A Grateful Heart

Hey everyone!  Do you ever feel overwhelmed by how lucky you are?  I'm sure you do and so do I; but this morning, such a gripping sense of gratitude entered my heart.  I'm usually not so melancholy, but I am always humbled by my family and my surroundings.

The Man Was On A Roll!

Hey everyone!  Well, maybe I should title this post The Man was on a "slider" roll!  Whatever you want to call it, he has been making my life so much easier.  If you missed my last post, please check it out HERE, and see where this all began.  Today I wanted to share some more of The Man's cleverness in making our cabinets much more functional.  You really should grab a beverage and maybe a snack -- LOTS of photos!  Seriously, that shouldn't be a bit of a surprise by now.....lol!  Let's get started, shall we?

First up is the island.  There are doors on both sides of the island with the inside completely open.  When we added the granite, we added an extension on the one side and have stools there, making it even more difficult to retrieve items from that side.  The Man decided to use really long glides and make the sliders come all the way out just on the kitchen side.  We have some plans to remove the doors on the bar-side & add wainscoting and corbels.  I'll keep you posted on that little update.

Streamlined Storage

Hey everyone!  Is it just me or does "2014" already seem to be zipping by?  I guess that means we must "make hay while the sun shines," as my sweet grandmother was so fond of saying.  In my first post of the year, I shared some goals and plans for our home, and I'm happy to say we can soon check one of those goals off the list -- adding easier access storage to our home.  If you've followed my blog for awhile, y'all know The Man is a skilled craftsman/woodworker and there are not too many ideas I come up with that he cannot bring to fruition.  What has become more evident over the almost forty-five years of marriage and our growing "older" together, is that we don't always have to say the words or ask the question.  We can read that furrowed brow, the sigh, or the groan of frustration -- I am master of that one; well okay, I've got them all covered!  What I'm saying here is that we try to make life as good as possible for each other, but The Man is way better at it than I am.  Don't get me wrong, I am not a complaining or nagging wife, but I do have issues.  Two things come into play here -- I'm very OCD when it comes to order in our home, and I have a very bad & painful arthritic back (wow, does that ever sound "OLD!")  Because of the back issue, The Man has set about making as much of our cabinetry/cupboard storage as easily accessible as is possible.  He pretty much just thinks I'm weird with the OCD things.....lol!  Anyway, on with the post of the day where I want to share some "streamlined storage" that The Man has built.  

Today I'm sharing what has taken place in our master bathroom.  I'll do another post later on to share some other areas in our home that have gotten "The Man's Treatment!"

The linen cupboard

Having moved from a home that had very little storage, I was truly delighted to see this in the master bathroom.

Handmade Gifts

Hey everyone!  How is 2014 treating you so far?  I'm trying very hard to stick to my one little word, Simplify, as I've been gradually re-dressing our home after Christmas.  So far, so good, but I'm not ready to share any of that just yet.  What I wanted to share today are a couple of gifts that I made for our youngest granddaughters for Christmas.  Obviously I couldn't share them before because their parents both look at my blog!

The first was an idea I got HERE @This Mama Makes Stuff.  Our Little Miss is five, in kindergarten, very quick to catch on to things, & loves to do arts and crafts.  So, when I saw these scrap fabric paper dolls, it seemed like the perfect gift for her.

This is what the scrap fabric paper dolls will look like.  I had to do a sample but keep it very simple for our little five year old.

My 2014 Word, Plans, & Goals

H A P P Y   N E W   Y E A R   2014 !

Hey everyone!  Ringing in the new year has come and gone without much "hoopla" from us, except for going out to dinner at one of our faves -- BJ's.  And we did that pretty early, mind ya!  I'm still stunned that "2013" is now in the past.  Except for a few months -- July, August & September -- this year has just flown by!  Is this what happens as you get older?  Please say it isn't so!  Well, I guess it is what it is and now we move on.  Christmas 2013 has been packed away for another year, all the while The Man kept asking "Are you having as much fun taking it down as you did putting it up?' and "Is there any of this "crap" that you want to get rid of?"  Well, "NO and NO!"  Enough said!

During the three days that it took me to dismantle Christmas, I did do a lot of reflecting on my hopes and plans for the new year, and thought a great deal about what my "word for the year" would be.  It takes me awhile to decide on my word, because I truly want it to be a word of value to me.  You can read HERE about how this idea got started for me.  Anyway, I finally decided on my special word as I was vacuuming up the last of the glitter and faux snow.  Drum roll please.......

My 2014 word is S I M P L I F Y!  I think I will need lots of reminders scattered around to keep me on track for this one. 

As for plans and goals, I have quite a few.  

Mine and our (including The Man here) plans include:

Adding easier access storage in different places in our home (some of that has already started-YAY!).

Adding some outdoor lighting in our backyard.

Redoing our entertainment center and fireplace area in the family room.

Removing the carpet and adding hardwood to my craft room.
Finish and post my "House Tour."

Take a couple of the trips that are on our Bucket List.

My personal goals include:

Take better care of myself, both physically and emotionally.

Make gym-time as important as blog-time.

Connect with out-of-the-area friends more often via phone and cards.

Be more generous with my time to those who are the most important in my life.

Begin my "daily journaling" a.g.a.i.n.!

I hope all of you are looking at this brand new year with excitement and joy over what wonders it may have in-store.  I know I am!  I truly love New Year's Day!  For me, it's the day for setting up new calendars with important dates (like my birthday.....lol) and hanging them in strategic places, setting up my new planner, watching some football, calling a few very close family and friends to wish them "Happy New Year," and having a great meal with my "one and only!"

How will you be spending January 1, 2014?