m e a l p r e p.

Well…cheers to meal prepping this week, starting a new workout program, and making healthier choices! My original dream for my blog was that it would be all things life. Because the truth is, we are all most likely doing more than just one thing in our lives. I don’t know if you’re like me, but I am passionate about a lot of things. I’m passionate about being a great wife, being a great mom, being a great pastor, attempting to be healthy…I’m passionate about design and creating spaces that people love to be in. I think it’s safe to say that I have a lot of things I’m passionate about so that’s what I envisioned for this platform…a little bit of all things life.

So, to add some more to my feed, I wanted to share with you what I am currently doing to attempt to build a healthier lifestyle. I am a lover of sweets. Always have been. Always will be. Like, the kind of person that needs dessert before and after every meal, with every snack, and truly just all day long:) Please feel free to judge me, I’m judging myself right now:) I have just always loved sugar, I mean, who doesn’t right?! It’s just so good and so addicting and I just need it in my life! I have tried countless diets, countless eating fads, I mean at this point, you name it, I’ve tried it. I’m the person that, in my mind, everything sounds totally easy and doable, and I’m convinced that I can overnight go from eating sweets 10x a day and not working out to cutting everything out of my regular diet and working out twice a day. So extreme and so not the way to do it, but in my head it sounds simple!

Well, I have reached a point now, which I have reached more times than I can count in my life, where I just feel like I need to make healthier choices. Not even just to be thinner or for the number on the scale to be less. I just want to feel and be healthy all around. For those of you that have kids, have you ever noticed that you are less irritable and more energetic and fun when you are fueling your body with the right food and working out a few times a week? That is me for sure. I am just all around a better wife, a better mom, a better friend, and just a better person when I treat my body right. And I’m not saying treating it right means you eliminate everything you love to eat, I just believe everything should be done in moderation.

I have been an “intermittent faster” since late November of last year. It has worked for some of my friends so I thought, why not, lets try something else! I have really enjoyed it a lot actually. It took a few months for me to really adapt to it, but now it’s just a part of my life…for now anyways:) So my original eating window was from 12-8 every day. Then I started not getting hungry as often so my window for a while went to 2-7. Then, I just decided that wasn’t sustainable for me, so I’m currently doing 10-7 and I’m totally loving it. It works really well for me, and that’s the key, finding what works best for you and your body. Just because it works great for someone else does not mean its the best fit for you. So with that said, I wanted to give y’all a layout of what my daily food intake looks like. I am always googling ways to lose weight or to get healthy or what to eat and not eat, so I figured this is one less thing you will have to google!

So as far as my workout goes, I recently downloaded the Kayla Itsines App “Sweat” on my phone and I just started it last night. Dear Lord, my entire body hurts…but in the best way! It’s $20 a month and you can do it from home with minimal equipment which is my kind of workout! As far as my food goes, my sister is the one who really inspired me to do intermittent fasting and to start meal prepping and incorporate more greens into my life! So when she was in town visiting us a few weeks ago, she made us this salad that totally blew my mind! I don’t typically do raw veggies, but what she put together was so life changing, I had to make it for myself!!

So with that said, I have decided to change what I am eating. I start eating at 10am every day. But before that, I drink a full cup of water, and then I do coffee with fat free half/half or regular depending on what I have in my fridge:) and one stevia. Sometimes I have a couple cups of coffee in the morning to start…because sometimes you just need the extra caffeine! For breakfast, I either do overnight oats ( I’ll list the recipe below) or a yogurt with a banana. I’m not usually starving in the morning so it just depends on how hungry I am! For lunch I meal prep a salad. ( See recipe below) For a snack when I get home from work around 3 I usually do an apple with some natural peanut butter or just a bowl of fruit. For dinner I will make a lean protein and some roasted veggies. I usually just throw some stuff together and make a meal out of it for dinner. I just figure if its a protein with some greens, we are good!:) I’ll do sweet potatoes, red potatoes, and brown rice for a carb sometimes as well!

