FAMILY/ HOME/ Homemaking/ Marriage/ Simplifying

Is Your Bedroom A Retreat?

There is something about staying in a hotel that I love. Yes, the fact that I am not the one to wash the sheets, make the bed, or take out the trash is pretty awesome, but it is more than that. I LOVE the simplicity of it. There is no clutter in a hotel room, and everything that exists in the room is well thought out and purposeful. There is a chair to sit in to put my shoes on, there is a nightstand with a lamp and clock that are both bedside and easy to reach. There is a drawer in the nightstand to house books and my Bible. A pen and paper sitting ready for me when I need to jot something down. The closet is small enough to hold only the bare minimum, which forces one to think through what is put in there. There is an extra pillow and blanket in the closet, just in case. A laundry bag for dirty clothes, an iron and ironing board to grab if needed and a trash can for waste. All of these things are practical and useful and make our stay comfortable.

At home in our own room, I have most of the things mentioned above, minus the extra blanket, pillow, trash can, pen and paper. I would have to walk downstairs for an extra pillow and blanket, to the bathroom for the trash can, and to my daughters room for a pen and paper. That sounds like a bit too much walking for me, so I will add these items in my room when I get home! Notice the thinking through process…I am constantly thinking about the most practical spot in my home for things, depending on how and where I use them. I have to pause and think, “Is it worth having this item in more than one spot in the house?” I try to avoid having the same item in two different places, as much as possible, for the sake of simplicity. Before I add new items to any area, I stop and make sure it jives with the simplistic approach to life. So, do I really need a pen in my room? How often would I need or use one? The answer is quite often. I love sitting on my bed and reading my Bible. There are many times I want to underline what I am reading, but I have to get off my cozy bed to get a pen. Or, those times when I have my phone right by me and I need a pen to jot down a phone message. Yes, it is time to put a pen on my nightstand, in a pretty holder, within reach!

(Not our bedroom. Thought I would keep ours a private retreat:))

I have been very purposeful about keeping our bedroom clutter free and comfortable. It is important to me that our bedroom is a room that we both want to be in, that is intimate, relaxing, comfortable, practical, and that feels like a retreat from the rest of the world. There are a few things I have done to help create all those things. I did not spend a bunch of money, most things are just small touches here and there.

Here are a few ways I created a retreat like feeling in our room:

-A good place to start is get rid of clutter! I cannot relax when I am surrounded by stuff, and I do not want reminders of what I have not done staring at me while I am trying to retreat from life, trying to “spend time”:) with my husband, or trying to sleep.
-Get rid of those piles of clothes. Hang clothes up right away that are clean, have a place to put clothes that are dirty.
-Make sure everything you use regularly has a place. Have a basket for the tv remote, a shelf, basket or drawer for books.
-Clear off open areas (like the top of a dresser) and keep them clear except for things that are important to you and belong there. On my dresser, there are pictures of my kids that make me smile, a picture of Todd and I on our honeymoon, a few candles, and mirrored vases that reflect the candles which makes great ambience. (ohhh, this is getting a bit personal…moving on)
-Gender neutral, if there are two of you. I made sure the decor in our room is not too feminine, I am sure Todd appreciates this:) Remember, if you are married, this is a place for both of you, so be careful how much pink and flowers you use. Let your husband know by your decor that you care about how he feels in the room, too.
-Invest in quality bedding. We couldn’t afford the best sheets in the world, but I bought the best we could afford. Our comforter is fluffy and soft, and we have enough pillows to prop us up in bed to read or watch t.v.
-Pillows! Ahhh, pillows. I love pillows. I must confess this is an area where Todd has complained. I got a bit carried away with decorative throw pillows,(ok, really carried away) and every night he would have to move a boatload of pillows to get into bed. We are now down to moving just three, they add color and beauty to the bed and are not that big of a deal to move. If I am in the room before my hubby, I try to remember to move them out of the way for him and pull his covers down. I don’t know if he notices this, but I know it is a small touch hotels do that I love, so I do it for him.
-Music! This is something that is missing from our room. I would love, love an ipod speaker dock that comes with a clock! Maybe someday..:) Relaxing music would be great to add atmosphere and ambience.

So as much as I love hotels, coming back home is always something I am ready for. I love our home, and I am so very thankful that God has blessed us with a little retreat from the world that I get to take care of! (and yes, that includes being thankful to make the bed and wash the sheets!)

HOME/ Organizing/ Simplifying

Over The River And Through The Woods To Grandmothers House They Go!

