Did you know there are hundreds of plant names which relate to Mary? For centuries gardens have been made to honor her. And in May there is the beautiful tradition of crowning her head with flowers. There are many spiritual connections which can be made between Mary and gardens. The concept is filled with spiritual significance. In this blog post, I will give you a brief understanding of the relationship between the two and then share with you 10 easy-to-grow Marian flowers to grow in your garden. The Connection Between Mary and Gardens Mary has been called the “Flower of the Rarest” and ..read more

It had been a really long day but it was only the afternoon. You know, that point in the day where you are tuckered out with the kids, getting dinner together, and aware that it would still be a few more hours before the husband would be home to help? That “last stretch” of the day kind of feeling… Do you ever struggle with that time of the day? Or find you and your kids need a little reset in the day to turn it around? When I got to this place, I posted on the Holy Homemaking Group, my Facebook community, asking for any tips. A sweet mother and friend of mine responded with this simple but am ..read more

I often choose not to share on Instagram some of the ways the Lord calls me to suffer. It feels weird, perhaps others are called to this in a way I am not. Don’t let it deceive you into thinking I do not struggle. Among many other things, I often struggle with a resistance to the duties in the home.  That is why for Holy Week I was ready to embrace the “penitential act” of deep cleaning my home.  This was how I planned to enter in, it was what I wanted to do. But, the Lord had other plans and a lesson in mortification that I have heard loud and clear.  The Tale of a Grumpy Mothe ..read more

Our dining room was a sight to behold in our first walk through with our realtor. This kind of fixer upper was the kind that left you with more questions than answers…What on earth is that? What is that smell? What is that stain? What happened here? Why does it look like this? The utter mess somehow didn’t affect me. I walked through the house with stars in my eyes and dreams of what the space could be. Something in this abandoned home was charming. It was small, it was a disaster but the “bones were good” as they say. The Dining Room Before I walked into the dilapidated dining room ..read more

Do you ever feel discouraged by your imperfections? You desire to improve yourself, you set goals, you make new commitments and you find yourself discouraged by your inability to keep them? I’ve been there and still find myself there many days. But rather than be discouraged, I would like to share with you a way I reframe this discouragement. This realization of our imperfections is exactly what needs to happen, not the discouragement, but the acknowledgement of our weaknesses. Realizing Our Weaknesses Realizing our weaknesses is the reason why fasting is so good for us. Fasting brings our imp ..read more

In my previous blog post, I shared the process refinishing our dining room table which had come with Windsor style chairs. I didn’t love those chairs and they were not the most stable for toddlers. Happily, I found some peach painted wooden chairs FREE on the side of the road. I am sure these were on their way to the dump. And shamefully, my family sat on them in their previous state for a few months before I finally overcame my intimidation of using a paint sprayer for the first time. If you have never used a paint sprayer before, this blog post is for you! It is actually quite easy and very ..read more

I inherited a round solid wood table from my grandmother. The stain was as dark as ever with a heavy glossy varnish. This table was well loved. It was chipped in areas and in need of a makeover. I had no idea how difficult the varnish would be to remove. But, as a very determined pregnant lady, I was up for the adventure. And I learned a lot. Here in this blog post, I will teach you what you need to know about refinishing your dining room table, take it from my experience…some popular methods might not work for you. Methods for Refinishing a Dining Room Table Let me save you some trouble, if y ..read more

The Problem with Most Cleaning Routines The problem with most cleaning routines on the internet is they are made by those who have an incredible knack for cleaning, the types who take great pleasure in keeping their house neat and clean and who are very good at it. How is that a problem? Well, the problem is that many of the people looking for cleaning routines on the internet are the ones who do not have a knack for cleaning. The extensive and all-encompassing cleaning routines on the internet are destined to leave these types discouraged, overwhelmed, and without motivation to begin. When th ..read more

I just discovered a cleaning hack that I need to share with you! My toddler drew on the wall with crayon today. It felt like a right of passage for me as a mom, this never happened with my first child. Believe it or not, my gut reaction was excitement to see if I any of my natural cleaners would do the trick. I decided to make a baking soda paste to see if it would work. This was an experiment. I hadn’t looked it up to see whether or not it would work but I know baking soda paste is a powerful cleaner. It worked to clean my very old greasy grill (see on Instagram). Baking Soda Paste: To make ..read more

Handmade Mud Kitchen using all free materials. In this blog post, I am going to show you how to make a mud kitchen using one wood pallet and scrap wood. This project cost me $0.00! No additional materials, no paint or stain, I just used free scraps. If you follow me on Instagram, you know I have a knack for finding free things. Someone in my neighborhood was giving away a wood pallet, and I jumped on the opportunity! The pallet was in good condition which was helpful. If you are searching for one, many places give them away for free but many of them are rotting with old wood. Once you find yo ..read more