Making Your Home a Haven

One of my favorite bloggers is Courtney over at Women Living Well. She is inspired to help women understand and become the kind of women God has intended for us to become.

She is starting a new Fall Challenge that I am eager to take on. In case you haven't figured it out yet, I love a good challenge to keep me motivated.

As Courtney writes:

"Stuffed full calendars and to-do lists sky high can leave the entire family feeling tense during the holiday season. I believe we can create a physical environment, as well as a spiritual environment, that can bring peace, harmony and a sense of calmness to our homes if we are willing to be intentional."

This is what I'm after this holiday season. A time to slow down, appreciate the things we already have, and connect more meaningfully with those we love. 

As the week 1 challenge begins today, I've lit my candle in the kitchen. It will be burning brightly all day to encourage me as I work, bring calm over my children at dinner, and catch our blessings as we go to sleep.

Read the rest of Courtney's post here. Then, let me know if you've lit your candle today.

Real Food - Pumpkin Spice Latte

Those who know me, know I love my coffee. I usually drink it black, but when given the opportunity I like the foo-foo drinks at the coffee shop. With my intentions to reduce our discretionary spending and to reduce the processed food we eat, I haven't been able to indulge in my warm cups of comfort that often.

Thanks to Aliesha over at Feathers in Our Nest, I now have a great recipe to make Pumpkin Spice Lattes at home. Of course, this recipe is much cheaper than the coffee shop version and much healthier.

Finding this recipe on Pinterest, made me thankful for all the wonderful ideas shared online, but at the same time a bit wistful. All these great ideas shared, all the pins I've made to my boards, but hardly any of the projects or recipes acted upon. So, I've decided to pick a Pinterest project of the week to try and share the results with you all. I'm looking forward to getting a bit crafty as the holidays approach and adding new recipes to our weekly menus.

So enjoy a cup of Pumpkin Spice Latte with me and share your thoughts.

Throw Out 50 Things - The Kitchen

I tackled the kitchen today as part of the Throw Out 50 Things Challenge. I have to admit that I cut a few corners in going through the kitchen. I didn't exactly sort through each drawer and cupboard, but rather took a cursory look and pulled out a few things. On the plus side, I did manage to gather up a few things to throw out that have remained in the keep pile through a few clearings done prior to my garage sales.

So, my list of 50 things continues:

20. Two serving dishes
21. Five miscellaneous plastic ware items
22. Two can coolers
23. Six assorted cups, glasses, and water bottles
24. One candy mold
25. Five expired bottles of vitamins and over-the-counter medications
26. Four cookbooks
27. One food scale

Well, I'm half way to my goal with only three rooms down. I haven't even gotten to the storage room or garage yet where there's likely to be many more items to throw out. Next, I'll be moving on to the dining room. It's a pretty basic room with only a hutch for storage so it's not likely to add a number of items to the throw out pile, but I'm sure I'll find a couple things we no longer need.

Check back with me in a few days and in the meantime, let me know how your progress is going.