I found these 2 soap pumps on Amazon as a set, and that includes the cute chalk labels! [psst! these labels are also waterproof!] I want ya to know that this set is only $9.99, and it’s well-made, too! #steal

And how adorable is this bubble up bamboo brush set? All you do is add a few drops of your fav dish soap [straight from the nearby pump?] into the dish and some water, and then you pounce the bamboo brush on the spring-loaded tray inside, and it creates sudsy, fun bubbles to help scrub your dishes clean! It’s only $15.99 for the set. #score Check it out below!

Mother’s Day is fast approaching, and if she’s the practical type, she might enjoy either of these things for her kitchen sink, don’t ya think? Maybe in a gift basket with a bunch of lovely cleaning soaps from Mrs. Meyer’s and a cute little potted plant?

The post Pretty Your Kitchen Sink! appeared first on ClassiclyAmber.

We got out of bed early this morning, anxious for a snow day, which only comes once or twice a year here in NC. The weatherman had said that we MIGHT get snow, but as always, we had to wait and see what the weather ended up doing. I had already been up and tending the fire, and had seen out the window that a thin sheet of ice had coated every surface. So there was no snow in sight! 

My youngest one woke up last and came downstairs. “Ooooo mommy, the fire!!”, she exclaimed with a smile as the firelight reflected in her bright eyes. She ran to the window. “Did we get snow, mommy?!”, she asked on the way over. When she got to the glass pane and peered out, her eyes gazed slowly from one side of the fields all the way over to other side. “Wow! Ice!! It looks like ELSA was here last night!!” She was getting excited now and skipped to the kitchen. “Turn on the lights, mommy, so let’s see!!” [She was wanting me to check if our power was working. I flicked the lift switch up, and sure enough, the lights came on.] “Yay!! They WORK!! Today is gonna be a GREAT day, mommy!!! Yay!!!” 

This is a lesson in the difference between being disappointed – and being a crybaby about something. And it’s an even bigger lesson in thankfulness and having a grateful heart for what we DO have, instead of whining about what we DON’T have. 

Oh, and by the way, the snow did come after all. It’s dumping down in huge snowflake clusters and we are getting ready to go play in it, right after we finish our homemade Snow Day Celebration pancakes!

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It’s been over a year since I’ve posted here. A lot has happened in that time. There are more changes to come and I hope to be back and chat about it soon. I’ve missed you! <3

The post Hello, September. appeared first on ClassiclyAmber.

Have you met Goldie? He’s Nolan’s cat and he lives outdoors with the other kitties and chickens and ducks and dog. This morning was a beautiful one, with a thin layer of frost covering everything. Each morning, the cats stand on the fence posts like this and wait for one of us to come outside to feed and play with them. Anyways, Goldie is such a fun cat and we all love him so much!

This is Little Chicken, and we named her just now. There are actually a few that look similar to her, but she is the fluffiest with plenty of feathers. Here she is, keeping herself warm on this beautiful frosty morning.

And this is later on in the morning, the sun is out and Ethan is running through a sea of birds. Both he and the cats were trying to catch just one bird, but without success.

Have you ever tried to catch a bird like this? Gotta give a kid credit for trying!

The post This Frosty Morning appeared first on ClassiclyAmber.

I love starting off Mondays on a light and happy note, and I am sure that that annoys certain breeds of people out there, but it’s aight. Just wanted to share that I have started a new Pinterest board called Crazy Cat Lady. Everything inside is for the feline lover and anyone who moderately enjoys kittehs. You are looking at an animal lover [well, look up and over —–> there at my picture] and I’m not ashamed to say that I have owned as many as 20 cats in one sitting before. I didn’t end up keeping them all, as it was when 2 of my cats had kittens at the same time, but still. It didn’t bother me too bad.

They say that people are either dog lovers or cat lovers, but I beg to differ as I’m a fan of both…and also bunnies, chickens, ducks, cows, goats, horses, sheep…um…so that’s why we have a yard full of critters. Anyway, I’ve been looking over my wardrobe and seeing that my clothes need more animal <3 style added into the mix. So this pinboard will also serve as inspiration for that.

