Yesterday during a massage, the masseuse asked me, “You’ve been here almost a year now, right?” I replied, “Yes. Exactly one year tomorrow (today).” She asked, “Have any regrets about moving back to Minnesota?” Without giving it a single thought, I said, “No regrets, and absolutely zero things to regret about making the move from California to Minnesota.”
Yellow Orchid
Yellow is probably my least favorite color, so when I picked up this Yellow Orchid on Friday, I never thought I’d find it so beautiful.
[Read more…] about Yellow Orchid
Foundation
Without a solid foundation, everything else eventually crumbles. The story of this foundation is one that came full circle.
Kitchen Nook
I have a little kitchen nook that’s my favorite spot in our whole house.
It happens to be the spot where I spend a large chunk of time, too, at the kitchen sink because there is no dishwasher in our rental house.
I ran across a cute little post from Miss Mustard Seed called gaining space & resourcefulness in mid-January. This was right around the time we were moving into the rental, and there was just something about the way she draped a string of artwork hanging under cubbies that I found charming (Image credit: Miss Mustard Seed).
I looked at my kitchen nook and thought how similar the shape (of the area directly above the faucet) resembled her cubbies.
I hit “save” on the blog post, and kept coming back to it.
Kitchen Nook
Click HERE to save this post for later.
I wanted to attach a string like she did, but wasn’t sure what I’d hang on my string that would look cute and make sense.
One day when my mom was over, I showed her the blog post, and she said, “You could hang Samarah’s school artwork there.”
Perfect. It was the best idea because a 4-year-olds artwork is enough to steal my heart during the dreaded dishwashing time.
I also had to fill the space right above it. I didn’t want cubbies like she had because it was already blocked off in one large box, but I wanted something that felt simple, farm-ish, and true to our family home style.
So I did what came most naturally – jars filled with food. Functional and practical just like the DIY Mason Jar Table Centerpieces (that we still have on our table).
I had gotten those jars a long time ago in the dollar section at Target. I filled them with:
- multi-colored quinoa
- chia seeds
- Jade Pearl rice
(Lotus Foods, by far the best out there)
- oats
I also set out the little espresso pot Ceci got for us, and a huge jar of local honey – Hannah’s Honey (if you’re in the area, buy your honey from her). I grabbed one of my wire baskets and filled it with other food items we eat on a weekly basis. Things like sweet potatoes, baby red potatoes, avocado, and squashes (pictured here is spaghetti squash, but I always typically have a kabocha in there as well). Sitting right in front of it all is a little, baby succulent because I find them adorable and the perfect match for my other favorite plant, the orchid.
And last, but not least, one of the best parts of my kitchen nook is the lamp. The shade broke on it, so I don’t currently have one, but this was a lamp (I actually have two) that came straight from my Grandma Josephine (where Samarah gets her middle name). Every single time I look at the lamp, I think of her.
That, my friends, is our kitchen nook, my favorite space in the whole house.
When we move, I will not miss the fact that I don’t have room to do the things I want in the kitchen, but I will absolutely miss this nook.
What my kitchen nook has taught me about change is that, when given time and a vision beyond cosmetic appearances, something endearing is possible to emerge.
p.s. I’m no decorator – that would be my mother – she’s amazing at it. But I do like to make spaces unique and custom to Ryan, the kids and I and our (oftentimes “different”) style. Do you like when I share posts like this about how I decorate? If so, in the coming year I can share much more because I’m going to be doing it 24/7.
Xox,
SKH
If you don’t have time to read these posts daily, but don’t want to miss them, be sure to follow via Bloglovin’ and/or join my personal e-newsletter HERE. I am doing my best to send a once per week email recap of prior week’s posts.
These posts will all live under “Wellness+Lifestyle” and also tagged with “101 Days of Blogging.” The 101-day series runs from Monday, January 8, 2018, through Wednesday, April 18, 2018.
If there is a topic surrounding change that you would love for me to include in this series, please just CONTACT ME.
