Do you ever look at your home and feel like you need to change things? You get out your list of wants, and it seems like it is a mile long! So many of the things on our list aren’t doable right now, and then we start to feel at sorts with the home we live in.
We can get so caught up in what we want that we don’t see what we have right in front of us.
When I am starting to feel at sorts with my home, and the projects that need to be done, or the furniture that needs to be purchased, I go back to the basics, the simple things.
I get great pleasure out of making my home more comfortable and pretty. I know I am not alone in this desire to nest or play house!!
After reading the comments on my last post it was very apparent to me how many of you also like to nest.
One reader wrote about putting flowers in her Grandmother’s silver pitcher. She not only had a beautiful container, but she had memories attached to her pitcher of flowers from the yard.
I am sure we all do different things when we nest, but we are all trying to achieve the same goal.
We are trying to make our house a home for our family and friends, but it does not have to be a new sofa or a new rug. It can be the simple things.
I discovered years ago in my thirties that is was the simple uncomplicated things in my life that truly made me happy.
Guess what it involved? My family, and making my home comfortable and pleasant for them. A simple meal, a clean house and everyone being together. I realized then, that it was not big stuff or complicated stuff but simple little pleasures that seemed to make me and my family happy.
When I did the post on “Simple Flowers” I realized that many of you felt the same. I could tell by how you all spoke of bringing in flowers from the yard and putting them in a simple vase. It also made me think about how we go about nesting or playing house as I like to call it.
Sometimes it involves bringing in greenery or a flower from the yard.
A pretty bowl of fruit………
Fresh hand towels on the sink……….
Clean sheets that have been sprayed with lavender water.
Spraying down my counters with lavender cleaner, and making them shine. Or even the fresh scent of citrus will give my kitchen just the right scent. If I don’t have any special scented cleaner a quick spritz of window cleaner gives a wonderful shine.
A special candle with a lovely scent......
These are only a few of the basic things we can do that virtually only cost a positive attitude and a little bit of effort!!
I am sure most of you already do most of the items I have mentioned. I hope you don't mind me reminding myself and YOU about getting back to the basics. How about you? What are some of the basic things that you do when you are nesting?
Remember...........
“Enjoy the Process” Of:
Nesting, by doing some of the simple things in life!
Kathysue
27 comments:
With the state
of our U.S. economy
{and the world's!}
it is more important
than ever to remind
ourselves that it.is.
not.about.THINGS, per
say, but about the
kind of sweet moments
that you describe.
Thanks for the wonderful
reminder, Kathysue....
and the lovely pics,too!
xx Suzanne
I so agree with you, Kathysue. And sometimes the most simple things are right before our eyes.
I love the images you used in this post! Wonderful!
XO,
Jane
Yes, yes, yes!!!! Kathysue, these are all the things that go into making a beautiful life! And one of the reasons I adore you. You GET it! And, I know that you have created a beautiful life for your family.
I do try to do these things, too....but sometimes get overwhelmed with the over things I need to do.
Thank you for the reminder and the encouraging words. It's absolutely not about the things!
Happy weekend, friend!
xx Elizabeth
Hi Kathysue!
Yes, nesting is something we love to do, don't we? I am continually changing things around just because I am in 'the business' but my favorite thing is when I get a day off where I do not have to go anywhere ... to stay in my pajamas and clean, catch up with the laundry, put fresh linens on the bed ... and then pick up fresh flowers (picked from my garden is the BEST!) and place them in a beautiful vase. That is a good day ;)
thank you for this post kathysue! you are SO right---it is those small things that mean "home". being together, a clean house, a tasty meal...
i need to spend more time focusing on what i can do and not what i can't. great post.
:)
have a great weekend,
autumn
For me, I am so happy when the laundry is done and out away, and the beds are made!
Stay
A lovely message
Great post, Kathysue. I try not to think of all my wants or I would truly get down. I look at what I have and am truly blessed. I do love simple things like flowers, fresh sheets, newly mopped floors. I spray my pillowcase everyday with lavender spray. Love it and it just makes everything feel better.
Love this post because they are all things I love to do. Always try to have some fresh flowers or a potted plant/flower of some sort, it brightens things up. Am a huge candle burner, always have a great scent wafting through the air, love a big bowl of fresh green apples or lemons on the counter, am a room spray fanatic and after a good cleaning love going through the bedrooms and bathrooms spraying away then I close the door so it "seals' it in the room..lol. I just enjoy all the little touches so very much, it really gives me great pleasure and sometimes I even imagine I am primping a hotel suite for an incoming guest...crazy? Maybe but its fun!! I love having things sparkle and smell fresh, if you can make life beautiful with all these little touches...why not do it?
