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Lessons So Far…

March 30, 2020 By kelly Leave a Comment

Goodness. It’s been quite awhile since I’ve posted on my blog. Almost two years, actually. And, it’s truly NOT that I haven’t had every intention of updating more often, but, you know…LIFE. I have all these posts formulated in my brain and then I just get through days and I don’t post them. One day leads to another and here we are, almost two years between blog posts. Now that we find ourselves in the midst of a pandemic and we are living in a time that I’m sure none of us really expected, I thought it was time to dust the cobwebs off the blog AGAIN and post.

So, first of all, if you’re reading this – I hope this finds you well. I’ve honestly lost count of how many days into the quarantine we are at this point, but that feels less relevant with each passing day to me. Not so much counting the days behind us as looking forward with HOPE to better days in front of us. No one really knows how long we will need to “shelter in place” in order to flatten the curve, so I’m not even trying to focus on a specific time or date – just going forward with HOPE.  Isaiah 40:31 – But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. 

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Filed Under: Family, Health & Fitness, Home, Kelly Leave a Comment

Dusting off the blog…

November 13, 2017 By kelly Leave a Comment

Y’all. I fell into blogging never-land. Again. I didn’t mean to, but it just sort of happened. And, sometimes when it happens like that it somehow becomes habit NOT to blog. But, I do miss it. I find myself formulating blog posts in my head and what I need to do is getting them done here instead. So, let’s see if I can dust off this ole blog of mine and keep on track a little bit better.

The last time I blogged was in April. What has happened since then?  One of the biggest things that happened was that we did some renovating of our main level.

In April, we started the renovation process.  Some of it was DIY and some was done by contractors. One of the first things we did was rip out all of the old carpeting. We did this ourselves and while it was one heck of a monster job we saved a lot in tear out costs, so it was worthwhile.


Behold – our family room subfloor. (Along with the old furniture and wall decor)

One of my next projects was to paint our fireplace from red brick to white. This project was SOOOOOOO easy, I did it all myself, and I absolutely love how it turned out!


During/Before and After (before we added back the TV)

All I did to paint the fireplace brick was use white latex paint that I cut with water. Some people leave a more distressed look and I really like that too, but for our space I wanted it to more more white and it really brightened up the room and updated the whole look there.

We also repainted almost every wall on the main level. All that didn’t get repainted (yet) is the foyer and the study. I used one color palette and did all the walls colors on the palette. I did a lot of the painting myself during the day and Mickey and the girls helped a ton with touch ups too. Also, the biggest change was that we finally got our Pergo floors put in and we LOVE them!


Here you can see some of the flooring and see the fireplace coming together. 

Our next project was the kitchen. We had our builders grade counter tops and our faux finished back splash taken out and had quartz counters and a glass tile back splash installed. We also got a new under-mount sink and a new faucet in the process.


This is a look at our counter tops. They went in a week or two before the back splash. Oh, we just LOVE them! The quartz is awesome!!

The back splash install took a long time, but the guy that did it was just the best. He was so detailed and the end result was fantastic!


(Note: the cabinets come later…)

I cannot even put into words how HAPPY it made me to start getting our kitchen updated, y’all. But, with those updates, the cabinets really started to bug me being just plain ole oak, so plans got made to paint those over the summer too, but that had to wait a little bit.

My next project was to update the dining room which we had already re-purposed to mostly be a study area for the girls. I’ve wanted some plain windows for a long time and a friend just so happened to be giving a pair away, so I got those AND an old ladder. Granted, I had ZERO clue what to do with an old ladder, but that’s where Pinterest is your friend, right? I have to say, I still love how this came together!

Notice that the old ladder was re-purposed as a wall-hanging AND a corner shelf. So cool, right? And, I love the old windows on the other wall. This room is one of my very favorite places!

Anyone that knows me knows I am a coffee fanatic. So, when I saw this cute sign at Dollar Tree (can y’all believe that?!), I just had to have it!

Heading into July, we only had a few weeks left before school started again, so we had to make great use of our time and had some projects left to finish – such as painting the kitchen cabinets. I’m not even going to act like that wasn’t a J-O-B, friends, but it was so well worth it! I used Rustoleum Cabinet Transformations for the paint process and it was really easy to do. Labor intensive, make no mistake, but it wasn’t difficult in the grand scheme.


These photos show some of the stages we went through with the kitchen cabinet process.

