HOUSE UPDATE!

   

It is time for a house update!! 

It has been a whirlwind of activity, and our heads are spinning. After getting 7 over asking bids on our home within the first week we chose one offer, and now our home is……………

It has been a flurry of activity, both mental and physical.

We are busy, purging, packing, and storing our belongings.

One can sure collect a lot of , “Stuff!” when living in the same home for 37 years.

I have found the purging to be much easier than I had anticipated, and have found it to be very freeing. It feels good to know what is in the boxes in the corners, in the dark.

There have been moments of exhaustion, excitement and bitter sweet moments of tears along the way.

Basically an emotional roller coaster, but we are surviving it all.

It is funny how you will run into something that was in a box that you have not seen for awhile, and the tears will come so unexpectedly. 

For instance when I opened a box, and found this little guy……

This is "BINGO", he is a talking bear that giggles, and ask questions, and is always ready for a hug and ask for hugs frequently.

When I found him I immediately started crying. I told my hubby I had to take a moment. 

So I took Bingo inside, and held him and cried for a bit, and smiled about all the family memories with Bingo in our family.

Years ago my youngest son asked for Bingo for Christmas, and I debated on getting him because I knew he would soon out grow the stuffed toy phase, and Bingo was priced at a price that was a bit expensive for our Christmas budget back in the day.

I have a very dear friend that told me, “For God’s sake get him the bear, it is the only thing he has asked for, for Christmas!” She was right, as she usually is, so I bought the bear for our youngest son.

Little did I know that Bingo would give our entire family so much pleasure. We have all enjoyed hugging him, and making him ask questions, and we answer him too!!

He even entertained our Grandchildren, and to this day if any of our family members see Bingo, they will giggle, pick him up, and make him talk.

So for now Bingo will wait in his special box for the arrival of Great Grandchildren where he will emerge, and make them giggle, squeeze, and answer questions with their parents, Grandparents and Great Grandparents.

So when you think of me today just think of me up to my eye balls in boxes ….

and getting very creative with bubble wrap….

My casual look!

For more formal affairs!

 

 

Not Totally Letting Go!!!

 

There are so many things I will miss about living in our home of 37 years. One of the things I actually posted on my Facebook page yesterday and everyone was telling me to TAKE it with me, was this wall planter that hangs by my front door.

Trust me there was a great debate about several things we are leaving, and this was one of them.

 I purchased it years ago, and knew that someday it might rust out or fall apart, so I have kept my eyes open for years for another one. 

Before I finally decided to leave it, I had to make sure I could find another one.

Well, three days ago I found one. I was like a little kid that just got their first bike for Christmas.

In fact it  is even better, it can be hooked up to a pump, and it will serve as a wall fountain once we move into a new house, or we can use it as a planter, whatever works out best for the new application.

So all my wonderful Facebook friends can rest assured, Kathysue will get to have another one of these in her life again!

I actually found it online and have already ordered it in flat black. It is on a 3 week back order so hopefully it will arrive before we move……

Found HERE!!

Thank you all for your support and concerns about me leaving my pretty little wall planter, but you see Kathysue is a planner, so all is well with my world!!

 

 

Do You Plant Flowers On Mother's Day?

   

We are busily packing away for our upcoming move, so I hope you don't mind visiting one of my past post!

With Mother's Day quickly approaching I thought I would post a blog post from my archives  to share again......

 ........I was amazed at how many people were doing gardening on Mother’s Day!

Many told me that was their Mother’s Day gift from their family.

Apparently on the East coast they wait until after Mother’s day due to the weather conditions.

I love this tradition, and like thinking about everyone digging in the dirt, and planting pretty flowers for the upcoming summer months.

Today I thought I would give you a few images to inspire your gardening……

Not all of us have the space for this wonderful fountain, and boxwood lined path, but this totally inspires me to think out of the box, or in this case boxwood!(sorry I had to say it.)

We have all seen ground covers in the cracks of steps but I have never seen succulents. 

I love the textural carpet it creates and the varied greens are beautiful. These  will grow just about anywhere and are quite hardy. Such a nice little accent on the steps.

Impatiens are a flower that we in California can plant a bit earlier than the rest of the country, and mine have been in the ground for a few weeks now, and they will last until right before Christmas.

This wave of pink, and white inspired me in my own little garden area by my front porch……

It might not be as impressive as the very large expanse of space in the inspiration picture, but it still gives me great pleasure when I sit out on my front porch or walk up to my front door.

The reason I am showing you my own little garden spot, is to show you that you do not have to have the same amount of space or plants to still get inspired to add some beauty to your yard.

Often times we will look at something we love and talk ourselves out of even attempting to duplicate it, because of size, space or monies. There is always a way to add beauty to any area with some creativity and a little bit of work.

(All above images can be found Here)

I hope this inspires you all to get outside this week and dig in your garden and create some beauty!

 

 

I Have A Big Announcement!!

Life has many doors that we pass through,  and my sweet hubby, and I are about to pass through a new door that will take us on our next  journey in life……

After living in our home for 37 years, we are selling our very loved home.

She has been so good to us over the years. She is a family home! 

We raised our 3 son’s here, and our two daughter-in-laws spent a great deal of time here while dating our son's, and then as our son's new brides.

Our 3 Grandchildren were brought here as infants. I have watched them grow here. We even had a room for the 3 of them to stay in when they spent the night.

I am sure many of you have done some of the same things we have done here in our sweet little home.

It is time for us to move on to a smaller place so we will be bidding her farewell.

It will be bitter sweet when we have to turn her over, but we know this is the best decision for the two of us.

So dear readers it looks as if you will be having another new journey with me if you keep following along!!!

As I have said before……..

And I promise I will try my best to……..


  

 

 

Do You Have An, "I Don't Know!" Box?

   

*Putting a mirror on the back wall makes the closet looks larger*

It is that time of year again and this year I AM going to purge my house and get rid of all the extra things I no longer need, or use.

After living in our sweet little home for 37 years you can imagine how much we have accumulated. 

I am what you might call an organized hoarder. I have way to much stuff, but I stack it neatly, Okay sometimes the stacks fall, but they start out neat.

*notice all the hangers are the same*

When I purge I usually start in my closet. It is a good place to start since I am usually changing out my Fall/Winter clothes to my Spring/Summer wardrobe.

One technique that I have found that helps me in the process is to have a keep, donate, and an, “I don’t know box!”

* all clothing is color coded*

The I don’t know box has saved me a lot of time over the years. 

I have found when you first start purging it is hard to get rid of things, but once you get your rhythm going, it becomes easier.

*hanging a small mirrored medicine cabinet from Target is helpful in keeping my perfumes orderly and easily reached*

If you stop the process or rhythm, and try to justify whether to keep it or not, the entire process gets bogged down. 

*shoes that I do not wear all the time are in boxes*

Once you are done going through everything and  then go back to the I don’t know box at the end you  will find that you will easily wind up donating most of the items that you thought you might wind up keeping.

  *hooks are great for hanging hats and necklaces*

Trust me I have done this for years and it really speeds up the process.

*Flip flops are kept in a pretty basket*

*Shoes that I wear frequently are on a wall rack*

Helpful Hint:

Another little helper is, if you use the word MIGHT, as in I might use this someday, or I might need this someday, get rid of it because the word MIGHT is a real good indicator that you have not, or will not use it in the future.

These are some of the helpful hints I have found that have worked for me. I hope you all can try this out to see if it will help you in your purging.