Hosting a Halloween Party!

October 18, 2021October 18, 2021 Natalie Larson

I have a confession. I do not like Halloween. Never have. When I was a kid, I occasionally liked planning out my costume, but I absolutely dreaded going door to door and telling a joke in exchange for candy. I don’t like decorating with witches, ghosts, jack-o-lanterns, monsters, and spiders. For the life of me, I have never understood why some people put more time and energy into decorating their house all spooky and scary for Halloween than they do making it all cheery and joyful for Christmas. Call me a stick in the mud, but it’s just not my thing.

Needless to say, because of my feelings toward this upcoming holiday, I am definitely no expert in hosting a Halloween party. Until last week I have never done it. In fact, I probably haven’t done anything to celebrate Halloween in over 10 years. But for some reason, this year, I just thought it *might* be a little bit fun to have a little party. I really don’t know what got into me. I decided to host a costume party for some of our married friends. (For some reason it seemed much more appealing to me to host/attend a party in costume when everyone has a spouse that you could have a coordinating costume with. When I was single there was no way I would have shown up at a costume party by myself!)

Anywho, I just thought it would be fun to show you what we did for our little get-together! It was very low-key and super easy to host! (My kind of party.) There’s still almost two weeks until Halloween, so if you decide you’d like to host a little party, you could easily throw together something like this!

First off, I had to plan our costumes. This was the first time we’ve ever dressed up for Halloween together. I wanted something that went together and I wanted to include Wilma. The very first thing I thought of was a Scooby-Doo theme, and it seemed so easy to do, so that’s what we went with! I made a collar for Wilma using a blue collar and some blue and yellow foam sheets. You can’t see it in the photo, but I also put “S D” stickers on the dog tag. Alex went as Shaggy. He already owned a green t-shirt and tan pants, plus he hasn’t had a haircut in quite a while, so his costume was easy. I went as Velma. I already owned the red skirt, so I just snagged this orange sweater from Goodwill and threw on some glasses. I couldn’t find any knee-high orange socks, but I had these tall burgundy boots and I think it got the point across.

I decided to do a taco bar for the food. This was so simple and made it very hands-off during the party. We had pre-cooked the ground beef and put it in the crockpot to keep it warm. So when it was time to eat, I just set out some topping and let everyone go at it!

For dessert, Alex requested his favorite peanut butter cookies. I decided to have a bit of fun and placed the chocolate Kisses in upside down and then drew little legs with melted chocolate to make them look like spiders. It was a super easy way to add some Halloween vibes to the party.

I also made caramel apples because that just seemed like Halloween food to me. However, my caramel apple making skills need some definite improvement! We shared many laughs over how incredibly impossible they were to eat because my caramel was so sticky and hard. In hindsight, I would have kept some caramel warm in a crockpot or fondue pot and had sliced apples to dip. It would have worked much better I think, but these caramel apples definitely added to the entertainment for the night!

For drinks, I was inspired by these mocktails I originally saw on Tanner Mann’s Instagram. I based my drinks off of this, but I used this recipe. I left the vodka out, and let guests just add some vodka into their drink if they wished. They ended up so cute! I found the vampire teeth at the Dollar Tree. I also used Haribo Sour Streamers instead of the Air Heads. They were tasty and super cute and fun!

I only did a few decorations, like the “Happy Halloween” banner over the taco bar, but what I did do, I got from the Dollar Tree, including the plates, and napkins. I had also bought these cute little Halloween bags for a costume contest. I got one to put the votes in and the other I filled with stuff for a scary movie night at home. A scary movie, popcorn, candy, and a candle. We didn’t end up actually doing a costume contest at our party, but I thought it was a cute idea.

We ended our night by watching “Halloween Kills” which we were able to stream through Peacock TV, which was super convenient and a great way to end the night!

It ended up being a really fun night and I’m ultimately glad that I decided to celebrate Halloween this year. Are you hosting a Halloween party this year? I would love to hear what you’re doing to celebrate and what your costume is!

Holidays, Home, Life, Tips and Tricks

How to Make Last Minute Guests Feel Like You’ve Been Expecting Them All Day

October 11, 2021October 11, 2021 admin

I originally wrote this post right before the worldwide pandemic hit. At the time, we had people stopping by all the time, but just as I was going to publish this post, the world shut down and having visitors wasn’t really a thing anymore! However, as we’re all getting back to “normal” life, I thought I would go ahead and post this, especially since we’re heading into the holiday season when entertaining guests seems to be at its peak!

This little bar cart is right inside my front door. It’s usually one of the first places I go to when I know someone is stopping by. I’ll turn on my diffuser, light the candle, and turn on the lamp to instantly add a warm, cozy, inviting feeling to our home.

We’ve all been there. A friend or relative calls or texts and asks if they can stop by in the next 10 minutes. You graciously say “Yes!” but then you look around your home in a panic!

Lately, Alex and I have been lucky enough to have several people stop by our house with very short notice. I know that this can cause stress and anxiety for many people, including myself, so I thought I would go over a few different things I try to do to always be prepared for unexpected guests.

