Book Review – Cozy White Cottage: 100 Ways to Love the Feeling of Being Home

In this beautiful book of house and garden photography and DIY inspiration, popular blogger Liz Marie Galvan shares:

• 100 tips and tricks to make your home feel cozy
• Budget-friendly hints to make decorating affordable
• Simple DIY projects for every room in the house

In Cozy White Cottage, Liz offers her best home décor and design tips to help you create a space you’ll love coming home to. You’ll love Liz’s real-life, easy, and affordable ideas to get the most out of your home and discover things like:

• The passion and productivity that can pour out of an inspiring, functional workspace or office
• The conversation and connection that flow out of a warm, well-arranged living room
• The thoughtful hospitality that can welcome guests, be it for a cup of coffee or an overnight stay
• The rejuvenation that can happen when we have quiet spaces for reading, prayer, and rest
• The calming routines and rituals that we can implement into our spaces and our lives
• The laughter, joy, and learning that can occur in adorable, functional playrooms
• The life-giving power that beats in the heart of our homes, the kitchen

Each month hundreds of thousands of readers find design inspiration and DIY ideas on Liz’s blog, where Liz shares stories of life with her veteran husband, Jose, their 1800s Michigan farmhouse, and the home décor boutique she co-owns. Cozy White Cottage offers inspiration for every style and makes the perfect self-purchase, housewarming gift, birthday treat, Mother’s Day read, or holiday gift

* This article was originally published here

Mini Scrap Wood Winter Village

Easy diy home decor perfect for tier trays, and a great way to use up those leftover scrap wood pieces. Cut out one or more to make a mini village. Add some fake snow and you have a cute Christmas village scene.  You can see the full tutorial and more photos here. 

* This article was originally published here

How to get kids involved in keeping their rooms organized

The constant churn of toys and clothes is overwhelming. But there are ways to get the mess under control — and teach your children about organizing in the process.

* This article was originally published here

The journey from seed to harvested Christmas tree is a long, winding road

After more than a decade of cultivation and diligent caretaking, trees can travel hundreds of miles before they get a star turn as the centerpiece of holiday decorations.

* This article was originally published here

Warm and Cosy Christmas Tea

Hello everyone, We have been enjoying warm and cosy teatimes in our family room since our home has been decorated for several weeks now. Red and white transferware and sugar cookies are our treat for today. Snuggle in by the fire It is warm and cosy in here in the evenings and on dark dull days.  A compy place for a fireside chat with a hot cup of tea. It was just

* This article was originally published here

* This article was originally published here

Warm and Cosy Christmas Tea

Hello everyone, We have been enjoying warm and cosy teatimes in our family room since our home has been decorated for several weeks now. Red and white transferware and sugar cookies are our treat for today. Snuggle in by the fire It is warm and cosy in here in the evenings and on dark dull days.  A compy place for a fireside chat with a hot cup of tea. It was just

* This article was originally published here

Leave the rake in the shed

Let leaves lie where they fall – it saves you some work, and is good for the soil

One of the best things about old-school gardening advice is how it connects us, in a very direct way, with our shared heritage. However, by the same token, many practices can keep us tethered to cultural ideas that are long past their practical or even aesthetic relevance. Just like the fact that we now know the incredibly laborious Victorian practice of double-digging each autumn ironically degrades soil, reduces fertility and even releases atmospheric carbon. I think it’s high time we add ditching the slavish devotion to leaf-raking to the list of outdated practices.

The basic idea behind this traditional task is really just one of neatness, harking back to an era where regimented precision of perfect lawn stripes and rows of bedding plants like a horticultural military parade were considered a universal goal for all “good” gardeners.

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* This article was originally published here