Mothership Confessional

I did this project several months ago, but it was such a clever solution for our backyard flooding problem that I thought I'd share it! I had a photo of our flooding issue during a storm, but after switching phone providers shortly after moving here, I lost my photos on my phone. So I will just describe it the best I can. Imagine this whole area in this photo under an inch or two of water: Yes, that about sums it up. It is apparent there is a problem (a hole, a clog) with our gutters because virtually NO water comes down the downspout when it rains. The rain simply pours over the sides of the gutter. The level of the yard is lower in this area and the sidewalk sorta traps all the water right here, plus there is a step up to the patio on the right. I was hoping to have a cute flower bed here, but after the observing the first few rainstorms roll through, I realized it would be a waste of time to attempt to grow anything. The grass thrives, however; we have the mos...

On this day, one year ago, Chris and I awoke on a bed sheet on the floor of our dining room in Lenexa, Kansas. All of our belongings were packed in the moving truck parked out in front, save for perishables, cleaning supplies, and our bags of items we needed for the day. It was moving day! It so wild  to think that we've already been here for a year. I still catch myself telling customers that I "just" moved here, when in reality, that's not really true anymore!  I've learned a lot since moving to Ft. Campbell. This whole living on the state border makes EVERYTHING confusing.  Address is Ft. Campbell, KY.  But we physically live in Tennessee.  Cable bill says we live in Clarksville, TN.  Order from a few random websites that try to tell me I live in Ft. Campbell, Tennessee . And now my car is tagged in Montgomery County, Tennessee. But Ft. Campbell is in Christian County, Kentucky. I don't know. I become extre...

I have seen some cool ideas on Pinterest for ways to store fresh fruits and veggies using fun buckets or storage bins that are anchored to the wall. I think that would be a fun way to store food in a kitchen where counter space is limited. Just like my kitchen. I was in Ross the other day - a store very similar to TJMaxx - when I had a light bulb moment when I laid my eyes on this: A simple hanging shower caddy. I immediately thought of all those pins of wall produce storage ideas, so I snatched the shower caddy for a mere $6.99! And this is what I made! So here is what you'll need: My kitchen is also short on wall space, so I was assuming I'd either have to hang it someplace weird, or hang it on the end of my cabinets. So I picked up a few of these command hooks: One pretty one for the top, and two smaller ones for extra support at the bottom, and also to keep it from swinging. Be sure to pay attention to how many pounds the hooks ...

After our 4th of July stay in Nashville, we decided we should go downtown for dinner date nights once a month to try a new restaurant. We went ahead and picked an evening, last Friday to be exact, and Chris said it was my choice! But it was a very long week for the both of us, and by the time Friday rolled around, this was our verbal exchange, more or less: "So, are we still going to drive all the way downtown for dinner?" "I dunno. Do you want to?" "I'm a little tired to drive that far." We still wanted a date night, but we were both so tired from our week and had hardly spent any time together, we didn't really want to waste it driving 2 hours round trip. So we decided to stay local and dine in Clarksville, so technically this doesn't count as a "Downtown Dinner Date". But we still stuck to the rules and picked a restaurant neither of us had been to before: Cheddar's! There is one back home ...

Yes, this post is really going to be about vacuums .  We got our first vacuum as a wedding gift off our registry. It was just over $100, and I was surprised we got it because I thought it cost so much! I was very excited.  For a vacuum of my own. Something about having things for your own place is very exciting to a female, even if it is a vacuum. Or a blender. I think that long-standing "insult" of gifting your wife a domestic tool is not that terrible. If it's an awesome blender, and it will make my life easier, I'll probably love it! Go ahead, get me that new washer-dryer duo. I won't complain! Anywho, the vacuum was great! Until it wasn't.  Not the highest quality, and it failed to suck well.  Having multiple cats, dirty Army boots, and now a new puppy made suction very important. My vacuum was starting to run weird. And was abnormally LOUD. I was trying to decide whether or not to invest in repairing the thing, or to just bu...