December 31, 2011

Wishing you all the best in 2012!  Happy New Year!!!

Mapping Your Financial Future

As the new year quickly approaches I thought I would write about a topic that is usually at the forefront of most people's thoughts most of the time.  A topic people tend to avoid, that everyone has to deal with and facing it or running away from it will drastically affect your life.  Yes I am talking about money. 

Facing your finances does not have to be scary no matter what your financial situation.  In fact it can be exciting!  I do not tend to write about finances.  I am not a financial guru, overnight millionaire, or a financial adviser.  Therefore, I do not want to give advice on what you should do with your money.  I would like to share with you about the importance of mapping out your money.  It took years of learning by trial and error how to stretch our dollars.  We have lived on one income since the birth of our first child.  That was the beginning of the major stretching of the dollar.  I had to learn quickly how to budget for both our needs and our wants.

I am by nature an extremely organized person.  I am a list maker, a planner and am only comfortable knowing where I am going and how I am going to get there.  The details I could be whimsical about because the main path is always determined.... or is it?  Financially I have learned that the path we have mapped out can be affected by details, really little details.  The financial goals we have set for our family are vitally important to us.  These goals are the future, and like everyone else we want to have an optimistic picture of the future and we want to reach our destination.  As we get closer to reaching our destination like any trip, we become more excited about getting there and the anticipation grows. 

I started looking at money a few years ago like I do everything else.  It needed to have a clearer picture... I needed a money map!  Being the organized person I am my first map was on a spreadsheet and so detailed I started confusing myself!  I still wanted a map but something much less complicated.  I needed an A to B map and deleted what I had and went for something simplistic, still on a spreadsheet but simple. I believe the key to my mapping system is that I have our entire financial flow sheet on one page, one map.  I can click on it and see at a glance where we are headed, and where we have been.  Where we have been is  important.  It is these milestones that are encouraging and inspiring as you work toward accomplishing your financial destinations.

The biggest key to the map is this, set realistic goals and milestones.  A plan set in motion will work with time and diligence as long as we are careful about spending.  It's hard to get where you are going if you take a wrong turn.  The map might say where we are going and we might want to get there but if we make a wrong turn or overspend in this case it doesn't matter what the map says we are not going to get there.  Over spending doesn't have to be a big purchase, it can be astonishing how quickly small purchases add up!  As the new year approaches and goals and resolutions are being made I encourage you if you have not already, to map out your financial future to make it easier to see where you are going and work toward achieving those financial goals that you have for the new year.  Best wishes on your journey :)

Simple Lunch

Today I enjoyed making a simple lunch for my daughter, her friend and I.  Grilled Cheese and Tomato soup is one of my favorites and I enjoyed cooking on my new cast iron skillet that my husband bought me for Christmas. I think it even made the sandwiches taste better :)  Enjoying the house more and more as I am able to clean and recover from Christmas and all the excitement.  I am really looking forward to sorting and donating Christmas decorations tomorrow and anything else that I think needs to bless someone else's home. Enjoy your evening :)

Post Christmas Greetings and Organization

First I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas and were or soon will be able to spend time with family and friends in celebration.

We had a very wonderful Christmas.  It was in my opinion one of the least stressful Christmas holidays we have had ever.  That is what I strive for!  In my opinion that is the way Christmas should be.

Last summer while cleaning out the garage from remodeling I donated a lot of Christmas trees.  I came to realize I dearly missed these when decorating this year for Christmas. I felt the need to declutter and drastically minimize our lives this past summer .  I still feel we have a lot more to go on this...my dream home is ironically either MUCH larger or MUCH smaller than this!!! back to Christmas... I have to admit I decorated the two trees we still have and had many more ornaments than tree space. As I vowed to buy tree's at yard sales and thrift stores in the coming year in my moment of despair for our next Christmas, I had three totes full of Christmas decorations sitting in my dinning room!  My thoughts about this, do I have ornaments because I had tree's, or did I buy tree's because I had beloved ornaments to display?  I have a sneaking idea that it is the first. I am planning on donating all that is not family treasures to charity and save precious space both in our home and in our garage.  I am always very excited about cleaning, organizing, and de-cluttering! :)  When I can tell my husband what is in each container in the garage instead of having to look through it to know, then I feel that I have balance in the keeping stuff department.  I like change in my home too but I am going for small changes that take up less space.  A candle change?  Something along those lines :)

I know full well I am not the only one who loves to have an organized home!!!  So in the spirit of de-cluttering, and making our homes beautiful and functional at the same time I share with you this.  Inspiration for your laundry area.

 

This is my laundry area, it is on constant display in the kitchen.  There is absolutely no other place to move the laundry center so I just went with it  and made the most out of the area.  The idea popped into my head to get two serving decanters for the laundry soap and softener, when I found this set and stand I was overjoyed!  It was designed for exactly the purpose "I" had in mind :)  Below is a tray for a cut glass cream and sugar set and the small metal cups are from an Indian Tiffin set that we do not use to measure soap and softener and catch drips.  In the spirit of a remodeled house is never truly finished, I just realized that we forgot to put the finish trim on the front edge of the counter top surface! lol  I'll put it on "the list".

