Word for the Year

Although we are well into this new year and the month of January, I wanted to share with you my word for the year.  I am a bit behind due to the flu but quickly catching up.

My goal and purpose for this year is to live my life day by day intentionally.  Too often I pass my days away just doing but not being intentional about what I am doing.  Imagine the difference I can make in our home if i do even the most mundane tasks with a purpose, with honorable intentions.

I love these definitions from Webster's 1828 dictionary:

 INTEN'TION, n. [L. intentio. See Intend.]

1. Primarily, a stretching or bending of the mind towards an object; hence, uncommon exertion of the intellectual faculties; closeness of application; fixedness of attention; earnestness. Intention is when the mind, with great earnestness and of choice, fixes its view on any idea, considers it on every side, and will not be called off by the ordinary solicitation of other ideas. (emphasis mine)

This says it all.  I will fix my view on being a blessing to others, finding joy in the moment, doing the daily tasks of housework with a heart of joy and thanksgiving for the blessings that God has given me.  Keeping my attention fixed on what is important.

Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

2. Design; purpose; the fixed direction of the mind to a particular object, or a determination to act in a particular manner.

A determination to act in a particular manner~what could this mean in day to day living?  That no matter what happens, little or big things, stresses and unwanted surprises, I will determine to act in a manner that is pleasing to God.  I will allow the leading of the Holy Spirit in me to guide my every action, thought, and words.  

I am praying that this year is a year of restoration and blessing for our family.  A year of God's promises being fulfilled.  

I will be linking up here.

Craft Studio Organization

This room was originally our daughter's room but since she has moved onto the real world and college we decided it would become my craft studio.

This was the space before in these pictures.

I moved all of my craft supplies from the basement into this room.  I started this in December and it is still a work in progress but it is getting there.  I have so many inspiration photos on my Pinterest boards.

Before:

This is my ribbon drawer.  I have wrapped most of my ribbon around cardboard pieces to eliminate the bulky spools they are on.  Now this drawer needed to be neatened and organized.  

Here is the after:

I still have some very fine ribbons on their original spools under the cardboard.  This method saves quite a bit of space.  Much better.

This is a little cabinet that is a bit beat up but still loved.  I use it to store my yarn and papers.  I use many different containers on top to hold more supplies.

These sweet little porcelain buckets were on clearance a while back at Christmas Tree Shops for fifty cents. Now they hold my brushes, pens, paint pens and markers on my desk.

This container was from a Bath & Body Works gift set.  It has an interesting shape and I like the pattern on it.  I use it to hold bits and pieces of this and that while I work on a project.  This keeps the desk surface clear.  The small draw organizers are great to store paper punches, stickers, and many forms of ephemera.

This cabinet was in the basement but I brought it up to this room because it is a great storage piece.  It is a bit on the plain and uninteresting side so I want to pretty it up somehow.  I am currently looking for inspiration and ideas.  Please share any you have.

I used the small closet space to hold fabrics.  I hung them on the rod with skirt/pant hangers.

Underneath it is a three drawer cabinet to hold more supplies.

This room is far from being finished.  I will continue to work on organizing but I also want to use the time to create pretty things.  

I am linking to the Dog Days of Winter "Organize It" Party.  Hope you can join.

Neglected Spaces

Shortly after Christmas I came down with the flu.  I had not had the flu for about 14 years and completely forgot how horrible it really is.  It took me out of commission for quite a few days, and even when you start to feel better it leaves you feeling so weak.  It had taken some time to completely recuperate and start back with a schooling schedule.  Things are returning back to normal pretty much and I have missed blogging.  There were posts I want to complete for the New Year but they were completely forgotten about.  My only goal was to not feel so weak.

This post is about some slightly neglected areas of our home that finally received a dose of tlc.  

The first is in our bedroom.  I do have further plans for this room but that will be in a future post.

For now, I replaced my awful, on sale Target nightstand with a sweet little find.

Well hubby and I were on a date at this little village not far from us we found this little treasure.  

I need to get some baskets for the shelf to better organize it.  It is on the to do list.

We picked it right up.  I love the shape and finish on this piece.  The distressing is perfect and the price was almost too fabulous to believe.

I love the shape of the legs.  The shelf is already full of books on my must read list.

This area at the top of our steps was the second neglected spot.  It is the second floor landing of our home.  Not sure what happened to the picture.  The armoire does not have that color distortion in real life.

There was only one lonely chair there and I knew it needed something else.

My mom found and picked up this sweet little table at Home Goods.  I love it and how much better this space looks now.

I am much happier with this space. 

I need to add some art work to the bare walls and then it will be perfect.  The yellow is hubby's color choice.  I would have loved something a little more neutral but he likes it.  The picture below is the true color.  Up top is a bit too bright.  Not sure what happened with these pictures.

Next post will be my 2013 goals for our home.  Better late than never.

