today.

 (Honey Honey by Kate Spain - available in January)

Here is a little peek at what I am working on, a Moda Bake Shop tutorial that will post in January.  

In addition, I am working on Christmas sewing and crochet.  Just not enough hours in a day.

With that said, simple life saturday will be on hold until January.  Simplifying our lives, means balance right?!

I hope you are having a lovely weekend.

xoxo

simple life saturday. week seven.

good health and well being

 

I am going out on a limb with this post, beings that Thanksgiving is right around the corner.  But stay with me, k?!  I have some food for thought (no pun intended).

 (image has nothing to do with post-I am just playing with my camera)

When you take care of your body, your body will take care of you.  When you pay attention to the nutrition that your body needs and you are actively caring for yourself, you will not only have less sickness, you feel great, you have more endurance, and a lot more energy.

I can't share information with you, that I have not first experienced for myself ...

After hitting 40, I realized that I needed to make some changes, and quick.  I never had to worry about my weight growing up, and I dropped pounds fast after my babies were born.  But that all changed!  Our family has always been health conscience, but I was needing even more than that.  So I started paying even closer attention to what I ate and exercised more regularly than I was doing.  I am happy to say, that yes, I have lost several pound and that is all good, my clothes fit so much better, but what has me most excited is how much more strength I have!  I feel like Wonder Woman some days!  ha ha ha!

So enjoy your turkey dinners and don't shy away from pumpkin pie ... just remember, it is all in moderation.  

(last September I came across this work out and let me tell you, it is a killer, but soo worth it- at first I was over enthusiastic about and went all the way to the top, let's just say that too needed moderation, and,  I'm now  working back up to my 300)

 ** The winner of Cluck Cluck Sew's pattern giveaway is Debbie from Happy Little Cottage - Congrats Debbie!!  And thanks to my sweet husband for picking a number between 1-40!) **

simple life saturday. week six.

kindness

There is an abundance of kindness amongst ladies in blogland.  They are friendly, compassionate, and just a whole lot of fun!  There are a few of you, that I know a bit better than others (chatting on the phone, texting, emails) and I am so thankful that our paths have crossed.  Your friendships enrich my life. 

So today's post on living a simple life, is a friendly little reminder, that your thoughtfulness is deeply felt, not only by me, but others whose blogs you visit.  Encouraging someone lends a ripple affect in their life. We never really know for sure what is going on in the lives of those we blog with.  Someone may be having a difficult time, but your kindness may reassure them, that they are not alone, that you care.  Whether it be on a topic as serious as a family health issue, or something as simple as a little trepidation about trying something new.

(image)

Thank you for the kindness you have shared with me, personally.  I read every single comment you leave and try my very best to respond to each one.  You're the best!

simple life saturday. week five.

Have what you love.   

Love what you have.

Clutter makes me nuts.  I'm just going to say it!  But what is worse than clutter, is clutter that I don't want in the first place.

I find that if I have a place for things I function better.  It's easier to find stuff, keep up with it, and replace what is needed.

When bringing something into our home, I try to consider just how or when I plan to use it.  If I don't have a use for it, it doesn't come home with me.

But for the things that are here and needing to be cleaned out, I have a simple method of separating those into categories : keep, consign, donate, give to a friend, throw out.  

It works with clothes, household items, fabric (for us quilting girls it's a great chance to give what you are no longer using to a friend or host a fun little giveaway on your blog - we all love free fabric), even food.

I tend to keep a bag to consign, donate, and give, when it is full, off it goes.

Do you have a method for 

keeping your home clutter free?

Are my little notes on ways I keep 

life simple helpful and fun for you? 

simple life saturday. week four.

 plan

\ˈplan\

: an often customary method of doing something  

                                                   : a method for achieving an end

                     : an orderly arrangement of parts of an overall design or objective 

                                    : a detailed formulation of a program of action

If you were a fly on the wall in my home during the past two weeks, you would see how ironic this particular post happens to be.  With out a plan, I would have sunk!  In theory a plan well thought out should yield a goal achieved, right?!  Most times, that is the case, however, when real life happens and tasks need to be shifted, you are looking at a whole new plan.  If not prepared, it can be disheartening.  

Don't let the idea of planning out your day seem legalistic.  Rather, see it as making the very most of each minute you have.  I realize, there are only so many minutes in a day ... then again, there are so many minutes in a day.  Do you see the shift in emphasis?
My most productive and laid back simple days are ones planned out.  I will set a few reachable goals, write them down (I am neurotic with list making - ask my family) and then cross them out when finished.  There is power in the pen ... ha ha ha!

