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?

Farm + House Co.

As part of our Dave Ramsey/Debt Free journey, I've been brainstorming ways I can quickly make money to help pay off our debt early. DR calls this a side hustle. I love creating things so I thought opening a Facebook shop to sell whatever I made was a good idea. I've grown pretty attached to the Farm + House name so I knew right away what I wanted to name my shop! Farm + House Co. was born just in time for Black Friday! It's been a learning experience over the last two months but I can't wait to see how this shop grows over the next year!

I contemplated what to sell since I have several creative outlets but I wanted to start off with something simple. I had the supplies on hand to make handmade felt hair bows after I made some for my niece. I just launched my second collection, this one for Valentine's Day, last week. It has been so fun to see something I made on my friends' little ones! I'm hoping to add some home decor items to the shop in the near future! 

If you'd like to check out my Facebook shop, Farm + House Co., I would love to know what you think! Is there anything you'd like to see in my shop? Let me know!

TJ Maxx Haul

I had to make a run to TJ Maxx today for some new notepads. I needed to grab my niece's birthday gift too! I used to always grab notepads from the Target dollar spot but I haven't really found many there in the last year. I remembered that TJ Maxx always has an assortment of notebooks for a pretty good price. I packed up a "picnic lunch" for the boys and we headed out over lunch time. Risky with two littles to go just before naps but it worked out in my favor this time! 

Maverick got to pick out a book for her and he chose this sweet farm animal book. I found this adorable Carter's outfit too! I was looking for a picture frame too but never did find those.

I snagged this 6 pack of Moleskin journals for $14.99. I wanted to find a few for lettering on and these are HUGE! Maybe it's something I'll offer in my Facebook shop if they turn out well. I paid about half that much for a 3 pack of journals half the size a few weeks ago so I think this was a good deal!

I love these "lay flat" type of notebooks for journaling. I use one every day my prayer journal and another for gratitude and miscellaneous journaling. Loved these Rae Dunn ones! I'm almost through my current prayer journal so I needed to pick up a few to have on hand.

I grabbed these two large notepads for general use. I love having a flat notepad instead of a spiral notebook. I use these for meal planning, grocery lists, packing lists, taking notes when I do online classes, anything where I need a lot of space to write. My last one disappeared and I've been needing to replace it for weeks!

I grabbed a small wallet to take along when I got to Texas in a few weeks since I'm only bringing a smaller crossbody purse and my regular wallet is too big to fit. The one thing I was disappointed in was not finding any smaller notepads. I wanted to stock up on a few that I saw the last time I was there but their supply was mostly notebooks this time. I know TJ Maxx and similar stores can be hit or miss depending on supply so I can't fault them for that. I'll have to check back in a week or two and see if they have any on hand then.

Can't wait to get working on those new journals! Would you buy a hand lettered notebook for journaling or do you prefer something without lettering on the front?

Capsuling For the First Time

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I know the concept of capsule wardrobes has been around for a long time. I'm late to that ball game apparently! I'm a creature of habit who continually wears my favorites while ignoring the rest of my closet. Usually digging through the clean laundry basket and not touching whats already hanging up! It can be nice to look at a closet full of clothes and see all the options you have but most days it just feels overwhelming. I feel like I have nothing to wear or I just don't know how to put it together well. Its about time I did something about that!

Last month I did a closet purge and pulled out everything. There were so many items in great shape that I just never wore because I didn't like how they made me feel or I bought on a whim but realized later they weren't really my style. Some of the items are just flat out not functional for a stay at home mom with two very active little boys. I need to be more honest with myself when shopping for new items because that last one is the number one reason I end up not wearing something I've got in my closet. I pulled out what I wasn't going to keep and then sorted things into seasons which I've never done before. 

After I'd sorted everything, I started filling out a capsule wardrobe worksheet I pulled off of Pinterest. I picked my three categories that my style and needs fall into first. Next I found my favorite Fall pieces that I knew I wanted to include. I wanted to focus on using mustard and maroon pieces to accent my neutral basics. I rounded out the rest of the sheet with a few gaps that needed to be filled or items that needed to be replaced because they were worn out. I love that the goal of a capsule is to work mostly with items already in your closet but also to replace the cheap quality clothing that wears out quickly with pieces that will last over time. Because most of your wardrobe is coming from what you have, it's much more affordable to fill in the missing pieces! I'm still missing a few key pieces that I'd really like to have as a part of this capsule but I'm holding out for an item I truly love at a good price.

