9.02.2016

this little piggy


This little piggy loves her Daddy.
This little piggy loves cheese.
This little piggy keeps me laughing.
This little piggy steals my keys.
This little piggy goes "moo! moo! moo!" all the way home.

(Because she's used to living on a cow farm and is currently obsessed with all things cow.)


Happy Weekend, y'all!


9.01.2016

#constructionCrews


Okay you guys.
The time has come.
I'm dedicating Thursdays to house posts.
Woo Hoo!
Now y'all can leave me alone.
(I kid. I kid.)

Before we picked up a brush, I picked up a pen and the lists began.
Husband and I walked from room to room while the "to-dos" started growing.

What you'll see below is what we started with/what my inspiration was/is.
(And a completed picture if there's one done!)


I have always, always, always wanted a yellow door.
(Inside AND out!)
I believe any house can look instantly better if you paint the door yellow.
So the very first thing on my list was the door.
I also love the black trim around the door.
Still need to add new house numbers, shutters, new lights, and landscaping.


You walk into the living room and the first thing you see are the french doors and fireplace.
Swoon.
You had me at hello.
As you can see, we have already painted all trim white and walls light grey.
Soon we'll build the floating shelves and purchase a nice big sectional (another dream of mine!)


This is the doorway to the hall that holds the guest room, guest bath, and Emmerson's room.
Next item on the wish list: sliding barn door!


The hallway was super dim and dark, so the paint alone helped so much.
We will be adding bead board and better lighting soon and I've already hung up some of Emmerson's pictures.



Eventually both bathrooms will be completely renovated.
We want hardwood throughout and white subway tiles, also new vanity/sink area.
But, that's on our 5 year list.
This ain't no millionaire house flipping.
For now, we have painted the walls and will add the same bead board from the hallway and dining room.



Emmerson has a huge closet in her room. 
The plan is to paint the wall a fun accent color, keeping the shelving white.
We'll also get some more organization units in there to keep clutter out of her room and behind closed doors.
(More pictures of her room soon, as we finish it completely!)



Off the living room is the dining room!
I'm taking over the formal dining room as my office/playroom, so we needed to maximize space here.
We will be building a banquette along the right and back walls which will give us more seats and I will (finally) get my farmhouse table!



Pretty much the only thing I love about our kitchen is the layout and black granite.
But, complete reno of the kitchen is on the 5 year plan.
Hopes are: knock out those two cabinets and add open shelving, white subway tiles with dark grout, and paint all cabinets white.


Off the kitchen/dining room is hallway leading to the master, and door to the laundry room/garage.
I want to create a little mudroom space at the end of this hallway, seeing how we'll enter from the garage (once it's all cleared out of course!)

The only room that hasn't been pictured is the formal dining room.
It's getting the most attention because we're making it an office/playroom.
(Why do I need an office? Well, you'll just have to wait and see!)

I hope all my pictures and words made sense, and that you can see my vision!
Going for "Farmhouse Chic."
Or, "What Would Joanna Gaines Do?"

So, HGTV, feel free to come and record and send the Gaines'.







8.30.2016

tuesday letters



Dear Pink Eye,
I'm not sure who invited you here, but you're most definitely not welcome. And you infected my poor, sweet baby that doesn't know why she can't rub her eyes when they itch. {Can we talk about how not fun it is to put eyedrops in a toddler's eyes? It took two of us, on top of her. Can we just put it in a spray bottle and spray her face? Hope some of it makes it in?}

Dear Emmerson, 
Since moving to Arkansas, you've successfully caught a stomach virus, nasty cold, and now pink eye. So far, you've sweetly shared everything with me. Let's keep the last one to your self, please. This sharing is not caring.

Dear Direct TV,
Thank you for taking five-evers to hook everything up in the house, resulting in Husband having to stay home this morning. Emmerson and I needed more time with our favorite man.

Dear Pinterest,
If you could magically make all my pins appear in my closet or house, that'd be great. Oh, and for free. Thanks.

Dear Mi Casitas,
You don't understand how much of a God-thing you really are. {Y'all, listen. This small, cozy Mexican restaurant is LITERALLY feet away from the church doors. It's smack in the middle of 2 of our parking lots AND next door to our youth building. If you know me AT ALL, you know that was my first sign that God wanted us here. And all His people said, "amen."}

Happy Tuesday, guys!

8.29.2016

quick little update from arkansas


The poor, sweet Arkansas people probably think I never do my hair, since it's looked like this preeeetty much everyday. 
(Minus Emmerson's hair bow, that was all I had at the time. Although, it does spruce up the look, eh?)
I promise, I do my hair sometimes. 
Well, scratch that. 
I do my hair occasionally. 
Okay, so maybe not.
But it's not always a messy bun, I tend to lean on the "messy but fancy" side. 
Mancy? 

I digress.

