May, 2013

I’ve talked about my lack of cleaning routine in the past, but since the warm days of summer are just around the corner (and no one wants to waste them inside cleaning) I thought it might be a good time to share my super simple speed-cleaning tips that allow me to clean our entire house in less than 60 minutes.

Today’s post is a reflection on a recent email I received. The email was quite rude, but ironically, the phrase they used to try to put me down actually affirmed that what I’m doing here on AndreaDekker.com is working!

The ideas and concepts presented on my blog are NOT rocket science — that’s true. I never intended them to be rocket science. In fact, it would defeat both my business and personal goals if my ideas were rocket science!

EVERYTHING in our yard is getting really over-grown! There are a bunch of dead trees, the grass in the back yard is basically all weeds and dirt, and the planting beds have been taken over by ivy and other invasive ground covers.

So this summer, we’re trading our hammers and saws for shovels and rakes — and we’re doing a complete landscape renovation!

I’ve alway been intimidated with the thought of making fish at home, until I found this super simple recipe. After a few adjustments and about 10 minutes in the kitchen, I had dinner ready to go in the oven… and it was fabulous!

If you’d like to try making fish at home — or even if you’re just looking for a new fish recipe, give this one a try… I think you’ll like it!

Over the past 2 years, I’ve made HUGE strides in my effort to take more pictures. And while I’m thrilled to be taking more pictures, I’ve started to notice one problem… I’m always behind the camera.

I’ve decided that I need to be more proactive about getting in front of the camera — even if it’s not always convenient (or I haven’t done my hair!)

I’m excited to share today’s post with you — because it’s a guest post I requested from a loyal reader.

Dallas, from Day-by-Day Masterpiece, has taken a one-year challenge to perform random acts of kindness each week. I think this idea is awesome… and today, Dalas is sharing a few really simple (and free) random acts of kindness we can all do in the coming week.

There are SO many things I could share about Nora since her 15 month update — I’m not even sure where to begin. Yes, she has grown inches and gained pounds, but it’s simply amazing how much she has learned these past 3 months.

She’s a little girl now — and I love it!

If given a choice between any dessert and strawberry pie, I will probably choose the strawberry pie every time… I love strawberry pie!

My recipe for strawberry pie is so quick, so simple, and so delicious. If you’ve ever been intimidated by making homemade pie, this is a fabulous recipe to experiment with — it’s almost impossible to ruin.

Over the past 12 months, I’ve been on a mission to change my most productive time of day from the early morning hours to later in the evening.

For those of you who are night owls, this concept might seem ridiculous. However, for those of you who (like me) are early birds, you understand all too well the difficulty of accomplishing anything productive after 9:00pm. Keep reading to learn how (and why) I made the switch!

Dave and I are half-way through our month-long no-spending challenge, and honestly, it’s harder than I expected it to be! Even though I rarely step foot in a shopping mall, it’s amazing how many opportunities there are to spend money each day.

Today, I’m sharing an update…

Dave and I closed on our first house 7 years ago this month — and we’ve been painting like crazy ever since.

Painting isn’t necessarily my most favorite activity, but I do enjoy it for the most part — and that’s good because we’ve gone through over 40 GALLONS of paint since we’ve moved into our farmhouse! Today, I’m sharing a few of my favorite colors!

True story: Over the past 2 years, we have owned TEN different strollers! Yes, you read that correctly –10!

I’ve been buying and selling strollers on a mission to find the ones we really love, and today I’m sharing our favorites with you.

I love marinating meat for the grill but I hate that it often requires a full 24 hours of advance preparation. So about a month ago, I tried a 2-hour marinade — and we were so impressed that I made it again the next week (with a few of my personal adjustments).

I’ve used this marinade a handful of times with fabulous results each time, and I just LOVE that you can whip it up later in the day and still have great-tasting, juicy meat in time for dinner.

You all know that I’m a huge fan of focus, hard work, drive, and determination… right? Yes, it’s true. Those are all virtues I admire in others and try to exude myself.

However, there have been times when I was too focused on one goal or opportunity that I missed a bunch of other “bubbles of opportunity” passing me by… can you relate?

To the Mothers who are, the Mothers who were, the Mothers who will be, and the Mothers who wish they could be…

Happy Mother’s Day

Thanks to the last 2 weeks of gloriously sunny skies, we’ve been doing lots of yard work.

One of the first projects on my to-do list was pruning — everything! And as I pruned, I started thinking how pruning our garden is very similar to purging our home — not always glamorous or fun, but SO worth the effort.

You all know how much I love Craigslist… right? Well since Dave and I are taking a “no-spending challenge” for the month of May, I’ve been banned from shopping Craigslist.

So instead, I thought it would be fun (and hopefully funny) to share some of the things I probably won’t buy on Craigslist 🙂

Thanks to a recent gift from one of her aunts, Nora now LOVES bubbles. However, after a few days of intense bubble blowing, we were running low on our supply.

I found a really simple recipe for homemade bubbles that should keep us fully stocked throughout the spring and summer months! Thank goodness 🙂