Logan's Quilt

If you follow me on twitter or instagram (misskatieh), you saw that I made a quilt last month! I couldn't post to facebook because I wanted it to be a surprise when my sister in law nephew opened it. I went on a total limb picking out fabric without her, which was super scary because I was afraid she wouldn't like it! My SIL is like the sweetest most accepting woman in the world, but for some reason I am afraid she will wake up one morning and decide she doesn't like me anymore. Ha! Anyways, enough about my insecurities.. love you, Melissa.

I knew Logan's "big boy" room had a transportation theme, so I went to fabric.com and picked the cutest coordinating transportation fabric I could find. I proceeded making my quilt and, let me tell you, I fell in love with quilting. When I say that, I feel like I'm a middle aged/old lady but seriously - I love it! Recently I've learned how much I love all things sewing [kindred hearts with Lauren].

Anyways, when Melissa posted pictures on FB of Logan's new room, I was PUMPED because I knew the quilt would fit in perfectly! Here is Logan's room..

Here is the quilt!

trains, planes, and automobiles!

super cute polka dot back.. I love polka dots :)

And here's the Logan-man in his quilt!! Cutest nephew ever? Yup! I can only say that for a few more days :)

I love that kid.

Can't wait to show you what I made baby Will -- as soon as Melissa sees, I'll post it!

PS: Baby Will, if you can read this, we are all waiting for your sweet arrival! Come out and play! I know your mama especially would appreciate that.

A Little Pinspiration!

So we moved to California to escape the Washington gloom. But even California has gloomy rainy days (gasp! weird, I know) and every time it rains I am reminded how much I want a pallet doormat. Our doormat turns into a soggy mess. We have tons of scrap wood at camp and I am ready to turn this

our current doormat, drowning in the rain

into this

Source: howdoesshe.com via Katie on Pinterest

Source: bluecricketdesign.net via Katie on Pinterest

Source: inbetweenlaundry.blogspot.com via Katie on Pinterest

Also, I am going to attempt to make my own bedskirt. We put our bed on risers since we have a miniature house with not a single closet for storage, and under our bed stores everything. Our bedroom currently looks like this:

and I want to add more yellow. I love that soft blue but its in our living room too so I need to brighten up one to also differentiate haha.

What do you think of this fabric? I would make coordinating pillow also. Opinions?

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Yes, it's a curtain from World Market. But I like it! :)

Keeping Your Boots Straight

While I was scurrying around our house yesterday getting it ready to stay clean, I noticed one thing I do that actually keeps my stuff de-cluttered. Yup I pretty much only have one trick. But it's been so useful that I had to share!

I love boots. I don't love how boots always fold over in the closet. Here's where my trick comes in.

Insert rolled up magazine/catalog into your boots, and voila!

They stand up all by themselves! Look ma, no hands!

Yup, definitely one of those "why didn't I think of that?" tricks. Works like a charm.

Happy organizing!

PS. I have kept up with most of my goals from the last post! So far I've made our bed every morning, cleaned off the bathroom counter each time I get ready, and not dropped everything at the door. I'm super proud of myself!

It's a New Year & Time for a Tidier Home!

I personally love the New Year holiday.. au contraire to some other peeps. I love that although nothing really changes, it gives you a chance to think about things you'd like to improve, accomplish, or complete. So what if lots of people don't keep their resolution all year, at least they thought of one! I think its important to evaluate your life every so often and New Years is the perfect time for it :)

The New Year is also a great time to reflect on what you've been up to lately (my 2011 post is coming soon!) and I think that is also very healthy. It's easy to forget the little things; when I was writing down notes for a post about 2011 I could barely remember what I did last spring. Although, I think that is partially due to a wedding-planning induced anxiety coma. Yup, that did make sense.

Anyways, thats why I love new years. Its a simple holiday but I just love the freshness of it!

So this year, I really wanted to put some thought into my resolution. I don't do a resolution every year, only when I feel like I have the time and/or energy to keep it up. This year it was actually prodded by a lovely lady asking me to tell my resolution for a blurb about me on her blog!

So I got to thinking.. what can I resolve to do that will be meaningful, impactful [atleast in my household], and keep-able? Sure I could spare a few pounds around the love handle area ish, I certainly could wake up earlier, cook more meals for my husband.... or keep my house cleaner! Yup that sounds totally doable doesn't it?!

