Humble & Homemade

- Internal Weather
  
  Posted at 6:17 pm by kortneypridy, on July 1, 2018
  Sunday mornings with my husband, yoga, and writing are my recipe for relaxation. I love today.
  
  This morning in yoga we did a 3 minute meditation in the middle of class – right in the middle of the fire, in the thick of it. Part of me hesitated a little because I have been kind of avoiding my meditation practice. Then this thought came to my mind – the pose you avoid the most, you need the most. So I settled in and just sat – with my breath, my body, and the other bodies around me. I began to notice my “internal weather” as my yoga teacher and mentor, Ashley, likes to call it. As much as I wanted it to be calm and serene in there, it wasn’t. It was frantic and frazzled. But I didn’t try to fix it or stuff it. Instead I just sat with that frantic and frazzled feeling, my heart beating erratically, my stomach a little unsettled. When the meditation ended, I wanted more!
  
  What I realized was that the more I avoid something, like my meditation practice, the more disconnected and frantic I become. This disconnect flows over into other areas of my life too – my work, my home life, my teaching. All I needed to do to feel whole and complete in that frantic moment was to just sit and breathe and feel all the feels for a second. Afterwards, I felt more connected to myself, more grounded, and my internal weather turned just a little sunnier.
  
  I am taking this lesson off the mat: avoiding = chaos & feeling = healing.
  
  Here is a simple meditation technique I use when I am feeling disconnected. This meditation can be as long or short as you want, whenever and wherever.
  - Find a comfortable seated position where your spine is neutral and your hips are higher than your knees.
  - Close your eyes and open your ears.
  - Expand your listening to the entire space around you. Turn your listening toward your internal space – the internal weather.
  - Breathe in and out. Imagine you are breathing in a golden mist that fills your entire body from head to toe. When you exhale, imagine you are breathing out a black mist that dissipates into white above you. Breathe in possibility, breathe out stale energy.
  I hope you can take away an important lesson from meditation that your body may have been trying to tell you. And if you’ve never tried meditation or considered it as a self-soothing or grounding tool, try it! You might find some internal clouds begin to pass and the sun is just waiting to warm you right up.
  
  xo, Kortney.
  Posted in Yogi Thoughts | 3 Comments
- Good Thymes in the Garden
  
  Posted at 12:00 am by kortneypridy, on June 29, 2018
  
  I love a good vegetable pun almost as much as I love this garden!
  
  Our garden is kind of my little sanctuary. Everything seems to just make sense in the garden. If you think about it, humans are just plants with more complicated emotions. All we really need are strong roots, lots of water, a little sunshine, and someone there to keep the weeds away.
  
  When we moved here, I immediately fell in love with the giant garden space and couldn’t wait for spring so we could plant. One of my favorite memories is spending time with my grandpa out in his garden. We would pluck cherry tomatoes and eat them right there in the garden. He grew the freshest tasting cucumbers, the sweetest strawberries, and green onions that he would dip in salt and eat by themselves. Our garden connects me to my grandpa, maybe one of the reasons I love it so much!
  
  This year, we wanted to plant a little bit of everything and see how it went. And that’s kind of what we did! We bought a bunch of different seed packets and starter plants and went to work.
  
  First we made the rows…
  
  Then we put down the seeds and the baby plants!
  
  The garden is in a perfect spot in the yard where it gets just the right amount of shade and sunlight during the day. And we know the soil is good because there is a family (a very large family) of worms that live in there! We planted just before Mother’s Day and have just begun to harvest the first few radishes, green onions, and some small bulbs of garlic!
  
  The cucumbers, and squash have just started to flower. And we have our first green tomatoes! Yay!
  
  One of the most beautiful things about the garden, aside from the gorgeous vegetables and fruits, is what it represents. There is something special about planting a teeny tiny seed in the earth and trusting mother nature to grow it into something that gives us life. The seed actually bursts open to create roots and stems and leaves and fruit! Maybe this means that when we are bursting open and it feels like everything is going to pieces, really we are about to create something spectacular.
  
  Life’s a garden and I say, well… dig it!
  
