Life at a "Swell's" pace

1. This Street Organ.

2. This Post From Embracing Homemaking.

It's a post that's been floating around Pinterest and other blogs for awhile and it's a great start in getting more minimal. I love the little things Ashley has added. Give the first 10 items a try and then work your way down the list. It feels good getting rid of things in my house and we are almost to 150 items from this list, so far. Check out the full list here.

3. This Travel Kit.

I can't begin to express how great this travel kit is from Murchison Hume. It comes with four different, necessary, items you would need for traveling. The surface spray and the everything soap is the best. You can get this travel kit, with bag, on their site here, for under $40.

4. This Body Oil.

Honest Organic Body Oil . This light, soothing blend includes sustainablely grown and certified organic jojoba, tamanu, olive, avocado, and sunflower oils to leave skin silky and nourished. It's great for skin of all ages.

5. This Headboard.

The Mr. and I have been on a lookout for a new bedroom suite. We've been searching for one that would fit a small bedroom seeing as the house we live in now is limited on space. This one has made the top of the list for two reasons. One, it's just a headboard and we can play around with the rest of it anyway we want. Two, because its name is Claudette, 'my middle name.' I like the bird accent on top that's removable too. This headboard is from Ballard Designs.

Extras:

• This New Affiliate.

100% Pure is a company geared around natural products. They use only the very best ingredients in what they make and are now part of the South North South family. Their ad will can be found on the right-hand side of the page, along with the other great company's that help support this blog. Give them some love. Right now, you can get all of their Holiday Gift Sets 20%.

• Don't F-up Craft Beer.

• Dominating 'Guess Who'.

• Viiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigooooooooo!

• Wil Freeborn's Sketchbooks.

• Cleaning out your ears the RIGHT way.

• Longboard Dancing. Yes?

What happened this time last year?

We've had kind of a crazy week. Crazy in the fact that we've still been adjusting to the time change from being in Arkansas. Once the sun goes down we get completely confused on what time it is. We even think the clock is lying to us. We've decided to embrace it and turn one of our clocks to Arkansas time and just go with it. We go to bed early and get up early, so what's the harm, right? It's been sort of better for us anyway. I think I might go buy another clock, similar to the one we have in our living room, and make a board underneath that reads: Oregon Time and one that reads: Arkansas Time. We'll see though. Anyway, here are the things that made my week awesome!

1. This 3D Image:

We've been experimenting a lot lately with different techniques and this one was a blast. You can see updates on this on the classroom blog soon. Check out our classroom blog here!

2. This Garden Shed.

In case you didn't know, we've been on a hunt to buy a new home. We have been looking in the Valley and even over the Cascades in Eastern Oregon. We haven't found anything that suits our fancy yet, but when we do, we will be building a small garden shed to accompany my gardening passions (Check out my Pin Board here of ideas). This little shed was over in Brownsville, Oregon and I loved how it looked. The French doors on the front are such a great addition.

3. These Cherry Tomatoes.

We still have a ton of cherry tomatoes. I am on a frantic hunt on Pinterest to find some great recipes to use them for. I am also looking to Santa to bring me a good pressure cooker so we can start canning some of these babies next year and add to our doomsday prep items.

Pressure cooker on my list:

*Affiliate link. (Thank you for supporting products/companies that help support this blog and our family.)

4. These Canadian Geese.

We see them all the time this time of year. I love how massive flocks of them fly over our house. We have a field behind our townhouse here and they land in the field all the time too. Such a gear thing to see in the fall.

5. This Crow.

He was hanging out on the very top of this tree in the parking lot of the airport when we came back from our Arkansas trip. In the rain even.

Extras:

• This Inspiration Board.

I've been following this IKEA inspiration board on Flickr for a few years now. It gives great ideas on how to decorate your home. I don't buy a lot of things from IKEA, but when I do get an idea, I always try to DIY it, or hunt online for something similar at a cheaper price. Check it out here! I warn you though, it's addicting!

• This New Shop Item:

Downton Abbey-inspired pendant necklace. I'm a huge Downton Abbey fan and I am starting to create pieces that are inspired by the drama series. This pendant necklace is listed for $35 in my shop and soon there will be a section just for Downton Abbey-inspired items.

• This Flag.

With the recent attacks on Paris, it's nice to see the Seattle Space Needle showing support for France. It's so heartbreaking that there are people that actually want to cause harm on others. We as a human race need to fix ourselves before trying to fix others. Too many people care more about hate than they do about love. Life is too short to live a life of anger and resentment. I hope everyone affected by this horrible tragedy finds some sort of peace. Too much violence in the world lately.