New Living Room Curtains

The curtains that were here when we moved in were very dated. They were also exactly the same throughout the house.



This isn't the living room window, but it was the same basic window treatment, just spanning a double window.

We are also working around someone else's furniture, which (in this case) is a couch from the 80's. Again, it wouldn't be my personal pick, but I'm working with it because it's cheaper than buying another couch and figuring out what to do with this one while we live here.

I said all that to say that I'm working on making do with the more expensive pieces that were here, while changing out less-expensive items (like curtains).

This is the couch I'm working with:



And this is a close-up of the print:



It's not stylish by any means, but it's comfortable and not falling apart. It's even a sleeper sofa, which will be nice if we have overnight guests (since we no longer have a dedicated guest room).

Honestly, brown is about as far from my favorite color as you can possibly get. So I'm playing up the other colors in the couch, hoping to balance that sea of dark brown with some blue.

Imagine my excitement to find these curtains at the thrift store for just $5!



They are the perfect color, and I adore this style (which may "date" me slightly). It brings welcome color relief to my living room, and I'm very grateful!

I have a few more things to do in the living room, but I'll try to remember to share pictures when I'm done.

I hope this helps someone else who is working with furniture that is less than your personal ideal. I'm a firm believer in being as happy as possible with one's current circumstances.

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New-to-Us Curtains

So we've decided we'll be staying here for awhile, and I'm finally able to feel like I can really "move in" and make the space my own.

When we moved in last December, the original curtains that came with the (double-wide) trailer in 1990 were on the windows.



They were very nice in 1990. In 2016, though, they aren't exactly "my thing". So I've set about changing them as I find curtains/window treatments that I like at thrift stores. I may even make a few, if I can't find anything for one of the tougher rooms.

The lone dining room window was the first to be changed, and it made all the difference in the look and feel of the room.



This entire window arrangement was less than $10 at the thrift store, by combining several different packages. The tiebacks were still "new with tags" with an original price of $16.99 each, so I was very happy with our deal!

Browns are not my usual decorating color, but the right shade can be elegant and even relaxing. This is like a dark beige, and I really like it. Besides, there is a beautiful antique pump organ in the room to decorate around (what I'm choosing as the room's focal point), and this looks fabulous with it! Bonus: It matches the walls well, so we don't even need to paint.

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Our New Homeschool Space

Since we moved into this house mid-year last schoolyear, we've been working off the dining room table. It was mainly because I had to worry more about actually getting the work done, rather than thinking (or caring) much about *where* it got done.

While I had the entire summer to think and plan about how to organize things this year, I didn't come up with our new arrangement until the night before we officially started school.



I realized that the only thing this neat table/island thing was doing in my kitchen was collecting a random assortment of things that had no designated space yet.

That certainly wasn't an efficient use of a space that could perfectly fit two workspaces! So I cleared off the miscellaneous things and replaced them with school things that you would keep on your school desk.

Well, I was still planning to hike in our books from the living room until I looked at the overhang at the end of the table space. I measure the height and then checked several microwave-type carts that we have on hand. Sure enough, one was low enough to fit!

So now we have our entire homeschool setup right in our kitchen. I can easily fix a meal while working with them, so it's very convenient.

While I've had much bigger rooms and setups in previous years, I think this scaled-back, cozy setup is my favorite so far.

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Altering Shirts for a Slimmer Fit

My son is tall and thin - much taller and thinner than most guys his age. And since we shop mostly at thrift stores, a lot of times we find an otherwise-perfect shirt that's a bulkier fit.

Up to this point, it has been a source of frustration for my son. He wants a perfectly-fitted shirt, not one that could fit two of him inside. I totally understand, since I have some of the same problems.

I got the idea to take in the shirts at the sides. We experimented with some shirts that were getting a little short in the sleeves (hence the rolled sleeves).

This one started out like this:



It was so big that I have to admit it looked a bit sloppy. When it was tucked, it made him look like he was wearing his dad's shirt (which is a few sizes bigger).

After taking it in almost 3" on each side, it turned out like this:



Perfect! He even likes it tucked now, so that's a grand success in my book.

I just took it in at the existing side seams, tapering off about halfway down the arm.

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Changes to My Bullet Journal

I know I said that I preferred to do my bullet journal loose-leaf, but I decided to try a composition notebook just to see how it would go for me.

It has been a week or two, and I actually like it. For one thing, the pages are bigger, so I can record more details. I modified it just a bit by putting all my list/collection pages in the back (starting at the last page and working forward) and all of my dated pages in the front. When they meet, it's time for a new notebook.

I found this graph-lined composition notebook at Wal-Mart for $1.



To get the most mileage out of my index pages, I divided them in half and listed the lists/collections separate from the dated pages. I left 3 full pages for the index, since there are 200 pages in this book.



My current monthly layout looks like this:



I was away for the first few days of the month, so my habit tracker isn't quite up to date.

This is one of the weekly layouts that I tried and liked:



And I experimented with several daily layouts. This is one that I liked:



(The stickies are from Dollar Tree.)

I've found myself journaling more about my days and thoughts now, so that's a good thing.

There are a few special pages sprinkled in my dated pages. One of these is a weekly "brain dump". My mind goes a hundred miles an hour sometimes, and this is very helpful to get everything out on paper so I can prioritize.



And here is one of my collection pages from the back of my notebook:



I add to this list as I run across quotes that I like. I'll end up using some in my bullet journal, but probably not all of them.

I've been enjoying adding a little color to my journal with pens and washi tape, but I'm no artist. As such, my journal will probably never be a work of art. That's fine, though, since that's not why I'm keeping one.

I hope you enjoy these peeks into my bullet journal, and I hope they inspire you to create your own customized planner that's perfect for you. It makes me feel so much less stressed, knowing that I have everything written down, and I love that I can customize it to my own unique needs.

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