Kids Clothing Declutter | How much to keep

We are just weeks away from our mega garage sale in preparation for our move. I have been finishing up going through the last bit of items in our house, and the focus this week was on decluttering kids clothing. You know the saying about how socks seem to be eaten by the washing machine?…

Add a comment...

Your email is never published or shared. Required fields are marked *

  • Oh, this is a constant battle!  I have done so well with my littlest one, he had three pair of shorts this summer, and you know it was just fine!  Hand-me-downs from others, while kind can actually be a huge burden to me.  Just more to sort through and often get rid of.  We truly need much much less than what we usually have!  Great post!ReplyCancel

    • Definitely! I need to keep a close watch on things or it can get out of control quickly!ReplyCancel

  • Val

    Wow , a lot of clothes with 5 children . Good job on the downsizing . So many ‘hand me downs ‘ that look brand new ?  ReplyCancel

  • This is a really great post. I am so tempted to make a capsule wardrobe for myself. I believe it would simplify so much for me. And you are so right about the socks reappearing as shirts and pants for kids!! Lol!ReplyCancel

    • Definitely try the capsule wardrobe out. It has seriously been SO freeing. Cant’ wait to get there for my kids clothing too!ReplyCancel

WOOD FRAMING | HOUSE BUILD UPDATE NO. 5

Time for another building update! In this week’s update I share all about the wood framing of our custom home build! Though I was hoping to share the entire framing process, things aren’t moving quite as quickly as we had hoped. This post will discuss the portion of framing that has been completed. And I…

Add a comment...

Your email is never published or shared. Required fields are marked *

WORKING WITH CLIQ STUDIOS | PART 2

In this post, I review the process of working with the online cabinet company Cliq Studios. All opinions are my own and I was not compensated for my thoughts. I am in no way sponsored by or affiliated with the company.   Construction of our minimalist cottage has been moving along at a steady pace….

Add a comment...

Your email is never published or shared. Required fields are marked *

  • Elizabeth Murray

    Hello! where did you end up getting your artisan range hood?ReplyCancel

  • AMANDA

    Would love to hear your thoughts about the Cliq cabinets after using them for a while. How is the finish quality? Are the cabinet doors easy to wipe clean?ReplyCancel

  • Jennifer

    Any update on the kitchen?  Would love to see/hear about how it turned out since we are also looking at Cliq Studios.ReplyCancel

    • Goodness, YES! I need to get a post up soon. You aren’t the first who has asked for it! The cliff notes version is that we are very happy and we love the end result! I will be sure to do a full review very soon – we are finally ‘closing’ on our house tomorrow! yay!ReplyCancel

      • Sara

        Hi Angela! I am considering working with Cliqstudios but had a question on the cabinets if they held up after the install? Were there any paint chips at all and if there were was it noticeable? Appreciate you sharing your experience and honest feedback on your blog.ReplyCancel

        • Hi Sara,
          sorry for the slow reply! We’ve been extra busy around here! I do plan to do an entire post + video about our Cliqstudios cabinet install + one year later. Overall we are EXTREMELY pleased with our cabinets. They have held up very well and look great! I don’t think anyone who visits our home would guess that they aren’t custom cabinets honestly. I hope you have a similar experience!ReplyCancel

  • Kayla Tortorich

    Idk if I overlooked but did you go with the signature line? I am currently checking them out. ReplyCancel

    • I just looked back in my notes, because I honestly couldn’t remember. They are from the Signature Collection. Rockford style, cloud white. Hope that helps!
      We should be installing our kitchen in the next couple of weeks – so be looking for a post on that!ReplyCancel

  • This is so informative!  Wow those prices don’t seem bad at all!  So great that you are getting all those bonus areas!  I love following along with this!ReplyCancel

    • I think we will be very happy to have the extra bit of cabinetry – especially in the mudroom/laundry!ReplyCancel

  • So great that you were able to get laundry room cabinets!  They make such a huge difference in keeping it from looking cluttered!ReplyCancel

    • YES! Especially since the laundry and mudroom are combined. I imagine this spot will have high potential for clutter!ReplyCancel

  • It’s going to be absolutely gorgeous! I cannot wait to see it finished. ReplyCancel

    • thank you! I feel like I have been looking at these 3D images for so long. I’m ready to see the real thing!ReplyCancel

  • This is going to be a beautiful kitchen. I love that you are able to use timber from the property in your home. This will make it extra special. I personally use my microwave only to heat frozen vegetables. Something I could totally do without one. ReplyCancel

    • That is basically all we use it for to! I’m thinking I could do the same with a small pot on the stove! ha ha!ReplyCancel

  • So exciting! Great post. Thanks for sharing:)ReplyCancel

AROUND HERE | JULY 2019

Around here, we have been…   VACATIONING to ND. We took a trip over the 4th of July weekend to visit Angela’s extended family. It was such a great relaxing trip and we were able to see relatives that we haven’t seen for quite a long time. Together we celebrated the early 95th birthday of…

Add a comment...

