Woodland Watercolor
I had a bit of fun today watercoloring this little woodland creature with a mushroom cap atop his head as well as a young fairy.
Honest Simplicity
my winding road to a simpler life
Category: Uncategorized
March 18, 2017
What We’ve Been Up To in Florida
We’ve been in Florida for nearly two months and I’m just now posting about this leg of our trip. We’ve been staying at the Sherwood Forest RV Resort in Kissimmee and it is a huge RV park. If you are looking for a cozy quiet park where you are on a first name basis with the office staff, this is likely not the park for you. If you want to be very close to theme parks, it will work wonderfully. Luckily, we met some great people and made new friends during our stay.
January 27, 2017
Goodbye Gulf Shores, Alabama
We spent a wonderful two months at Luxury RV Resort in the town of Gulf Shores, Alabama but we have since moved on to Florida. The RV park was quiet, clean, staffed with great people, and easily accommodated large rigs like ours. The only downside I could Read the rest of this entry »
January 19, 2017
Gulf Coast Zoo and the Beach
While staying in Gulf Shores, Alabama, we’ve visited the little Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo more than a few times. It is conveniently located only blocks away from our RV park and the kids enjoy feeding the animals (you can purchase food for $2 per cup to feed certain Read the rest of this entry »
October 14, 2016
Creating Independent Children
I just finished reading a wonderful book, Balanced and Barefoot, which challenged me to take a step further in loosening the reigns I have on my children.
I feel like my kids are fairly independent at home. They play outside a lot, they use their imaginations to entertain themselves, they have been doing household chores for years ( Read the rest of this entry »
June 1, 2015
Home as a Sanctuary
(repost from last year)
I’ve been clearing away clutter and simplifying over the years, but still have plenty of work to do in that department. It has been a slow, but purposeful process. Is your home a sanctuary or a stressor? So often, we vacation to escape our busy complicated lives only to return back to the chaos. When did vacationing become a need rather than a want? Simplifying my life helps me to create spaces of comfort and peace within my own home. I look forward to the day when returning home from vacation means returning to a place of rest and relaxation instead of returning home to a long list of to-dos and visual clutter demanding my attention. It pleases me that I am on that path. What could you do today to make your home a sanctuary? What distractions could you part with to make room for peace? Courtney Carver, who I find to be a wonderful inspiration, speaks on this topic in her blog Be More With Less.
Here are a couple of spots in my home which bring me peace of mind:
I find my kitchen to be a peaceful place in my home (when there are no dirty dishes)
I love a clutter-free countertop
July 27, 2014
Yard Sale
Our neighbors decided to have a yard sale, which gave me motivation to look around our house for items we could part with. We decided to piggyback onto their sale. The more the merrier, right? My kids were very excited to have a sale (I remember this anticipation as a child). They eagerly found toys, books, and movies they no longer wanted and I helped them price their items. Yard sales are tiring and lots of work, but I find it rewarding to see someone else find treasures in my once-cherished items. At the end of the day, my kids were thrilled with their sales, I cleared out more stuff from the house, and we all enjoyed spending time with our neighbors. Our unsold items are already in my car ready to drop off at the thrift store. Yes, a yard sale can be a fun way to clear out clutter.
July 11, 2014
Horseshoe Market
I will be at the Horseshoe Market all day tomorrow (July 12) at booth #73. I’ve been busy the past few days preparing for the show (while taking care of my children). I still have work to do, so I’m keeping this post short!
July 8, 2014
Repurposing Old Towels
We have two kids, so it isn’t surprising that our bathroom hand towels are stained and dingy after much use. I decided to replace them with new darker-colored hand towels this weekend. Instead of throwing away the old towels, I repurposed them into cleaning rags. Honestly, I’m not sure what happened to all of my cleaning rags (repurposed old washcloths) over the years. Now, with the help of my handy rotary cutter, I have a stack of “new” cleaning rags. For the past few years, I have also made our handkerchiefs by cutting up my husband’s worn out white undershirts. Old T-shirts make great hankies, because they are already worn and soft.
Honest Simplicity 