How I Create 💕COZY💕 in a Crazy World (part one ~ my planner journal)

It is with intentionality that I create my planner / journal. I know without a doubt that in this busy crazy world, home for me is the place where I find joy, creativity, rest, refreshment, and of course the cozy. Sometimes, especially during the school year, when I am in my classroom each day I long for home and cozy feeling it gives me. 

When I started this type of planner about 4 years ago I knew it was the planner for me. Here's why: 

💕 It's blank and so I get to decide and create what I need from a planner - how much room for each page, how I want it to layed out, etc. 

💕 I make it seasonal ~ right now summer images are all over my planner, but come September and all of the fall goodness will charm it's pages

💕 It allows me to look forward to the seasons and look forward to the days ahead. Sometimes I can get a heavy 'spirit of dread/or a spirit of heaviness' (see Isaiah 61:3) and this planner combats that. Instead of looking at what could possibly be a sad or a busy or a difficult week/season/etc, my planner journal is too adorable and forces me to see each day as a gift of seasonal bliss. What is good about January? Well, when I look at cute pages filled with blankets and books, hot cocoa and soup simmering, suddenly I'm excited about all of that! 

💕 Each page has a Bible verses that I have been studying or memorizing or that has simply touched my heart. I also put quotes that inspire me or I'll even write to myself calling things that are not yet, as though they are. (see Romans 4:17). I might write something ahead of time on an August page like this: "You are a patient mama and you bless your family with your life-giving words." or "For each child and my darling husband I carve out time and make it special, different, set-apart, beautiful." or "Blessing Anna and Abigail each night before they go to bed gives them the gift of a peaceful, restful, loved heart." I call things that have not yet happened as if they are true.

💕 It's a place where I write my appointments or places I need to be. For example after my pages are decorated and they have those Bible veres or quotes I am ready for the month/season. But each night before I go to bed I write where I need to be the next and and all of the things I need to do. So it's my whole plan for the day. 

💕 I save room for picutes (I use Canon Ivy which lets me print little pictures right from my phone) 

💕 It become a keepsake

Here are a few pages. I've created my pages all the way through the first day of school. Now I can really enjoy each day. This week I might even start my September planner journal and start adding in apples and cozy fall images. 

💕 I'd love to know what brings you cozy in the midst of a busy world. 

💕 Part two coming soon! 

(check out this post from Chrissy who gave the the idea for blogging cozy ideas) 

❤️July Fourth❤️

We had a fun day celebrating this year. Since the 4th of July was the day after my parents 60th anniversary (that post back here) and it was 105 degrees (feels like temp with all of the humidity), we actually ended up celebarating on Sunday, July 5th. I think we all needed that day after my parents party to just rest. It actaully made me so excited to end the holiday weekend with a bang. 

Scott cooked, I baked and decorated the porch. It was so much fun to be in and among all of that red, white, and blue. 

I am grateful for the precious time wtih our little family of 4 but also time with the grandparents - memory making with family is such a gift I treasure. 

Here are a few pictures of our 4th of July celebration: 

 

Okay, so right now I'm taking all of the flags, red/white/blue down and decorating for the rest of summer. I'm thinking strawberries (so I guess I'm using red again anyway). Not sure, but I can't wait to get started on some decor refresh! 

Goodspeed ~ Crazy For You

For my Dad's birthday I took him to the Goodspeed for the musical Crazy for You. We had dinner at the Gelston House before and it was just spectacular. What a wonderful night! 

The Goodspeed and the Gelston House was all decorated for the upcoming July 4th. It was so fun and festive. 

July 2026

 December 2025

August 2024

My Parents ~ Married 60 Years

My parents just celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. Woah! That is so awesome! When it was their 40th we hosted a catered dinner. (pre blogging days). For their 50th we celebrated B I G (that post is back here and here). Of course we couldn't possibly not celebrate with them their 60th. 

We decided on a restaurant where we could have a seperate room and work with an event coordinator. We came up with a seperate menu and all tweleve of us filled that room with joy, stories, laughter, and fun. It was the perfect night. 

New Color, new Cozy Feels

This room makes me happy. It's collected looking. It's vintage looking. It's warm and inviting. And best of all, when I asked my girls what they thought of it, Anna said, "it looks like a Calico Critter home". You can peek at our love of all things Calico Critter here and here and here.  

This whole wall used to be big white frames with family photos in them. While I still love those family photos it was too 'heavy' looking and we didn't need all six of them. So while antiquing Scott and I found 3 more simple old frames and put up one of each of our daughters and one family one. I love having plates hanging on the walls (there's that cozy Calico Critter charm), but the star of this wall is the oil painting my Dad painted for me as a birthday present. 

Trying out a collected mantle (very full) look and for now, this summer, I'm loving it (epecially with all of the baskets and the new cozy mantle color) 

Here's the vew looking out toward the screened in porch... an extra room in our house April - October (some days warmer than others of course!) 

Old country books that are my design inspiration (rather than anything on a screen) I just love winter nights in bed with those books, dreaming up dreams for my home. 

💕

Well this room certainly has taken on many different looks over the years and of course the one I'm in is always my favorite. It's almost hard to believe that I liked anything else. ❤