Previous 101-Day Change Series Posts
- Beginnings are Scary
- Change Pain Point
- Making Sense of Change
- Gratitude Journal
- Love Your Baby Girl
- Little Things Add Up
- House and Home
- Sunday Reflections
- Two
- Chocolate Shake
- 3-Ingredient Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Shake
- Chaos is a Temporary State
- Thirsty Thursday
- Month One
- The Nudge to Connect
- 11 Favorites from 11 Years in California
- One Box at a Time
- Good Enough is Enough
- There is No Dishwasher
- WWDW Number 8
- Move Initiated
- Sharing My Journey
- Back with the Tribe
- Small Town Grocery Shopping Part One
- January 2018 Catch Up Over Bone Broth
- Patsy Clairmont is My Spirit Animal
- Let There Be Light
- Forgot About Rae
- Smiles
- Coconut Oil Makeup Remover How To
- 9 Ways to Embrace Winter
- Escaping People
- Coming Home
- 105 in 1,095
- 40 Before 40
- When Change Was Coming
- Behavior Correction
- Embracing Motherhood
- Two Things for Lent
- Gluten Free Recipe Roundup Six
- Breakdown to Breakthrough
- 18 Things About Me
- Still Hope
- Month Two
- Pain is Not Weakness Leaving the Body
- Too Much Stuff
- Small Changes
- Can Wait
- Seven
- Halfway Mark
- Squad Goals
- Do We Really Change?
- February Catch Up Over Bone Broth
- Unplanned
- 2018 Natural Products Expo West
- New Spaces
- Fight Like Hell
- 24 Low-FODMAP Items from Thrive Market
- Firsts
- Flower Girls and Ring Bearer
New Spaces
It’s been several months of new spaces for us, and yesterday I entered yet another.
Back in January via my delish 3-Ingredient Chocolate Peanut Butter Shake recipe, I shared that I was looking for an office studio space. I mentioned,
So today, and last week, and every single day until I find it…..I am officially looking for office studio space – a working environment away from the home where I’m able to have a better balance of “work” time then “home” time because it’s something I have not had for years.
Recently, I shared that I had found my space, but that I wasn’t ready to share it quite yet.
I’m glad I chose to wait because the spot I had picked out ended up not completely working out. Not “completely” because it’s not the spot I wanted, but I’m still working with the same owner, and that was also kind of important to me.
Anyways, my original spot was one large open room. It needed work and a lot of clutter removal. I was totally cool with it, though, because the space itself came with charm.
It didn’t work out, and that’s probably okay because the new office studio space I got is much bigger, perfectly clean and ready to move into (today!), and has everything I’ll need for all pieces to my business (clients, photography, styling, other content creation, designing, copy, and then, of course, this blog + the very limited health coaching I still do, and Beautycounter).
New Spaces
Yesterday I got the keys to the new place. It’s a 2 bedroom apartment, complete with a full kitchen and bathroom, and it even has a dishwasher, which I find to be hilarious because our rental house doesn’t even have that.
I went yesterday just to stand in the apartment and soak up my vision for what I want to do with it, and how I want to fully utilize the full space (if I’m paying for it, might as well use all of it).
It’s hard to imagine if you’re not there, but these pictures give a rough idea of what the place looks empty.
Here is what I’m going to do with it:
- The living room: Photography. I love shooting in natural light, and the large window will accommodate that perfectly. That said, because there is just one large window in the room, I can black it out if needed, once I get the appropriate tools to shoot in setups other than natural lighting. A simple table and my shooting gear will live here.
- The kitchen: Recipe development, cooking, baking, clean up. I don’t know how I ever thought I might be able to do without a kitchen at my fingertips. The ease of making something and walking 15 steps to shoot it will be priceless. Also, all that cupboard storage for the multiple food shipments I receive on a monthly basis. You can never have enough kitchen space.
- Bedroom 1: Props storage. When looking for a place, this was one of the things I was most concerned about. In California, all my props lived in several bins on a huge rack we had in the garage. Over the years I’ve collected so many props, and I use them constantly. It was a pain in California, though, because I’d have to gather from outside, bring in to our house, and then return outside again at the end of the day (even if I had more to do the following day). Again, my props will live 15 steps away from where I’ll shoot. My goal is to have all props organized for super easy pulling, depending on the shoot needs. Also, now I can buy more, and I have a vision for that, too 🙂
- Bedroom 2: My office. Yes, my own room and own office. Do you remember seeing this farm table in the kid’s playroom?
I might try to make this my office desk. I always knew that once we moved from California, I’d take it for myself, but I wasn’t sure how. I’m hoping it works as my desk. My office will have all the things I need for day-to-day business like an office would have.
