100 little things | The Big White Farmhouse

September 27, 2016

{100 little things} September Review: New Pajamas, Little Margaret & College Care Packages

September has been a tricky month. With the beginning of the school year, most of my focus has been on creating a new fall routine. And then there was all the sickness and the germs…yuck. I think that’s the best part of 100 Little Things, though – sometimes life is full and this list takes the back burner, sometimes it’s just what I need to fill in a gap. Ebb and flow. Current totals: 7 completed and 7 partial finishes.

#9. Financially support a family raising money for an adoption.
This was one of those goals where I prayed for the Holy Spirit’s lead. I wasn’t sure what month I’d be able to complete it, but trusted that God would lead me to just the right couple when the time was right. So when Hannah mentioned her friends’ fundraiser in a blogpost, I couldn’t hit that Paypal button fast enough! Jonathan and Amanda Teixeira are currently fundraising for the adoption of their second child – please consider helping them too!

#14. Send a care package to a college student.
I sent my sister, a college freshman, a little package of fun things: a book, hair ties, fun paper straws, drawings from the kids and candy. Of course, I was rushing to beat the mailman, so totally forgot to take a photo, but picture a preppy pink & blue themed package. I hope she likes it and more importantly, knows she is loved.

#20. Learn about a new saint.
I came across the name Blessed Margaret of Castello while reading the Incorruptible article in the latest Soul Gardening Journal. It only took a quick Google search to quickly become endeared to this sweet lady, the patron of the unwanted. A few great links, if you’d like to learn about her too:
+ Her Biography
+ The History of Little Margaret of Castello
+ A Novena for the Intercession of Little Margaret

#84. Buy new pajamas.
As someone who typically just wears old t-shirts and yoga pants to bed, I’ve really wanted a set of nice, “grown up” pajamas for the postpartum time after the baby is born. Imagine my surprise when I found a package in my mailbox with an early birthday present from my aunt with the exact pajamas I’ve been considering! I was so touched and can’t wait to wear them in December.

#19. Pray 5 novenas. (2/5 completed)
Saint Therese is one of my favorite saints (and my confirmation saint too!), so I prayed her novena as her feast day comes up on October 1. This novena is extra special because I joined countless others as we prayed for Rosie and her unborn baby.

#52: Watch 15 documentaries. (4/15 completed)
The Perfect Human Diet: Mark and I like to watch health docs as a way to jumpstart better eating when we’ve been slacking, but I’d pass on this one…we were falling asleep, hah!
Fearless (Netflix documentary series): I really like watching documentaries about things I know nothing about and bullriding is right up there on that list! The sport is so dangerous and crazy, but I can understand the fact that intense love can drive you to do something anyway (namely, running a marathon just for fun!).

#68: Grow Big White Farmhouse’s Instagram followers to 400+.
I lost a bit of social media steam this month. My numbers went from 254 to 356 (as of 9/29), which is a step in the right direction, but still slow going. I’m realizing that creating brand awareness on Instagram requires a lot of time: discovering interesting accounts, interacting with those accounts as well as the people who comment on our photos, liking liking liking…sometimes it’s all too much for this introvert. Trying to find the balance.

August 31, 2016

{100 little things} August Review: Organized Bookcases, A Movie in Theaters & Strawberry Pie

Month One is always exciting. The challenge is fresh and new and I’m dying to get started! We hit a bit of hiccup when the viral infection hit, but all in all, I think I had a solid start. Current totals: 3 completed and 7 partial finishes.

#8: Rearrange books in the bookcases by theme/genre.
My bookcases have frustrated me for months now. They had become a hodgepodge of random groupings and I was frequently asking Mark if he could help me locate a specific title because I couldn’t find anything! Of course it took adding this task to my 100 Little Things list to finally get it done! The whole process took about 30 minutes and now I have two bookcases with roughly organized themes: spiritual, nonfiction, parenting, fiction, classics, and business. Game changer!

#43. Make popsicles.

This turned out to be a last minute, end of summer activity. Nothing new or exciting – we just blended our usual smoothie recipe and poured it into molds. Sometimes I get too ahead of myself, thinking that I need to come up with something newer and better, but that’s really not true. We made a fun memory and that’s good enough.

#99. Take the kids to see a movie in theaters.
Mark took the big four on a special end of summer adventure to see Pets and then out to lunch. They LOVED every minute. I obnoxiously texted him asking him for pictures and this was the one I got. (He said all the ones in the theater turned out blurry.)

