{hello gorgeous farmhouse kitchen!}

Dave and I are already starting to make plans for a massive kitchen/dining room renovation we hope to start and finish this summer {with the help of my dad and many others I’m sure}!

I’ll be sharing lots more photos, ideas, and details in the months leading up to our renovation… but right now, we’re still in the “dreaming” stage — trying to decide what we want to incorporate into our new kitchen.

And since this is the house we’re planning to live in for a long time, I’m really trying hard to think not only about what we want right now, but what we’ll want/need in a few years once we have more children, older children, etc.

Of course, I can’t predict all our needs, but at least I’m trying!

Now, before I show you pictures of my dream kitchen, I want to show you a couple pictures of our current kitchen and dining room.

Besides moving in our table and chairs, we haven’t done anything to these rooms. And while it definitely isn’t the worst kitchen/dining room in the world, we’ve been itching to renovate it since the moment we bought the house. OK, so maybe I’m a little more excited about this than Dave is… but it will be a relief when it’s finished

Our kitchen has tons of potential… so I can’t wait to see what we finally come up with. In the mean time, here are just a few of the photos I’ve been drooling over these past few months. Due to space, time, and financial restrictions, we probably won’t be able to incorporate all of these ideas into our kitchen… but I just love thinking and dreaming about what my kitchen will look like.

Who knows, maybe we’ll be able to tweak some of the ideas below and make them work in our new kitchen.

More WHITE:

I absolutely LOVE white. And I know you might think I’m crazy… but I don’t care My kitchen will be white — white cabinets, white backsplash, white farmhouse sink, white, white, white.

Our white kitchen will go with with our white couch, our white shower, my white dishes, our white linens, and all the other white in our home!

{hello gorgeous white kitchen! Unfortunately, our kitchen isn’t quite as big as this one!}

{I love the white subway tile backsplash of this kitchen}

More LIGHT:

I want lots of natural light coming through the windows. Currently, we have 4 big windows in our kitchen/dining room and I’m definitely not planning to get rid of any of them.

I also want lots of lighting in the room — like under cabinet lighting, recessed lighting, task lighting, decorative lighting, etc. I hate a dark kitchen!

{look at all the light streaming through these windows!}

{seriously, a kitchen with THIS many windows just makes me jealous!}

More SPACE:

“More space” might sound like a no-brainer — but one of my goals is to drastically increase the amount of space we have in our kitchen/dining room.

We are planning to knock out a wall to incorporate lots more cabinets and shelving. And we will also make room for larger appliances {since our current fridge is quite small and our oven doesn’t even fit normal cookie sheets!}

{I love the look of these open shelves… and checkout that farmhouse sink!}

{look at all that cabinet space!}

Obviously, I have TONS more ideas and details I could share with you… but I think I’ll hold off until we have more of a definite plan. It’s going to be A LOT of work and we’ll be living in a mess for several months… but I know it will be worth it in the end!

Oh, and make sure you check out the rest of my kitchen inspiration on Pinterest!

What would your dream kitchen look like?

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One thing I’ve always said is that I won’t let my kids have too many toys — LOL!

Obviously, I know in the back of my head that I really won’t have total control over how many toys my children end up with — especially if other people buy them the toys

However, I’ve always had a weakness for wooden toys — and specifically wooden blocks. Nora already has 2 full sets of wooden blocks… but that didn’t stop my from oooing and aaahing over these absolutely gorgeous blocks from the Sincerely Abi Etsy Shop.

I suppose I like wooden toys because they fit my “farmhouse style”, they are timeless, they are more quality than plastic, and they usually don’t have a gazillion little pieces that will get lost or broken.

And these handmade wooden blocks are just the cream of the crop in my opinion… they are all so unique.

Abi hand-makes them, each with different colorful paper and a gorgeous distressed finish. They look like they could have been my grandma’s blocks!

I can’t wait for Nora to get a little older so she can start playing with all her blocks.

Aren’t they just adorable!

If you share my love of wooden toys, then make sure you enter today’s giveaway… and you’ll also want to check out Abi’s blog for lots more craft inspiration!

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The Giveaway:

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Today, THREE lucky Simple Organized Living readers will win a set of custom made wooden blocks from the Sincerely Abi Etsy shop.

