Simplicity has a companion and her name is Serenity.

Who knew?

Not me, that’s for sure.

The more I learn about simplicity, the more I fall in love with the word…the lifestyle.

Simplicity through clearing out physical clutter is what I’m practicing in the early weeks of 2012.

But it didn’t just start in January, it was actually around July of last year when something inside me shifted…

I found myself claustrophobic every time I walked into a room. One afternoon standing in my kitchen, my eyes searched for a place to rest. They darted from the open shelves on the buffet stacked with dishes I never use, to the table holding a wire basket overflowing with bleached shells, to a counter top lined with 20 of my favorite cookbooks.

There was NO empty space! Something has to go!

***

How did I accumulate all this STUFF I wondered…

For starters…I sometimes confuse things with people.

Someone I love gives me something and ten years later I find it tucked away on a shelf in the downstairs closet, because they were sweet enough to give me a gift…I can never throw it away.

Then there’s the shopping issue. I like to call it: shopping for sport. Some of you know exactly what I’m talking about.

Treasure hunting in antique stores, collecting things like dishes, milk glass, vintage fabric…accumulating things that make my tiny heart flutter, until one day there are so many of those things, that just looking at them now makes my heart quicken to the point of hyperventilation!

And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention my tendency to save things for my children. If there is even the remote possibility that one of my four adult children may at some point in the next 25 years want something I no longer use, I MUST store it for them. (They seldom if ever want my cast-offs by the way )

***

You can see how things piled up can’t you? I’m getting a little nervous just talking about it!

So the time has come to practice simplicity by letting go.

***

January, which is normally a snuggle-in, recuperate-from-the holidays kind of month, was project month around here. When the construction began, we were forced to move everything out of the den and library. I don’t want to discuss how our basement room looks right now,but the beauty of this chaos is that we’re carefully considering every single thing we bring back upstairs.  When we’re done with the great room, everything that didn’t make the cut is either going to our daughter Emma (whose moving into a new house in a few weeks) or it’s going to Goodwill.

I can’t tell you how liberating this is, this letting go.

How happy it makes me to have…

Room in the closets…

Space on the shelves…

And what a blissful surprise to find that as I open my heart to Simplicity I’m also welcoming her companion, Serenity.

***

P.S. In the interest of full disclosure: I do not see books quite like I do other things. My hardback classic books are not getting purged. I do donate all paperbacks, keeping only a hand full that I will actually re-read. But as of right now only 2 of my hardback books have been ousted.

***

What has your 0ne-word been teaching you these past few weeks?

Just a year and a half ago I redecorated our den. I went from cozy dark colors to light airy beach colors…

I had so much fun doing this project! The Husband and I did lots of little DIY projects after we lightened up the dark wainscoting…we made a coffee table out of a dinning room table!

I made an ottoman out of a side table and refurbished our fireplace…

Like I said, I loved this room! Then we had a few parties with 30 family members! Soooo crowded!

The Husband decided we’d either have to move or knock out a few walls to make a great room from the den and the library room! Knocking out walls was the logical choice…

For the record…when I plan a project, I paint…when The Husband plans a project he takes out walls…

Anyhoo, my first question was: will we need new furniture?

That great planning website: MyDeco helped me answer that question.

In the interest of keeping the space more open, we couldn’t really incorporate the sectional. Sooooo, new furniture was in fact was a priority in this project! And with new furniture, I had to decide if I wanted to keep things in the exact color scheme or change it up a bit. I decided to have fun and bring in a few darker pieces of furniture while keeping the overall feel of the room light and airy.

Everyone has a process when decorating a new space…here’s mine!

I did a lot of my research for furniture online, which saved lots of time! The one thing we knew for sure was that the sofas had to be a similar color to Ollie and Reba-the-Cat.

Out of our 5 animals, only 2 of them shed, but boy do they shed! When we had the light colored sectional, we had to vacuum it every week!

Our friends Todd & Darlene from Woodstock Outlet helped us find the perfect color sofas- (and chairs!)

The Husband wanted a recliner. He picked out this really huge marshmallow looking puffy chair that resembled Frazier’s dad’s chair. (Do you remember that ugly chair?)

This one was our compromise! We both got one and I gotta say, I love it.