Ah, that was a lot of information! Thanks for sticking with me on this! I am going to post a couple recipes down below. For me y’all, eating and exercise is a journey. I have never been able to master them perfectly, but I am just determined to keep on trying.

A few words of encouragement, don’t be so hard on yourself. I am my biggest critic. Like if after one ab workout I don’t have a 6 pack I just feel defeated and I want to quit! Or if a few days into my new regimen I have a brownie, I feel like a failure and then I just give up. But the truth is, none of us are perfect, we are all human, and sometimes, you just need a cookie:) If you eat something that wasn’t a part of your healthy meal plan, enjoy it since you’re eating it, and move on and do better the next day. Becoming healthy isn’t an overnight fix. It’s making one healthy decision at a time. Instead of a burger and fries, try a burger and a side salad. Instead of eating a whole piece of cake, try splitting it in half and sharing it with someone. It’s consistent small decisions in the right direction that make a big difference! And don’t deprive yourself. I refuse to make the choice to cut everything I love to eat cold turkey because I just know I won’t do it…and to be honest, I don’t want to do it! So for me, since I love sweets, I bought a bag of dark, dark chocolates that are low in calories/carbs/sugar/fat, and I enjoy one a day. Its enough for me to gratify my sweet tooth, and it makes me feel like I’m not living in total deprivation.

Okay, I could write a book on this topic because it’s something I have been working towards for what feels like my entire life! But, as promised, here are the recipes of the things I am currently eating, enjoy:)

OVERNIGHT OATS

(this is a photo from “hungry girl” on google images, I haven’t taken my own yet)

In a mason jar

-1/2C of quick oats // 1C of unsweetened vanilla almond milk // 2TSP of chia seeds // 1 stevia // Stir it all around, put the lid on, and stick in the fridge overnight. The milk is per preference, I like mine to be a little bit more liquidy so sometimes I add a little more milk in the morning to it. I top it with blueberries, raspberries, bananas, the options are endless.

SAVORY SALAD

This is what I meal prep for both me and my husband for the week for lunch. Salad and a fruit bowl. It’s soooooo yummy!

-In a meal prep container (from Walmart or amazon) // spring mix // raw broccoli // raw carrots // raw mushrooms // cucumber // blueberries // sunflower seeds // blue cheese // lean protein (chicken, turkey, shrimp) // french & ranch mixed per serving size. You can totally do whatever veggies and protein you like the best. These are just the ones I love lately:)

Well, there you have it. I hope you enjoy! Remember, it’s just one healthy decision at a time. You can do it!

p a r e n t i n g.

Well y’all, I totally had a fun, kid friendly project on the calendar to share with you yesterday, BUT my youngest son, Beckham, casually decided to take a popcorn kernel and shove it up his nose so….yeah, our afternoon got hijacked with a ridiculous trip to the pediatrics office. I don’t know how many of you reading this are parents, but if you are, our understanding from one parent to the next is so universal. We get it. We get each other. We get that the struggle is so real. But in the middle of all of the chaos we experience as parents, there is just something in us that can’t help but to love our wild little bundles of joy fiercely. Even when you are trying to catch 15 minutes of sleep but get abruptly woken up to a bleeding nose with a popcorn kernel lodged in it…that love is uncompromised.