Sometimes, I just look at the pretty little things I already have and that makes me happy! Like you said, gathering beautiful flowers from the garden and put in in vase is one of life's simple pleasures! Definitely a good reminder to all of us that happiness doesn't always derive from things, especially new things!
Have a wonderful weekend, Kathysue!
Jessie
www.mixandchic.com
Kathysue, You have great way for reminding us all to count our blessings. I love nesting. I love coming home to my little house. I know it is not perfect, but it is ours. We need new living room furniture, but it can't be done right now. As long as our house is clean and fresh I am happy.
Susan
Live simply.... Can I say that blogging has caused me to lose focus on what that means??? I'm constantly seeing what others are doing and it makes me feel like I should be doing to. Not trying to put blame on anyone or anything, but its just my truth!
Again, thanks for your posts. They really put things into perspective:)
The simple pleasures, something we always take for granted! It's nice to be reminded of this Kathysue, and boy I am a nester!! I am always striving to make my surroundings comfy and pretty. Hugs,
Nancy xo
Such true statements and a wonderful reminder! I, too am happiest when I have a day at home (alone) to putter around and change sheets on my bed, straighten up, rearrange if I feel like it, and light candles! These are also the type days where I get in trouble with my husband for rearranging furniture or hurting my back, lol. The pictures were refreshingly simple and beautiful at the same time, loved them.
"Playing house" yes , Kathysue that is exactly how I feel when I am taking the time to putter with the simple things that make a house a home. GREAT REMINDER thank you.
Have a PRETTY day!
Kristin
Kathysue, this is such a great post and such a good time for most people to stop and be grateful for what they have and to enjoy it. It really is the simple things that make us the happiest. Love you and you are always so right. Hugs, Marty
Wonderful post. Just yesterday I cut some hydrangeas and brought them in. I put them in one of my favorite vases and just stood there and looked at them. I was so happy I took a picture on my phone and sent it to my neighbor. She texted back these words: "Simple pleasures." I couldn't have said it better. Thanks for the reminder, thanks for visiting my blog and have a great weekend!
I always adore your posts, Kathysue. I am always amazed at how alike we are. I see myself in you in a lot of ways. Some of my happiest moments are just sharing a good meal w/ the family at the kitchen table. I have been cutting my hydrangeas and filling vases throughout my home. I ALWAYS have a candle burning in the kitchen. Now I will have to get some lavender linen spray... I bet it helps sleep too, which I have had a hard time doing lately. xo
I totally agree with you...it is the simple, but elegant and comforting details that add to our lives. Everydays are the best!
I'm in complete agreement. I realize that most of what I do decorating wise is mainly for my pleasure, my husband and kids aren't that picky. Your post made me think about what I appreciated in the home I grew up in-the smell of fresh laundry, Lemon Pledge or my mom's pineapple upside down cake-these are the simple things that make a house feel homey.
Thank you for this wonderful reminder, Kathysue! You are so right, it is the simple things that make life beautiful. I love fresh linens and fresh flowers. I love to find just the right vessel for the flowers. I love apples or lemons in a wooden bowl. Right now I have lots of lavender from my visit to the lavender fields so I find that everytime I enter my house it makes me smile and just be happy that I'm home.
Great Post! XO
Totally agree. It's amazing how the little things can make such a big difference. I'm working on just cleaning up the house - I have piles everywhere - paperwork is the bane of my existence. A clean and neat house just makes everything look so much better. And with my abundant hydrangea this year, it will be so easy to make some beautiful arrangements!!
Kathysue,
I totally agree! It is the simple things in life when you get down to it!
Lovely images too!
Have a great weekend.
Teresa
xoxo
The simple things I love are having a clean house (done by someone else preferably), fresh flowers, and all the laundry and ironing done. That's heaven to me! It rarely happens but I can dream!
yes, the simple nester moves make a lot of difference. sometimes, it just means "analyzing" what matters in a room -- light, for example -- and trying not to block that light with too much 'stuff.' We moved a chair and end table from in front of the living room window yesterday and it makes a huge difference. The room is actually smiling -- only took us two years to figure that one out!
Love this post!! May I repost on the HOF Blog? :) Janell
Great Post. Believe it or not, I was just sitting in my living room thinking about how I needed "something new" to re-energize the space. When I sat down at my computer, your post was in my inbox. After reading it, I relooked my living and recognized that I have everything I need. To give my living room a new vibe, I'm going to move some things around, pull some of my treasures out of the closet and use what I have to make my space feel fresh again.
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