I love to bake. So often, I have some sort of baked good to offer unexpected guests. However, on the off chance that I don’t have something ready, I like to keep some frozen cookie dough in the freezer, so you can quickly throw them in the oven and be pulling out freshly baked cookies as your guests walk in the door! Store bought treats also work in a pinch! When guests come into a house that smells of freshly baked cookies, it will seem like you have been expecting them all day!
I ALWAYS start up my diffuser when I know someone is stopping by. My favorite essential oil to diffuse is Purification by Young Living. It smells so clean and fresh and makes it seem like you’ve been cleaning the house all day! Every single person that comes into my home comments on how good it smells, and it is 100% because of the diffuser and not because of my housekeeping abilities!
Lighting. Lighting can change the feeling of a space so much. First of all, turn on your porch or outside lights! It’s much more inviting to walk up to a house that has their lights on, it’s the first sign guests see that you are ready and waiting for them! Second, I like to keep just warm lights on. Our lamps, and under counter lights are my favorite. Low lighting feels much more cozy and homey than bright overhead lights. Also, light candles! Not only will they help make your house smell great, but they also give an awesome ambiance that helps your home feel cozy and inviting.
Of course, sometimes the struggle is the fact that your house is just plain messy and needs picked up and cleaned. In this case, of course, I try to pick up according to how much time I have. I start in my living room, since that is the first room our guests walk into, and if I have time I’ll move to the kitchen. Always start at the point where your guests will enter and then work from there to the points of the house your guests will likely spend time (kitchen, bathroom, etc.) Close doors to other rooms such as bedrooms, laundry, etc. if you have to.
Play some music! It makes a home seem so cozy when some light music is playing in the background. Of course, don’t have it so loud that conversation is awkward, just loud enough to add to the cozy and inviting atmosphere.

These are just some basic things I do when someone calls and says they’ll be over in a moment’s notice. Hopefully these tips will helps you feel confident to host those last minute guests! What do you do when someone stops by unexpectedly? I would love to hear your tricks too!

Holidays, Home

Fall Decor Tour

October 1, 2021October 1, 2021 admin

Can you believe it’s October? I sure can’t. Time is flying by, but the temps are feeling just a bit cooler today and I’m definitely ready for fall. One of the first things I do to break in the fall season is to decorate my home. I have had my fall decorations up for a few weeks now (even though we’ve still had our AC on), but since today is October 1st, I thought it was the perfect time to share my fall decor!

I am always switching out our throw blankets on the couch. One of the first things I do to change up the decor for the season is to add some seasonal blankets!

For fall, I often remove my candles from their pedestals and place a pumpkin on them! I think it’s such a cute way to display a pumpkin.

I usually keep a lot of my decorations pretty much the same, but just add some small seasonal items. Here, I just replaced a candle with a pumpkin on the candlestick and I swapped out my usual candle for a fall scented one.

I love this little guy. I’ve had him for years and he’s one of my favorite fall pieces.

One of my favorite things to switch out for the holiday decorating is decorative towels on my little towel ladder!

Here is another example of how the centerpiece is completely neutral, but the fall table cloth helps give it that cozy, fall feeling.

Wilma’s favorite part of new decor is fresh pillows and blankets to lounge on.

A gold pumpkin and fall candle make our ” cozy room” seem even more cozy!

Do you have your fall decor up yet? When do you normally decorate? What are your favorite decorating tips?? I would love to chat with you all about it! Happy October and Happy Decorating!

Life, Self-Improvement, Tips and Tricks

Getting That “Back to School” Feeling (Even when you’re not in school!)

August 30, 2021August 30, 2021 Natalie Larson

How was your summer? I trust it went well for you. Mine was great. And busy. (Hence why I haven’t published a blog post in months.) Anyway, by the time mid to late August gets here, I start craving routine.

Summer is so fun and carefree. Trips and vacations, longer daylight hours, warm weather. With all the busyness, I tend to let a lot of my regular habits slide and by the time summer starts to come to a close, I’m ready to get back to it. Remember that feeling when you were in school? You’d get your new school supplies and school clothes and almost be excited to start school back up again. Or maybe you’re still in school! Either way, I think this time of year is a perfect time to reset, make some goals, change some habits, and work on improving ourselves!

One of my favorite podcasts to listen to is the Organize 365 podcast. If you listen to Lisa and are familiar with what she teaches, you know that she considers this time of year one of her “New Year’s.” She breaks up her year into three “new years” and I must say that I completely relate to that! I often feel more motivated this time of year than I do in January to start a new routine, or goal, or habit. I thought you might feel the same, so I thought I’d do a quick post about how to really get that “back to school” feeling even if you (or your kiddos) aren’t even headed back to school.

Get a new planner. When I’m feeling refreshed and ready to restart I always love getting a new planner. There is something so satisfying about filling out a brand new planner. While you’re at it, revamp your schedule! I went through my regular schedule and I’m rearranging things that I think will work better for me. (Like working out in the afternoon instead of morning, etc.)
Meal Plan. There is nothing that makes me feel more organized and like I’ve got it all together than meal planning. It makes it easier to make a grocery list, easier to shop, and I always end up making healthier choices!
Deep Clean. This time of year always makes me want to deep clean and really get ready for a fresh start. This week so far I have deep cleaned my fridge and my pantry. (This also helps significantly when starting a meal plan too!)
Set Goals and/or Make To-Do Lists. I always usually start working on goals around this time of year. Whether it’s eating healthy, working out, losing weight, finishing projects, or planning for the upcoming holidays.

I’m so excited to get into my new routine, accomplish some of my goals, and totally take advantage of that refreshing “back to school” energetic feeling I have. Do you get that “back to school” feeling? What things are you doing because of that? Or what things are you going to do to try and cultivate that feeling? I would love to read your comments about what you’re doing!

Homesteading

My First Herb Planter

May 10, 2021May 10, 2021 Natalie Larson

Last year was my first time growing any type of herb. I found the saddest little half-dead pot of Lemon Balm at a home improvement store on clearance for $0.50. I took it home and planted it and boy did that little thing thrive. It flourished all summer and I was so proud. It really gave me an itch to plant more herbs, especially ones I cook with a lot. I imagine how lovely it would be to step right outside my front door and cut some fresh herbs for dinner.

