• Sewing Build-A-Bear accessories for my Peanut’s stuffed animals. Those clothes get expensive and I found the perfect DIY projects online.
• Fixing a workout bra that I somehow melted in the dryer. Didn’t even know that the fabric store carried bra hooks until I went looking for fabric for the above project. All I had to do was cut down the strap to the right size, burn the raw edges down with a lighter and sew the new piece on. So glad to have saved that one, since it fit really well. I’m mighty proud of my re-purposing skills on this one.
• Re-seaming a thrift store T-shirt I found in college that I still like and has been sitting with pins in it for like 7 years. Ha!
• Thrifting some necessary household items like 16″ x 20″ frames and some supplies for a jewelry storage makeover I plan on doing.
• Spray-painting that thrifted shelving unit for my jewelry. I believe the wooden shelf I bought was once a spoon holder for collectors. Oh, you just wait and see what I did to it. I even went to the hardware store all by myself to DIY this one.
• Hanging a collage wall in my dining room. I see these art displays in all my favorite home tours and decided to tackle one all by myself. It turned out sooo cute. I found this adorable $.50 vintage 3D picture that totally makes the wall. I’ll be sharing pictures soon.
• Trying to keep my house from turning into a bachelor pad/frat house. Roomie just bought a beer brewing kid and a Soda Stream to add to my already cluttered counter space. Thinking of reworking the space a bit. This stuff doesn’t blend well with my vintage-chic aesthetic, as you might imagine.
• Putting together bags of stuff to take to the thrift store. It feels good to get rid of more than we’re bringing in sometimes, especially when things start accumulating beyond my comfort level.
• Registering for an EIN number with the IRS. I am now a registered business owner!
• Eating soup alone at home while Hubster, Peanut and my Daddy-O go hunting. I’m really relishing this time alone.
• Cleaning (finally!) one of the dreaded spots in my home. We have some high windows that accumulate spiders and webs and dust and ick. Whenever I clean it, I feel like the whole house is somehow much cleaner.
• Making my bed with the brand-new quilt that I sewed. Can’t wait to share pictures of it on here soon. Just looking at it makes me happy.
• Starting a new e-book project that I hope to launch on here in a few months. It’s in the baby stages right now, so I don’t want to share too much.
• Buying tickets to the Sports and Fitness Expo being held in my town this weekend. Can’t wait!
• Trying so hard to figure out how to connect my camcorder to my computer. I have a new cord on its way after a Radio Shack one didn’t work. I really want to add some workout videos for y’all. I may have to bite the bullet and buy a new, more laptop-compatible camcorder.
• Dreaming up another trip “up-north” in October or November. I want to make this a regular tradition if we can swing it and Hubster can successfully get off of work. We stayed in Crivitz last year.
• Writing up a job posting for the open pastoral position at my church. Since one of the committee members knew I was a writer, he thought I’d be the perfect person for the job. I like to help where I can.
• Adjusting to having a child in all-day Kindergarten. Paying for hot lunches, meeting teachers, already dealing with bullying, packing snacks, collecting Box Tops, etc etc etc. I already get up at 5:30 to work out, run, and get ready, but we’ve somehow been running late anyway. This school thing is like a whole new world for me. However, I just love looking through the Scholastic Books order forms with him. I get all giddy like I did in school when those pamphlets come out. My wallet is never more open than it is for a Peanut who gets excited about reading and learning.

I think Chalene’s book was just the kick in the back end I needed to make myself even more productive than a Type-A person like me already is. I can’t believe all the things I’ve checked off my to-do list already. I use Wunderlist on my phone and it’s a true lifesaver and life improver, plus just seeing all the check marks I’ve accumulated already makes me happy. I have my to-dos broken down into “Today,” “This Week,” and “Soon.” Every day I try to do one thing to tackle one aspect of my priority list. For example, my home environment is one of my priorities. Therefore, many of the above listed items are helping make my environment more desirable from cleaning to small space makeovers. Another goal is setting up more of a solid personal training side business, so I am planning on networking at the Sports and Fitness Expo I signed up for and I finally signed up for an official EIN number (so simple to do, it’s pathetic). I’m taking steps each day to make this dream more of a reality. It’s really quite simple once you break it down into steps.

There’s something about fall that makes me feel like nesting. The little bit of chill in the air outside makes me want the inside to be the most cozy place my family could ever enjoy. Listening to the sound of Feist and blowing trees while tackling all these projects is just making my heart swell. I’ve decided that fall is officially my favorite season.

What have you been up to?