Saturday, February 15, 2025

Saturday Suggestions: Inspirations for Your Weekend

 


We’ve had a weird week of weather here in Indiana – the kind where we all have to hold our plans loosely, because they’re likely to be rescheduled, and they have been – multiple times. I’ve been grateful for the kind of week that has afforded me the chance to do a lot of my work from home. I’ve been a project-attacking fool and happy about it. And while I hunkered down in the evenings, I found some things to share with you today!

A few weeks ago, I shared some words written by Ann Voskamp and said that I copied quite a bit of it into my journal. I found another one recently that also was quite noteworthy. My heart is burdened, convicted, to be growing in Christ – to not be lukewarm and stagnant. Ann’s words were so timely in reminding me of what keeps me on that growing path: abiding constantly. I encourage you to read it…I think you’ll find joyful conviction inside.

I like to share meal planning tips with you whenever I stumble upon something I think you might like. I found one last week that offers great advice and ideas about how to stock your pantry for quick and easy meals you can cook at home to keep you from eating out so often. Typically if you’re leaning toward eating out, you’re tired and don’t have a lot of time, so labor-intensive meals don’t appeal to you. But if you’re prepared with ideas and ingredients to make something that’s fast and tasty, you might do it! Elizabeth’s ideas might just be what you need!

Yvonne always has great home décor tips, and I enjoyed these brainstorm ideas for adding flowers and greenery (real or faux…your choice) into your home! There are 60 ideas, so perhaps you won’t want to implement all of them at once, but as we head toward spring, and your heart begins to long for freshness like greenery and flowers, you can learn some of the best ways to display them! In full disclosure, I’ll probably want to start adding spring feels into the house in March. The winter trees will need to come down fully by then. I’ve appreciated their soft light in the evenings, but let’s encourage spring to come! (BONUS: This beautiful devotional piece also talks about houseplants and the life lessons Kaitlyn learned when trying to grow a plant. I felt a kinship with her words!)

February tends to be the month when resolutions are beyond dead and people have, in general, gone back to life as usual. But if you’re still determined to live differently this year…to change your habits…read this beautiful piece about habits. You know, I have never before made the correlation between a habit that is a piece of clothing and a daily habit, but now I do And there’s a free printable in here to keep track of your daily presence with the Lord. It’s a whole different kind of tracker…it makes a quilt!

Last year, Ryan bought me the most adorable little terrarium for our house – so I could grow indoor herbs. Unfortunately, the place where I chose to put the plants didn’t get enough light – and they all died. (That room of our house has been fired from holding plants in general, because every plant that has ever lived in there has died.) But I enjoyed Rachel’s tips for growing herbs indoors. I tend to mix up the needs (amounts of light and water) of the varying plants, so perhaps this will help me keep track of them. (BONUS: At the end of the post, she has links to several other posts she’s written with gardening tips.)

This ad for a VRBO rental showed up in my Pinterest feed, and I checked it out – not so much because of the location, but because I wanted to see the inside of the house. It is adorable! I love the layout, the character, and the little fenced in courtyard was absolutely adorable! I know the kitchen probably wouldn’t work for anyone (except my sister) as a full-time home, but I still think the overall house was so cute. (BONUS: Speaking of short-term rentals, I dug out the link to these cabins this week to share them with a friend. Ryan and I stayed in one of these when we went to Hocking Hills, Ohio, a few years ago, and if/when we go back, we’d happily stay in anything owned by these people. We were impressed! Whether you just like looking at cabins, or you’re actually looking for a place to stay, check them out!)



·         Over the past couple of months, I’ve had more than one instance where I couldn’t do my grocery shopping on as tight of a schedule as I hoped. With a few days in between to fill, I relied on pantry supplies to get us through. Alas, I’ve nearly depleted the supplies I had that made it easy to fix a healthy meal without a lot of effort. I need to stock back up on some of those things, and this is a great time to do it. Broths, chickpea pasta, beans, tomato products, frozen veggies…these are things I like to keep on hand for quick-use purposes! If winter has depleted your stocked pantry supply, this is a great time to replenish it.

·         Another little chore I’ve been doing as I have time is to add to my running “keep an eye out at the thrift store” wish list. Ryan and I are at the stage of marriage/adulthood where several of our standard household items are starting to wear out and need replaced. I like having a list of the things we need in case I happen upon them while thrifting. And with garage sale season JUST around the corner, I want to have that list handy at a moment’s notice!

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