 

It looks SO different now and so much better. The room is brighter and updated and just HAPPY! We are so happy with how it turned out! I still have some touch-up painting to do, so someone come MAKE me do that. LOL!

Another DIY project we undertook was doing some updating in our basement. We first painted over a super adorable zoo animals mural that had been on the walls since we moved into our house in 2006. That was bittersweet, but the blue we chose from the main level palette really works in the space! Our next project was laying vinyl plank flooring in our basement. This was a project that basically took Mickey and me most of a day to do ourselves, but we are super proud of the way it turned out. We went from just sub-floor down there after a water issue to having amazing looking basement floors. And, we did it OURSELVES too! I won’t give us an expert level rating, but we make it work. (*wink)

I don’t have updated photos of the basement, but we have since put a futon bunk in there. We are also creating a dance area for Mariana and have the treadmill there, etc. It’s a great hang out space again.


Our updated family room (before it was decorated for autumn)


Our updated fireplace with a fire in it and “This is Us” on the tv one morning when I woke up way too early. 


Our updated dining room/study room 


Our updated kitchen

I seriously cannot help but to smile, even still, when I see the progress we made in our house. Of course, there is still much I would like to do, but I’m THRILLED to have this much done. We are over the moon with our renovations.

And, with this post, I may have bored y’all to tears, but I have also successfully dusted off those cobwebs my poor blog was accumulating lately. I’ll try to do better about keeping it updated.

Have an amazing week, y’all…
Kel

Filed Under: Home Leave a Comment

Hello, Hello Fresh…

January 24, 2017 By kelly 4 Comments

I’ve posted previously about how I’m looking for dinner inspirations because I’m prone to getting in a rut with the same stuff. Y’all have been gracious about sharing recipes and ideas (thank you!), so I’ve been trying some of those. I’ve also decided to try out meal delivery services such as Hello Fresh. I have heard great things about Hello Fresh and received a promo code, so I decided to start there.

I opted to receive three meals for four people to start. Our first delivery came yesterday in a pretty large box that was insulated and packed with ice packs to keep everything fresh. One thing I really appreciate is that you get your ingredients (minus your backs like salt, pepper, and cooking oil) right in the delivery. The proteins are packaged separately, of course, and then you get boxes that have the produce and seasonings. Brilliant! This week’s delivery for us included ingredients and recipes to prepare Mozzarella-Crusted Chicken, Rapid Stir-Fried Beef & Broccoli, and Citrus Skillet Shrimp. What I didn’t realize when I ordered is that I could have made other selections, but having seen all the choices, this is what I what have picked anyway. I like that we have a nice variety. All of us eat chicken, but I don’t eat beef, and Mickey’s not crazy about seafood; still, there’s basically something for all of us throughout the week. Our selections are great to try because we have at least 3/4 of us that will try what is prepared for dinner.

Our first dinner was the Mozzarella-Crusted Chicken with roasted potatoes and tomatoes. Both our girls enjoy cooking and since Macey was home last evening (little sis was at dance), she helped me with dinner. The meal prep was easy and fun with both of us working together. It came together quickly and easily. We added one of our favorites, a “homemade Olive Garden Salad” (made our way), to complete the meal. Oh my goodness, y’all!! This meal was absolutely delicious! I’m not much on leftovers, but I wish I could have this again for lunch today. It was THAT good. The potatoes and tomatoes were simply seasoned with olive oil, salt and pepper and came out just fabulous! And the chicken? Divine! The flavor in the amazing topping was incredible! All of us enjoyed it very much! I’ll be looking for ways to replicate this one, no question.

Our next Hello Fresh meal will be tomorrow evening when the family, besides me, will have the beef and broccoli. Wednesday evenings we all have church, so it’ll be nice to have something I can prepare quickly. We will have the citrus shrimp on Thursday and I’m already anxious to try it!

I’m already impressed with Hello Fresh, to say the least. I will probably order from them again. It’s also nice to have meal inspirations because I doubt I would have come up with this, since it’s not something I’ve ever done, but I enjoyed it so much that I would like to recreate it. The beauty of a Hello Fresh delivery is that it’s all sent directly to me, all I have to do is prep and cook. Easy peasy!

If you’d like to try Hello Fresh, you can use my link to receive $40 off your first delivery. (www.hellofresh.com/?c=WPTTY9) They have a great variety of options, so there really is something for everyone. They’ll send the bulk of the ingredients and, like I said, all you have to have are your basics. What’s easier than that? If you want to try something new or if you just want some easy and delicious “go-to” meals, give Hello Fresh a try. I bet, like me, you’ll be glad you did.

