My Son's Room Update

After our trip to the thrift store and my dining room makeover, I had a few changes to make in Harrison's room. The chest of drawers in our room now works great in Harrison's room. Also, the rug that was under the kitchen table is now in his room. I think it works great for this Lego playing boy. Pretty much everything in his room has been thrifted or is a hand me down. That's pretty much the way the rest of our house works as well!

This bookcase belonged to my husband as a kid and works great for toy storage. All of our kids' toys are housed in their room as we don't have a separate playroom. This really helps keep the toys from getting out of control. Although, they can always be thinned out a bit more!

These great WWII paintings were also a find from our thrift store trip the other day. At $4.00 a piece, they were a deal!

And just in case you wondered what superhero lives in this room, it's actually Spiderman.

So, at what age do you think he'll make me move the flowered rug out of his room? Come to think of it, a white rug in a boys room won't last that long anyways, ha!

Have a blessed day!
Jennifer

Being More Intentional this Summer

As summers tend to do, this one is already getting away from me! The kids start in their new "university model" Christian school August 19th, so this summer will be over before we know it! I have a few educational endeavors that I want to accomplish (or at least maintain) this summer and I've found that I haven't been real intentional about doing them in the last couple of weeks.

Like anything else, having it down on paper or in a schedule helps me be more intentional about following through. A schedule has encouraged my intentionality with a regular cleaning routine and menu planning. So, I decided to create a daily schedule to make sure we get in our reading, family devotional and few little lessons along the way.

The kids' new school teaches Spanish which I'm thrilled about, but Haley will be in third grade without much Spanish knowledge. Therefore, we will have a Spanish crash course for the rest of the summer. Her new school is also doing cursive handwriting, so we'll keep working on that as well as some arithmetic. Harrison will just be working on letters and basic math. I will make this fun for him by utilizing iPad apps and fun worksheets.

I also want to make sure that I am reading to them as well as Haley reading on her own. Most importantly, I want to be intentional about our daily devotional. We have a great resource for devotionals with Our 24 Family Ways. But even with a great resource such as this, it takes discipline to make sure we do it everyday.

Here is our little schedule. Granted everything may not get done everyday and that's okay. But, chances are we will complete more tasks if we keep this schedule on the fridge. 

Blessings,
Jennifer

Happy Father's Day!

I'm so thankful for these three Dads in my life! I am seriously blessed in the "Dad department"! I hope all the great Dads out there feel celebrated today and everyday! 

Blessings,
Jennifer

Laundry Room Vintage Curtain

All of this moving things that I already own around for a fresh look got my wheels turning even more. My husband's aunt sent this wonderful vintage needlework about a year ago. I just adore it, but I hadn't had a chance to get it framed and if I did frame it, I really didn't have wall space for it. So, it just sat in the closet in a box. 

I thought it might be a crazy idea, but why not make it into a little curtain for the laundry room? First, I just pinned it up there. I thought it looked cute, but I knew that I could improve on the pins even though I'm not a super crafty one.

I decided to try some clothespins and a string. Well, it is a laundry room after all?!? Haley painted these clothes pins to be name place holders for her Tea Birthday Party. We actually didn't end up using them for the party, but I thought the colors looked pretty cute here.

Looking into the laundry room with my vintage farm signs above and now the vintage "curtain" makes me almost want to do some laundry! Why not make the laundry room a happy place, I spend enough time in there!

Thanks for hanging out with me in my little vintage inspired home! For more home inspiration be sure and like Simple Home Managing on Facebook!

Have a blessed day!
Jennifer

Linking up with Thrifty Thursday and Transformation Thursday

Changing Things Up

I'm at it again, moving things around that is! Did you happen to see my Summer Home Tour last week, if not, check it out! 

I needed to give the rug under my kitchen table some love and cleaning. With it missing from the room, I thought I might as well experiment with a different table arrangement. I really didn't think it would work with the kitchen island so close, but it didn't cost me a dime to move it and it can always go back.

I actually really like the result. I ended up moving the little chest and of course I had to move the paintings. 

It actually feels like we have more room while sitting at the table. So, I decided to find a new home for the rug which turned out to be Harrison's room (pics to come). I then moved some art that was just sitting on this chest over the kitchen sink window. I found the butterfly picture in the house that wasn't currently being used. Here's the result:

I have so much fun "playing" and changing things up that I already own. It doesn't cost any money and if it doesn't work, then oh well, you can always put it back! I hope this inspires you to "shop around your house" and freshen things up a bit!

Remember, it's not about having the biggest or "best" house, it's about having a house that's a home and a haven for you and your family. It's about having a place to come together, grow together, worship together, laugh together, and love one another. 

Blessings!
Jennifer

Linking up with Thrifty Thursday and Transformation Thursday

Awesome Thrift Store Find and a Garden Fresh Dinner

Saturday we stopped by our favorite thrift store that benefits a Christian homeless shelter. It is such a nice thrift store and we always have fun looking around. With no particular agenda we happened upon a chest of drawers that was just our style (mid-century modern). We actually found another chest there a couple of years ago with a similar style.

We got the price lowered a little with the expectation that we would take it off their hands that day. The problem was the store was closing in about thirty minutes and we don't own a truck.  Funny thing is we were practically guarding the thing so that no one would buy it out from under us and the only reason they lowered the price was that it had been there for awhile. I guess this means we have a "unique" style!

Here is the chest in it's new home in our bedroom. The chest it replaced (from the same thrift store) is now in Harrison's room.

I put a quick call into my sweet friend Robyn and she and her husband were so kind to let us use their truck. Robyn's husband also helped Matt get the chest into our house, my back thanks him!!! Then, we planned an impromptu dinner with combined resources of Matt's grilled jerk chicken and goodies straight from their garden.

We had so much fun fellowshipping and eating wonderful food. Of course, the kids loved playing with their two little guys. This one looks like he could be one of mine and oh I could just keep him and all his sweetness! 

Sometimes the best days are those that aren't planned and this was one of those days! So many gifts from God!

I hope you experience God's gifts everyday. They are all around you, you just have to pay attention!

Jennifer

What to do with all those digital photos?

In this digital era where we constantly have access to digital cameras and even cell phone cameras, it can get overwhelming to have so many pictures on your computer. What should you do with all of those pictures?

When my daughter was a baby, I spent many hours making lovely scrapbooks with layers of beautiful paper framing each carefully selected picture. At the time, it was a labor of love and I thoroughly enjoyed it. But, as we welcomed our son into the family his scrapbooks were a little less ornate. After a couple of years of trying to keep up with getting the pictures into the scrapbook, I simply became overwhelmed.

Then, I found a great solution for our family. I began making digital "yearbooks" for our favorite family pictures from that year. I even take pictures of the kids artwork or fun little notes to include. I enjoy making these so much. With the small size that I choose, they do not add any clutter to our house as well. Since, I love taking pictures especially on vacations, I have made a separate vacation book for just those pictures. So, I can shoot away and feel artsy on our trips.

We use a company called Blurb to make our books and we have been thrilled with the quality of the product we've received. (I am not sponsored or endorsed by this company) I've been able to customize the book to my liking and add text as I wish. Of course, there are many online companies that offer this service.

Here are a few examples of our family Blurb books:

Of course, we don't use all of the pictures we've taken in that year for our book, so we will archive all of them on external harddrives that can be accessed as needed. I have a friend who makes a yearly book then transfers all of the picture onto a disc that is stored in their safety deposit box, a great idea. 

I hope this helps you get your digital pics off of the computer!

Have a blessed day!
Jennifer