Merry Christmas

 

Wishing you all the very best this Christmas Eve...

and a very Merry Christmas.

Peace and Tranquility

This is one of the loaves of Banana bread that I made yesterday.  It is packaged up and ready to place in a gift bag for a lucky recipient.  Even through the plastic bag it smells sooooo delicious.  I am trying to finish up all the loose ends around here so that I am not frantically trying to work the whole week leading up to Christmas to get everything done.  Instead I will be relaxing and enjoying time with my family and cherishing the break from school with our children.  These years go by so quickly it is important to revamp your existing patterns when you find you are not satisfied with how you spend your time.  I find it is easier and easier to let those things that take away from my family time fall away.  I no longer feel guilty about it and am able to focus on what is really important in my life completely and fully.  I have been learning to not only scale back but how to politely use the word "no" and it has made a big difference especially around the holidays.  It is drastically reducing my stress level and making me a much happier mommy and wife :)

I came across this berry garland as I unpacked our Christmas decorations.  I like to purchase decorations on clearance after Christmas and tuck them away, it's always fun the following year.  I joyfully discovered that my candle lamp fits perfectly into the center of the garland wreath and casts a delicious yellow glow.  I have been waiting a long time to burn this lamp, I'm glad I chose tonight it was exactly the peaceful moment of tranquility that I needed at the end of a hectic and busy week. 

Wishing you a weekend enjoyed to the fullest! :)

It's all coming together...

This is our little Christmas production line... Inside are the pocket warmers, eye mask's and a little tub of Brown Sugar Body Scrub along with instructions for each on a pretty printed card.  I folded over the brown paper bag and zig zagged over the fabric and the top portion of the gift tag as well with the sewing machine.  The loaves of Banana bread are fresh out of the oven,  and the girls and my husband are making the chocolate covered pretzels as I write.  All the gifts are really coming together and I am enjoying this season of giving. 

Pocket Warmers and Eye Masks

They are finished!!! I am so excited and quite honestly proud of myself for getting all of these finished.  I used up all but a 1/4 c. of rice that we had in the house.  Tomorrow I will mix up the Brown Sugar Body Scrub and put it into containers.  I have a large spool of netting that you would use for weddings and will package a warmer set and body scrub container together wrapped in the netting for each teacher.  I will also prepare sets to give to our family and wrap up loaves of bread as gifts as well.  Tomorrow...bread baking!  I hope everyone is having great success preparing their Christmas packages and gifts.  What a special time of year as we make gifts, bake treats and send Christmas greetings while thinking of our friends and family both near and far.

Busy with the Elves

I was over visiting delia creates and was so inspired by her post today about cold and hot comfort sacks.  As I scrolled down over her delightful post I saw eye mask's and was inspired to make them for my children's female teachers at school along with a matching set of hand warmers for those chilly days on recess duty.  I will be pairing this gift with a small container of Brown Sugar Body Scrub found here on Paula Deen's website.  I hope that these gifts will help our hard working teachers to relax and rest over the Christmas break.  I will be baking loaves of Banana bread for our male teachers to enjoy at home.  I decided to make extra's to bring with us when we go to celebrate Christmas for all the ladies in our family.  I pulled out beautiful pieces from my scrap basket and each set will be different backed with soft flannel.  My daughter each admired them as they walked by my sewing area and made their request :)  I hope to post some finished sets tomorrow as the elves and I are up late tonight sewing away.  I am so thankful for the  sharing of idea's and  inspiration among bloggers.  It is truly a blessing to have so much creativity.  Wishing you a wonderful evening.

I am still here... I have been resting after a very busy weekend and sewing here and there while resting.  I will put up a "real" post as soon as I get my bearings.  Best wishes to all :)

Lending a Helping Hand

I think that volunteering in your community is so vitally important.  Especially when you live in a small community like I do.  Volunteer's keep things running and I am thankful to those that volunteer along side me at our local library!  This weekend we are cooking and serving home made Chicken Noodles soup and other goodies for our local craft festival.  The food concessions are a fundraiser for our local library.  I appreciate having a library and feel very thankful that we have one in such a small town.  I know that without our volunteers and wonderful library staff this would not be possible.  If you have a little bit of extra time and do not volunteer already, you might find it rewarding to offer your time in your own community.  I know that whomever you choose to help will very graciously and thankfully appreciate your willingness to help!  It makes all the difference in every community around the world.

Yo Yo Garland

I have noticed more and more yo yo's being used in crafts again lately.    I remember my mom making table doily's with yo yo's when I was a kid out of fabric scraps.  When I saw an absolutely adorable garland made out of Christmas colors I decided it was time for me to make a few yo yo's of my own!  Ironically my mom had just taught my oldest daughter how to make a yo yo when we were at her house a few weeks ago visiting.  So I cut the circles and checked with her to make sure that I was doing it right :)  She had no interest  in making any more yo yo's... bummer because though simple these little guys are a bit more time consuming than they look.  These will be a great project for evening or a take along project.

