bed I just made. If you look you can see the 3 pillows it to make this one. Kona is not full size and expected to be roughly 60lbs. So she still has lots of growing to do and needs what would be considered an Extra Large bed once fully grown.

Here she is again on the first dog bed I made for her. She was so small. This one has a body pillow and quilt batting I had in the house.

If you have the supplies, go for it. I grew up with a country dog, she lived outside. Dog’s are definitely pampered more now then when we had a dog as a kid. Life is expensive and we have a young family. Anyway to save money I will.

Have you ever made your own dog bed?

What this helpful?

Comment below if you plan to make one of your own.

Garden/Backyard Planning

Garden_Backyard Planning Today I want to share with you about Garden/Backyard Planning. We bought our home in 2014. This is our journey snapshot of what we started with and where we are now.

If there is something you see that you want me to go deeper into explaining please comment below.

Here I’m going to show you how our gardening/backyard planning took shape. It would be great if we could have changed it all within that first year. BUT that costs A LOT of money.

To create a garden/backyard of your dreams it needs TIME.

When we bought this place we had one kid, now we have 3 and a puppy. Lots of changes. The most reno work we have done has been to the outside.

The previous owner had a GREAT garden already going. However things seemed to be in odd places and we had to re-work the yard how it fit for our dream for the property.

2014

Here’s the LARGE garden box and a side garden. This garden where the trees are was super overgrown and I’m still fighting an aggressive plant in that area.

Here’s the Greenhouse and the worn out old fence. I got to get a LOT of tomatoes out of that greenhouse. Sadly I still have lots of learning to do and how to grow plants in there. So far it’s been a starter house for me.

We redid the fence, it was awful.

Remember I mentioned Garden Planning taking time?

Summer 2019

The Wood was JUST getting weathered.

For our Daughters first birthday last year I tried doing a photo shoot. It shows the new fence and memorial garden that I added.

I really need to print and frame this one!

Here’s the current look at the Green House update we did. My husband broke one of the windows with the lawnmower and we didn’t want to keep replacing the glass so we worked hard to make it more user friendly and to save money.

PLUS everything we did here was re-purposed.

As you can see, we use it more for storage now. It’s tucked behind the house.

We still have more Garden/Backyard Planning to do. It takes time as I mentioned. The kids get right into it as well.

I know I didn’t share any tips on this post, but I hope seeing the before and after it gives you some inspiration to work on your own garden and backyard.

One last photo from last year. There’s a HUGE Reno, that is still happening. I’m hoping we get it DONE within the next 6 weeks and show you the reveal. It’s a huge change for us, We LOVE to entertain. This was when we served guests last year “in the garden”. That gives you a hint.

Have a great day and I would love to hear about your garden projects.

Finding my blogging ‘Niche’

Home and Garden Niche Ok Ok, one rookie mistake I’ve made and it hasn’t really been helping grow my blog is actually focus on a ‘niche’. I have no shame in sharing this, I thought my blog would be bigger by now.

For those not into the in’s and outs of blogging lingo there’s a thing you need to do and that is find your ‘niche’. Your area of expertise, or the thing that your passionate about. I honestly couldn’t find something that really suited what I wanted to share as my “expertise” for this little blog on the internet.

I guess going on a much needed break on our Mexican Vacation from my home did I not see this blog in a different light.

My blogging “Niche” was already coming through on it’s own: Home and Garden

I got some posts out that I do like to share my advice about, but they don’t relate to Home and Garden. They got barely any views.

Views do make a difference when you working to make an income from blogging. Since this blog is a fun creative outlet for me from my busy life being a stay at home mom views are great but I don’t go crazy about how many I get.

With a few tweaks of using the right hashtags and sharing more about our home and garden, my blog will grow. I’ve been WAITING to share more about our home, just life has gotten in the way to do that, like water leaks for example on an area I was ready to do the final photography on and well… I still have holes in my walls at the moment.

I look forward to giving this blog the direction it needs in expanding with the Home and Garden niche.

