Goals for 2018

Every New Year, there's an inspiring urge to finally accomplish all that you've been meaning to do.  As someone who tends to get caught up in the everyday, I love this motivation to see the big picture and write down what I'd like to accomplish the coming year.  

First, lets look back at all the great things that 2017 brought! 

The biggest blessing of 2017 was definitely adding to our family with the birth of our second daughter at the end of the summer.  The pregnancy and new baby stage kept me pretty busy throughout the whole year, and so Birch Landing Home took a bit of a backseat for 2017.  Nevertheless, highlights for BLH this year have included being quoted in Parenting New Hampshire Magazine and adding another wholesale account to our roster.  I also got the opportunity to work with some of my favorite international brands including L.L. Bean, Nûby, and Safety 1st as well as many wonderful New England-based companies including Hills & Trails, Woodboogah, and Cobalt Sky Studio.  

Goals for 2018

I have a lot of professional and personal things I'd like to accomplish or improve for 2018 - here are some of them:  

Grow Birch Landing Home More

This past year, Birch Landing Home was put on the back burner while I focused on family.  Family always comes first, but this year I want to get back into the working groove and grow BLH more.  I have some great ideas for new products to add to the Etsy Shop and DIY projects to share on the blog.  I'd also love to do more work with both international brands and New England-based buisnesses. 
(I also have an incredibly exciting collaboration lined up for the spring that I can't wait to share with you all!)  

Get Back into Running

While I ran throughout my first pregnancy, this time around I just couldn't so I stopped running and haven't gotten back into it since.  I don't know if another Half is on the books for this year with the new baby, but I'd love to at least get back into a regular running routine and do a few fun 5Ks.  

Clean House

Going through the house and systematically purging everything in the beginning of the year is something I really look forward to.  It's so refreshing to go through everything and donate or sell whatever you haven't been using for the past year.  Now that we have two kids the amount of "stuff" has exploded and I'm looking forward to getting it under control.  

Make More Time for Family and Friends

We've been so busy with work and our own family we haven't had the chance to visit enough with family and close friends this past year.  We're way overdue to visit some great friends and you can never spend enough time with your family.  This is an important priority for us in the new year.  

Get Up Early

Getting up early before the rest of the house really helps me get a jump on my day.  This was something that had been part of my routine but has fallen by the wayside over the last few months.  There's just something so motivating about getting up before everyone else, enjoying a cup of coffee in the peace and quiet, planning out your day, and getting a jump start on your to-do list.  Days when I get up early are so much more productive and let me focus more on the kids and other important tasks the rest of the day.  

Get Outside More

I'm really looking forward to more hiking and camping trips with family and friends this year.  There have been a couple of hikes that have been on our "to-do list" forever and it's high time we finally do them!  There's nothing better than getting outside to recharge. 

Explore New England! 

One of our favorite things to do as a family is day trips and weekend trips around New England to explore all the great things this area has to offer.  Usually we do a couple trips every year and this year I'd love to do even more if we can - especially in Maine and Vermont.  I'd also like to share our knowledge and put together more New England Travel Guides for the blog.  

What are some of your goals for the New Year? 

Photo from Free Nature Stock

Giving Back - Who We Donated to This Year

A tradition I started last year was to donate a percentage of profits from Birch Landing Home at year-end to Charity.  I’m so happy to say that this year we were able to help support St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in addition to our donation to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

Thank you so much for all your support for my Etsy shop and blog this year, I hope to continue to grow them and be able to give back more each year in return. 

#giveback #stjude #susangkomen

New England Humidifier

I shared this photo on my Instagram Stories earlier and got so many comments I figured it was worth explaining!  Here in New England during winter, things get sooo dry indoors with the freezing cold temps outside and heat cranking inside - as a result your skin and throat really suffer, feeling constantly dry and scratchy.  | This post contains affiliate links |

One solution is to get a humidifier to put some moisture back into the dry air. In fact we do have a cool mist humidifier upstairs that we run at night when it's particularly dry or we're sick, but otherwise you can't beat the price and efficiency of an old fashioned "New England Humidifier" - a.k.a. a pot of water on the wood stove or radiator.

It works by simply adding moisture into the air by letting the water evaporate.  It's most efficient when you put the pot of water on the heat source so it evaporates a bit quicker, but if you don't have a stove or radiator you can also leave the pot by a heating vent or just in the room with you.  If you do leave the pot on your stove or radiator, just make sure it doesn't go dry (you want to take it off when you leave the house too) otherwise you might end up with a scorched pot!  

