Bandwagons and Homemaking - Day TWO of the GIVEAWAY!

Woo hoo!!

I can sit up again!

Sort of...

My back is doing so much better - thank you EVERYONE for your kind words. You all made my evening of moping around on the couch in pain so much more enjoyable. I must say, I had so much fun reading all your decorating stories. Some were decorating triumphs and some were total mishaps turned triumphs.

 Thank you all for sharing!

You want to know something? That has been one of my favorite things about blogging. Getting to hear real stories, from real women, who are decorating on a real budget and who appreciate the joy of saving a penny or two. It is so inspiring to me that there is a whole community of gals working to feather their nests and make their house into a home.

Our homes are meant to be sanctuaries, a safe place from the storm. They are the refuge from the chaos of the world. But sometimes it is so hard to keep our nest in order. Clutter creeps in. Decorating ideas fall flat and we get discouraged. The new recipe tastes like sour leftovers. And there are days when no matter what we do, we can't seem to get ahead of the game.

I'm here to tell you - It's OK! Really it is! It is ok to fall off the homemaker bandwagon for a moment. We've all been there. But the problem comes when we stay on the ground, moping and pouting and let the bandwagon roll on without us. {{Yes, I have done that as well}}  What makes us successful wives, moms, grandmas, aunties, sisters, etc. is that we pick ourselves up, dust of the dirt of disappointment, and run to catch up with the rest of the gals on the bandwagon!

Now please note: when I say "catch up" and "jump on the bandwagon" I don't mean that you must follow trends, keep your home like the next persons and forgo your own taste to "keep up" with those around you. NO WAY! What I mean is that we have been given a roll as homemakers and we should cherish that roll.

Part of the mission here at "too Blessed to Stress" is to connect with gals who are going through the same experiences and to know that we are not riding on the homemaking wagon alone!

Falling off the bandwagon means that for a moment we lose sight of the blessed assignment that we have. We forget that decorating and making our homes comfortable is a gift we have been given. We dismiss the importance of our jobs as homemakers. And if we have lost sight of our purpose as homemakers it is time to regain our focus, recapture our joy, and run to jump on the fantastic bandwagon called homemaking.

Don't let anyone tell you that the little things are unimportant!

A few months ago, I started to make my hubby's lunch for work everyday. I used to do it years ago, but I let it slip and made other things more important. So when I started packing the lunches again, I included a short love note almost every day. Somethimes they were silly. Other times, the notes were more heartfelt.

One week, I opend his cooler box and found this note inside. It was a note from him to me. It read:

"Thank you for making my lunch!

It is a big encouragement to me. 

I love you!"

Let's all sigh in unison -awwww- and somebody pass me the kleenex, please!

It still makes me tear up everytime I see it. I had no idea that the simple act of a homemade lunch was such a blessing to him durring a stressful day. Ladies, the simple things we do make our families happy, feel at home and most importantly they make our loved ones feel loved.

So for today's entry in the GIVEAWAY, I want you to link up a home project you have made, recipe you have tried, your best thrifted find,  DIY craft, Scrapbook page you created, a special memory celebrated, really ANYTHING that you have done to make your home warm and inviting and to make your family feel special. They can be big projects or little touches - anything done by you! This can be a post from your archives, or the one you posted today.

There are really no rules other than:
1. Please link only to your post and not your blog. Other gals will want to read the specific post you've chosen :)
2. Since you can link up any post - past or present - please just mention sometime today{or tomorrow} that you linked up over here. Grab my button if you like and invite other gals to join in on the fun!
3. I think this goes without saying, but please just keep it clean. Family friendly blog here :)

For linking up to the party, you will receive one entry for the giveaway. Feel free to link up several project if you like, but you will only receive one entry total. Gotta keep it fair :)

Have you entered the first day of the giveaway yet? Click on over to the first day of the GIVEAWAY, read the stories in the comment section,and feel free to add one of your own. If you do, you'll receive one entry for the GIVEAWAY. Then let me know that you are a follower, and I will enter your name once again! So easy!

Today's addition to the giveaway are these tags made by my own little hands. I received such wonderful comments about the tags from this post that I decided to make a Spring/Summer set of 12 tags for the giveaway winner!

There are pastel colors and bright colors, so you can use the ones that will match your home decor and then share a few with someone else who needs a pick-me-up!

Don't forget that tomorrow there will be another easy way to enter the givaway and another gift added to the prize! Here's a hint - it has something to do with the opening of my Etsy shop! So come on back tomorrow for some more decorating fun.

TIME TO LINK UP!

All photos taken by yours truly.