A tidy home is a happy home.

Yeah, I just made that up. But I totally believe it!

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So if you know me in real life, you know this is kind of a big deal and semi-unnatural for me. All my life my dad has called me a 'walking debris trail' because you can usually tell exactly where I've been in the house and which route I took too, based upon my stuffs I leave behind. 


BUT even thought I tend to be a cluttery person, I actually hate clutter. [fun fact: clutter is as a matter of fact, my favorite word to say. say it with me.. clutter. Wasn't that nice?] I really hate clutter and how it makes me feel like my life is in shambles. I like things to be neat and tidy but the problem is that I have OCD tendencies when I try to organize, and if everything doesn't have an exactly perfect spot, I just give up all together.


Which brings us here: a problem big enough to make a new year's resolution about :)


First I must organize and find a home for everything that's out. Lots of project ideas, clean folded clothes, mail, and useful crap. You know, stuff thats mine but needs to be put away! Once I have successfully gotten the place picked up I'll need to keep it that way! I have been doing this slowly so I don't get overwhelmed.

Source: elblogdedmc.blogspot.com via Katie on Pinterest

Here's how I plan to keep my resolution:

• Make our bed each morning before starting my routine.
• Wipe bathroom counter & mirror after getting ready in the morning.
• Never move from one room to another empty handed, to eliminate the debris trail build-up.
• Put away clean laundry immediately after picking it up from the dryer.
• Keep crafts/projects put away until I am ready to actually work on them.
• For things that must stay out (for instance I made bridal shower invites this weekend and didnt want to put them away each night in the middle of working) keep in organized piles, not a heap of paper.
• [this is a big one] Don't drop everything at the door and plop on the couch when returning home! Put things I am carrying away before parking my booty on the couch for the night.
• Finally, take 10-15 minutes each night to put away anything that is left after the rest of my steps!

Alright y'all, I have faith in myself that I. Can. Do. This. Please have faith in me too!! I would really love for my house to always be neat and that would make cleaning much easier too! Not to mention, Zach likes to straighten and organize things, so if I get them put away I know they will stay that way!


I'll keep y'all posted on how it goes! Maybe even show pictures of our little home!

Happy New Year! What is your new year's resolution this year?? Or do you hate them?

Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken & A Trick!

It's time to share one of my very favorite crock pot recipes! This recipe is super duper easy & tastes delicious. I love getting recipes off of Skinny Taste because I know that not only will they taste amazeballs, but they are usually healthy & that means they wont upset my stomach [I'm sensitive to dairy, gluten, sugar, etc etc etc]. So pretty much means that I can always count on Gina to provide me with an all around "good" meal. Also, her recipes are healthy but not skimpy. They are always always always filling, and even Zach agrees! He is a tough one to satisfy, he is not afraid to tell me 15 minutes after consuming a meal I worked hard on, that he is STARVING. But never with this meal! Without further ado, I give you:

Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken a la Skinny Taste

Ingredients:

• 24 oz (1 1/2) lbs chicken breast
• 14.4 oz can diced tomatoes with mild green chilies
• 15 oz can black beans
• 8 oz frozen corn
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 14.4 oz can fat free chicken broth
• 3 scallions, chopped
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper (to taste)
• salt to taste

What to do:

Combine chicken broth, beans, corn, tomatoes, cilantro, scallions, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, cayenne pepper and salt in the crock pot. Season chicken breast with salt and lay on top. Cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 6 hours. Half hour before serving, remove chicken and shred. Return chicken to slow cooker and stir in. Adjust salt and seasoning. Serve over rice. Voila!

Now you have a delicious meal for only 190 calories per serving. Pretty stellar if I do say so myself!

I forgot the cilantro, and the fact that I live 45 minutes from a grocery store made it so that we just went without. It was still delish, but I do love me some cilantro.

And now for my trick that I am so graciously sharing with y'all! Do you know how to shred chicken easily & without getting it under your finger nails? It's okay, I didn't know either until a few months ago. I used to wait until it cooled, then pull it apart with my hands [which I hated, because I loathe touching food with my bare hands]. 

Until one day someone showed me this!

Please excuse the awkward angle & poor lighting. Apparently photography is not in my husband's future.

