Hello, my home lovelies! I told you in my last post that I would show you how Steve did an "itty bitty step makeover" for us. When we turned our carport into our Secret Garden a couple years ago or so, I used floral curtains to add some charm. Over time though, even though we have a carport cover, the Arizona heat deteriorated the fabric, so when we did our latest patio spruce-up we decided a roller shade would be better. And it has been. Here's what Steve did to change this out to be more functional and long lasting. First up was a good vacuum under the step and a hose wash off, of course. Then Steve put our storage bins back under there that hold extra water for when our water gets shut off in our housing community because they are installing a new home unit. We keep extra water on hand to fill our sinks and toilet. (This is not drinking water! Never drink water in plastic bottles that has been in 100 degrees + heat!) Next up Steve installed hooks for the roller shade. Ta da! It rolls up easily so we can get at the water bins, hides the blue bins, and rather than fiddle with the former curtains that had to be "re-fluffed," it's much more functional this way. And also so easy to just hose off the desert dust when we clean the patio. Steve bought the shade at Home Depot. It had to be ordered, fyi. Do you have any itty bitty home projects you need to do because they are not functioning so great and are therefore annoying you? Today is the day, my friends! I have several affordable eBooks to help you with your home decluttering, organizing, and decorating. Kathryn :) #kathrynbechen #kathrynbechenauthor #authorkathrynbechen #kathrynbechensmallspaces #smallspaceskathrynbechen #easystepmakeover #smallspacedecorating #smallspaceorganizing #smallspaces #DIY #dollarwisedecorating #budgetfriendlydecorating

Good day from our little Arizona retirement cottage! DISCLOSURES Over the past several months my hubby Steve and I have been doing all kinds of little things to spruce up our home and simplify things to make it even more functional and streamlined as we age into the sunset. :) It's the little things that make the difference! Our home is always evolving and is our "couple DIY hobby" as well as our home. Married 45 years this year, and having moved together 15 times to various style homes all around the U.S., we have always done most of our own home spruce-ups, repairs, and decorating ourselves and we enjoy it! My new side door sign makes me smile! Still Home Sweet Home? I try to be a positive person and writer, but I also don't live in my own la-la land bubble , so I now want to share this: In the U.S., "Home Sweet Home" is increasingly becoming "Home Sour Home" I'm afraid, especially for seniors, as many are challenged not only with housing costs in the U.S. today, but also housing availability. And since when does a "starter home" cost $1 million dollars?! I personally find that absurd and it pains me to my core for my younger fellow Americans. Fortunately, there are some USA housing options without a $1 million price tag: Our home is a 748 SF manufactured home in a 55+ housing community with lots of nice amenities and clubs and the community is very well-kept. We feel living in our small home has been a critical piece of what has enabled us to also stay 100% debt free in four years of retirement so far, and that has also helped us keep our nest egg growing for our older older age, should we get there. Saving is important. But it is not always easy. We personally navigated corporate layoffs and chronic illness, to name a couple of life challenges. We planned and persevered too , in faith. Should you want to check into this type of more affordable housing, here's a good resource site for homes all over the USA. Our particular home is from Cavco , a leading builder of manufactured and modular homes. Ours is their Canyon Villa model, but I have no idea if they still make this style. Also, some of these home communities are all ages vs. just 55+. Incidentally, other countries have this kind of housing too. Search on You Tube for "manufactured homes" or "static caravans" or "tiny homes" and the name of the city and country, and you'll see some lovely ones. Every day I thank God for my sweet little home and the husband I share it with. "Home is the nicest word there is." --Laura Ingalls Wilder If you need help with how to live well in a small home, here's my bestselling book on that topic. Our orange tree was so prolific this year it produced a bumper crop! What a blessing of nutritious sweetness and that saved us grocery money too. It came with our house. As was our lemon tree which also came with our house. I sliced and froze some lemons for future meals. I like to put them on top of fish when we bake it in the oven as it really adds zing. I also drop a slice in my smoothies or when I make salad dressing. My kitchen window always gives me joy. We added the green shelves a couple of years ago and they have come in handy and I enjoy my plants and dishes every day this way. Here's how we did the shelves. Our kitchen is small and humble, but modern and mighty too and lots of healthy homecooked meals come out of here. I keep it organized and clean on a daily basis and that is fun for me. Yes, I know, I'm just a blast. :) We have some future plans for updating our kitchen a bit, but not for now. Good homes evolve over time. And by doing things that way, your wallet will thank you. "A good life with contentment is in itself a great wealth." --Saint Timothy A reader commented how clean our kitchen is. Thank you. All I use to clean my entire kitchen, and whole house, is a spray bottle like this with water, a few drops of essential oils, 1/4 t. baking soda, a splash of vinegar, and one small squirt of dish soap. That cleans everything just fine and doesn't kill me with harsh chemicals. I use unscented dish soap like this and this as I am highly sensitive to fragrances, but essential oils don't bother me, so the lemon, lavender, and tea tree smells from those are nice. I usually use Eden's Garden oils and I like this one for cleaning. (On Black Friday they run great sales and they have a lovely blog that's very informative too.) You don't have to use oils at all though in my cleaning recipe, just to let you know. This is what's on the outside of our kitchen window. Shhhh, don't tell, but it's a fake plant. Tip: Those grow better in the desert. :) I like to keep my fridge organized, just like a pantry. These storage bins with a handle have worked dandy for produce and I would buy them again. Our fridge worked fine, but my back is getting older so we now have a new side-by-side as of yesterday and I can't wait to not have to bend so much nor use a tiny freezer. I get to organize my new freezer into bins! Oh, the anticipation! In a future post, I will show you what I did. Steve had to move our pantry last minute to get this beast into the house, but it went okay after that. He slept well last night! My Ziploc bags were giving me a messy-conniption-fit, so ... I found this bin with a lid but the all-white bored me, so ... Similar bin Steve put this pretty removeable wallpaper on top. Perfecto! He should have never done that, because now I want to line the entire cabinet to make a floral "statement cabinet." And guess who's gonna be asked to take that on? He's grinning. All our recipes I now have in these floral binders . Colorful, fun, and they work great! I use extra wide divider tabs for best results, and I put the recipes in these clear sleeves . Be sure to get the extra wide divider tabs ! You will thank me. :) I like to use trays around my home to corral things. It looks nice, and on my stove here, catches drips and is easy to wipe off. I also like this style of round spoon rest, and my new wooden utensils are pretty and super functional. I like the spurtles. I had never used them until I saw them on Kevin's dear "down-to-earth-elegance" at home YouTube channel. I think I am going to invite myself to Kevin's home for his lovely Easter Dinner! Well seriously, since he lives across the whole USA from me, and I don't know him personally to actually be invited to his home in real life , I' m making this wonderful one-pan salmon meal that this lovely You Tube lady just showed us. As a longtime Anglophile and cottage lover, I find her cozy-at-home in England channel dreamy. This tray is from "Wally's Wonderland" and is really nice. I simply stick it quick in dish water and rinse to wash it, and then air dry it in my drainer. It has held up fine doing that. Similar tray This pretty blue cottage-roses tray caught my eye and ... Similar tray it works great to corral my dishsoap, sponges, brushes, and oils etc. Easy to just wipe off. BTW, these work great for dish soap and save you money too because you can measure out to use just one pump rather than a too-big-squirt from a dish soap bottle. I like this brush , this brush , and this brush to do my dishes. And this little diddy brush I just bought for water bottles works dandy on the lids. The white scalloped cutting board was cute but just did not work well for me, so after awhile I donated it. This happens no matter how carefully you read reviews. This one replaced it and is much better and I think it's real marble. Note: It's heavy ! Steve put these plastic feet on the bottom and that keeps it super sturdy from moving around when cutting. Yay, Steve! You're a home prince! Our dishwasher gave out five years ago during the pandemic and we elected not to replace it. I have not regretted it. I don't mind washing dishes by hand and in fact, I find joy in seeing my pretty floral dishes in the drainer. I told you I was fun. :) This drainer is dandy; I love the tray to catch water. In place of the removed dishwasher we added a storage cart for our pans. And were able to move a container for kitchen linens that need washing, which we do every evening. Yes indeedy, I like sanitation, so I'm a handy gal to have around during say, a pandemic, and such. BTW, you might notice that we have a garden/floral them going on in our home. A lot. That's purposeful. I have loved flowers since I was a little girl and my 4-H leader showed me her flower garden, as well as a childhood family friend who as a mother of five, loved spending her "free time" in her flower beds and pointing the different flowers out to me. Being allergic though to so many things as an adult, including some flowers, I long ago incorporated unscented florals