A Weekend in Texas

I got to check off a bucket list item a few weeks ago. For no particular reason, I've always wanted to visit Texas and Georgia. For whatever reason, those felt the most "Southern" to me and I really wanted to see what it was like in the South. We've been planning this trip to Texas since Fall. The whole trip was centered around a girls' weekend at the IF: Gathering. We planned to fly in a day early so we'd have time to drive from Dallas down to Waco for a bit before the conference started. My love of all things farmhouse and Fixer Upper made this a given while in TX. The weather ended up making it an extremely short visit (thanks for nothing Texas weather, the snow followed us down from Minnesota!) but I still felt at home. I could have spent hours in there gathering inspiration. Even though we are in the Baby Steps, we saved cash for me to take on our trip. I did find some sweet little things to add to our home and remember this trip by. Now we just have to go back and visit when the weather is warmer! And note to self: just because it's Texas does not mean 40 degrees will feel warm. Pack more than sandals and a light jacket next time or you'll be buying sneakers to save your feet again haha.

Visiting Magnolia was such a small part of our trip but it was the only time I lugged my "big girl" camera with me. I wish I had taken more pictures of the rest of my time with these sweet friends. I tried to soak it in and appreciate every moment away from my family before we headed back home. The whole weekend put me out of my comfort zone but in the very best way. It's easy to sink into a rut but sometimes its necessary to step out in faith and try something new. These ladies have become like family to me and I so enjoyed getting to experience all of these new things with them!

Entryway Refresh

This is one space that I have wanted to fill since we moved into the house in 2017. I wanted to put a bench there (this stems from not wanting people to wear shoes in the house) but my husband wanted to use a table. We went back and forth about what would be best there. We finally got the chance to fill this little nook and came to a good compromise.

Initially Mark hung the shelf and we planned to add another above it but the space just wasn't there. The studs in the walls line up pretty wonky as well so we had to off-center the whole thing. I would love to shiplap this little nook some day so maybe we will adjust the shelf height whenever we end up doing that. We snagged the table, chair, and baskets from Hobby Lobby. Then we were on the hunt for a lamp and a taller piece with good weight as base pieces. 

We tried a few of the lamps I refinished but none of them were quite right. The industrial lamp we found was at Hobby Lobby! We had the edison bulbs on hand and I love the final look. Then I was in search of a mirror or painting as a tall backdrop piece. Our living room has a large window so I loved adding a mirror here to reflect some more light around the room. The mirror came from Home Goods at an insanely good price! I spotted a large farm house photo at Hobby Lobby that I think would have been great in this spot too. 

I love making my own candles with essential oils but I'm always on the hunt for a pretty jar to reuse for mine. We lucked out and found this one at Home Goods along with the candlestick and scale. I ripped the cover off a few books to add some height in the space.

This small chair was a good compromise because it still gives guests a place to sit and take off their shoes without taking up the whole space. I didn't love the idea initially because I was dead set on a bench. However, after seeing the whole thing come together, I love the chair here! I would like to find a rug to add in the entryway to pull it all together but for now I'm ecstatic with the turn out. I can't wait to decorate this with seasonal pieces and use the "hidden" storage for practical use.

Do you have a table in your entryway? What's your favorite season to decorate it?