Life at a "Swell's" pace

Good evening. Hope you've had a wonderful day. Here at the SNS household we've been nursing some dry noses, dry skin, and even some dry coughs. I've been on the hunt for a good humidifier and I think I found the perfect one for our troubles. Looking forward to it arriving soon. Other than that, The Mr. and I have still been downsizing our ~~crap~~ stuff. We tackled the kitchen on #MinimalMonday and it is looking sharp. The funny thing about it is the fact that we downsized so much that we don't even use the bottom section of cabinets now. We have gotten rid of a lot of duplicates, unnecessary items, and even a random assortment of utensils we didn't even use. It's crazy though, we have gotten rid of so much stuff and we still feel like we are drowning in stuff. We may even purge more than we have right now.

Once the kitchen has been finished with the downsizing we will move onto another room. We are going to complete a room every Monday for our #MinimalMonday challenge we've set for ourselves. 2017 is going to be the year we start to live more simply and I do hope you join us on this journey and minimize with us. More on this real soon...

Here are the things that made this week great!

1. The snow

We got another round of snow and it is still hanging around. The Bean and I were hoping for more, a blizzard or something, but it didn't happen. Darn. I guess a few inches will have to do. Seriously though, more than a few inches would be welcomed by the people in this house.

I just love our school bell with snow on it. The mailman had no idea he was going to star in a random snow picture either.

2. New Year's

In all honesty, I had plans of taking more pictures, but this is all you get. We all were having a blast and no one thought to take any pictures. We had a small gathering, two other couples and their kids, but it was a lot of fun. We played Cards Against Humanity, The Mr. and the other two guys barbecued some ribs and shish kabobs, and we had tons of food! We drank wine and caught up with each other and just enjoyed bringing in the new year with good friends.

New Year's day we met up and enjoyed some good Chinese food to bring in 2017. We said our goodbyes and all headed to our homes to take a much deserved nap.

3. The Mr.'s trim

The Mr. got a beard trim and trusted me with scissors.

The Mr. is getting a trim. #thisislove❤ #sadtoseeitgo😢 @jeffreytodd72

A video posted by Shelly HW ॐ (@southnorthsouth) on Jan 6, 2017 at 8:18pm PST

Sad to see it go, but it was time-as he says.

Along with his trim, he also shaved up a little and he was the first to try my homemade shaving cream. I've been playing around with different ways that we can make our own products and this shaving cream was definitely a success.

4. Yogi Surprise

Got a great start to 2017 with Yogi Surprise. Lots of amazing, natural, sustainable, or otherwise earth-friendly products. Seriously, if you haven't given them a chance, please consider it. You can sign up here, or on the right-hand side of the blog. The box above is the Lifestyle Box and the one below is the Jewelry Box. January's box came with some chocolates made right here in Portland, Oregon.

5. These crayons

The Bean and I took broken crayons and created more with the pieces this week. We had some down time this week due to him not feeling all that great, and this was the perfect distraction.

...A little reminder

Have a great weekend!

Well, Christmas is over and all through the house, everything is everywhere. We have been slowly putting things away since the holiday hustle and bustle has ended, but I still feel overwhelmed with "stuff." I really want to cut our possessions more, but I can't seem to get a handle on what needs to go and what needs to stay. We have cut our Christmas decor down to one small tote instead of the three large ones we had. (I can't even believe we had that much crap!) -Seriously!

Minimalism is always a work in progress, but one thing is for sure, we have changed one habit that I think is a great change for us. We have begun to be more conscious of what we spend our money on. We started now, but our goal for 2017 is to not purchase anything other than needs. Needs over wants. Nothing more. Needs being food, water, etc. A year of living more mindful and with less. It can be done! Hopefully on the blog I can share our progress in this step toward downsizing and being more minimal with our lives.

This coming New Year's Eve we are having a small get together with friends and are going to ring in 2017 with a bang! I can't wait to share the pictures.

Here are the things that made this week great!

1. Tree

With our recent visit to the Trees of Mystery, The Bean picked up a Redwood Tree in the gift shop. We have recently replanted it into a terracotta pot and given it a home-for-now in the window. We hope to be able to plant it permanently real soon.

2. Oatmeal

When we attended the Fill Your Pantry program we snagged some Rolled Oats from the Greenwillow Grains vendor. We cut into the bag this past week and enjoyed a breakfast of them. I have plans to make some no-bake cookies with some of them soon. Maybe New Year's Eve?

3. Kitten

This little kitten has been a mess lately. She has been really getting to our older cat, Meia, and wants to play, but she plays so rough. We are hoping a scheduled spaying will calm her down a bit and the two can get along.

4. Gift

My sister, Kendra, recently sent us a Christmas care package and the wooden board this cookbook sits on was part of that care package. It is actually sitting upside down to hold this book. The clothespin holds a photo and acts as a picture frame. Not sure exactly how I want to use it yet, but for the time being it is working as a great holder for my new cookbook. Check this cookbook out here.

5. Christmas recap

We spent an evening shortly before Christmas at The Grotto in Portland, with MacKenzie, Charlie, and Addison (here). We had a great time and I loved this picture of us taken by MacKenzie.

We ate that evening at Famous Dave's Bar-B-Que and I couldn't help but share the names of their BBQ sauce. The "Devil's Spit?" Clever!

Santa left The Bean a few Star Wars figures he has been wanting and packed his stocking full of fun things he can actually use. And some candy, of course. The Mr. and I sported out new Arkansas jackets from my parents and The Bean grabbed a quick photo of us as we were cleaning up the wrapping paper mess. We actually needed new Arkansas gear, so these were perfect! GO HOGS!

Note from S. Claus and his unfinished milk sits on the fireplace. The Bean left him a cupcake and Santa was quite stuffed by the time he hit the west coast, so he just took a few nibbles from the cake and left with a flash. Next year our Christmas might be slightly different as The Bean is going to be 14! I hope we can still hold onto the magic, but time will tell.

We will keep our gingerbread house a few more days and then it must retire to the compost bin. For now, it sits on the mantle looking quite delicious.

...And remember this thought