There is this little space in the kitchen for a small table. I’m going to get a table of sorts for this space. Why? Because it can be dual-acting: prepared food extras (for when I need to grab ‘n go for styling) and also for when I want to invite someone over for coffee or lunch. Seriously. It’s going to be quiet in there (which is what I’ve needed), but my plan is to make it cute, cozy, and invite-able.
I am creative, but when new spaces feel cozy and charming, I’m inspired and the creativity runs wild.
Basic. Like any other 2 bedroom apartment in rural Minnesota.
But I finally have a space that’s all mine to separate work and home (and produce, produce, produce!), and I could not be more excited about new spaces. Once it’s all set up (at least structurally, I’m guessing it will constantly be a work in progress), I’ll share what it looks like.
p.s. via a private Studio Spaces Pinterest board, I’ve been saving some ideas, but I’d love yours, too! Do you have your own office space? Where did you find the stuff for it? I’m craving a big, beautiful color wheel, for starters.
p.s.s. Speaking of new spaces, moving into our “new” house is getting closer and closer. I can’t wait to share it with you! In the meantime, I keep adding new ideas to two Pinterest boards you might enjoy: Our New House (I started this one a long time ago, but the recent pins are most relevant) + Kid Rooms (Why do I have only one board for all 3 of our kids? Because I’m not doing any woo-woo “themed” rooms i.e. princesses. I want all their rooms to be a classic, classy, mostly neutral and clean look.)
Xox,
SKH
If you don’t have time to read these posts daily, but don’t want to miss them, be sure to follow via Bloglovin’ and/or join my personal e-newsletter HERE. I am doing my best to send a once per week email recap of prior week’s posts.
These posts will all live under “Wellness+Lifestyle” and also tagged with “101 Days of Blogging.” The 101-day series runs from Monday, January 8, 2018, through Wednesday, April 18, 2018.
If there is a topic surrounding change that you would love for me to include in this series, please just CONTACT ME.
Previous 101-Day Change Series Posts
- Beginnings are Scary
- Change Pain Point
- Making Sense of Change
- Gratitude Journal
- Love Your Baby Girl
- Little Things Add Up
- House and Home
- Sunday Reflections
- Two
- Chocolate Shake
- 3-Ingredient Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Shake
- Chaos is a Temporary State
- Thirsty Thursday
- Month One
- The Nudge to Connect
- 11 Favorites from 11 Years in California
- One Box at a Time
- Good Enough is Enough
- There is No Dishwasher
- WWDW Number 8
- Move Initiated
- Sharing My Journey
- Back with the Tribe
- Small Town Grocery Shopping Part One
- January 2018 Catch Up Over Bone Broth
- Patsy Clairmont is My Spirit Animal
- Let There Be Light
- Forgot About Rae
- Smiles
- Coconut Oil Makeup Remover How To
- 9 Ways to Embrace Winter
- Escaping People
- Coming Home
- 105 in 1,095
- 40 Before 40
- When Change Was Coming
- Behavior Correction
- Embracing Motherhood
- Two Things for Lent
- Gluten Free Recipe Roundup Six
- Breakdown to Breakthrough
- 18 Things About Me
- Still Hope
- Month Two
- Pain is Not Weakness Leaving the Body
- Too Much Stuff
- Small Changes
- Can Wait
- Seven
- Halfway Mark
- Squad Goals
- Do We Really Change?
- February Catch Up Over Bone Broth
- Unplanned
- 2018 Natural Products Expo West
Too Much Stuff
We have too much stuff, and it’s driving me insane.
Whenever a major change occurs in life, there are bits and pieces of life that start to surface and you begin seeing things in a whole new light, for better or worse.
For me, too much stuff has been yet another one of these bits and pieces.
When we lived in California, we moved three times. Each time we moved, our house got bigger. I don’t think there is anything wrong with house size.
I love space (I’ve already written about that love for space HERE). Big, wide, open space.
The problem was that each time it got bigger, naturally more stuff was bought and added.
Making the move back to Minnesota meant a huge reduction in space. We have about 1/3 of the space we had in California, and if you think I’m complaining about that, I’m not. Do you want to know a little secret? There is something super cozy about less, and in fact, sometimes I even enjoy it. What the rental house did for me during just the first month was prove that we have way too much stuff.