Notefull Living (2) I’m just someone who loves decorating our home. We live in the Fraser Valley, basically the Suburbs of Vancouver. I’m a big home body. Plus when the weather is good I’m outside. My husband and I already have a home we renovated and sold and the fun we had flipping that one. I’ll have that post up soon.

Speaking of Gardening, it didn’t take long for me to connect with other bloggers in this niche to find me. For those that have and read my blog, thanks for seeking me out.

The topics I was writing about on my blog was Faith, Family and Music. These are all things that are hugely important to me. I like sharing little bits of my Faith here and there on the blog.

In regards to Family, I sometimes share the odd picture without my kids faces showing for their privacy. I strongly believe in children’s privacy especially when it comes to the internet. Theresa Lynn Photography 023-21 Lastly, I’ve got my music. It’s tough to keep up with it with my family so young but I’m not giving up on it and already getting clients for my piano tuning, plus other things.

So If your a fellow Home and Garden enthusiast like I am, come along and SUBSCRIBE.

I honestly don’t feel like I’m a pro in any of these areas, just enjoy the journey of creating a lovely home for our family and an amazing time in the outdoors in my garden.

Carrie

Schedules, and staying Organized

how to schdeule (1) Living a scheduled life is something I’ve learned the hard way is something we can all improve on and be better at.

I’ve always considered myself an organized person. Along comes our 3 kids and technology explosion and I was pulling my hair out. I wasn’t as organized as I thought I was. I was missing IMPORTANT doctor appointments and missing key scheduled things in our kids life and so forth.

I looked back and had to ask myself where am I going wrong. Why am I messing up so bad, what was working and what wasn’t?

I’ve written some basic tips that helped me, bonus I added a DIY!

There’s a TON of organization gurus out there. They offer great advice. Yet, we are all made differently and have to figure out what works best for us.

I tried for over a year to keep up with switching to the free google calendar. It’s free right, boy was a wrong. I guess the writer in me needs to write it down. I had a bit of a meltdown last year realizing my loath for technology wasn’t helping trying to stay organized using something online.

1: Get a GOOD planner:

After posting a desperate outcry to friends on Facebook I was reminded of my other writing friends to use a teacher planner.

I got one and it’s made a big difference.

Having this cute spot in our kitchen with the writing desk makes it easy to layout. The planner fits so perfectly. As much as I love beautiful detailed planners and paper products, I got mine from staples and it’s made by Emily Ley

My Husbands work uses the Google Calender so I still sometimes add things or he adds them. It’s still kinda used, I’m still trying to adapt. But for my sanity I went back to a paper planner.

2: DIY a Picture frame for Days of the Week:

Ready for an upcycle and a DIY? I love a good repurpose project that’s fast and easy.

I originally made this for meal planning. The paper planner I bought already has a slot for meal planning. This DIY became a “week at a glance” for the whole family and it’s been hugely helpful.

What you need:

Paper (larger needed if you have a bigger frame)
Permanent Marker
Ruler
Picture Frame
Paint

Paint the frame with 2 coats. Let it fully dry. Measure out your day slots and an extra space to write the month on top. Use your marker to mark out your lines. Then put the frame back together. Hang and use dry erase markers and your done!

I use different color dry erase for different members of the family. Or different events we have going on. I update this every Saturday night.

I have it hanging in a central part of our home so we see it everyday.

3: Use a 12 month Calendar

I got this idea from Jordan Page at Fun Cheap or Free. She uses google calendar, however I’ve already established that doesn’t work for me. Since I’m a visual person, we opted to buy a bigger white erase 12 month calendar. We hung it up in our bedroom.

This huge visual aid has all our core things that need to be on here. All my husbands work schedule, on call and paydays. Our holidays are on this calendar and most importantly birthdays. Kids school breaks and so forth. I think you get the drift.

We seem to get caught off guard when birthdays come around or holidays sneak up and we didn’t budget. Sharing that to let you know we aren’t perfect.

Having a visual aid like this is already helping us budget and plan better. Now we can plan those “last minute” camping trips or what weekends are best to hammer out a much needed reno.

Here’s to a better planned, scheduled and organized 2020.

