Updates on Goals and Dreams for May 2024

 

        I accidentally ran out of days in May, so I’m just now sharing the updates on my dreams and goals for last month!

            Here were the goals I made and how I did on them:

ONE. Prepare for a giant garage sale. SUCCESS!!!! You already read all about it, but with my sister’s help, I was able to sort, organize, price, and arrange the sale, and then with Ryan’s help, the sale actually happened! We are in the process now of donating the remainder of the things that did not sell and reorganizing the garage after so many months of being out of it entirely!

            TWO. Plan for and plant the flowers and garden. SUCCESS! You already read about this too, but I was able to plant pretty flowers around the house that I’m utterly enjoying right now, and I also got the garden in! Now we shall see how it grows!

            THREE. Prepare for a summer of speaking. PARTIAL SUCCESS! I have the first four of the ten messages I’m giving written, and I hope to write the rest this week and next. There are a lot of moving parts to this adventure, and I am excited it is here and happening! (I’ve shared the first two messages and have loved doing it.)

            FOUR. Work on my coffee bar idea. SUCCESS! I was hit with inspiration one morning and just knocked it completely out. Perhaps one of my next goals should be to work on my latte game.

            FIVE. Prepare for photographing a wedding. SUCCESS! The wedding is now done…and I'll tell you all about it soon!

BONUS:

            Here were some other things that happened that weren’t on the list:

·         We finished cleaning everything out of my parents’ house – and guess what else? They accepted an offer AND closed on the house in May! What an enormous answer to prayer!

·         We served at a welcome lunch at our church – for anyone new within the last year. We met some new friends, and I loved that so much!

·         Finished setting up my new day planner. (My planners run June-May.) I am so excited to be in a new one!

·         Brought my parents’ kitchen island into our home. I’ll have to do a whole separate post on that one sometime, but we love having it!

·         Made “license plates” for my parents’ rollators. (You know…those rolling walkers with seats?) They each have one now, as do most other people where they live, so I made cool little plates for theirs so they can find them easily in a rollator parking lot.

·         Bought jars to hold our wheat berries in the kitchen for when we make bread. I’ve been hunting for these for a while and finally found some affordable ones at TJ Maxx – and I had a gift card! Win-win!

·         Finished (I think!) shopping for my summer capsule wardrobe mix.

·         Caught up on scrapbooks. (I was over a month behind. I am never that far behind.)

·         Started sorting through the multiple boxes we brought from my parents’ attic. These are mostly our childhood memories, and we are deciding what to keep and what to let go of. It’ll be an ongoing project, but it’s started!

·         Got my first haircut and color since AUGUST 2023! It was such a mess, but I had the best time with my friend, Amber, who did it for me!

What a wildly busy month! Here’s to June and some fresh goals and dreams!

Sunday Sentiments: October 4

 

Yesterday Ryan and I had the honor/privilege/tremendously terrifying responsibility of photographing a wedding.

            A wedding!

            I’ll have to tell you more about it on a different day, but it was a grand day and so much fun.

            It felt appropriate to have the opportunity to serve in this way the same weekend of our own monthiversary: 138 months today! I love weddings and have always loved them, but attending them now always reminds me of how much I loved our day.

            Before a wedding, of course, there is the proposal, and so many of you remember ours from hearing it live on the air or reading the recap of it here. What you might not remember is that it took place on October 4, 2011. (We celebrate that day every year, too! The more reasons to celebrate, the better, in our opinion!)

            I’ve always loved our engagement day and now I have one new-to-me reason to love it. Are you ready for a good story?

            When we moved the last of Mom and Dad’s things out of their house, we brought a big stack of tubs and boxes that we had been storing in their attic. Most things were from our childhood – or early in our marriage. We are in the process of sorting through it all, figuring out what we want to keep, and getting it ready to store. (Massive undertaking!)

            A couple of days ago, I sorted through a bunch of letters my family and friends sent to me back in 2009, when I was away at a retreat. The envelope on the top of the stack was from my Mom, and I opened her letter to read it again.

            She told me about the day she found out she was pregnant with me – which is a bit of an infamous story I’ve heard many times.

            This time, though, she included the date: October 4.

            I sat and stared, goose bumps forming on my arm.

            I love God’s story-writing so much.

            Thirty-five years to the day after my parents were surprised with a life-twist, I was surprised with one, too!

            It’s a tiny detail – silly to most, I’m sure. But I love it. It matters to me. It’s significant to me in ways that I can’t fully articulate.

            This year’s October 4 will feel a little extra special to me, and I look forward to it. But in the meantime, I’m going to enjoy sorting through these wedding pictures!

Saturday Suggestions: Inspirations for Your Weekend

 

        Good morning and happy June, friends! Goodness, the sunset was stunning here last night, and it just felt like it was ushering summer right in. I am ready! I have quite the random smattering of finds for you today. Enjoy!

ONE. 