Your email is never published or shared. Required fields are marked *

  • Val

    What a busy & fun week you have had ! The house construction is progressing nicely. So excited for your family . Kudos to Craig on setting goals & reaching them too, & you’ll reach the sub  7 minute mile too, no question in my mind 🙂 ?ReplyCancel

  • Angela, I can’t say enough how impressive you guys are!  I’ve never even run a marathon let alone tried to improve my time!  Your cast iron sink is gonna be gorgeous!  Love following along!ReplyCancel

    • Thanks so much Jenny! Running and ‘doing projects’ are our preferred modes of exercise around here! ha ha!ReplyCancel

Minimalist Cottage | Virtual Tour

Join me today as I give a virtual tour of our minimalist cottage! This is the home we hope to spend the rest of our lives in, and we have worked diligently to design it to meet all of our needs, now and in the future. With framing in full swing, I thought it might…

Add a comment...

Your email is never published or shared. Required fields are marked *

  • This is going to be so lovely. I’m looking forward to seeing all the magical finds you fill your home with. ReplyCancel

  • Wendy, Little House Simple Living

    I loved your video Angela! It’s so refreshing to see you’re building an ICF home as well. I enjoyed learning how you designed the house to fit your family. We are doing the same thing. It’s been three years for us lol. ReplyCancel

    • Thank you! It was really important to us to be mindful of our large family – but really think about our actual spacial NEEDS. 🙂 So excited for your house completion too!!ReplyCancel

  • Val

    What a neat virtual tour ! We are excited to see it in person too 🙂 Great use of space ?ReplyCancel

  • This is such a well thought out home. Can’t wait to see you all move in! I bet you’re excited about that too!ReplyCancel

    • Thank you Elise!
      We really did put a TON of thought into it, and it is fun to see it translating in real life!ReplyCancel

Thoughts on contentment

It is almost impossible to be genuinely grateful for anything, when you compare to others. Today I am going to share with you my thoughts on contentment, and why it is a topic that is currently on my mind.   As I write this now – the stuffy, sticky, hotness of a mid-July afternoon surrounds…

Add a comment...

Your email is never published or shared. Required fields are marked *

  • Jen

    Such a beautiful and thought provoking post! I agree that contentment and gratitude are attitudes and attributes that we learn, especially as we draw nearer and nearer to Him. l also think it’s okay that our judgements of such topics vary. It’s a process of the heart and while the process is different for everyone one things for sure, it takes time.ReplyCancel

  • Great post, so well said!  This is a topic that I love to study and think about.  I too wrote a series on contentment.  I think we must put that attitude at the forefront of our minds everyday.  Before blogging, I was not involved in social media at all.  Honestly, I was better off being ignorant of that whole world of comparison!  I too realized that my most contented times in life have not been the times when we have had the most!  I can also relate to the van.  We are a large family…which already draws attention.  For the longest time we drove a 12 passenger white “church van”  I am ashamed to say that I was totally self-conscience of the stupid thing!ReplyCancel

  • Super post. Despite my faith in Christ and knowing where God wants us, lack of contentment does creep in. I too drive a worn car…12 passenger Express van, because we still have 6 kids at home. Our home is in need of repairs that cant be fixed right now. Our lives are busier than we want right now. There are so many things that I can be discontent about. But God…  Thanks for the reminder that contentment is only found in Christ and to keep my eyes fixed on Him and His plan for my life!ReplyCancel

  • Fantastic post, Angela. I too have been working on contentment the past few years. I don’t know when or why it happened but over time I have begun to be less and less impressed by the things people have. Big fancy houses, nice cars, or lots of “toys” just don’t impress me anymore. What truly impresses me are people who are doing amazing things against impossible odds. People of great character impress me and challenge me to be better. Maybe it’s because I’m getting older, I really don’t know. It doesn’t mean I don’t struggle at times with jealousy or comparison, but I find it happens less and has less hold over me these days. Thanks for the post!ReplyCancel

    • That’s a wonderful perspective – being impressed by the character of people, not the things they have. Love it!ReplyCancel

  • Val

    Very interesting & thought provoking blog post.  I do believe contentment is an attitude .  I also believe more contentment comes with each decade of life when we become more aware of who we are , what really matters & what we have been already blessed with . As decades increase ( God willing ) so does our contentment , knowing our final peace is not earthly driven but a much greater ‘gift ‘ . Thank you for reminding us all ?ReplyCancel

    • Yes, definitely an advantage of growing older and having more life experiences. We can see that even in the difficult times, blessings abound. 🙂ReplyCancel

FOUNDATION | HOUSE BUILDING UPDATE NO. 4

The foundation for our new house and attached garage/front porch is finished! It has taken a while to gather all of the footage and photos to document this portion of the build, but today I am ready to share with all of you this exciting step! I have heard from those who have gone before…

Add a comment...

