Progress, etc.

Happy Friday, friends.

Just wanted to chat about the latest happenings at our little home. (As my little 4-year-old friend says, our "hOme").

We've been making some progress in the decorating area. Not all the gaps are filled in yet, but I'd rather have it a little bland for a while than put something there that means nothing to me just for the sake of having a spot filled. 

I've become very fixed on the idea of meaningful, personal decor. Our other place didn't have much space for making things cute, but we did the best we could. And it was pretty cute. But it felt nothing like home, and I think that is due to the lack of personal touches we had  there. 

This is in our hallway. I'd like to put some more pictures up at some point. Chadd and I plan to get some more nice portraits taken close to Thanksgiving, so maybe after that we'll get some more up.

This is the view from the entrance of the kitchen (which is open into the living room) it's sort of a cluttered picture. I could've cleared the stuff off of our table but I'm really trying to get over the habit of making everything unrealistically tidy all the time. The first two weeks living in this space, I was constantly straightening this and that and washing every single dish the moment it hit the sink, etc. 

there came a point where I decided it wasn't worth wearing myself into the ground. Especially since keeping it that ridiculously tidy was not helping it feel cozy at all. And so, I present to you, our imperfect table with glasses still on it.

One evening we decided to take a walk to a local attraction because we can do that now. It ended up being an hour and a half to walk there and back and it wasn't particularly cool outside (okay. It was pretty stinking hot), but it was an adventure. And on the way home we got to see this lovely sunset.

Sorry this picture is a little dark. I just love having a window seat! We have two of them, one in each bedroom. This is in our  "music room/office". Lately I have been enjoying quiet moments in the morning here. My coffee fits perfectly on that windowsill and I curl up, listen to some worship music and read some scripture. Such a great start to any day. 

We had nearly a whole week off from work recently, and we decided to start a big puzzle. Chadd did most of it, at first because it was fun, and later on because he wanted to finish it so that we could eat at our dining room table again ;-)

Last picture for today! My latest snack obsession: energy bites. Based on the endless variations on Pinterest, I'd say a lot of other folks are liking these, too.

My favorites so far are brownie bites and cookie dough protein bites. Imagine that. Dessert flavors! I have a crazy sweet tooth. But they're made with things like dates, nuts, and peanut butter and I find them to be a very helpful source of energy throughout long days at work. 

(And the cookie dough bites also make a really great midnight snack...)

So there you go! That's the latest.

Happy weekend to you all.

Chelsea