The Big White Farmhouse | intentional living, little by little

September 5, 2013

{life list} Support 100 Small Business Mammas: Number Two (and a Giveaway!)

It’s September and our busy season has just begun. All of my kids have birthdays soon and the holidays are right around the corner! Needless to say, gifts are on the brain these days. I’m continuing to embrace the idea of buying less, but more meaningful gifts. These sometimes take a little more time to find, but are so worth it in the end.

Let me introduce you to Jessica. She is the mamma to two sweet boys and I have had the opportunity to get to know her briefly through the Penpal Project. So when she contacted me to let me know she was also an educational consultant with Usborne Books, I was so excited! Books are one of my favorite things to gift! I quickly purchased a book to celebrate our first week of school.

I chose 1001 Pirate Things to Spot and it was a huge hit! I loved having the boys huddle around me, searching for the items on the list.

The quality of Usborne books is amazing. The covers are durable, the pages are made of good quality paper, and the illustrations are colorful and so detailed.

The Usborne website is extensive and has so much to choose from. Here are a few of our favorites as well as a few on our wish list:

On the Moon (a favorite space themed book around here!)
That’s Not my Teddy (we’ve read this one to each of our babies)
Birds to Color
Picture Word Lotto
Hey Jack! The Bumpy Ride (and the rest of the series)

Now to the fun part: I want to give away a $15 credit toward a book or two to one of you! The giveaway will be open until Friday, September 13 at 12AM EST. You can enter through the Rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

To further support Jessica, I’m also hosting an online show that will be open until September 20. Think Christmas presents! For every $25 you spend, you are automatically entered into a drawing for $20 of free books! You can find the link here.

September 4, 2013

{house to home} William Morris Project (Vol.4): Upstairs Hallway Update

I tend to get the itch to paint on holiday weekends. Labor Day weekend rolled around and I decided I’d tackle my next project: the upstairs hallway. The hallway was previously painted the same crazy bright yellow like much of the house. To each their own, but I’ve hated it since the day we moved in!

These pictures don’t really do it justice. So, so bright. I couldn’t wait to paint over it! I needed one coat of primer and two coats of Benjamin Moore’s Manchester Tan and I had a totally new hallway!

I am in love with the difference, to the point where I may or may not be finding excuses to run upstairs just to look at it. 🙂

The rest of my to-do list for the hallway:

Hang photographs
Find artwork
Spray paint lamp base
Install wooden growth chart
Replace light switch covers
Maybe stain the stair railings darker?

September 2, 2013

{intention 2013} September’s Goals

September will be about…

NEW ROUTINES. With the addition of school and sports, our routine is about to change dramatically. Figuring out how to juggle housework, exercise and other commitments to have our days run smoothly.
GRATITUDE. Being thankful for the abundant blessings we’ve been given. Less wasting, both in food and money. Seeking out the positives on the overwhelming days. Starting a journal to record all of the little things I usually overlook.
CONNECTIONS. Writing lots of letters to my penpals. Meeting new people in my community. Keeping relationships with friends and family members strong.

{my word for 2013: Intention}

{my intentions for January, February, and March}

August 28, 2013

{house to home} William Morris Project (Vol.3): Toy Closet Organization

The saying, “everything has a place”, is one lesson that I am trying to adapt in our home. For whatever reason, I seem to really struggle in this area! But with four kids and gobs of toys, it’s a necessary step in our house to home process.

So one day during naptime, I grabbed all of the toys strewn in multiple places throughout the first floor and started organizing.

All of the broken toys went straight to the trash. I then went through and took out the toys that I thought were never played with. A tip that worked for me: Take these toys and put them in a box in the garage for a week. Wait and see if your kids mention any of the toys. If you get a “Hey Mom, have you seen my black Spiderman figure?”, discreetly pluck it from the box. If they don’t say anything, they’re none the wiser and send ’em all to Goodwill!

All of the keepers were put in two big baskets that perfectly fit in my coat closet. One basket holds all of the dress-up stuff: costumes, lightsabers, and Nerf guns. The other holds miscellaneous toys like Little People toy sets and footballs.