The Housewife Journal ~ March ~

    ~ March ~

We had an amazing snow day a few weeks ago! I had to share a photo. It was falling so fast and it stuck surprisingly well until it warmed up. We think (and hope) that was the last frost and now it really feels like Spring is here! Lent is almost over too. March was a good month, filled with a little more celebration for feast days and my birthday but not too much that we completely dropped our Lenten sacrifices.

~ Out And About ~

 

Our little town finally opened a little coffee shop downtown! Jonathan took me there on opening day for a date, complete with a trip to the antique store-- a shared favorite pastime of ours. I also had a fun trip to the ballet with my sisters and mom for my birthday! It seems to be a yearly tradition. 

We also went to a Lenten mission where we learned about the Holy Face devotion. It's all about increasing reverence, making reparation for blasphemy, and keeping Sunday holy. Basically reviving devotion to the first three commandments which pertain to how we treat God; the perfect devotion for our time! We've since been saying the Golden Arrow prayer from the classic Pieta prayer book and we hope to acquire an image of the veil of Veronica soon. I'm so happy we were able to attend the mission! 

~ In The Home ~

I rearranged my living room three times in one week. It sounds crazy but I believe it was important for finding the best layout! We finally hung pictures on our walls (it's only been 1 1/2 years since moving here) and I think both Jonathan and I are happy with the result. 

The layout is probably one of my favorite things about assembling a room! Moving furniture around, turning, adjusting, thinking, and then moving it all over again-- it's very enjoyable to me. This could be why I liked Geometry in high school so much. Fitting everything together just right is so satisfying.

I found that when we tried to cram as much seating in as possible, the style and natural flow of the room suffered. I made the mistake of using furniture to block doorways, boxing in the living room from the others. (I hope this makes sense... you could still get through the doorway, but you were met with the back of a couch when you did) This works great in an open concept home, not in my home where every room is already defined. It only makes the room feel smaller. Now, since getting rid of the couch that boxed it all in, it feels much bigger and easier to design. Here are some of my favorite parts of the room:

The prayer corner. 

I took this bookshelf, which is actually the top of a hutch, and put all of our prayer books on it. I still need to get a small basket for the rosaries. I added the writings of the saints and writings about the saints so they'd be easier to find. 

I thought putting the home altar on top was very fitting. The chair is more of a space filler and extra seat. One day when I can afford it I will replace it with something more colorful! 

The "mama chair"😊 

I found this sweet little rocking chair on FB marketplace and knew I needed it for when I have children. My favorite part of the day as a nanny was always rocking and reading to the littlest one before his nap time. 

Jonathan has a "dad chair" on the other side of this wall, but can't show you because I haven't finished the decor on that side yet and it looks incomplete. I faced both of our chairs in the direction of the altar so we can do our morning prayers and family rosaries in them. 

Again, what this house needs now is some color, which is the next step in the process. Can we also talk about how the lamps I put on our wedding registry are not even my style?? What was I thinking?? 

Next month maybe I'll show updates on the project of adding color!

~ Kitchen Happenings ~

Lots of meatless meals!! My best finds for this month had to be what I brought to the St. Joseph altar; a Mediterranean style tilapia with olives and tomatoes. I used only fresh herbs and I think that really enhanced the flavor! 

I also made marinated olives which are very easy if you need a little extra something to bring to a party! You simply heat up oil and spices, pour it on the olives, and let it marinate for a few hours. 

~ Things I'm Grateful For ~

I'm grateful for a good, long Lent that is just about over, for Holy Week and Easter which have become my favorite liturgical seasons, For God and His great mercy in my life, and for all of my family!

~ On The Bookshelf ~ 

I have been consistently reading Divine Intimacy and it's amazing! I can't say I've ever read it for a full year so I really hope to keep up the momentum after Lent. I've also been doing fairly well with my St. Francis book. I did get behind once but I ended up skipping one of the chapters on suffering through illness and that caught me up. As I'm writing this, I don't believe I've ever read that chapter in all the years I've owned this book. Haha, well there's always next year I guess!

~ Other Random Things Worth Mentioning ~

We officially began the adoption process! Right now we are in the home study process, trying our best to get all our documents sent in as quickly as possible! Everyone has been amazing in their love and support for us. Things are starting to happen and I am very excited!

And now it's time to leave March behind and soon Lent, as we enter into Holy Week. Talk to you in Eastertide! 

Gina💕