I wanted our coffee table to be a statement piece. One with character. In my search, I first fell in love with this one from Pottery Barn…

But some of the reviews said that within a week or two of getting the table home, it split right down the middle. Not just a little split, a big gaping split. I was  really disappointed until…

I found this one from World Market!

It was $200.00 cheaper and the metal is wrapped all the way around the table which I think will make it difficult for the wood to split! I absolutely LOVE this table and as a bonus I discovered World Market! I’m not sure that I’ve ever actually purchased anything from World Market, but when we were there, I looked around and found a few other things, like…

This tobacco blue side table! I needed 2 smallish tables and these worked perfectly and allowed me to add a splash of painted furniture to the space, you know I love painted furniture! (I did distress it just an itty bitty bit with some sand paper:) )

And to go on the tables…this mercury glass lamp which is significantly less gold in person! I added a burlap shade(lighter than this one) and it’s (they are) lovely.

And did you know that World Market has some really great curtain panels and curtain rods!?I left my curtains in the back of the room (the ones I made) and replaced the curtains in the front with these (they are a more muted … not nearly as bright in person)

The curtain rods were silver so I replaced them with these, the bleached wood is similar to the color of the coffee table…

At Home Goods I found a bench/table with baskets for the baby’s toys that is similar to this one:

 This project was really different than the ones The Husband and I usually do. I mean, The Husband didn’t have to do any of the tearing down or rebuilding. Maybe it’s because I don’t quite have my energy back that I couldn’t get enthusiastic about sewing, painting or re-purposing. Yes, it’s been different but it’s been a wonderfully creative process just the same and  we’re almost done! Mr. Max (the contractor) is installing built-in shelves around the fireplace in the next few days and then I’ll snap a few “after” photos!

Whew!

I can see the light at the end of this tunnel my friends!

sneak peek…

~One way or another…have a creative day~

***I wrote this post on January 30-before the “high-profile” science journal, Nature, released findings of a new study from the medical school at the University of California which says that the :

“sugars found in processed foods and drinks are to blame for increasing number of cases of chronic disease and premature death.”

If those darn scientists had just stopped talking after they made their case that sugar is a toxin. If they had shut their pie-hole after pointing out that sugar is added to “nearly all processed foods”  and that in the past 50 years sugar consumption has tripled worldwide! (holy cannoli!)

If they had stopped there, we all could focus on those things…those alarming facts. And maybe we could as parents and grandparents consider other options for our children. Better options that wouldn’t comprise their health over time.

But those scientist scooted from science to politics, suggesting that sugar be regulated by Uncle Sam. And so my sweet friends every time you hear the truth about the overuse and the very real health risks of sugar, you’re going to get side-tracked with irritation at the thought of big government waltzing in to regulate one more thing.

As for me, I’m not listening to the suggestion about government regulation. I’m paying attention to the scientific facts of the study.

(P.S.~I’m not saying everyone should give up all sugar.)

NOW …here’s my tiny sugar story…(remember, I wrote this before the brouhaha)

Hello my friends! Before I give you this recipe (which does NOT have to be sugar free) I have to tell you a tiny sugar-story…

Have I told you that I’m making an effort, albeit a small one, to go sugar free?

The Husband says that he knows God wouldn’t want  me to go gluten free, lactose free AND sugar free! 

“Are you working toward going ‘FOOD-FREE?” he asked, only half kidding!

(Poor man, I think he’s worried about his baked goods!)

Anyhoo, in my struggle with sugar this month, I’ve discovered when things get tough, no matter how hard I fight, I’m driven to eat something sweet.

Here’s what happened:

After a week of no sugar, our contractor surprised us with an early start on our construction project.

Then came  a week of crazy chaos in the house and I noticed that my nerves were completely on edge. Seriously, I was ready to blow with all the hammering and sawing and my four pups barking and howling almost non-stop…

One particularly loud afternoon my good sense left me and I marched downstairs, right in the middle of the day, and made a batch of chocolate chip cookies.

I kid you not, as I finished one of those warm from the oven-melt in your mouth cookies and reached for the second, (or maybe it was after I finished my FOURTH and reached for my FIFTH!) my nerves calmed. I breathed deep. I felt an odd sense of quiet come over me.

And for the umpteenth time I had the thought: Oh my gosh! Sugar is like a drug.

Shoot. Darn. Rats!