#1: Read 35 books. (1/35 completed)
After finishing The Cuckoo’s Calling at the beginning of the month, I really haven’t picked up another since! I need to find my groove again.

#19. Pray 5 novenas. (1/5 completed)

I prayed my novena to St. Thomas Aquinas nine days before my boys started school, asking for his intercession as they began a new adventure. It really calmed my anxious heart as I focused my prayers on each boy, their teachers and the other students they’ll encounter this year.

#42: Make 10 different pies. (1/10 completed)
For the first time ever, I made a homemade pie from start to finish, no cheating with store-bought crust! Sophia and I made a Strawberry Pie together and it was delicious! I even managed to hide a piece for my breakfast the next day.

#52: Watch 15 documentaries. (2/15 completed)
Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead 2: This is the update from the 2010 movie. The basis is the importance of a plant-based diet, specifically juicing. I appreciated the fact that they didn’t villainize a specific food group, but advocated for more of the good stuff, less of the bad. That’s our motto around here and it was refreshing to see it on a bigger platform.
Touch the Wall: The background story of Missy Franklin and her friendship with veteran swimmer Kara Lynn Joyce. I have minimal knowledge of swimming, so thought this one was so interesting!

#68: Grow Big White Farmhouse’s Instagram followers to 400+.

I’ve been really working on increasing my reach for BWF’s Instagram account because I think it gives some credibilty to a business and we could always use that! It’s been interesting to watch the numbers – definitely two steps forward, one step back. I have found a lot of “followers” do so in order for me to recipricate, and when I don’t, I’m quickly deleted. Such is social media life, right? This month, I went from 191 to 254 followers, interacted with a lot of lovely women, and even found a few new artisans to carry in the shop!

#93: Try 5 new local restaurants. (1/5 completed)
Mark and I had an at-home date night with take out from a local grille we’ve been meaning to try for months. The burgers did not disappoint and Mark loved the wings. Two big thumbs up!

#97. Buy 2 new board games to play as a family. (1/2 completed)
I bought Zingo intended for J, but it’s quickly become a favorite for the entire family. Quick rounds and a healthy dose of friendly competition!

August 2, 2016

100 Little Things: Round Three

It’s that time of year again! 100 Little Things, round three – here we go!

What I’ve learned from Round Two:

1. I ended up completing 45 out of the 100 items on the list. Not even half, but more than I managed the first year, so improvement!

2. I need to keep the little things simple. In Round Two, I had many multi-part goals and those ended up taking much more time than I had expected.

3. 100 Little Things is the perfect pick-me-up when I’m feeling uninspired and in a rut. There’s no pressure to complete it all, but it’s definitely a starting point for creativity in different areas of my life. I see it being a yearly tradition for years to come.

My hopes for the third round:

1. Document with photographs this time!

2. Start a new monthly recap series on this blog to keep me motivated.

100 LITTLE THINGS: ROUND THRE

1. Read 35
books

2. Read An
Omnivore’s Dilemma

3. Read
Kirstin Davenstradder

4. Read The
Birth Order Book

5. Leave a
positive, thoughtful comment on 50 blog posts

6. Blog at
least twice a week regularly

7. Host a “My
Favorite Things” giveaway on my birthday

8. Rearrange
books in the bookcases by theme/genre

9. Financially
support a family raising money for an adoption

10. Send
someone flowers, just because

11. Send five
baby gifts (for the first baby or the fifth!)

12. Send 15 cards, just because

13. Make 5 birthday boxes for the food pantry

14. Send a care
package to a college student

15. Thank our garbage men

16. Thank our mailman

17. Meet someone
new

18. Make a rosary

19. Pray 5 novenas

20. Learn about a new saint

21. Read an
encyclical

22. Complete a
Bible study

23. Replace all light switch covers to one design

24. Add another house plant

25. Find a dresser to refurbish for the new baby

26. Install new
kitchen lighting

27. Repaint the kitchen table

28. Make roman
shades for my office

29. Finish my office desk project

30. Redo the
back patio

31. Clean the microfiber couch

32. Grow tomatoes

33. Grow cucumbers

34. Grow spinach

35. Buy containers for flowers on the front porch

36. Add bamboo
shades to the kitchen and living room

37. Have the carpets
professionally cleaned

38. Power wash the back porch

39. Buy a hummingbird feeder

40. Cook through the “30
Recipes You Should Know By Age 30” list

41. Sign up for a small farm’s CSA program

42. Make 10 different pies

43. Make popsicles

44. Go strawberry picking

45. Go apple picking

46. Make no churn ice cream

47. Bake 5 new hot breakfasts

48. Do a green smoothie challenge

49. Make homemade jam

50. Bake
doughnuts from scratch

51. Try a new
vegetable

52. Watch 15
documentaries

53. Participate in Screen-Free Week

54. Make a dent on the movies on Common Sense
Media’s “50 Movies Every Kid Should See before age 12” (at least 50%)

55. Create six memory boxes for the kids

56. Make silhouettes of the kids

57. Make 20 freezer meals before the baby comes

58. Refresh memory on infant CPR

59. Lose the baby weight

60. Complete a 30-day walking streak (at least 1
mile a day)

61. Run a 5k

62. Run a half marathon

63. Complete all three levels of T25

64. Double Big
White Farmhouse’s sales from 2015 to 2016

65. Try a new marketing technique for Big White
Farmhouse

66. Purchase vintage at a big fair

67. Hold a Big White Farmhouse pop-up shop

68. Grow BWF’s Instagram followers to 400+

69. Finish a 12-day gift wrap idea series for BWF

70. Complete a 30-day no spending challenge

71. Pay off car debt

72. Pay off remaining student loan debt

73. Schedule an eye exam

74. Buy new glasses

75. Clean my
wedding ring

76. Take a bath

77. Finish our home first aid kit

78. Finish our emergency preparedness kit

79. Find a skin
routine that works and stick with it

80. Make a quilt

81. Sew a throw pillow with pom-poms for Sophie’s
bed

82. Hang something on the wall to display Sophie’s
peg dolls

83. Complete an embroidery project

84. Buy new pajamas

85. Create a postpartum wardrobe that makes me
feel confident and not frumpy

86. Find new summer sandals

87. Find a new winter coat

88. Send out birth announcements

89. Write three love letters to Mark

90. Make salt dough ornaments

91. Potty train TJ

92. Explore a new city

93. Try 5 new local restaurants

94. Make a weaving

95. DIY a felt leaf wreath

96. Learn calligraphy

97. Buy 2 new board games to play as a family

98. Make DIY Geodes with the kids

99. Take the
kids to see a movie in theaters

100. Paint something on a canvas

October 27, 2015

{100 little things} Making a Celebration Basket & a Giveaway for YOU!

Earlier this year, we launched a new section of Big White Farmhouse and called it “Celebrations“. While the obvious occasions are birthdays, we also hoped it would inspire our customers to seek out and celebrate even the smallest moments: a good report card, a raise at work, the start of winter break. There is so much to be thankful for and celebrate if we look for it.

Since then, I’ve been thinking a lot about childhood wonder and how simple things can seem so magical. A scoop of ice cream for dessert can be instantly transformed when you dim the lights and light a candle on top. Sunday dinner can be turned into a fancy event when you add fun straws to the plastic cups. A banner with the words “YAY” can let a child know that you notice and are proud of his hard work at school. These things aren’t expensive or even that impressive, but I think that itty bit of effort can create memories that could be remembered forever.

So I’ve started collecting little things in what I’m calling a Celebration Basket. I peek at Target’s clearance for patterned napkins or paper plates. I browse Homegoods for colorful cupcake liners and funky candles. Slowly, I’m creating a collection of things so when those little moments come, I’ll be ready to party.

I want you to celebrate with your family too, so I started a mini collection to give away to one of you!

The Celebration Basket Prize Pack includes:

+ 2 packs of Celebrate Plates

+ DIY Chalkboard Banner

+ Red Striped Straws

+ Assorted Colored Candles

+ DIY Confetti Balloons from Big White Farmhouse

+ Confetti Packet from Big White Farmhouse

The giveaway is open until Saturday, October 31 at 12AM. If the widget doesn’t load, click on the Rafflecopter link below to enter. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

August 4, 2015

{thrive goals} 100 Little Things: Round Two

If you’ve been reading here for awhile, you may remember my first 100 Little Things list back in 2014. I loved the process and while I didn’t cross everything off by year’s end, the list was so helpful when I was feeling uninspired or overwhelmed. At the beginning of this year, I tried to change things up, but that quickly crashed and burned.

So it comes as no surprise that as I’ve been learning more about myself, I’ve been thinking, “How do I like to get things done? What fires me up?” And the 100 Little Things list immediately came to mind. I considered starting on my birthday in October or waiting until January 1st, but then I thought, “Why wait? Why put off what I can start right now?” So here I am, making a list of little things I’d like to accomplish, smack dab in the middle of summer.

