Burlap & Chevron Print Tissue Box Cover

It was burlap, chevron, bright green, AND 50% off all rolled into one.

I jumped on it. Oh, the project ideas!

When I pulled that little roll of cuteness out of the bag at home and then spotted my tissues in their sad cardboard box, I put two and two together. The burlap roll was the perfect size to make a cover. I wanted the project to be easy easy. My husband said sew, while I was thinking something else. Here's what I ended up doing:

• I wrapped the burlap around my box to see how much I needed, making it nice and tight, added about an inch for seam allowance, and then cut. 
• Turned the fabric inside out and pinned

• Fit it around my box just to make sure it was the right size (it was)

• Sewed a straight line.

• Put it over my box. I was glad to see that it was still nice and tight.

• Then I got out my hot glue gun. Remember I wanted it to be easy easy. The less sewing and cutting the better. Working one corner at a time, I folded and glued. It was like wrapping a gift.

Here is the finished project:

The top of it is a little lose and bumpy, but it does not look that bad in person. I still think it looks great in my living room! For a few dollars and about ten minutes I will take it!

Monthly Meal Plan

How could I ever plan out an entire month of meals? you think. I can't even get dinner on time for tonight!

If you feel overwhelmed at the thought of planning out your dinner for the entire month, then this post is for you. It is not as hard as you think, and won't take you hours to do or cause a headache. I started making a monthly meal plan in August of 2013 and love it! It's a huge help. 

Here is my menu for January. I also have February done. I just used the simplest, non-fancy calendar I could find on Microsoft Publisher.

1. Repeat your favorites. My husband has his, I have mine, and then there are things we both love. Some of these meals get repeated twice a month, other things only once a month. 
2. Plan for leftovers. Saturday is my day for this, but choose what works best for you. If there are no leftovers then we just do something quick.
3. Repeat your favorites. Um, isn't this what you already said? Yes, and I want to repeat it because this is what makes things easy!
4. Don't freak out if you get off schedule. This is going to happen. On Wednesday we went shopping, so we had dinner out. I just moved that meal, spaghetti, to Thursday. 
5. Go through your cupboards when you start your new monthly menu. What do you already have on hand to make? This will save you money, and you will know what you have to buy for the month. 

What is your personal favorite? Put it on your calendar once. 

What does your whole family love? You might be able to make that once a week. 

Your husbands favorite? Put it on once. 

Plan for leftovers.

If you have new recipes you want to try, schedule them in. I usually try one or two a month. If it is something we like, then I have something new to repeat each month.

Before you know it you will have the whole month done! You will feel like the most organized person in the world. You will save time, money, and save your self some headaches as well. 

Do you have a meal plan that you follow or have any advice for newbies? Comment and let me know!

Goal Update: Week 1

The first week of the new year is almost over! That means it is time for an update on the goals I have set for 2014. Technically it hasn't been a full week yet, since 2014 did not start until Wednesday, so some goals may look like they haven't been fulfilled.

1. Wake up every day at 5:00 for 30 days- I confess that today was the first day of doing this! I got up at 4:30. There were some late nights earlier in the week, and I want to take care of myself this year by getting at least eight hours of sleep a night. That meant not waking up until later.

2. Work out 4 days a week- today was day 3 of this for me. There have only been four days in the new year, so I count this as success! It feels great starting out the day energized.

3. Read the Bible through in a year- I'm actually ahead of schedule on this.

4. Write 3 blog posts per week- this is number three.

I'm excited with the way I have started out. Three out of four is pretty good!

How have you been doing on your resolutions and goals? Did you set any, or were afraid of failing so you didn't even bother? It is not too late to write a few down! I encourage you to do some research on goal setting, and then set aside a block of time (not just a few minutes either) to really thing about what you want this year. Be specific, and then get going. You will never get to the finish line if you don't even bother to start.

Image courtesy  http://mrg.bz/G5rmnB

Goals for 2014

"This is your life are you who you wanna be..." (Switchfoot)

There has never been a time in my life when I have been more thankful for a new year and fresh start than now. Last year was one of the busiest I have ever had. Involved in everything, but doing my best in nothing. Busyness without productivity. Time was stretched thin, and I was stretched thin. Just a make it to the next thing, I thought. Cross it off the to do list.