I think I’m (significantly) behind on this story, so perhaps some of you might know it already. But for those who might not, give it a read! One of my friends from my Marion church shared this on Facebook. He has the same last name as the family in the story, so I will use all my best sleuthing skills to presume they are related. But either way, what an incredible story of survival and God’s hand!

TWO. 

I’ve shared before on these weekend collections about a little retirement cottage that a blogger and her husband added to their home for her parents. This post shares the spring look at the cottage, and it’s as adorable as ever! BONUS: She also shared some links to fixtures in the cottage, and I kind of fell in love with this planter and these throw blankets.

THREE. 

And in the spirit of home tours, here is a video tour of a loft apartment that used to be a Wonder Bread Factory! (I love homes with stories!) You might remember that Ryan and I have stayed in some Airbnb lofts before, and while we aren’t great with city living, if we were to ever become city people, I think a loft would be our choice. We love all the character. The owner of this loft is an interior designer, and I find I typically don’t love designers’ style, because I’m too…well, Goodill. But I really liked her choices. Beautiful home! BONUS: If you have five or so million to spare, guess what house hit the market? The Home Alone mansion! It is gorgeous inside!!!

FOUR. 

A few weeks ago, I shared our laundry routine with you, and when I did, I told you how we had started using Branch Basics for all our cleaning supplies – from laundry to household cleaners to soap. They also have a travel size kit, and this week they posted ways you can use it when you’re on the go! If you’re thinking about trying it out – or you’re traveling a lot this summer, check out these tips!

FIVE. 

If you have littles at home (or visiting at some point over the summer), this post has an idea for every single day. Each one is a fun and pretty cost-effective thing to do together as a family, and they could be great to avoid the dreaded “I’m borrrrrrrred!” from popping up! BONUS: This looks like a real-time series, so maybe there will be more as the summer goes along, but week two is also already there!

SIX. 

If you’re having friends over this summer, here is a fun thing to do together: an at-home Chopped challenge! This post has some ideas for free and an ebook you can purchase if you want even more ideas and resources. The food might not be a winner, but I bet the memories would be!

BONUS!

            Yesterday I rotated out some of the warmer pieces of the spring capsule, kept the cooler pieces, and added in a few more to make a summer capsule! I am excited to start wearing it today! Here are the photos of the last week of the spring groupings:

Saturday, May 25, 2024

Sunday, May 26, 2024

Monday, May 27, 2024

Tuesday, May 28, 2024

Wednesday, May 29, 2024

Thursday, May 30, 2024

Friday, May 31, 2024

Flashback Friday: Writing Your Story One Week at a Time

 

We made it to Friday, friends! And we made it to the very last day of May. Can you believe it? Goodness. This year is flying.

            Today is Flashback Friday, and I am excited to reminisce about the answers to this week’s prompt!

            What has been your favorite thing about every home where you’ve lived? This isn’t about your favorite life memories that happened at each home, but the specific things about the homes.

            When your kids look back at photos of the places you’ve called home over the years, what do you want them to know about what you loved about those places?

            Here are my answers:

            My favorite part of our Marion home was the backyard. The house itself was in the middle of town, and not a great part of town at that. Sirens were prevalent, and as some of you might remember, the house beside ours was condemned. The one behind us should have been. But the yard itself was this gorgeous little haven that I loved. It was all fenced in – privacy fence on one side, wall of tall evergreen trees at the back, house and garage forming barriers on the other two sides. There was a huge tree in the middle of the yard that provided all kinds of shade in the summer. And after we got married, we put up that pergola (that we called a pierogi) and had the most gorgeous oasis for our hammock.

            It felt like a retreat in the middle of the siren-filled city, and remains to this day the best backyard we ever had. The most private. The most comfortable.

            My favorite part of our Kokomo home was the layout of the house. It is absolutely the best floor plan we’ve ever lived in. My office was in a far corner, nice and quiet. The guest room was split from the master, giving us plenty of privacy when we had guests. We had a HUGE living room, perfect for entertaining. And then we added the sunroom. (Ironically, my least favorite part of that house? The backyard!)

            Everything about that house was just right for what we did in that season of our lives – tons of hospitality. And at the same time, it was also perfectly comfortable for just the two of us!

            My favorite part of WillowBridge was the open concept living/dining/kitchen. In that season of our lives, we needed each other maybe more than ever, and I loved it that we could be together even if we were in different rooms. Because of the nature of the job, we rarely had company, but we had each other in that big open space, and I did love that. (Also loved the enormous amount of storage in that kitchen!)

            My favorite part of our Bluffton house was all the amazing natural light. It was one of the first things I noticed the day we toured the house. All the windows in all the rooms were HUGE. It felt so light and bright always, and my plants were SO happy. Even though our current house does have a lot of large windows, those huge windows everywhere mark the thing I miss the most about that house.