Have you ever dumped the kiddos off on the grandparents and took yourselves a little trip? We are super blessed to have wonderful grandparents who let us do this. Once a year, my husband and I go out of town to a conference with his workplace. When we do, I pack for the 2 of us in normal suitcases like normal people, but when it comes to my kids clothes, I have found this system to be simple, easy and fast. I keep the clothes on hangers! We hang most of our clothes except for jammies etc, so their clothes are already on hangers in their closets. I just have to grab the outfits and off we go!

For my younger 2, I like to wrap the hangers of each outfit together with a rubber band. I also put little signs on them with their name and what day of the week to wear that particular outfit. My youngest has a field trip to the pumpkin patch while we are gone, so I made sure the outfit for that day had layers because it will be a chilly, turning warmer in the afternoon, kind of day. It also helps to keep them from grabbing their “pretty” outfits and wearing them to school instead of to church. Having them labeled really helps keep them straight, and hopefully will help grandma when it comes to the girls getting dressed, without needing her guidance each morning. This time I wrote little love notes on the back of the labels for them to read each day, they love sappy stuff like that!

As you can see, my oldest is too cool to have mom put together her outfits, so we just rubber banned her shirts together and her pants together. She’s already doing the typical female “I’ll decide what to wear the day of, depending on what mood I am in” thing. She’s only 10!! She is pretty good at the whole fashion thing, so it is easy to give her a bit more freedom than her sisters.

The rest of the packing is a breeze and they do it themselves for the most part. They love lugging out their little suitcases, picking a special stuffed animal to take, and trying to sneak whatever they can into their suitcases without mom seeing. 🙂 I told them to make their stuff pretty so I could take a picture for the blog, it made me smile to see what they did, everything laid out just so. They have been watching me take pictures of our life for this blog, and were pretty excited to be a part of that process. Too cute.

When it comes time to load the car and take it all over to grandmas, we just pile the hang up clothes into a laundry basket, and unload it right into the closet when we get there. Easy Peesy!

Brunch/ Frugal/ HOME/ RECIPES/ Seasonal

Easy One Bowl Pumpkin Bread/Muffins

I have made this Easy One Bowl Pumpkin Bread/Muffin recipe TWICE this week and I really love it. It is a “dump all ingredients into one bowl in no certain order and stir” recipe, so it takes minutes to whip up. It is super moist, makes the house smell like fall, and fills up little tummy’s when they need a snack. Another great thing about this recipe is that it has a few different options to make the original recipe healthier. Love that!

*For the healthier version, keep reading.

Easy One Bowl Pumpkin Bread/Muffins

1 ½ c. sugar                                        ½ t. cinnamon
2 eggs                                             ½ t. nutmeg
¼ t. baking powder                           1 2/3 c. flour
1 t. baking soda                                  ½ c. oil
¾ t. salt                                                ½ c. cold water
½ t. cloves                                          1 c. pumpkin (about half a 15 oz can)

Mix all ingredients together in one bowl. Put in greased loaf pan or muffin tin. Bake at 325 degrees.

Bread (one loaf) = 75-90 minutes
12 Muffins = 45 minutes
24 Mini muffins = 25 minutes

——————–

Cost: about $1.50 !!!

I was at my neighborhood natural market this weekend and they were selling freshly baked pumpkin bread for $7.99 a loaf! That’s just craziness!! They were skimpy little loaves, too. I walked away smiling to myself, thinking about how I can go home and whip up a generous loaf of my own pumpkin bread that would be just as healthy as theirs!

——————–

Easy Ways to Make It Healthy:

Level one: decrease the sugar by 1/4 or even 1/2 cup (1 c. sugar total) or use honey
Level two: use half whole wheat flour
Level three: make the “oil” melted butter or applesauce

One Bowl Pumpkin Muffins Healthy Remake

3/4 cup honey ½ t. cinnamon
2 eggs ½ t. nutmeg
¼ t. baking powder                           1 2/3 c. whole wheat flour
1 t. baking soda                                  ½ c. coconut oil
¾ t. salt                                                1/4 c.water
½ t. cloves                                          1 c. pumpkin (about half a 15 oz can)
1 Tbs molasses

Mix all ingredients together in one bowl. Put in greased loaf pan or muffin tin. Bake at 325 degrees.

Baking Change: Only bake muffins for 30 minutes – honey browns faster!

——————–

Both recipes call for only a half a can of pumpkin. I wondered what to do with the other half, until I saw how quickly my family ate up the first loaf. I made a second loaf the very next day. You could double the recipe and freeze a loaf. I knew we would be home quite a bit this weekend and I love to have something yummy baking in the oven, so I made the loaves on separate days.

