Where I'm Cookin'

this post is part of my 31 Day series. here is the beginning.

I thought since we'll be spending so much time together in my kitchen this month, maybe I should show you around! There are a few things that I love about my kitchen and a couple things that I'm learning not to hate to like. I love that my kitchen is galley style. Having both ends open [almost] makes up for the fact that it's so tiny. To the right of that little doorway is a pantry. It's great to have so much storage! 

One of my favorite parts of our kitchen is the dish rack I jimmied up there. Isn't that cool? I got the idea from Camillo's sister's house. Hers was built in but I knew I could come up with something for that little nook. I literally just used a cupboard organizer thinga-majig, some eyelet screws, and a few S hooks. It's so perfect for washing dishes and then letting them drip dry into the sink. Lord knows there's no room for a dish rack on the counter!

We've been in this kitchen for almost 2 1/2 years and I've moved things around quite a bit. There are a few things that drive me crazy but I'm thankful for this little space where I can bake cookies with my tiny helper, or try new recipes for dinner.

So that's that. Nothing glamorous but I just wanted to share with you where I'm at while I cook for you this month. And show that you don't have to have all the fancy kitchen gizmos to make great tasting food for your family!

Tell us, what is your favorite part of your kitchen?

xoxo

Joy

The Best Mess

So..this is what we did today. My little bambino is walking and climbing and digging and carrying and tossing and chewing everything. Naturally, that means that everything is spread across the floor. He'll pick up one thing to hug, kiss, or bite it (sometimes all 3) and then toss it over his shoulder and move on to the next. He's a heartbreaker, that baby! I love him a lot. Like, a lot. But I was really thankful when bedtime came early. Ha!

xo

Joy

Homework and Housework

Source: dear-olive.blogspot.com via Dana on Pinterest

What a crazy weekend. Are you guys aware that it is mid-March already?! I just checked the calendar - it’s true. In the midst of this rainy month, the sun shone bright over the weekend. It was glorious. I opened the blinds and didn’t even care that the neighbors could see into our embarrassingly messy house. Didn’t even care. 

Good news! The embarrassingly messy-ness of our house has been [almost] fixed!! Friday we got an unexpected phone call that the contractor would be by within 15 minutes to finish the closet. And we were given the A-Ok to start putting Oliver’s room back together!! The last couple days have been a whirlwind, to say the least. This mama is trying to bust a move to get things back in order before the next crew comes in to clean the carpets! Yay! 

You can be sure I’ll show you some photos soon. I’ve definitely been documenting all six weeks of this project. Oh em gee. In the meantime, please don’t mind my potential absence in this space for a few days. My move buster is working over time!

xoxo
Joy

Pretty Prints

I take pictures. Like, all the time. I've only had an iPhone for about 6 months and have filled my album to the brim...twice! I've always had a thing for photography. In 3rd grade I had to do a quick research project and short presentation. I chose cameras as my topic! 

I've made a pact with my photo library to be more diligent about letting some of them out! It's great to have photos but, if nobody else can see them, isn't it a little lame? I printed our first small pile of photos and am so happy to have them in my hands! Something tangible that we can display and keep special moments fresh in our memories. Like a sleepy baby and a creepy 'stache. I chose some 4x4 pictures from my Instagram library and, instead of the normal 4x6, printed the others in 3x5 size. They're so cute and fun!

Now we just need to figure out how we want to display these for all to see! Something like this Instax Wall from A Beautiful Mess would be amazing. We'll have to work on our collection first, I think though. I also love the idea to use old clipboards. If you'd like, you can take a peak at my Pinterest Board of ideas. 

How do you display your photos? You can be sure I'll share some DIY projects when they're finished!!

xoxo

Joy

Hello

Hey All,

Just popping in for a quick Hello! We've got a sick baby in this house so there hasn't been much more than snuggles and snot suckers. I feel like I just wrote about this? Oh, yeah. He just got over teething! Poor little guy. He's finally sleeping better after a couple nights of absolutely not sleeping at all. Actually, he's slept so well today that I've painted a wall in his room, disassembled and sanded 2 pieces of furniture, and started some laundry. What what?! Now for a coat of primer!