            My favorite part of THIS house is the lake, obviously. The cozy, gorgeous water view out the window far surpasses anything I could ever do inside. And it’s everything about the lake view. It’s the little fire pit and the pier and the garden beside the water and the pretty flowers everywhere. All the outside spaces are small, but they’re perfect for us. I love them so much. I love the inside of this house too – and everything we’ve done to make it our own – but it’s that outside space that really gets me.

            So how about you? Favorite part of every home?

Fun Finds for May 2024

We are wrapping up the month of May, and I have a handful of fun things to share with you that I have stumbled upon throughout the month. Hope you enjoy!

            Earlier this month, when I was in a meeting for work, one of the Steering Committee members I met with told me about the website Half Baked Harvest. Have you heard of it? It’s a recipe website, and I loved sifting through her ideas and looking at her beautiful pictures! I even tried one of her cakes for a carry-in at church, and it turned out beautifully! Even if you don’t like to cook, I think you’ll have fun visiting her site.

            Instagram thought I should know about TheBookhouse Hotel in Philadelphia, and indeed, Instagram was correct. Have you heard of it? It’s a boutique hotel with over 5000 books in it. You can stay in a book-laden room, read, rest, and if you like a book you find, you can find it through their website. (Leave the books for other guests, but they can connect you to a copy of your own via the website.) You can rent a room or the whole place. How cool is this????

            Our doormat was a gift from Ryan’s mom when we moved into our Kokomo house in 2016. You can imagine how it had begun to look after that many years of guests stomping dirt from their shoes on their way into our home! In addition, our steps at this house are rounded, not rectangles, so our huge, rectangle mat hung awkwardly over the sides of our rounded steps. We happened upon this adorable little doormat at Lowe’s and bought two – one for each step. They are perfect – and the color brings extra personality to the house!

            I learned this month that our county has a salt cave. I had no idea these existed around here! Have you ever been to one before? I never have, but I find the idea incredibly intriguing. (If you’re unfamiliar…it’s not an actual cave, but a room filled with Himalayan salt on the walls and floor and sitting in there is supposed to be helpful to your immune system.

            Earlier this month, we stopped by Wendy’s and Ryan tried the new Creamsicle Frosty. He loved it. I’m a Frosty purist, so I was too chicken to try it, but he said it was so delicious. So if you’re up for trying something new, he says it’s worth it!

            When we bought our flowers this year, I purchased some snapdragons – mostly because the price was right. I had no idea what color I was getting or what they would look like when they bloomed, but I have to tell you…I really love them! They are all different colors and are so festive. I’ll be making that purchase again in future years!

            This one wasn’t my find this month, but it was a find for many people! When we had our garage sale, I had taken my little typewriter-shaped pen holder out to the garage so I would have pens and markers at the ready for last-minute pricing and notes. I cannot tell you how many people commented on that little holder! I’m pretty sure I could have sold it multiple times, but alas, I love it and it was a gift from Ryan, so….NOT FOR SALE! Not mine, anyway. He did get it on Amazon, so if you need a whimsical piece for your desk, here is the link again! (I’ve shared about it before on home tours, but I’m sharing again since it was so loved.) 

Garage Sale Fun

 

I told you yesterday that my sister flew out to help me prep for a sale so we could sell the remaining items my parents couldn’t keep in their downsizing.

            We had a super successful sale! Lori and I spent three full days sorting, cleaning, pricing, sorting some more, and laying everything out. And then, as I’ve done many times before, I made all kinds of nerdy little signs to hang with our groupings if items. I always feel like an organized and well-labeled sale is a better sale.

            I shared about it on Facebook, and we actually had some friends who drove from Kokomo, Marion, and Richmond to visit the sale.

            I also made this cute sign, which many people mentioned as extra creative. It took me almost two hours to put it two versions of it all together. Those little letters were not the easiest to punch out, so it took a while, but it was totally worth it.

            Our sale ran on Friday and Saturday, so on Friday, Ryan and I got up at 6 and were out there by 6:30, pulling things out of the garage and arranging them in the driveway. It took us a full hour to get it all set up. I had this cute sign to try to keep early shoppers at bay. It ultimately failed.

            But the first day was amazing. We had shoppers from 7:30 to 4 p.m. with very few breaks. My parents brought us lunch from Subway, which was a blessing!

            Lexi came out a few times to visit, but most of the time it was too busy for us to keep track of her and tend to customers.

            Saturday was a much slower day, ironically, and we ended up closing up shop a little sooner than we planned, just because we stopped having any traffic at all. Ryan used part of the day to practice his Scripture reading for Sunday - and he scooped horse poop off the road. Other duties as assigned!

            We sold almost everything, and we had a lot of fun in the process. I was so thankful Ryan took off work on Friday to help me. Never could have done it all on my own!

            Last year after our moving sale, we said no more garage sales. WRONG! So I won’t say it this year, but truly, it’s not our goal to have one every year!