Hope these tips are helpful, they are for our family.

What are things you do to keep organized?

Ending 2019 on a High Note

It’s almost 2020, Here’s my last blog post for the year! Thanks for you support and have a great night!

I love writing these posts. I’m starting to enjoy this side of blogging where I can look back and see which posts were my top posts. Having an overview look at how much things have changed, mostly for the better.

How was 2019 for YOU?

This year has been intense. That’s how I can describe it. To only give a small look at the intensity it had to do with the following: 2 Family Deaths, 2 Plumbing issues, unexpected electrical inspection, Financial tests like we have never experienced and much much more.

My husband and I both lost Grandparents. Truth is both Grandparents had long lost their spouses and have suffered with physical pain and I’m thankful they are relieved of that now.

There’s no amount of pictures or special videos that you can make in today’s day to capture the last moment I had with my Grandfather and my daughter as he was in Hospice. He turned with the little strength he had left and gave his youngest family member the biggest grin and she smiled back.

What a legacy both of these people leave behind for my husband and I.

I don’t believe in coincidences, my BIGGEST blog post of the year had to do with my own personal Grief.

Read it here: Surviving my Pregnancy Loss

I guess there’s something about sharing a testimony of a difficult part of my life to give YOU who read my blog a real “Heart to Heart”.

You all LOVED it. I suppose my approach to not be a “selling” blog means something still.

This biggest thing I’ve learned from being knocked down is to just get right back up.

Remember, I said this year was intense.

I will confess I was up to 4 cups of coffee a day and pretty much consumed a full Costco bag of chocolate chips in a month this past fall. Not ashamed to share my stressful glutenous outbursts.

This all still didn’t stop me for writing and creating content for here on the blog. I had big blog posts planned relating to our house for 2019. Considering a big water leak was involved in that area of our home…that post is still yet to come.

Instead I began a journey in our home to be more “Homemade and Local”. These were some of my favorite posts to write.

Oh! I almost forgot I started adding FREE printable for you! Check out: Creating a Homemade Home to get yours. Yes, the plates are something from my Grandparents. There is something “home style” about hanging old plates.

How am I ending 2019 on a High Note. My husband and I suspected at the beginning of the year that one of us would possibly loose a grandparent. We didn’t expect us both.

Our BIG RENO project is still in “Reno mode”, and the storage room reveal needed to get re-opened again.

Here’s what I told myself…

“No matter what hurdles keep me from doing what I need to get done,

I’ll not let that slow me down”.

I had hoped 2019 was the year I launched my piano tuning business officially. N.O.P.E. But, I’m playing my nicely tuned piano again as I finally overcame all this years DRAMA FEST, which I didn’t add on my list from above.

Since November, I’m down to one cup of coffee a day (not 4). Today I’m removing sugar from my day to day food that I consume. Our boys actually passed swimming lessons recently and our youngest finally started walking last week. I actually did a workout today, been trying to fit that in also since November.

Me and 3 kids doing a workout video with Jillian Micheal is a site to see. I personally don’t post my kids for their privacy. If you have kids and have tried fitting a workout into your day and are too cheap to bother going to the gym it’s entertaining.

One last High Note (aside from a nicely tuned piano in my home), my most liked Instagram post was my wedding photo.

Wedding Sept 12 374

Love this Man and the life we have, it is worth all the storms that we face together.

If 2019 was intense for you, especially if it comes an important thing like your marriage. I don’t know your story but know this, whatever storm your facing you can overcome it.

Just like the example set before my husband and I with our grandparents and our parents, it’s not worth holding grudges or being bitter, but forgiveness and working together that counts.

Our marriage is built around our relationship with Jesus Christ. Not everyone agrees with that choice that we made. Not sure what life would look like without that important relationship that my husband and I hold with HIM.

Thanks for your support this year and taking time to read and comment on my blog.

Christmas Time Preparations

Here’s our family Christmas Preparations.

Christmas Preperations It’s been a little quiet around here on my blog, at home not so much. I think we are finally passed all the big school concerts and church events. I had to keep my blog in hobby mode and take a brief pause with all the fullness since my last blog post.