Oh and I wasn’t asked to post. This is all me. If/when I try other services, I’ll report on those as well.

Best,
Kel

 

Filed Under: Home 4 Comments

Yes, I Still Iron…

January 17, 2017 By kelly 5 Comments

Yesterday was a holiday break from school for the girls in observation of MLK Day. Including the holiday break and the ice days, that was the fourth Monday in a row with no school for them. When I say we could all get used to that, believe me…we could. But, alas, all good things must come to an end and next Monday will be another 6am wake-up call. Yet another reason to be thankful that my coffee can be brewed and ready by the time I find my way downstairs to the kitchen. Ahhh!

Both girls had friends over on Sunday evening which meant they were happy, but thoroughly exhausted, yesterday. Macey was able to have a pretty laid back day at home, but Mariana had setting rehearsal for her spring dance show. (Let’s just say that a certain 10yo dancer beauty got a much needed early bedtime last night.) Since we had the day off, I knew I needed to catch up on some laundry yesterday, with Mickey’s help, and especially knock out some ironing. Yes, ironing. I still do it. Whenever I’ve mentioned this to some people I get that look of “Are you nuts, woman?!” And, maybe I am, but I can’t not iron.  I’m not over the top about it because I’m not quite so picky about, say, work-out clothes, though I’ve been known to press a t-shirt before I put it on to go for a walk. But, only if it’s super wrinkly and looks like I slept in it. I also don’t get overly fanatical about things and iron our bed sheets.(This is mostly because our sheet sets come out of the dryer looking amazing most of the time.) I do like nicely pressed pillow cases though. Is that weird? And, is it really so weird that I still iron? 

I have always ironed. Even when I was single and working full time. Back then, I would sometimes get industrious and iron all my outfits at one time and have them pressed and hanging in the closet waiting for me. That was RARE though. Most mornings found me in a scramble trying to press a shirt on the floor so I could get presentable and scurry out the door and into the morning commute traffic. Logically, I always wanted to be more prepared, but logic didn’t always win out back in the day. Just keeping it real here, y’all. Even so, I didn’t skip out on ironing even then. I thought everyone ironed. Until I met Mickey. He didn’t iron a thing. NOT ONE THING. All of his clothes were “wash and wear.” Wait…what? I didn’t realize that was a THING. Come to find out, what he would do is wash and dry his clothes and the very second the dryer dinged, he would immediately hang them up. Just like THAT. And, sure, they were passable. They weren’t IRONED, but they were okay. Still, that wasn’t a system that would work for me. First of all, I was almost never around when the dryer went off. Clothes had to do time in the washer and dryer. A load was usually thrown in before I left for the day and either tossed into the dryer when I got home or re-run the next day if I forgot them. I wasn’t the busiest person ever after work back then, but just wasn’t home every time the dryer finished. So, I always wound up with clean, wrinkled clothes that needed to be ironed. Meanwhile, he was content to grab his from the dryer, hang them, and go on with his life. Simple, right? Well, I broke that not long into our dating relationship. I decided he needed to up his game from just (wash and wear) pale blue shirts and khaki pants to more professional looking shirts and ties. I was on a mission and TJ Maxx came to the rescue back then with an awesome sale on men’s shirts and ties. He was soon set with  more professional attire, but…guess who got to iron them? THIS GIRL! I’ll be honest, I liked it. I felt all domesticated. I was taking care of my MAN, y’all. He was looking so spiffed up and getting compliments at work. I could iron for that, for him — absolutely! And, I dropped those wash and wears right to the Goodwill too. Woot! All of that was great and, guess what? He still likes his nicely ironed clothes to this very day. Here’s where I confess that I don’t iron for him quite as often since I do the girls’ clothes now too, but I still take care of his stuff now and then. He’s actually learned to iron quite nicely and he doesn’t even sideways glance at the wash and wear section at the store anymore. Much.

