What Ana Does

We didn't have the summer garage sale we had talked about this winter, but the fact remained: we need to move a bunch of stuff out of our house. Pronto! So, a donation van is heading over this week. We don't get the cash, but will get a nice tax deduction for the work. And free up more space. Usually I feel a little lighter after a purge. But, honestly, all I'm feeling is half-done. Like this is just the tip of the iceberg ... and I didn't commit the time to really dig deep into the darkest corners of the house to dump more stuff. Related posts: More about my quest to clean

July means that when puttering around the house I can thoughtlessly step outside, almost without realizing it.  No clenching for the blast of cold air. No reaching for a scarf or an excuse not to exit the house. July means no socks. And I don't like socks. July means the sun sets later in the day, so evening reading, after household chores, can happen in the falling daylight. July means haphazardly pulling tomatoes or strawberries out of the garden. And eating them right away. July means more fruit than I can eat in one sitting. Especially plums and nectarines. July is optimism. Smiles

Could another trip to the City of Light be in our future? Pictures From Our 2010 European Trip And if so, what will we explore and discover this time?

After seeing the bouquets at my CSA farm stand last year, I jumped at signing up for the CSA Flower Share this summer. Every other weekend I pick up an amazing arrangement of flowers grown on the farm, just up the street from me. See? Living in an outer-ring suburb near the prairie does have some advantages! Filled With 'Snow on the Mountain' Lisianthus, Statice and Feverfew Lisianthus - Looks Like a Simpler Rose The Flowers From Above

My girls are getting bigger, so it got me thinking that maybe my purse can get smaller. Big Purse, Little Purse In days of old (or as of three years ago), I carried around a variety of things to keep little girls entertained or fed, depending on where we were heading. Items included: Snacks, most importantly, but often small crayons and notebooks/paper, windup toys/cars, tissues, hand sanitizer, little board book, cards. The stuff changed often depending on what was popular or needed. (I am still in the habit of never leaving the house on trips with the girls without a snack or two tucked in my bag. That hasn't changed.) Then there are my essentials: lip balm, mints, wallet and phone. And, without fail, I'll be handed my husband's car keys and, likely, his glasses. You can see how a "Mom Purses" comes into being, right? Lots of stuff to haul around. Well, other than a few snacks, I'm not carrying anything for the girls anymore. Occasionally, th...

I just wanted to show off how awesomely strong my will power is -- insomuch as installing hooks in my house. As you know, I have a deep love of hooks. They are the most practical things ever and they are in so many rooms of my house doing all the dirty work. You can see them here in the entryway . So, there's this wall in my house that's really close to the garage door. We walk past every day and it's where all our bags are usually dropped. It's really the only empty wall in the house and I like it that way because you see it from a few different rooms. But, I reeeeeally want to hang a row of hooks here. It would get these darn bags off the floor and make it all look so organized! I'm resisting. Maybe I can get my family to put there backpacks someplace else? If I put hooks there, I'm really just enabling them, right? Sigh ... maybe I should just give in to temptation?

It's just not summer without ice cream... Ice Cream Girls