  Posted in The House | 0 Comments
- Backyard Beautifying
  
  Posted at 3:15 am by kortneypridy, on June 26, 2018
  
  When we moved into this house, we could not wait to get to work on our spacious new backyard! Our old house had a postage stamp sized yard so we were excited to have all that new outdoor space, to say the least. Over the last month or so, we have been working so hard to make our backyard beautiful! Here is our progress so far:
  
  This planter area is right off of the main patio area, just outside the back door. Originally, it was about half the width and just filled with dirt. We widened the space a little bit and added some gravel and pavers for “steps”. We also added the teardrop shaped planter in the center and planted a pretty little shrub there. Here is the before and after:
  
  We took the wood border down the length of the deck and added this fun planter bed with some pansies, colorful coleus, and a patriot lily in the back there. Can’t wait to see how this fills in!
  
  Around the side of the house there is this perfect little corner. There was a gorgeous trellis there when we moved in and actually, the plants were too! Everything had already been planted and came in so beautifully this spring. All we did was add the metal edging and re-seed that patch of grass there. The first photo was taken in early spring and the second taken just this month – what a gorgeous transformation!
  
  Another fun surprise we discovered after we moved in: the little ground covering sprouts to the left of the trellis are all fresh mint!
  
  In the back of our yard there is big garden (garden progress post coming soon!) and a garden shed next to it. We moved the shed to the other side of the garden and reconfigured our garden space a little. After we resized our garden and moved the shed, this is what it looked like:
  
  Nik and I put down some grass seed and gave the dirt some tender loving care for a few weeks – and made it off limits to our dog so no digging could happen – and this is what it looks like now! Needless to say, we were pretty pleased with the results! This change was relatively cheap and super simple and added a significant amount of lawn to our yard.
  
  Along the back fence, we added some new rock and have plans to put in a border between the grass and the rock. In the back you can see our chicken coop, as well. This spring we added five new chicks and one turkey to our flock!
  
  And to wrap up, my favorite part of the yard – our new patio set! This is exactly what I had imagined for this space – somewhere we could relax, enjoy a cup of coffee in the morning, or in today’s case, take a nap after a long day at work. I would sit out here and just listen all day if I could.
  
  We are loving the improvements we have made to the yard so far and still have lots of plans to make it even more amazing. Every night, Nik and I sit on the patio and just enjoy each other’s company and this beautiful life we’re creating. We hope you take a few minutes to thank yourself for the beautiful life you are creating too, right in your own backyard.
  
  xo, Kortney.
  
  Posted in The House | 0 Comments
- Home Again, Home Again
  
  Posted at 2:02 am by kortneypridy, on June 26, 2018
  
  It’s so good to be back. Sometimes we have to go beyond ourselves to find ourselves, to come back home.
  
  These last few months have been so many things, crazy being the first that comes to mind! Since January, I have taken on a new position at work, we planned and booked our honeymoon (yay! August come faster!), and of course we have been working on our little house!
  
  I have also been on a path of self discovery these last few months. In April, I became a 200 hour certified yoga teacher through the Baptiste Institute. My training was over 3 months and the hardest, most amazing thing I have ever done. Aside from the amazing health benefits, I learned SO much – not just about teaching yoga, but about myself, my relationships, life leadership and everything in between. Most importantly, I learned that we all have unlimited power, love, and light inside of us and accessing that is so much more possible than we think. I also made lifelong friendships with eight amazing women I consider my yogi sisters (that’s the whole crazy bunch down below!) I could go on and on all day about my teacher training and about yoga! I am teaching a class every week and loving every minute of it. If you are in the Grand Junction area, come check out the studio I teach at, Half Moon Yoga! I am thinking of doing an entire post on teacher training… stay tuned for that!
  
  I also have some exciting house updates to share with all of you! Check out my next few posts for what we have been up to and what we have coming up.
  
  I’m so excited to be back and sharing my love and light with you! Thank you for being gracious readers and being along for the ride.
  
  xo, Kortney.
  
  Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments
- Turning Dreams Into Plans
  
  Posted at 5:34 pm by kortneypridy, on January 8, 2018
  
  Happy Monday everyone!
  