I remember one instance in December shutting myself in our half bath, near tears and ready to breakdown. I thought, I don't have time to deal with this, and then continued into the chaos. There were many prayers to God that involved me saying words like "overwhelmed" and "quit." I'm sure my patient and understanding husband got tired of me saying, "I can't take this anymore." I don't mean to sound like a basket case, because I am not normally like this, but I'm just being honest. There are some people that thrive on being busy. They have an overloaded calendar, run on five hours of sleep a night, and love it.

Obviously I am not one of those people.

There were a few times that ministry activities were canceled due to weather and other reasons. I was glad. Glad and guilty. It was not a good place to be in, and I knew it.  Thankfully, God is merciful and doesn't give us more than we can handle (although sometimes it feels like it), and gave me times of refreshing just when I thought I was at the end.

I have made it out of 2013 alive, and my biggest goal is to make sure I don't have another year where I am always "at the end." I want to live, not just endure each day going from one task to the next, feeling like a robot. I am confident that if I learn to say no, set priorities and clear goals, then this can be the best year ever.

Here are the other goals that I have set for 2014:

1. Work out to Jillian Michaels "30 Day Shred" DVD four times a week.
2. Finish reading the Bible in a year.
3. Write three blog posts a week.
4. Wake up at 5:00 every day for 30 days (going to try to make this a habit).

There are a couple of other goals I have related to my walk with God that are a little more personal, so I will wait until the end of the year to share how those went with you. I will also write a little more on goal setting later, so look for the posts! Every Saturday I will post my progress as well.

What are your goals for the year? Have you written them down and been very specific? Comment and let me know!

photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/venosdale/6156635313/">Krissy.Venosdale</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/">cc</a>

3 Free Videos From Michael Hyatt

Have you ever heard of Michael Hyatt? If not, then it is a privilege for me to be the first to tell you about him. He is not only a successful blogger (as of last count he has 372,898 followers) and speaker, but a best selling author as well. If you have never visited his website, http://michaelhyatt.com, then I highly encourage you to do so. He has numerous posts that will encourage and motivate you to set goals and help you grow in personal development.
Right now he is offering three free videos on how to make 2014 your best year ever. I have watched all of them more than once, taking notes as I go, and then applied his advice to my own personal goals for this year. Sharing examples from his own life, he offers tips on setting smart goals to make this year your best.
I'm not sure how long these videos will be free, so I really hope you take advantage of this great opportunity.

(I am not receiving payment to promote Michael Hyatt or his materials in any way, just in case you were wondering!)

Free Find: Mirror

My husband and I both love a great deal. When stores mark down their items to 50% off we generally don't rush to buy, but wait until things are lowered to 75%. One of the reasons I am in love with Hobby Lobby is sometimes we have purchased totally cute decor for 90%. But the best deals in life?

Free. 

I scored one such deal on Christmas Eve. While doing my regular scan of Craigslist I spied a free mirror that was only a few MINUTES down the road from us. A Christmas miracle! Since I have been wanting a mirror for over our electric fireplace in the bedroom, I jumped on it.

I love how it looks in our bedroom!

Does anyone else ever bargain hunt on Craigslist? Comment below and share your great deals and steals!

Vintage Ruffle Dress Refashion

When I spotted ruffles on the dress rack of our local Goodwill the other week I got excited. I headed over, hoping that the dress would be cute and in my size. I was disappointed when I spotted this instead:

With the vintage style and shoulder pads there was nothing to be excited about. Disappointed, I passed up the dress. A few weeks later I saw it still hanging there, unloved and unlovely. But those ruffles were calling my name, so, with an idea in my head, I tried it on and took it home to my sewing machine. It wasn't long enough for me to keep it as a dress, but I did think it wouldn't take much work to turn it into that adorable ruffly skirt I had been on the hunt for.
First, I made a cut straight across just below the sleeves.

I did not cut off what was meant to be the elastic drop waist. That would become the part to hold up the skirt around my hips (just a tad important). I then turned the garment inside out, folded over the fabric, pinned, and sewed two lines.

Since this part of the skirt won't be seen, I wasn't to worried about making things perfect, as you might be able to tell from the picture.
It really was as easy as one, two three. I don't even think it took an hour to do. I was thrilled with the finished project.

There you have it. A "new" totally cute ruffle skirt for only 5.00 and half an hour of time!