Little by little

I finished my office area.  Finally.  I'm slowly starting to figure out how I want to decorate this house.

What I want:

1.  Warm

2.  Comfortable

3.  Colorful

4.  NOT cluttered

5.  NOT a museum

6.  Functional

7.  Classy

8.  That funky Kelly spark

Really not easy to get all those ideas into one room.  What happens is I have one idea that seems simple enough, but then....

For example, I have leftover metal from Tim's grandpa's old machine shed that Tim used to roof in his machine shop and I really want to line one of my kitchen walls in it like so....

...except it would be on a large fairly empty wall in the kitchen.  I love it and really REALLY want to do this. 
But...
If I did the metal wall, the entire kitchen of oak cabinets would look off.  They don't match this rustic look. 
So....
If I really wanted to do the wall, I might have to repaint not only the kitchen walls, but repaint the cabinets white.  I love white cabinets.  Every kitchen pin I have on Pinterest have white cabinets. 
But....
If I paint the cabinets white, I can't undo it if I don't like it AND the cabinets will show every grubby little fingerprint that touches it.
So...
Maybe I don't paint the cabinets white and instead of walling the kitchen in metal, I wrap a kitchen island in metal
But...I would have to probably custom make an island and I....don't know how to do that.
So...
I'm screwed. 
Not really though, I have a pretty handy husband and maybe I just find an island I like and wrap the damn thing in metal and call it good. 
This is how I go around and around with every freakin room in this house.  It was SO easy to decorate the other house because I really wasn't worried about screwing it up...we weren't staying!
Now we are here for good and this place is a beautiful, grown-up person's house, and I still totally see myself as an awkward kid....who has awkward kids. 
This place deserves to look nice, organized, clean, classy....with just a touch of my taste. 
I go a lot to the blog Under the Sycamore * www.ashleyannphotography.com * because I am in love with her style.  I would completely turn over this house to her to decorate and not sweat it a bit.  Not only is she an incredible photographer and decorator but she has an amazing blog about her family.  She also inspires me to be a more active mother...she makes being a parent look as beautiful as it is. 
Anyway.
Long story short, or actually short story made incredibly long....
I did finish getting an office together.  It's against the wall that I would potentially like to cover in metal at which time it will all have to be rearranged. 

The pics are way too dark but I'm impatient and didn't want to wait until the next morning.

My favorite part is the lamp.  I was my dad's in his music room and the lamp shade makes the most perfect warm yellow/orange light.  Cozy, comfortable, functional...I got some of them.

I neeeeeeed to make something....anything....I just need to MAKE.

Between moving to a new house, selling an old house, building a shop with hubs, starting a new job, and now back to taking a class for my chemo certificate, I have had almost no time to just let my brain go and be creative.

It's getting to the point of desperation.  I go downstairs and just look at all my projects, not with the intent to start anything, but just to touch all the pretty fabric and all the pretty ideas.

Pinterest is NOT helping.  The idea works...just relax for five minutes and peruse crafty ideas and crafty blogs but ultimately I pocket the phone feeling all pissy that I can't drop everything and make/do/sew/cook all the things I see.

So I've taken to small projects.  I got the above frame at Hobby Lobby (the devil's store) and did really like the chicken and cow pics in them.  But one evening I needed a break from the fascinating (and ultimately depressing) world of cancer, I went downstairs and tried to figure out where to hang this sign.  Curiosity struck and I poked my finger through the chicken wire and the picture fell to the floor.  Oh darn.  I'm much happier with my fix.  Don't know where to put it, but my brain and type B side was VERY happy for the break.

Didn't need to do much here.  Found a fantastic card catalog at an antique store.  New recipe box.

The recipe in the frame is a handwritten recipe from my grandma.  It's legit with food stains on it and everything.  Makes my day to see these simple things.

It's getting better...but then I think about all I still want to do...
Paint this bench here....bind my quilt....make another quilt....paint this rocking chair....hang up this pallet...make some bunting and hang that up...find an old ladder for the girls room....paint the old coat rack...find something to do with the super cool screen door I found....

Shit.

Need to go study.

New obsession....

Tim McGraw

Not necessarily him, but a song from his last album.  Meanwhile Back at Mama's is the name and I cannot stop listening to that song.  I want to be Mama.  I want this to be Mama's house.  That's the whole point to us moving out here to the country...to get that feel. 