The boys love watching movies and eating popcorn, I mean, who doesn’t right? So I picked them up from school yesterday, and we went home to watch a movie and naturally I popped some popcorn. I was sitting in the middle of my boys, and I may have dosed off for a second. To my defense, I have been sick for almost 2 weeks, and every day I come home completely exhausted. I am positive I am not the first parent to fall asleep during a movie with my kids…or the first parent that selfishly suggests watching a movie with the full intention of catching a few minutes of rest during it! I’m saying this to justify my actions:) Anyways, a few minutes into my nap, I woke up to Beckham crying and blood rushing from his nose. Now I’m really awake! He informs me that he is bleeding, as if I couldn’t see it, and says he has an “owie.” I asked him what happened, and he pointed to the bowl of popcorn with only kernels left in in and says he shoved one up his nose! WHY?! I obviously start freaking out, no part of me is calm in this moment, which now makes both of the boys totally frantic. Great parenting move on my part:)

In my mind, I just feel like I can get it out with my finger, so I proceed with my brilliant plan. Obviously it doesn’t work, I just end up pushing it up further. So then I decided to demonstrate how to blow your nose to him in hopes he would follow what I’m doing. So I instruct him to blow his nose…..he sniffs, of course. So now its wayyyyyyyyy up there. I was like “why would you do this Beckham” and then I thought about it more and was like, “why wouldn’t he do this?” He’s 3, he was unsupervised, he’s curious, and has absolutely no fear. Him doing this made the most sense.

Have any of you ever seen the movie “Marley and Me?” I remember watching that movie over and over and over always thinking how much fun it would be to have a dog that is that entertaining that you could write newspaper columns on them daily. Well, I don’t have a dog that I can write about yet, but Beckham is that kid…that kid that I could write a newspaper column about every single day. He is the kid that you have stories for days on because he’s absolutely fearless, incredibly stubborn, and has the most will power to do what he wants to do whether he’s supposed to or not. And that my friends is why he did what he did. Because he wanted to. So, to make a long story a little less long, I ran out of the house with both boys, Parker was in his pajamas and Beckham was wearing a very wet pull up and his brothers pajama shirt because thats what was within reach as I was sprinting out of the house. No shoes, blood all over his face, and me trying to instruct my 3 year old to ONLY breathe through his mouth and not his nose.

We made it to the dr, I looked like a crazy woman running through the door frantically with a child that was half dressed and dried blood all over his face because I didn’t take the time to wipe it off. I also thought it would get me seen sooner if I made the situation look a bit more dramatic:) It was a super easy fix, they just squirted saline up one side of his nose and watched the kernel fall out of the other side. What an experience.

To all of my fellow parents out there, listen, I think we are super hard on ourselves often, but the truth is, parenting is hard work! There are so many great books out there to read about how to parent, advice from people that have been there and done that, but until you are in it, until you are experiencing it for yourself, nothing truly prepares you for what you are in for when you become a mom or a dad until you do it yourself. I’m just grateful every day when I put my kids to bed and they are alive and well. I feel like if they are breathing, I did something right!

I used to babysit all of the time before I got married. I was so confident that when I became a mom, I would totally know what to do. I was certain I had gained all of the knowledge and experience I needed from watching everyone else’s kids….I got this. And then I became a mom. And my pride was quickly diminished. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. Like I said, nothing can fully prepare you to be a parent until you are in it and learning from your own experience as a parent. And not to mention, just when you think you have gotten parenting down to a science, your kids change and evolve and what you thought worked doesn’t work anymore!

I remember when I just had Parker, he was a baby at the time, a mom told me one of the wisest things I have ever heard, and to this day I have never forgotten it. She told me, “The days are long but the years are short, so enjoy all of it.” And it has proven to be so true. There are days that feel so long. Like the days where your son sticks a popcorn kernel up his nose, or the days where every response to what you say results in a tantrum, or the days where you wake up longing for bedtime. I get it. I’ve been there. We’ve probably all been there. But holding my firstborn as an infant seems so long ago. In the moment it felt like the days were a million hours long. The days where you feel like all you’re doing is feeding your baby, changing diapers, cleaning spit up off of yourself and everything else, longing for an uninterrupted shower…but then you blink and your dropping your child off for their first day of kindergarten. WHAT THE HECK!