Like last time, this list is a mix of silly things and important things. They are things that really need to get done and things that just sound like fun. They are things I’d like to do and things I really should do. They are things that excite me and things that scare me. My goal is to finish them all before the end of next summer, but we’ll see. I love the process as much as the finish line.

1. Donate my hair to Pantene

2. Buy succulents for the house

3. Purchase art for above master bed

4. Take the kids to a baseball game

5. Make a pillowcase dress

6. Watch 20 documentaries

7. Read 15 books

8. Read a book of poems

9. Reread To Kill a Mockingbird

10. Read The Temperament God Gave Your Kids

11. Print updated photos for around the house

12. Make 2015 Instagram book

13. Make 2015 Around Here book

14. Have our family photos professionally taken

15. Send out Christmas cards

16. Bake a cheesecake

17. Grow spinach

18. Make marbled paper

19. Learn how to French braid

20. Have a picnic lunch

21. Install shelves in the boys’ room

22. Buy new duvet covers for the boys

23. Run a 5K

24. Run a 10K

25. Run another half marathon

26. Make my own vanilla extract

27. See my sister cheer

28. Blog everyday for a month (31 days in October?)

29. Move photos to external hard drive

30. Take 4 (out of the house) dates with Mark

31. Explore someplace new

32. Watch 10 TED talks

33. Make an emergency preparedness kit

34. Make a new recipe everyday for a month

35. Armknit another scarf (or a blanket?)

36. Take a bath

37. Wear my hair in a new way

38. Host 5 new families for dinner

39. Complete our wills

40. Purchase a “Thanksgiving meal” to donate to the food bank

41. Buy a birdfeeder

42. Take an online course

43. Potty train Sophia

44. Hang an American flag outside

45. Buy a new throw blanket for the living room

46. Make a quilt

47. Start a separate blog for our homeschooling

48. Do a month-long running “streak”

49. Get carpets professionally cleaned

50. Participate in Screen-Free Week

51. Donate 100 items

52. Make milk & honey soap

53. Make bread from scratch, no bread machine!

54. Get Big White Farmhouse in a magazine ad

55. Purchase vintage items at a big fair

56. Re-do Big White Farmhouse packaging (business cards, thank you postcards, etc)

57. Make a frame for the big dining room picture

58. Grow cucumbers

59. Make the laundry room more functional

60. Send 5 “just because” gifts

61. Organize the linen closet

62. Try making new flavors of lemonade

63. Sew Sophie pajama pants

64. Learn flower arranging

65. Buy a bench for the dining room table

66. Find a vintage globe

67. Buy a fiddle leaf fig tree for the house

68. Paint anything on a canvas

69. Make homemade Larabars

70. Make homemade marshmallows

71. Read four books of the Bible slowly

72. Read an encyclical

73. Create a hand-drawn printable

74. Replace the pillows in the living room

75. Buy a wreath for the front door

76. Try 5 new local restaurants

77. Make 20 recipes from my cookbooks

78. Create a “celebration basket”: paper plates, napkins, candles, etc.

79. Go to the dentist

80. Buy a new winter coat

81. Rotate master bedroom mattress

82. Complete T25 or another Beachbody program

83. Launch a special project with Mark

84. Write 100 blog posts

85. Make strawberry jam with my mom

86. Go to the shooting range with Mark

87. Pay off remaining student loan debt

88. Make my handwriting a font

89. Go strawberry picking

90. Go apple picking

91. Do a pullup unassisted

92. Take the kids to see something in DC

93. Make a distressed wooden sign for my office

94. Milk paint a piece of furniture

95. Embroider one of Sophia’s drawings

96. Plant flowers in the front flower beds

97. Find a new playground

98. Buy milk glass containers to hold art supplies

99. Do something special to celebrate our 10th anniversary

100. See a movie in theaters

January 3, 2014

{brave} 100 Little Things in 2014

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen the photo where I shared about the fun worksheets I found on Pinterest the other day. Michelle created them as a less intimidating way to accomplish your goals. I love how she says, “It’s the little things in life that end up becoming the big things when you look back on your memories.”

Goal-setting is one of my favorite activities and I really enjoyed the brainstorm process with these worksheets. My list is a jumble of different things: paying off specific debt, craft projects to try, small home improvements, races to run, places nearby to see, activities and memories to make with the kids. I may not cross off every item this year, but it’s always fun to dream and plan.

I’ve had a few requests to share the specifics, so here is my list. I’ll be back throughout the year to cross things off as I complete them. I hope it will inspire you to write out your own!