All you do is use two forks to pull the chicken away from the other one. You can make it as fine or chunky as you like depending on how much you shred each part. Piece of cake, right?! You're welcome.

Now go crock & shred away!

Let me know if you make it & what you think of it!

The Big Move

Where to start... Well. First things first, we're here. I am thankful we made it, although the drive from Seattle to San Diego was long, emotional, stressful, and tiring. We're here. When we arrived, it was pouring rain. Lunch was being served a half hour after we arrived so we got to meet a few of the staff that was working. Since it was Sunday, most people had the day off for church.

We didn't unload the moving truck that day (because of the massive amount of rain) which made me a little uneasy; I wanted a home. As soon as we drove away from Seattle, I felt homesick. Moving is familiar to me, but to be transparent, as soon as we got to my grandpa's house the first night, I broke down crying and told Zach "I just want to go home." I don't know what it is with me lately about having this "home" I keep talking about. I just want to feel settled, permanence, comfort, and not so many things up in the air.

Monday morning we woke up to BEAUTIFUL blue skies and not a cloud in sight. Already I felt refreshed. Two guys that work here helped us unload the truck, and it only took about an hour. I was beyond thankful for their help.

from our front porch

Every single person we've met at the camp has been so incredibly welcoming. The first morning, I went into the dining hall to get some coffee, and a girl named Jodi approached me, told me how she'd been waiting to meet me since she heard we got hired, and mentioned that she knew it must have been hard to leave our friends and family in Seattle. Already I knew I would like her, because immediately she showed compassion. Then, she came out from behind her counter, and with a smile on her face told me, "I just want you to know how glad I am that you're here. I can't wait for our friendship to develop, so we can look back and say 'Remember the first time we met?'" and gave me a big hug. Tears welled up in my eyes. She will never understand how much that meant to me, to be welcomed with a hug and such intentional words. If you ever read this Jodi, thank you.

Before leaving Seattle, I told Zach I was going to be intentional about my attitude. I am pretty good at always putting on a happy face, especially around new people.  I am making a conscious effort to be real, not just happy. I want my smiles to come from joy, not from what I feel like people want to see.

Speaking of being intentional, I now live an hour from any sort of grocery store, and an hour and a half from big stores (Target, Michaels, Costco, etc). And half of the hour is a 7 mile road with 12 switchback turns, at a 7% grade incline. Yup, we live on the top of a mountain. In San Diego County. Makes for incredible views. But, it means that unless I want to burn up a ton of gas and time, I better get real organized, real fast. So far I have been keeping a list of things we need from town; and I will have to be really good about meal planning too. So much for the late night runs for ice cream, or more importantly, a forgotten ingredient for dinner. I have a feeling we will be learning how to be innovative with our food, space, and free time.

We've majorly downsized in our home. Which is great. I absolutely love our new space, just is taking a lot of creativity to find a spot for everything. But who doesn't love a good challenge :) I am so excited to share pictures of our new house just as soon as everything's put away. Those that know me, know I am not very tidy. But trust me, I will be now! There is no room for untidiness and I am honestly excited about keeping a clean and clutter free home; I think it will be refreshing.

Here's who has been roaming around our house since we arrived, he is just one of about thirty we've seen!

Did I mention that the property is actually in a State Park?

So here's to simplicity, fresh relationships, becoming tidy, pulling together my emotions, and being content that I have a place to rest my head, and a husband to hold me through it all.

We're here.

The Art of Doing Nothing

Doing 'nothing': I am way too good at this, and also don't know how to do it all at the same time. I can avoid doing something by doing another something and then it feels like nothing, because I wanted to do that something. For instance, our guest room:

I can't believe I even just posted a picture. Don't judge me, but does that look like something you would want to tackle!? Didn't think so. Haven't touched it since we moved in ... FOUR months ago. But I will, this weekend, because soon my inlaws are coming and they will need a place to sleep! Hopefully I'll be posting an after picture, soon.

Here are a few "somethings" that I have been working on. They just feel like I'm doing nothing, because I enjoy doing them.
Turning this:

Into this:

Closer look at my cute pumpkins: 

All I did was glue poutporri sticks to candles and spray paint mini pumpkins!

Making these with my mom:

Here's to the Art of Doing Nothing, and being good at it =) Actually, here's to cleaning that dang guest room. Hmph.