If you follow me on Instagram I shared a few updates along the way.

December is pretty much 1/2 over now. For some reason the last couple of years since my son started school and a third little bundle of joy came into our family I’m actually not overly enjoying how overwhelming this time of the year is.

I’m becoming more into the idea to keep Christmas Decorations more simple.

Each year the tree goes up later and I try to make a conscious effort to get SOME decorations up sometime before December, as my kids are begging me too.

We LOVE a REAL Christmas Tree in our house.

We are blessed to live in the Fraser Valley and there’s lots of Christmas tree farms. We finally found a good local one.

However with my husbands work schedule we stood in the dark field with 3 other families holding our cellphones up with the flashlight to cut one down this year.

We actually had to “schedule” the tree cutting or it would never have made it up this year. _A real Christmas tree is worth all the love and attention it needs_

I absolutely LOVE this tree base that was passed along to us from my husbands parents. It’s so festive and crazy heavy (FYI). We went to the “Olde Farmhouse Market” recently and I was reminded of the old metal tree stands, now they are plastic. I don’t think this cast iron one is going anywhere anytime soon.

Never too late to DIY some Christmas Decor.

Remember the DIY Christmas book wreath?

I’ve been waiting to make one, just never have the time.

My son is helping me make this one. I really doesn’t bother me if this isn’t the pinterest craze anymore. This is my 4th one to make, the other ones I gifted them away.

I’m looking forward to having something music related this time. I was singing the hymns as I recognized them and shared with my son how much things have changed with church music. Yes, I’m old enough to say I sung from the hymnals as a kid.

What about the Presents? Can’t forget about those right?

Just like the decor we have learned to keep that simple too. There once was a baby a long time ago that got 3 gifts, seems like enough for us too. Our kids know the story and so far don’t seem too upset if they didn’t got more.

We are still making time for Homemade Christmas Gifts!

I’m excited to see this rocking horse completed that my husband is making.

When our oldest was 3, we were super tight for gifts and money in general. My husband scraped together a wooden airplane. It’s been probably the MOST played with airplane in the house that’s had many repairs and is now resting with the other “need to be repaired” toys.

Homemade gifts once was all we could give.

Now, it’s something we know will be loved and appreciated.

We are on the home stretch for 2019. Also only 4 more car rides for school drop off and pick up (not that I’m counting). Best of all time with family just around the corner. I’m ready to have everyone home for a while.

We usually break out a puzzle, lots of game and family movie nights. I have Christmas baking I’m supposed to do and the kids will decorate the cookies. These are the years we can’t get back and spending time now while they are small and soaking it all up is worth all the effort that goes into December.

I know this time of the year isn’t easy for everyone and just like us there’s someone missing. Love it if this little ones big sister was in this picture with her. She’s in our hearts. I’ve learned it’s better to choose joy then let the heartbreak weigh me down. We’ve learned to know who our community is and find ways to make new memories.

How about you?

What are things you do for Christmas?

Comment Below, Love to hear from you!

Buying Local

We are becoming a locally based home. Buying local meat, veggies/fruit I can’t grow and much more. This is only the beginning of our journey. If this sounds like something you want to follow along with go ahead and subscribe to my blog.

My husband and I have got lots of dreams for our family. If you’ve been following along you might have noticed…country living is a big dream for the future.

You do not have to live in the country to get the benefits of buying local food from the farmers.

You do not have to live in the country to get the benefits of buying local food from the farmers.

Something I’ve been growing to understand more and more is the importance of shopping/buying local food.

This all flows with creating a homemade home. It’s a lifestyle choice and it’s about living a slower life and enjoying the life we create for our family. I binge watch people that post videos about homesteading. It has a big appeal to me. Some of my friends are doing that and homeschooling their kids. I have huge respect for them.

Here’s how we buy local:

Let me start with, why we started buying local? I’ve been on a health journey since college. I learned a long time ago how to shop smarter choices at the grocery store. It wasn’t enough, it was better, not enough. Now that we are passed having our children, which took a toll on my body, I can focus on my health. Not just my health but the health of my family as well.

