New Home, New Challenges

 Does anyone else have a love/hate (mostly love!) relationship with the new challenges that a new home brings?

The sweet couple who lived in our new-to-us home were elderly and had some, shall I say, more elderly taste.

That bathroom!  That foyer wallpaper!  Lucky for us, unfortunate shower curtains can be replaced, and good friends can be called to help with outdated wall treatments and dingy walls.

What are your most/least favorite things about moving into a new house?

Halloween Wear

 I love Halloween (not in dark way), and I try to incorporate it into every facet of life: Halloween dish towels, Halloween tumblers, decorations, candy, etc.  One way I'm not, however, going to incorporate Halloween into my life is Halloween clothes.  I just don't think I'm the type of gal who can pull off an orange turtleneck, pumpkin earrings, black cat sweater.  Some people can rock it in the office workplace, but I'm not one of those people.

Maybe it's because I work in an office.  You know what field has leeway to really celebrate the holidays? The medical field!  Look at these awesome Halloween scrub prints from Blue Sky Scrubs!

Blue Sky Scrubs, LLC, was created by Shelby Marquardt.  As a medical student in Houston, she realized that most scrubs weren't made to fit well or be stylish, and she didn't enjoy wearing them during her long hours in the operating room as an anesthesiology resident.

Blue Sky offers a variety of men's, women's, unisex, and kids' scrubs in rewearable and disposable options.  They have several durable and stylish collections, and they also offer scrub hats, lab coats, uniforms, under-scrub shirts, soft-shell jackets, and polos.  Other medical professional needs are available such as lanyards for badges.  In administration?  They offer bulk ordering for hospitals!  Also be sure to check out their sale section!  They offer free shipping on orders of $155 or more! You're sure to find a style and color/pattern that meets your needs.

 Celebrate holidays in comfort and style!








*Brought to you by your friends at Blue Sky Scrubs.

What's Growing?

We had a very unusual cold snap in April that stymied the growing season here and got us off to a slow start, but started we finally have here in southern Mississippi!

 

The squash are stretching their legs.

 

 The zinnias are reaching for the sky.

The wild petunia I transplanted from Georgia is showing it's pretty face.

And the tomatoes are basking in the sun.


Are you growing anything in your spring garden?


 
 

I Love Cats

It's no secret.

I love cats. 

 

They adorn my house in many forms.

Always smiling.

 

I love this happy black cat I got on my honeymoon in Costa Rica.

And this cute "Smart Cats" bottle.

Some more cute kitties, including even more Costa Rican cats!

I love this kitty particularly because it reminds me of my own real live kitty, who also wears a bell (and who chewed on the ear of his wooden counterpart).  

 

Love cats.

Love him.

Calgary Real Estate

My husband and I have been toying around lately with the idea of moving.  This means that we have been looking at a lot of real estate sites.  A lot of real estate sites. The good, the bad, and the ugly.  Some are great and give you just what you are looking for, and some are not worth our time for a variety of reasons.

A good example of what a real estate site should be is the site of realtor Cliff Stevenson.  He deals in Calgary real estate and his site reflects a well run business.  After having perused many, many real estate sites, Mr. Stevenson's website is really great and meets what my husband and I expect in a good real estate site.  And it never hurts to have a site like this one that's well laid out with flattering colors and designs!


1.  Ease of use.  Many real estate sites (and websites in general, for that matter) and set up in very disorderly fashions.  This site, however, has the information clients would want to search for, such as price, area, property features, and all are clearly labelled. 

2.  Number of listings and current listings.   It's frustrating to peruse a real estate site only to find that there are few listings shown online or that the listings have not been updated in several months.  It's important to keep listings current to attract potential customers and disseminate information to them. 

3. Contact info.  This website gives you many ways to contact the realtor.  It gives you not just the conventional ways such as phone or email but various forms of social media, which is really important today!

 Mr. Stevenson's website will definitely stand out among the sites of other Calgary real estate agents.  If you're in the area and looking for properties, be sure and visit.

Out with the Old, As They Say!

Everything with spring seems to be new....even things on this blog! 

You may have noticed the title has changed--from "Till Death Do Us Part" to simply "Homestead."  In the time I've been blogging, my focus has shifted quite a bit as I've gone from a newlywed to an "old" married woman of nearly three years!

I so enjoy posting recipes and pet stories and giveaways and some tips here and there, so I'd love if you kept joining me.

Out with the old, in with the new!

Spring Cleaning Tips

Some people dread cleaning of any kind.  I love it.  I spring clean.  In fact, I fall, winter, and summer clean as well.

But, there's something about the newness of sping that makes me want to have everything be especially fresh, especially in order.

Are you that way at all?

I had a bit of a spring cleaning challenge at work.  We had a particularly disorderly closet to tackle.  Yikes! 

I've heard it said that "Clutter is just delayed decisions."  That's definitely true for me.  Once I start hem-hawing around about what I should keep or where I should put something, the moutains of "stuff" begin to accumulate.