Too Much Stuff
Click HERE to save this post for later.
Last week, I saw one of my besties do an Instagram story that she was participating in the 40 bags in 40 days decluttering challenge. I didn’t know it was called that then, but I sent her a text to inquire. She told me the official name and I looked it up immediately. Duh, surely I needed another challenge on my plate 🙂
Directly from their website, below is a snippet of the challenge.
40 bags in 40 days is a forty day period (coinciding with the 40 days of Lent) where you declutter one area a day. The goal is one bag a day, however you can have more or less. The 2018 Challenge starts February 14 and goes to March 31. Millions of people have read about #40Bagsin40Days and 2018 will be my 8th year hosting the challenge.
Going through our whole home once a year has helped us live a simple life. My husband and I have six young children and after 40 Bags last year, downsized our home by one half to be closer to work and family. The more we have simplified our life, the better it gets. I like how 40 Bags in 40 Days gives my home a refresh. I can see what’s working (and what’s not working), and look at our “stuff” in a new light.
She nailed it, “The more we have simplified our life, the better it gets.”
I thought about those words and about the challenge last night. What if I did the challenge in this house, and then we moved into our new house with space galore? What is that saying about the desire to minimize while ultimately maximizing?
I reverted back to my love and appreciation for space and separated space + stuff because they don’t have to go hand-in-hand and, in fact, should not go hand-in-hand.
I remembered something from a night Ryan, Samarah, and I spent in California when later I’d write about it via, “The More You Take Away the Better it Becomes.”
Long before now, I craved space, not stuff.
So now, during this life change, it’s time to go through another period of decluttering.
40 Bags in 40 Days
Clearly, I missed the Lent challenge this year. But it doesn’t matter, the concept stays the same no matter when you do it.
When we moved into the rental house, probably half of our stuff went to storage, so I am unable to do a full challenge anyways. That said, this gives me the opportunity to do the challenge two times in one year. (I know, I know, slow down, you’re achieving far too much. Trust me, my husband is going to love this post.)
I am starting the first challenge on Monday, March 12 (saying it here to keep me accountable!). Some days I’ll need to do more than one bag, as I’m traveling a lot for work now, but 40 bags will be done in 40 days.
Once we move into our new house and all the “too much stuff” from storage arrives, I’ll immediately do it again. This should be sometime between October and December. (I’m still holding out telling you about our new house for when the time is right. I am so excited about it – we are so excited about it!)
Do you have too much stuff? Have you ever done a challenge like this?
Xox,
SKH
If you don’t have time to read these posts daily, but don’t want to miss them, be sure to follow via Bloglovin’ and/or join my personal e-newsletter HERE. I am doing my best to send a once per week email recap of prior week’s posts.
These posts will all live under “Wellness+Lifestyle” and also tagged with “101 Days of Blogging.” The 101-day series runs from Monday, January 8, 2018, through Wednesday, April 18, 2018.
If there is a topic surrounding change that you would love for me to include in this series, please just CONTACT ME.
Previous 101-Day Change Series Posts
- Beginnings are Scary
- Change Pain Point
- Making Sense of Change
- Gratitude Journal
- Love Your Baby Girl
- Little Things Add Up
- House and Home
- Sunday Reflections
- Two
- Chocolate Shake
- 3-Ingredient Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Shake
- Chaos is a Temporary State
- Thirsty Thursday
- Month One
- The Nudge to Connect
- 11 Favorites from 11 Years in California
- One Box at a Time
- Good Enough is Enough
- There is No Dishwasher
- WWDW Number 8
- Move Initiated
- Sharing My Journey
- Back with the Tribe
- Small Town Grocery Shopping Part One
- January 2018 Catch Up Over Bone Broth
- Patsy Clairmont is My Spirit Animal
- Let There Be Light
- Forgot About Rae
- Smiles
- Coconut Oil Makeup Remover How To
- 9 Ways to Embrace Winter
- Escaping People
- Coming Home
- 105 in 1,095
- 40 Before 40
- When Change Was Coming
- Behavior Correction
- Embracing Motherhood
- Two Things for Lent
- Gluten Free Recipe Roundup Six
- Breakdown to Breakthrough
- 18 Things About Me
- Still Hope
- Month Two
- Pain is Not Weakness Leaving the Body
