HEAR

Music can do wonders. When my kids are fighting in the car, I crank up the music. They can’t fight if they can’t hear themselves. If I am feeling unmotivated to get things done around the house I put on some good tunes. It can set the mood for a dinner party. Music can get the wiggles out of a squirmy kid. It can bring us to a place of worship.

Silence can also do wonders. The first year my youngest went to Kindergarten I learned to intentionally not run the laundry or dishwasher. I needed complete silence. My introverted brain needed zero stimulation. Especially when there is so much digital noise we bombard ourselves with. It allowed me time to actually gather my thoughts and prepare for the day or to decompress. Maybe your kids are home all day and no noise is not optional. Create space for it. Maybe it’s during bathtime, allow the only noise (audible and digital) to be the sound of your kids in the bath. Maybe not turning on the radio or audio book in the car while running errands is how you’ll get a little bit of silence. We are allowed to put our phones down, turn off the tv and not turn on the radio. So much of it is autpilot for us to have something on and going at all times. Try to be intentional about where you can cut the noise.

One of these days I want my husband to do a guest post about dinner music. He is the best at putting together a playlist for any event. I’m not biased on this, people have paid him to “DJ” their wedding or to put together a playlist for dinner parties. He knows the right balance of music, tone, lyrics, style and volume.

Music is key to have on in the background when inviting new people into your home. Nothing is more awkward than when there is a lull in the conversation and all you can hear are the crickets of uncomfortability. The music playing can be a great conversation starter for those lulls. You can talk about the best concerts you’ve been to, who is your favorite artist, what kind of music did your parents listen to, etc…

A list of questions is always good to have on hand, either physically or mentally. Magnolia Home sells table conversations or you can find some here from this post. We learned the hard way from a very akward and quiet dinner with a new-to-town couple.

If it’s a casual get together with friends, especially with kids, does it get loud? Music probably isn’t on in the background. Where do you want the kids to congregate? Our home can get loud fast as the kids can run in a complete circle downstairs. Doors seem to always get slammed while someone is banging away on the piano. While I never want kids to feel uncomfortable in our home, there is a time and place for loud noise. With our friends we kick all of the kids outside if it’s nice enough. They usually will bring bikes and scooters now, knowing they’ll be outside. Or if they’re old enough, they can “swim” in the hot tub.  We will sometimes rotate eating if we want to have quiet adult conversation. The kids will be dished up and eat first at the table, then they are dismissed to either play or watch a movie together while the adults sit down to eat.

Don’t let the fear of akward conversations or loud children keep you from loving and opening your home to others. Whether its music, kids playing, adults talking or silence, being intentional about what you hear in your home can bring a joy to your home that may be unexpected.

You can read about loving your home through the others senses: SIGHT , TASTE  AND  SMELL.

SEE

When you walk into my parents house the first thing you see is a table. If it’s your birthday, the table will be filled with pictures of you, maybe a framed quote about your characteristics, most likely a Happy Birthday Beanie Baby, candles, and festive birthday decor. If you are the guest of honor, whether it’s your birthday or a baby shower or graduation or a goodbye party, you will no doubt feel loved, welcomed and celebrated the second you walk in the door.

It doesn’t have to be an entry table. When people are in your home looking around what do you want them to see? Maybe you’ve have framed quotes in every room. Or pictures of family and friends. Maybe minimalism is your thing and simplicity is how you want to be known. Are there piles of paper on every surface, dishes piled high and laundry spilling out; You’re keeping it real because “ain’t nobody got time for that.”

One of my favorite things to see in people’s home is a big piles of shoes by the door. What a picture of community and gathering. I am inspired by homes who seem to have it all together. Where do they put their junk? Wait, they don’t have junk. I need to throw some things away. I love seeing a bit of reality too, with no apologies. People with standards, but know that life isn’t perfect, and they’re ok with some dust on their shelves and some crumbs on the floor. I feel more at home and at ease with that.

Maybe table settings is where you thrive. You love to make your table look beautiful with table runners, cloth napkins, lots of dishes and cutlery, all accompanied with a gorgeous centerpiece. You thrive by making your table look beautiful, that is where your creativity shines. You show love by setting the table because you want people to feel like they have a place, that their presence was anticipated. We have two dining tables in our home. Sometimes I keep one set, with a full tablescape, for two reasons. 1. Some days it seems like its the only clean place in the house. When my house feels cluttered, I’ll set the table. Then no one can do homework or art projects and add to the chaos. 2. I feel ready for last minute guests. 