into my home via paintings, pillows, bedding etc. as a workaround, and that's made me happy. Also, orchids are one flower I love as well as appreciate since they have no scent. There's an orchid show happening at the beautiful Desert Botanical Garden near where we live in case you'd like to go. Oh, the elusive spice organizing projects that seem to never end! This is very functional and looks nice but I think for me, I personally prefer larger bottles or jars to store spices, and also simplifying how many types of spices I have on hand. Time will tell. Sometimes you try something but find it didn't work so well for you and it's okay to try again. New mixing bowls were needed and these are nice. The bowls are pretty on the open shelves. Double win. Last year we removed the cabinet doors and I love it this way. More efficient and easy. Steve was not wild about the idea but he came around to my way of thinking and he now says it was the best thing we ever did in the kitchen! (If anyone can tell me why men are like this, and why they don't usually like painting over dark wood either, I will send you a free copy of the book Men Are From Mars !) Kidding. :) I also love these floral ramekins and these trays for my Sunday Trays. Similar trays. I use ramekins for containing and organizing all kinds of things from food to rubber bands. Anything with little pieces. They work great in cabinets and drawers too. So that when you open your drawer it's like a little "pretty party" in there. More flowers on my casserole dishes! Luckily, my hubby likes living in a "garden" too. I changed to covered casserole dishes this year to avoid the expense of aluminum foil and because I read that little pieces of foil can get into your food. No thank you. And yes, I read too much. I bought a deep dish and a not deep dish and I use both equally for different recipes. I went back to glass food storage containers. Th ese and these are great. We bought them in three sizes. I also like crocks for holding my cooking utensils. These even rotate! It's my "airplane cockpit" "at your fingertips" organizing m.o. again that I have mentioned to you many times before. My hubby Steve and his latest "Tinker Toys" project. (Remember those, Boomers?!) Actually he just told me it's more like his childhood erector set, which he loved. This is why he does this assembly stuff in our home as his fun and I shop for goods and come up with ideas for him to do for me as my fun. He always teases me: "You be the brains and I'll be the brawn." Fine with me! Perfect shelves for our bistro corner! Similar. As is this little shelf. Works great for storing my herbs and tea collection that is growing. My fave book on tea is this and this one too. And this and this are my favorite herb sites. My fave tea storage tins are these and these . We finally bought a new dining table as the other one was just too small. This one above is the perfect size and nice-looking too, especially for the price. It's also light enough for me to move easily to sweep too. To us old-ish ladies, that's a big win. I keep a water carafe on the dining table all the time. And I now like colorful tablecloths with an elastic edge so they stay on well. Just toss in the washer. No ironing needed. I realize some people think ironing is a fun art form. Me? I think it's work that never ends, and hot, so I don't do it, and instead just buy no-wrinkle goods, especially because you don't want to be ironing when you live in the desert as I do where it gets to 120 degrees in the shade in July! Wrinkle-free fabrics, welcome to my home ! Our chair cushions needed more "cush" for the now-older "tush" so we found some outdoor ones that are really comfy. We put our old smaller table out on the patio because we always try to repurpose to save money and not waste things nor overfill landfills. Plus, we kind of like to just move things around, admittedly. :) Yep, we're that kind of people. You won't find us drinking in a bar or gambling at a casino. You'll find us swooning over bolts in Home Depot or in the colorful paint section at Lowe's, or in the home decor or Garden Center at Walmart. A little side table works great by the dining table, as does the wall hanger that holds our floral napkins. Shhhhh, don't tell, but we have a food pantry in our small living room. And I like it! This helps save money enormously on sale groceries stockups, which is a prudent thing to do these days, as you all know by now. My fave place to save money on pantry stockups is Vitacost . You can stack coupons and use Rakuten rebates with it too. Sometimes I save 30 percent that way. Swoon! Our pantry doors have plant decals on them to carry on with our garden theme. They have held up for years and I love them. Th floral painting is from our trip to Florida in 2016 which brings back fun memories. I like to decorate my home with things from our past travels. Yes, I like my pantry super organized. I bet that surprises you. I used what I had for containers already and for now, that's good enough. I also like to wash these coconut oil containers out and reuse them for pantry goods. TIP: Put some white vinegar in with a squirt of dish soap and hot water. The vinegar cuts the oil right away. These are the perfect size and I cover the jar label with these labels. My dear husband? He does not always put things in the right container when he puts groceries away in the pantry and he tends to stash little things in between. More Men Are From Mars ? :) Just warning you if you try this with your family: Some people do not abide by labels, just to let you know. :) And speaking of labels, I handwrite most of mine now. Labeler tape looks nicer and cleaner, but labeler tape has become expensive and most of the time it's not something I want to spend my retirement dollars on when a pen will do, so I bought a Sharpie pen and write the labels myself . (My handwriting has improved too! And BTW, as a former English/language arts teacher I don't think schools should stop teaching cursive handwriting, even in the age of technology. Since you asked. ) :) Our pantry might be a future "better containers" project, but in spite of what social sites might lead you to believe, you will not go to heaven just for having an organized pantry, and redoing a pantry is a costly affair if you buy all new containers at once, plus a lot of shopping and schlepping and measuring, so it is not my priority at the moment. Age gives you perspective. :) And yes, plastic containers bug me for health and environmental reasons, but glass can be dangerous if your hands are weak and the containers are a large size, so I am kind of torn on the "container conundrum." Sometimes good enough is good enough if it's functional as is , and for me, this works fine for now. And a word about decanting pantry food too. If you have a large walk-in pantry, it's easier to leave things in the boxes and bags and store them in baskets or clear bins and label the bins . If you have a small or tiny pantry like ours, you get more bang for your space buck by decanting and labeling the food containers . Don't torture yourself trying to decant 18 boxes of cereal! Please. Your kids can find their cereal just fine in boxes in baskets. When they see the Lucky Charms or Captain Crunch fairy on the box, they'll know. (Young moms, do they still make those?) If they are really young kids, they can't read your labels anyway! Beautiful homekeepers around the world! Speaking of organized pantries, I love how Lisa in Canada stores her food and I like her open kitchen shelving too. Check out her wonderful homemade authentic Italian meals, lovely yard, and cozy vintage-y home. She has a lot of life wisdom she shares too, including good ways to save money in the home. (Not to mention Lisa looks like the beautiful late actress Elizabeth Taylor!) And look how Cardsu in Korea keeps her little kitchen and pantry organized. She's a master at small space living. And cooking. She is so clever in her homekeeping. I love her channel and her cute cats. And then we have charming Kirsten & Joerg , two Germans in England who just remodeled their small kitchen and it's beyond adorable. Steve and I are of German descent and are Anglophiles too so we both love their channel where they tour cute cottages and inns in England and share all things German with cooking at home etc. Their DIY home is so lovely; just like them. I adore their snug and their blue attic too! And speaking of cottages, don't forget to tour the 1700s historic cottage home of one of my favorite home and lifestyle authors, Alexandra Stoddard , with her gorgeous garden and home photos. Steve and I visited her home in 2006 in Connecticut and we had a wonderful time at one of her Happiness Weekends. (She no longer hosts those.) Her book Living a Beautiful Life was the first one I read of hers way back in the 1990s and is still my favorite book of hers. Now in her 80s, God bless this dear lady for all she has taught so many about the art of living well. Here's a picture of Steve and me at her cottage in 2006 ... The darling family at French Vibes has a wonderful home and sweet lifestyle You Tube channel where they show how they are renovating their sweet little stone house perched atop a mountain in a tiny French village. Their cute young son Mattie helps Mom and Dad with all their home projects and he enjoys the charming places they visit around France. They just did a wonderful living room renovation and she has a nice cooking channel too. Talented family! Live Like Liz is an interesting You Tube channel set in Bavaria, if I remember correctly. Liz bought a lovely home as a single woman and tells how she did so financially. She has an uncommon wisdom about money and life for someone so young, I think. Not to mention her melodious speaking voice alone will help you relax! And if you love the idea of a Finnish sauna in your home ( yes, please! ), you'll love the You Tube channel Kavihuone8487 . These young wife and husband are masters at what I would call "Beautiful & Quiet Minimalism" in their small apartment in Finland. The wife is an excellent cook who presents her very chic homecooked meals so beautifully, and sometimes she takes us along to darling Helsinki home shops and cafes too. Her new puppy Hiro is the icing on the cake of her sweet home channel! And one last "master of home loveliness" is cute You Tuber Natalie in Florida. She has perfected the art of living well at home on Natalie's Home