Category: My Simple Home


Jun
2017

Let’s stay home!

categories: My Simple Home, Summer

Once the weather turns warm and wonderful, our yard and back porch become an extension of our living space.  We spend much of our time outdoors including having meals.  Even when it is hot you can find us sitting under one of our large shade trees, one or both of us usually napping.

Staying home is just part of our lives now.  My husband just cannot go and do so much anymore, his difficulty walking and low energy level just does not allow it.

Since this is how our lives must be it is important for me to make a fun, colorful space, that we love and enjoy!

A happy place!

Thanks to a Walmart gift card I have tucked away since Christmas, I was able to purchase a couple of inexpensive items from a Better Homes and Garden galvanized line, especially designed for easy outdoor dining.

A beverage server for only $12.48, and a tiered server only $17.88.  I also found some very reasonably priced outdoor dishes ranging from $.98 to $2.48.

Beautiful, bright colors.

The tiered server saves me many steps in and out of the house, I keep it stocked and close to the back door for use anytime.  You can find the beverage server filled with lemonade for us to enjoy throughout many hot afternoons.

Summertime, bright and beautiful long days, warm, just so happy!

Kick back, relax!

Warm loving thoughts for all of you this weekend.


Apr
2016

My Refreshing Time of the Year

categories: My Simple Home, Random Thoughts, Spring

At last, it is Spring!

Although the past week brought nights of freeze warnings and some snow, the calendar tells us it is Spring.

Crabapple TreeMy flowering crabapple tree is in bloom and temperatures are finally going to be warm in my area for the next week.

After my family’s emotionally hard winter we are all ready for a refresh!

No matter how long the winter,

spring is sure to follow.

—Proverb

When growing up my Momma always did her “spring cleaning”, going so far as to wash down walls!  We had so little, but she wanted to keep what we had, neat and clean.

Just like Momma, but not as extreme as washing walls, I try to give my home a spring refresh.  I give everything a good dusting, eliminate clutter that has piled up over the winter months, and cleaning a few windows, letting in the spring sunshine.

I want my home to be clean, simple, and uncluttered. Seriously, having clutter in a home is horrible. Never being able to find anything is so stressful, it weighs so heavy on your overall life.  If eliminating clutter is the only thing you have time for this spring, do it!

My spring decorating is no frills, just simple.

Found some white dishes in a thrift store and added to each side of my dining room hutch.

White Plates in the DiningSpent $3 on some dogwood sprigs at Hobby Lobby for the table, and added some sweet yellow birds here and there.

Dogwod in the DiningYellow BirdsSpring is also a good time to refresh other areas of our lives, our emotions, our hearts.

I have spent some quiet time focusing on my life, my faith, forgiveness, letting go, the important things, love, tell them!

Refresh!  Take care of those areas in your life that are weighing you down.

Go outside today, breathe the sweet spring air, feel the warm spring sunshine, and refresh!

Lovely thoughts to all of you!

 

 


Mar
2016

DIY Scrap Wood Open Shelving

categories: DIY, Home Projects, My Simple Home

DIY Open ShelvingMy TV passion right now is watching “Fixer Upper” on the Home and Garden TV channel.  The show features a husband and wife (Chip and Joanna Gaines), who live in Waco, Texas, on a restored farmhouse.  They are so cute together and the show is delightful.  Each episode of the show highlights how they restore fixer upper homes for other folks within their budget.  It is amazing what they can do.

Joanna’s style tends to include antique pieces, industrial items, and of course farmhouse, especially open shelving, featured in most of the kitchens she designs.

My kitchen is old, small, and nothing expensive about it, no granite countertops or fancy backsplash.  Recently, I did paint it a nice gray and we do have fairly new stainless appliances.  Not much money for anything else, but for now I wanted to share a fun DIY project, spending less than $20.

It’s my little bit of farmhouse style using scrap wood.

Kitchen Shelving Project

Now that it is completed, I have a bit of farmhouse open shelving on a small wall in my kitchen.  I really love the look and that it also allows me to display some of my white dishes, bowls, and pitchers.

The wood was a scrap piece I found in my garage, a 2″ x 8″.  I had it cut into two pieces, sanded, and stained with Mimwax, Special Walnut.  Purchased the brackets at Home Depot for $5 each.  That was it!