Alllll-righty then… I regrouped and did some research on alternative sweeteners. My thought is that I’d like to re-set my sweet meter so as not to crave uber sugary treats. (Friends, I’m weary with the cold-turkey approach. Remember, I just did cold-turkey with gluten AND lactose!)

Two sweeteners stood out, the first is Coconut Palm Sugar:

It’s made from the nectar or sap of the coconut palm and is less refined that traditional white/brown sugars.

Like most things, there’s a bit of controversy surrounding the claim that Palm Sugar has a lower Glycemic Index than refined white/brown sugar. (Glycemic Index: the way food impacts blood sugar)

I love the book and the blog: Simply Sugar & Gluten Free


 Amy, the author,  frequently uses Palm Sugar in her baking. HERE ‘s what Amy has to say about Coconut Palm Sugar.

So…I decided to try it as my first experiment using a sugar alternative…baby steps people.

Guess what? I loved the results!

I wasn’t sure if my taster was off, so I asked The Husband to try one…guess what?

HE LOVED THEM!!!!

(He promised all over the place that he loved the cookies!)

Whew…so here’s the recipe my friends! And remember, you don’t have to use palm sugar…you can use regular powdered sugar!

*****

Flourless-Sugarless Chocolate Walnut Cookies~Gluten Free Naturally

(adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

1   3/4- cup toasted then chopped walnuts

1  1/2- cups Palm Sugar Powdered Sugar (or regular Powdered Sugar)

***see recipe for Palm – Sugar  Powdered Sugar  at the end***

1/4 cup plus 1  1/2 Tablespoons cocoa powder

2 large egg whites

1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract

(Toast walnut halves before you chop them at 350* for 7-8 minutes)

Chop toasted walnuts

Mix (on low) the confectioners sugar with the cocoa powder – add the chopped walnuts. Up the speed to medium, and add the egg whites and vanilla extract and beat just until the batter is moistened (do not overbeat).

Spoon onto parchment covered cookie sheets sprayed with cooking spray.

Bake at 320* for 14-15 minutes. Cool for a few minutes before moving cookies to wire rack.

Palm Sugar Powdered Sugar

1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon potato starch

(You can replace potato starch with corn starch)

Grind sugar and potato starch together in a blender or electric coffee grinder or a spice grinder until powdery.

Powdered sugar keeps in an airtight container at room temperature 1 month.

*****

Here’s the thing…I ate 2 of these cookies and I was satisfied. When I eat 2 of my normal refined sugar-filled cookies, I NEVER stop with just two!

So will I eat these every day? Absolutely not! But I’m hoping baking a few things with palm sugar will help me come off of refined sugar, so these will be good a couple times a week.

(I also tried Palm Sugar and Carob Chips as replacements in my Flourless Chocolate Chip Gluten Free Cookie recipe & I  loved these too!)

(The next sweetener I’m going to try is the herb Stevia! Stay tuned!)

~Have a mildly sweet day my friends~

There are only a few things left to do in our big construction project! Mr. Max is doing built-in shelves around the fireplace and we have to change out a ceiling fan and put moldings back on the existing bookshelves… oh, and get the room back together!

So this morning I’ve been going through all my books. You might remember, this is how our bookshelves looked before we started the den project..

Going through all of these books is a big job in and of itself and the fact that I’m opening every one of them and remembering when I bought it, when I read it or who gave it to me, may mean I’ll never finish this part of my project. It’s been a morning full of nostalgia.

A lot of my old books are classics. The Husband tracked most of them down and surprised me on various occasions. Each one makes me smile.

I also inherited my Gramma’s books. She loved her books and when she left this world I couldn’t bare to see them thrown out or given away.

You know, you can tell a lot about a person by the books they leave behind…

Gramma was passionate about poetry…

When I was in the first grade she taught me to read using a book of poems as my primer.

Gramma loved people’s stories, she had lots of memoirs about Godly women like Edith Shaffer, Ruth Bell Graham, and Amiee Simple McPherson.

And my Gramma loved her presidents and their wives…

Especially President Kennedy.

These are things Gramma and I never talked about…but today,  I’m looking through old yellow paged  volumes and discovering more about that woman who so impacted my life.

This made me wonder…when I’m gone, if anyone looks through my books,what will they find out about me?

