Humidify Your Home With Wet Laundry

Our skin is dry and itchy.  There have even been some nose bleeds.  Yikes!  It really is dry in our house!  It gets like this every winter.

The other night, my son woke up with a bloody nose and I decided it was time to figure out how to get some humidity back in the air.  What about humidifiers, you say?  I own two of them, but I really hate to keep them running all the time and I hate how the filters eventually get moldy.  I’m one of those mold fearing people…afraid the mold spores will go into my little ones tender, little lungs.

Anyhow, I did some poking around and found some ideas.  Some I knew and others I hadn’t thought of before.

• lower the heat
• place bowls of water around the house and near heating vents
• don’t turn on the fan while you shower and leave bathroom door open to spread the humidity
• invest in some houseplants

But this is the idea that caught my eye.

It’s a win-win-win.  Humidifies the air, acts as an air freshener and saves energy!  So I threw in a load of towels and when they were done, I hung them around my son’s room.

It may not be the most practical or pretty method, but if I have time to let things air dry and no company is coming, I’m game.  And I tell ya, when I walked in my son’s room, it smelled wonderful!

Oh, and as I was tweaking this post this morning, I saw another post related to dry, itchy skin over at One Good Thing by Jilly.  Make sure to check it out.  She has 21 Home Remedies for Itchy Skin.

Seattle–Vancouver & A Thank You Gift

To celebrate our 15 year anniversary, I met up with my husband in Seattle after he was done with a business trip.  It’s been such a whirlwind since then, that I haven’t had a chance to share some pics from our trip and also a little thank you gift I gave my neighbor and in-laws for watching the kids.

I was in awe of nature’s beauty everywhere I turned.  This is right outside our hotel in Woodinville, Washington.  I love Woodinville!!  It’s a beautiful and charming little town outside of Seattle.

Too many photos to share, so this is just a little highlight.  This tree was huge as you can tell by Kevin’s little head peeking out.

We did some wine tasting where I was greeted by my peacock friend.

And call me weird, but this tree reminded me of a woman giving birth, knees up.  I know my friend Kris is saying, “you are weird, Kim.”  Yes, I know I am.

On the road to Vancouver.  The mountains were breathtaking.

On the way, we stopped off at Deception Pass.  Went across the bridge by car…

…and by foot.  Well, halfway by foot anyway.

This is my “take the picture quick so I can get off this bridge onto solid ground!”  look.

 

And in Vancouver, we went to the Capilano Suspension Bridge, which is 230 feet high and a “450 foot span across the raging waters of the Capilano Canyon” in North Vancouver.  I added the “raging waters” line for a little drama.  That’s how it was worded on our “bragging rights” certificates.  And yes, I’m going to brag about walking across that bridge because it scared the business out of me!!

And this is my “What the ‘h’ did you get me into?!” look.

Ummmm, seriously…..????!!  Shouldn’t this be closed when it’s raining?

But I did it.  And the bridge bounces and sways by the way.  You know, like the ones on play structures at the park.  I kept wondering if the bridge broke, could I grab on like you see in the movies or cartoons?

And I didn’t look down or back.  Straight ahead.  Focus, focus, focus.

Kevin took this shot, however.  The camera hand off was quite comical.  I had a huge fear we were going to drop it down into the abyss below.

Then we got across to see maple leaves as big as my foot.

And everything beautiful, it seriously almost brought me to tears how beautiful it all was.  What can I say, I’m a sap!

We went across smaller bridges way up there from tree to tree too.  Not as scary.

You see those people perched out as if floating in the trees…that’s what we did next.

That’s Kevin peering over the edge.  This is completely suspended out in the middle of nowhere away from the cliff.

This is my “Please, just take the picture, quick!  I’m freaking out over here!” look.  Not a good look for me.

Then I turned around to see this guy on the other side of the “cliff walk bridge” thingy.

ME:  “What are you doing???!!!” 

GUY:  “Oh, just fixing a light.”

ME:  “Please come back over now.”  (in my head I was thinking, please don’t fall, I can’t look – yes, he was hooked on, but still.)

This was my favorite day, which goes to prove getting out of your comfort zone can be a good thing every now and then.  On that same day, we went to the Granville Farmer’s Market.  LOVE!  LOVE! LOVE!

They had the cutest little shop just for these handmade brooms.  They were too cool as far as brooms go.  Some had quirky handles that gave the brooms some added charm and beauty.

And because every good blogger must use the word “smitten” at least once…I must say, I was quite smitten with them.

When we got back to Seattle, we went to a place called Matt’s at the Market for dinner.  If you ever go to Seattle, I’d definitely recommend it.  YUM!

Good times, my friends, good times.

As a little thanks to my neighbor and in-laws for watching the kids, I gave them each a nest.  This is why I wished I bought more from that shop I mentioned in this post.  Luckily, I found some at Pottery Barn because I was stuck on the idea to give them a nest with a note that said, “thanks for letting the kids “nest” with you.”  I just love to cheese it up.

