Happy Friday 6/7/19

Happy Friday! And welcome to June. We started work on our kitchen renovation this week and I’m pretty sure we’ll never move, ever again. Because I am in complete love with this house. Even with no countertops. 😝 The weather doesn’t hurt either. Actually, I *may* profess my eternal love for this house every year around this time (and revoke it in January when our $800 electrical bill arrives…)!

But the summer truly is magical out here in the country. Windows flung wide open. Dinners eaten outside. The natural air-conditioning of our century-old Elm trees. The kids coming in to bath-time with wind-swept hair and dirt between their toes. The chorus of frogs and owls lulling us to sleep. Pure magic!

Our Farmhouse master bedroom and the open-window magic of June // sources here

A few interesting things from the week…

The general habits that lead many millionaires to financial success. And also what they drive, where they live, how they think, the money they’ve inherited (surprisingly not much), and more. Wish I had heard this about two decades ago.

Please stop buying plastic crap for kids. This hit home: “those plastic trinkets will take more than 500 years to degrade.”

Health insurance in early retirement. It’s tough! And a real struggle for our family of 5. Without an employer covering the costs, we now pay just under $1500 a month for a bronze-level Obamacare plan with no vision and dental only for the kids. Health insurance is our biggest monthly expense.

I’m usually not a ‘modern architecture’ kind of gal but I would live here in a heartbeat.

I’m excited to see Daniel’s $1000 bathroom remodel. Also, the old house struggle is real!

The 27 greatest laundry hacks of all time. Definitely going to give #21 a try!

Anyone tried a coil hose before? One of my hoses bused last winter and I’m looking for a convenient way to water the hanging baskets on my front porch.

This big-time podcaster is removing ads and sponsors from his site for 6 months and asking listeners to make donations instead. I’m interested to see how it goes.

Have a great weekend!

-Cathy