Tip: Make sure your spices are not dated and tired. I could not believe the difference in my 2 loaves, the first one I made with spices I know have been in my cupboard since last fall, and although the texture was awesome, I wondered, “if the spices were super fresh, would taste any different?”

For the second loaf, I went to my market where they sell spices in bulk (you can help yourself to whatever amount you need and they charge you by weight). DO THIS IF YOU CAN, the second loaf was amazing! I love the buy spices in the bulk section option!

I have been buying a small amount for whatever recipes I am going to make in the next week or two. I did this for 2 recipes that I make all the time, chili and chicken curry, and both recipes tasted like they had a makeover, when all I did was buy super fresh spices. It is very economical, and so very worth it!

Frugal/ HOME/ Homemaking/ Seasonal

Fall Decorating

I finally got my fall decorations out this week. I have been looking forward to digging the bin out of the attic closet and seeing what goodies were waiting for me. Here is a picture of what was inside, boy it looks like a lot! Don’t know if I can call it simple, but it was pretty easy to place things around the house, and I didn’t feel like I had to use everything, and got rid of stuff that didn’t excite me

Fall decorating really can be done quite frugally. It really just takes a few touches. Even just a couple little pumpkins sitting around gives a festive feel. I did not buy a thing this year, over the 13 years we have been married, I have accumulated quite a bit, so I didn’t need to add more. As much as I love the look of real pumpkins and gourds, it kills me just to have them sit there and get soft and thrown away after the season, so I didn’t buy any.

Here are some picture of what I did with that table- full of fall

This is my sunroom. It is fun to put seasonal decorations out there to greet my guests when they visit.

Notice the basket of pine cones. Pine cones are a great way to decorate fugally. I use them during the fall and keep them out for Christmas. I know people here in Nebraska who can just go right out to their own yard to gather pine cones. Now that’s cheap!

These pictures are all of my living room. Just little fall touches here and there. That leaf candy dish is from a dollar store, I like to fill it with nuts when guests are here. You can find sprigs of fall berries

quite inexpensive at craft stores, they add a lot and keep year after year.

Throw pillows and magazines are two of my favorite ways to bring touches of the season into my home. This chair did have a red pillow with yellow circles on in, but it was just too bright and summery, so it got packed up with some other red touches I had in the living room, and replaced with this fall looking one instead. Magazines are great, use them to decorate!! I love, love, love the cover of the Martha Stewart Living magazine this month!

On to the dining room. I didn’t get a picture of our dining room table, but it is a central location in our home, so I always have a seasonal candle sitting on my table during the fall and winter months.

We have one lit almost nightly, I even light them during the day when

I am the only one home! I love candles!

Kitchen-I don’t do much decorating here. I like my kitchen simple and clutter free, so just a few fun things here and there.

Lastly, you just can’t forget the bathroom! This is another room I like to keep pretty simple (who wants to clean around a bunch of chotskies?) This is another place I always have a candle burning when guest are over, and um, the back of the, um, ‘throne’ is a great place for potpourri and deodorizing spray. This spray smells like Red Delicious Apples. I hope it still smells delicious,

it has been packed away since last fall!:)

So there you have it. Simple fall decor… a pumpkin here, some pine cones there, a couple of throws and pillows, a magazine or two, candles and…VOILA! FALL! It really did help warm up the feeling of my home, and compared to past years, I kept it pretty minimal. Happy Fall!

FUN/DIY/ HOME/ Homemaking

Makes Me Happy– Under-The-Cabinet Music Player

I find a lot of joy in cooking and baking, but I pretty much despise doing the dishes, that is, until I bought an amazing item that should be in every woman’s kitchen. AN UNDER- THE- CABINET MUSIC PLAYER! Oh yeah, its the bomb. (I have this one..Sony Under-Cabinet Kitchen ICF-CDK50 CD/Clock Radio (Silver)

Its up out of the way, it has a clock that makes a great little night light, a timer (so handy when I have the oven timer going and need another, for naughty girl time- outs!), a radio and cd player. Oh, can’t forget my favorite feature, it has a little holder and adapter for my ipod! Isn’t that GREAT? Makes me happy, which reminds me that we use it often to play happy songs on those grumpy mornings, when the breakfast table is full of grumps. I also use it most nights as a signal that the evening is slowing down and bedtime is approaching, by turning lights low and playing chill music.

As Christmas is approaching, I find myself starting to think of gift ideas. If you have parents or grandparents who are hard to buy for, this would be a great gift. Not the most inexpensive one, but hey, it would knock 2 people off your list and make them happy!