Here's how I rifle through my own "stuff" during spring cleaning and keep it from taking over my corner of the universe!

1. Be honest.  If you haven't worn/used/thought about it in years, chances are, you don't need it now.  Be honest with yourself--you can probably let it go.

2. Be decisive.  Don't delay the decision for later (that's how the clutter started in the first place!).  If it's something you indeed need to keep, find a place for it immediately, and put it away.  Either way, make a decision now.  And see #1.

3. Be diligent.  Even though spring cleaning can feel like tons of work (which it sometimes truly is), stay the course.  Work begun is half done, as the old saying goes, so stick with it!  You'll be glad if you do.

4.  Maintain order.  This is key to avoid the mess you've just eliminated.  Whether you've just cleaned a closet, laundry room, garage, or living space, implement a system to keep things orderly.  Use storage bins, crates, shoe boxes, shelving, or other organizational tools to keep things in their place.  Throughout the year, maintain the order you've created, and next year's spring cleaning will be a breeze!

Dare We?

Dare we say spring is near?

 

 

 

 

My yard gives me permission. 

 

 

 

 

As does Rush,  who, like the daylight, has been lingering about a little longer as of late.



 

 

 

I think it's safe to come out!

Plenty of Fall Left! Four Fall Wreaths

I love fall.  The colors, the smells, the foods, the leaves....so why do we rush it so?  There's still plenty of fall left, so here's four lovely wreaths to enjoy and potentially make for yourself to gaze at all through November.

 

 

 

Look at this stunning hickory nut wreath from Deb at Lake Girl Paints!  Painstakingly made, and the effort paid off beautifully!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Who couldn't love the bold prints of The 36th's Avenue's pretty fall creation?  Such lovely contrasts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look how the girls at American Crafts Studios stitched the paper leaves on their fall wreath!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love the texture of the rosettes and the color contrast of this wreath from Thrifty Decor Chick!

 

 

 

As much as we love Christmas decorating, don't rush the fall, y'all!

Squaring Up

 

 

Pieces are turning into squares.

 

 

 

As I crochet the ever-shortening days away.

 

 

 

 

Almost halfway to warmth on a winter's night.

Review with Evanger's Dog Food

 

We have a very energetic and thus a very hungry lab mix in our house.  We are also housed with two cats who often question the food choices we make for them.  So obviously, I was just thrilled when I was asked to do a review of Evanger's pet food.

This great company was founded in 1935 by Fred Evanger, who was a dog lover and believer that healthy animals started with good wholesome food that's free of additives and preservatives.  The line that once only included dog food has grown and expanded greatly, but one thing hasn't changed--all these years later, Evanger's pet foods are still full of only the finest and freshest ingredients.

All of Evanger's products are human-grade and since 2003, the line has further expanded to include:

• Hand-packed dinners and supplements
• Grain-Free dinners and supplements
• Dry dog and cat diets
• And more!

For this review, I received  six cans of wet pet food (suitable for a dog or cat) in chicken, rabbit, beef, and buffalo, two small bags of Evanger's grain-free meat-lover's medley with rabbit, one large bag of Evanger's grain-free meat-lover's medley, and one box of all-natural beef-tongue treats for dogs and cats.   What a wonderful selection!

Our Amos loved the wet food option.

I was very pleased that Evanger's offered a grain-free selection.  Coy has very severe grain allergies that cause him to chew his skin, so he must have grain-free food at all times.

Most treats don't agree with Coy and his array of allergies, but the Evanger's treats, being all-natural, have been wonderful.  And he loves them just as much as if they were a fake, fatty, store-bought concoction! 

Just look at him, and this is an actual picture of him about to get his Evanger's treat!

It's no surprise then that I highly recommend Evanger's brand pet food and treats.  Not only was it healthy and wholesome, but my pets loved it as well!  I also love supporting long-standing companies with good reputations.

Visit the Evanger's Pet Food website and see what they have to offer!

Fall Planting

I love fall gardening.  I thought I wouldn't.  In fact, I didn't know it existed until we moved to southern Mississippi two falls ago, and I mourned the terrible timing.  There would be no vegetable garden till spring, I thought. 

I was wrong!

This year's fall garden contains some old favorites and a few new additions.  A must-have for any fall (or spring garden) is lettuce, so I've planted it in abundance.

I even allowed Amos to sneak into this photo.  He's always such a huge gardening inspiration, cheering me onto the finish.  (He actually cares nothing for lettuce, of course.)

 

 

 

This will be my fifth attempt at growing broccoli.  I have only done it once successfully!  It needs to be thinned to have lots of room, and it requires lots of patience.  I had great results last fall, though.  By January, I had lovely huge heads of broccoli!

 

 

 

 

Onto the new additions for this year's garden.

 

Peas...

 

And fennel.  I'm very excited to see if I can grow this, not only as a new gardening challenge, but because I've never cooked with it either and would love to start out with my own home-grown variety.

 

 

 

 

This year's last newcomer is spinach. It's doing well so far.  It was one of my husband's requests.

 

 

 

Have you started a fall garden?