 

 

The song reminds me of my Grandpa and Grandma's farm in Iowa.  It's not all entirely accurate to the lyrics, but it definatly had that feel.  Warmth. 

 

 

"Meanwhile back at Mama's
The porch lights on, come on in if you wanna
Suppers on the stove, and beer's in the fridge
Red sun sinking out low on the ridge

 

Games on the tube and daddy smoked cigarettes
Whiskey keeps his whistle wet

 

Funny the things you thought you'd never miss
In a world gone crazy as this"

 

 

I just want my kids to know joy in simple things.  Most days I feel like I fail at this, but then I hear a song like this and I remember what all the hard work was for and what all the hard work is still for.  So I have the porch light on and beer in the fridge, supper's on the stove....

I'll get there.

We will get there.

 

My mama and her mama....

 

 



We moved.

I have Internet finally.  Finally.  This is now the third Internet company that has come out to try and link us back into the e-world.  One fella stood on the top of the roof with his biggest receptor and grumbled that he couldn't even get a crappy signal.  Well.  Anyway, we have Internet now.  And I'm not packing and unpacking (well....), and I'm not studying, and I'm not working (right now), so I can blog. 
I miss blogging so much for several reasons.  I love getting feedback on it, yes, but also I feel like I live my most complete life when I'm sharing it.  If I don't do anything quality and beautiful with my kids then I have nothing to post.  Basically I'm an extremely selfish person with my time and a blog helps me be a better mom.  Hey, the truth sucks, but whatever works.  My kids get a better mom, so that's a win.
So we moved!  I finished school, started working, and we started daydreaming about the next step.  Didn't anticipate being ready to move for at least a year or two.  Then daydreaming led to drives in the country, which led to showings, which led to paperwork *just in case*, which led to this house and a drive home when I put my foot down and said, "I want it...it's perfect.  Give them what they want and lets do it by 8am tomorrow....this is for us."  He agreed and after an agonizing morning at work I finally got the text that I needed to start packing.  I screamed and started crying...at work.  Not something most people want to see a nurse doing.  But it was total joy.  I knew this was the place for my family.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love being a country girl.  I have had several lessons already that make me smack my head at how naive I am, and I'm sure I will have many more.  I started a beautiful garden in the kitchen that my family had to walk around for weeks.  We enjoyed watching these big tall bean plants grown and was excited when it was finally warm enough to bring them outside.  Two hours later, our Kansas south wind snapped my entire garden in two.  That's the hard way to learn about the importance of "hardening off."  Instructions are important.  Lesson one. 
Coyotes live here, too. And there's no reason to run terrified into the house every time you hear them.  Lesson two. 
The neighbors horses aren't fighting....they're mating.  No need to alert the neighbor.  You WILL be laughed at.  Lesson three. 

Gardening:  Lessons 4-578

It took a full day to measure measure all these bricks out so they would be perfectly aligned.  When I stepped back to admire all my work and started taking pictures it started to dawn on me that I created a garden that looks like a cemetery.  My sister confirmed that through text.
"Does this look like a graveyard?"
"Yes....Yes it does.  Yes."
damn. 

It's looking better.  I'm really hoping that all the beautiful vegetables and flowers will distract from that horrid garden plan. 
We're loving the garden, and this place has flowers galore.  We love that, too.  We love everything here. 

 

 

 

 

 

The cat still hates the dog. 

The dog is still sure she'll come around.

She won't.

 

 

 



So that's the update.  I have a lot to do on the house before I really post pictures of it.  I still don't know where half my crap is going to go so everything is randomly sitting around.  Until later!...



 

 

The Wall of Fam!....DONE!

 

Finally finished my wall project I started a while ago.  Actually I finished it about two weeks ago, but whatever.  I really wish the pictures were prettier of it, but they were just taken with my iPhone.  Eh.  Whatever.  So this is about three different Pinterest pins at work here. One for the pictures on painted plaques, another for the signs, and a third for the fabric in the hoops.  Thank you Pinterest.  I adore the day I discovered you.  I should make a board for all my pinned successes....and other for the flops.  Pins of Fame and Pins of Shame. 

So the purpose of the wall of fam was to not only have these amazing pictures out and be able to enjoy them, but also I want my kids to eventually realize how lucky they are to come from a long history of strong and loving families.  This picture is of my mother-in-law's family at Sunday dinner.  She is the youngest of 14 children. 
Next is a picture of my mom with her brother and sister.  Outside.  Fresh air.  That's what you did back then.