For starters…it’ll be obvious how much I love the writings of Somerset Maugham and Oscar Wilde…

They’ll notice that I, like my Gramma, love to read a person’s story…

Of the several biographies nestled on my shelves, it’s interesting that each one of them is about famous writers.

Maybe most of my heroes are authors.

Of course I have 20 or so decorating books and a bazillion cookbooks and loads of books about following Jesus. And thanks to Kindle and Audible most of my recreational reading takes up no space on my bookshelves!

How about you, do you love books? What would your loved ones learn about you if they were to one day look back through your library?

***

ps…I want to show you my favorite new addition to our den, it’s the coffee table! Old rustic wood…ahhhh, I love it!

~Have a nostalgic day my friends~

“God speaks in the language you know best-not through your ears, but through your circumstances.”

~Oswald Chambers

If ever I see my circumstances as having nothing to do with my spiritual life, I’m quickly proven wrong.

Our “medium” construction project was just that; a house project, until a few enemies of mine showed up.

At some point in the chaos of construction, irritation snaked its way through my excitement. The peace in my spirit faded as my nerves were hypersensitive. Before I realized it my tone turned harsh, my attitude sharp and my words negative.

Harshness.

Sharpness.

Negativity.

Three major stumbling blocks in my life.

Sigh.

I thought they were long destroyed in me. But Someone knew better.

And He knew just what circumstances would bring them to the surface.

*****

God has been using our construction project to give me a visual of what He’s doing in my heart these days. (He knows I need visual aides to really learn something!) When The Husband dreamed up this project, which is essentially making two rooms into one, it was because he felt the walls separating the rooms were getting in the way. Without them the room would open up, giving us more use and enjoyment.  The walls were keeping us from having the wide open space we wanted.

The walls are great pictures of my crummy attitudes. Even though I manage to ignore them most of the time, those attitudes are keeping me from having the wide open heart that God wants me to have.

I’ve been talking with God about this process and it didn’t escape me that the walls taken down in our house had to be replaced with something or the ceiling would’ve caved in! In the house, Mr. Max used steel beams and strong supports in the basement and hidden in a column in the new room to replace the support of the walls.

What will we use to replace the bad attitudes in my heart Father?

I believe God is urging me to replace the three stumbling blocks with three more deserving attributes…

Kindness.

Gentleness.

Self Control.

Has God spoken to you through your circumstances lately?

*****

Prayers for each of you to have a week full of God-moments.

As for me, I’m finishing up our house project and allowing God to strengthen me with kindness, to wash my words in gentleness and practicing self control when negativity threatens.

~  Hugs & Smooches ~

One thing I miss since my Celiac diagnosis is easy food. Some nights I want to just eat something fun, yummy and EASY!

A few months ago, my daughter’s good friend Kristen, bought me a mix for gluten free healthy Corn and Quiona Chili!

(Thank you Kristen for introducing me to these amazing mixes! xo)

It was packaged like the one below,the presentation of these healthy mixes is perfect for gift giving!

After I whipped up the chili, which was delicious and oh so easy, I knew I wanted to write a post about the company so I contacted them and Michelle at Bountiful Pantry and she graciously sent over some gluten free mixes for me to try!

The first one I tried was the corn chowder.  As always, I can’t leave well enough alone, so I added a couple of red potatoes. The chowder already had potatoes but I had 2 in the pantry so I chopped them up and threw them in! I also threw in a package of Canadian Bacon. (chopped-I love the depth of flavor that Canadian Bacon adds without adding a lot of fat, I know it’s not uber healthy but it’s a more healthy choice than bacon!)

The chowder cooked up in no-time and was over the top hearty and delicious.

The black bean soup, I was told, can be made into a dip…perfect for Super Bowl Sunday by the way!

And let me tell ya, that black bean mix has been my favorite so far.  I can’t find a good Mexican restaurant that guarantees their food is gluten free (as well as free from cross contamination). So I’ve been on the hunt for really good Mexican food!

Yesterday, I threw the dried black beans in a crock pot with the mix of spices and cooked them all day. The house smelled amazing! At dinner time, I drained them added a jar of gluten free (On The Border) salsa and The Husband and I made Chicken & Black Bean Nachos that were as good as anything I’ve ever eaten in a Mexican restaurant! I will be ordering some more of the black beans ASAP!