Open ShelvingA DIY project like this brings me joy, it is simple, clean looking, inexpensive, and so fun to put together.

Something I always try to remember about my home, “all that I have, is all that I need”.

I have a sweet home, filled with all the things I cherish, and blessed with love and laughter.

Blessings to all!

 

 

 

 

 


Mar
2016

Not Just a Cup and Plate

categories: Flea Market Finds/Thrifting, My Simple Home, Random Thoughts

An enjoyable afternoon for me, when I just want to get away from the everyday things in my life, is to visit an antique shop or antique mall.

On my most recent trip I stopped and focused on this glass plate with a sweet matching cup.  I almost immediately remembered why I loved it so!

Glass cup and plate

Years ago, when my parents bought a new home in an ordinary subdivision setting for that time, my mother began to experience lots of neighbors.  Most women in those days did not work, so getting together for coffee and such was common.  Once a month the ladies took turns hosting luncheons.  This was something new for my Mom, and I still recall her anxiety when it was her turn.

She cleaned and cooked and she even managed to buy some special dishes. She wanted everything to be special. The dishes were glass with small matching cups, which fit on the plate. She loved the little dishes, and although I was only in the sixth grade, I loved them too!

I bought the plate and cup and will always cherish the things I have in common with my Mom, especially the love of caring for my home as she did.

Mom's cup and plate

My story has a sad ending, my father was troubled and eventually lost our home. Overwhelming heartbreak fell on us, especially Mom.

This memory brings sadness and tears to my eyes when writing it, since today is my Mom’s birthday.  Mom would have been 92 today.

My parents divorced, but Mom kept us all together with her love and caring.  We all miss her every single day.  She was the most loving Mother and Grandmother to all of us for all of her life.

My comfort is knowing she is in the presence of our Lord, and the suffering she experienced at the end of her life is over.

Happy Birthday dear sweet Mom.

birthday mom


Jul
2015

Sunshiny, lemony…..it’s the color Yellow!

categories: My Simple Home, Simple Recipes, Summer

Simple lemonade recipe

Most of my life I have loved the color yellow!

In the past, I have had a yellow front door, and when country decorating was so popular, I had a yellow and white checked, wallpapered kitchen.

Even with changing styles, I have not let go of it!

A pop of yellow!I now have settled for using yellow in my living room and dining area.  The white sofa with the yellow drapes works happily, for me, especially with the floral print on my dining chairs and matching toss pillows.

I think I have mentioned and shown you in the past that I absolutely love toss pillows.  Pillows are an inexpensive way to change and update any room.

Bright yellow pillowsI like to bring other simple yellow things into the room when I can find them.

Found this distressed yellow clock at Hobby Lobby when all clocks were 50% off!

Our home is small and our budget, even smaller! I really cannot do a bunch of decorating and updating in every room, but oh how I have learned to embrace what I have in my home, even the messes.  There is beauty in taking care of what you have, and of course, in appreciating what you have!  It took me a long time to realize that!

Yellow flowering plantDuring my growing process, I know that everything doesn’t have to be perfect in life, or in our homes. Much work to be done on the rest of this life of mine, but today I took a big step by sharing with everyone a bit of my home, feeling proud of it….it is beautiful to us!

Today was a perfect summer day, hot and humid, so I made a pitcher of lemonade, photo above. Tall glasses, filled with ice, and garnished with “yellow” lemons. So refreshing, and a treat for us when taking a break from our yard work.  I have included my favorite lemonade recipe at the end of this post. Invest in a wonderful glass pitcher!

Yellow will always be somewhere in my home, it’s brightness, joyfulness, like bringing sunshine into our lives!

Love you all so much, enjoy some lemonade today!

 

Simple lemonade recipe:

Ingredients:

Bag of lemons squeezed to 1-1/2 cups of lemon juice

1-3/4 cups of sugar

8 cups of water

Directions:

In a small saucepan, combine sugar and one cup of water.  Bring to a boil and stir to dissolve.  Allow to cool to room temperature and then refrigerate to chill.

Remove seeds from the lemon juice, but leave the pulp.  In pitcher stir together chilled sugar syrup, lemon juice, and remaining 7 cups of water.

Enjoy!