Meet the Neighbors

I pray y'all had a wonderful weekend!

Friday brought a visit from Miss S, my college girl, and her roommate, Miss M,
whose family is in Virginia. I treated them with some scones and blueberry cobbler, which they loved. They spent the night and I discovered that I still love slumber parties!

Saturday we started our organic vegetable garden.

Sunday was a sweet day of worship and togetherness with my God family.

 Mark and I visited some open houses and then shared some coffee, chocolate mousse cake,

and dreams of the future at a coffee house downtown.

Monday comes again, and with it, the work of home.

And it's a job, isn't it?

Let's see what some of you have been up to!

Ruthie, a newbie blogger at The Christian Girl's Cottage found the perfect solution
to corralling her son's treasures in his bedroom.

Everything was out in the open. Driving her crazy.

She found this armoire with a fold out desk inside!
And what's more, she got a great deal: just over $100.




It keeps her young man organized and keeps her sane.

Ruthie also acknowledged:

"what a blessing to be called mom. 

and find dirty socks on the floor.  

and wet towels in the closet. 

and basketballs in the middle of the floor 

to trip on in the middle of the night."

Give our new blogging sister some love HERE.

~

Sandy's site: Organize with Sandy is chock full of ideas for space management.

She shared several ways to neatly store out purses and handbags.

From mayhem.

To management.

Miraculous!

She has a series of ideas on purse management at her place HERE.

~

I was ever-so-glad to meet Debra from Life in a 320 Square Foot Cottage.

I think, if anyone has some ideas about simplifying and priorities it's her!

She says: 

"It was not a simple idea, this, of scaling down.

It was even more difficult to execute, and required mountains of courage,

and truckloads of patience.

We went from a 2,500 square foot home to an 800 square foot apartment,

then down to a completely paid for, no mortgage owed

tiny cottage of 320 square feet.

WE LOVE IT!

Maybe we will inspire others to simplfy.

There are many ways to simplify. 

This is just one."

Wanna see her adorable, cozy new home?

Click on her header and go say "HI"!

You will be enchanted and enthralled and encouraged!

After reading her posts, I pondered: 

"How much do I really NEED?"

~

I really have some neat neighbors!

Don't I?

.

My Birthday Wish for You

(All the pictures are of things that greeted me when I got up this morning, my Birth Day)!

If you are reading this,

it means you are still alive,

and you can still breathe and see,

and you can hear me tell you that you are an incredible gift!

God designed you to be

who you are,

a one-of-a-kind

Masterpiece!!

You possess in your heart and hands 

the power of

hospitality,

mercy,

friendship,

giving,

love.

You are gorgeous, 

creative, 

charitable, 

expressive, 

thoughtful, 

whimsical, 

intelligent, 

funny, 

charming, 

and

plain ol'

FANTASTIC!

You are the perfect mom for your children,

the chosen woman as wife to your husband,

the listening, caring, and attentive friend.

As long as you are here on this planet,

you have the opportunity to

make your home warm and inviting,

to show your creativity,

and honor all those who enter in.

You are the one who is given the privilege 

of making your home 

a most precious haven 

for those who inhabit and visit it!

May this be a blessed day for you,

my friend.

Celebrate your arrival today!

Whether you were born today or not.

Happy Birthday!

.

You Are My Sunshine, My Only Sunshine!

Oh! Guess what? Guess what?

I am so honored and blessed to have received my very first award-- 

the Sunshine Award from Cris over at GOODEness Gracious 

Thanks, Cris!

I am blushing.

Here it is:

Cris was one of my very first followers, she is very funny 
and a very GOODe mommy.

Her toddler daughter, Miss Add (Addie) is one of those babies 

that you just wanna skwoosh the cheeks off of, she's so stinkin' cute!

Currently, Cris is blogging about her

FREEZE-O-RAMA extravaganza.

Freezer meals- which I love and haven't done for awhile, 

but methinks me needs to again.

If I can come to your house, Cris.

I am awarding this, because it's part of the game rules

to 12 more of my friends.

This will be hard because I love you all, so if you are not on the list,

please don't be mad at me and unfollow me.

I'd miss you VERY much!

Blue Clear Sky
Elizabeth is such a joy and so encouraging and always sees the clear blue sky in a dilemma- 
she is not afraid to express her style (which I love) and she is not afraid 
to paint things (which I also love). 
She shares many pictures of her cute home up in Canada on her blog so go say "hi" to our neighbor to the North!

Kitchen Table Productions     

Kolein is a hoot! What I love about her is she is REAL. 

She tells it like it is and is not afraid to express herself. 

She is a kid at heart and always makes me laugh! (And you DO NOT look 56, Kolein! Wow!)

Mommy, the Finder of All Things Lost    

Don't you love Andrea's blog name?? 

Andrea is a great commenter and has a wicked collection of pedestal jars 

and cloches! She is a homeschooling mommy, like me, 

and also is a diva singer, like me, too. 

She also has a new house- watch her as she decorates!

Frugal Missus   

Audra! You are so much fun to kid with. 

She has a black belt in thrifting, and has two very well-behaved children. 

When she is not out shopping or working, 

she is busy looking for my birthday present.

It's A Wonderful Life      

Holly stole my original blog name, but I forgive her because 

she and her hubby are so delightful! 
She has a great sense of humor, adorable kiddos

and some fun music on her blog.

Bare Feet On the Dashboard    

Becca, the newlywed, and her husband live debt-free, my favorite way to be! 

And, she makes the most adorable headbands and sells them on etsy 

because she adores wearing them 

and they are aDoRaBbLe and so is she!

Happy Brown House       

So, Sarah tells the funniest tales about motherhood and potty training, 

and it almost makes me wish I were potty-training my girls again. 

Almost. 

Sara also sews the 
HAPPIEST market bags, tutus, pillows and pencil rolls on etsy 

that she will monogram, initial or put a name on for you!

Writing Straight from the Heart       

Susan's "About Me" reads: 

Because I love writing and photography so much, 

it makes me happy to share with you. 
Life is a fascinating journey, for which I am very grateful. 
She does have a flair for writing and collecting tea cups and beautiful dolls! 

As she writes, you feel as if you are sitting with her 
while she shares her heart and her life.

Princess of Pink      

Marian lives in the Netherlands, and what I like about her blog, 

is I get to see decor of the Netherlands 

and how a thrifty, creative, lover-of-all-things-pink gal 

designs and revamps her home. 

She also sews birthday presents for her friends! 

I wish she lived next door to me!

Bugs and Sunshine

Do you like couponing? So does she. 

She has has a three part series (so far) about the whys, whats, hows, whens 

of saving money using small rectangular pieces of printed paper!

She has a new home and is transforming it into a cute cottage.

Home Matters

Jennifer keeps us informed of some wonderful freebies and coupon deals!

She also loves spending time with her children 

and taking them on outings to Lowe's. 

Lowe's? Yes, Lowe's!

SAHM, I Am!

Laura is a neat lady! She loves giving tea parties and she says it best when she says: the things we do everyday at home (to make our home a warm place, to raise our children, to offer hospitality) are such creative pursuits. 

She loves her good man, Mr. SAHM very much.

Now, the rules of the award are:

1. Put the logo on your blog within your post.
2. Pass the award onto 12 bloggers.
3. Link the nominees within your post.
4. Let them know they have received the award by commenting on their blog.
5. Share the love and the link to the person from whom you have received this award.