Hello friends!
It’s soo hard to believe we’re over halfway through August already and school will be starting in a week! As much as I love fall, I’m never excited for back to school. I love having our little ones home and loving the rountine-less, lazy days of summer!
But, I’m sure if you ask me in a month’s time, I’ll enjoy being back to routine, the crisp cool mornings, fall baking, and all things pumpkin!
Last year I started sharing What’s Up posts as a fun way to share what I’m up to besides blogging. After reading my friends Kristi and Carrie’s Currently posts, I thought I’d start sharing again. If my DIY and recipe posts are what you enjoy, don’t worry, I’ll be back on Wednesday to share one of our favorite snacks this summer!
Wearing– I can’t wait to wear this scarf that I got a couple of weeks ago! It’s safe to say I wear a scarf almost daily come fall and winter and this one is soo incredibly soft I can just imagine how warm and cozy it’ll be once the weather starts getting chilly!
Happening lately– I often wonder if my readers are interested in the little bits of personal stories I share on my blog but many, many of you, my dear readers leave me very sweet comments and questions about our home so I thought I’d share a little more than I normally do…. A couple of weeks ago we headed to Montana for some holidays. We were going to be gone 2 weeks and on the second day we were gone, on a beautiful sunny day as we were enjoying the day around the pool with our friends, we got a call from home.
A pipe had broken on the 2nd storey of our home.
Water gushing out with the full force of a garden hose. Water running down walls all the way to the basement.
We were shocked to say the least, but it really didn’t prepare me as we came home the next day and drove up to our home and saw this huge industrial garbage bin and 3 restoration vehicles parked outside. We walked in through the front door to the loud roar of fans blowing, and our home a complete disarray.
I totally realize every last bit of it can and will be fixed and replaced. Yet, as I sit here and share this, tears come to my eyes because of this quote that I’m thinking of…
There really is no place like home.
So please bear with me, my sweet readers, as my building and crafting supplies have been packed away in preparation to install new flooring, drywall and paint. Don’t worry though, I’m still planning some fall projects to share with ya’ll. I’ll just have to get very creative in where I create…. Trying totally to take this one day at a time!
Using– I love this planner and I think the very best thing about it (besides staying super organized and having all my lists in one spot) are the darling little sticky notes and these colorful reminder stickers. I’m also super picky when it comes to pens and these colorful ones are absolutely perfect for planning! It’s such a happy place to plan out my weeks and months and I actually look forward to a planning session!
Favorite breakfast- I shared this Baked Oatmeal a while ago and it’s still one of our most favorite breakfasts. Especially with all the fresh peaches, nectarines, strawberries and all the other delicious summer fruit!
Planning for: We’ve been planning our 5th One Room Challenge that’ll take place in October and I am so excited to share which room we’ll tackle next. We had started planning the room we would renovate but because of the water damage, we had to make a change. In the past, we had done our Master Bedroom, Laundry Room, Main Bathroom, and our Daughter’s Bedroom and each of these rooms now have water damage. I’m excited to share the changes that’ll be coming to all of these!
I don’t want to fill this post with pictures of our mess but just in case you’re interested here is a view of our laundry room. Down to bare studs…. the tile is probably the hardest thing to remove so no wonder, they’re leaving it till the end. Here’s what it looked like a couple of weeks ago (plus, new tile flooring and white trim.)
Shopping for: If your little ones are heading back to school and you’re tired of packing a million little containers for their lunch, I have to share these Sistema ones that are the best ever! They hold a sandwhich or wrap, fruit, a tiny little container for dips and 2 more divided compartments for other food. You’ll thank me later! And if you’re like me and just maybe one of the little dip containers might go missing down the garburator, you might want some extra ones in all these cool colors.
Loving: We loved our week of camping in the mountains and it was the perfect getaway we needed! There is nothing that compares to fresh mountain air and being surrounded by God’s majestic creation all around you. We enjoyed some terrific hikes, wildlife sighing, kayaking, and of course, lots of yummy food!
This is one of my favorite hikes ever… the view at the top is stunning!
Thank you so much for stopping by today friends, and I hope you all have a very wonderful week!
-Kendra
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I was so sorry to hear about the damage to your beautiful home. Those pictures are heartbreaking. But at least everyone is safe and all those things can be replaced. Can’t wait to see what you do with the renovations! Thinking of you, my sweet friend! xoxo
Thank you, friend! And yes, you’re absolutely right! I appreciate you lots! xox
Good grief…we are so sorry for this definite bump in the road. You have such a sunny, positive attitude – so inspiring as we would be in the fetal position in the corner of the room 🙂 Best wishes to you and your family as you work to make your house a home again!
Thank you, my sweet friends! I’ll admit, I’ve had some “moments”! Thanks so much for your encouragement! xo
Oh my gosh!! How horrible!!!! You are so strong to stay positive. The mountain camping trip pictures are gorgeous. Can’t wait to see which room you choose for the ORC 🙂
Thanks, friend! I’ve had my “moments” but hopefully we’ll soon be choosing flooring and light fixtures and that’ll make it exciting! SO glad you stopped by! xo
I’m so sorry to hear about your home Kendra! That is truly terrible! Please let us know if there is anything we can do for you!
Thank you, friend! Counting down the days! I appreciate your support so, so much!
Your blog design is so pretty! Sorry to hear of your broken pipe issues– water in the house typically leads me to tears as well! Prayers for you Kendra and thanks for sharing all these links— those pens are awesome! ♥ Happy to find you at Grace at Home today!
Thank you so much for your sweet comments, Heather! I appreciate it lots! Glad you found the links helpful! Those pens are the best! Have a great weekend! xo
You’ve had a lot going on in your life……And you are so right ~ Home is the nicest word there is ~ all the busyness will pass. I love to camp and looks like you all were camping at a beautiful place!
Thanks so much for stopping by, Renee! I love that quote as well! And camping in the mountains is always so refreshing and relaxing! Hope you have a wonderful weekend!
So sorry to hear about the water damage, Kendra! I hope you’re able to get things back to normal quickly. The photos from your trip are absolutely gorgeous!
Thank you so much, Amy! The mountains really are stunning… hope you have a wonderful weekend! xo
I am so excited to see a Currently post on your blog and thank you for calling me out! I am SO sorry about your home (again). I didn’t realize it was that bad, that everything is down to the studs in certain rooms. Your laundry room was gorgeous! I hope you will be able to make it all new and beautiful again, that is what you are good at! Decorating! I have never done one of those one room challenges, but I always love following along with yours! I hope you can move back into your home soon and you are doing an amazing job at keeping the blog up in the meantime! Oh, and do you stay at home too? I was just curious! I miss my kiddos while they are in school, too! They went back a week and a half ago.
Carrie
curlycraftymom.com
Thanks so much for following along, Carrie! Love sharing these posts! Hope you have a wonderful weekend, friend!