I say all of this to say, parents, you’re doing a great job. Even on the days when we feel like we’ve don’t terrible. Hang in there. More days than not I feel like I could have done so much better as a mom. But then my kids shower me with hugs and kisses and compliments and I think to myself, maybe I’m not as bad as I thought. Maybe I didn’t miss the mark that much today. Give yourself some grace. And remember, the days are long, but the years are short. So try your best to enjoy all of it. The chaos, the calm, the crazy, and every moment in between. Because the truth is, there will probably be a day when we long for the chaos of having little ones running around the house. I know I will.

Anyways, I hope y’all have a great day. And if your child gets something lodged up their nose sometime, please feel free to reach out to me because I know exactly how you feel:) Talk to you soon!

 

m u d r o o m.

Hey y’all! I finally woke up this morning and felt a little better than I have been the last week. I am not one to just sit and rest, I like to be busy so being sick has not been easy! But, I’m just thankful that today has been a good day so far:)

Anyways, I wanted to spend this week talking about living with kids while maintaining an organized, clean home. There have been seasons in parenting where having a picked up house has seemed absolutely impossible. There are still some days where I feel like all I’m doing is picking up the same toys over and over again, so I just give up and let the house be messy. That’s just life with kids though, right? For those of us that like to have some sort of organization in spite of the messes that kids bring, I have tried to find ways to make my house look the way I want while still being kid friendly. One way that I have been able to achieve this is having multiple places throughout the house where my kiddos things can be stored but it still looks stylish:) So, in honor of being a mom, having young boys, but still incredibly passionate about esthetics, I’m going to spend this week on how to make your house both functional and esthetically pleasing even with little ones running through it all of the time!

The first space I’m going to share this week is our mudroom. I posted a photo of this room beneath our staircase last week, but I wanted to provide you with the sources and just explain what that room is used for. I was going to use it for a cleaning supply closet and extra food storage at first. But the longer I stared at it, the more I felt like it could be used for something way more functional. I was at Ikea and I had walked by these shoe storage units and I felt like I could totally do something creative with them. I have seen this units for years but never had a use for them…until now! The space is very narrow so I needed some shelving in there that was thin and wasn’t going to swallow the whole room. So I decided to get two of these units and they fit perfectly in there! Not only are they cute, but they provide a ton of storage for books, craft paper/supplies, shoes, etc.

Processed with VSCO with al1 preset

Processed with VSCO with al1 preset

The shoe storage units were my first purchase for that space and from there, everything else around it kind of evolved. Its a multi purpose space, coats/crafts/shoes/coloring…but the boys totally love it, and it’s pretty easy to keep clean and organized. It’s an esthetically pleasing, kid friendly space and I absolutely love it!

Processed with VSCO with al1 preset

Processed with VSCO with al1 preset

So anyways, with all of that said, I’m going to list the sources below. I have always wanted a mudroom, I don’t even know why, I just think they are so much fun to decorate. I had designed a really great one in our house in Houston but since we moved, I never got to enjoy it. So when we moved into this house, I was pretty bummed that it didn’t have a cute space to make into a mudroom. The laundry room was too small and the thought of this area beneath the stairs being a mudroom hadn’t crossed my mind….yet:) Sometimes it’s nice to not be impulsive when designing a space. I took my time trying to figure out what this space should be, and I’m super happy with the outcome! So, with all of that said, here are most of the sources for that room! Enjoy:)

–Hemnes Shoe Cabinet $99 // https://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60156121/?query=HEMNES&icid=iba|us|unbxdsuggestion|201811132211556208_1

Organizational Wall

-Dry Erase Calendar $29.99 // https://www.hobbylobby.com/Home-Decor-Frames/Storage-Organization/Memo-Chalkboards/Monthly-Calendar-Dry-Erase-Board/p/80770454

–Black Cork Board $8.99 (I spray painted the board) https://www.hobbylobby.com/Crafts-Hobbies/Painting-Surfaces/Cork/Cork-Board-with-Wood-Frame—17%22-x-23%22/p/24432

