Rural Simplicity

I've been able to get a couple more items done for my daughters fox/woodland theme room; The hair bow holder, and the pinwheel. I also plan on making hot air balloons, but I just can't seem to get around to it. I think its going to be hard, and so I just keep putting it off. My Fox picture came in the mail yesterday! It's beautiful! You can check it out at Lyndsey Green's Etsy Shop.  Most of my other projects will have to wait until I've been scavenging through my grandparents attic and the shores of Lake Superior! I can't wait for vacation next week!  Hair Bow Holder: I didn't have a tutorial or a picture to follow for this one. These have been around for years, so I just pulled it together out of my head. I took a cute child's hanger and sewed various lengths of ribbons to it. Then cut out a piece of card stock scrapbook paper to fit into the triangle of the hanger. Then I cut out the squirrel from the same paper and glued it on. I super glu...

I have had an utterly Pink to the max nursery for a year and a half now. I'm not a fan of so much pink but was pleased to have a decorated nursery thanks to all of the decorations from my daughters baby showers and various items we already owned. But all cheap things must come to an end! We are moving on to a woodland/fox theme.  I chose this mobile/chandelier to hang over my daughters crib because it reminded me of a wreath of flowers that a little girl would make on an escapade through the forest.    DIY Baby Mobile/Chandelier   Find a round hoop about 12 inches across. I used the bottom of this old lamp shade. I just ripped the bottom metal band out of this lampshade and cleaned it off a bit. It was perfect! I used this pink all purpose craft ribbon. Any kind of ribbon or strips of cloth will do.   Then I wrapped the whole ring in the pink ribbon to hide the ugly metal.  I tied a knot where the ends came to meet and left i...

I get drawn into "weekend mode" very easily. It's the American Way. We love having our personal time to do the things we want. We enjoy the flexibility of time off, or making a little extra money; and entertainment is almost always a must.  The dictionary defines "weekend" as - the end of a week, especially the period of time between Friday evening and Monday morning. I also looked up some statistics on how the average American uses their time; especially their Sundays. I came to the conclusion that most people, sleep, eat and watch t.v. on Sundays. Their personal hygiene and care are lower on Sundays compared to week days (although not as low as on Saturdays).  So my conclusion from internet statistics and watching my friends, family, and neighbors is that most people use their weekends to relax, catch up on work (if you're a workaholic or have low income), and over all spend your weekend how you please.  After a long week at work everyone lo...

"I wish I could just..." We think we want things, we think we will be happier if. But it takes going away to realize we love home, it takes our phone dying to realize that we appreciate even having a phone, we wish we could have a day off from the craziness of our children until we are leaving them. How quickly we forget what truly matters. How quickly we become discontent with what we have or think we need. Every once in a while, I will actually catch myself being content with something that is happening. Like a day off at home to do whatever you want. Time to actually be a housewife and mom. It's nice to catch yourself being thankful! Most times I chide myself for not being more thankful, more content, more this, and more that. Too often we put ourselves down when if we just looked around at the good things that we are doing and are happening to us we might start looking at the bright side of things. Because we all know that once something is in motio...

We just got home from a weekend trip to West Virginia for a surprise 75th Birthday party! While planning for the trip we thought through a lot of options of whether to go or not, whether to drive or fly, etc... Because we all know that being stuck in a car with a grumpy baby is about the last thing anyone wants to do. With the help of my in-laws frequent flyer miles and the joy of having a child under two, we opted for flying. That decision brought on another set of options and planning. How do you keep a 17 month old happy on an airplane?  So I researched it, looked on blogs and pinterest for ideas and helpful hints... and here is what I found and what we tried. Super early morning flights are the best!! Late evening and night flights...bad idea! We left our house at 4:00am and landed at our destination at 9:40am. My daughter stayed awake the whole time and was very calm and happy the whole flight. Our return trip left at 5:40pm and didn't arrive home until 9:30pm. After a we...

I've had around 10 or so paying jobs in my short 25 years of life. Many of them part time and summer jobs. But one thing every single one of them had in common was that I had to learn the skill of the job; whether it was cashier, or babysitter. One of the first "real" jobs I had was at a fast food joint. I went through multiple training videos and at first had a manager helping me through the buttons and requirements of the register. When I finally got it down I officially started working on the front counter taking orders.. .and then I added people. Another job I've had is office manager for a small apartment complex. It took  several days to learn where everything was, memorize the phone reel, and be able to walk someone through an apartment. I got the hang of it pretty quick and felt pretty comfortable except maybe for the phone schpeel... and then I added people. I worked at a summer camp 3 years in a row. Every year you had assignments to fill out befor...

Welcome to part 1 of a mini series on "How to Make Your Apartment More Homey". If you have a house, don't ex out of this post, there are tips here for anyone living anywhere. Sure it's geared toward those of us who can't paint or put nails in the walls, but sometimes you need a little bit of unconventional artistry in your home (no matter what kind of home) to give it a fresh look.  Today we will be focusing on Buy Big - Buy Quality.  Your first thought is probably, "But I have a tiny apartment!" I'm glad you mentioned that. It doesn't matter what size apartment or home you have to use this trick. Yes you have to buy furniture that proportionately fits your home, but you don't have to buy knick-knack furniture just because your space is small.  1) Buy the biggest piece of furniture that looks right for your space. When we think rich, large house, lots of money, etc.. we think BIG. So in order to give your apartment a sophis...