Weekly Update

I’m in a much better spot than last week, as I’ve worked hard to change my mindset and SLOW DOWN. I’ve also had pockets of time where I worked really hard in order to make time to just be still. I’ve also prayed a lot, decided to take the busyness of the season day by day, and let go of expectation, and WOW what a difference that makes. When I pray and release, things just seem to fall into place.

I have about 1/2 of my gifts ordered. None are wrapped, but I did clear our entire landing area, got rid of a ton of clutter and made myself a pretty little wrapping station. I’ve been procrastinating on this area and I have to walk through it to get to our bedroom. I cannot tell you how wonderful it is to have the clutter gone. It took 2 1/2 hours on Sunday, which really was not so bad. I hung up some fun lights in the windows and now it makes me so happy to walk through to our room. Why oh why do I procrastinate?

I have 2 closets and a laundry room left to declutter, then my focus will change from decluttering/minimalizing to cleaning/repairing. The 2 closets and laundry room will have to wait until after the holidays. In time! Haste makes waste, slow and steady wins the race!

I’ve also been busy getting to know my new best friend–my Instant Pot.{affiliate link} You can read all about the beginning of our love affair here  and see the 8 things I have made in it so far. Do you have the Instant Pot? Let me know how you like it in the comments. PS…does anyone else want to call it in Insta Pot? It is just much easier to say it that way!

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Thank you for supporting New Nostalgia in this way!

Meal Plan — grocery list +5 meals

Rescue My Home — dust, sweep, vacuum, mop, bathrooms

Continue Reading…

Weekly Update

To Do’s, To Do’s, To Do’s

I have so many things I want to get to before the holidays hit, but alas the holidays are pretty much here! I want to continue to embrace slow living, despite all the things I want and need to get done.

This is when I start talking to myself, phrases as simple as:

“It’s ok”

“It will all get done in its own time”

“Life is not an emergency”

“One day, one moment at a time”

“Just breath and do the next thing”

I deliberately grab on of these quick thoughts while taking a slow breath in. It helps.

Another thing that helps? Do busy while embracing a slow mindset at the same time!

Here are a few examples:

While in the car running errands, play relaxing music or leave a message for a friend on Voxer. While working on menu plan or budget, have aromatherapy going and sit in a favorite chair with a cozy warm drink. While doing dishes, listen to an enjoyable podcast. While folding laundry watch your favorite recorded television. Don’t have time for a 30 minute jog? Walk outside 10 minutes instead, and do some stretching while you are in the shower.

Keeping a slow mindset while multi-tasking is a great technique to get things done while continuing to breathe!

Meal Plan — grocery list +5 meals

Rescue My Home — dust, sweep, vacuum, mop, bathrooms

Continue Reading…

Weekly Update

Happy November!

It’s my birthday month, which means I have lots of fun birthday traditions to look forward to, many that involve going out to eat.

I get spoiled, I tell ya. So. Very. Spoiled.

My Todd and I don’t every exchange gifts. Instead, we create experiences and memories. He always takes me out for my birthday. We usually do dinner and a movie, but I get to choose both the restaurant and the movie, and believe me, I take advantage this. I choose a restaurant with fancy food and usually what Todd calls an “Amy” movie, which he endures without complaint.

My birthday is toward the end of the month, so when we go out everything feels so festive with Thanksgiving and Christmas just right around the corner. I love  that! I love getting all dressed up, wearing a heavy coat and snuggling up to my man as we walk downtown from the car to the restaurant with arms entwined. It is usually cold enough to see our breath, and we often end up in a coffee shop for a birthday pastry and latte to warm us after our movie.

Meal Plan — grocery list +5 meals

Rescue My Home — dust, sweep, vacuum, mop, bathrooms

Continue Reading…

Weekly Update

I’ve decided I love Octobers. This one seems especially enjoyable. The weather has been beautiful in Nebraska.  My daily walks are loud, crunchy and on a bed of fallen leaves. I’ve even had leaves float into my open car windows as they fall soft from the trees. Their slow fall mimic how the pace of life feels, there is movement but it is unhurried and slow. I’ve so appreciated the extra slowness of this month and feel quite surprised at how productive I have been despite many slow moments and lack of the frantic. I know the pace of life changes so I am enjoying this while it lasts.

{my Colsie}

A fun reason why I’ve felt extra productive lately is because my 15-year-old Colsie has been doing some photo editing for this blog. I take 95% of the photos on the blog, the other 5% comes from stock photo sites. I enjoy taking the photos, but then there is the process of naming them, resizing them, editing them & creating a pin for each blog post. After training her this past Saturday, I now take the photos and then send them to her. She sends them back to me neatly labeled, resized, lightened, cropped, edited, watermarked and in a folder, along with a created, branded pin. I cannot tell you how much time this saves me!  I sent her over 14 posts worth of pictures, 4-5 photos per post, and she has already busted through half of them and returned them filed neatly and ready to go! I love my talented, hard-working girl and her great eye for photo editing. She gets a bit of spending money for the work she does for me, and I get a blog that will run much more efficiently as I am freed to work on other things besides editing photos!

The photo below is an example of what she did with a lower quality iPhone picture I took at a recent family bridal shower. This is the photo we will use to pin the post. She resized it for the perfect pin size, water-marked it with the New Nostalgia name, and put a border and a header on the photo. I will be writing and posting the DIY Mimosa Bar in the next couple of weeks! Didn’t she do a great job? (props also go to my sister-in-law, Molly, for creating such a cute Mimosa Bar!)

{DIY Mimosa Bar coming soon to New Nostalgia}

Meal Plan — grocery list +5 meals

Rescue My Home — dust, sweep, vacuum, mop, bathrooms

Dates — my Todd, my girls, one close friend

Do a Pin —Six Minute Before Shower Workout

Daily To-Do

Spiritual —journal, Scripture, pray, meditate

Move Body–walk, yoga or strength training

Hydrate + Nutrients –greens & berries, vitamins, water

One Full Load — dishwasher & laundry

Cleaning, Clutter & Computer Zones — living room, study closet, & stickies on desktop

{want this FREE printable? keep scrolling}

Specific Goals

Continue reading: Present Over Perfect

Finish reading: Anti-Cancer: A New Way of Life, & The Memory Keeper’s Daughter

Print My Caring Bridge Journal

Rescue Clutter Areas

Continue Working on Study Closet

Fall Yard Cleanup

Recipes To Make

Fudge Black Bean Brownies

Breakfast Cookies

Easy Spaghetti Sauce

Date Paste (for my oatmeal & to sweeten smoothies)

Crockpot Bone Broth (I make this weekly)

Chicken, Red Grape & Pesto Pizzas

Honey Glazed Carrots

Korean Beef over Rice

Pumpkin Protein Shakes

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

What are you wanting to get done this week?

What recipes are you planning on making?

Are you on Pinterest? Share a favorite pin you want to accomplish.