with her darling daughter Emma and her husband. I watch her channel to relax as I find it very meditative. No clutter! Now that I am a "seasoned lady" I especially like watching the young ones organize and decorate their homes on where else? You Tube. The thing that stands out to me about these 'round the world home keepers is not only their love of home and family, but how well they live on whatever are the particular means they have. All different lifestyles and locales and budgets, but all beautiful in my eyes. Isn't it amazing that we can find kindred spirits through You Tube? ! But BTW, if the loud ads on You Tube drive you nutty like the do me, we bought their Premium monthly ad-blocking thing and now I have a peaceful way to watch You Tube. Hallelujah! I don't usually like subscriptions but this one was worth every penny to me. Back to our home: The Assembly King strikes again! His name is Hubby Steve and ... He put this "double duty" cabinet together for me and I really like it. (For double duty meaning, see below.) Similar cabinet We use a Berkey Travel Water Filter and an ice machine like this and this cabinet works great as a beverage center. I saw this cute Hydration Station sign on Amazon so I might consider that later. Also, I love our small electric tea kettle for hot water and our fave instant coffee. Our canvas painting reminds us of when we used to try cute bistros in Southern California when we lived there years ago, so I had to have it to bring back more good memories. Similar The "double duty" cabinet: Steve uses the inside for some of his tools so he doesn't have to go out to the shed when I ask him at say, midnight , to fix something please. Patient man, my husband. Married 45 years this summer, so maybe I'm not that bad. :) The cabinet color and style went with our sofa so it all turned out well in the end. Whenever we update our home, some decluttering is in order even though we are what I call "perpetual declutterers." In other words, we don't like things to pile up too much. We went through our older photo albums this time, and also some office files from the past. We considered scanning our photos but decided to keep the albums. Done. Next to paint, my favorite dollarwise way to update your home is pillow covers and throws. Inexpensive and easy. (And no ironing!) I put a new floral throw on the seat of our sofa (above) and it's almost as good as having it recovered and certainly less costly. There are many throws to choose from. And nobody had to find an upholsterer and arrange for them to pick up the sofa and return it later. Less stress. Saves time. I have always liked  simpler ! Paint is my very favorite way to update our home on a dollarwise budget if I have not mentioned that already. It just changes everything so nicely. As a highly allergic person, Ecos Paints is my favorite non-toxic brand that I feel are totally worth the price. Steve likes painting, so I let him do it! Ta da! My world headquarters for brainstorming and planning is my home office corner in our Master Bedroom. I am there a lot. We used Ecos Paints for my desk. Some people are a glutton for assembly punishment, aren't they? Steve put together two white towers for beside my desk so now my few books I still keep on hand that are not eBooks have a better home. We have always decorated our own Master Bedroom like a bed & breakfast inn. We came up with this idea when we stayed at our first charming inn in San Francisco in the late 1980s. Why not do this at home , we thought! So we did. And I wrote this article about it. That first inn stay in San Fran turned into what I later dubbed our "magnificent obsession" of 69 inn stays in 17 U.S. states. Once we hit 70 inns, I think it's time to call that hobby quits. :) List of inns we've stayed in Here we were at ages 27 and 28 in front of our first inn stay. Back to our home ... Beside our bed, I added one of these . The pockets work great for sorting and reaching things in the night. Like my phone and reader glasses in case of emergency, etc. I would have preferred pink or white, but you learn at some point that you just can't have everything you want in life. :) (Plus, where would you put it ?!) And sometimes you just have to wait to touchup paint the wall too until you get around to it. Oh well, we'll live. "Wisdom is sanctified common sense." -- Joyce Meyer I love these little shelves on both our nightstands. Always go vertical to maximize your space is my motto. If I had to do it again, I'd buy this one because I think it's vintage-y, like me. :) My paintings make me smile when I lie in bed. Cozy, charming, comfy. Amazon has great tea paintings and signs. That small wall I want to paint an accent color. Some day. Okay, as a self-proclaimed Efficiency Queen, something had to be redone in our bathroom. I use this bathroom exclusively and Steve prefers his own in his den, so this was all my brainy idea. I stacked a bunch of these so everything would be right at my fingertips for my toiletries and hair. Like an airplane cockpit as I have said before. I'm in heaven; it's the best thing I have tried in there! I have streamlined my beauty routine down to just a few things, so even if this looks like a lot, it's not. I also am really enjoying these little pump bottles like this and this to add a bit of elegance to my little lifestyle. Yes, I like simple, but I also like pretty. For those of you who like to snoop in other people's toiletry and medicine cupboards, here you go! (I always thought that was a weird thing to do, but human nature being what it is, not surprising, really.) :) I used these new bins with handles to re-organize our goods in the bathroom, plus some bins here that were once in our fridge! Did I mention I like to repurpose to save money and time? A container is a container is my motto. As long as it's clean and not cracked, it can be used again. Somewhere. Our landfills are groaning; let's stop that! The closet door here was long ago removed and a curtain hung for ease of access. The door swung a weird way so I had Steve take the door down. It's okay to customize your house to you. I thought you should know: Turkish beach towels are wonderful once you get used to not "needing" thick luxury hotel-esque towels that take 13 days to dry in places like Florida where there's high humidity, or say one day only to dry in "it's a dry heat" Arizona, as the locals like to quip. Go with Turkish beach towels, my friends! They are better for travel too. Trust me, they DO dry in Arizona in about an hour. Even if they are folded. Side note: If you live in Arizona, you know how all things dry out fast. Including you , so be sure if you are thinking of moving here to buy stock in your favorite hand lotion as well as a large water bottle. My fave lotion and one of my fave water bottles . And your plastic storage bins in a shed or garage will crack sooner than later. When we were planning to move here and I read things like this I thought, "Oh, the desert drama." Nope. It's true! Towel tip: Choose one color for each member of the family, buy two towels per family member, and teach them how to launder their own. A five year old can learn this! During the pandemic, we bought a bidet. One with pretty rose gold controls. I love it. Enough detail on that topic except to say, you save a lot of money on TP, and a girl's gotta have a little practical luxury in her life, right?! Similar model A new touch was freshening up our side step flower pot. I have had the vase for years; I bought it at the La Jolla CA Goodwill. That's a great little store if it's still there. The green table is metal. If you have an old metal table or chair, just sand it a little and spray it with Rustoleum paint and you'll be right uptown for pennies. Red is fun! We decorated our patio three years ago and it has held up really well. The steps though now needed some paint as the white part was dirty and washing it was not enough. I came up with the solution to buy brown paint the color of the steps so you'll never have to paint them again since they won't show dirt. That sounded good to Steve when I said you'll never have to do it again , so he took a piece of board from the step to Home Depot to match the paint color and ... It worked great! Our carport turned Secret Garden has been a hit with everyone who has been in there. Including two young notary guys who said, "Oh wow, a glass of wine, some jazz, and just WOW!" I laughed that two young guys would find our Secret Garden so fun. And another notary the other day loved the Secret Garden sign. She was young too. Perhaps we inspired them to create their own Secret Garden? It makes me smile to bring joy to others through my home. This step coverup was just curtains. But three years in, alas, the desert heat meant they could use replacing. I will show you what Steve did with that in a future post. This is the garden sign the young notary girl liked. It's always the little things in a home that make it personalized and fun. A good place to relax, for sure. "Despite the forecast, live like it's spring."  --Lily Pulitzer ( Lily loved color !) I hope you enjoyed our home spruce-ups and found some tips and links perhaps for your own home. Similar window film A very blessed upcoming Easte r to you and yours. Christ is risen! Sharing a favorite book here from my childhood, Faith Is , given to me by a Sunday School teacher in the 1970s. Thank you, Lola ; I still remember your sunny smile and kind spirit, all these years later! This spiral edition is really pretty, especially as a gift. Speaking of books/eBooks, the DIY books I have written will help you with your home. Kathryn :) P.S. If you have questions or comments on this post, please send them to me here . #kathrynbechen #authorkathrynbechen #kathrynbechenauthor #kathrynbechendollarwisedecorating #kathrynbechensmallspaceorganizing #smallspaces #smallspacedecorating #smallspaceorganizing #homeorganizing #homedecorating #savemoney #budgetdecorating

