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Winter to Spring Garden Prep: the Hard Work of Beauty
Ladies, Making things beautiful is hard work. I stood in my winter garden yesterday in the February air looking at how beauty can degrade. None of the outcomes we enjoy happen as quickly as a scroll to it, or a page turned, or a video clicked. The truth of beauty is that it is sometimes hard to create, that it comes after long seasons of dormancy and tending, it can be fleeting, and then we go back to work to bring it about again. The daily borage of insects and mildew threatened to destroy my flowers daily last spring and summer. I went out to water plants in warm mornings…
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The Best Wedding Registry Ideas: Gifts for the Living Room
Ladies, This is just one article in a series entitled “The Best Wedding Registry”. Each article in the series focuses on different rooms of the house. The links to other parts in this series are found at the end of each article. Think about your wedding registry as a list of items for each room of the house. Your list should reflect the essential items and style of each room! With a list of living room items this lovely you will feel accomplished as a new wife running her home. Living rooms are meant for beauty as well as comfort. Emphasis on the comfort. Emphasis on the beauty. You can…
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The Best Wedding Registry: What to Register for the Bathroom
Ladies, This is just one article in a series entitled “The Best Wedding Registry”. Each article in the series focuses on different rooms of the house. The links to other parts in this series are found at the end of each article. As a new wife running a home for the first time, I had not learned yet that soap dispensers corrode at an alarming rate. No matter how expensive of soap dispensers I tried, they all corroded and required me to wipe green gooey gunk out of the nozzle. But the fact is, quality does matter with certain items in the bathroom. I always recommend high quality items for…
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The Best Wedding Registry: Essentials for the Master Bedroom
Ladies, This is just one article in a series entitled “The Best Wedding Registry”. Each article in the series focuses on different rooms of the house. The links to other parts in this series are found at the end of each article. A bride is stepping into running her own household. She is creating the whole home, but it is the master bedroom that is the oasis. The wedding registry is a great way to collect some of these bedroom essentials. Designing this room means considering two major factors: the bedding and the lighting. The wisest of women builds her house” Proverbs 14:1 SHEETS Register for quality sheets. This is…
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The Best Wedding Registry: Learn From My Mistakes!
Ladies, This is just one article in a series entitled “The Best Wedding Registry”. Each article in the series focuses on different rooms of the house. The links to other parts in this series are found at the end of each article. “The wisest of women builds her house” Proverbs 14:1 Building a wedding registry as a soon to be wife is like building a piece of furniture before you have ever been a wood worker. I had never been running a household before, so I did not know what I actually needed as a new wife. As a soon-to-be-wife long ago, I put together a registry of household items…
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The Best Wedding Registry Ideas: Essential Gifts for the KITCHEN
“The wisest of women builds her house” Proverbs 14:1 Ladies, This is just one article in a series entitled “The Best Wedding Registry”. Each article in the series focuses on different rooms of the house. The links to other parts in this series are found at the end of each article. The kitchen is perhaps the most essential part of a wedding registry. You are setting yourself up for cooking for your husband and children. The tools you use for cooking will make this job easier or more difficult. In the past, our kitchen tools were so well made, we could receive quality items at our wedding that would last…
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How to be a Better Homemaker: Work like the Maid
Ladies, Do you want to know what changed my homemaking game? Working like a hotel maid in my own home. Funnily enough, I have met homemaking wives who are greatly insulted to be equated to a maid. But the fact is, homemaking is largely the work of the maid. It is resetting the room. The maid comes by a room every day to tidy, wash, or re-stock. We are the daily maid to our home, whether we like that or not. A Maid is Ready for the Job A hotel maid is expected to have her hair neatly tied back and wear a clean outfit with comfortable shoes. She is…
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Feminine Fall Winter Dress Outfit for Homesteading & Homemaking
Ladies, Welcome back to my stylish countryside musings, be it decor, gardening, homemaking or fashion. Now, I make no claims to be a homesteader, but every homesteading lady would benefit from this outfit idea. I am well acquainted with dirt after all, from the garden to muddy paw prints that threaten my wardrobe daily. Comfort is an obvious factor and the closer I get to 40 (very close indeed) the more comfortable my clothes get. As I sat cozy in my sewing room this winter I made this dress with a rather casual fabric, a jersey knit. This fall/winter dress is the same fabric as what I wear for gardening,…
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5 of The Best Luxury Decor at Walmart
Ladies, My job as a wife is to discern where to buy our household goods. Since our location and our budget have directed me toward Walmart for certain items, I like to cushion my lack of enthusiasm for this store with some home decor items as a treat for doing my duty. Has this decor buying saved me money? While adding to my Walmart bill no, but by saving me from purchasing similar items at more expensive stores, yes! I have been impressed with some of the items that I have carted home, especially since I favor old fashioned and rich design and I am particular about the finishes in…
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Hosting Etiquette: How to Welcome Guests & What to Offer in the First 5 Minutes
Ladies, There are a few key etiquette points that should be done within the first 5 minutes of a guest arrival. But in my personal experiences, these things often go undone. Some people may associate manners with starchiness, but it has been gracious manners that has made me feel the most relaxed in other people’s homes and has likewise been my guide to make guests feel comfortable in mine. Far from overwhelming, these are simple manners that help people to be their most comfortable. Every experience in my history of being a guest and having guests over helped me grow in this understanding. I love a good story, so here…