So, back to yesterday. Macey and I had been invited to go kayaking with some dear friends, but I had a pain in my lower back that I did NOT want to aggravate, so I asked for a rain check for us and stayed home to catch up on some ironing. I have a system where I do the girls’ clothes and hang them outfits together on hangers. It really just makes mornings run more smoothly when all they have to do is go to their closets and pick a hanger. Seriously. I know I can’t do this forever and I won’t, but for now I’m opting for the simplicity of mornings with this system. Anyway, I was working on sorting clothes to iron yesterday when a monster headache came out of nowhere. Darn sinuses and the headaches they produce! So, I took some meds, beasted out the sorting of the laundry, had a bite of lunch that Macey made (delish!), and fell out for a much needed nap with the warm mist humidifier an my essential oil diffuser going too. Clearly, I needed that nap because I slept so hard I was actually DREAMING. A good two hours later, I came to and still had a piece of that headache, but felt well enough to finish ironing.  Happy to report that the girls’ school outfits all got done and hung in their closets. Given the events of the day, I’m calling that a win.

Almost every time I iron, I wonder this — for those that DON’T iron, what do you do? How do you get clothes to look nice and presentable if you don’t iron them? I’m asking in all seriousness, not one bit judgy, please know that. I’m genuinely curious. While I am good with teaching the girls to iron and keep their clothes looking nice, I also want them to have flexibility in their life skills. NOT ironing is not something I am familiar with doing, so I wonder what the alternatives are, exactly? I should say that when things look rough out of the dryer, it would drive me nuts to try to wear them that way. They have to be smooth looking. What do y’all suggest as alternatives?

The crazy thing is that I actually enjoy ironing. I will often knock out piles at a time and watch a tv show while I’m getting it all done. I’m a huge dork for saying this, but it just gives me satisfaction to get our clothes ironed and looking just so. BUT, if there are good ways to have clothes looking fabulous without ironing, I would sure take those suggestions. What say you, good people?

Have a wonderful day,
Kel

Filed Under: Home 5 Comments

Christmas Cards

December 5, 2012 By kelly 5 Comments

It’s Christmas card time again and, I just have to be honest, it’s my favorite mail time of the whole year. I just love getting mail and what is better than seeing sweet Christmas cards in the mailbox on a daily basis? It is all I can do not to run down to the mailbox as soon as I hear the mail truck up the street. If you ask Mickey, he’ll say I’m that way on a normal day, but when you add Christmas cards to the mix – I’m practically a mail carrier stalker. I adore getting mail and I just love Christmas cards.

Every year, we send Christmas cards to family and friends. (If you haven’t received one and want to, please message me. I love sending them as much as receiving them.) Invariably, every year I stress over which cards to pick and use. Do I go with one photo, two, MORE? Just the girls or the whole family? Stick to red and green colors or branch out into something else? Where will I order from this year? How many? Stamps are HOW MUCH now? There are many decisions to be made and, honest to goodness, sometimes I have to remind myself that this is fun and shouldn’t be a stress. When I adjust my focus on this being fun and a wonderful tradition, I always get into the spirit when I create, order and send the cards. It’s just that those first decisions are daunting even though they shouldn’t be.

This year I went with three separate card designs. Yes, I know…I took the express train to crazy town on that one. It came down to me liking three very cute designs, getting a really good price (thank you, Walgreens Photo!) and having a ton of cards to order. When in doubt, get them all. Am I right? I’m going with a yes on that one. So, anyway, I ordered three sets of cards and picked them all up in one afternoon.  This was all the last week of November. Somehow, everything aligned just right for me to actually be ahead of the game. Shock! I worked for two days (in my spare time) addressing and stamping the envelopes. The out of state cards were mailed on November 29 and the in-state and in-town cards were mailed on the 30. I was a woman on a mission  to get those cards outta here and into other mailboxes. Guess what? Only one came back returned for postage. The one to Mickey’s parents. D’oh!! But, at least they could find the humor in it. 😉 Pretty much as soon as our cards were mailed, others started hitting our mailbox. Oh, happy day!!

All this rambling to say that I am super happy that it’s Christmas card season. It’s only December 5 and we have already received some really great cards. I look forward to collecting them throughout the season. And, then, I look forward to saving all the photos that are sent. Last year, I started something cool with our Christmas card photos. I cut out each photo and put magnetic tape on the back. The stairwell leading to the basement has magnetic paint on one wall, so I arranged the photos in a collage on that wall. We walk past those photos several times per day and it’s always nice to see the faces of friends and family. So, I’ll be adding this year’s photos to the collection and every day that I see the photos I’ll be reminded to be thankful for the precious blessing of loved ones near and far.

Blessings,
Kelly 

Filed Under: Family, Home, Kelly 5 Comments

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