I will be linking up to these great parties.

Restoration

It has been too long since I have posted.  Through this time I have been mostly absent from blog land.  I have been seeking the Lord and His will for our lives.  Life is unpredictable.  God may take you through places you never would have imagined.  Some difficult places, filled with unknowns, places that will make you rely completely on Him.  It is His desire, after all, that we live in His will because it is what's best for us.

Thankfully, by His mercy, God has restored our home to us.  I count it all joy to see the work the hand of God has done and continues doing in our lives.  I trust in Him as we face the future and hope in Him alone.

Dear Hubby is starting a new job.  Still with the same company but in a completely different role.  It's a season of newness here.

Our daughter has started her second year of college, first year of the nursing program.  She is working toward her goal and we cheer her on.

Our son is in his second year of high school.  We are still homeschooling and hitting the books hard.  He is definitely a right brain, artistic learner and we are working on incorporating that for better learning.  He looks forward to art school and I am looking to see what is necessary for acceptance into this type of program. Signing up for PSAT's and driver's education.



I am currently reading the Odyssey and participating in the Classical reading book club hosted by the fabulous Edie at Life in Grace.  Still crocheting and creating, in desperate need of finishing some projects and starting to revisit my blogging friends who have been sorely neglected during this absent period.

The summer came and went in a flash and I still find it hard to believe we are halfway through September.

Looking forward to reconnecting with blog land and sharing the work God is doing in our hearts and home.

God bless you!!

Spring Fever

I love spring.  The promise of new life.  It is so refreshing after the darkness and cold of winter.  Of course, we have gone from spring sunshine and warm temps to rain and chilly temps, but that is a true taste of spring in New England.  I am enjoying daylight saving times and longer days.

A true taste of spring here.

Forsythia in bloom makes me smile.

 A bit of sunshine to enjoy on these cloudy days.

While the weather is a bit gloomy I have been sprucing up the inside of our home a bit here and there.

As we await the return of spring sunshine.

This little bowl is a bit like a nest.  I filled it with twigs, moss and some book page strips.

This was inspired by Jaime's spring decor.

Enjoying lattes with my daughter.

Yum!!  Where's the chocolate syrup?

Invited our neighbors to tea.

Transformed a plain jar.

My daughter wanted a spring decoration for her room.

I started with a plain gravy jar.

Wrapped it with some twine.

Some scrap lace and  bauble I had.

This little decoration was made with things I had on had so it did not cost anything.  For now she has some silk flowers leftover from my wreath but it planning to get out there when we have good weather and fill it with forsythia.

Fun things to pass the time as we wait for the spring sunshine to return.

Linking to:

2011 Top 5

My favorite project of 2011 was the hutch transformation. 

This hutch belonged to my parents and I was so happy  to give it a new coat of paint and make it gorgeous.

Number 2 on the list is the Burlap Bulletin Board that had been on my to do list for far too long.

Number 3 is the fabulously spacious desk in our son's room.  

Number 4 is the incredibly ruffled skirt for my niece.  It was so sweet and I had fun making it.

Number 5 is the PB inspired bed for our son's room.

I would love to hear which one is your favorite.

As I went back through the posts for 2011 I was elated at the number of projects I completed this year.  It was a productive year and I'm looking forward to more in 2012.

Linking to:

It's Overflowing-Overflowing with Creativity

Finished Projects

This summer is passing by so quickly.  I have a long list of projects that I wanted to complete before we start with our usual school schedule.  Some of the projects have been crossed off the list.

My daughter's desk chair had seen better days.  It was a blue tweed material that had gotten pretty yucky!!  It was never very nice but it had gotten worse.

The actual chair was not in bad shape so I decided to recover it.  I removed the pieces and pulled them out of the plastic shell.

I recovered it with a fabric that a friend had given me.  It is exactly her style.  

The finished project:

Her bookshelf was next.  It was a laminate bookcase that needed a new life.

I used the free sample of paint from Valspar and made it pop with color.  The backing is cardboard and she did not want to change it to bead board.  I don't know what's wrong with her.  LOL~ She says it's not her style.  

We decided to Mod Podge some vintage book pages onto the back.

The torn pages were her addition.  I let her do whatever she likes.  This is the final product.

I love the color, it's a fun color.  The bookcase was moved to a different spot in her room.  The little alcove in her room now has this arm chair, in natural, from Ikea.

Now we are painting my son's room.  There are many projects that I need to complete to make his room fantastic.  It's been the same way since he was 7 and now he's 14.  It was due time for a change.  We have started by priming and painting his ceiling which was a bright blue.

On the to do list:

New bed~with shelves~Pottery Barn style but much less expensive

Desk~I want to use some cubby shelves and a door slab for this

Different tv arrangement~not sure what we will decide on for this

This is what has been keeping me away.  Busy days but I love having the time to accomplish these projects.

Hope you are all enjoying your summer!