Well, I decided to transform this planter, which was a flower box last year, into my little herb garden. I spent a lot of time researching what herbs to plant based on what I knew I would use in my cooking, as well as what would be okay to plant together. I ordered all of my herbs from Iowa Backyard Farmer. It was easy to order and pickup my herbs and they all looked so beautiful and healthy. Here’s what I planted in my herb planter:

Lemon Thyme

I’ve never used lemon thyme before, but I did get quite used to working with lemon balm last year, so I think this will be a fun herb to have. I planted to of these in each front corner of my herb planter.

Sweet Basil

Basil is obviously one of the most frequently used culinary herbs, but it can be so expensive at the store. I usually never purchase fresh basil because of that and the fact that it will wilt so quickly. I’m super excited to have my own basil plant to have an unlimited supply of fresh basil for pizzas, pastas, etc. I left a lot of space around my sweet basil since I know that it can become quite large.

Chives

I planted two chive starts in the back of my herb planter, since they can become quite tall. I am especially excited to put fresh chives over mashed potatoes. I’m sure I will use them a lot.

Italian Flat Leaf Parsley

Of course, I needed parsley. So versatile, flavorful, and tasty. I planted two of these in the front of my herb planter. I will use this a lot in soups, sauces, roast chicken, and well, probaby most anything I cook.

Calypso Cilantro

I use cilantro so much. I usually pick up a package every time I go to the store, so I’m so excited to start using my own. I find that a little fresh cilantro sprinkled over tacos, enchiladas, or a burrito bowl really elevates the flavor so much.

I am really hoping that I will be as successful at growing all of these herbs as I was with my lemon balm last year. They have already grown so much since I planted them in the herb planter last week. Do you have a herb garden or herb planter? What are you growing this year?

Homesteading

Making Homemade Maple Syrup

May 5, 2021May 5, 2021 Natalie Larson

In the fall of 2019 we took a trip to Vermont and absolutely loved our time up there. If you’ve been to Vermont, you know that maple syrup is everything up there. We enjoyed visiting a maple farm, looking at all the maple trees with their taps, and eating all the maple flavored everything. This trip inspired my husband to research how we could tap our own backyard maple tree. Alex hates our maple trees because it has been so hard to grow anything in our yard because of them, so he was determined to get something useful out of them.

I originally kind of brushed off all of his talk about tapping our trees as a momentary obsession that would probably never come to fruition, but he proved me wrong. And let me tell you, I’m so glad he did. This was our very first experience making maple syrup, so we are nowhere near experts, in fact, we learned a lot in the process. But it was such a fun experience and we can’t wait to apply our knowledge next year to hopefully become more efficient and skilled at making maple syrup.

Alex purchased a tap online and we got some flat-back buckets. One thing that made this year hard was that you have to tap the maple trees when it is above freezing temperatures during the day and below freezing temperatures at night. Here in Iowa, we very quickly moved from freezing temps to above freezing temps, so we only had about a week of prime tapping conditions.

Alex just cut out some scrap wood to make tops for the buckets. These buckets would fill so fast during the days we had prime tapping weather. Sometimes we would have to empty them twice a day to keep them from overflowing.

We ended up collecting around 14 gallons of sap. We stored it in our fridge and freezers until we were ready to boil it. Let me tell you, it took up so much space. I had maple sap everywhere.

We picked a nice warm Saturday to do our boil. You have to boil the maple sap outside because of all the steam it produces. I didn’t want to scorch my good cooking pots, so we went to Goodwill and found the perfect big stock pot to use for only $7. We have an outdoor fireplace with a grate over the fire, so we used that for our heat source.

We started boiling around 8:00 AM and we were boiling until sunset. It was such a fun day. Alex was pretty much constantly chopping wood to keep the fire roaring, but I was able to do a lot of yard work in between tending to the sap. Once the sap would evaporate enough, I would just keep adding sap to the pot. Again and again and again. This is a very slow process and it took a long time to boil it all down.

Once we had it all boiled down, it had become a light golden color. We strained it and put it back into the fridge until we could do the final boil. It still took up so much room in my fridge. The final boil is done inside so you can monitor the temperature and get to the perfect syrup consistency. I just poured all of the boiled down sap into my regular soup pot and brought it to a boil. I used a thermometer to monitor the temperature. I read that 219 degrees Fahrenheit should be the perfect temperature for syrup. It took a long time to reach this temperature. My sap hung out at 215 degrees for a very long time, but we finally reached 219 and it was perfect!

When it reached temp, I began straining it through coffee filters. As this was our first time trying this, I didn’t feel like purchasing actual maple syrup strainers, so I just used what I had. It worked just fine, however, it took so much time. Next year, now that I know we enjoy making our own maple syrup, I will definitely invest in some proper supplies.

After all that work we got this single jar of maple syrup. It doesn’t look like much, but we definitely think it was worth it. This syrup is by far, the tastiest maple syrup we have ever had. Knowing that we made it completely by ourselves from our own maple tree gives us such a sense of accomplishment. It was very time consuming, but we had a blast.

This year, we only tapped one of our trees, but next year I would really love to tap both of our trees and try to get a bigger batch. I also want to purchase some actual maple syrup supplies, like filters. Hopefully next year we will also have a longer tapping season. Have you ever tapped your maple tree? Would you ever go to this much work to make your own maple syrup? I would love to hear about your maple syrup making experience!

Travel

Southwest Montana and Yellowstone – Our 2021 Spring Vacation

May 3, 2021May 3, 2021 Natalie Larson

We were originally planning to go on an international trip this spring, but with recent events and travel restrictions, we opted for a cabin in Montana. It was an amazing trip and I’m so excited to tell you all about it!