Kathryn Bechen homemade bread Hello my lovelies! In response to those of you who emailed me since I have not posted since December, 2024. I am fine; just unexpected happenings that required lots of my focused attention, so my blog simply had to take a break. I am in the middle of preparing a long new blog post with many photos and helpful dollarwise tips you could use in your own homes, but it's not ready yet. I did manage to update my Resource Room  page on my site where you can find articles, forms, etc. that might be useful to you. I will continue to add things to this page so check back periodically to see what's new there. Also, I updated my Our Cottage-Style Home  page with new photos and a bit of explanation with each pic so you can see how our home looks after streamlining it a lot in 2024. If you want to see room details, click on the photo to enlarge it. We have always tried to live pretty simply, but as we age to the end of our 60s, and now fully retired from working full-time, we want even less stuff to maintain, as many people do, so viva la streamlining!  Or something like that. :) Since the world has now entered tariff-land, today I thought I'd quick share our homemade bread recipe so you don't have to spend $6-7 on a loaf of store-bought bread. Lordy! Don't succumb to grocery price-gouging; get creative and do your very best to dance around it and keep that hard-earned money of yours  in your bank account or for something fun you really want to do. Back to my bread.   No  kneading! It's so easy, my friends. You can use gluten-free or regular flour. The GF flour does not give as much of a rise but it still tastes  really good. Since this makes small pieces of bread, rather than a sandwich size slice, we use the small slices kind of like a crostini and they are yummy and fun that way. Great with some nut butter and jam for afternoon tea, or with some tuna salad on top open-face for lunch with a nice little green salad on the side perhaps.  You can do this.  One loaf of bread for maybe $1-2 sure beats $6 or $7! Nice to take in the car when you travel too, with a jar of nut butter, for a healthier and more dollarwise snack vs. expensive  fast   food stops. DISCLOSURES IMPORTANT:  We have found that the best GF flour to use for this bread is King Arthur. They have many; here's the one we used and like. EASY WHITE BREAD WITH GF OR REGULAR FLOUR Mix in a large bowl: 3 cups flour 1 t. salt 1 T. honey 1 t. yeast, any kind 1 1/2 cups warm water, BUT it could take up to 2 cups warm water because dough should be tacky, and different flours react differently, so use your best judgement on water amount to get to "tacky." (Steve usually makes this and he says bread making is not an exact science. Amen, sister! ) Then do this: Once mixed, cover the bowl and let rise 4-24 hours in a warm place. The dough will and should be tacky. Once risen, put dough on a cookie sheet sprayed with olive oil and shape into the shape you want. Examples: We have made long baguette style loaves as well as round loaves like the pix above. Spray top of loaves with olive oil (gives a nice brown crusty crust). I do that with my nifty olive oil dispenser , which I love! It's easy to use and to wash. And today, there's even a coupon and   we love coupons , yes?! Bake the loaf at 450 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Preheat oven before you put it in. When done, remove from oven, let cool, slice in slices and put slices in Ziploc bag to freeze. Take out the number of frozen slices you want to eat at one time and pop in microwave for one minute. This freezes well. You can also make these into garlic toasts by spraying olive oil on top with garlic salt and putting in oven under broiler for a bit. "Give us this day our daily bread."   --Matthew 6:11 Blessings as you break your homemade bread, Kathryn :) #kathrynbechen #kathrynbechenauthor #authorkathrynbechen #homemadebread #breakbread

Hello, my lovelies! It's time to wish you a very Merry Christmas this year, so Merry Christmas ! Steve and I will be celebrating simply and quietly in our cozy home in Arizona, and we are grateful for our blessings this year. Any challenges this year we have put quietly behind us and we move ahead positively in faith. Food for Christmas thought: Here's a poem I wrote back in 2005 for Christmas . Oh my, that's 20 years ago! Time does fly, indeed. If you need a last-minute Christmas gift, I love my new sandwich and tea tray and Steve thought they were fun too. We are also having fun with our new Christmas tea mugs! Similar styles to choose from. Wishing you all the blessings of this magical holiday season. Love, Kathryn #kathrynbechen #kathrynbechenauthor #authorkathrynbechen #kathrynbechenChristmas

Hello from my home office in Arizona! Can you believe it's 2025? Wow! Me either. Today I thought I'd share some practical tips, products, and strategies I have used in my own life and home for years to help you along if you feel challenged with managing your home, home office, and life during these challenging times. If you feel overwhelmed, you are not alone. So let's make your life a bit easier. HOME OFFICE SUITE OFFICE There are lots of nooks and crannies in my very small office corner space above, yes? Those help keep everything sorted . You want sorted too, yes you do! And to do that you need a place for everything. In other words, all your supplies need their own home. Below are some of my favorite things to help keep my desk and home office organized and my supplies sorted. You will likely choose different supplies, but this will give you ideas. Of course, supplies and ideas only work if you use them. You can't just buy bins and baskets and then never put your supplies away in them. The reason I bring this up is because it's not uncommon for people who struggle with disorder to buy bins and baskets and bags and .... never use them. And then ... Your clutter problem is just worse. Not to mention you have spent money on those things. So declutter first and then choose your office supplies carefully for what you think you will actually use , and forget the rest. Always remember that functional comes first, then beauty. I love pretty things as much as the next person, but they must be functional first to earn a place in my home and office so be aware of this as you organize your home office. Favorite products for my home office are below. Search Amazon, Walmart, Target etc. for these types of supplies. Revolving caddy holds my scissors, biz cards, pens, etc. Riser shelf that saves space on my desktop Basket that holds my papers until I can process and scan them if need be Small drawers to hold binder clips and rubber bands etc. Holder for my cell phone Post it note cube Calendar with tabs-by-topic dividers for my planner Baskets for misc. office supplies Bin for postcards Card file for my contacts (I like a paper card file because I never have to worry about my computer going "poof" and losing all my contacts. Kind of like I still carry a paper boarding pass to the plane. Old school? Yep, and I don't apologize because some things just work better . I mean, do you really want to be stranded in Timbuktu because some computer ate your boarding pass? Not me! ) I also love quotes and motivators. This one that I clipped onto my calendar here with a pretty binder clip was the cover of an old journal and I cut it out and kept it because I love it: "Don't let the noise of other opinions drown out your inner voice." Amen, sister! CALENDARS AND PERSONALITIES I have pretty floral tabs throughout my calendar planner. Some of my section/tab categories are TO DO, TO BUY, MONEY, FAITH, etc. That's the fun part; you get to choose your own categories so that you can find things quickly. Your brain and my brain think differently, so the tabs are the "sorting principle" and what you label on the tabs are your brain so you can find your info. quickly. BTW, If you are not sure how you think, try the fun 16Personalities test for some insights into your personality. Back to desks. When I am organizing my desk, I always pretend I am in the cockpit of an airplane. I grew up the daughter of an airline employee and I remember going into the airplane cockpit as they would do that back then for airline employees' kids. (This was before the days of airport security so now you know how old I really am! 66 in case you are curious. Not as old as Amelia Earhart, but pretty close.) :) I was about seven years old back when I first visited the airplane cockpit and I remember thinking how cool that certain buttons in the cockpit were in just the right place to make flying that plane easier! Yeah I know, I was a really fun little girl! The point being, when you organize your desk, think of how an airplane cockpit might be arranged -- i.e. so that everything is "handy" to the pilots so the plane doesn't crash. You're the pilot of your desk so you don't "crash" it into a big mess because with my "airplane cockpit organizing method" everything will have a proper place on your desk/in your home office. Okay, so now that you have some tips for your home office area, let's talk simplifying your whole home space too in 2025. Simplifying is no longer just a buzz word, my friends. It's necessary for survival/a good life because you don't need me to tell you that the world is super complicated these days and you have to find ways to cope with it. In other words, you don't want to "crash" your "life plane" with clutter and chaos! This means you will have to say NO to some things like: Too much paper on your desk that you should have scanned into your computer and organized by topic into folders Yet another committee that will take time away from your family or other priorities Constant requests for monetary donations to about everything Too many toys housed on your living room floor that others are dangerously tripping over Etc. etc. To quote our eloquent former Episcopal priest: NO is a holy word. Amen, brother. Steve and I have always tried to live our version of a simplified life, but in 2024, we ramped it up. Why? Well, as the old cliche goes ... We aren't getting any younger, baby! We take many steps on this path* called life, and we personally want our life to be the simply beautiful version. How about you? Kathryn :) *I took this photo in Southern CA many years ago and it still makes me smile. #kathrynbechen #kathrynbechenauthor #authorkathrynbechen #simpleliving #simplicity #smallhomes #smallspaces #smallhomeoffice #organizing #homeorganizing #homeofficeorganizing