  I have some really exciting things to share with you this week. Since the holidays are over and it’s a brand new year, Nik and I are putting together our plans to start work on our little fixer upper! We spent a few hours this past weekend walking through the house, coming up with ideas and making a plan for each room. Since I’m pretty Pinterest obsessed, I have a lot of ideas for the finished products!
  
  While we were walking through the house and going through our plans room by room, I was trying to remember everything and make a mental note of all the things we were envisioning. Then I felt like I needed to make a list that we could refer back to as we move ahead with the actual work.
  
  So, to keep ourselves (and any of you other DIY home remodelers!) organized throughout the remodel, I created this FREE home remodel outline! It has a section for each room in the house, as well as some blank space for you to add plans for other rooms you might want to remodel or revamp. I hope this outline will help you stay organized if you are doing any kind of home remodel project.
  
  Click here for the Home Remodel Outline!
  
  I hope you guys have a great week!
  
  xoxo, Kortney.
  
  Posted in The House | 4 Comments
- New Year; More Organized, Mindful Me
  
  Posted at 2:21 am by kortneypridy, on December 29, 2017
  
  I got to thinking about this year and how big it’s been for us – one college graduation, one giant wedding, one new blog, two houses – one old and one new -, and all the little things in between. We’ve done a lot of celebrating this year, probably more than I’ve done any other year of my life, and I think that is something to be proud of.
  
  This is the time of year for reflecting on all the wonderful things and memories from the past year but also for planning and deciding who we want to be going forward. I thought I would share some of my goals for the coming year, and maybe inspire you to make some new goals of your own!
  
  This year has also been one of major growth for my little sister, Kailey. When I say major, I mean like monumental. She has been on a life changing journey with her health for the past two years. This year, she finally made a break through and is on the path to health and vitality. She has also grown in her spirituality this year, which has helped her begin to heal physically. I have seen so many positive changes in her and her growth has inspired me to grow a little myself.
  
  So a few of my resolutions for this year are inspired by her – thanks for always pushing me to be the best me, Kate!
  
  My first resolution this year is to be more organized. I have always thought of myself as organized but this year, I realized my brain just cannot hold everything! I was forgetting things and, worst of all, procrastinating. So, I went to the bookstore and purchased two planners, one for personal organization and the other for organization at work.
  
  I started using my work planner right away and quickly realized how much it helped me just to write things down. It’s so satisfying to cross things off my list and if it’s written down, staring me in the face, I’m much more motivated to get it done. I’ve been using it almost three weeks and now I wouldn’t be caught dead without it!
  
  There’s kind of an embarrassing story that goes with my next resolution, but I’m going to tell you anyway in the spirit of reflection and growth! Over Thanksgiving, my sister and mom were in town, we were doing a lot of cooking and our trash can was filling up pretty quickly. Kailey asked me if I was recycling. Looking back on it, I can’t even believe what came out of my mouth. I honestly said, “I really just don’t have time to care about it,” I haven’t stopped thinking about how ridiculous that sounded and how untrue it is!
  
  I’ve been seeing more horrendous videos of the obscene amounts of plastic in our oceans and I recently learned that every piece of plastic ever made still exists. How crazy is that? The truth is, if each one of us took a few small minutes to be mindful about the products we use and where our trash is going, we really can make a difference. And this is our home after all, so it’s our responsibility, even if the problems aren’t directly affecting us or the solutions seem out of reach. So, this new year, I am going to use less plastic and make time to care about taking care of our Earth.
  
  My third resolution for 2018 includes all of you! I am working towards posting more frequently this new year and growing my blog. My goal is to post at least once each week. Nik & I have some really exciting things coming up, both with the house and in our lives. I hope you will stay tuned and keep coming back for all things Pridy in the new year! I’d love to hear from all of you as well, what would you like to see going forward? And of course, what are your goals for 2018?
  
  We wish you all a very happy, prosperous, organized, and mindful new year! Thanks for being part of our 2017 – we love you!
  
  xo, Kortney.
  
  Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment
- Merry Little Christmas
  
  Posted at 11:32 pm by kortneypridy, on December 3, 2017
  
  Hey guys!
  
