Now that spring is in the air, you are probably more than ready to give your living room a thorough cleaning. Getting rid of the winter doldrums will breathe new energy into your living room and your life! As you begin cleaning, it’s easiest to start from the top of the room and work your way down.  Dust the corners of the rooms and the ceiling.  Check the walls and baseboards and wipe them down or spot clean, as necessary.  Don’t...

Spring Cleaning Maintenance After all of your hard work spring cleaning and organizing your home, you certainly won’t want to see things back to the way they were in a matter of weeks. Staying organized takes a little work and is certainly a learned habit, but for this small amount of daily effort, you will have a cleaner home and a happier family. Try some of these tips to help keep your home looking like you just wrapped...

Would you join me for a cup? I’ve got some Tazo Calm (lovely stuff) or my PG Tips, excellent with a little milk and honey for sweetener. Yesterday, after writing about cleaning my desk, and then reading Nans post at Moms The Word, and knowing about Bliss Challenge Week 1 at Blissfully Domestic, I tackled the project with some trepidation because I had let my desk go for sooooooo long.  (How many “encouragers” one needs is in...

Whew – the preparation for Christmas has NOTHING on the aftermath of Christmas! This is the pile of boxes remaining from our Christmas extravaganza! My dad always had a “system” for opening gifts on Christmas morning.  After one of us kids was selected to play Santa, one gift was passed out at a time and opened individually so that everybody enjoyed each other’s Christmas gifts.  As each gift was open the wrapping...

I’ve done just enough this weekend to get a few things caught up – dishes and laundry.  The two never-ending household chores that can’t be left to chance… But it felt good.  Its nice to have cleaned off counters and full dressers.  Other chores will get taken care of this week as my energy comes back – and I’m really trying to “take it easy” the way that I should. Honestly, there have been...

So being newly – and might I add surprisingly – pregnant has left me absolutely wiped out. No. Energy. We just found out about 2 weeks ago, and I’ve been really struggling to adjust to the news.  It’s not that it’s bad news, it just literally shocked me so I’ve had a mix of blissful excitement with twangs of anxiety and panic. You see, I will be turning 40 in December.  That’s really no big deal...

My grandmother wore a certain perfume – and although she passed away almost 22 years ago, whenever I get a whiff of it – I instantly remember her.  As we grow up, I think many of us could attest to the impact that our sense of smell has on us. A newborn’s sense of smell helps him/her identify his mother and follow to his/her necessary food source.  In fact, within just a few days of birth, a newborn will show preference for...

***This week, rather than focusing on food – I’m focusing on Homemade Helpers for Around the House!  Along with cooking and eating, comes laundry and cleanup!  This week, I’m sharing great homemade cleaner recipes that not only do a great job, but save money, too!!!*** I’ve been using this for about 6 weeks now.  I like the way it cleans, it seems to brighten my lighter colors, and it costs only a few pennies each...

Have you ever tried to actually Sing in the Rain?  Usually I’m a bit “froggier” during wet weather so I don’t sing with as much gusto, but I’m usually singing in my head at least… I’ve found that doing my “chores” around the house is SOOOOOOO much better if I am listening to praise & worship music – or tappin’ your foot contemporary Christian music.  I get in a...

Hello Coffee Girls!  Thanks for stopping by.  I’ve got a pot of medium-roast Breakfast Blend on (and the kettle on for you tea lovers) – help yourself to a pumpkin scone while you’re here! A few weeks ago I wrote about making Lotion Bars among other things.  I did in fact make them, BUT because I didn’t have a great measuring system for the beeswax, I’ve had to remelt them down and grate in some additional...