31 Days {Day 31} Cleaning the Garage & The End

On this beautiful Halloween night, we cleaned the garage.  It was getting dark when we finished and straight into trick-or-treater time, but alas it is done.  And not only that, but this 31 Days is done!

This is going to be one of those before and afters where you have to use your imagination.  G started pulling everything out in the driveway before I got a chance to take a photo so this is a before that looks better than it should.

Everything lining the driveway

G in action, he did most of the work on this project.  Also, that dirty floor is shameful.

Keegan dressed up as a pumpkin patiently waiting for trick-or-treaters.

This is the after picture.  It was already dark.  Maybe I should have taken a picture of the pile of trash out for tomorrow.

We threw away tons of stuff and reorganized the rest.  I think the main problem with the garage was not putting things back in their proper places.  You set this here for now, and then that and before long it's just one long shelf of clutter.  

I don't know that I ever like how garages look but I'm happy with the progress we made.  In general, our house is feeling much lighter after these 31 days.  It's my car that is still overloaded with stuff waiting to distribute here and there.  

I hope you joined along with me cleaning out some things in the last month.  If you ever feel time is going by too fast, just commit to blogging every day for a month and it will feel like you are back in school again waiting for Christmas vacation.  

We will be back to regular blogging and Project 333 updates soon!  If there is anything in particular you liked hearing about, let me know.  Thanks so much to those of you who followed along.  It really made this month so much more fun.

xoxo--Jennifer

31 Days {Day 30} Manna From Heaven

I'm sure that everyone has heard the expression "manna from heaven".  It's part of our language to mean some unexpected gift that we may receive, maybe something that seems to miraculously appear.  


For a quick little Bible lesson, I want to tell you about the real manna from heaven.  When the Israelites escaped from Egypt through the Red Sea and after the plagues (more Bible lessons!), they were in the desert headed towards a new land.  Moses was leading them, but the people weren't happy.  They complained a lot about many things and food was one of them.  After all the miracles they saw, they still had trouble trusting the Lord.  


They ended up wandering in the desert for 40 years because of their disobedience.  Before I used to judge them, and think how ungrateful they were.  That was before we went to Israel last year and were able to "wander" in the same desert for 4 hours.  At the end we were hot, hot, hot and our two big bottles of water were bone dry and our feet hurt.  We were tired from walking the rocks and rough terrain and started to grumble ourselves for the seemingly aimless route we took.  Our leader did this on purpose to show us a new perspective, that we are all human and maybe shouldn't be so quick to judge them.  


So what does manna from heaven have to do with simplicity?  Everything and I'm going to tell you why, but first read this:


⁴ Then the LORD said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. ⁵ On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days.” Exodus 16:4-5


We may think that the Old Testament and especially manna from heaven doesn't apply to us today, but God is the same yesterday, today and forever.  We can learn about His character through these stories.  God wanted the Israelites to rely on Him daily, to rely on His faithfulness.  They were not allowed to gather enough for two days and if they did it would rot, except for the Sabbath.  


If you read further, you will see that the Israelites even complained about the bread every morning, so God sent them meat every night.  God wanted to take care of them and He listened to their cries.


¹¹ The LORD said to Moses, ¹² “I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.’” Exodus 6:11-12


These thoughts about the character of God have resonated with me since that trip to Israel last April.  I started thinking about how much I depend on God for my daily needs.  How does my clutter and saving things for someday go against His plan for me.  Some people call hoarding, or just keeping things you don't need a "poverty mentality", which means that you don't believe that you will have what you need to get that particular thing when the time comes.  If I really think about it, you can even say that this is the absence of trusting God.


God is clear that He wants us to trust Him to provide our daily needs.  It was important that the Israelites followed that rule in that they not have any stored away for tomorrow.  How do I translate this into my life?  I don't feel that it has to be a direct, literal translation meaning that I can only have enough food in my pantry for that day.  I don't think I should expect to have one pair of shoes that don't wear out even though the Israelites shoes didn't wear out for 40 years.


I do think that I have to let go of things and trust God for tomorrow, which goes along with living generously.  I don't want to presume to speak for God, but I can see from reading the Bible that God wants my heart and He wants me to know that He will provide for me. He wants me to count on His faithfulness.  


I feel that this is a precarious subject that can lead to extremes.  I'm not an extreme person and am a big saver, so it makes me ponder my thoughts on that too.  I'm certainly not saying that it is wise to not save money and to expect food to appear on your lawn, although God could do that if He wanted to do so!  I will leave the subject with this, which leaves it with a matter of the heart again.  


³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.  Matthew 6:31-34


This lesson makes me so happy that I have embraced Project 333 even more.  I am excited about the smaller wardrobe and feeling that I am being mindful of the needs I have now.  I hope that you can translate some of this into your daily life too.  Trusting God has never been easy, which I hope you will take comfort knowing that even the Israelites had that problem too.  Learning how God wanted to give them good things should make us feel more secure too.  


