Friday, June 6, 2014

101 Things Update - June 6

Today's post is a bit lacking in pictures, but I wanted to share these things with you before I forget about them.

9. Oil cleansing face wash.  This wash did not work for my mom and sister, but I still gave it a try.  I can honestly say it had no effect on my skin.  I was expecting some change: either for my acne to get worse, or get better.  It did neither.  I gave it a month-long trial, and there was no change, so I'll stick to my inexpensive bar of natural facial soap.  I'd still encourage people to try this, though, as I actually have a health condition which causes excess acne, so it's probably not the oil face wash's fault.  :)

40. Sew one of these headbands:


It's really hard to take a picture of a headband when you're wearing it:


The other side is red with tiny white polka dots all over it.  I made two more of these for Chloe for her birthday.  She really likes them. :)  I thought the original pattern made really wide headbands, so I made my headbands skinnier than the original ones.

48. Read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith.  I was not that thrilled with this book.  Don't hate me for that, please.

77. Delft nails with Chloe.  

The original:


Ours:


I love love love love love them!!!

And finally, to end on a depressing note:

94. Try a recipe with lentils in it.  I made this soup:


And it was pretty lame.  Way too many lentils and not enough flavor.

And that is all.

Love and Delft,
Leah Joy

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

101 Things Update - June 4

I have so many 101 Things projects on which to update you, so today I thought I'd share the house-related ones.  Check 'em out:

4. Clean the van.  No pictures of this, but let me tell you it is much much much better! :)

23. Organize the garage.  Caleb did most of this one while I cleaned out his van and my car.  Look at what he accomplished:


Someday, we'd like to add some peg board and plastic tubs to further sort things, but for now, just being able to find things is a huge step up.

36. Clean the basement.  

I shared pictures before of how nasty our basement was.  My mom, sister, and aunt all came and helped me clean it.  The four of us spent several hours down there sweeping the ceiling, walls, and floors; spraying disinfectant on the ceiling; mopping the walls and floors; and wiping down the appliances, etc.  It was a huge, disgusting job, but it is SO much nicer down there now.  You can't really tell from these pictures, but trust me, I can do laundry barefoot now!




No cobwebs!  A coat of paint would really help cheer things up, too.

50. Move our piano to our house.

We've been waiting on this one for a year and a half, and it's finally here!


Isn't it lovely?

51. Plant a garden - I've been posting updates on this one.  :)

58. Wash our pillows.  No pictures here, either, but let me tell you, this needed to be done.  Until I saw this pin, I had no idea that pillows could even be washed, but I'm so glad I did it.  They smell much better. :)

69. Organize my letters and cards.

I've always kept all my letters and cards in this box:


Until recently, I just tossed them all in there haphazardly, which was kind of fun, but also a mess.  Now they're all nicely organized:


I made the dividers/labels out of old 3-ring binder dividers that I cut to size.  I covered the labels with washi tape.  Sorry this picture is so blurry.


More 101 Things coming soon!

Love and Summer,
Leah Joy

Monday, June 2, 2014

Our Yard - June 2

As this post goes up, I'll be starting my first day of full-time summer work this year.  So, basically, bye and I'll see you in 10 weeks.  

No, I still have a few posts that will be coming out this week and maybe next, but if, after that, you don't hear from me until August or September, don't worry.  I'll be back. :)

After the crazy windstorm fiasco we had earlier this year, a lot of work has been done.  Friends have come to take away tons of wood, and Caleb's brother came out for a day and cleared the smaller brush, then raked and mowed.  Now we just have stumps left:


I also got a hydrangea bush!!!


At the same time, I purchased two lavender plants and got those in the ground, but I don't have a very good picture of them, so just imagine them in your head.  Planting lavender was #20 on my 101 Things in 2014 list.


This little guy is Cornelius the White Pine, and until he gets too big for it, he'll be hanging out in this pot.  Isn't he cute?

Our next project will be replacing our mailbox post.  It's completely rotted underground, so every time we open the mailbox, the post leans a little more toward the road.


We have super nerdy plans for it, so stay posted for an update on that.  (No puns are unintended here.)

Love and Dandelions,
Leah Joy