This weekend, as The Husband and I are neck deep in this construction project, I plan to put on a pot of Bountiful Pantry’s  French Market Lentil Soup. It’ll be souper quick and souper cozy!

If you’d like to have a look around their website, head over to Bountiful Pantry. It’s easy to order online or by phone and if you know someone who eats gluten free or is simply health conscious this is a perfect gift!

~Have a souper cozy weekend my friends~

Life is not simple right now.

The house is in a bit of chaos with all the construction.

And it’s interesting to watch our response to chaos. The Husband and I and the farm.

Three of the four pups are nervous wrecks. The fourth pup, Ollie the Beagle, is just a little antsy with being confined to the bedroom. Reba the cat spends the day hiding and the nights complaining loudly. The Husband is at work most of the time but calls in excitedly for updates .

I’m either cleaning out a cabinet or purging a closet.

Or hiding in my room.

Because chaos reigns in my house.

And chaos makes me want to retreat.

But in the chaos I hear God whispering lessons about my one-word for the year.

That sweet wonderful word…

Simplicity.

I think He’s saying:

Chaos often proceeds simplicity

Think about it, have you ever cleaned a room down to the beautiful and necessary without first experiencing a bit of chaos?

Have you ever pared down your schedule getting rid of umpteen commitments without first experiencing the chaos of over-scheduling yourself?

I don’t know if it’s always the case, but often times, chaos proceeds simplicity.

I’m still counting gifts my friends… #____ – God lessons on simplicity~

(I don’t know what number I’m on…I seem to have misplaced my gratitude journal in all the … chaos)

I love a good list. So does The Husband.

Just the other day we had a really good list going for our 2012 house projects:

Phase One: Finish the Upstairs

1-Master Bath

New Vanity

Paint room

Paint cabinet

Organize cabinets/drawers

Build towel storage

Build small shelf for TV

Master Bath re-do HERE

2-Guest Bath

Install new cabinet & vanity

Paint

New shower curtain

Build towel storage

3-Grand’s Bed/Playroom

*Build closet playhouse

*Make tiny ‘built-in’ kitchen for playhouse

*Build small wall of cubbies

*Paint room

*Get twin bed

*New comforter/curtains/tiny bean-bag chair

*Find 2 small  wooden chairs

Phase Two-Den Project

*Mr.  Max (the contractor) :

*Remove walls-insert steel beams

*Install recessed lighting

*Install new H Vac vents

*Add walnut inlay to flooring

While Max does this we will:

*Install new internet jack

*Get wall ready to install TV

*Paint  existing shelves

*Paint walls and trim

*Start built-in bookshelves around the fireplace

*Get furniture

*Organize everything

***

What a great plan! And we were right on schedule until…

last Monday, our contractor Max called, and wanted to start the den project 2 weeks early!

While I was shouting: “What about THE LIST??? “, The Husband called him and told him to come on over!

This has been very exciting but it’s left our list unfinished and all out of order.

We had to leave the bedroom/playroom undone…

This is how we left it:

sigh…unfinished. But we’ll get back to the upstairs as SOOOOON as possible! (We’re kinda under the gun with the playhouse because Ellie’s seen it and she’s ready to play in the new playhouse!)

*****

Back to the downstairs…

In an effort to regain control, I made a few executive decisions like having the electrician do some of the small projects that The Husband was going to do. And The Husband made a few executive decisions like getting Max to build the shelving around the fireplace instead of doing it himself!

He and I have got to decide which one of us is the actual executive around here!

*****

Have you ever thought about taking out a wall and making 1 big room out of 2 smaller rooms?

I’m told it’s not hard, unless of course the wall is load-bearing…

Then you have to build supports first…

Two steel beams, weighing roughly 600 lbs. went up last Thursday…

 Mr. Max, who prays with his crew every morning before he starts work, turned to me while the guys were holding the beams in place, grinning from ear to ear he said: “are you praying?”

“Well if I wasn’t, I am now!”

All went well and we now have an open space!

Saturday was a busy day…

 The Husband primed and painted the bookshelves that will go back up and blend in with the built-in bookshelves around the fireplace and I painted the trim and walls in the new side of the room, I’ll have to touch up when the job is finished but I wanted to get a head start.

(The pups are about to pack their tiny suitcases and move out!)