  I am SO glad to be writing this post, it has been much too long. We’ve had a busy last few weeks but that seems to kind of be the norm for us lately, especially in the midst of the holiday season. Anyone else feel that way?
  
  This Thanksgiving was one of firsts for us – our first as a married couple, our first in the new house, and our first time hosting! It was such a beautiful day spent with both of our families, friends and of course, lots of good food. It came and went by so quickly, I can’t believe Christmas is just weeks away!
  
  Speaking of Christmas- since Nik and I have been so busy lately, we were excited to take this weekend to relax a little and get into the holiday spirit. Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year. I love the decorations and lights, the spirit of giving, and the magic. And, as you know, I’ve been dying to decorate this house for Christmas since we moved in! It’s just such a perfect decorating house. So, since I’ve been so excited for this Christmas, I couldn’t resist sharing! I’m also going to show you an easy DIY Christmas decoration you can put together for your own house or even the front porch.
  
  I’m loving the red holly berries this year so I used those as my inspiration for a lot of my decorating. I just got some festive picks from Hobby Lobby for the mailbox and tied them on with a white ribbon. I went with the door hanger instead of a wreath for the door this year, as well.
  
  One of my favorite things about Christmas is the tree. I wish we could leave it up all year! Growing up, my family would exchange ornaments every year. My parents would give us an ornament that represented something that happened in that year. The year I went to college, my ornament was a dorm room door with my name on it. Last year when Nik and I got engaged, my ornament was a ring box. So for me, the Christmas tree is like a scrapbook of my life. It’s always fun to open up the box and remember all the Christmases through those ornaments.
  
  The mantle was the part of our house I was most excited to decorate. I continued with the red inspiration from the holly berries here with the cone trees. I paired the red with golds and tans on the star and the other decorative trees. Then I added the garland, some green burlap, twinkle lights and white, cable knit stockings to bring it all together. Of course, Nik wanted to add his touch with the Charlie Brown Christmas tree, as well 🙂
  
  Ok, now I’m going to show you guys how to put together this adorable DIY Christmas lantern! I have mine on the hearth next to the fireplace since that spot was really bare but it would also look cute on the front porch or as an outside decoration. Here’s how I did it:
  
  So you’ll need a few simple supplies – an empty lantern that has some kind of opening, burlap or ribbon, and some plastic Christmas ornaments. I got the lantern and the ornaments on sale at Hobby Lobby (aka the most amazing store ever) and the burlap at the craft store. First, I just placed the ornaments inside the lantern, I didn’t fill mine all the way up but you could if you wanted to! Then I cut my piece of burlap and tied it around the top of the lantern, arranging the ends. And that’s it, super simple!
  
  This would work with a bigger lantern and large ornaments too if you wanted to fill a large space. It would also look nice with some battery operated light strands inside along with the ornaments. Mine is simple, but you could make it as fancy as you want – the possibilities are endless!
  
  You can get the lantern I used here or a bigger one here.
  
  I hope you all have a very merry Christmas and a wonderful holiday season! I hope my decorations inspire you to spread some of your own holiday cheer. Love you all!
  
  xo, Kortney.
  
  Posted in The House | 1 Comment
- Home Sweet Home
  
  Posted at 1:24 am by kortneypridy, on October 19, 2017
  
  Hi everyone!
  
  What a crazy few weeks we’ve had! Nik and I have been busy picking up our life and moving it across town and let me just say – it’s been exhausting but so exciting at the same time.
  
  So, we’ve officially been in our new house a full week as of yesterday! We’ve slowly been unpacking, organizing and arranging room by room. I am loving the house more and more as we add our own personal touch to it. I’m so excited to share these first photos with you all!
  
  Let’s start with the front room – one of my favorite rooms in the house. I love this room for a few reasons – the floor to ceiling brick on the fireplace, the warm hardwood and the big windows letting in all that beautiful light! You can see the front door there as well with the unique light fixture above it. The adirondack chair was handmade by my amazing husband and I cozied it up with a soft throw and pillow.
  