How to Enter:

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1. Leave a comment. What is your favorite children’s toy?

2. Like Simple Organized Living and/or Sincerely Abi on Facebook, and then leave a separate comment letting me know you did {or that you do already}.

If you are reading this in your email or feed reader, please visit the actual blog post to enter. Email entries, Facebook comments, and Twitter messages will NOT be counted.

Prize:

(3) set of wooden blocks as described above.

This giveaway ends at 10:00 pm on Monday, 2/27/2012 and is open to all U.S. residents 18 years or older. I will use And the Winner Is to select the winning comments at random. Winners will be notified by email and noted at the top of this post. Winners must respond within 48 hours of notification to claim their prize or I will choose a new winner. Please see my full disclosure policy and contact me with any questions you have. Good luck!

Our baby is already 3 months old… as of yesterday!

Some days, it seems like these past weeks just flew by, other days… it feels like I’ve been doing this for years! Although she is the cutest baby ever {small bias here} these last few months haven’t been all roses and butterflies.

Motherhood is hard work! 

But things are getting better… she is smiling all the time and her personality is really starting to shine through!

She is starting to sit up {in her Bumbo seat}, learning to play with a few small toys, trying to roll over, scooting around on her stomach {think army crawl}, “talking” like crazy, and ALWAYS moving!

And once we get her to stop crying at night, she is super cuddly and just snuggles right into the crease of your arm.

She still refuses to be on any type of schedule or to take naps… but she IS sleeping better at night. Hallelujah!

And since she’s sleeping more at night {which I’m not complaining about!} she is eating a lot more often during the day. Her frequent eating along with her lack of schedule makes it almost impossible to go anywhere… so we sit home… a lot!

But I’m OK with that.

{it’s almost scary how blue her eyes look in this picture!}

Thankfully the weather here in West Michigan has been wonderful and we’ve hardly had any snow {of course, the year we decide to pay for plowing service!} so Nora and I have gone for many afternoon walks in the  sunny weather. She loves walks — and will often fall asleep in the stroller!

I can tell that things have already gotten a bit easier this past month — maybe it’s because she’s more independent and doesn’t require constant attention, maybe it’s because she is sleeping better at night, or maybe it’s just because I’m finally getting used to Nora and all her crazy ways.

Whatever the reason, I’m happy! 

Here are a few more pictures from this past month.

{with my grandpa at her baptism}

{tummy time on her bobby pillow}

{trying to suck her thumb…}

I’m guessing things will start to get much busier around our house once she starts crawling and moving around more… but I also think she’ll be much happier when she becomes more mobile. And if she’s happier… Dave and I will be happier too

I’ve been told the best is yet to come!

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Each month, I write a few posts for other blogs… and for the month of February, my guest posts were all about productivity {one of my favorite subjects!}

I talk a lot about productivity, time management, schedules, to-do lists, etc. etc. but there is ALWAYS so much more to say! So if you’re looking for a few more tips and ideas to help increase your productivity at home and at work, the links below are filled with helpful tips and suggestions!

1. Working With A Block Schedule

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I’ve talked about how I’m using a block schedule to help me be more productive and get more done with a newborn at home. However, the concept of a block schedule can easily apply to anyone who struggles to get things done on time.

In my opinion, block schedules increase productivity because you have a specific time deadline. And that sense of urgency is a great source of motivation!! 

If you’ve never tried a block schedule, you might just want to read more about it!

2. Dealing with a Lack of Productivity and Burnout

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The winter months can often cause a lack of productivity due to burnout. The days are shorter, the weather is nastier {at least here in West Michigan}, the holidays are over, and spring is still too far away. Add in the day-to-day stress of your job, family, and other commitments… and burnout is the result.

If you feel like you are struggling with the lack of productivity do to burnout, here are a few ways you might be able to regroup.

3. Five Simple Ways to be MORE Productive

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Productivity is a pretty hot topic in today’s busy world… everyone {including myself} wants to do more in less time and be MORE productive. This can seem like an overwhelming and somewhat impossible task, especially if your schedule is already filled to the max.

However, here are a few simple ways you can you can be MORE productive… starting today!

Productivity is one of those topics I could go on and on about; especially now, since I’m desperately trying to figure out my “new routine” with a baby at home.