Disclaimer:  Use this tip at your own risk.  

Giving Tuesday

Did you know I donate a percentage of profits from Birch Landing Home at year-end?  So everytime you place an order or visit my blog that donation gets the chance to grow!  

Last year I was able to donate to Amazima Ministries and Disabled American Veterans - I haven’t decided where this year’s donation is going yet so if you have a favorite charity please share!

 #givingtuesday #giveback

Introducing Our Newest Addition!

Here's the reason I've been so MIA recently ;)  This little lady has been keeping us busy and it's funny how easily you forget the sleep deprivation from the first baby!  I feel like a first-time mom all over again, relearning all those newborn rules.

This month I'll have some review posts for L.L. Bean and Safety 1st coming as well as an interview and giveaway with Woodboogah - stay tuned and keep your fingers crossed we get some sleep! 

Photo by: Adrian Pelletier Photography

Back-to-School Lunch Ideas with Parenting New Hampshire Magazine

School is starting back up and that means it's back to the daily grind of packing lunches for most parents.  Parenting New Hampshire magazine interviewed myself and few other NH-based bloggers for our "Brown-Bag Makeover" tips and tricks.  

You can pick up a copy of this publication at many locations across the state, or read the article HERE online. 

"Brown-Bag Makeover" | Parenting New Hampshire Magazine

How to Best Help Those Affected by Hurricane Harvey

Helping in the Wake of Natural Disaster... 

After having helped with Hurricane Relief work after Katrina, I encourage anyone who wants to help with donations to give monetarily to charities, instead of donating supplies and "stuff."  Unfortunately the generosity of stuff tends to overwhelm distribution centers and so much ends up going to waste.

A few months after Katrina we threw away dumpsters-full of food, clothing, and school supplies - not because it wasn't wanted or needed but because the distribution center was overwhelmed with too much random stuff to organize and distribute in a timely fashion and sadly all these donations were quickly ruined by mice and water damage.

Please donate money instead so they can buy and coordinate what they essentially need right now and don't overwhelm them further logistically. 

Donate Now

This photo is one we took in 2006 on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, taken a few months after Hurricane Katrina.  

Instagram Auction to Benefit the Travis Roy Foundation

Our friends Seagate Studio have been very involved with the Travis Roy Foundation for years, and we're honored to donate a set of three Hand-Etched Birch Snowflake Ornaments for their upcoming Instagram Auction to benefit this very worthy cause.  

“The Travis Roy Foundation is a non-profit dedicated to enhancing the life of spinal cord injury survivors and their families by providing special adaptive equipment grants and funding research.

It is an organization that is near and dear to my heart and one that I have been heavily involved with for over 10 years. Travis Roy (a native Mainer), is my husband’s cousin and also my close friend. In 1995, Travis was a highly recruited Division I hockey player starting his collegiate career at Boston University.
Eleven seconds into his first shift of his first game playing for the BU Terriers, he slid head first, awkwardly into the boards, cracking his 4th and 5th vertebra and leaving him a quadriplegic. His story could have stopped right there, but instead he has dedicated his life to helping other spinal cord injury survivors and inspiring all who meet him through his motivational speaking career. He graduated from Boston University, taking just an extra year and started the Travis Roy Foundation while he was still a student. Since its inception, the TRF has raised over $9 million, consistently raising over $1 million per year in its most recent years. 

The biggest fundraiser event for the TRF is not some glamorous gala that only the elite can afford to attend, but rather a summer back yard Wiffle Ball tournament that takes place every year up in rural Jericho, Vermont. This tournament which hosts over 24 teams from across New England is played on 3 fields that are modeled after major league ball parks and a field from a popular baseball movie, aptly named Little Wrigley, Little Fenway, and Little Field of Dreams. It is an incredibly moving and magical weekend and by far my favorite of the whole year.
And THIS is what I am fundraising for.”

— Samantha from Seagate Studio

The Auction will take place on Seagate Studio's Instagram (@seagate.studio) from July 31st - August 3rd, 2017.  Please check their feed frequently during this time and consider bidding on one of the many great items that have been donated.  

If you would like to learn more about the Travis Roy Foundation or donate directly, please see their webpage HERE.