  Here’s a close up of the fireplace with some temporary decorations. This feature is one of the main reasons I fell in love with the house. It makes it so cozy! (Also can’t wait to decorate this with stockings and garland for Christmas! There are even hooks under the mantle already – it’s like it was made for me!)
  
  Ok, onto the dining room! Another reason I fell in love with this house – there is space for a kitchen table! Nik & I both grew up in a home where it was important to sit down as a family and enjoy a meal at the end of the day so this was a cool feature to have for the two of us and for our family someday. Now we just need a table!
  
  Up next, my favorite room in the house – the kitchen! I cannot wait to show you guys what we have planned for this kitchen. It’s beautiful already but we have plans in the works to make it magazine worthy!
  
  I’m in love with the window over the sink and the dark wood windowsill. I was too slow taking my before photos to get one with the original faucet. By the time I got around to taking pictures, Nik had already changed it out! Patience is something we’re both working on. 🙂
  
  Here is the living room! Again, big windows with lots of natural light. This room is really spacious and perfect for our main living area. Stay tuned for updates to this room as well!
  
  Below are the bedrooms and bathrooms – we have big plans for both spaces! The guest bath on the top right has the laundry in it as well. There is some nice shelving above the washer and drier – I’ve been trying to think of a way to beautify the laundry space a little bit. The master bath has beautiful tile work in the shower and an amazing skylight – look how light and bright it is in there!
  
  Let’s go out to the backyard! We were sold on the house once we saw the spacious backyard. And our Moose just loves it! It’s such a welcome change for us to have all that grass, mature trees, and a big covered patio. We are looking forward to spring and summer so we can spruce up and enjoy this outdoor space! Oh, and our chickens are loving it too. 🙂
  
  Well there you have it – our humble abode! Nik & I, being the impatient people that we are, are ready to get updating and DIY-ing. We are working on a plan of attack for our projects so that will be coming soon! Can’t wait to see what you all think of the house. Thanks so much for reading, we love you all!
  
  xo, Kortney.
  
  Posted in The House | 1 Comment
- Sneak Peek…
  
  Posted at 1:34 am by kortneypridy, on September 30, 2017
  
  Hey guys!
  
  Okay, so I had planned to share some exciting news with you guys next week but I’m just too excited and I can’t wait! So here goes –
  
  My husband, Nik, and I got married almost two months ago. About a month before our wedding, we decided we were growing out of our current house- a little two bedroom townhome – and needed more space! We have a 2 year old Boxer named Moose (that’s him up there) who needs a lot of space to play in and our house just wasn’t cutting it anymore. So, after the wedding, we listed our townhome for sale! It took a few weeks but we finally got some offers and our house went under contract!
  
  So naturally, when we put our house on the market, Nik and I started looking at some homes we might want to live in. We probably looked at about 20 or 30 houses total, what an exhausting process that was! But I’ll tell you more about that another time.
  
  SO, with all of that said, here comes the best part!! Drumroll please……
  
  We found a house!!
  
  It’s an adorable little place with so much character and charm! (Just look at that gorgeous cedar siding and the cute little mailbox!) It has great bones and a really good foundation, but we plan to take it to the next level and make it all our own!
  
  This is a view from the back of the house. The yard is a great size for our puppy and our four chickens. And I can’t wait to sit out on our porch on a cool morning and enjoy coffee with my hubby!
  
  I can’t wait to show you all the inside of the house and how we transform this place! Stay tuned for all the updates and this next chapter of our lives. We love you guys, thank you so much for reading!
  
  (Sorry the photos aren’t the greatest! My camera is in our storage unit, not sure why I did that to myself… But I just couldn’t wait to show you!)
  
  xoxo, Kortney.
  
  Posted in The House | 3 Comments
- Welcome!
  
  Posted at 2:18 am by kortneypridy, on September 25, 2017
  
  Hello! I’m Kortney and welcome to Humble & Homemade. This blog was born from my many interests, passions, and hobbies and I couldn’t imagine a better way to share them all with you. I hope when you come to my page you get inspired, enjoy some reading with a good cup of coffee, and of course, feel at home. I’ve got some exciting things in the works for all of you! Welcome to my life!
  
  xo, Kortney.
  
  Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments
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