And since I don’t always have to be the one giving advice, I’d love to know…

What are your best productivity tips?

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Now days, it seems like there is a new “green”, “natural”, “organic”, and/or “eco-friendly” alternative for every product on the market — and the main difference I see between these “green” products and the other “regular” products is the price!

“Green” products ALWAYS seem to be more expensive! 

And while I definitely AM in favor of protecting our environment, reducing the amount of chemicals we put in and on our bodies, and lowing our energy consumption… I have to wonder if this is just a marketing tactic for some companies.

Honestly, is it REALLY necessary to pay more for “organic parchment paper” when regular parchment paper is already eco-friendly? And is it REALLY necessary to pay more for “natural” body lotion when I don’t even know what “natural” means?

I think the one that makes me laugh the most is General Mills cereal — they now have more “whole grains” and are marketing Lucky Charms as “healthier”.  I have absolutely nothing against cereal or against General Mills, but if people are really willing to believe that Lucky Charms could possibly be a “healthy” breakfast… they are just buying right into these marketing tactics!

I’m sure you’ve all seen, heard, and read stories about companies using these “green” words to lure buyers into paying more for their products — and I have to believe the stories are true.

You would not believe all the junk mail and spam emails I’ve gotten since Nora was born — all trying to make me feel like a horrible mother if I don’t use only “green” baby products {for 2 to 3 times the prices}!

I do know there are certain fruits and vegetables that are important to buy “organic” {see this handy printable chart} but other than that, I honestly don’t have enough information to know when it’s just a marketing ploy or when it’s “for real”.

What are your thoughts on paying more for “green”?

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photo credit

We love eating just about any variety of soup or stew — especially on cold winter evenings. And I love making soup because we always end up with lots of leftovers for later in the week or for the freezer… so yeah, we eat a lot of soup!

I “discovered” this recipe two years ago when I was making soup to take to school for Dave’s birthday lunch. I wanted something that was a little different than all the “traditional” soups, but still really hearty and delicious. Thankfully, this recipe was a huge hit and my pot was practically licked clean!

This soup is now a regular meal in our fall and winter meal plans. It stores well in the fridge for leftovers, it freezes wonderfully, it’s a complete meal all by itself, and of course, everyone loves it!

I love the idea of using stuffed pasta in a soup as I feel it makes the recipe more filling, and the sausage is a nice change from chicken or beef.

Recipe for Hearty Sausage and Cheese Tortellini Soup:

{print this recipe}

Ingredients

• 1 lb. ground sausage
• 1 medium onion; diced {I used 2 small ones}
• 3 garlic cloves {or 1 t. garlic powder}
• 4 – 5 c. broth or water {I used 2 c. beef broth and 2 c. veggie broth}
• 1 15 oz. can tomato sauce
• 4 carrots; peeled and chopped
• 1 green pepper; chopped
• 1 15 oz. can sliced mushrooms with liquid
• 1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes {I just used 1 quart of my home-canned tomatoes}
• 2 t. white sugar
• 1 T. parsley
• 1 T. basil
• 1 T. oregano
• 1 19 oz. package frozen tortellini {I used cheese, but beef would be good too}
• Parmesan cheese

As the name of my website suggests, I’m all about keeping things as SIMPLE as possible — especially when it comes to getting organized.

Getting {and staying} organized might not be “easy” but it IS relatively “simple”. However if you are still feeling overwhelmed and don’t know where to start, head on over to MoneySavingMom.com to read my SIMPLE tips to get more organized!

What is your biggest organizational challenge?

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One of my favorite things about using WordPress as my blogging platform is the ability to quickly and easily customize my site with the thousands of free plugins available.

In a matter of seconds I can search for a specific plugin, read about it, check the ratings, install it, activate it, etc. Then if I decide I don’t need it, want it, or like it anymore — it takes another 2 seconds to delete the plugin.

I do know some bloggers who have 40-60 different plugins installed… and while there are a lot of good plugins available these days, I would caution against that, simply because it will slow down your blog.

I usually have around 15 plugins activated at any given time, and I love them all… here’s why!