Greetings from our home's dinner table in Arizona! Thanks for visiting my blog today and welcome. I am sharing some fun new cooking things with you today as shown below, as well as a nice recent reader letter that warmed my heart. DISCLOSURES Thank you to reader Cathy J. who sent me this nice message recently: "Somehow I thought you were no longer on the internet, as of about two years ago. Just found you again and am glad. You and your husband have created such nice homes and have such great ideas." -- Cathy It always makes me smile to know someone has enjoyed my blog posts and eBooks and found my dollarwise home ideas helpful. If you have any questions, comments, or want to send me a reader letter, please send them here. Okay, let's talk food and kitchen for a minute as I want to point out some kitchen helps that I am liking lately. DOLLARWISE TIP: I put things I want in my Amazon lists and then usually wait 'til they are a good price and/or have a coupon. This saves a lot of money , and it's good to be prudent with our money, especially these days, you know?! These dishtowels are wonderful. Pretty patterns and they are so soft you could even wash your car with them and not scratch it! I also like them to tuck into my top as a "bib" so I don't spill on my outfit and I use them for napkins as well as they are a nice size for that. I also put two of them on our small bistro table like a tablecloth, as shown above. They wash up nicely as well with no wrinkles at all out of the dryer. If you are worried about glass breakage at your table, these acrylic glasses are really nice and won't break. A little pricey, but the quality is worth it, I think. I mentioned my newly found love for sake sets when you just want a little sip of your favorite beverage for a small taste or maybe with a cookie or biscuit. I bought these food storage containers recently and also these , and they are both great! I think I prefer the gray lids in style, but both work fine. They are made of a kind of glass that isn't so easily breakable and withstands high heat. As a senior, I am especially careful with glass breakage. These can be used in the dishwasher, oven, (not the lid though), and microwave. I am really liking these so far as the lids close and seal well and they stack great in our little freezer. Similar. I am seriously loving my new casserole dish because it's lightweight and such a pretty color blue. Lightweight is great for seniors! Worked great for baking fish with kalamata olives and cherry tomatoes on top and broccoli on the bottom. I LOVE one pot meals! I was using so much foil that I went to this because of the lid and am so glad to save money now on costly foil and to not put it in the trash either. This pan cleans up like a dream, too. Have you seen these things ? They are quilted "hot pads" for pan lids! They work so great on our new oven casserole dish lid so you don't burn yourself. Who knew?! I am always experimenting with kitchen hacks to make our life easier and more pleasant. This set of flatware is really nice for the amazingly low price -- you would think they cost double, at least. Even hubby mentioned how nice they are to eat with and how nice they look with our nice smaller size Pioneer Woman floral pasta dishes. Steve is working on another home project for us and NO, these are not "retro" tinker toys! :) (Remember those, Boomers?!) Steve loved Tinker Toys as a kid but now he has his "adult Tinker Toys," -- i.e. things his wife buys that need assembling! This was supposed to be an easy "assembly" project according to the product description online, but in reality it was basically like a whole build. Well, home things seldom go as planned, yes? So you just learn to pivot and get creative! Please come back to visit as I will show you how this project turned out in a future post. May your home be cozy and your heart be happy during this holiday season! Kathryn :) #KathrynBechen #KathrynBechenauthor #authorkathrynbechen #homehacks #kitchenhacks #smallspaceliving #DIYhomedecorating #cottageliving #homeorganizing #smallspaceorganizing #smallspacedecorating #cookinghacks

Greetings from our little home in Arizona, USA! How will you be spending your Thanksgiving Day, my fellow Americans? Is there any one holiday that binds us together as Americans like this tradition? I don't think so! That being said, we all celebrate the holiday differently and below I will show you what Steve and I will be doing this year as well as sharing one of my favorite super-easy recipes for your leftover turkey! DISCLOSURES We don't personally eat turkey anymore since we went "almost" plant-based years ago, but I thought YOU might like turkey so I went into my vintage recipe binder of collected recipes and pulled out my absolute favorite t urkey recipe. No big whole bird required; you can just bake turkey breasts and then make this, or use your whole turkey leftovers the day after Thanksgiving. NOTE: If you are feeding a crowd, I suggest making this recipe in triple amount as the recipe below is just for two or three really. RECIPE SOURCE: Someone named Patti Clark gave me this recipe years ago from an Episcopal church we attended in Omaha, Nebraska in the 1980s and I have kept it all these years and made it countless times. It never fails to get raves. :) Thank you Patti! TIP FOR NON-TURKEY EATERS: I figured out that mahi-mahi fish is dense enough baked and then diced after it's cold from the fridge that it works just like chicken or turkey chunks in recipes, so I use that fish in this recipe now instead of turkey and it's great! ( Steve buys our fish at Costco and it's excellent quality.) You can also use chicken, of course. Will you be traveling for Thanksgiving? Yikes! We have long ago given holiday traveling up and instead prefer to be in our favorite cozy and blissfully quiet place: our home. This year we will have our celebratory holiday meal here in our newly-spruced-up at-home bistro, a.k.a. our corner cafe. :) We bought new dining chair cushions recently which are soooo comfy and were on sale, which we loved , of course. Similar. We also bought this nice arched bookcase (also on sale!) which works much better than the baker's rack we had there before that was too deep for comfort when getting out of my chair. I was tired of hitting my elbow on it so we chose something less deep and it was a bingo! Steve assembled it and anchored it to the wall for safety. Steve loves to assemble and fix things and he does all of that for us. I am grateful for his handyman skills every day. xxoo After we have our non-turkey dinner we will enjoy coffee and dessert on our Secret Garden patio. We set this up like this about 2 1/2 years ago now and have really enjoyed it. It was just a plain ol' carport before we dolled it up! TRUE CONFESSION: All the plants are faux. Yep, fake. Those grow great in the desert! :) When I searched recently for the term "small-size beverage set" on Amazon, I found out about sake sets ! I'm like a kid in a candy store with these now and I don't even drink sake! Steve told me what it is as I had no idea, but I found these sake sets great for apple juice or flavored spritzer water or a small amount of grape juice. They are beyond cute in person and most are $25 or under so sake sets are my new dollarwise way to take a pretty beverage break without going to an expensive restaurant/coffee shop. This red floral set I bought is now on a great sale and I think this set would be so cute for Christmas! (Hint hint, Santa!) BONUS:  The sake set cups work great as votive candle holders too like I did above. After I am done with our "faux sake" break on Thanksgiving Day, I'm going to take this new book , which I love because it's organized by topics of life to help us know the best ways to live. And here is where my book and I are gonna take a nap in our spruced-up bedroom that we dollarwise decorated (again!) like a bed & breakfast inn this year which has long been our bedroom decorating m.o. since we started staying in inns together when we travel, way back to 1987. If you have a hankering for an "at-home-getaway" here are my tips for dollarwise decorating your own bedroom at home like a lovely bed & breakfast inn. Wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving Day, however you and your family choose to celebrate it! Kathryn :) #kathrynbechen #kathrynbechenauthor #authorkathrynbechen #dollarwiseliving #dollarwisedecorating #dollarwiseorganizing #dollarwiseArizonalifestyle #dollarwisesmallhomes #dollarwisehomes #dollarwisesmallspaces

Hello my lovely readers, What's your home's "cozy quotient?" In times when the world swirls with utter craziness, I think cozy touches at home are a necessity to take care of ourselves the best we can, body and soul. I've personally practiced a cozy lifestyle m.o. for pretty much forever and I heartily recommend this way of life because it's comfortable, affordable, and just plain feels good. Here are some ways I do cozy, and why ... DISCLOSURES COZY NOT-AT-HOME SIDE NOTE: I have a cozy-comfy clothing m.o. too, not just a cozy m.o. at home. There is a good reason I do this. For instance: I wore my fave cozy dress/lounger to a difficult dentist appointment recently and the dentist and her staff commented on my pretty dress, and how it even matched my turquoise cane , (it's hard to get out of a reclining dentist chair at age 66 so a cane helps!), so I shared with them that when I have to do something hard, I purposely wear something cozy-colorful-pretty. They both kind of looked bewildered by my comments, so I don't know if they didn't grasp my "creative pain management concept" since they were wearing sensible all-black uniforms, or if they felt bad that they caused me lots of pain -- about 12 shots, a lot of my blood I could have donated, and $3000. (It's a toss up which hurt more; the shots, the blood loss, or the money, and let's just say I couldn't wait to get home to my pretty cozy garden-style bedroom and rest!) Well, with the cost, at least I do this so that I have money saved when something unexpected happens. And now I have also taken it upon myself to read the book Kiss Your Dentist Goodbye , written by none other than a dentist. I am not suggesting that you read this book or fire your dentist, but personally, I want to educate myself more about my own teeth so I can speak intelligently to any future new dentist I hire . But back to positive cozy at home ... My husband Steve and I ramped up our "cozy quotient" lately with a new cute little faux fireplace that's just the right size for our small home. Similar. It's so charming; we just love it! We had been considering one of these FP stoves for awhile as it gets chilly sometimes in the fall in Arizona. (Not too long after the +110 degree heat stops, we go into chilly sometimes, just like that!) These little FP stoves are a nice alternative to blah-looking small space black