I got the idea from a girlfriend (Keeli!) who was tossing around good gift ideas with me last Christmas. Notice I bought one for myself instead of getting one for someone else:) If you really wanted to go all out, they even have them with dvd players and a tv screen that swivels!! This is great for little ones who are under foot while cooking. Grab a little stool, stick in some Blues Clues, and problem solved! (yes, I am suggesting using Blue to babysit, ya gotta get dinner made somehow, right?)

So there it is. An under-the-cabinet music player. Makes me happy!!

Frugal/ HOME/ RECIPES/ Sweets

Homemade Popsicles

This morning, there was no fresh fruit in the house. My girls are used to having some type of fruit with their breakfast, so I decided to make them fruit smoothies with some frozen fruit I had hanging out in the freezer.
My method of making fruit smoothies is pretty much dump and blend. I fill my blender 2/3 full with frozen fruit, then add enough liquid (start with a cup and add as needed) so that it will blend easily and smoothly. I like mine thin enough so I can see a vortex when looking down into the blender, then I know it won’t get stuck in our straws! I usually use water and a splash of orange juice. I will add honey or sugar if the fruit is not very sweet, you won’t know until you taste a bit of the smoothie. I like having frozen peach or frozen banana in our smoothies, they both add a nice texture/thickness, and are both less expensive then frozen berries. If you were to use all berries, it would take a lot and would be costly.
This morning, I used a frozen fruit mix that had peaches, pineapple, grapes, and melon. I also added frozen strawberries and blueberries. We were running a bit behind, and I did not leave my girls enough time to slurp much of their smoothies down. Because of this, I had a bunch leftover.

What to do with it??

Make homemade popsicles!! The kids love these, they are so easy to make and MUCH less expensive then the whole fruit popsicles you can buy. These little plastic molds are great, but if you don’t have any, you can use a paper cup with a wooden craft stick. We made these all summer long, their favorite is when I add yogurt to the smoothie, which makes a creamy popsicle.

I will do a series on smoothies coming up. There are so many ways to make them: green smoothies, fruit smoothes, yogurt smoothies, protein smoothies, we even make healthy chocolate peanut butter smoothies and chocolate covered cherry smoothies. MMM-MM! They are a staple in our home, a great way to have a healthy snack and to get those fruits and veggies in!!

Frugal/ HOME/ Kids/Family/ Seasonal

How To Go To The Pumpkin Patch On A Budget

My family had an amazing, very full day at the pumpkin patch yesterday. We have a beautiful pumpkin patch here in Nebraska called Vala’s Pumpkin Patch. It was started by the Vala family, and after 25 years they have grown to employ over 500! They now have parents who came as kids bringing their own kids, and it has become a yearly tradition for many families, including ours! We have been going every year now for at least 8 years, I have picture of my 10 year old climbing over a pile of pumpkins with her diaper hanging out her pants when she was barely able to walk. Every year it gets better, because they add new attractions. We just love going!
This year, we were not sure if we should still go because we are in the middle of a “no spend challenge” (which I really AM going to blog about one of these days!) We decided family traditions are important, and our girls had already been talking about going this year, so after a little research and thinking, we came up with a plan we both felt good about, that would enable us to go at a price we were comfortable with. These are ways to make it more affordable:

-Go on days that have discounts. We went on a Wednesday. At Vala’s, if you go on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, the admission price is $9.00 instead of the usual $12.00. (saved $15.00 for a family of 5)

-Skip the attractions that cost extra. For about $5.00/person, you can ride a train at Vala’s. We decided not to ride it this year, which was not a big deal because there were so many other fun, free things to do. There is also a “Mining for Gems” area which my girls love, but you have to purchase a bag of stones to mine. They were about the same price as the train ride, we skipped that, too. (saved about $25.00 on the train, and about $15.00 on the mining)

-Bring a back pack filled with hearty snacks and candy. This was a huge money saver. There are so many great smelling and great looking foods at a pumpkin patch. Kettle Corn, Funnel Cakes, Roasted Corn and Turkey Legs, Caramel Apples… just to name a few! By making sure our tummys were full with our own snacks, we were able to walk past the snack areas keeping our wallet tucked safely away in the backpack. We snacked on granola bars, apples, chips, and candy. We had fun biting into our Twix candy bar, then quickly biting into an apple to make our own version of a Chocolate Caramel Apple! (you must try this, so good!) The kids did not feel deprived at all, and they loved all the little treats in our backpack. (I’m sure this saved us at least $20.00, if not more)