Happy Monday, y’all. Make it a great day!

The post Crazy Cat Lady Indeed appeared first on ClassiclyAmber.

We are huge Duck Dynasty fans here, and so I was tickled pink to learn that he’s giving back with OCC this year. We – along with our church – are gearing up to go do volunteer work with Operation Christmas Child. Click the pic above to take you to their site to view how Uncle Si packs a shoebox for children. I just love his style~! You just never know which of these kids will need a grenade rocket!

If you’re interested in helping out, then read up here on how to pack a box for a child, and then click here to see drop-off locations.

A new feature on the OCC website this year is that even if you don’t have time to run out and buy stuff for shoeboxes, you can now build it all online, picking out what all you want to go in your box and choose the type of child you want your gift to go to. It seriously doesn’t get any easier than that!

Share the joy. Share a shoebox gift.  

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My husband says pecan like “pih-KAHN”, but I say it like “PEE-kahn”. He puts emphasis on the end of the word, I put it on the beginning. And he faults me for this. Our kids are confused. The whole house is a mess all because we can’t agree who’s right and who’s not as right. I always hate it when he’s wrong. Growing up, I heard most of my family members say it yet another way “PEE-CAN” and that always brought up weird images in my mind, so I guess I went my own route?

However you pronounce it, no one can deny that a good homemade pecan pie is absolutely delicious and a sure sign of fall. This year, fall has welcomed us here in the NC boondocks with a misting of snow. So we celebrated by making snowflake-topped pecan pie. I used a recipe from Martha Stewart’s baking book, and changed it up to suit my tastes. Then just this morning, I happen to stumble across another recipe from her team that basically changed it up the way that I did. I didn’t use any corn syrup in mine, as that’s not my thing. It was the real maple syrup that shines here and goes perfectly with the pecans and buttery flaky crust.

The post How Do You Pronounce ‘Pecan’? appeared first on ClassiclyAmber.

With the change of weather, I’m always inspired to totally redo all the closets in our home. Lean in closer and I’ll tell ya a secret…

We’ve never finished our closets from when we built our home 6 years ago!

I’m actually surprised that we’re able to feasibly dress ourselves each day. I’m only exaggerating a little bit. Basically, I designed the closets a specific way, and the builder failed to come through for me on the execution. And the building budget wasn’t handled in the best way by those guys, so we didn’t get the shelving systems we needed in each space. One of these days, I will post pictures of what I deal with – with trying to organize and use our weird closets. Anyway, I’ve tried different temporary solutions to get our different closets to work, but I’m about done with that. Gotta admit defeat sometimes, right? So next I want to make it a priority to get these fixed once and for all. In the meantime, I am going to use the tips below to get them all organized as possible before the big remodeling happens.

An organized closet makes getting dressed a stress-free and even fun event. It can save time and money, too, when you know right where everything is. I’m assuming all of this. Also, I’m signing up for this.

The post Organizing Closets. appeared first on ClassiclyAmber.

Seriously thankful for this day! This week has been kinda crazy, and I was in MUCH need of the different pace that normally happens on the weekends. I’m helping my stepmom tonight with her new business, and tomorrow I’ll be browsing various shops in Charlotte with a good friend! I’m also looking forward to the downtime with my family.

Praying and hoping that you all have a totally lovely weekend~! <3

The post TGIF. appeared first on ClassiclyAmber.

I can’t believe it’s November already! 2013 has been flying by so fast and it will be Christmas before ya blink twice. Our family has moved ahead by leaps and bounds this year – in all the ways that matter [read: spiritually/emotionally/physically] – and I couldn’t be more excited about where our future will take us. This weekend, we are keeping ourselves busy with home projects. On Sunday, we will be dedicating all 5 of our children to God at church, which is pretty cool. And I will also be preparing for a small speaking engagement that happens next week, which I am a tad bit nervous on, but know that my Father will help see me through it.

Loves to you and may your weekend be a truly awesome one~! <3

The post November. appeared first on ClassiclyAmber.