We decided to fly into Bozeman, Montana since we found a great deal on flights from Des Moines. The Bozeman airport was very attractive, efficient, and not crowded!

We arrived in Bozeman around lunch time, so we drove to downtown Bozeman and found a place for lunch. We settled on Ted’s Montana Grill. I had the bison meatloaf sandwich and it was delicious! After lunch, we decided to do some shopping around downtown. We went to Schnee’s where I purchased a perfect pair of hiking boots with the help of their friendly staff. After visiting a few more stores, we decided to start making our way to Ennis, MT, where our cabin was located. Along the way, we stopped at this beautiful area of the lower Madison River.

We arrived at our little cabin and realized how tired we were after a long day of travel, so we just rested and made an early night of it. Our Vrbo hosts were wonderful! They were so communicative, and even made us homemade cookies and muffins.

The next morning we were up before the sun to make our way to Yellowstone.

On our way, we stopped at Night of Terror on Earthquake Lake. It was fascinating to read about the trajedy that happened here and it was so gloomy, you could almost feel the sadness in this place.

We spent the rest of the day in Yellowstone, entering through the west entrance, after we picked up some sandwiches in West Yellowstone to bring with us for lunch.

This was one of the first bison that we saw. We thought it was hilarious and so cool, but we later learned that this is so common and can often cause a traffic headache.

After seeing so many geysers and buffalo, gorgeous mountains, springs, and the famous Old Faithful, we headed back to West Yellowstone to grab some dinner. We went to The Buffalo Bar, where I had a Huckleberry Lemonade. Montana is famous for huckleberries and you can find huckleberry flavored everything everywhere you go. On our drive back to Ennis, we saw more wildlife.

It snowed overnight so we had some beautiful Montana views from our cabin. We decided to stay close to our cabin and have a slower day today.

We drove to Virginia City and Nevada City. Most all of the shops and attractions were closed since it was still off season, but it was still fun to drive around and look.

We then headed back to Ennis to explore town. First stop was Willie’s Distillery where I had the tastiest drink of all time! A Huckleberry White Hot Chocolate. I am still dreaming of this drink!

The next morning we headed out super early again to head back to Yellowstone.

After finishing our day in the park, we headed back to West Yellowstone to grab some dinner. We found Canyon Street Grill. It was such a cute 50’s style diner with delicious burgers and milkshakes. Huckleberry flavored of course!

The next morning it was time to head home!

Have you visited southwest Montana? I would love to hear about your trip! We had so much fun and I would highly recommend visiting!

Crafts, Gift Ideas, Holidays

May Day Baskets

April 30, 2021April 30, 2021 Natalie Larson

Did you give out May Day baskets when you were a kid? I loved the tradition. On the first day of May we would make some sort of little basket with treats in it and bring them to our friend’s houses. Leave them on the step, ring the doorbell, and then RUN! Even as an adult I love to make something and give them to our neighbors. It is such a fun tradition to do and with May Day being on Saturday this year, I think it will be even easier for more people to participate!

I usually end up forgetting that May Day is coming and then I make something last minute on May 1st. These May Day baskets are perfect for that! I got everything at the dollar store. They came out super cute and really affordable!

Here’s my shopping list:

2 packages of favor boxes (found in the wedding section)
2 packages of stickers
1 box of popcorn
1 bag of suckers
2 bags of Laffy Taffy
1 bag of Smarties
1 bag of Tootsie Fruit Chews
16 packets of marigold seeds
2 stems of silk flowers

This came to a grand total of $17.12. I made up 16 May day baskets, making each one cost $1.07. Pretty good if you ask me.

I started by making all of the favor boxes up and then putting a sticker on each one. I found these adorable spring themed stickers that were perfect for May Day.

Then I just placed a packet of flower seeds in the back of each basket. I filled the basket with popcorn ( I used two bags for 16 baskets, leaving one bag of popcorn leftover) and then placed the pieces of candy on top. I started doing one of each kind of candy, but I had a lot leftover, so each of my baskets ended up with two suckers and at least four pieces of candy. I had enough candy and popcorn leftover that I could have made quite a few more May Day baskets if I wanted to. I then snipped individual branches off of the floral stems and placed one branch in each basket.

I love how these turned out! So fun for spring, easy to do, affordable, and anyone will enjoy receiving one of these! Do you do May Day Baskets? I would love to hear about your May Day traditions!

Holidays

Decorating for St. Patrick’s Day

March 1, 2021March 1, 2021 admin

Happy March! While I don’t generally do a ton of decorating for St. Patrick’s Day, I did more this year than I ever have, so I thought I’d share it with you!

I don’t even have a lot of actual St. Patrick’s Day pieces, but I gathered all the green pieces I had in my home and really highlighted those for the holiday. In the picture above, I swapped out the white cake stand I had as the centerpiece for this beautiful green one I had and then put a few pieces of antique depression glass on it. I also used a houseplant to add even more green and then just accented with white. I love how this turned out for our kitchen table!

This is one of the few things I have that I actually bought just for decorating for St. Patrick’s day. This little doorhanger is a whopping $1 from Dollar Tree.

I got this little banner on clearance last year, but it’s not even necessarily “St. Patrick’s Day” any green party banner would work!

I love this little towel ladder that Alex made for me. I have so many cute towels I want to display, but don’t want to get used, so this is the perfect solution! This towel is particularly special to me as it was stitched for me by my aunt. I layered it over a green hand towel I had to help make the green in the tea towel pop.

This is an example of how I really just looked around my house and pulled out anything that was green. A green hand towel, a green towel I purchased around Christmastime, and my green mason jar salt and pepper shakers.