heaters, so when Steve called me all excited from Costco about this stove, I told him "Yes! I think we should buy one before the snowbirds all come to AZ as they will buy them out, I'd bet." And sure enough, the next time he went to Costco about 10 days later they were all sold out, so apparently other people are onto this cozy m.o. lately too, yes? You can run the flame on this without turning on the heat element, so if it doesn't bother you to watch a fireplace flicker romantically when it's over 100+ degrees in the shade outside and therefore your AC bill might be approaching $2000 that month, you can turn your fireplace on as it's just fake flames and no heat! (I kind of just thought back in my mind my past of growing up in frigid blizzards in the Midwest while I was actually living now in Arizona, and that did the trick of ignoring our 100+ degrees heat while the fireplace flames danced beautifully in my living room!) Also, the stove model we bought at Costco was about $130 including tax which was a great price. (My husband, a former career banker of 40-some years and now a tax-organizer-employee part-time during tax season, loves both Costco, and a great price.) I don't see this stove on the Costco website, but here is one online that's similar to ours. Okay, one other thing I think you need to "up your cozy quotient" at home is good ol' tuna casserole. And I don't mean some gourmet-ish version you find from some "chic chef" online touting three kinds of cheeses you have never heard of, let alone don't have the budget for. I mean plain ol' real tuna casserole like the kind of tuna casserole served at every church potluck in the Midwest in the 1960s. (Or, if you were from Minnesota, like my ancestors were, you proudly called it a Hot Dish.) The creamy kind like your Grandma made. (She's now called Nana, Mimi, Bubby and such, and she likely runs a software company, takes her grandkids on cruises, and texts them for fun, but back in the day, we called her Grandma and she made us tuna casseroles, read us real paper books that were not on a Kindle, and taught us to knit, crochet, and to be sure we said please and thank you! ) :) Here's the "recipe" we made as kids with the "secret ingredient" that makes it qualify as real comfort tuna casserole in my opinion .... INSTRUCTIONS: Boil a big amount of egg noodles or elbow macaroni in boiling salted water and drain and rinse in a colander. Add cheese of your choice and melt 'til creamy on the stovetop in a big pan. Add more cheese if you like it really cheesy. Note: In the 60s people used Velveeta cheese. I don't use that anymore, but since this is a trip down "comfort food memory lane" I thought I would mention Velveeta. :) Now I use Violife brand shredded vegan cheese. But you can use whatever "American cheese" you like. Add in milk or nut milk, (I like coconut milk but almond milk is fine too), until it's the consistency you want. I add in about 1 T. dry minced onion and some minced garlic, but both are optional. Salt helps it taste better, but it's optional. Add in 1-2 small cans flaked tuna depending on how "tuna-ish" you want it. Put it all in a greased 9x13 baking dish and ... If you want to make it pretty, sprinkle paprika on top. If you want to make it special add crushed potato chips all over the top. (Crushed potato chips are the "secret ingredient" we used in childhood in the 60s. If you use the ruffle-y kind, even better!) Bake for about 30 minutes at 400 degrees. So YUM! Serve with your favorite homemade muffins. We like cornbread muffins like Steve made here with our tuna casserole. Lots of recipes for those online. May your home be cozy, your clothes be comfy-pretty, and your teeth be healthy! Kathryn :) #kathrynbechen #kathrynbechenauthor #authorkathrynbechen #cozyhome #cozyfireplacestove #smallcozyhome #cozysmallhome

DISCLOSURES Good day from Arizona , where it's been about +110 degrees in the shade! I thought this called for some simple summer salads and iced tea at our new at-home "Corner Cafe." I thought I would share my easy recipes with you so you can enjoy them too if you wish. NOTE: I'm big on just kind of dumping things in vs. using a set recipe, just to warn you. For me, that's more creative . I don't do that with baked goods though as that requires more precision unless you want a flat cake or flatbread that should have been sandwich bread. :) The first salad I made was a tuna veggie pasta salad. Steve boiled up some noodles for me and I let them cool in the fridge. I like making this salad as I just toss in whatever I have on hand so it turns out different every time. Today for veggies I added diced peppers, tomatoes, fresh spinach leaves, one shredded carrot and two diced dill pickles. Sometimes I add diced black olives, green olives, capers, zucchini, or any other veggie you like. My spices added in today where dry garlic, dry onion, dill weed, and Mrs. Dash. I personally use dry onion and garlic because it's easy and I don't like my hands to smell nor to wear gloves when I cook. I also added one can of flaked tuna to this pasta salad. I used twisted pasta and sometimes I use shells for a nice look if I take this somewhere but any pasta will do. I put about one cup mayo and stirred it up! If you make this late at night for the next day and put it in the fridge the spices will soak into the pasta and mayo and give it great flavor. Plus, it will be nice and cold for summer sizzling temps. :) It's such a wonderful salad for dining alfresco or to take on a picnic in your cooler. My new bowls are from Pioneer Woman . I love the four little covered bowls that came with them as a "bonus." Great for leftovers. Our Secret Garden Next up was a fresh fruit salad which was sliced fresh strawberries, blueberries, one banana, and a can of pears with juice that I chopped up with my pizza cutter. Yes, really. It works so fast to use a pizza cutter ! I try to keep our meals simple and nutritious as shhhh , truth be told, I don't love to cook like some people do. I do it because I must and so I try to have a good attitude about it, make it as easy to do as possible, and I try to keep my kitchen clean, organized, and a little bit cute to motivate me. Now let's talk about how I make iced tea the super easy way ... I use my two small electric kettles to heat the water to boiling. Then I pour it into my ceramic teapot with two tea bags and let it steep about 10-15 minutes. It will be cooler by then too, so I just pour half of the tea in a carafe like this and the other half in another carafe as they fit in my fridge door perfectly. I add water to the top of each and you are done. Fill your glass with ice when you're ready to drink it and you're good to go. (BTW, we love our ice maker, which you need living in the Arizona desert!) Similar: Teapot. Ice Maker. Napkins. Carafes. NOTE: The square carafes fit in my fridge door better and don't bounce around. Just a note to consider. Okay, now for the best accompaniment to summer salads in my opinion: a homemade muffin. Here's my fave basic recipe I use all the time and just vary the add-ins. These can be frozen and after they are frozen, they heat up later in the microwave just dandy, becoming even moister. Easy Gluten-Free Egg-Free Applesauce Muffins 2 cups GF flour (or regular flour if you don't need GF) 1 t. baking powder 1 t. baking soda 1/4 t. salt (optional) 1 t. ground cinnamon 1 "flax egg" which is 2 T. boiling water mixed with 1 T. of ground flax seed. Let sit until it turns to a gel-like consistency. 1 1/4 c. unsweetened applesauce (You can freeze any leftover applesauce from the jar.) 1/4 cup olive or melted coconut oil 1/2 c. milk or I use oat milk 1/2 coconut sugar or brown sugar if you prefer 1/2 t. vanilla (I leave this out now as it's so expensive I refuse to pay that price and I have not noticed it tastes any different at all by leaving it out.) Whisk all dry ingredients in one large bowl. Combine wet ingredients in another bowl along with the sugar. Then add the wet ingredients/sugar mixture to the dry ingredients and stir well. Lastly, add in whatever you want: chocolate chips or chunks, raisins, sunflower seeds, sliced almonds, walnut pieces etc. Put batter in greased or lined muffin tins and bake at 350 degrees til center comes out clean. Check center with a toothpick at 30 minutes and 40 minutes to be sure you don't over or under bake them. Here's the muffin tin I use and we don't have to grease it. I hope you enjoyed my m.o. for an easy, yummy, dollarwise summer meal. Sometimes I think people don't want to cook at home because it seems like an overwhelming amount of work. (And it is work to plan, shop, and cook, so I get that.) But if you keep meals simple and organize your kitchen well, it really helps the overwhelm, plus it's healthier to make your own meals at home too if you use fresh ingredients. Not to mention how much money it saves over eating out. Make your dining area in your home aesthetically pleasing, and you can dine like a "Dollarwise Duchess" at home! This is our view outside our at-home "Corner Cafe." Once a year our housing development has our palm trees trimmed and within a year they are lush and full yet again. I love palm trees so much! July 4th weekend it will be six years since we moved to The Valley of the Sun and I still am in love with photographing cactus. Happy sizzling summer! Kathryn :) #kathrynbechen #kathrynbechenauthor #authorkathrynbechen #budgetfriendlymeals #summermeals #affordablesummermeals #picnicmeals #budgetpicnicmeals #dinealfresco #alfrescodining

