Books That Can Change Your Life -- Really!

In my life, I have come across a few books

that literally changed my life.


Surprisingly, they are usually little books,

 not the big tomes that go on and on...

Here's the latest one. It even has
"Life Changing"

in its title!

The heading on page 22 states the following:

Storage Experts Are Hoarders...

What????

I have always prided myself on my ability to pack things away,

and I like nothing better than a trip to The Container Store

 where I buy all sorts of storage items to pack things away.

But there it was, on page 22:

My clients often want me to teach them what

to put where. Believe me, I can relate, but

unfortunately, this is not the real issue...

A booby trap lies within the term "storage".

I looked into my closet and then I started to

 understand...

 

The three pictures above are just one side of

the closet. The other side is just as full!

The book continues:
Putting things away creates the illusion that
the clutter problem has been solved...

Well, I don't want to spoil the book for you.

Just let me say, I have greatly reduced my

"possessions" and plan to release at least half

my "projects" taking up space in our garage!

The book's author, Marie Kondo, lives in Tokyo

and has a 3-month waiting list of clients. She

teaches her clients to simplify and organize

their homes and to learn how to determine

which items "spark joy" and which don't.

Sparking Joy is the most important thing I've

learned so far. Many of the items in our house

just take up space...they will soon be gone!

I bought my copy of the book from Amazon,

but saw it at Costco for $11 the day after we

ordered it.

I'll be back to show the "after" of my closet

when I get it purged and organized.

I've had to put it on hold for now as both my

father-in-law and mother-in-law had illnesses

recently, which required stays in the hospital.

We are in the process of moving them to an

apartment in the assisted-living section of

their retirement community. March 1st

was their 68th wedding anniversary and, as

you can imagine, they have a lot of stuff that

no longer "sparks joy", and we are working

with them to let go...it's a slow process!

Thanks for dropping by!

Find me here this week:

Mrs. Olson's Share Your Cup Thursday...

http://jannolson.blogspot.com/2015/03/share-your-cup-thursday-142-and.html

 

Gray Living, Shops And Housing In McKinney TX

Have you ever seen ads for a shop called

Gray Living?

Their ads are carried in some of the most

popular home decor magazines.

Gray Living is actually a little shop down in 

McKinney Texas. I could live in that shop!

As you might know, McKinney is not only my

favorite town in Texas...
but McKinney was also voted the

#1 Best Small Town In America 

by Money magazine this year.

You can almost see the sign stating they were

voted #1 this year. See it? It's hanging on

the streetlight post below.

McKinney has so many wonderful shops.

Take a look:

McKinney also has my favorite housing area,

a place called Tucker Hill.

The houses are built to look like they've been

there a hundred years with porches wide

enough to sit and talk to your neighbors. 

Here's the communities' swimming pool area.

  You can read about Tucker Hill here and

see pictures of the homes during the

Summer when everything is green.

http://www.tuckerhilltx.com

Thanks for dropping by.

Try Again...typo

Blogger has been crazy for me lately.

It deleted an earlier post I did, but left the

title and I've been told I'm showing up as

a "No Reply" blogger despite my repeated

efforts to show up with an email address.

I apologize if you don't get a response to

your comments.

Regarding the typo:

Our local café, Sweetberries, got new menus

yesterday. We cracked up when we saw a

typo in the section labeled for seniors.

Someone inadvertently forgot an "R"...

The menu reads:

Senior Specials

55 or olde

(yeah...we qualify!)



What To Do When It Snows...and Snows

After four successive snow/ice storms here in
Texas, it appears we may get back to normal.

While the snow-turned-to-ice made it impossible

to get out, I decided to paint something.

As promised a while ago, I did not use white paint!

I really want to paint one of the kitchen cabinets

this blue/gray color. 

Knowing I was having a little cabin fever, I

decided to try the paint on a few small pieces

first and see how the color looks with the cabinets.

This little do-dad box I pulled out of the garage.
It has been on my Fixin' To Do bin for 4 years.
I bought it at a garage sale in the late 80's and
used it to hold jewelry for years.

 
This little tub was a shiny metal before I painted it 
with chalk paint. I love how the paint sticks to
everything, even slick metal...

I have two larger ones I'm going to do next.

The third thing I painted was an old tray, purchased
at a garage sale a year or two ago. I "shopped" my
garage for it too...

A while back, I bought some Ce Ce Caldwell

paint in a color called Smoky Mountain Gray.

Forget the gray name, because it's really a blue:

The paint was really thick. As you can see, it held
this stir stick straight up without my holding it.
I put some paint in a glass jar and added some
water, which made it easy to use.

This is the first coat of paint on the little tub...

This is a close up of the tray before painting it.

Yes, it was very flaky. I didn't have much hope for

it, so I didn't bother to sand it before painting it.

 First coat of Ce Ce's paint going on:

I was surprised it didn't flake off after it dried.
In fact, a little disappointed...but, I'm going to
distress it and see if some magic will happen.


I haven't decided which cabinet I would paint
(if we did), but the top of the vent cover over the
stove might look good with a little color.

Meanwhile...back at the snow/ice situation.

The sun is coming out and it looks like it's 

starting to melt.

Thanks for dropping by!