I already had this little chalkboard with the mint green frame, so I used a green chalkboard pen to draw a clover, then I switched out the pink pitcher I had my utensils in to this bright green sequin vase, which I had with Christmas stuff.

This was a spring wreath I already had in storage. The little green berries are a perfect accent for St. Patrick’s Day. Plus this will probably stay up through all of spring.

I love my letterboards! It’s the perfect place to add a little festive saying without having to buy any additional seasonal signs or decor.

This little doorhanger is another Dollar Tree find!

I love to have a little doorknob hanger on the inside of my front door. I found this cute little guy at Hobby Lobby for 40% off.

This gold banner is something I picked up last year on clearance. (If you haven’t noticed, I like to shop after holidays for clearance items, pack them away and then use them the next year as something brand new!)

This is the regular chalkboard that I always have hanging in our living room. I just used a green chalkboard pen to write out my own St. Patrick’s Day design. I got the green chalkboard pen for a steal at the Dollar Tree!

I have had this little gold “lucky” sign for several years. I just paired it next to a green houseplant and a green candle and now it screams “St. Patrick’s Day!”

My other letterboard! I used my gold letters for this one. St. Patrick’s Day is a great excuse to pull out all of your gold stuff as well!

Bringing attention to your houseplants is a great way to feel festive for the holiday without buying a bunch of decor.

This coffee table display was just a couple of green candles I had on hand, paired with some vintage depression glass on my usual gold tray. Perfectly festive and free!

Do you decorate for St. Patrick’s Day? It can be as easy as rearranging a few items you already have to accentuate greens and golds. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Travel

Our Honeymoon

February 25, 2021February 25, 2021 Natalie Larson

We were SO excited for our honeymoon. We had fun planning the wedding, and of course, we were looking forward to that, but I think we were even more excited for our honeymoon. We had our trip all planned out several months before the wedding. Flights booked, resort reservations made. We were so excited to be going to the Dominican Republic and spend a week just relaxing with each other on the beach. Then, shortly before our wedding, the news stories started appearing.

Every time we watched the news we heard about people dying or getting sick at resorts in the Dominican. We waived off the first few stories as flukes, but when there was a death at the very resort we were supposed to be staying in, we decided we had better cancel our trip. We just wouldn’t have been able to have peace of mind and relax while we were there.

This added just a bit of stress just one month out from our wedding and planned honeymoon. We turned to a travel agent to help us figure out where to go. Jamaica was in the running, but we finally decided on St. Maarten in the Virgin Islands, and boy are we glad we did! One of our best decisions ever!

We stayed at the Sonesta Ocean Point Resort and we absolutely loved it! They had complimentary drinks for us when we arrived and an adorable personalized plate of goodies in our room! They had also decorated our room since they knew it was our honeymoon.

We were on the third floor and had the most amazing view of the pool and the ocean! We loved our balcony and spent a lot of time out there. The great thing about the resort was that it was adults only, which we really wanted for our honeymoon, but it is also connected to a family resort that we had full access to as well. This allowed us to go to many different restaurants, even though our favorite restaurant was on the adults only side.

Azul restaurant was so beautiful with such delicious food! The views were absolutely incredible! You were literally eating right above the sea, with the breeze blowing through the restaurant and the waves crashing underneath you.

Throughout the resort we were so amazed by everyone’s kindness. We are from Iowa, which is known for it’s “Iowa nice”, but let me tell you, St. Maarten nice has us beat! The staff was all amazing! So sweet, fun, and personable! We enjoyed many evenings on the rooftop bar with our favorite bartender Ramon.

Most of our time there we just relaxed and enjoyed the activities on the resort, like yoga above the ocean and pool aerobics, or just laying by the pool getting endless strawberry daiquiris and reading countless books.

However, one of our favorite days was the day we took an all day boat tour of the island. We did this through Billy Bones and we highly recommend it! Our guides were so much fun and we had a blast snorkeling, swimming with sea turtles, and just speeding around the island with an endless supply of rum punch!

I have always said that I don’t think I would ever take the same vacation twice since there are so many places in the world I’d like to go, but Alex and I loved St. Maarten so much that we both said we would definitely love to go back! If you have gone or are going to St. Maarten, I would love to hear about your experience! It is definitely one of our favorite places on earth!

Homesteading, Life

Why We Got Backyard Chickens

February 9, 2021February 9, 2021 admin

This past June we started our backyard chicken flock with 6 young pullets and we have never regretted it! We love having chickens, and for us it is a no-brainer. However, I have had SO many people ask us “WHY?!?” So I thought I would do a post about how we decided to get them, why we love them, and some reasons that may convince you to start your own flock!

These are what the pullets looked like when we bought them.

Almost exactly one year ago we brought home a brand new Bloodhound puppy, Wilma. Being a bloodhound, she is a natural hunting dog, and knowing that someday we would love to live on a homestead with lots of animals, especially chickens, we wanted Wilma to grow up from puppyhood being around chickens so that we could train her to not be aggressive toward them.

The ladies are enjoying some hot, homemade porridge.

My parents conveniently had a small chicken coop that they were no longer using. So we hauled it to our small, city lot. My dad fixed it up for us by reinforcing some chicken wire and repairing the feed box and door.

So we started tossing around the idea of getting chicks in the spring. I’ll be honest, the thought of getting chicks kind of overwhelmed me. We don’t have a big garage, nor did we have a lot of the equipment you need to raise chicks such as heat lamps. I looked at many homemade chick brooders on Pinterest, but I was still overwhelmed by making one, so I started doing more research.