Greetings from sunny Arizona, my lovely readers ... Like many, our hearts feel broken over the recent hurricane devastation in the Southeast U.S. as we have watched the media stories of Helene, and now maybe hurricane Milton too, so below I will tell you what our hands are doing to help. I am a practical realist and know that I cannot, at my age of 66, head off to the Southeast to saw trees and build new homes in the aftermath of Helene. You probably can't either. And I can't make a donation the size of a celebrity, either. You probably can't either. Many Helene hurricane victims have lost everythin g: their lives, their loved ones, their homes, their businesses, everything. Our hands are helping them by making a donation today through Episcopal Relief & Development. It may be a small donation, but it's a donation, and small amounts, from lots of peopl e, add up. It can feel sometimes like there is so much suffering in the world today that one little kindness or donation doesn't matter. Oh, but it does. Why do we personally choose Episcopal Relief & Development ? Steve and I joined the Episcopal church denomination in the early 1980s, and we have been members of, and visited, Episcopal churches across the U.S. on our travels, and I love photographing their welcoming red doors, like the one below. Our life has been so very enriched by the Anglican Communion . We have met wonderful loving friendly people in U.S. Episcopal churches. Their coffee hours, Shrove Tuesday pancake suppers, Blessing of the Animals, Foyer Groups, and historical stories of how their churches came to be are legendary, touching, and affect generations thereafter. Whenever we have traveled, we know attending an Episcopal church will make us feel at home as all the services and rituals are similar, as is the famous red Book of Common Prayer. In a little Episcopal church we visited in Missouri while on vacation once, they sang a welcome song to us at coffee hour. Steve still talks about that, 40-some years later. The name of the town or church, however, we no longer remember. :) Affecting generations you say, really now ? Just look at this church in downtown Asheville's historical story , for (just) one example. Three persistent pioneer women, indeed! Look at all the good they accomplished, and still are, generations later. And look at how they touched me with their story, all the way in Arizona! (We still hope to take a day trip to this historical church in Arizona in Tombstone, the town "too tough to die.") No kidding! :) Now, the internet can transmit God's grace and stories in a second. After Helene recently, this congregation still met for Sunday services yesterday, according to their website. And their priest has a great blog post on the Book of Job . Oh yes, Job. Most of us know all that biblical Job lost. But we also know what he gained in the end by not turning away from God. I've never been to Asheville, or this church , but I'd like to attend that church if I possibly could one day to soak up all that collective Christian love and grace passed down through the ages. God's grace is like that: sometimes all you can do is just let go, let God, soak His grace up, and carry on. Permit me a little nostalgia, please! As I kneeled to pray in the first Episcopal church I ever attended over 40 years ago -- St. John's in tiny Valentine, Nebraska, where Steve and I were living for our first jobs right out of college, I was drawn to look at a stained glass window at the end of the pew aisle when I heard God tell me, "Your work for God will be out in the world, not in the church." I never forgot that message, and whenever I can, however I can, I try to be kind and helpful out in the world, on Christ's behalf, even though my own life, like many people, has had many challenges and pain. I've also never forgotten the kindness of that little Episcopal church's priest and his teacher wife who welcomed us into the church and even invited us to their home for a lunch gathering with others on Easter. Being young and on our own for the first time, it felt like we'd found home. And to pay it forward, we invited an elderly lady from that church to come to our home for Easter dinner another year. The priest told us she talked about it for months afterward. This was no fancy dinner, mind you. We lived in a tiny newlywed cottage and I made a simple meal and set the table with the only white lace tablecloth I had that we had received as a wedding gift. But everything was cozy and comfy and fun and she loved being part of our meal in our newlywed humble home. After all, Easter is about fellowship, and hope. And although I have served since in the church as a lay reader, Sunday School teacher, Foyer Group host, and in other various ways, I remember what Christ told me about my work for Him being out in the world , and I take it seriously. I also know now though that realistically I must do it in a way that works for my senior stage of life , so making a donation here is one way I do that. Oh, and I can write to help others. How-to is my favorite as is encouraging others through words. I realized that God had given me the writing gift from the time I was a young girl when our Lutheran pastor asked to use my paper I had written, "What Being a Christian Means to Me" in his sermon when I was in junior high school. I won my first writing award when I was 17. My first paid article was published when I was in my 20s. And on this word girl goes 'til she can't sit at a computer or see anymore. Because words can help others too and I feel if God gave me a gift, I am to use it to help others. When I watched online about a Christian family during hurricane Helene, my heart broke for them and their loss. I don't know them personally, but I understood what the Mom meant about Christ's joy even in the midst of suffering when she shared on TV that as her adorable little son Micah was taken down by the flood waters and drowned, the last words he screamed were: "Jesus, I see you!" I picture Jesus with His arms held out to embrace Micah and take him home. God bless Micah, this darling Mom and her family, and all who lost all they have in hurricane Helene, and now maybe hurricane Milton. Please know our donation to Episcopal Relief & Development is meant to help you. And our prayers are unceasing at this time. Love, blessings, Christ's grace, and a red church door, Kathryn :) P.S. Steve and I have been doing lots of DIY home organizing and decorating projects over the past three months to our small home and I have taken pix of all of it. I will share our why and how m.o. soon with you to hopefully motivate you to make your own home your cozy dollarwise haven. #kathrynbechen #kathrynbechenauthor #authorkathrynbechen #JesusChrist #FaithinJesusChrist #HurricaneHelene

Hello, my lovelies! It's time for another Good Things Lately post. Because contrary to what you see in the media day after day after day, life still has lots of good things too and I prefer to focus on and share little things that lift us up vs. drag us down. I hope you find these both useful and enjoyable! And have a few giggles, too. :) DISCLOSURES Good Things for Your Kitchen Summer will be upon us soon, so Steve and I plan on having a nice cool drink in our Secret Garden during the Arizona heat! So I bought these stemmed acrylic glasses as I don't like using glass anymore for senior safety reasons, and I was feeling like I needed something a little fancy lately. They arrived today and they are really nice! If you have a pool, this is the way to go so you don't have glass breakage. Good Things for Curb Appeal Steve has been working on adding some small dollarwise DIY curb appeal elements to the front of our home this spring. I will share that with you later here when he is finished. He painted something bright red today! As in Cherry Red according to the spray paint can so we shall see how that turns out. Stay tuned! It especially makes us happy when we drive up to the front of our little home to see a wreath on the door that seems to say, "Welcome Home!" This one that we just bought is large, full, and we love the colors! Good Things for Your Face I love Christina Moss Naturals Products. Especially her Bamboo Face/Body Scrub. It does have a lemongrass scent but even with my many allergies I can tolerate it if I wash my face with my favorite unscented soap/shampoo afterwards. Good Things for Your Body If you are aging*, check out Sherry Zak Morris' chair yoga dance videos . For once I found a yoga instructor who is fun and motivating without expecting me to get my 65 year old body wound into a pretzel! I love all of her routines set to songs from the old days -- especially the polka ! And this disco one brings me back to my 1970s college dorm days! :) And some of her outdoor SoCal settings are beautiful. I emailed her and we have been having some nice email chats as I used to live in SoCal where she is located and come to find out, we are both Midwestern transplants who left blizzards and sub-zero weather for sunnier skies way back when! Sherry also has a video on how she took care of herself naturally during Covid. I was personally so impressed as I like using natural means for my health whenever possible too. *We are all aging from birth onward, and I wish I had begun yoga when I was young ! Good Things for Your Bank Account I have collected quotes for much of my long life and I saw this quote the other day and loved it: "I believe thrift is essential to a well-ordered life." -- John D. Rockefeller Did you see who said that?! And I don't know who the Sophie Tucker below is who said this one, but she's got it down pat, I think ... "From birth to age 18, a girl needs good parents, from 18 to 35 she needs good looks, from 35 to 55 she needs a good personality, and from 55 on she needs cash. " --Sophie Tucker Good Things for Your Retirement Years What does retirement mean to you? I like what the Tireless Retirement lady has to say about that in her blog post Retirement Means Different Things to Different People. And she has some wonderful homemade recipes too and pretty gardens in her yard. I don't know her, but I can tell from her blog she's one organized and resourceful lady. Good Things for Your Website or Blog I have hired Jacob @ Market Street Web for two websites/blogs over the years and he has done a great job for me. I have found him to be conscientious, courteous, smart about website design, fairly priced, and patient. I have hired many website designers over the years as I have had several sites and blogs. Some were excellent, some terrible, and some in-between. (In my opinion.) Jacob stands out for the reasons I already said and I would hire him again. That's all the goodies for now. I will be back here to show you how we purposely streamlined our little home over the last few months and then refreshed things a bit decoratively on our dollarwise retirees budget. Our "Bed & Breakfast Style" master bedroom with my home office "suite" in the corner is pretty much done and I really like how it all came together slowly but surely. Something I like to remind myself about as I strive to live intentionally: "I am who I am today because of the choices I made yesterday." --Eleanor Roosevelt Blessings, Kathryn :) #kathrynbechen #kathrynbecheauthor #authorkathrynbechen #goodthingslately