Last week was laden with doctor appointments.  They were either smack dab in the middle of my morning or out of town (which really screws me up), so they were the center of my plan for that day and other tasks strategically placed around them.

Since I cook all of our family's dinner meals, I knew those days required something easy (sometimes I defrost a  previously frozen left over meal - will tap into that at a later date - talk about time saver!) and quick.  In this case (pictured above) a home made beef stew was in order.  All the ingredients were on hand (something else I want to tap into - may be "planning" several posts on planning) and required very little attention from me.
We all ate well, all the appointments taken care of, but here is my confession, not all my tasks were scratched off my lists in the order I was hoping, so with planning, I have found to embrace the possibility of needing to be flexible.  But plan never the less!

Do you have a method that keeps 

your days running smoothly?

Will you share it with us?

simple life saturday. week three.

cherish

\ˈcher-ish\

: to hold dear : feel or show affection for

: to keep or cultivate with care and affection 

cherish simple pleasures 

Cinnabon cinnamon rolls have become a family favorite on the weekends.  I look so forward to getting up extra early, staring a pot of coffee and baking a batch for my family.  Such a simple gesture of love, but it warms both our hearts and our tummies. 

the absolute simplest of moments have the 

potential to become special memories

What is a simple pleasure that you cherish?

simple life saturday. week two.

repurpose 

\rē-ˈpər-pəs\

: to give a new purpose or use to

I smile every time I look at our fall wreath that hangs in the kitchen.  You see, there is a story that goes with it.

A couple of years ago, I was wanting to create a fall wreath and was limited to what was in the house.  Not to mention, I didn't want to spend any money, so I began digging around.

I remembered a special sweater (that I wore the life out of) in my closet.  The neckline was a turtleneck.  Perfect for the base to a burlap rosette.  All I needed to do was cut the neck off, hand stitch a running seam around the center, after folding in half, cinch it, and knot.  

A little hot glue and the center was done.   

The center would have obviously been lonely by itself, so I dug through a hand me down bag of clothes my son received from a family member.  Low and behold, I found an old wool sock that was missing it's pair!  Bingo!  I cut it into several parts, and applied the same technique as I had with the larger.  Followed up by a couple of yo-yo's in different sizes and fabric covered buttons (some of my favorite dark brown vintage fabric and I only had that much left) and a little more hot glue.  Voila!  

A repurposed, 

used what was on hand, 

fall wreath. 

* Not to mention plenty of laughs when our family comes over in the fall and sees their old wool sock decorating my pantry door in the kitchen. *

Do you repurpose things in your life?

What is a favorite of yours?

simple life saturday. week one.

  laugh
\ˈlaf, ˈläf\
: to find amusement or 
pleasure in something  

laugh every chance you get 

find the funny in the mundane

the silly in the scary

have private jokes

laugh with each other

laugh at yourself

 as simple as that may sound

it is one of our strongest bonds 

that bind us together

what is a simple joy to you? 

(special thanks to Woody - for allowing 

me to use this picture of us - I love you)

monday.

Happy October to you all!  This is by far my favorite month of the year.  It is when the days begin to cool and the air is crisp.  It is perfect outdoor weather, down here in the south.  
I hope that you had a wonderful weekend.  We had a good bit of rain, so I spent the better part indoors, crocheting a custom order for a dear friend.  I just love making these crochet granny square pincushions and so excited to send them on their way to a good home.
Thank you so much for your sweet response to my upcoming series.  I am really looking forward to it and it blesses my heart that you are as well.

xoxo

simple life saturday.

Hello and welcome to the beginning of a new series you will find here on my blog each Saturday.  Each Saturday I will post a little note regarding how to simplify your life.  

Topics will range from being mindful of the simplicity a day offers to how you might organize your life in a way that brings about more productivity.  Some may present a challenge to take, while others are only a matter of tapping into what benefits our family most.

I understand there are a great deal of blogs out there who are specifically posting on this topic, and I don't pretend to know a lot, but the examples I plan to share have worked out beautifully for our family and the results have enriched our lives.

I hope that you will also benefit from what I will share and visit often.  I look so forward to hearing your own ideas.   

Does this sounds like something you may 

be interested in?  Do you also have nuggets 

of gold that have worked well for you, 

while living a more simpler life?