That’s when I discovered the term “pullet.” A pullet is a young hen, under one year, but older than a chick. Old enough that we could put it straight into the chicken coop and skip the brooder stage. We would also know that they were definitely females and avoid accidentally getting a rooster or two. This idea was very appealing to me. I knew that pullets would be more expensive than getting chicks, but since we were only wanting about half a dozen or so, I was willing to pay a bit more for the convenience of getting older birds. Also, they were a bit harder to find than just walking into your local farm supply store and getting chicks, but not impossible to find.

I scoured Craiglist until I came across the perfect listing for us! I found a group of 6 Sapphire Gem pullets for $30. They hadn’t started laying yet. We hurried to get our coop all prepared and went and got them the next day.

For us, this worked out perfectly. We were able to put them right into the coop without having to worry about a brooder. Six birds also proved to be the perfect number for us. Our coop has 12 nesting boxes, so they have plenty of space, and when they started laying eggs we got about 3 dozens eggs a week, which is too much for just the two of us to eat, so we sell a dozen here and there for some extra money, which is a great perk!

We love having chickens for many reasons, so I’ll just make a quick list here for you.

Fresh Eggs – This is obviously the most obvious perk of having chickens. I am never out of eggs. (Except the one time Alex sold 3 dozen in one day and didn’t tell me. It worked out fine though, because I just ran out to the coop and the girls had already laid 3 more.) It is so nice using the nutrient rich, dark yellow-yoked eggs that we get from our own backyard. We know exactly what the chickens are fed and can feel good knowing that we are eating something healthy.
Extra Money – This ties in with having fresh eggs, but since our hens produce more than we can eat, we sell eggs for money! We usually put this money right back into the chickens with the purchase of straw, feed, etc. So it’s a great way to pay for having them, they just earn their own keep!
Entertainment – If you haven’t just sat in an Adirondack chair with a cool drink and watched some chickens do their thing on a summer day, then you probably don’t know what I’m talking about. You need to do this. Chickens are so fun to watch! The way they strut across the yard, scratching for bugs, and randomly get scared and run to the other side of the yard is really very entertaining.
Companionship – OK. This probably sounds so stupid, but our chickens love us and we love them! The girls will follow me throughout the yard wherever I go, and will run to us when they hear us coming outside. Our chickens are very tame and enjoy getting pet and held. I have caught Alex on a few occasions, just sitting with them, hand feeding them sunflower seeds.
Compost – Chicken poop makes great compost! We have a little backyard compost bin that we toss all of their droppings and old straw in to make great fertilizer for my garden come spring!
Education – We have learned so much about chickens since we started. We didn’t even begin to know it all, we just started and we are learning along the way! We learned how to care for a sick chicken, how to tell if one is sick, what foods they can eat, etc. It also teaches responsibility, just like any pet or animal. If we ever have children, it will be a great way to teach them responsibility (feeding, watering, gathering eggs).

Alex enjoying watching our little flock.

Most of all, we just really love having chickens. We may live in town, but we would love to someday live on an acreage and have a homestead. This is something we can do now (since our city allows it) to help our home feel more like a homestead. We are learning and building our skills so that someday, if we can have a big coop with 100 chickens then we know how to care for them!

I encourage you to check your local laws regarding backyard chickens, and if your city allows it, give it a try! We love ours and I think you will love it too!

Life

My “Why” – The Purpose Behind This Blog

February 1, 2021February 1, 2021 admin

Blogging is something I have been interested in for a very long time. For a long time it seemed unreachable to have a successful blog. I had a feeling that success in blogging only comes to a few, lucky people who happen to stumble upon the opportunity at just the right time. Or only to those who are experts in one specific field. But me? No. I couldn’t be successful at it. I am mediocre at a lot of things. Baking, writing, nursing, homemaking. But I am not stellar at anything.

However, I was still so drawn to the idea of it. Sometimes things would happen in life and I would think “I wish I had a platform that I could write about this on.” So back in 2017 I took the plunge and I started this blog.

I had great intentions of making it into this beautiful, successful, money-making blog. But it was hard. I struggled to put the web pages together. To upload the photos, to figure out the technical part of it. I am not very tech savvy and by the time I had it all set up, I mainly just felt discouraged that it didn’t look like a super professional, established blog. (Which is crazy, of course.) And when I went to actually write posts, I had lost my inspiration. My good ideas. So I wrote a few posts and then fizzled out.

I tried to revive it again in 2019 and thought I would just write posts about anything I could think of. Then I thought “Who on earth wants to read what I have to say? Who is even interested in this? I’m no expert, I have no content to produce!” At this time, I was also getting married, and starting a life with my husband, raising a puppy, learning to care for a small flock of chickens, and doing tons of home renovations, all in addition to working full time. So I got busy and fell out of it again. But looking back, what great content I missed writing about!

So now, here I am again. In 2021 trying to save this blog once more. But now I have a better sense of my purpose for this blog. I have opened up about it to my husband, who fully supports and encourages me to go for it, whereas before I was self-conscious of sharing my blogging ideas with him. I have also decided to just blog about my daily life. My daily struggles. My Splendid Struggle. (Read more about the inspiration for my blog name here.) I’ve accepted the fact that I’m a beginner. My blog will look like a beginner made it. I am learning new things and I can blog about learning them! I don’t have to blog like I am an expert on the topic.

So basically, I wrote this really long post to tell you that I’m trying again. Starting over again. And I really hope that you will enjoy reading about what I’m learning, and doing, and making, and creating on this splendid struggle of life.

Holidays

10 Valentine’s Day Ideas

February 4, 2020 admin

No matter if you are single, or in a relationship, married with kids, or working this Valentine’s Day, I hope you do something fun to spread love and make the day special! Here are some ideas!