-Jennifer

31 Days {Day 29} Simple Birthday Party

Last night I had a surprise party for Gustavo's birthday.  It was a lot of work trying to do the surprise element but it turned out perfectly!  He was surprised and kind of speechless really. I couldn't have done it without clever friends who found ways to distract him and lots of people who managed to not divulge the secret ahead of time.

He thought we were having a "Dinner for 8" that we often have as a rotating dinner with our group at church.  I could look like I was preparing for a dinner, but not a dinner for 42. Fortunately I had a tag team of two guys who helped me have the afternoon to prepare.  He went shooting with one and had a meeting about some software with the other.  I was worried he would be early but he was actually late!

I decided to order some Texas BBQ so that the main part of the meal was catered.  I bought canned baked beans which I doctored up and a lot of potato salad.  Two friends offered to make homemade macaroni and cheese and rolls which were great additions.  I threw in some hamburger buns and we had our chopped beef BBQ dinner with not a lot of prep time.

I wanted to spend most of my time on the cupcakes because that is what I love making the most.  We had chocolate with buttercream icing and spice cupcakes with cream cheese icing. I use box cake but always make homemade icing.  

I was contemplating my options for decorations because I wanted the house to look festive. I thought about doing those tissue paper pom poms, but decided against it.  I already mentioned that I added some simple fall updates and I also popped to TJ Maxx and got a yellow harvest color tablecloth.  In the end, I decided to make a homemade banner and felt it was sufficient party decor.  I followed this tutorial from Katydid and Kid and it worked out great. It took me about an hour to make and we just can use the happy birthday part over and over for future parties.  I am not the most crafty person so I was really proud of it.

Besides the food and decorations, I'm the most happy about all our friends and G's family that came and made the party a success.  They parked far away so he wouldn't suspect anything, they yelled surprise at just the right time and generally are just a fabulous group of people.  There were lots of children there which makes the party so much more special.  

Who else has pulled off a surprise party?  I loved giving one but I would hate receiving one. Have you stepped out of your comfort zone to do something crafty?  Even as I was picking out the scrapbook paper, I was thinking "This really isn't necessary.", but since I tried my hand at it I'm happy I can add another skill to my arsenal.  

*************

P.S.  I was so busy that I didn't have time to take many pictures and I was really upset about that.  Also, my camera has continually disappointed me during these last 29 days.  If you have a recommendation for a starter fancy pants camera, please advise.

31 Days {Day 28} Minimal Makeup

I've always just had all my makeup out in the open or in my drawer so I could see all my selections.  Lately though, I just want to do the same thing every day.  I want to only have the things in front of me that work which means no experimenting and more saving time.  So I took a small selection of my makeup and I put the rest away.

I didn't do this for my Project 10 Pan, in fact it is sort of my rebellion from it.  After so long of trying to use up items whether I liked them or not, I thought, life is too short to be using colors I don't like right now.  So I selected exactly the combination that I loved the most, whether they are almost gone or not.  There will still be time later to use up or give away the other items, but today I carpe diem.

These are all my favorite products of the moment and produce a very simplified routine for me.

1.  Concealer:  Since I ran out, I am using my long forgotten Pan-Stik foundation for under my eyes and around my nose.  I forgot how much I love this!  They have stopped selling it in drugstores, but I can still buy it here.

2.  Powder:  Nars loose powder in Snow.  I use a brush and dust this all over my face.  When I use the PanStik, I don't need an all over foundation.

3.  Blush:  Laura Mercier tint in Filtered Brown.  It is the ugliest color name ever for the most perfect rose brown.  It's my favorite blush for my fair skin.  It was also another long forgotten one that I'm happy I found again.

4.  Eyeshadow compacts:  I'm using a combination of two.  One is an old Mac quad called Tempt Me Tease Me.  I use all the colors except the green.  The other is a basic Bobbi Brown compact with Bone, Blonde and Smoke and I use all three colors.  The BB is such great quality, very silky.

5.  Mascara:  I'm using Opulash by Mac right now.  I didn't feel like ordering from 100% pure so I got this in a pinch.  It's a tubes mascara and I like it.

6.  Lip Liner:  Laura Mercier in Chesnut.  It's a little dark but it's almost gone so I'll carry on using it for now.

7.  Lipstick:  Mac Twig and Mac Spice is Nice.  One is almost gone and one is new.

8.  Lip Gloss:  Revlon Super Lustrous in Pink Whisper.  I really love these lip glosses.  There isn't any better at any price that I have tried.  I also have the same formula in Foiled in my purse.