Is there something in your home that you see that does not bring you joy? If you can think of that thing now, get up and remove it. Go put it in your car to give to Goodwill or to someone else who will appreciate it. Or maybe it’s a pile of papers that you just don’t want to go through, but every time you see that pile you automatically feel overwhelmed. Set aside twenty minutes in your day tomorrow to go through the pile. When we get rid of or take care of things that bring us down it will instantly lift our spirits and bring in a refreshing feeling about our homes. Get your kids involved to help. If you have the means, hire someone. Maybe a landscaper or a house cleaner. It does not make you any less of a person to hire someone to help. It provides a job for someone. That is awesome.

One of my favorite things to do is either move furniture or shop my home. When the house feels stale and uninviting and I don’t want to spend money, I use what I have. You’d be surprised at how much switching lamps or stacking books or moving chairs can make your home feel like new.

I want to suggest buying new pillows or a cute throw or maybe a new lamp to lift your spirits. And while there is something to that, it is only temporary. We will soon get sick of the new pillows and the cycle will continue. As I write this I am reminded that our joy is not found in things. It is not found in the scent of a candle or good music or yummy food. Our joy will only come from the Lord. If you are feeling joyless open the Word and get with the Lord. That is what your eyes need to be seeing.

If you missed part one and two of this series you can read about SMELL here and TASTE here.

Go on to read about the HEARing sense here.

TASTE

If you were to ask yourself what you want your home to taste like, what would you answer? Ok, I know that is a strange question. But when I think of certain peoples homes, certain foods come to mind. When I think of visiting my sister this last summer I remember the iced tea that was readily available to drink at any time. It was the perfect accompaniment to the hot summer days. Our friends growing up had a bubble gum machine at the bottom of their basement stairs. It was always filled with the large Easter jelly beans. I loved putting my quarter in, turning the knob and grabbing my much anticipated handful of sweet goodness. I remember the sausage bread our neighbors made. I would go over to play with their granddaughter in hopes of snagging a piece or two of that bread. 

       Are you the house that always has a cake plate of baked goods on the table? Or maybe soup is your speciality. What about little bowls of candy scattered throughout the house? It could be different flavors of infused water you like to experiment with. Its ok to always have the same foods in your home. That might just become what people know and love about your home. 

Food can be a big hangup when it comes to inviting people over. It can be hard to know what to cook. It can intimidating to cook for other people. Maybe you can’t cook at all. Food is merely the vehicle that gets people in the door. The food itself, unless its a cooking club, should not be the reason to or not to invite someone over. My mom will sometimes give new brides a cookbook for their wedding shower. In the back she’ll put the phone number of the local pizza company with a note that says “If all else fails, call for pizza.” Americans love pizza! An invite could be as simple as “Hey, on Fridays we do pizza. We’d love for your family to join us for pizza night.”

An easy set it and forget it recipe that I always share is crockpot Chicken Tacos my friend shared with me years ago.

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 2  15oz. jars of your favorite salsa
• 3-4 Tablespoons (or 1 packet) of Taco Seasoning
• 4 oz. cream cheese (optional)
• Tortillas and any mexican toppings that you like.

Place chicken, salsa and taco seasoning in the slow cooker. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Once chicken is fully cooked place chicken onto a cutting board and shred.

Place shredded chicken back into the crockpot and add cream cheese if you want a creamier chicken. Melt and mix until combined.

Use slotted spoon to serve chicken in a torilla and top with whatever you like. We enjoy avacados, lime juice, pickled red onions, sour cream (if we don’t add the cream cheese) and shredded mexican cheese.

Enjoy!

You can find this recipe and many more as a free ebook over at  Kindred Mom.

Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see—
how good God is.
Blessed are you who run to him.

-Psalm 34:8

Read yesterdays post about SMELL and the next one about SIGHT.

It can be overwhelming to think of inviting people over. We look around our house and all of the reasons not to have someone over comes flooding into our minds. There are clothes spilling out of the laundry room, the floors are dirty, what is there to eat, my kids are too rambunctious, my house is too outdated and not stylish enough, etc… But we love our homes, right? Some of the time anyway.

I had to learn how to fall in love with my home again. I can get tired of the same things hanging on the walls and the pillows that we’ve had for years. I hate the vegetables that are painted on our kitchen tiles. I’m in a rut with my cooking and I can not for-the-life-of-me seem to keep my floors clean. If I don’t love, or even like, my home why would I invite anyone else in? But we want to love our homes and we should. So for the next 5 days I’m going to show you how you can love your home again through the five senses.

SMELL

Fall is one of the best seasons for smell. When you think of fall, you probably think of things associated with smell. Apple Pie, Pumpkin Spice, Toasted Marshmallows, Cinnamon. Scents can warm us as the chill in the air begins to set in.

Candles are an easy way to bring pleasing scents into your home, but if candles aren’t your thing you can create wonderful scents from your stove. I love when my husband walks into our home after a day of work and can immediately smell what I’ve been cooking. Hearing him say “It smells delicious” is such a compliment and confidence booster.   You can also boil ingredients in a pot to make your home smell like fall. I’ll give a recipe below, but also think of the mix of orange, cinnamon, and cloves drifting through your home. But let’s be real. We know one of the best smells is fresh baked chocolate chip cookies.