-Pack a lunch. Every year, as part of our tradition, we “kidnap” our kids from school to take them to the pumpkin patch. (yes, we let them skip school for a day of fun) This year, we did not want to be rushed and wanted to get home at a decent time, so we decided to leave earlier than usual. Our surprise went like this: we all got ready for school and I packed their lunches just like they were going to school. We piled in the car (including Dad b/c for some reason his jeep would not start and he needed a ride to work. Yes, we lied.) with backpacks on and lunch boxes in hand, and a bunch stuff we needed that I snuck to the trunk. We drove a couple blocks to the school and instead of stopping we drove right past the school. My oldest, who is all about getting to school on time and who tends to be a bit dramatic, did not disappoint with her drama in reacting to us driving past the school. “DAD! “We are going to be late!” “DAD!” When I saw her tearing up, I decided it was time to tell them that it was ok to be late because we were GOING TO THE PUMPKIN PATCH!! I love seeing a kids tears turn to laughter so suddenly. Surprises are so fun! Ok, back to the lunches. They ate their packed lunches in the car (a bit early, we had a couple stops before arriving at the pumpkin patch) and we didn’t have to worry about another meal until dinner time. (Saved at least $25.00-$30.00 by not eating at the patch, or about $15.00 by not stopping to get fast food)

-Water bottles!!! This is a must. Drinks add up so fast and with all the walking we did the girls got so thirsty! (not sure how much this would save, but even if we all bought 1 drink @$2.00 each that would be $10.00)

-Dinner. I have admit this is the area we decided to splurge a bit. There are a few ways we could have cut costs here. Usually, we would not purchase kids meals (and would not have if we still had chips left in the backpack) because my girls usually prefer water even if they have the option of soda, and we often share a large french fry or chips as a family because we just don’t need our own bag of fries, we end up wasting them. We were all very hungry by dinner time, (that corn maze burned a lot of calories and we were ready to EAT,!) so we splurged and bought them each a kids meal. Todd got a Chili Dog, and I got a meal and shared my side and drink with him.
(We spent about $30.00, it could have been about $20.00 if we had skipped the full kids meals and my chips and drink)

-No pumpkin, or maybe just one instead of 5! Just because you are at a pumpkin patch does not mean you have to load your car full of pumpkins, or even purchase one. I did look longingly at a beautiful white, perfectly shaped pumpkin among all the orange ones, but tore my eyes away and looked at my beautiful kids instead:) We are blessed to have a grandma who has a super fun tradition picking pumpkins with the girls, then they decoupage them! The pumpkins sit on my front steps looking pretty, and the night before halloween, we carve them. So, as you can see, I have no need to buy any more! (This saved anywhere from $5-$15.00.)

-Just Say No. You are the parent, so say no and mean no. When you get a whine, use it as an opportunity to teach thankfulness. My youngest learned a big lesson in thankfulness sitting on a bench in timeout while her sisters got to walk through the haunted graveyard without her! Boy, was she MAD but she learned an important lesson, and after sitting long enough she was able to get herself under control and enjoy the rest of the day.

It was a very full day. 7 fun-filled hours at the pumpkin patch! (I had a friend ask me on facebook how is it possible to spend 7 hours at a pumpkin patch, I’ll share my response below:))
We left with full hearts, full tummies and camera full of captured, precious memories.

***Status on Facebook “Amy spent 7 HOURS at the pumpkin patch. I’M BEAT!”

Friend Katie’s Comment “Holy cow, how is that possible?” 🙂 (I love the holy cow part)

My Comment Back to Katie *note, I don’t edit my facebook comments so ignore all the typos!
“Well, Katie, first take 3 girls who have to use the restroom every hour and who refuse to go in porta potties and will only go all the way across the patch to get to the real pottys, then get lost in the huge cornfield maze for awhile, then go on the jumpy things 5 times, bury each other in corn kernels for at least 45 minutes, make 1 girl who is being ungrateful sit with you on bench for 15 minutes to teach her to be grateful, stop to tie jackets around the waste every time the sun peaks out from behind a cloud(at least 23 times) watch pig races and pumpkins shooting out cannon type things, walk through 2 haunted houses, a haunted graveyard, storybook land, and mum maze. Feed goats and stare at drooling camel. Play glow golf. Stop to eat snacks, lunch and dinner. Stop to tie shoes about 50 times(note that will not include the times they take them off to go on the bouncy things), walk all the way back to nice pottys to fill up water bottles at the drinking fountains about 4 times, stop to take pictures to capture all the craziness, roast marshmallows and make smores, and on and on and on…:) Maybe this should be a blog post about the ups and downs of yearly family traditions. hmmm..

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