I’m grateful we live in the abundant Fraser Valley.

From getting the harvest out of our garden this past summer and the changes I’m about to share, my health issues have drastically reduced. I’m having less “flair ups” as I call them. I’m still following up with my family Doctor. All I’ve ever gotten in the past is “your healthy and everything is clear” on the tests I’ve had done.

It’s important to become your own health advocate and pursue a healthy life.

We started buying local meat. A good friend of mine raises animals for meat. Here’s the link to Fellings Family Farms Facebook Page. Chatting with my husband, we decided to put a deposit on ½ a pig from their farm.

I Just got a call a few weeks ago from Lepps Farm Market that the pig was ready for pick up. Pictured below is pork chops in a mushroom sauce with green beans from our garden.

We have been loving making pork chops and ground pork for tacos. We ordered lots of bacon, what a difference in taste. It wasn’t wimpy bacon, that’s for sure. We are going to stretch that bacon over the year if we can. Let’s see how long it lasts.

What a difference this has made in our family already. I’ve learned we need a bigger freezer! It filled up our freezer. We will definitely be doing this again ordering meat from a local farm.

Tip: Make sure you save up for it and have room in your freezer!

I made homemade lard for the first time. I’m having fun experimenting with it. I saw that DIY Mommy Christina Dennis made this lovely fall snicker-doodles and it called for lard. I’m all for trying new things, so I made them! Here’s how they turned out.

I had fun setting up my serving tray with the Arbonne Detox tea, fall inspired mug and plating the snicker-doodles. FYI, this tea pot is made by a local pottery maker. I understand he doesn’t sell anymore but teaches now.

I always love to support local artisans and go to markets and browse the tables.

My husband is looking forward to pulling out him smoking supplies and making snacking sticks with some of the meat.

I can’t wait to update our favorite recipes in my recipe binder with local food. Plus try new recipes in the near future. It has to be local, homemade and farm fresh!

Again, this is only the beginning of our journey.

How about you?

Do you buy local?

If you live in the Fraser Valley which farms do you buy from?

Creating a Homemade Home

This post is dedicated to all the people (mostly women) who have been a big part of my life and inspired me to want to create my future home a homemade home.

I’ve been looking forward to writing this post for a long time. Something I grew up with and that I love sharing with my family and friends is something homemade.

It takes time to create a homemade lifestyle and home.

I hope this post helps you and encourage you to create your own home with a homemade touch. Remember, trying to change just one of these things I’ve written is still working to make a change towards a homemade home.

Here’s how I work on creating a homemade home:

Baking

This one seems obvious and is at the top of my list. Food is a big part of everyone’s life. We literally can’t live without it.

When we first where married I baked bread all the time. Once kids came around I stopped for a while. I have my favorite recipes I bake all the time. The other day our son was disappointed we bought the store cheese buns and I didn’t make my cheese biscuits.

Our oldest even asked for home baking over store bought snacks for school.

I’ve learned when my mixing bowl starts getting filled, little feet come along with the step stool to help and watch make it all happen. My husband even admitted the other day, when he sees butter thawing on the counter he knows cookies are coming.

Cooking:

Cooking from scratch is a wonderful homemade touch. When we first moved into our current home 5 years ago I had an abundance of tomatoes in the greenhouse. We learned to make our own tomato sauce and I was hooked. The flavor over store bought is something I can’t describe over a blog post. You just gotta try it.

Since then we have ramped up learning how to make regular staple items we get from the store from scratch. This falls right in step with why I love gardening.

DIY:

There’s so much in our home that’s a DIY. I can only cover so much in this post or it’ll be very long. More to blog about! The first time I made my own wall decor, I loved every minute of it. Remember the pinterest craze with the scrap paper flowers? I made mine with 3 canvas and had it above our bed in our townhouse.

Here’s my most recent homemade home decor picture I made. I’ve made this as a FREE PRINTABLE. My way of saying Thank you. If you are someone like me that appreciates homemade, this would be great in your home too.