I know, I know. I promised an update like a week ago and....nada.
To say life has been crazy for the last month would be an understatement.
BUT, crazy in a good/awesome/wouldn't-have-it-any-other-way way. 
(Hence the messy bun.)
After living with the most amazing family for 3 weeks (we're basically related at this point) we finally moved into our house (last week!) 
We spent the week prior doing werk.werk.werk.werkwerk.
Cleaning.
Scraping painted popcorn off all 1900 sq. ft of ceilings.
Painting all ceilings, doors, and trims white (2 coats!)
Painting all 3 bedroom, 2 bath, living room, office, dining room, kitchen, 2 hallway, and laundry room walls light grey.
Cleaning (again.)
And then moving in.
Last Sunday night was our first night in and we practically fell asleep putting Emmerson in her crib.
Like, move over girl. 
Mama needs "night night" too.

Now that the majorly time consuming things are finished, we can focus on smaller weekend projects.
Although, living in a "work in progress" house stresses.me.out.
I like things done.
And unpacked.
And organized.

But this is our (hopefully) forever home and we want everything to be juuuust right.
(Catch that, God? Please...no more moving?)
Ha. Like that's ever worked.

So, no more promises of updates.
I'll just post on the house when I post on the house.
You get what you get and you don't pitch a fit.
But really, one day (hopefully soonish) I'll have at least 1 room done and ready for the big reveal. 
(If you follow me on Instagram, you've seen some glimpses.)

All of this is my hot mess way of saying:
We're here.
We love it.
It's home.


Oh! And! Something big is about to happen and I can't wait for it to be ready for the world. 
(NOPE, not pregnant.)

P.S. I missed you, blog world. Boy have we got a lot to catch up on.


6.29.2016

dancing {the post I couldn't write}



Before she could walk, Emmerson could dance. As a former dancer, it does my heart so good to see her moved by music. Dancing with her is one of my favorite things (next to dancing with Husband, of course.)

Dancing is always a release for me, a way to forget everything, even if only for a few minutes. It also gives me reason to be silly and carefree, let go a little. (We could all use a little "let go" time, yeah?)

In my short 27 years, I've learned that life is full of seasons. And the thing about seasons is they are guaranteed to change. Which is scary and refreshing. As much as I love cold weather, I wouldn't enjoy a life of only winter. I hate the summer heat, but I welcome the warm after the cold. To survive these seasons, you have to dance. You have to move from one step to another.

I can appreciate this season because I lived through the last one. I can look forward to the next season because I've learned from the present one. I'll be the first to admit that I don't always dance gracefully through each of life's seasons. Quite the opposite in some most cases. Some seasons require a slow ballet, others an angry lyrical. A beautiful duet with husband, or a quick enthusiastic Charleston. More than anything, I find myself childishly dancing on the shoes of my Creator. Willingly (or un-willingly) allowing Him to lead.

I've been avoiding my blog, (minus the small, fun updates of Emmerson.) I've been pushing back my desire to write about life and what God has done in our lives.

I've been ignoring it completely because this post demands my ugly, flawed heart to be brought into light. It requires me to be vulnerable, imperfect, and every other "bad" word a Christian (let alone a pastor's wife) should be.

Keeping this inside has done nothing but destroy me from the inside out.
It started in my heart.
It took over my mind.
It took captive my thoughts.
It controlled my mouth.
It possessed my body.

The last "deep" post I wrote was in October, the day before we told the world we were moving. Accurately titled, "when it is not well with my soul"(You'll probably want to read that one first, if you haven't already.)

I re-read that blog often and long for the faith of that author. I wish I had her peace. I wish I knew her truths. Which is crazy, because I definitely wrote that myself. But that Lauren, she might as well be a stranger.

Somewhere between writing that post and where I am today,
I forgot to say "it is well with my soul."
Chant "it is well with my soul."
Weep "it is well with my soul."
Whisper "it is well with my soul."
Scream "it is well with my soul."

I have allowed internal and external battles to take my faith, little by little, away from me.

Moving.
New house.
New church.
New people.
New city.
New life.

I was stripped of my music. I felt alone on stage, in the dark. I forgot who was holding me. I forgot who was guiding me, step by step. I forgot who knew the next move before I even got there.

I remember now. That the same God that brings cold seasons, is the same God that brings new life in spring. I can find enough joys in today to get me to tomorrow. I don't always remember all the steps, and I can't even tell you what the next song is, but I can dance right now. I can delight in His presence, give thanks in the suffering, and keep showing up to the party.
I can (and will) say, "it is well with my soul."

My desire is to become a professional dancer with Christ. To be the well rested, well rehearsed partner that leans on the Leader. I hope and pray that Emmerson continues to dance (both physically and spiritually) and my heart equally prays to be that example for her.

No matter what season, no matter what song, dance. Dance, baby girl. He's got you.