Back to School Shopping Organization and Some Pretty Things in our Home

The past few days have been so drastically different from the ones that left us in sweaty puddles just a little while ago- with the humidity gone and a certain crispness in the air, I can practically smell the fresh pencil shavings and am nearly giddy at the thought of beginning to fill in my new calendar! It's the teacher in me that cannot, no matter how hard I try, ever get used to a Jan-Dec kind of calendar- it's got to be a school calendar for me!  :)

Anyhoo. This year I'm trying really hard to keep track of what I'm purchasing so I can avoid repeats. I hate it when I find some secret stash of new school clothes, obviously meant for the fall, in the middle of February because I completely forgot that I shoved the bag in the back of the coat closet waaaay back in August! Plus, this year Jonah is attending private school again, so his school needs are more specific. It's definitely time for a little Back to School Organization 101!

Enter plain ol' note cards. They're the perfect size to fit inside my purse so I can carry them with me for reference. Now I know in a glance what they need, and what they already have. Simple and effective!This works for clothing items as well as classroom supplies.

I had an incredibly challenging week last week. Nothing I'm able to share here, but let me just say that parenting teens is not for the faint of heart. I cried myself to sleep almost every night.  :(  Things are better now. We are spending more time reading the Bible and praying together, which I feel are most important (and helpful!). Today I felt peaceful, and all day long I kept noticing pretty little things around our home.

Vibrant colors...

Cheerful petals in my cute little cow bottle...

And I will admit that this, the simple act of pouring new dishwashing liquid into the bottle, nearly had me squealing in delight...

In my defense, all those bubbles were SO pretty, especially as they gleamed in the sunshine! Simple joys, folks. Simple joys.  =)

And this lamp got a burst of pretty color with one of the easiest, quickest spruce-ups I've ever done! Strips of fabric just basically wrapped around the lampshade- I used small elastics to secure the ends together, so no sewing or gluing required! Then when I want a different fabric, I can swap it out easy peasy!

I'm debating spray painting the base of the lamp ivory. I like the darker color now that the shade looks so cheery. The original shade is a rusty-colored paper with Scripture quotes and Jesus fish all over it- it has never been my favorite because it's rather drab and sinister looking. Now it isn't! A perfect pop of color!

We spent all afternoon and evening with my parents up at one of their favorite campgrounds. All those pics are on Instagram - I'm bethany_liv if you want to see. There were two baby ducks that kept waddling on over to us, over our towels and everything! So cute! And then after our campfire dinner and more S'mores, we watched the sun sparkles on the lake, one of my most favorite things ever! There is just something about the sun's last rays dancing across the water. Tomorrow we're heading back to the ocean for a day with Bill's parents, so... another fun-filled and busy summer week! Now off to bed! Goodnight!