 When you do projects do you make a list and stick to it?

Stay tuned…I’m certain that organization will reign very soon but in the mean-time I’m learning a lot about my one-word for 2012…

Simplicity…hummmmmmmm.

Confession time…I cringe when I hear someone say things like:

“I know God’s given me the victory” or “God didn’t bring me here to fail”.

Cringe.

Probably because I’ve had those same thoughts in the past, I’ve not said those things because I’m not that bold, but I’ve had the thoughts.

And in my life, I discovered that my definition of “victory” and God’s definition of “victory” are often times very different. There have been times that God has indeed arranged circumstances that set me up for what most people would term “failure”, all the while working huge change for good in my heart.

But the other day in my Bible study, I was reading 1 Samuel about David and Goliath. Most everyone has heard that story a thousand times, but as I read David’s strong faith filled words, “All those gathered will know that it’s not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s…” and pictured David on the brink of his fight:  “As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line…”  I asked myself…  When was the last time I ran quickly into a battle? Am I missing something? Does God want me to be a bit bolder when it comes to the giants in my life?

So I’ve turned that thought over and over in my mind asking God to open my eyes to the truth He wants me to see.

Here’s what I think He might be saying…before I can run into the battle with the confidence that God’s going to fight and win that battle, I have to really know the giant.

Give me a second to explain…

Right now,  my knee-jerk reaction to the question: What’s the  giant in your life, would be … how I feel physically. I’d like God to fight that battle and destroy that issue (giant) in my life. I’d like to have the energy I used to have.  Because, (Bear with me for a moment)  after searching for what was wrong with me for 2 years and finally getting the Celiac diagnosis, I expected to be full of energy and feel better than I used to…that’s what lots of people with Celiac Disease say.

But it’s not been quite that way with me.

After iron infusions last summer, I was convinced my energy would come back…although I felt a little better, still I was not close to feeling normal.

After a particularly confrontational appointment with my Rheumatologist a couple of months ago, I left with a Sjorgen’s Syndrome diagnosis (another auto-immune disease) and a prescription for a mediation that will hopefully calm down my overactive immune system.

It’s too soon to tell if the medicine will help out my energy level but I’m realizing my energy level may not be the issue.

Perhaps my inability to move with graceful acceptance from one season of my life into another is my real battle. Perhaps it’s the stubbornness in me that is having a hard time letting go of other things that could be sapping me of energy…things like sugar and processed foods.

Or maybe my giant is both of those things.

Anyhoo, I’m intentionally turning my focus off of how I feel physically and asking God to give me the courage to run into the battle with the real giant in my life. And I’m trusting…that the battle belongs to Him.

Is there a giant in your life right now? Prayers for those of you who may be in a battle…

xo

*****

(Sorry for being late on posting…we had a surprise early start date on our construction project in the den-posted about that HERE...I’ll update in the next day or two, you wouldn’t believe the upheaval around here!)

The Husband and I are working on our newest DIY project,  the tiny granddaughters bedroom!

We want the room to be functional with a twin bed and a baby bed and some shelving, but also to have some fun elements!

I’ve been gathering inspiration on Pinterest for quite awhile and kept showing The Husband…

(from tumbler,my idea home)

(Apartment Therapy)

(Pawleys Island Posh)

(AnnaWhite Homemaker)

(AnnaWhite Homemaker)

(flickr)

(The Handmade Home)

I’m a little nervous about the loft beds and the room is tiny (about 10×11) so a free-standing playhouse is out of the question, but that husband of mine never gives up. The other night he came home and said: “I’ve got it! Lets do a playhouse in the closet!“

Perfect!

We don’t have to have a closet in that room because the babies don’t live here! We’re doing built in shelving so I can store diapers and  pj’s and toys in baskets on the shelves! I ran to Pinterest to see if I could find another closet playhouse…

Yes! Sandra did hers in a playroom, which would work great for those of you that have one!

(Sawdust and Paper Scraps)

Saturday I cleaned out the closet, which was out of control. I threw away a giant construction trash bag full of junk, while The Husband sketched out plans for our little playhouse and made trips to The Home Depot!

We had to paint the room first so he’s just barely gotten started…here’s a sneak peek:

I’m so excited! It’s gonna be adorable!

~Happy Monday Friends~