Brushing up a Bit

We've been settling into our new house and slowly getting back into a routine. We still have one room to finish up for sure and our storage room is a royal mess. Since moving in, money has been tighter than it's ever been, but we are happy to be back on our own and having consistency in our lives.

The house that we are renting was built in the 60's or 70's. It's a split-level and the owners did quite a bit of work in the house (such has expanding the kitchen/dining area and putting tile down in the lower level) several years ago. Still, it is very much a rental house with its all-white walls and neutral coloring everywhere. Thankfully, our landlords gave us creative freedom to make it our own, and slowly, we are planning on doing just that. It's nothing drastic or major, since this house is not our permanent residence forever, but is the first place we've lived where I am itching to decorate a little or update maybe. We've hung pictures and added a few coat hooks in the front area. I have a million ideas running through my head and am sharing a few with you in this post, so hopefully, some day down the road, I can show you the actual projects in completion.

The first one is for our living room. When I saw this post @ Love Actually blog, I was inspired. She found it through another and I immediately thought, "This would look so cool and bring our livingroom up-to-date!" That is one room in all our living spaces that has felt completely "Grandma-ish," meaning outdated. We had couches that were given to us from my mom's garage sale find that were seafoam green with pillows that were a peach, off-white and seafoam green, along with these massive lamps in the same seafoam green with very decrepid lampshades. They were the most comfortable couches I've been on and we were so grateful for them, but they were from the 90's and you could see it pretty plainly. We did add a couple darker wood side tables that I love and now, we have a new camel-colored couch. I love it! Our area still lacks something and I know these pictures will be a nice addition (along with replacing our curtain with something adorable!).


The second project is for our front area, which is not separate from our living room. It's a small area at the front door that's tiled. We have no front closet to hang coats or put shoes inside, but I've found something, I'd love to do to help keep the area neat and organized, plus add a little charm to it. I've always loved Pottery Barn, but obviously, they are way out of our price range, so I've asked Mr. ADM to build me something similiar to this.


Mr. ADM's dream room for the boys (or himself)The third project is painting our boys' room. The walls in that room are pretty dirty and the bad areas have been spot painted, so it needs a solid coat of something. I'm not sure what color to paint it. I'm thinking blue. I don't know if I want to theme their room or not because all we have in the room are their toddler beds, a cubicle with different colored bins for their clothes and a mini-nighstand. If I do a theme, I want it to be something simple. Maybe dinosaurs, cars or space themed? Do you have any good ideas for little boys' rooms?

Other than that, it's mostly little things here and there that need replaced or added. I want to make some pillows for our couch and possibly curtains too. Some hardware needs to be replaced in the bathroom and curtains in a couple rooms. Looking forward to slowly making this our own! It feels good to be home.

Happy Feast of St. Francis of Assisi!

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon:
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope
where there is darkness, light
where there is sadness, joy
O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
Amen.

7 Quick (Really Quick) Takes!

1. Moving is so much easier when you're already packed up from the last move :). Mr. ADM brought up the boxes from the basement and storage and put them in one room and then put the furniture in another room. He's got a method and it's a very efficient one, so I let him do all the planning!

2. Having help is also a major plus! Thanks to all the men who are giving up a few hours of their day to help us out! Thanks also to my mother-in-law who will be taking care of Matthew and Mark and keeping them out of trouble.

3. Naptime is my favorite word of the week. I think the combination of a really hectic week and lack of routine along with the whole upheaval of moving has overwhelmed the kids (I know it's overwhelmed us!). They have been cranky and crankier all week long. Naptime is happening soon in this house today!

4. I cannot say enough good things about COCONUT OIL right now. It's really helped clear up Matthew's eczema and is good for you, so it's great to bake/cook with too! And I'm going to finally sit down and make the homemade deoderant which uses the coconut oil.

5. I am SO looking forward to decorating our new house! It's still a rental, so I can't go hog-wild, but our landlords have given us more freedom than we've had in the past with apartments we've rented and I'm SO excited! I have some crafty ideas already in my head and hopefully, I'll have the time to do these things, one by one. We shall see. Look forward to blog posts about my projects, which I have found from other blogs, of course!

6. I have begun a novena to Our Lady of Good Remedy. I've never prayed this one before, but I really like it. It's beautiful.

7. We're taking the plunge and homeschooling this year. My mom, who watches the boys when I work, has started some simple things with them and I'm hoping to be able to start up more myself once we get moved in. So much running through my mind and so many ideas and I'm SO looking forward to it! I'm also set on making the boys' play area more in the style and method of Montessori. That is the project I think I'm most excited to work on!

Have a blessed weekend! To see more Quick Takes, visit www.conversiondiary.com!

Apple Pickin'

I thought summer flowing into fall would bring a nice peace and tranquility to our lives. Summer was full of weddings, travelling, helping my parents move and juggling interviews and finding jobs. Now that fall has hit full swing (although technically not fall quite yet), our time has not gotten any less hectic. That's okay though. We say when we move next week, a routine will be set and we'll finally get that free time we have been talking about for 6 months or so.


In the midst of the chaos, we have been attempting to make Sunday the day it was meant to be, the Lord's Day. For us, this means no shopping if possible, going to Mass and then coming home to do as we please. That usually entails long naps, some computer/reading time, and a nice family dinner. However, even that can get hectic or seem to slip by without us noticing and then Monday comes back before we know it. This past Sunday, however, seemed to flow quite nicely and I felt like I could cherish the moment.


Being that we just started our new jobs, finances have been extra tight as we save up to actually live in a place on our own again. It's worth the sacrifice and we know what it is to scrimp n save, as we've been doing since the beginning of our marriage. So, when the two apple trees in my parents' yard seemed to be full of ripe fruit, ready to be picked, we seized the moment to go "apple pickin'." Matthew went apple picking for the first time last year and had a blast, so I knew Mark would love it too! We spent the afternoon picking apples and made a delicious apple crisp that night with our freshly picked apples. It was free and got a job done that my mom needed while having a wonderful family-bonding experience all in one :)! My boys love fruit (they get that from their daddy) and we're hoping (*hint hint*) that my mom will have time to make some apple sauce or teach us how to do it.

What's your favorite apple dish?

Wordless Wednesday

The Journey Never Ends

And it has only just begun.

It's been a crazy time around here and I've barely had time to breathe, much less post. I promise, dear friends, that a *real* post is in store later this week :).

God bless!

This Pretty Much Sums Up How I'm Feeling...

(Picture courtesy of my brother and his new fab camera :). Mr. 1-yo was in the sandbox, eating sand, and I looked out and told him that we don't eat sand and this is what happened ;).)

I've been running around, going non-stop since summer hit! A women's expo this weekend and down to Texas (for the first time!) for a really good friend's wedding! Then, I come home, potty-train Mr. 1-yo, and to Ohio for my brother-in-law's wedding. My, how time flies!

Big prayers for the job search as Mr. H continues to interview and tries to find a teaching job or something where he can do math all day. I've been looking as well.