TIME SAVERS:

And The Winner Is — Since I run a Weekend Giveaway every Friday, I use this plugin to automatically pick the winner(s) every Monday. It saves me tons of time and assures that all the giveaways are done fairly

Article Templates — this plugin allows me to create templates for different blog posts. For example, I have a recipe template, a giveaway template, etc. So every time I post a recipe or giveaway, I just insert that template and fill in the new information. Yes, this saves lots of time!

Broken Link Checker — When I first installed this plugin, it found over 80 broken links — YIKES! I took an afternoon to fix them all… and now, any time I have a broken link, it alerts me on my WordPress dashboard and I can fix it ASAP.

This plugin saves me tons of time because I don’t have to constantly monitor and check all my links. It also give me peace of mind knowing that my links won’t bring readers to a dead-end page.

Lijit Search — This plugin creates the little search box at the top of my right side bar. I know this benefits readers who are trying to search for specific content on my site — but it also saves me a ton of time because I use it when I’m searching for a specific post, or need to remember what I wrote about something!

COMMENTS:

Akimet — This plugin protects my blog from lots of SPAM comments. It usually catches a few hundred SPAM comments each week — which means I don’t have to monitor my comments as closely.

Comment Reply Notification — I absolutely love this plugin — and I think many of my readers do to! Basically, this plugin allows me to respond to someone’s comment and makes my response visible to anyone who reads the blog… but it ALSO sends that person an email with my response.

So if someone asks me a question about a recipe or a DIY project, I can answer it “publicly” on the blog, but the person who asked the question will get an email with my reply. So convenient!

Facebook Comments for WordPress — This plugin actually connects my blog comments with reader’s Facebook walls. So any time someone leaves a comment via the Facebook comment box, it puts a link to my blog post directly on their Facebook wall — which then show up to their “friends” who can then click on over to my blog! Yay for more traffic!

I actually don’t have this plugin activated on my blog right now, simply because I was running into issues with my Weekend Giveaways. Too many people were leaving Facebook comments instead of WordPress comments, and then they wouldn’t be entered in the giveaway. But it’s still one of my favorite plugins!

Subscribe to Comments — This plugin is pretty self-explanatory… it simply allows readers to subscribe to the comments of any post on my blog. If they choose to “subscribe” they will then be notified of any additional comments on that same post.

So if it’s a topic you’re interested in learning more about, subscribe to the comment section and you’ll get a bunch more information from other readers!

WordPress Thread Comments — Since comments are the best way to communicate with others on my blog, I activated this plugin to allow readers to reply and respond to other comments on my blog. So instead of just leaving a comment way at the bottom of the comment list, you can respond to specific comment right below, just by clicking “reply”.

Also, if that person happened to subscribe to the comments, your “reply” will be emailed to them — which is really helpful when people leave questions and then other readers respond to their questions. It saves me a bunch of time and I love reading your advice!!

PROMOTION:

AdRotate — This plugin allows me to create ad blocks in my sidebar and fill them with different advertising campaigns. It also allows me to easily track statistics {like impressions and click-throughs} for the different advertisers. LOVE this one!

LinkWithin — This plugin puts thumbnail links to relative/related posts at the bottom of every single post I write. It helps to bring readers to other posts I’ve written in previous months, it increases my pageviews, and it increases the amount of time readers spend on my site — all of which are very good things! It also helps to provide readers with additional information about topics they are interested in.

Really Simple Share Buttons — I actually just installed this plugin last week… and am already a huge fan. I’ve been looking for a social media share button that includes Pinterest… and this is the one I liked the best. It’s really simple to set up and offers a good number of customizable options… so far, I’m loving it!

WordPress Popular Post — As the name suggests, this plugin automatically generates a list of the most popular posts on my blog {the ones with the most views}. It displays this list in my right sidebar… making those posts easily available to anyone who visits my site. It’s also nice for me to be able to see what posts my readers are reading and sharing.

So these are a handful of my most favorite WordPress plugins. There are hundreds of fabulous plugins out there… and I’m always searching for new ones, better one, etc.

What are your favorite plugins?

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Yes, I know, it’s only the middle of February — however, if you are serious about having a successful garage sale this spring, you should start planning now!

I’ve been to hundreds of garage sales, yard sales, estate sales, second hand sales, new-to-you sales, mom-to-mom sales, etc. etc. and in my opinion, there are a few things you can do NOW to make sure your sale is a success… and it really won’t take that much time or effort!

