the one thing…

i love about january in nebraska is that organizing and starting fresh come very easily. there is a ton of snow and the temps are below zero, the holidays are over and business has slowed down, so it’s actually the perfect combination for starting afresh and staying in and organizing. that’s the positive way of looking at january in nebraska….i’ve heard a lot of people grumbling about our weather and the nasty winter we’re having, but i’m choosing to focus on the positives! if it were nice outside, i would not be nesting and regrouping in my home, right? it feels so good to get things done that have been on the back burner for way too long. i have 20 photo sessions/events of my family that have been sitting on my computer waiting for a time like this.

i spent a few hours saturday working on my living room/dining room. i took most of our Christmas decor down on new year’s day, so it felt sort of like a clean slate, other than the fact that i had a lot of clutter to sort through. i did something that i haven’t done in a long time in that part of the house and i highly recommend it if you are wanting a fresh look. i took everything off of every flat surface in that room and set it on or around the dining room table. i looked at every piece and tried to be objective and ask myself if i still loved it. i decided quite a few years ago that i would rather have very little in my home than  live with anything that i didn’t really, really like. as i looked at each item, i did decide to part with about 10 things. i put all 10 items in boxes and set them aside (i always tell a few friends/family members before i take things to goodwill, so they have the option to look through stuff) then i proceeded to look at each table/shelf, flat surface and played around with all the pieces that were left on the table. i enjoyed every moment! it was so much fun. one of the best parts now that it’s done, is that every time i walk through that part of the house, i’m so satisfied with the way it looks. the huge bonus? i spent NO money on new accessories! however, last wednesday, i did go shopping downtown with kelly and becca, and i did buy a new cupboard. i had asked for this antique cupboard for Christmas 2 years ago and didn’t get it. it was still there on wednesday after 2 years, so i thought it must be meant for me! i am still working on filling it with loved pieces, but i know it won’t take long. you can sort of see it in this shot-

i think this is one of the first times my dining room table has been cleared off for months! i am going to try to really rethink how i “use” storage and find ways to be more organized. i had no idea how challenging it would be to run a business out of my home and keep my home decluttered! every day when the ups man brings boxes, my house gets trashed!  since january is typically a slower month, i’m thinking i can come up with a system of handling all the product and paperwork before things get busy again. i do love working from home and hope that i can continue to make it work and maybe even make it work more efficiently.

here’s another shot of the decluttered dining room. it makes me so happy.

when i get the “new” cupboard all put together i’ll share more photos. hope you don’t tire of seeing the little changes in my house for the next month!

another thing that i’m very excited about (to put it mildly), is that we went appliance shopping on new year’s eve day! after over 5 years of living in this house, we are finally updating the appliances. they were shot when we moved in and the last 5 years they have gotten really, really bad. this summer when we had family here from the seattle area, i went to open the microwave and the handle broke off in my hand. nice. jared went to use our microwave one day this fall and looked at it and said, “how do i open this thing?” precisely. i could go on about how bad every appliance is, but i won’t bore you. it is definitely time for new. the only appliance that is in good shape is the refrigerator that we brought when we moved in. but it is being replaced too, so our off white GE frig will be on craigslist in the next day or two. i have no idea how to responsibly dispose of the stove, microwave and dishwasher, so if anyone has ideas, let me know. i do know that we did our part in not senselessly replacing pieces that didn’t need replacing! i would have never guessed when we moved in that we wouldn’t get them replaced until over 5 years later! i’ll be taking before and after photos this week.

new year’s eve was so enjoyable. we went shopping with donna and jamie during the day and then the 4 of us met up with greg and pam for a yummy dinner at charlies on the lake. it was so relaxing and lowkey….with easy conversation and lots of laughs. tom and i were home early and proceeded to sit in the hot tub before we went to bed. we even sat in the hot tub the night it was -10 degrees. i didn’t last long that night, i was so scared i was going to get frostbitten ears!

guess what i was doing 29 years ago today? my life was forever changed when i gave birth to my beautiful baby girl brooke leah. i was so young, naive and innocent, and i was head over heels in love with my new baby girl. my life has never been the same! i love her fierce independence (which has never faltered!), her intensity, her big heart and her overall beauty. to see her as a beautiful woman, wife and mama to 4 of the sweetest babies ever is just the best. i admire her for so many reasons and i’ve discovered that no matter how old your children are, they are always your children. i will always have motherly feelings and want to guide and protect my children, even when they don’t want it! it’s the most unconditional love of all! happy birthday brooke-i love you.

God bless each of you and your day!