My Beautiful Month

In case you aren't on Instagram, or don't follow me, here's a peek at my Insta-Life lately.
[*All photos are taken from my Instagram account.]

 Sunday morning indulging: homemade sausage gravy and biscuits

The weather was bad so church had us all stay home and did a live Wednesday night broadcast.

THE OHIO STATE BUCKEYES. THE CHAMPS!

Making our own hand soap with Doterra oils.

We stocked up for the huge snowstorm that was SUPPOSED to hit.

This is as close as they get. The fire brings them together.

With Love and God Bless,
Brindi

House Update: The Kitchen

Y'all, it's been one year and the kitchen is almost finished!!!

These last few weeks Daddy has been up installing the new counter tops and, my favorite piece, the island. It's beautiful and completes the kitchen, while providing storage for pots, pans, jars, AND my cookbooks! My father does amazing and gorgeous work; he is unbelievably talented at his craft. Mr. B and I have done so much to this kitchen, not because it needed it (other than the fact that the wallpaper needed to come down) but we wanted to make it our own, or I should say my own since I'm the one actually in the kitchen.

Let's take a walk down memory lane, shall we?

 

Ughhh....other than the wallpaper, the kitchen was absolutely fine. There wasn't anything wrong with it, we just wanted it updated. To make it our own. We updated the refrigerator, mainly because it kept freezing our food, and Mr. B surprised me by installing a new microwave while I was in Chicago. He was tired of looking at the messed up door. We drew out a plan and a timeline on what we wanted to do with our new home, saved up the money, and now--one year later--my kitchen is complete (almost). Once Mr. B and I finished painting, Daddy came up to install the back splash, which I love.

But the counter tops, I despised. They had to go. I mean they were okay, but I know what my father can do. I watched him build and supply many, many customers with beautiful cabinets and counter tops over the years, and I knew (finally!) it was my turn. And it's absolutely perfect. I am in love with my kitchen.

Isn't it beautiful?! I keep smiling like a little schoolgirl with a crush every time I walk into this kitchen.

I continue to be in awe of what my father can do at his craft. It's absolutely flawless, and his attention to detail is superb. He really keeps in mind what the customer wants and he delivers. When he was asking me questions about the island, at the time, I had no idea which side I wanted to display the cookbooks or the storage doors. It makes you really think about your space. And that's what he does. Daddy makes you think about what works best for you. How I actually use my kitchen, what's convenient to me, where do we walk, how much space do we need to open the fridge and the dishwasher....He's brilliant.

And if you're interested, visit his Facebook page, Creative Woodworks, for an estimate, or to contact him with any questions. (There are also pictures of his other beautiful wood works, so check it out!)

And, now, a sneak peek at the dining room....

Here's a closer look at my new coffee/tea bar!!!















We re-purposed the old island by turning it into the coffee bar I have longed for desperately since I was in college. Eventually I plan to paint it and strip the wood, and possibly have my father install a shelf, or drawer, of some sort in place of the stools. Also, I'd like to put a shelving unit above the bar along with some coffee and tea decor. It's a work in progress. But more importantly, I'm loving the free counter top space!

One room at a time....

With Love and God Bless,
Brindi

7 Days 1 Challenge: One

Happy New Year's Eve!!!

I know last week I said we were finished with the 52-week challenge. BUT....I didn't start posting about these challenges until week 18, so now I have to play catch-up. I'm going to continue posting the challenges every Monday, the exact first 18 challenges I did in 2012. Tomorrow I plan to feature my new "Challenged" page, making all 52 challenges easy to find in one place. Therefore, you can follow along with the blog, or pick random challenges at your own pace. Enjoy!


*In case you're new to these challenges, the challenge starts on Monday and ends Sunday night. The following Monday I'll post a new challenge.



This week's challenge:

Get rid of 5 things.

Google Images

Tomorrow is the first day of 2013, and to start the new year off right, I'm challenging myself to toss or donate 5 items I don't need, haven't used in a while, that don't fit or whatever. It's a ritual I've been doing the first week of each New Year for the past few years now. I find it helps me get rid of something I should have thrown out the previous year but kept thinking I would use it. Well, now it's 2013 and if I still haven't used it, it is gone. Good luck!

Who wants to take the weekly challenge? Let me know by sharing your thoughts/struggles and link ups below!


