tifi

I just love old houses, so I was really happy when I found oldhouses.com today while browsing another site. You can view homes by state or style, and probably spend hours drooling at the pics. My favorite style, I think, is Georgian Colonial. I love the symmetry of that style b/c one of my quirks is having things be even and/or balanced. One of my favorite things to do on the weekend is stalk drive through the historical district of a nearby town and look at all the beautiful houses. And the people don’t even mind. Seriously. They wave at you while you creep past their driveway. Ah, Texas.

I spent last Saturday pretending that I’m not a plant killer. Girlie has been asking for a garden, but this is as close as it’s gonna get, hehe. We went to Lowe’s and I was thrilled to find out annuals and perenials were 50% off, woot.

Alyssum and begonias

Snapdragons, petunias, african daisies and dianthus. Snapdragons are one of my favorite flowers.

I wanted to take this beauty (a peach tree, I think) home, and then reading this article made me want it more, but I definitely don’t have the skills required to keep it alive, lol.

So I dropped a few bags of donations off at the women’s shelter yesterday and decided I would stop by Sally’s on the way home “just to see what they had”. I got there and it wasn’t open yet, so I left. Phew, that was a close one, lol.

Speaking of donations, I am pleased to say that two full bags of stuff belonged to Luis. I had been trying for years to get him to go through his mountains of clothes and get rid of some. I mean, he had brand new tops, pants, things that were gifted to him and never worn. Tons of t-shirts that will never be worn again that he is keeping for sentimental value, etc. So, last fall, I finally just said enough and started doing it myself. Seeing me throwing some of his things away caused him to spring into action and over the past few months, he has cleaned out his closet and his excess in the garage. All that’s left is to wash all the stuff that he wants to keep and put it away. I plan to just take it all to the laundromat and put it in a ginormous washer and then dryer whenever I get a boost of energy…and have nothing to do, lol.

So I decided last month that January would be no spend month. Barring a few pre-calculated expenses (new shoes for Girlie, a “mental health day” with Reesie, etc), I will not buy anything beyond the basics this month. No trips to Target “just to see if they have anything good” or to Kmart  b/c OMG! It’s after Christmas, and Martha ornaments are on sale! No thrifting, no fast food, nada. So far so good. I got the shakes one day as I passed the turn for Kmart and I just try to pretend Target doesn’t exist, heh. I think I can make it to the end of the month. I’ll be spending lots of time reading, knitting, and keeping up one of my unwritten new year’s goals which was to stay on top of the laundry and dishes. I find once those things are taken care of, I find it easier to get other things done around the house without those two red flags waving over my head. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go put sale stuff in my j. crew cart, and leave it there.

So I’m gearing up for the new year by trying to get the house in top shape. I’m a little superstitious when it comes to the new year and follow the bit that says how you ring in the new year is how you’ll spend the rest of the year. I’m trying to start it with a clean house, no dirty laundry…oh, and my family, haha. We’ll see how that works out.

The kids are so ready for school to start. Every day, Girlie asks if today is the day, and ZB keeps asking why the break is so long. We’ve done a couple of fun things: went to the cool park today, library as usual, and they got an easel as a belated gift, so they’ve been “arting” up a storm (Girlie got a painter’s kit with tubes of acrylics, watercolors, etc). They’re a little disappointed that they no longer have a “daily activity“, so I may just use that idea year round. About half the day I love having them home and have homeschooling fantasies in which I also bake bread and live on a farm, heh. The other half, I am whining right along with them for the winter break to be over, lol. Well, it will be over soon enough and I’ll go back to fantasizing about homeschool while they trip over their tongues and call me Mrs. Mommy, blending the way they address me and their teachers.

This year, I’m really going all out for the holiday season. DH grew up with MIL decorating for every season and holiday and has always wanted to recreate that in adulthood. I always think that if I add more decoration, it’ll just be too much but now that I’m doing it, I don’t find that at all. So, here’s some of the “more”.

I made this last minute advent calendar on Friday based on an idea I saw at Kiddley. Maybe next year I’ll start early and make one like Blair’s.

This is the box they’re in. (And that’s our tabletop kitchen, every family ornament chucked on it tree) So far everyone has gotten new ornaments (something we do every year), and written letters to Nana. Oh, and Girlie learned how to ride without training wheels! I forgot about that.

Oranges make me think of Christmas. Doesn’t everybody get or know someone who gets a huge box of citrus for the holidays? I had forgotten about these Tord Boontje plates I bought at Target on clearance last year until ZB said we should have Christmas plates.

And I saw these pyrex mugs and thought they were cute. A quarter each, why not?

My new slightly creepy apron.

I think my holiday village needs one or two of these.

This is a pretty neat site. Found it over at shelterrific. What’s your walkscore? Mine is 49, so about average. Most of the places in my ‘hood can’t actually be walked to though since it’s not really set up for pedestrian traffic. The site explains all that.

My mom wanted a few quick shots to show my grandmother. Figured I’d share them here. I haven’t put up any of the art or prints I want to yet. The room, as all rooms, is a work in progress…and I am definitely not a designer. I admire those with the eye to put a room together!

The Eloise poster we got free at a local bookstore. I just asked if I could have it. The Disney princess (ugh) chair was a gift from my brother. The “bookcase” is actually a pretty solid wooden hutch that my mom and I got on clearance for $20 a few years ago when some furniture store was going out of sale. I’m thinking of painting it white. DH says to stop painting everything white.

I recently rearranged a bunch of furniture to make a smaller, cozier space for our family. We naturally gravitate towards little nooks and corners anyway, so why not? It’s the middle of summer but I pulled out a blanket to cover the loveseat that I was never in love with (never ever ever letting DH choose furniture again!). Not long after, the kids dragged more blankets and then pillows into the room and now, it’s perfect. Lately, I have a real need to feel safe, protected and at peace (probably b/c of the million issues constantly swirling around in my head) and this really, really, helps.

For those who don’t know…I’m a hippie. I’m somewhat obsessed with simple green living. Not the trendy $300 organic jeans type, but the bring your own bag, teach the kids to recycle, go barefoot and hug trees (except I have allergies) type. I try not to buy many new books or movies, preferring to troll thrift shops and use (three) libraries, and netflix instead. I nurse my two year old, cosleep with him, (try to) practice gentle discipline and blah, blah, blah. Yea, I’ve got the credentials, but I hold two dirty little secrets.

1)I can’t give up paper towels: I’ve tried and tried but just haven’t been able to switch to cloth rags permanently. Which is like, nuts, considering how easy it would be for me to whip up some rags out of old towels or even just use old indian prefolds.

2)I wouldn’t say I have a ton of plastic in my kitchen, maybe an average amount? But I’ve been making an effort to get rid of it. I don’t visit MDC very often, except for the home focus forums and this is an oft discussed topic.

Lately when my plastic kitchen utensils wear out, I’ve been replacing them with wooden ones. I have almost eliminated the use of plastic cups and bowls in the house by simply moving said items out of the cabinet. When I find an inexpensive, heavyweight, and pretty one, I will be replacing our plastic juice pitcher with a glass one. The next step, and maybe the hardest b/c of the cost, will be to get rid of all my plastic tupperware type food storage containers and replace them with mason jars or other glass storage containers or pyrex. I have had no luck finding said items while thrifting, but I figure if I keep looking, eventually something will pop up.

Angrychicken recently blogged about this, so if you haven’t already seen it, check out her post on the same topic.