1. Pay off credit card

2. Pay off student loan
3. Pay off minivan

4. Save $1400 using the 52 week plan

5. ~~Hire someone to paint the foyer and kitchen~~ -August 2014

6. Read the entire Bible

7. Run a half marathon

8. Run 3 races

9. Simplify in a big way!

10. ~~No Sugar January~~ -January 2014

11. Whole30

12. Read 15 books – (14/15)

13. ~~Install art wall in the master bedroom~~ –January 2014

14. Make silhouettes of the kids

15. ~~Launch~~ Big White Farmhouse, the Boutique –January 13, 2014!

16. ~~Visit Chicago~~ -April 2014

17. Get carpets cleaned

18. ~~Blog consistently (at least once a week)~~
19. See a movie in theaters

20. Reduce body fat to 19%

21. ~~Potty train J~~ -April 2014

22. ~~Picnic lunch as a family~~ -July 2014

23. ~~Beat Mark at Words with Friends~~ –January 2014

24. Make my handwriting a font

25. Make jam

26. Join the library

27. Learn to knit or crochet

28. Sew a dress for Sophie

29. Grow succulents

30. ~~Start the Cookie Project~~ -March 2014

31. ~~Give a big tip at a restaurant~~ -February 2014

32. Do a blog post about Stitchfix and model the clothes

33. Wear red lipstick

34. Learn how to curl my hair

35. Make a quilt

36. Cook fish

37. Try a new vegetable

38. ~~Make a gluten-free dessert~~ -March 2014

39. ~~Make a Blurb book for IG 2013 pictures~~ -February 2014

40. ~~Go antiquing~~ -May 2014

41. ~~Run/Walk at least a mile a day for 30 days~~ -July & August 2014

42. Find and hang curtains in guest room

43. Spend a week in Maine

44. Write down all the kids’ birth stories

45. ~~Purchase a lamp for the living room~~ –January 2014

46. ~~Open a second part/room to the BWF Boutique~~ –The Garden in May 2014

47. ~~Help D prepare for Kindergarten~~ -May & June 2014

48. Self portrait challenge for 30 days

49. Give away 30 things on my birthday

50. Repaint kitchen table

51. ~~Get to the dentist~~ -July 2014

52. ~~Buy new oven mitts~~ -October 2014

53. ~~Hold second Pajama Drive~~ -October 2014

54. ~~Deep clean bathrooms~~ –January 2014

55. ~~Hang up bathroom art and jewelry rack~~ –January 2014

56. ~~Send 3 “just because” gifts~~ -finished August 2014

57. ~~Organize kitchen utensil drawer~~ –February 2014

58. Make my own salsa

59. Go to the American History Museum

60. Put wreaths on Arlington Cemetery

61. Go apple picking

62. ~~Begin learning about photography and shooting in manual~~ –December 2014

63. ~~Donate 100 things challenge~~ -April & May 2014

64. Go to the Air and Space Museum

65. Make pasta from scratch

66. Plant a mini herb garden

67. ~~Watch 10 documentaries~~ –May 2014

68. ~~Have a picture printed on canvas~~ -July 2014

69. ~~Pray a novena~~ -May 2014

70. ~~Find a way to organize all the Legos~~ -summer 2014

71. ~~Hang curtains in the kitchen~~ -May 2014

72. Send a care package to a college student

73. ~~“Real” date night 4x (out of the house, dressed up)~~

74. Write Mark love letters at least once a month

75. Find a vintage globe to start a collection

76. Host another Penpal Circle signup

77. ~~Hang curtains in Sophie’s room~~ –December 2014

78. ~~Buy a new dress~~ -March 2014

79. Practice stretching on a regular basis

80. ~~Make an office inside the guest room closet~~ -February 2014

81. Bake a cake

82. Donate hair for Locks of Love

83. ~~Take the boys to the movies~~ –February 2014, the Lego Movie!

84. Paint the boys’ room

85. Finish my first gratitude journal

86. Work on gallery wall in Sophie’s room

87. ~~Do a Bible study~~ -June 2014

88. ~~Invite someone over for dinner~~ -Fr. V in January, “I” Family in May

89. Make a pie

90. Plant something in my hanging baskets

91. ~~Attend a wedding~~ -December 2014

92. Write a letter everyday for 30 days

93. ~~Read a book about Mother Teresa~~ -July 2014

94. Buy big girl pajamas

95. Make felt ornaments for the tree

96. Host a game night

97. Grow tomatoes

98. ~~Use up a lot of my scrapbook stash~~

99. Make sorbet

100. Make a list for 2015!

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