I love beautifully-wrapped gifts. I really enjoy taking time to wrap gifts well and make generous bows. The presentation, I think, is part of the gift. I love neutral wrapping paper and prominent bows. That’s what I do for baby showers and birthday gifts and especially Christmas. Never in my life have I ever used
Sometimes I joke that the best way to describe my house is “looks like we just got robbed.” In my living room there are toys everywhere, books strewn off the shelf, a chair over-turned — it’s the normal scene in my house. It’s always been just a joke until last week. I went to pick
I bought these potted hyacinths last year when I was aching for spring. After the flowers faded, I plopped them in the ground and hoped for the best. Now here they are. They’re a bit battered and bruised after the winter, but who isn’t? I planted a bunch of tulips, too. They’re bravely unfurling in
This year I made a goal to give away one item every time I acquire a new item. One thing in, one thing out. At the start of 2014 we took a few bags Goodwill to wipe the slate clean after Christmas purchases and gifts. I don’t think I’ve bought any new clothes or home
Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by P&G. Save on NEW Gain Flings and Tide Pods at Target. Text CLEAN to Target (827438) for mobile coupons*. For the most part, my laundry room has looked like this for the past few months. A basket full of clean clothes waiting to be folded and put away. More
The holidays happen in a weird time warp. First, sometime between Halloween and Thanksgiving, it seems like they’ll never get here. Then suddenly they feel like a big, evergreen monster on top of you, smothering you with to do lists, red ribbons and 100 Santa cupcakes. Then, just as quickly, they’re gone and it’s 2014.
Tom and I agree that our Christmas tree is…fine. It’s small, droopy, a little wonky, and full of mismatched ornaments. But it’s definitely better than last year when we didn’t have a tree at all. We started with good intentions. Tom brought the tree home on a Tuesday night and started stringing the lights. He
Last spring my neighbor’s yard exploded with gardenia blooms and, wow, what a beautiful flower. I made sure to tell my neighbor how beautiful they were. An hour later, he knocked on my door with a bouquet of cut gardenias. That paragraph right there is why Southerners are willing to put up with the mosquitoes
Choosing a crib bed set was really fun for me when I was waiting for David’s arrival. We didn’t know if he was a boy or girl, but there were still plenty of options. I used mostly navy blue in David’s nursery because 1) I was sure he was a boy 2) if I was wrong, I
There’s a lot of controversy in the blogging world about writing sponsored posts. Tom and I have talked about sponsored posts, and in that conversation we both decided that, if I ever wrote one I’d label it as a sponsored post at the top. Then we both slapped our knees and had a good laugh about
My best and dearest and oldest friend has six kids. That means she’s spent over four and a half years of her life pregnant, and for ten years she’s been either pregnant or nursing. She recently said, “I don’t nest. I hibernate.” We don’t agree on everything; she thinks I’m super human because I run
Brigham’s daily schedule looks something like this: He goes outside around 10:30 p.m., and then comes home around 8 a.m. starving, exhausted, missing tufts of fur. Sometimes brings rodents home with him. He eats, drinks from the toilet, and then he sleeps all day. He wakes up around 10:30 p.m., gets a snack, licks himself,
In 2012 I made it one of my goals to “Reduce clutter, organize and make our house more liveable.” I reiterated the goal in 2013: Reduce clutter, and all that. I want to reduce clutter and have a well-organized home, not because I love organizing (I like organization, but I don’t revel in the act
My parents have several photos of my mom with my sister when she was about David’s age. It was summer, and my sister was running around nothing but a diaper while my mom was hanging some clothes on the clothesline. Imitating my mom, Kristie took off her diaper and hung it on a stake in
I’ve mentioned before that a guy said I looked like the Grinch when I was in high school, and, in hindsight, I agree with him. If I’m the Grinch, Tom is Ebenezer Scrooge. Last week he described using hot water to wash his hands “luxurious.” I do love Christmas, but I’m a little Grinch-y about some things.
When Tom went out of town last week I made a huge list of things I wanted to get done. I figured that with less laundry, fewer dishes and without a husband to hang out with I’d have time to keep the house clean, trim the bushes, catch up on the blog, and get some
I just put David down for a morning nap, which isn’t going to happen because it hasn’t happened in over a week…but mama still has hope…and a fussy baby. So we’re trying. Last week Tom was out of town for work. Before he left I told him that the one thing that would keep me
Tom and I love throwing parties. We’ve thrown birthday parties, Christmas parties and 10K parties. When I’m planning a party I usually don’t worry too much about dishware and decorations and instead focus on having a lot of food and making sure everyone feels welcome. It’s not that I don’t appreciate a well-set table and
Today at the grocery store I bought two tomatoes. I have 10 tomato plants in my backyard, but apparently that’s not enough to feed all of our neighborhood squirrels and also my family. Every time I go outside, instead of ripe, red tomatoes, I see tomato carnage. See that stub? That’s where tomatoes should be.
I’ve mentioned before that I don’t have a great eye for decorating. I’m indecisive, and have a hard time imagining the final product. When I see finished rooms in magazines and other people’s homes, it’s easy for me to pick out what I like and don’t like. But putting it all together is a whole
According to the Farmer’s Almanac, the last frost date in Richmond was April 6. That means our garden is two days from being a month late. The gutters are still doing great, but the only thing growing in the ground is grass and our neighbor’s liriope (which doesn’t seem to respect the boundaries of our
You’re looking at four bags of clothes we don’t wear and things we don’t use. It’s sitting by our door because it’s all on its way OUT. It always feels so, so good to get rid of things. It’s a vicious cycle; the temptation to acquire new things followed by the oppression of clutter and
The bushes in my front yard are unstoppable. I know these don’t look like much, but you can smell them from three blocks away. I read in Better Homes & Gardens that you should never plant fragrant flowers by your front door because they attract bees, and a swarm of bees on your porch isn’t
I went to the grocery store this morning and I knew something was up when I saw four different women with carts full of fresh flowers. Something WAS up: Tulips on sale for less than $2 a bunch. Outside: 67 and sunny Inside: fresh cut tulips on my dining room table. February, you better not
We’re moving full steam ahead on our New Year’s goals in the Krieger household. Tom’s riding his bike to work, doing speed work to train for the 10K, and I still miss drinking Diet Coke. Every single day I think about my plan to “Reduce clutter, organize and make our house more liveable”. My first
It’s Thursday and I’m still posting about the weekend. We did a lot: 1. Dawg reunion 2. Learned to roll over 3. Jingle Bell 5k 4. We got a Christmas tree! We had a busy weekend. With so much going on, it helps to be organized, and the Tom and Amanda branch of the Krieger
It’s that time of year. Time to hang your colors high, people. VT vs Marshall this weekend. Go Hokies! (I’m sure there are plenty of people who think Virginia Tech would be better represented with an ironed flag. Sorry, this Hokie don’t iron.)