 

Cute little guy, isn’t he?  And did you know in some cultures, a nest in your Christmas tree is good luck?  Double duty…a little thanks and a little luck.  Sounds good to me.  As soon as we get our tree up, that’s where my nest is going.

Updated Advent “Wreath”

This is actually a rerun post revised from last year, but last year only about five people read my blog, so I thought it was definitely worth a rerun.

Original post here.

………………………………………………………………

As a child, I enjoyed lighting the Advent Wreath every week and wanted that to be a part of my kids' lives too. I've wanted to make an Advent Wreath the past couple of years, but wanted to update the look a bit. I realize it's the meaning that counts, but the crafty side of me wanted to beautify it too. The purple and pink candles just weren't doing it for me, but last year I noticed my church did all white candles and so I thought, I can too! I think they had colored ribbons or something to reflect the purple and pink, which is what I chose to do.

Supplies:

• four white or cream pillar candles
• purple ribbon, mauve ribbon ( in place of pink)
• some greenery
• white glitter letter stickers
• leftover gold paper from gratitude wreath leaves
• 2 inch hole punch
• plate or platter
• glue dots (or glue gun)

So all you need to do is cut your ribbon to fit around your candles and glue them on.  I also used my 2 inch hole punch to create gold circles to stick to the front with the words hope, faith, joy and love on each.  I wasn't sure what order the words should go in, then I poked around a bit and found that it made sense to do it as follows:

Week 1 - Hope, Week 2 - Faith, Week 3 - Joy, Week 4 - Love.

I don't think there is a right or wrong for the words and you don't even need them, I just thought it was something to help us focus on the meaning better as we go through the season.

So there you have it.  My simple reinvention of the Advent Wreath.

Have you reinvented any holiday traditions around your house?  I would love to hear about it!!  Leave me a link or tell me about it in the comments.

Happy Decorating!

Kim

Linking this up in the usual places on my linky tab, Centsational Girl & Hi Sugarplum! on button below.

Thanksgiving Table

The truth is, I have no idea what my Thanksgiving table will look like.  At one point this week, I wasn’t sure that we would be gathering together at all.  It’s been an emotionally exhausting and scary week.  My dad wound up in the hospital on Monday.  It’s all a long story, but he is doing much better.  The most beautiful table I can think of right now would be with my entire family around it.  That will not be the case this year, but I am so grateful that my dad has shown improvement.  So that in itself is a beautiful thing.  We will be gathering together at my house for dinner and also visiting dad making the best of the situation.

I was, however, inspired by a beautiful table while on a trip to Seattle and Vancouver celebrating 15 years with my guy last week.  While we were there, we stumbled into a charming little shop.  I snapped a couple of photos of a beautiful Thanksgiving table that inspired me.

I fell in love with that nest and the birch paper underneath.  You may recognize the nest from my kids’ table pics.  I had to bring one home with me of course.  Once I got home, I realized I should have bought at least two more.

And it turns out the birch paper is a piece of wallpaper.  I so had to have it!!  The woman working was kind enough to clip a piece off for me to take home.  I was more than ecstatic.  Not kidding!!  Every time we went somewhere, the hubs and I would joke, “Is the birch paper okay?”  It became our little treasure from the trip.

I hope your Thanksgiving table is adorned with the most beautiful thing of all – the people you love.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Kim

Thanksgiving Kids’ Table

Thanksgiving is just days away.  I cannot believe how quickly time is flying.  Lots going on and feeling frazzled, but wanted to share a glimpse into the kids’ table.

I’m setting the kids up with a mason jar holding their utensils and a striped paper straw.  I adorned it with a little baker’s twine and craft paper leaves I found in Target’s dollar section.  We aren’t name card people at my house, but you could easily add names and use it as a place card.  I’m thinking of writing “thankful for you” on them.

I’m just using plane cream paper plates with cute Thanksgiving napkins to fun it up a bit.  I figure the less dishes the better.  The adults will get the fancy stuff.

Last year, I used white wrapping paper to cover the table so the kids could draw on it.  I’ll have the crayons out again this year, but with a cute paper tablecloth I found at Target.  It has word searches, turkeys to color and tic tac toe on it.  Thought it would be a fun twist.

And that’s it.  Very simple making more time to be together.

You can check out last year’s set up here.

Nods to Thanksgiving: The Calm During the Storm

Amidst all the chaos of this season, I find comfort in a few simple Thanksgiving moments in my home.

This quote keeps me in check when I start to feel stressed and calms me every time I walk by it.

Gratitude

turns what we have into enough

And my little brass bowl along with a beaded necklace my little man made just make me happy.  Seems fitting to use a vase I found at my mom’s to hold some pheasant feathers because isn’t family what it’s all about?

I am obsessed with these feathers.  I just love their quiet beauty.

Simple and beautiful all on their own.

Hope you are finding little moments to calm and warm you during this crazy, chaotic season.

I am very thankful for these moments and thankful for the people in my life and the joy and comfort they give me.  And I am thankful for all of you who stop by for a read during your busy lives.  And your sweet comments are a gift every. single. time.

Much gratitude,

Kim