With Love & God Bless,
Brindi

7 Days 1 Challenge: Thirty-Five

Tea. Tea. And more tea. That's how I would sum up last week. Oh, and some wine.

As I was putting away my tea and coffee things (onto their own personal shelf in my brand new big kitchen, I might add) I was surprised to see they all...fit? I need more tea. I do not have enough options. (Or as Mr. B likes to say, "opinions.")


I hope your tea last week helped with your crazy and busy life. I know it did with mine, and this is one challenge I plan to incorporate into my daily routine.

But we're moving on because it's Monday and time for a new challenge!


*In case you're new to these challenges, the challenge starts on Monday and ends Sunday night. The following Monday I'll post a new challenge.



This week's challenge:

Organize one room.

Google Images

Is it sad that I could be that girl in the above photo because I love organization?!

Yes. I know.

But this organizational challenge comes at a perfect time because I have a few rooms that still need to be unpacked and straightened from our move into our new home this past weekend :)

Kitchen. Unpacked that night. I need a bigger pantry. For those of you who've seen my gigantic pantry, it's deceiving.

Living Room.
Master Bedroom.
Mr. B.'s Man Cave. Unpacked on Sunday.

My goal this week is to finish the bathrooms and the guest bedroom. I'm sure our guests will love the scrapbooking supplies that is currently decorating the floor, but it should be at least organized...

And, good night, do I have a lot of scrapbooking materials. And it's even more sad that I haven't found the time to scrapbook in almost two years.

I blame it on books. Baking. Yoga. Friends. Mr. B. Siamese. FRIENDS. Books. The Olympics. Working out. Football. Grocery shopping. Oh, and a new home. I blame them all. I don't have time to do anything ;)

But enough about me and back to this week's challenge.

Take the week to slowly organize that room that you've been putting off, or that basement/garage/closet/junk drawer that's been driving you nuts.

We'll be one organizing nation this week!

And feel free to share before and after photos!

Who wants to take the weekly challenge? Let me know by sharing your thoughts/struggles and link ups below!

With Love and God Bless,

Brindi

Simple Saturday

Started my morning off with my iced coffee.

Sat down to meal plan and go through some coupons.

Larabars keep me going as I run errands.

Some of my grocery goodies....I'll share my shopping buys in another post soon!

I had so much to do today, but Siamese wanted attention. So she kept rolling around on the floor, meowing until I came over and finally rubbed her belly for like 5 minutes.

Oh, Siamese.

You crazy!

Once groceries were put away, I had a mountain of ironing.

But this Goat Cheese and Pesto Pizza was my delicious reward. YUM

My closet was so disorganized I couldn't stand it! So, I headed in.

1.5 hours later I knew it was going to take all night.

What did you do this Saturday?


With Love and God Bless,
Brindi

7 Days 1 Challenge: Twenty-Three

How did everyone do with last week's Psalm Challenge? I loved it!

I was challenged to get in an even deeper spiritual state-of-mind and to spend more time with God. I found my stress disappearing, more reassurance and confidence when I tended to doubt....and I just found a greater love and peace. God is so good; we need to take time from our day, every day, to reflect on His goodness.

Now, it's Monday, Monday, Monday! It's new challenge-day!

*In case you're new to these challenges, the challenge starts on Monday and ends Sunday night. The following Monday I'll post a new challenge.


This week's challenge:

Cross off 1 chore per day.

Source: Yahoo! Images

With getting into a new routine, working more hours and house hunting, my first "free" day off in a while consisted of me cleaning and catching up on the laundry. I did not sit down until well after 7 PM. This is completely unacceptable.

I did five (5!) loads of laundry over the weekend. How I got so far behind is beyond me. I'm never behind on laundry...I'm OCD when it comes to all things cleaning and organizing. Mr. B is as well, except he is not allowed to do the laundry. (Long and funny story, but he's not allowed.) So when I found myself knee deep in sheets, towels, socks, wrinkles, dishes, grocery bags and Windex, I new this was going to be my next challenge. I refuse to fall behind again on my cleaning....it drives me nuts!

Therefore, my challenge to all of you this week is to accomplish at least one chore each day (whether it's a load of laundry, dusting, grocery shopping, changing sheets or vacuuming)....so when we finally have a day off we can spend it with family, watching a ball game, making ice cream, going for an evening walk or discovering a good book.

Who wants to take the weekly challenge? Let me know by sharing your thoughts/struggles and link ups below!


With Love and God Bless,
Brindi