My new 'do (as of last night)

I'm a big fan of short hair on myself.  I feel more like "me."  I'm adding a button for a friend who wanted to pin it.

Fall BOOTS

C'mon, really, does anything say fall more than a great pair of boots?

Here's some of my favorites:

(Click on the picture to see larger view/ordering information)

So, what fashion staple says "Fall" to you?

Truth

Source: ssbuffat.blogspot.com via Gina on Pinterest

I Like Shabby

Shabby Chic decorating is a style my hubby isn't too fond of, because it usually seems to involve lots of lace, frills, and fragile looking antiques.  We both agree on more of a Western theme for ourselves, but I can't help but want to steal some beautiful inspiration from these photos:

Eclectic Baskets design by Timeless Settings

Modern Pillows design by DaWanda

Eclectic Buffets And Sideboards design by Shabby Chic Couture

Eclectic Living Room design

Planned Ignoring

Everyone needs attention...everyone thrives on knowing the people around them love them.

But not every thing needs attention.  And some things can be ignored.  Even good things.

I have an amazing Sunday School teacher where I go to church that inspires me every time I hear his lessons.  He has some kind of people motivating/training skills that he uses for his work that he also shares with us.  One thing that stood out to me like an "aha moment" was about useful, planned ignoring.

Is she gonna mow my lawn or babysit my kids if I ask?  She's at that age, right?

We simply don't have the need to do, see, participate or even care about every single thing in this world.  And interestingly those who narrow their focus are more likely to achieve in whatever one or few things they focus on.  Have you heard about 10,000 hours?  It's kind of a trending topic that I first learned about reading this book:  Outliers: The Story of Success.

Do I expect him to call me and bring me cookies?

Anyway, I think I had that "aha moment" because I could really improve in this area.  I have this need to be "nice" and please people and try to make them like me that includes a lot of time focusing on them, when the truth is it probably isn't helping them or me.  Or even if it is there is still a greater purpose to my life.  I guess that's the beauty of aging (ripe ol' 34!) hee hee.  I'm starting to realize more and more that my time is limited and I want to get the most bang for my buck, time-wise.

For me the hard and almost painful process is deciding what are my core competencies:  either the things I am the best at, or the things I care the most about doing, or hopefully they are kind of both the same thing.  What I care most about is my family (cliche, I know ;).  By that I mean, my marriage being good, and my kids growing up the healthiest and best way possible.  I myself, am a big part of that family and how it functions, so meeting my own physical/mental/spiritual needs is part of that too.

What does this mean?  While I focus on my "passions" like caring for my family and remodeling my home, what I am allowed  to do and will even encourage myself to do is ignore many other good things.  I could make a list and I'll tell you it would be a whole lot longer than the two passions I've listed here.  Do you do this?  Is this hard for you?

Staining Closet Rods

My husband came up with this cool way to stain (would work for paint too!) round things like closet rods.  He put a small nail through the top and then hung them with string from our basement ceiling.  He did them all next to each other and was able to quickly stain all of our closet rods in a short amount of time.

Okay.  I'll admit it.

When my husband suggested staining the closet rods, I thought it sounded like a waste of time.  Who ever sees those things, since they are usually covered with hangers?

But I've learned since he does the projects he suggests, I can just keep my mouth shut and watch for the results.

Let me tell ya...they were worth it!  I love the way they looks stained, and the stuff he uses comes with a Poly in it, so they are super smooth too.  The hangers can just glide along.

Lovely.

So I cut them off the ceiling and went about re-installing them:

Spray Painting Closet Hardware

One of the maybe least-noticeable changes about our closets was the hardware that holds the closet rods in place.  We just happened to have some metal spray paint we hadn't used, so we gave it a go on this stuff. 

A few lessons learned:

• the metal spray paint coats and stays on VERY well, hasn't scratched up a bit in installation
• there is no need to spray anything but the very tips of the screws...getting paint on the threads makes them a little more difficult to screw back in

Rustic Dining Rooms

Anyone need some fun decorating inspiration? I've put together a sampling of some rustic dining rooms that have my ideas flowing...

Traditional Dining Room design by Atlanta Kitchen And Bath Splash Kitchens & Baths LLC

Traditional Dining Room design by Charleston Interior Designer Linda McDougald Design | Postcard from Paris Home

Traditional Dining Room design by Orange County Architect Brandon Architects, Inc.

The common themes I'm noticing that I love here are:

1. The ceilings - look up! -don't you just love the beams/moldings?
2. Rustic wood tables...that's what I want too!
3. Natural linen chair coverings...yeah, I'm not that brave!

Anything you love or loathe about these rooms?  I know we all have different tastes.  I'm curious what yours are!

Closet Painting

It took weeks...(more like months) but slowly some of the closets are getting finished.  Mr. Warmth had the bright idea to paint the built-in shelving a contrasting color with the walls.  Also he wanted to stain the closet rods.  We did all of those things, along with spray painting the hardware that holds the closet rods in place.

I'll tell you this: I LOVE the way it looks, and the way the thick layer of glossy paint lets your hand glide along the shelves.  I'm really pleased with the results.  Now I know how much time it takes to do such details - and we aren't done!- I probably wouldn't take the time again.  We have 5 walk-in closets here, each with a lot of built in shelving.  Two are done, and three big ones still to go!

Whaddya think?

Click here to see what how we painted the hardware and stained the closet rods.

Carpet Nastiness

Did I ever give you photographic evidence of why it was so important for us to remove our carpet and also treat the sub-floors?

No?