Happy summer! I hope you are having a wonderful summer! Let's talk about some easy and dollarwise ways to spruce up the outside of your home this summer to add a bit of curb appeal. I'm using my own current and former homes here as examples, but the underlying principles apply to any abode, and don't think for a moment that you can't add "curb appeal" to your home if you live in a condo or apartment, because you can. Read on for my real-life examples! Here's what we have done to add curb appeal to our current home ... A good power wash always comes first in our book A colorful new wreath on the front door; red stands out well A new white side trellis for more street privacy and the basket of flowers on it I "replanted" the faux flowers in new brighter colors as they had faded to white in the hot AZ sun A new front gate so the Amazon drivers don't bang on the front door that is right in front of where Steve works daily at his desk, plus it looks "curb appeal cute" Two new pots on the deck railing; this year Steve "replanted" the faux flowers in red for more color Steve repainted this architecture element with spray paint and it turned out so fun! You can see it a bit on the right side wall of the porch. (Behr brand paint in Cherry Red) Future project: Spray paint the faded brown package trunk using a spray paint intended for plastic goods/furnishings, or buy a new trunk when they go on sale this summer When you add curb appeal to your home, who knows, you might unknowingly start a neighborhood improvement project! Our neighbor just spray painted an element on the front of her house red. :) We bought a Southern California condo in 2001 that we spent six years fixing up and living in before we sold that investment, and here are some ideas for curb appeal from that little former home of ours ... TRUE CONFESSION:  We do most of our home projects ourselves, inside and out, but once in awhile over the years we have hired certain things done when we were very busy with other things in our life but still wanted our home to look nice and be "done" faster. (Although a home is never really done!) For example ... We hired a landscaper to put in the brick edging along the sidewalk and shrubs above, and she also did two cute little brick flower beds in a circle. She studied under a well-known gardener in England so she understood my penchant for charm and cottages! Back to the pix above for more examples ... Steve planted the bright impatiens flowers along the sidewalk I planted two plastic urns I found at Home Depot with bright pink hydrangeas I had a custom sign made that said "Our Beach Cottage" and put it in one of the urns I added a "cottage" sign to the wreath on the front door after we spray painted the old screen door a fresh shiny coat of black Steve added a new house numbers plaque that I think I found at Target I put a colorful plant on the seat of a stray white iron chair I found on clearance at a garden store; Steve spray painted the chair white Steve put two faux ivy topiaries next to the front door; I found them on sale at the Target Garden Center Steve trimmed the unruly shrubs into a nice tidy shape Steve added plastic lattice privacy panels from Home Depot that he cut to fit the inside of our fence We added planters to the shelf behind our shrubs; they were faux flowers as it was hard to get back there to water behind the shrub, so that solved the problem We consider home improvements, inside and out, just a challenge/problem to be creatively solved! And dollarwise aesthetics to our garden gate ... I found a fireplace grate at a thrift store and had Steve mount it on the back of our gate as an arch for vines to grow on The Garden Entrance and Welcome signs on our gate were also thrift store finds and I added my own painting touches to them The urn planter on our gate was another thrift store find DOLLARWISE NOTE: Garden centers are fun, yes, but can be expensive. Small decorative details for curb appeal are easy to find at thrift stores for a few dollars usually. Just keep your eyes open and your mind curious as to what you can use something for; you will come up with something! Also, plants are usually cheaper, but nice, at Walmart, Costco, and Target. Thrifty example: When Steve went to haul my HEAVY fireplace grate home the store clerk asked him what in the world is this thing and what are you going to do with it?! Steve laughed and said, "That's my wife's department and she will come up with something, believe me!" (That fireplace grate on our gate above I later scrubbed up and repurposed in a living room apartment of ours, but that's a story for another day. (Well okay, since you insist, here's a photo of that repurpose.) :) Back to curb appeal ... Here's what we did for some dollarwise "curb appeal" to another California apartment we rented... Added a basket of flowers I found at Walmart Added an iron plant stand and faux flowers I found at TJMaxx Added a plastic urn I found at Home Depot and put an indoor silk plant in it Added another plastic urn and put a faux silk plant in it Added a doormat I found at Walmart And we also added this bench and pillows I found at Home Goods ... Steve patiently hauled this bench home in the backseat of the car and I have no idea how he can wedge things like that in there, but he always manages to patiently put up with my decor shenanigans and figures it out! This was another apartment of ours in California. (Yes, we have moved a lot. 15 times in 44 years of marriage, to be exact. Let's just say we both like home projects!) Here's what we did ... The Welcome sign on the wall was a gift from an artist friend We put the welcome mat out The faux plant and kitties were from Target The large wreath was from Walmart Once I had the goods, the whole project probably took me under an hour to style it up and we had a lot of nice compliments from neighbors and some who also then did the same to their apartment for "curb appeal." It became fun to walk through the decorative hallways! This home we owned goes back to the pre-internet and pre-digital cameras era! We bought this house in 1986 in Nebraska. How we added curb appeal ... We hired the house repainted to this more modern taupe color (at the time) than the 1970s "Harvest Gold" it was when we bought it We hired all the trees trimmed up Steve trimmed the shrub and planted flowers in the stone retaining wall We added a wreath to the front wall and added a shiny gold mailbox (The mailman thanked Steve as he no longer needed to use icy steps!) We hired a window installed near the mailbox Steve added new gold house numbers above the garage Steve installed a pole lamp near the stairs for evening safety on the steps We hung a wreath on the front door and later we painted the door a pretty teal color and I hung a dried flowers wreath on it that I had someone make from a wedding bouquet when I was a bridesmaid Steve mounted a metal flag mount for me and we hung a colorful flag You can't see it in this photo, but we added an outdoor planter box under the picture window (behind the big shrub) We had such fun doing all those curb appeal things to our then new-to-us home. Curb appeal just adds so much fun! And it increases your property value too when you sell, don't forget. (Definitely pre-digital camera time!) This was the first fixer-upper house we bought in Nebraska in a small town in the 1980s. We were just about to paint the dormer brown, replace the awnings, and repaint the white trim and garage door when Steve was offered a new job and I was offered a job soon after, so we moved to the city. We did manage to do the following yard spruce-ups and curb appeal before we decided to move. Steve and I went to gather old bricks from an abandoned home site. They were free and taken with permission and we hauled them home in our little Chevy Citation car! Steve removed dying shrubs in front of the house and placed the new-to-us brick He also planted a tree that you can't see in this photo He re-seeded the yard and fixed the falling-down retaining wall on the alley side A lot of times adding curb appeal to your home is starting with cleanup. And then adding a few colorful touches from there. You don't have to do it all at once either. Our motto is keep it simple and affordable for your budget. Make a list of what you want to do and put a dollar estimate beside each thing. In other words, make at least a "loose plan." We always did it little by little and paid cash for any improvements as we went. This was another California apartment we moved into in 2013. A simple doormat, basket of flowers, and colorful wreath said, "Welcome Home" to me every time I entered our front door. In this same apartment we had a small terrace that overlooked a pretty green pocket park. We added "curb appeal" so that others could enjoy it too from the park. Here's what we did ... Steve attached planters on the outside of the fence He attached the umbrellas to the fence and added rosette-motif string lights which were really fun at night We repurposed a metal screen we had in another apartment and he attached it to the fence. We love repurposing! That screen was once brown and he spray painted it white behind our apartment building and then drug it up the stairs We repurposed the same white metal chair we had in our former beach condo We brought the metal bench with us and used it again ... In addition to the street-side/from the pocket park curb appeal, we were able to enjoy our terrace too. The table and chairs I found on Amazon back then, and the tablecloth was from Goodwill as were the glasses and vase. The rug was a deal from Big Lots. There are so many easy "curb appeal" things to do with just a little space and a few dollars that really say "Welcome Home" when you walk up to your front door! Remember: It doesn't have to be a house! And you can thrift the projects! This will grow your creativity and your bank account. I hope by sharing our own various homes here that I have inspired you to create some dollarwise "curb appeal" for your home no matter where you live. "You can have more than one home. You can carry your roots with you, and decide where they grow." -- Henning Mankell Home blessings, Kathryn :) P.S. If you need help with budget-friendly ideas and tips for the inside of your home, my eBooks will help you with that. #kathrynbechen #kathrynbechenauthor #authorkathrynbechen #curbappeal #dollarwisecurbappeal #budgetcurbappeal #budgetfriendlycurbappeal #DIYhome #DIYhomespruceup #homeimprovement #budgethomeimprovement #budgetfriendlyhomeimprovement