Let's party at...
http://www.thepainteddrawer.com/2015/03/inspiration-friday-link-party.html

http://jannolson.blogspot.com/2015/03/share-your-cup-thursday-139.html


http://www.dwellings-theheartofyourhome.com/2015/03/amaze-me-monday-101.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheHeartOfYourHome+%28The+Heart+of+Your+Home%29




Caught My Eye

Have you seen the new GREEN cokes?

I'm mean, literally, green!

Wild Bill and I used to love Coke.

I mean, only Coke. Or Diet Coke.

We broke ourselves from the habit last year.

Now, we seldom drink soda. But, when we saw

these green cokes at Target the other day, we had

to stop and read the label.

60 calories

16 carbs

Sweetened with cane sugar and Stevia.

No high fructose corn sugar

(we avoid HFCS like crazy)

Once we read the label, you know we had

to try a 6-pack.

Tastes like the wonderful original Cokes.

If you're still drinking sodas, I recommend

the new green Coke.

Just letting you know about this product.

No payment received for the exposure.

Thanks for dropping by!

Let me know what you think of it if

you've tried it.

Iced In...Texas Style

About once a year we get iced in.

It's a Texas thing.

When snow comes down it's wet here.
The snow is wet I mean.

Some places I've lived the snow is drier.
But here, the snow is wet and when the sun
comes out it starts to melt the snow, then it gets
cold again and the melted snow turns to ice. 

More snow, more melt, then more freeze,
so...more ice!

Last Sunday the snow/freeze/ice thing started

in the afternoon. We've been iced in for 2 days.
No one went anywhere.

Finally this afternoon the big thaw started and

we were able to get out of our driveway. YAY!

I didn't go outside this time to take pictures,
but here's a picture from Dec 2013:

We were iced in for 4 days back then.

I know people in Boston with their big banks of
snow would laugh at us. But if you've ever tried to
walk or drive on a sheet of ice you'd understand.

Thanks for skidding dropping in!



Whole Food Your Face

Did you know that you can save a lot of money
on skin care products and improve your skin

and complexion by slathering on grease?

Well a nicer term is cooking oil, but I wanted

to get your attention. I know this sounds counter

intuitive, but it really has worked for me!

And if it works on me, it will work on anyone.

For 8 years, I've had a severe case of Rosacea.

Just a little salsa, just a little sip of wine, just a 

little bit of sunshine and my face breaks out in

bumps and stuff you don't want me to describe.

Then again, sometimes it even breaks out for

no reason at all.

I have been to six dermatologists over the years.

I have tried every product and skin care line,

every cream that burns like hell and costs a

small fortune (you name it, I've tried it)

and still my skin erupted all the time. 

For the last 2 months, I've gone "Whole Food"

on my face. At night, I slather organic coconut

oil on my face. I wear it into the shower and

use a warm wash cloth to gently remove the

coconut oil. 

When I get out of the shower, I smear organic

California brand olive oil all over my face, eyes,

lips, neck...well, you get the picture.

My skin is clear. My pores have shrunk.

The spider viens on my chin are disappearing.
I still get a bump or two at times, but I just put
some of either oil on it and it goes away. I've

stopped wearing foundation and now only wear

a tinted sunscreen daily.

I have to give credit to our oldest daughter, who got

us interested in the whole food lifestyle. Several years

ago Jenn lost over 100 pounds and has kept it off.

 She accomplished that by following a mostly Paleo and

 Primal lifestyle and getting off her butt more. We are

very proud of her, and I'll tell you about it some time.

But, for now, I want to stick with the skin issue.

One issue discussed on Paleo blogs and books is

the benefit to one's skin and complexion when you eat

less processed foods by sticking with whole foods and

eating more of the Omega 3 oils. If it works for the
inside of the body, it only makes sense that the

Omega 3 oils would be good for skin care too.

Interested in finding out more? Here's some resources:

Books On The Subject...

Great Posts On Subject:

http://missmustardseed.com/2015/02/whole30-results-styling-session-giveaway/

http://www.lizmarieblog.com/2014/01/natural-skin-care-routine/

Tinted Sunscreen I Use For Foundation,
Chemical Free:

I use to buy this tinted sunscreen from my
 dermatologist, but recently purchased it directly
via Amazon. It's $22 per tube, but lasts months.
I use it daily as my only foundation.

Thanks for dropping by today.

All recommendations are truly my own.
No one paid me or gave me any of these products.
This routine has worked for me. I hope you'll also
leave a comment if you have something that has
worked well for you.

Find Me Here:

http://www.livingwellspendingless.com/2015/02/26/thrifty-thursday-week-98/

Easy Cream Cheese Danish...Delish!

When I read Dee's blog post this morning, I knew

I would have to make her Cream Cheese Danish

recipe. Dee's blog is called Dressing Our Nest
and her recipe is so easy, even I succeeded on
the first try!

I did make a few changes to the recipe she posted.

First I added a squeese of lemon to the cream cheese

filling, then I sprinkled a few blackberries on top

 of the filling before closing it up. 

 This was really as easy as indicated in the original

post...and so good!

The recipe calls for Pillsbury crescent rolls,

softened cream cheese, a little bit of milk, one

egg, and some powdered sugar.

For the recipe and directions, go to Dee's blog.

http://dressingournest.blogspot.com/2015/02/cream-cheese-danish.html

Thank you Dee for posting this wonderful recipe.

And thank you all for dropping in today.