1. Gather Boxes:

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You will most likely need lots and lots of boxes and bins to corral all the items you plan to sell {see #2 below}. There is no point in paying for boxes and bins you hopefully won’t need after your sale is over, so why not try to find them for free.

If you or your spouse work outside the home, try asking for extra paper boxes or other smaller boxes with handles. Also, you could try asking local restaurants or stores to save boxes specifically for you.

Put those boxes in a designated spot in your home or garage and then move on to #2 below!

2. Find Stuff to Sell:

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Obviously, you can’t have a great garage sale unless you have LOTS of stuff to sell. I absolutely hate pulling up to a garage sale only to see they have one small table of stuff to look at — it’s just not worth the buyer’s time to stop.

This is also an EXCELLENT opportunity to purge and organize every room in your house!!

Schedule a day or an afternoon to go through each room in your house {maybe one room every other week until the garage sale} and pull out anything you don’t need, use, want or love. Put those items in your designated “garage sale” boxes.

If you don’t think you’ll have enough stuff, start talking with a few of your friends, relatives, coworkers, neighbors, etc. and see if you can plan a combined sale. In my experience, the more stuff you have to sell, the more traffic you’ll get.

3. Decide on a Location and Approximate Date:

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Obviously, you don’t need to have every last detail nailed down at this point, but you should start thinking about an approximate date and location. If you are planning to do a combined sale, you’ll want to decide who’s house has the best location and then pick a weekend that will work for everyone involved.

Also, if you are planning to be part of any church, school, or community sales, you’ll probably want to get that information soon. I know some sales around here require participates to register several weeks and even months in advance!

4. Start Pricing Your Items:

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Again, it’s not essential to have every item priced and ready to go, but as you go through your house and start purging items for the sale, it might be smart {and very time-saving} to start pricing your items now!

Please, please, PLEASE remember that your stuff is used. You don’t want it anymore… and while I’m sure there are people out there who DO want it, you can not expect to get top dollar for your stuff!

In my opinion, the only thing worse than showing up to a garage sale that doesn’t have a lot to sell is showing up for a garage sale with ridiculously high prices. People are looking to get a great deal, so make sure your prices feel like a bargain.

5. Use Craigslist:

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If you have some big-ticket items, I would suggest trying to sell them on Craigslist before your garage sale because you can usually get a higher price that way.

If you don’t want to sell anything on Craigslist, then at least take the time to advertise your sale on Craigslist! It’s free and you’ll get tons of exposure! Another good idea is to look for other sales in your area and then plan your sales for the same weekend to ensure even more traffic.

By taking a little bit of time to plan ahead now, you’ll hopefully have a much more successful garage sale later this spring.

What are your tips for a successful garage sale?

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top image source

Congrats to Tammy (TSells@…)

I will email you shortly!

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I’m a big fan of gift cards – especially American Express gift cards that spend like cash!

And thanks to my partnership with Apartment Guide, they have generously offered to giveaway a $100 American Express gift card to one luck Simple Organized Living reader!!

Yay!

How to Enter:

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1. Leave a comment. What would you do with your gift card?

2. Follow @LivingOrganized and/or @AptGuide on Twitter, and then leave a separate comment letting me know you did {or that you do already}.

If you are reading this in your email or feed reader, please visit the actual blog post to enter. Email entries, Facebook comments, and Twitter messages will NOT be counted.

Prize:

(1) American Express gift card as described above.

This giveaway ends at 10:00 pm on Monday, 2/21/2012 and is open to all U.S. residents 18 years or older. I will use And the Winner Is to select the winning comments at random. Winners will be notified by email and noted at the top of this post. Winners must respond within 48 hours of notification to claim their prize or I will choose a new winner. Please see my full disclosure policy and contact me with any questions you have. Good luck!

Apartment Guide and owner Consumer Source, Inc. have partnered with bloggers like me as Official Apartment Guide Bloggers. As part of this program, I have received compensation. They have not told me what to purchase or what to say about the products used, and believe that consumers and bloggers are free to form their own opinions and share them in their own words. Consumer Source’s policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC guidelines and social media engagement recommendations.