Great scents to have:

Anthropologie. I think like most people, I am a sucker for the smell of Anthropologie. While they’re candles are expensive, they burn well and last a long time. And you can actually smell the scent when it is lit. I believe Capri Blue is this notorious Anthro scent.

Reed Diffusers: These are great to have if you don’t like to have lit candles in your home. They are also great to have in your bathroom. A scent you can set and forget and the bathroom is the perfect place for this. I love the P.F. Candle Co. diffuser we have in our home. 

Chocolate Chip Cookies: If you want your home to smell like love, bake some chocolate chip cookies. I don’t know what it is about the combination of flour, sugar, butter and chocolate chips that makes people feel loved. My favorite recipe is from the Magnolia Table Cookbook. If you’re not a baker, grab the Tollhouse premade dough from the store and bake those. We all know those taste the best anyway.

Garlic and onions: My husbands grandma has been known to say “If you don’t know what to cook and your husband is coming home soon, just sautee some garlic and onions in olive oil. When he walks in he’ll think dinner is being made and it gives you time to think of something to cook.” And it makes the house smell divine!

Stovetop Potpourri:

• 1 small lemon cut into slices
• 2 sprigs of Rosemary
• 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 3 Cups of water (and more needed later)

Put all ingredients into a pot. Let simmer as long as you like.

IMPORTANT: Keep an eye on the water level, it will evaporate. Add water as you need to.

Don’t be afraid to open the windows every once in a while. Yes, even if it’s 30 degrees outside. Sometimes getting the old air out and letting the new air in refreshes us more than any candle will do.

What are some of your favorite scents to have in the house?

Check out the next post about TASTE.

I was talking to my husband about wanting to work out again. I was giving all of the excuses; my knee is bad, I’m out of shape, it’s too expensive, I don’t have time, I don’t know what to do, etc… My husband looked at me and said “Just go for a walk.”

My husbands sweet comment made me realize how I can complicate things before I ever get started. No wonder I make excuses and don’t want to do it. My desire to get into shape is there, but if I’m not willing to start with the small, like go for a walk, why would I think that I could join Crossfit? This also made me realize how I do this in so many different areas of life. I complicate a task in my head and feel defeated before I even start. So what if I start with the small?

When I feel overwhelmed with cleaning the house:  “Just wipe down the counters.”

When I want to have people over but don’t know what to cook: “Just order pizza.”

When I’m feeling lonely: “Just text a friend.”

When I want to dig deeper with Jesus; “Just open the Bible.”

I find when I start with the small it paves the way to take the next step. It builds courage and confidence. It lends itself to more creativity and connection. We are constantly being bombarded with messages of the world to go big, be busy, do more, to go fast, etc… There is definitely a time and place for all of that, but if I’m not faithful in the small I will only be easily overwhelmed and burnt out by the big.

As you head into the week I encourage you to start with the small. What are you wanting to start or what might you be feeling overwhelmed by that can be broken down into smaller pieces?

If you do start with something small and want to share I’d love to know. You can always reply with a comment here on the blog.  Or if you share on social media you can tag @dwellandmade to encourage others as well.

Summer break has officially started for us. I love Summer and get slightly nervous for it as well. But when I sit down and list out all of things I love versus the things I don’t, the love list far outweighs the ugh! list. I don’t like the fighting that comes from boredom, the fact that the house seems to always be in a state of disarray, feeding the kids lunch and the quiet that goes out the window for this introvert is hard to handle some days. But I’m sure our list of the reasons we love summer probably looks really similar.

• Spending hours at friends houses, eating whatever we can piece together while the kids play
• Dinners outside
• Later bedtime
• Slow mornings with coffee in bed
• Kids getting their own breakfast and watching tv.
• Popsicles
• Campfires
• Beach Days
• Fishing
• Boat Days
• Summer Camps
• Gardening
• Reading outside with a good drink in hand
• Iced Coffee (my friend has the best recipe. I’ll post that soon.)
• String Lights
• Screen Doors Slamming
• Rocking Chairs
• Ohio
• 4th of July
• Slow pace
• The sun!
• Swimming at Grandma and Grandpa’s

What would you add or take away from the list? Are you more of a planner or fly by the seat of your pants type? If you’re somewhere in between like me and want some help with finding the balance between the two Kendra from The Lazy Genius has a summer series going on her podcast right now.

Summer Strategy: Mindset

Summer Strategy: Time

Summer Strategy: Routine

Summer Strategy: Food

Another great summer resource : Lindsay Letters has a Here’s to Summer printable on her site that is on sale for $5. It is the perfect summer mantra and reminder to enjoy the simple things.