Dinner Date Night Out Now, I had to start with this classic, because this is what Alex and I always do! He always takes me to a nice restaurant that we’ve never been to before! It’s always fun to get dressed up, try a new place and enjoy a good meal with your Valentine. After dinner, we will sometimes hit up a movie, or a cocktail bar for an after dinner drink. But usually, we head home and snuggle on the couch.
Date Night In We all know that restaurants are packed and flowers are overpriced on Valentine’s Day, so it’s always an option to stay home! Cooking a delicious dinner and dessert together can be so fun and then you eat in the comfort of your own home as you enjoy your favorite tv show! You can make it a little more exciting by trying a new fancy recipe, or play it safe with a classic meal you both love.
Fancy Night On The Town Where are my single ladies at??? You have to do this at least once! When I was in high school, me and my entire friend group was single. So we decided to get all dolled up and fancy and went out to a nice dinner together. We had a blast and let me tell you, we were having way more fun than anyone else in the restaurant! We then did some shopping in our heels and dresses and then went to see the girliest movie in the theater at the time “Confessions of a Shopaholic” This was such a fun night!
Homemade Pizza Night I love this idea for families with kiddos! Growing up, mom would give us each our own pizza pan (or tin pie dish) and a ball of dough and we would make our own pizzas! She would have all of the toppings like cheese, pepperoni, peppers, pineapple, etc. We loved seeing how our pizzas looked coming out of the oven! You could even make them heart shaped!
Do a Craft I love crafting! There are so many options with this one. You could do a paint and wine night at a local art studio, you could have your girlfriends over and all do a craft as you watch chick flicks, you could have your kids make Valentine’s for their friends or neighbors. You can do this by yourself, with your friends, or with your Valentine. Get on Pinterest and get crafty! If you need an idea, check out the Valentine Heart Paint Chip Banner I made. Last year, I hosted a Galentine’s Day Party and we each painted a little canvas!
Pamper Yourself Whether you book a massage, or do a face mask at home in the bubble bath. Take time for you! Again, this can be if you’re spending the day alone or you could plan this with your spouse! You could even enjoy a nice bath, book, face mask, and glass of wine when you come home from work! This would also be such a fun girl’s night in if you hosted a little spa party for your girlfriends!
Bring Some Joy to Work If you are like me this year, then you will be working on Valentine’s Day! I also had to work last year on Valentine’s Day and Alex always makes it work and we go out on a different evening. (This can actually be beneficial for more reservation options as well as better prices) However, consider doing something for your coworkers on Valentine’s Day. Bake some heart shaped sugar cookies, or bring in a box pink donuts! It may not be how you’d choose to spend the day, but it will help make the day seem more special and make you and your coworkers happier! (If you are one of my coworkers reading this, I am making no promises!)
Go on a Mini Vacation This one is perfect this year since Valentine’s Day falls on a Friday. You could find a little town (or big city) that’s not too far from you and you could spend one or two nights in a hotel there, exploring a new town and just relaxing with each other. This would also be a great stay-cation. Our city has lots of beautiful and unique boutique hotels that we would love to stay a night in. Splurge on a suite with a jacuzzi, since you aren’t having to pay for travel fees and it still feels like you got a little vacation!
Make a Fun Breakfast Maybe you have time on Friday to make a fun breakfast for the kids with heart shaped waffles, or maybe you will celebrate on Saturday and enjoy a nice slow morning (my favorite) cooking chocolate chip pancakes and bacon! This is always fun for kids and adults and you can make it super cute with Valentine’s plates and napkins from the dollar store, or do a theme like “pink foods’ and serve strawberry milk, heart shaped pancakes with pink sprinkles, etc.
Do Something for Someone Else No matter how you are spending your Valentine’s Day this year, I hope you do something to show someone else love. Maybe you bring your lonely neighbor a cookie, maybe you spend your night volunteering, maybe you just make your spouse all of their favorite things for dinner. I hope your focus will be on others. On the ones you love. And also on the ones that rarely feel loved. Happy Valentine’s Day.

Books

The Great Alone – A Book Review

January 24, 2020 admin

After reading The Nightingale by Kristen Hannah, I knew I had to get my hands on another one of her books. There have been few books that moved my emotions so much and I wondered if all her works were like this, or if The Nightingale was just a special one.

Luckily, my husband knows me well and bought me The Great Alone for Christmas. I finished it a few weeks ago, and I’m still thinking about it! In true Kristen Hannah form, it shook my emotions so much. My husband found me crying multiple times while reading this book.

I had absolute no idea what I was getting into. I hadn’t read anything about the book or the plot. I didn’t have a clue what to expect.

At the beginning, I was not convinced it was going to be a tear-jerking, gut-wrenching, emotional roller coaster that The Nightingale was. The setting starts in the 1970s, and through the eyes of a 13 year old girl, Leni. I was surprised at what seemed to be a totally different type of storytelling and storyline. When Leni’s family decides to pack up and move to Alaska in hope of a new start and a life of self-sufficiency, she had me hooked. I’ve always dreamed of living a self-sufficient life, although never in Alaska.

I thought I was going to enjoy this book solely from reading about their new self-sufficient life. Little did I know that I would end of loving this book for all of the different human emotions and relationships that are portrayed in this book.

I’ve always loved books that portray wonderful, romantic, steadfast love. This book does that perfectly. But this book also made me ponder and understand other types of love better. Like the love between a mother and a daughter. The love between a person and their homeland, and also other types of love that can be complicated and confusing and incomprehensible. Like love that still persists even in abusive situations.

I’ve thankfully never personally been involved in an abusive relationship and I think reading this book really helped open my eyes to why people stay in those relationships.

This book is a beautiful balance of adventure and emotion. Kristen Hannah is so good at stirring your heart with just a few lines and The Great Alone is no exception!