Yes.  I think I did, but that was just for the Formal Living Room.  I bet you just demand that you see the nastiness in the Master Bedroom too, so I will oblige.

Well, you are dying to see it I'm sure so.....

Even the baby is a little freaked out by it.  See him running away in the top right picture :)?

I am joining this STINKY party ;)....

Creeptastic Lawn Art

Now this scrapbook of our family's adventure would be totally missing something if I left out the following pictures.

To be honest, our first few weeks living in this house I was a little scared of it.  It was so big I was afraid I'd lose the kids.  Up until then, we were used to being crammed into the same room every hour of the day.  But after a few weeks here I loosened up a little and started exploring "the grounds" with my little guy.

Imagine my surprise when looking at the lawn, and seeing THIS look back at me:

So, I came a little closer.

And, even closer...

What the creeptasticness is this lawn art?

We've lived here 7 months.

The raccoons are still here.  Even though they are creepy.

Because they are heavy.

And I guess I'm lazy.

Warmth Wednesday!

I had the following submissions of warmth around food gifts:

Julie, from Our Family Life shared the following:

On my birthday I was struggling to decide what to have for dinner (not unusual at my house) when my neighbor knocked on the door. She brought over a crockpot of stew with a promise of the rest of the meal to come. I was overwhelmed that she would make my family dinner on my birthday. Just making dinner for my family is a task as there are so many of us. I felt so loved that she would understand that my one wish for my birthday (any birthday) is to not have to worry about making meals, just to be able to spend time with the family was wonderful. I think anytime someone brings food over and takes notice of somthing that you have done (as a thank you) or just brings it over to say "I was thinking of you" makes a person feel special and feel like there really is a point for them to be where they are in life.

Amanda from My Full Time Job shared:

I can tell you that when we moved into VG, Kim Peterson brought us some cookies the first or second Sunday we were there and it made me feel welcome and noticed, which was nice. 

Bobi from the blog you are reading :) says:

I have several memorable moments.  One was when I was a junior in High School and my Dad had had a heart attack and was in a hospital 2 hours away.  My mom was about to leave home for several days while my little brother and I stayed back since we were old enough to care for ourselves.  A lady from church stopped by our house and asked if she could bring dinner.  My mom said that wouldn't be necessary and I was standing right there and piped in, "That would be nice!"  My mom was the type that always resisted putting other people out and I'm sure I embarrassed her that day.  However, when she had left town and the lady brought us a piping hot pan of cheesy beef enchiladas we were in heaven.  They were about the best dinner I've ever tasted,  Mostly just because they said, "Someone in this world cares about you.  You are important, and deserve being nurtured."  I remembered that feeling often when ministering to others' needs at other stages of my life.

For next week's Warmth Wednesday:

Feel free to share any more "food love" stories that come to mind, or a way that a member of your family has shown you warmth or something you've done for them.  Don't consider it bragging, cause it'll inspire all of us with ideas of how to love and nurture our own families!

~Have a warm day~

Nice is not always Nice

This is a secret to success, that I am just now learning.  I've tried all my life to be a "nice" person.  Only a few months into this year, I found that something wasn't working for me.  Well, a lot of somethings.  Not only was I having a mental breakdown of sorts, a lot of things felt out of whack.

I longed to work on my career again, but also longed to keep giving my kids the benefits of having a stay at home parent.  I wanted to have time for myself, but also felt pressured to involve my kids in more.  And finally, I liked using social media for social connection since I don't get out much or know very many people where I live.  Once I was on the social media (Facebook for example) I felt the need to leave nice comments for others, keep track of what they were doing, and generally keep up to date with their lives.

I wanted to be "nice."

It wasn't until just recently I realized how much of my time and feelings I was giving away in pursuit of this "niceness" that wasn't really reaping any benefits for anyone.  There was a big "scandal" amongst a group of my high school friends about religion and gay rights.  I tried to leave respectful comments, show them that I cared about their viewpoints, and again spend time on what I thought was being "nice."  In the end, I had many friendships end, tons of useless arguments, and plenty of hurt feelings of my own to cry about.

While trying to sort through where my "niceness" went wrong, I realized I was wasting my life.  I had spent over a year trying to give support and positive wishes to a person who I had never known well in real life and who promptly let everyone on Facebook know that if we didn't vote the same as her she didn't want our friendship.  Turns out I have plans to vote for someone different than her.  I obeyed her wishes, and have been surprised how freeing its been.  It wasn't long after the disconnection that I realized she had never really known what was going on in my life or expressed sympathies for my struggles, it was simply a one-way friendship.  And while I am willing to give to someone who can't give back, I will only put forth that effort when it seems necessary or needed.  And in this case, I realized it wasn't.  And I was free.

I've had this experience in real life, with one-sided friendships and the ending of them was so extremely painful.  For two reasons:  1.  Realizing I'd been a poor judge of character, but mostly 2.  I became lonely when faced with being alone for a time instead of with fake friends.

I hope I am learning these lessons well enough to counsel my kids when they come of an age where they feel so dependent on friends and peer approval.  I hope I can show that we are more important than what a few people judge us as.  And that we have a Heavenly Father who loves us unconditionally as only a parent can, and His view of us is what's important.

Family Room CARPET

The baby is our carpet rookie.  He's lived in homes with mostly hardwood his whole life, and then we ripped out the carpet here not long after moving in.  Then...we waited, and treated floors, and saved money and finally he's experiencing sinking his toes into the softness...

Happy Day!

(Still to come:  Painting this room!)

It's the First Day of School

They are totally spreading world peace by way of their backpacks...

But their brothers are TOTALLY jealous!