9.  Eye Primer:  Laura Mercier eye basics in Peach.  This is really nice.  I had also neglected this in favor of my Mac Painterly Paint Pot, but I prefer this.

Update:  10.  Eye Liner:  Mac fluid liner in Dipdown.  I can't believe I forgot this one as I look so tired without it!

That is my everyday makeup routine.  I am still trying to use up products but I like not having too many options in my drawer.  I started to feel overwhelmed with all those colors-ha ha-first world problems!!  I have so much Mac, but as I figured out what would be my perfect routine for right now very little was Mac.  I feel like I got seduced into buying all these different colors to collect them, or I heard someone just loved them so much that I had to have it.  Once you take away the "sell" from a product, you are left with what actually looks good on you.  I'm happy to have this figured out for now.

How about you?  What is your makeup routine?  Do you have yours in a bag, in a drawer or maybe a storage chest?  What are your long forgotten but now favorite products?  I love writing about girly stuff!

31 Days {Day 27} Simple Updates

Today is G's 30th Birthday!  Happy Birthday Gustavo!!

Because of the blessed event of my husband's birthday, we are having a party for him this weekend.  After my post on Simple Decorating, I decided to add a few more inexpensive elements.  I bought two bags of gourds for $4.99 each and distributed them through the house.

This is the dining room table with a simple tray of gourds and pumpkins.  My pictures are always crappy so sorry about that.  In person it looks better.

I also printed some new pictures to go in our gallery of frames in the living room.  I found a DIY monogram with a free download at The Wedding Chicks website and printed them.  You must go over there and see all their free DIY downloads.  Even if you're not getting married there are fun little projects for your house.  I used this one to get the little heart.  You can print them in many colors.

I put some of the little pumpkins all over the house and added the acorn dish to the tray on our ottoman.

That's all, just a few little things that don't cost much and add some fall feeling to your home.  What do you do to perk up or change things around in your house?  I'd love to have more simple and cheap ideas for the future.

31 Days {Day 26} A Simple Soap Tip

**Pardon the late posting.  I didn't have internet all day yesterday because we changed over to a new service.

Today I want to share with you something that I do that simplifies my life, and saves me time and money. In itself, it's actually very simple!  I buy huge containers of soap and refill them in my glass soap dispensers.  I got these at Target and have them all over the house.

The reason I started this is because I was looking for a soap that didn't have triclosan.  I read a lot of things that scared me about it and felt like plain soap would be enough to wash my hands.  It's not easy to find plain soap that isn't anti-bacterial so I get mine from Whole Foods.  I've tried the brand pictured below and it is the cheapest.  It works well but it doesn't smell that nice even though it says it's scented. Recently another brand was on sale and I decided to upgrade to Everyday Shea brand.  It smells like more than just soap. My favorite is Vanilla Mint.

via

At the risk of being totally contradictory, I also buy a huge bottle of hand sanitizer from Target.  We have little bottles in our car and I refill them.  This bottle has lasted me for a couple of years already.  Hand sanitizer does have the ingredient I'm trying to avoid but I only use it after I pump gas or something else where my hands feel dirty and I can't wash them.

That is my simple tip for today.  It's something that doesn't seem like a big deal but a lot of thought actually went in to going this route.  I don't have to hassle with running out of soap and spending loads of money at Bath & Body Works.  It's a little thing that keeps my house running smoothly because I don't have to worry about running out if I have my under the sink bottles for refill.  Nothing says I love you like extra toilet paper and soap in the bathroom.  

31 Days {Day 25} Simplify Your Inbox

Source: sofiasjournal.com via Victoria on Pinterest

I wish I could write today and tell you that I have my cluttered inbox solution all figured out but I don't.  I ruthlessly deleted emails yesterday and I still have a lot that I won't delete yet. There are things in progress and things that I'll read later and things that I liked reading, etc.

However I have made progress and I'm pressing the unsubscribe button more and more.  When that email comes into my box, instead of just deleting it, I am going to the source.  Sometimes it takes a minute but it's so worth it.  That doesn't mean unsubscribe to my blog though!

A couple of weeks ago I read an article that was on Twitter and I found it very thought provoking.  It dealt with the fact that we are using the amount of emails, voice mails, twitters, etc. to find our value and feed our busyness.  We feel important and needed because of the quantity of electronic clutter calling our name.  It's sounds silly, but is it?

I've thought more and more about it, and I don't want to find my value in the busyness of checking emails that aren't important to me.  Too often I forget to answer an email from an actual person because the junk subscriptions pile up behind it.

I'm going to link to this article and I encourage you to challenge yourself in the same way.

You are Important without Technology

What do you all do to control the amount of emails that accumulate?  I find it hardest to delete nice messages from people.  I have this dream scenario that I wake up and all that is in my inbox is relevant to that day.  I don't think that is going to happen any time soon!