Click here for the FREE PRINTABLE

Homemade:

In my opinion homemade and the phrase do it yourself (DIY) fit together. Although an item that’s homemade is different when it comes to slippers, clothing or building wood projects for example.

There's nothing like the joy of Grandma's Homemade Slippers Anything that’s made by hand that can be bought at a store where it’s made by a machine or mass produced is a win for someone who loves things homemade.

I can always appreciate the time that goes into a homemade item. Because I know it’s made with a love and passion that that person has for making the item.

I seek out anything that’s homemade or love being gifted with homemade items. Both my mom and mother-in-law gifted our family with a lovely tablecloth and cute little slippers for our youngest. I shared this on Instagram right around Christmas time.

I love finding local people who make and create stuff. If you see me out in town, I’m often seen with a homemade purse on my shoulder. I always love expanding my homemade created items.

What about sewing, cleaning products, laundry soaps and skin care?

I find managing home life with 3 kids is a lot. Currently my sewing machine is in need of an upgrade. I do want to venture into this area aside from cooking, baking, reno’s, gardening and home decor just come super easy to me and our family.

I’m curious to expand in these areas, like cleaning products and laundry soaps. Like I shared above, it’s just TIME. I’ve been discovering there’s lots of great companies that do a good job in covering this area for a LESS toxic world and life.

If you have been following my posts for a while. You probably know I’m a consultant for a skin care line. Here’s the thing, I’ve recognized this is ONE area in my life that trying to make my own skin care is just NOT my thing. It’s a science in making your own skin care. I have a HUGE appreciation for those that do. Skin care I’ve learned is very personal. Homemade skin care I have used in the past didn’t work for me.

Instead, I’ve always just stayed loyal to using what works.

What’s something that you make that’s homemade?

Is there something that I wrote about that you want to try?

Comment below I love to hear from you.

Getting Ready for Fall

I feel like Fall just showed up all the sudden. I’m still wishing I was beside the lake and enjoying the sun while my kids spend hours in the water and having fun.

I’m learning the growing pains of entrepreneur life and managing family time.

I have more to share about that in an upcoming post.

For now, today I share with you about getting ready for fall. Here’s the thing, it doesn’t need to be expensive or extravagant and if you found me on Pinterest I’m far from perfect when it comes to home decor.

Notefull Living (4)

If it makes you happy and feels at home with what you have, that’s all that matters.

Here’s the things I do to get ready for fall.

Fall Decor: I spent LOTS of money (I’ll openly admit) at the dollar store and make my own floral arrangements.

I love fresh flowers, fake one’s will have to do for now. Back to spending a lot at the dollar store, I stretch my decor pieces or remake them with what I have to put them out every year. One year I grew pumpkins so I only put out a little bit of decor.

I look forward to the day we move our TV OFF the mantel and I can freely decorate.

Back to Routine: Anyone else excited about having more of a routine? I have a hard time with change, however if there’s a routine that can fall into place with that change, thank you very much.

I’m really getting at is back to school. Although, part of the reason this post is so delayed is the changes in my 2 youngest. The other 2 at home have become incredibly demanding. I love them, just lots more work all the sudden without big brother around. Just the realities of family life.

Harvesting the Fall Harvest: As you saw from my summer gardening post, I have a decent crop this year. With doing a fall garden clean up I found some herbs to process and late producing tomatoes. I had volunteer tomato plants in my greenhouse and the transplanting worked!

Bringing in the fall harvest also includes, canning! Just like the above, there’s lots of Fall Harvest to process. This year I was blessed to have applesauce canned for me. We also canned Salsa with my sister in law and we are still using up our grape harvest canning from last year.

As you can see, it’s been busy here in our home. Since we got back from holidays it’s been GO GO GO. We have a Reno that’s almost completed, 2 family birthdays, back to school shopping, 2 weddings this month and guests coming out of town.

As busy as it is, I’m thankful for each and every part of it as we have things to look forward to and people to share life with. So much content coming I can’t wait to share more here on the blog!

What are your FAVORITE things for Fall? I forgot to add DIY…I’m hoping to find time for that soon!

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