Have you read The Great Alone? I would love to hear what you thought of it!

Faith, Life, Self-Improvement

2020 -My Hopes, Dreams, and Goals

January 1, 2020 admin

Don’t you love the feeling of a new year? Now, don’t get me wrong. I LOVE Christmas! I love the shopping, and baking, and decorations, and chaos that comes with Christmas. But once it’s all over, I love the new year.

The fresh start feeling. The clean feeling when you pack up all the Christmas decorations. (Mine are currently still up, including a Christmas tree that only has working lights on the bottom half of the tree!) Everything feels fresh and new. Not only the environment, but also my attitude and my motivation.

Don’t get me wrong, I often get WAY too ambitious in the new year resolve to do way too many things, as I addressed in last year’s new year post.

Last year, I said I just wanted to look back and be able to say I am a better person now than I was at the beginning of the year. As I look back, I can’t say for certain whether or not I achieved that goal. I had a lot of new and better experiences, for sure. I even developed better habits this year! Like fixing the bed every day and never sleeping in my makeup! But am I a better person? Do I love more? Am I more patient and considerate? Do I exhibit the fruit of the Spirit?

I don’t know.

But I do know what I want to strive for in 2020. I want to be known as a follower of Christ. I want people to be able to look at my life and see Him. I want to show love and compassion, patience, and goodness. I want to produce spiritual fruit. I want others to be energized and uplifted by being around me. My husband, my family, my friends, and my co-workers.

I want to be a better person, and I will do that by trying to be more like Jesus. In 2020, I want to be more intentional in my pursuit of Christ. To intentionally make time to spend reading His Word and praying.

Of course, I have goals to eat better, and save money. We have a lot of house projects on our 2020 to-do list. And I am really wanting to become more organized. However, out of all of these things, I hope and pray that this year my focus will not be on me. But that it will be on Christ and how I can be more like Him. And when I do that, I know all the other things will fall into place.

I hope you have a wonderful New Year. I would love to hear what goals you have for 2020!

Life

2019 – A Reflection on My Best Year Yet

December 31, 2019 admin

As I sit writing this post, I am in shock that 2019 has come to an end. What an incredibly fast year. 2019 happened in the blink of an eye, but it also brought me the best times of my entire life.

I can honestly say that 2019 was the best year of my life. Back in January, I finally launched this blog, which I had talked about doing for years. It’s obviously not much, but I’m so glad I did.

February brought one of the happiest days of my life when Alex proposed! The next several months flew by in a whirlwind of wedding planning and preparations. I was overwhelmed with the amount of love that was poured out to me with the showers, parties, gifts, and help from so many friends and family members.

July was here before we knew it, and we had a fairytale wedding day that was so beautiful, and special, and perfect in every way.

Our honeymoon in St. Maarten was probably the best trip I have ever been on. The perfect weather, wonderful resort, and great food were made even better by getting to spend an entire week with my new husband.

In August we both started to learn a lot. We began to figure out how to live together and how to develop new routines. I learned how to wake up before 8:30 and Alex learned how to live with a crazy woman who loves to bake and is obsessed with the Iowa State Fair.

Our trip to Vermont in October was so much fun just relaxing with each other and enjoying God’s fall masterpieces.

Before we knew it, November was here bringing Alex’s birthday and Thanksgiving.

Now here we are on December 31st. My 28th birthday, while I whined and joked a lot about getting old and not wanting a birthday, was my best one yet. Our first Christmas married was a blast and our Christmas party was exhausting, but so much fun.

So as I look back onto 2019, I can honestly say it was the best year of my life. So much happiness, so much change, so many adventures, so much love. The best thing by far, better than all the trips and experiences, is spending every day with my best friend. Building a home and a life with him. I will forever look at 2019 as the most life-changing year. This year has brought me so much that I’m sad to see it go, but I am so excited to see what 2020 brings. Much love to you in the New Year.

Books

What the Wind Knows – A Book Review

September 21, 2019September 21, 2019 admin

I recently read a novel titled “What the Wind Knows” by Amy Harmon. I must say, it is not typically the kind of book I read, but I absolutely loved it. It is historical fiction, which is my type of book, but it also has an aspect that I usually shy away from.

It started off like any good novel that I would read. Set in America, a young woman is dealing with the loss of her beloved Irish grandfather. She sets out to Ireland to spread his ashes and say a final goodbye. Up to this point it was very sad, and moving and I did not see what was coming next.

Time traveling.

I don’t read time travel books. It’s too much for me to wrap my brain around. I can’t comprehend it and so I usually steer clear from those books. But I was already invested in this story. So I continued and boy, am I glad I did!

She finds herself in Ireland at a time that was two generations before her. At first she can’t figure out how to get back, but then as she spends more time there she decides she might like to stay. Although, it gets to be quite dangerous for her as people begin to grow suspicious of who she really is and how she seems to know about things that have not happened yet.

One reason that I was scared to finish this book was because I couldn’t see how the author could end it on a happy note and I NEED my books to have happy endings. I was not disappointed. The night I finished this book I had to stop reading about 3 different times because I couldn’t see the page through my tears. I cried so hard. But it was SUCH an AMAZING ending.

This book covered a lot of Irish historical events and figures, which I was not well-informed about before reading, but feel like I am more now after reading. I fully enjoyed it without knowing much about the actual historical events, and I think you would still enjoy it if you were an expert on Irish history.

I know this is a very vague book review as far as the plot, but I don’t want to give too much away because it was so fascinating to figure it out along the way as you read it! And I seriously hope you read it!

I think this book is the perfect balance of loss, heartache, sadness, love, romance, excitement, adventure, danger, and of course an emotional, moving ending. Happy reading!!!