Oh, we finally got some good news about the reconstruction of his room!! It's been twenty four days, people!! But! The contractor is coming Wednesday morning and should be finished in a week, tops. I cannot believe the drama this has been. But we can see the light at the end of the tunnel and that in itself has relieved a lot of my stress/claustrophobia! Thank the Lord. 

Aw, I hear a little voice blah blah blahing back there, better go!!

xoxo

Joy

A Really Long Post About Mold And Being Cheerful

A couple weeks ago, while pulling out a box of diapers from the closet, I found mold. It was black and slimy and nasty and gross and gag me. Right away I pulled out more boxes to find the starting point and thankfully it looked contained to the bottom corner. Bleach and a scrub brush peeled away the slime but the wall was stained black and I couldn't help but still be grossed out. I googled 'is black mold harmful' and, well, let's just say, if you google black mold, limit yourself to reading just two of the articles that pop up. I spent 45 minutes reading page after page while I rocked Ollie as he slept. And freaked myself out. Big time.

I emailed our landlord and, for some reason, started reciting a persuasive argument in my head. You see, we found mold in a previous rental and were told to take care of it ourselves. This was before I ever googled anything. Anyways, my scripted debate wasn't needed after all because my landlord showed up at the door within two hours. Woah, that's cool.

Fast forward a couple days and the mold guy is telling us we'll need to remove everything from the bedroom and that the disinfecting process will be five days. I almost croaked. That room has SO MUCH stuff in there. More than I even knew. I'd spent months organizing everything like puzzle pieces to fit in there...Ollie's clothes - too small and too big, his bed, his dresser, my desk, filing cabinet, art supplies, bedding, boxes of photos, sewing stuff, school books..so much stuff.

Admittedly, I spent a couple hours completely overwhelmed and a little bit grumpy. I didn't want to do all that, I didn't want to be crowded and uncomfortable for a week. Boo hoo hoo.

"Be cheerful no matter what..Thank God no matter what happens.." 

It snuck in with a bit of force and I realized it would be moments like this when I'd have to make the choice. Grouchy? Or cheerful? A lot of times, being grouchy is easier, right? It takes faith and sometimes a swift kick in the pants to be cheerful. I chose to cheer up. It took a big, exasperated sigh, a hug from Camillo, and an under the breath 'we're gonna make it'. And then we started clearing out.

That was a couple days ago and we've made it this far. There is a little path from the kitchen to the living room and then across to our bedroom. And a little spot for Ollie to roll around in. His bedroom is empty except for the big machines that are dehydrating the moisture and the closet has been gutted. Turns out, the mold came from water in the ceiling that seeped down behind the laminate walls of the closet. So there was a lot more than what we could see but thankfully, it somehow didn't get out past the closet.

We've got a couple more days of claustrophobic living conditions but we're cheery about it. On the bright side: We found it before it got out of the closet. Our landlord agreed that it was a serious problem and has been so great about getting it taken care of immediately. The contractors will be cleaning the carpet when they're done - something we've wanted to do for months. None of us got sick. And now that everything we own is in our dining/living room, I can take this opportunity to rearrange the whole house once it's time to put stuff back. I'm actually quite excited about it.

I know it's a little weird to write such a long post about mold. But I wanted to share my first big lesson in being cheerful no matter what. I didn't realize it before but, by choosing 'cheerful' as my word for 2013, I'm inadvertently choosing to be patient. And I'm sure I can use more of that, too.

As this moldy saga continues I'll be sure to fill you in. If I get brave enough I might even be able to snap a photo of the certified mold cleaner upper guys in their plastic bodysuits. Really, I could write a sic-fi about what's going on back there...

xoxo
Joy

All Is Calm

After a month of traveling and hosting company, our holiday shenanigans have come to an end. I'll be sharing photos over the next couple weeks: a trip to Seaside, snow at Grammy's, baby's first Christmas! Now it's just the three of us here in this little house and, aside from Ollie's delighted squeals, all is calm and quiet. We enjoyed a wonderful season and hopefully you did, too!