 Sadly  last summer while we were remodeling I was feeling cluttered and attacked my Christmas Tree stash and other things cluttering the garage.  I have no idea what I got rid of obviously we didn't need it.  However... it was a HUGE mistake getting rid of the tree's.   I went from fourteen to four.  To say the least I was feeling a little bummed this Christmas as I unpacked the decorations and realized no two tree's will not suffice for being short ten.  Not all were huge tree's but I loved having several theme's and they were so festive.  I will pick up a few tree's here and there at garage sales and thrift stores and remember never to do that again!  When I walk through a house at night with all the tree's in different rooms  all lit up it is so magical and beautiful.  It's like our own little Christmas oasis of lights and they are so festive and cozy.  This is a close up of our main Christmas tree in the family room.  It is a Victorian Theme tree with lots of crystals and roses and Victorian candy cones.  It is one of two of my favorites.  Well maybe one of three....four?.... :)  Ok I admit I just LOVE all Christmas tree's!

Grandmother's Garden Christmas Ornament

Here it is!!!  Ok, first one step back... this is not the ornament I was originally intending  to make and post directions for.  I did not have the felt the original pattern I was going to make called for so I searched again for a sewn Christmas ornament and found this in different colors.  I knew right where I could get directions and went to Marcia Hohn's website Quilters Casche.  She has the directions for a Grandmother's Garden quilt which I used the pattern for one block and put a backing  on to make an ornament.  I already had these fabrics and the pattern I had printed out several years ago in a bag so I was ready to go.  Yes, another thing off of my "to do" list :)  I'm guessing my print out was 3-4 yrs. old.   I was surprised at how involved this little block is.  I have been quilting for the better part of 15 yrs. and have been wanting to try to make a Grandmother's Garden quilt about that long.  It will not be a quick and easy project to hand piece an entire GG quilt.    However if  I take it along with me before I know it I will have a completed masterpiece to pass on in our family.  I admire and deeply appreciate hand quilting, I have a new admiration for a hand pieced Grandmother's Garden Quilts!!! and... I learned something new!!! This ornament is hand pieced but there are machine directions if you do not enjoy hand piecing.  I am so excited to bring this to our Quilters Beehive on Friday for our ornament exchange! 

The wonderful aroma of chili simmering on the stove is in the air, and I am itching to try another "to do" project for Christmas! Have a wonderful evening :)

Bearing Gifts of Evergreen Branches

My youngest daughter collected these evergreen branches with their beautiful winter blue berries and brought this lovely gift to me.  You can't see it in the photo but I placed them in this stoneware vase with a blue rim on the top that is the same color as the berries.  They look so pretty in this arrangement.  I just had to share them.  One of several thoughtful ways my children make my heart happy and bring a smile to my face.  They are so precious!

I have really enjoyed browsing different blogs this weekend and looking at all the beautiful sewing and craft ideas.  I found an adorable pattern for an ornament that I will be making for my sewing bee this Friday and will post a picture and a link to the site I found the pattern on if anyone else would enjoy making one as well.


Wishing you a warm and cozy evening!

Weekend Reprieve

I'm still awake so I'm still claiming this as my Friday...  I plan on spending my weekend relaxing, reading, being creative, decorating and constructing things with my children.  These two the best of friends have already started on their weekend reprieve.  They started with taking over my chair, I am now posting via my perch on the kitchen stool.

I have spent a great deal of my time today going through all of the blogs that I have bookmarked on my computer and "officially" joining the blogs that I enjoy reading.  I have chosen them for various reasons over the years but mainly the consistent reason I found was that they quite simply were inspiring in some form or another.  I am extremely creative and I found  when going through the blogs I read that I felt a spark of excitement that comes when the creative juices start to flow.  So I share with you, on my blog page now the blogs that I enjoy, and hope you will find as much inspiration, creativity, and enjoyment as I do.

~Enjoy your weekend reprieve~

It all started with a jar

After digging around under the sink for dishwasher packets I decided that I wanted a large jar to hold them in. Not just for it's practicality, but because I like to open cabinets and have lovely jars or containers holding my every day supplies.  It brings a smile to my face...and so does the journey that started with the jar.

My husband helped me find this lovely 1950's era jar to hold my dishwasher packets of soap. I immediately loved the way it looked with the packets in the jar.  As I turned to place the jar under my sink I was disgusted at the condition of the cabinet that I use so many times a day.  I emptied it out, wiped the bottom down and went to the garage for paint.  This cabinet hadn't been painted in 30 yrs. and it needed something... I started by cleaning up spilled baking soda and wiping out the cabinet.

I selected a beautiful cranberry red and started in.  As the cabinet changed from powder blue to cranberry I liked it more and more.  I cleaned things up, reloaded my baking soda from a messy recycled container with a faulty lid to an old canning jar. I put my scrubbers in another glass jar and placed them all under the sink admiring the "new" space.  In less than thirty minutes I had transformed a dreadful cabinet to a lovely pleasant area that I use repeatedly during the day...and it all started with a jar!