My mom is the one in the middle.  Next is my dad.

There is a better one I could've used of his dad holding him when he was a baby, but I just fell in love with this one....his little face.  Next is my father-in-law standing on the roots of an uprooted tree that a tornado took out.  It's hard to see on here but he's the skinny pole standing next to the skinny pole. 

This next one is my mother-in-law getting kisses from her mom and dad.  It's so stinkin' sweet.

So much love in these families.  And so lucky to have these pictures to prove it.  Next....my grandpa Walter and his sister Bernadette.

 

I really have so many more pictures I want to put in but I did have to consider the scale of the project.  It could've gotten way bigger.  There's a gorgeous picture of my Grandma Reiter standing in a riverbank so carefree and wonderful.  There are more of my dad with his sister when they were coming over on the boat from Italy.  Some good ones of Tim making homemade noodles with his Grandma....

Maybe in the next house....right.  More room, more space...more pictures!!
I still need to repaint the bench underneath and get some cute cushions on for a really lovely space.  Someday....

Two boxes. A stack of magazines. An afternoon project!

So it was officially a snow day today!  I was supposed to have a test that I wasn't really ready for (partly because most of my focus the day before was on all the cancellations and not so much on organ transplantation and kidneys as it should have been.)  For the most part it has been loverly.  Payton did have to come to the realization that snow day did not directly translate into all day computer day.  But when I started the girls on making a house out of this box, he did quickly jump in. 

We've done so many project lately with the huge stack of magazines I've accumulated from my mom.  The girls decorated the inside and outside from their favorite pics from Cottage Living, Better Homes and Gardens, and Simple magazines. 

It was a lovely afternoon working on this with the girls.  Then the boy decided he wanted to try one.  He didn't want a full box but he did find and empty oatmeal container.  And what he did.....was....special. 

It's a buddy house.  ....for Buddy.  Um.  Nice.
So we pulled out another box and we tried to go a different way with all this craftiness. 
And with Payton you can never go wrong with garage doors. 

He wanted a bifold hanger door.  Done. 

Much better buddy.  Free project and two boxes out of the storage room.  Score. 

 

Wild Saturday night.

Tim was having a wild night out with the boys, so we decided to have a wild night downstairs.  Going caraaaazy cuttin' those mags yo'. 

Payt and I were chillin' like villains on da floor.  At first he was ripping out entire pages and gluing it to his notebook paper.  Then he saw my page and got a little more detailed.  Ya know bud, if you want to rip out each page and glue them in order back into your journal....that's...fine.  It's your project.  It's just going to be a more bubbled version of the magazine. 

He came up with several pages that looked like this.  All very centered.  All featuring airplanes with hanger doors in the background. 
These were Ella's pages....

She loved this outfit because she said,"her necklace was really pretty and looked like bobbers that we use when we fish.  And the bird is beautiful because she's waiting for the baby birds in the eggs and that is beautiful."

I was jealous that she got this one first.  Dangit.  Those colors are awesome.  This one was picked because she liked all the trinkets and colors.  Ah yes, I know you little hoarder, you. 
And this one.....Ella.....well she just liked it. 

These.....  These are chickens walking with a turkey who is playing the bagpipes.  I have no idea which magazine it came out of.  She was so proud of it.  She loved the hens because they looked quiet and happy.  Quiet?  I suppose anything would look quiet next to a damn turkey blowing bagpipes. 
These are Maddie's pages....

Cookies.  And.....

More cookies.  She found the King Arthur flour magazine and pretty much plowed through it cutting out every cookie she could find. 
And my page....

Pretty proud of that crap right there.  That's one heck of an awesome collage there.  We did a lot of collages on my mental health rotation of clinicals.  I'm sure there are subconscious reasons I placed the things where I did.  Don't care.  Just enjoyed the calm.  We finished up right when Tim came rolling in at the late hour of 9pm.  I guess one of the guys had to go pick up some chicks....50 chicks to be specific.  Chickens.  Wild times. 
And lastly this couch is at Hobby Lobby right now on sale for $350.  I knew better than to actually think Tim would ever allow this much...pattern into the house.  So I took a picture and I'll sip my coffee in the mornings and gaze at it.....