There's been so much on my heart that I've been trying to work out. All of it has kind of left me speechless. I really don't like not being able to explain how I feel or what I'm thinking. Sydney hit the nail on the head, though. I'll figure it out in my own words but for now, I'll appreciate how well she put it and and be thankful I'm not the only one! 

xoxo

Joy

My Five Words

Let's go back for a second, to even just 3 months ago...July. I was 8 months pregnant, working between 45 and 50 hours a week. Most evenings I was home by about 6pm and would fix a quick dinner, watch a show or two on the couch with Camillo, and then head to bed around 9pm. I was away from home for so much of the day, that I was excited to get back and those 3 hours every evening felt relaxing. I didn't think much about what filled our home or how it made me feel. 

Back to present time.

I'm suddenly spending almost 24 hours a day at home. In my 2 bedroom apartment. Let me say, I am so so SO thankful to be able to have this time at home with Ollie, and we're super blessed to have found a great deal on a two bedroom place. I'm most definitely NOT complaining. But let me get to my point...

It's just becoming very apparent, in an annoying sort of way, that our home doesn't really reflect who Camillo and I are as a couple, and now a family. By spending more than a couple hours a day at home (awake), I have time to notice that our home doesn't feel the way I wish it did. At first, I felt that maybe I was being ungrateful and prayed that my heart would change. That I'd be thankful for what we have. With everything we've been blessed with, why did I feel so discontent? 

Then somehow, I saw my 'discontent' in a different light and realized it wasn't due to ungratefulness. I'm just entering a new season of life and slowly figuring out what that will look like. As a new mama and a homemaker, it's my responsibility to make our home into a place that we enjoy. One that reflects us and can be a safe haven where we can find peace. It's okay to want a home like that. Yearning for such a place isn't being unthankful, it's just realizing that I have this amazing responsibility and opportunity to serve my family in a new way. 

Now how do I figure out how to create an enjoyable, peaceful home? I felt like I didn't know how to make an apartment our home. But when I found a few posts from Fieldstone Hill, I was immediately encouraged and got excited to narrow down our style, and how to work towards that by keeping a few descriptive words in mind. 

Knowing this is how I want our home to feel, I can focus on how to decorate and organize in a way that we can appreciate. My next plan of action is to go through our house and choose what stays. And what goes. It will all have to pass through my list. I want to be brutal! Wish me luck. I'm looking forward to recreating our space.

What would your style words be? Do you think your home reflects those words? Tell us in the comments below!

Old Baggage

Over the last year or so I've discovered a new love affair with vintage luggage.
(get it..old baggage?)
It seems as though I'm not the only one!
This week I read how to revamp tired luggage with pretty fabric - a DIY by Rachel
And was then inspired by Savannah's collaboration of repurposed ideas.
Can you see why I love it?
Here's what I did right away:

I've had these pretty pieces in our living room since we moved in.

They have our extra blankets and pillows in them!

I loved the idea of using stool legs to lift them off the floor...

Hmmm..I think I like it!
I'll leave it for a few days and, knowing me, might tweak it a little bit.
What do you think?
Do have something you like to collect?
I'm glad my collection can double as cute storage!

Oh, hey..do you see that muddy little piggy on the bottom shelf?
I painted that for Camillo for our first Valentine's Day!

Happy Weekend!!
xoxo
Joy

It's a crazy mess over here!!

This is what my dining room looks like.

Actually, this is what my living room looks like, too, but I couldn't stand to show you.

Camillo is rebuilding his computer and let's just say, I'm feeling a little claustrophobic!! 

But I got home from work yesterday and found this note...

So I feel better.
Let's just hope his computer is built sooner then later, eh??