Photo by Samantha Cater Photography

I've been wearing the capsule pieces for a few weeks now and other than the unseasonably warm week or two we had that I wasn't prepared for, I'm loving the ease of picking out my clothes each morning. It feels good to put on an outfit and have it fit well instead of switching outfits 10x to find something I don't hate. I also love that I don't feel the pressure to wear a different outfit just because it's hanging there when I really want to wear my favorites. The one thing I struggle with is learning how to step out of my comfort zone and mix pieces I wouldn't normally put together. I'm hoping that's an area I will grow in over the next few months of trying this. 

Do you know anyone who follows this concept? I'd love to follow along anyone who does this on a regular basis!

Five on Friday - Instagram Accounts

I love that Instagram stories have become a place to see the more real, open side of people instead of just the curated photos many of the "big" accounts share. There are a few accounts that really caught my eye this past week that I thought I'd share!

Lises Pieces Jewelry
Her jewelry is beautiful! I'd love to have one of her hand stamped necklaces. But what really drew me in this week is how hilarious she is on her stories! I love people who aren't afraid to be silly and I'm always looking for more laughter in my life! Check our her "laughs" highlight on her profile to see what I mean!

Jessie Martin
I love the photo tips she shares! Mamas who help other mamas are my favorite because it creates a stronger community, which is something we all need. Her photos are amazing and I think it's awesome that she has recently shared how to edit phone photos like other big Instagram accounts!

Lauren McCoon
This sweet woman has been sharing her journey as a foster mom. Because I hope we are able to become foster parents someday, I love following the story of current foster parents to help me mentally prepare in case we ever go down that road! I love how she shares her emotions because I think it helps people get a real view of what fostering can be like.

Whimsy + Wellness
This shop has the most beautiful essential oil products. I'm obsessed with how pretty the Fall Collection is! I get so frustrated sometimes trying to keep all my rollers and bottles labeled sometimes. This shop is the perfect solution to that! Especially for something that I use on a daily basis, I love all the pretty labels to keep them separated!

Lexi Ryan
Lexi is a sweet friend of mine that I met in college. She also lives in the Twin Cities! She shares her photography work on her page and it's stunning! I have loved following along as she grows as a photographer. She captured our maternity photos in our backyard just before Jax was born! I love seeing how she excels as a photographer in so many categories.

Who are your favorite Instagram accounts you follow?

China Cabinet Makeover

I've always loved the way a hutch looks! I searched everywhere I could think of to find an affordable one that was in good, solid shape. Everything I found was in rough shape or very expensive. I knew I wanted to redo a hutch and put in the work so I didn't mind cosmetic issues as long as it was solid. Mark found a handful on Facebook marketplace that he sent to me but this one caught my eye, especially for only $50! It was stained a pretty dark brown but it wouldn't have worked with the rest of the furniture in our house. Once we got it to our house I realized how splotchy the stain was so I set out to find my supplies.

I chose Rustoleum Chalked in linen white to help brighten up our dining room. I also used a sander deglosser product to remove the top coat from the original stain. Most of the hutch took two coats of the chalk paint but a few places needed a third coat to be fully covered. Once the chalk paint dried for a few hours I used a sanding block to distress the hutch as much as I could muster. That was quite the workout honestly, I made a few passes to get the look I wanted. I added one layer of Rustoleum Chalked matte clear and it was done! The hutch had wooden knobs and handles but I chose to replace them with metal ones from Hobby Lobby. I love the pop of brown that they add!

 Overall it took me about three days to finish. The entire thing was much easier than I anticipated! It was relatively easy to refinish and took very little supplies, just a few cans of paint and a paint brush. We've always had this giant bare space in our dining room that needed a big piece of furniture to fill. I think this piece is exactly what we needed! I tossed a few pieces of decor up there so it wasn't bare but I cant wait to learn how to style it. I think it will be especially fun to decorate over the holidays!

Have you ever used chalk paint to refinish a piece of furniture? How did it work out?