Your email is never published or shared. Required fields are marked *

  • This is so exciting to watch!   Can’t wait to see the next stage.ReplyCancel

    • I am happy I am documenting it. Even for me, it is fun to look back and see how far we have already come!ReplyCancel

  • This is so great!  Part of me would love to build, and the other part thinks I would obsess and worry over every detail and never sleep!  So many decisions to make, and details to think about!ReplyCancel

    • Oh, I obsess all right! I have a hard time making the final decisions on things. It’s so hard! I keep telling myself that even if I make a mistake, ‘most’ things can be changed later. 😉ReplyCancel

  • How exciting! It’s fun to watch the process. Best wishes!ReplyCancel

  • Val

    It is Wonderful reading how smoothly ‘& timely everything is moving along ! Pictures add a great dimension to the post update ?ReplyCancel

  • Wow! It looks so awesome! We built our home 25 years ago and this post brings back great memories of those months of labor we poured into it. Thanks for sharing!ReplyCancel

    • that’s awesome! I am so happy to be documenting so that some day we can look back at these pics too! When we will see our kids so little and ‘helping’ReplyCancel

  • This was fascinating! I have never built a house before and find all the steps really interesting! I’m so jealous of your heated basement floors!ReplyCancel

  • Coming right along! Building upon a firm foundation!  We know how important that is!  
    So exciting! Love following the process:)ReplyCancel

AROUND HERE | JUNE 2019

Around here we have been…   ENJOYING the first part of summer break! As soon as school was out, the kids had a bunch of fun activity ideas – including playing with shaving cream on the picnic table! Some got a bit more into it than others! {L} also started his summer with surgery. He…

Add a comment...

Your email is never published or shared. Required fields are marked *

  • How fun!  Your home is progressing so nicely!ReplyCancel

    • Thank you! I’m hoping to get another update post/video out today. They’ve been busy!ReplyCancel

  • Summer is such a great time for family to spend together! That’s amazing that your husband can still hold up all the kids! Won’t be much longer before that’s going to be impossible!ReplyCancel

STORAGE CLOSET DECLUTTER

We are in the final stage of decluttering our rental farmhouse. Only a few areas and categories remain to be sorted through before our big move! This week I took on the storage closet declutter, and am happy to have it behind me! Embarrassing as it is, all of these items were stuffed in our…

Add a comment...

Your email is never published or shared. Required fields are marked *

  • Decluttering is my most dreaded task but most rewarding when I am all finished!  Thanks for motivation:)
    Great post!ReplyCancel

    • I agree – once a person gets started decluttering it is so rewarding. It’s that first step that’s the toughest!ReplyCancel

  • Val

    Wow! What a transformation . Night & day difference . It is crazy how many things were in the closet & easy to see why they were not accessed &  thus forgotten about . We all have such places . Thank you for the inspirational blog/ video . Time to do some more organizing ‘down sizing’ here as well 🙂ReplyCancel

    • Good luck! I know you are well on your way and already making a very positive difference in your home!ReplyCancel

  • Great tips!ReplyCancel

  • So true the more space you have the more you fill… fridges, purses, closets, anything!ReplyCancel

    • yes! Good analogy about the fridge. All the rotten fruits and veggies stuffed in the ‘crisper’ drawers! LOLReplyCancel

  • Holy moly!! I can’t believe how much came out of that closet!!! It’s amazing how much we can store in small spaces! The decluttered closet looks great!ReplyCancel

    • Isn’t it insane! There were things stuffed in there that hadn’t seen the light of day for YEARS!ReplyCancel

CHEESY HASHBROWN CASSEROLE

This four ingredient cheesy hashbrown casserole recipe is perfect for a quick and easy brunch. It’s sure to be a crowd pleaser that will have them coming back for more! Do you ever find yourself scrambling for an easy meal to make? Perhaps it’s the weekend, and you have company. Or you are asked to…

Add a comment...

Your email is never published or shared. Required fields are marked *

  • I have all of these ingredients! About to make this today!  Hello! Breakfast for Tomorrow done!ReplyCancel

  • This looks so delicious!! I am a big fan of hash browns! My boys would love this as well! ReplyCancel

  • Katie

    Looks delicious!  But I still doubt my husband could make it!ReplyCancel

  • Julie

    Looks like a crowd pleaser! I like how you did your video short with just subtitles. People dont want long recipe videos. I need to try this next time.ReplyCancel

    • thank you! Yes – I agree with recipe videos. Especially for simple recipe videos. no need to get wordy!ReplyCancel

  • Sounds easy and yummy!  Kind of like scalloped potatoes!ReplyCancel

Home Products I Love

Instagram