-Paper Holder $12.99 // https://www.target.com/p/metal-wall-pocket-black-project-62-153/-/A-52808808

-Coloring Utensils Basket $36.99 // https://www.hobbylobby.com/Home-Decor-Frames/Storage-Organization/Baskets/Long-Black-Banded-Metal-Basket/p/80769243

-Mason Jars $10.99 12pk  (holding the coloring supplies) https://www.target.com/p/ball-12ct-16oz-glass-mason-jar-with-lid-and-band-wide-mouth/-/A-50624128

 

-Rug Runner $39.99 // https://www.athome.com/b532-theo-medallion-2.2×6/124240716.html#q=rug+runner&sz=150&start=1

-Wall Hooks $6.99 // https://www.target.com/p/wall-hook-soft-iron-threshold-153/-/A-51989309

And there you have it! The only things I didn’t list are the two metal decorative art pieces above the crayons because target no longer sells them. They are from the hearth and hand collection last fall! Hope y’all enjoy, and stay tuned for more ways to make your house stylish, functional, and kid friendly!

soulmate sundays.

Are any of you “Jane the Virgin” fans? I remember I was getting my hair done years ago, and the little space my hair girl rented had a tv in it, and she turned that show on the whole time I was getting my hair done. I had never heard of it, but by the end of my five hour hair appointment (I have a lot of hair) I was hooked. I watched as much as I could on Netflix until I was caught up to tv and then I had to do what we all hate doing…wait week to week for the next episode! It’s the worst right? It’s totally worth it though because each week it just keeps getting better. Anyways, if you know anything about the show, I’m hesitant to say this because I know not everyone agrees, but I’m totally team Jane and Rafael. They are my favorite. Always have been. And as of today, always will be:) But watching their tv relationship gives you all kinds of feels. Like they are so cute, so romantic, so in love, and ah, it’s just so good. Like the kind of good that starts to make you look at your relationship and wonder why your husband isn’t as romantic. Or why he doesn’t seem as in love with you as Rafeal does with Jane, or why it doesn’t seem like you both just stare at each other in complete adoration all the time. Maybe I’m the only one that has fallen into the trap of comparison when it comes to relationships. Or maybe I’m not. Either way, it’s happened to me many times, more times than I can count, and let me just remind you as I remind myself, there are no perfect relationships out there. None.

So instead of comparing our relationships and wondering why so and so has what seems to be better than ours, what if we committed ourselves to bettering what we have, not what we wish we had.

I remember before I got married always asking married people for advice. I was so intrigued by the thought of being with one person for the rest of your life. It seemed both crazy and wonderful all at the same time. I’ll never forget what one person told me years and years ago. I had asked her if she is still crazy in love with her husband after 20 years of marriage. I was obviously expecting her to say something like….”Yes” or “Oh my gosh I’m even more in love than I was when we first got married,” but that was not what she said. You want to know what she said? Her response was “I’m committed.” I feel like my jaw dropped in that moment because I immediately resorted to wow, she isn’t in love anymore, she is just stuck because of her commitment to stay with her husband forever. Thats awful. I don’t want that. I want the in love, mushy, romantic, finish each others sentences, want to spend every waking moment with each other kind of love. You know, the love story in the movies or tv shows. That’s the kind of love I want.

That’s the kind of love we all long for though right? The perfect fairytale kind of love. I don’t want to say that doesn’t exist, because I don’t totally believe that to be true. I just think the way love is portrayed to us through movies and tv doesn’t exist. Love isn’t without a fight. It isn’t without struggle. It isn’t perfect. It’s messy. Its hard. But it’s absolutely worth it if you are willing to stay committed.

After almost 11 years of marriage, I understand what my friend meant by her response. It wasn’t that her and her husband don’t love each other or that they aren’t in love anymore. I think what she meant is that they are committed to their marriage when they feel in love and when they don’t feel in love. They are committed when it seems easy and when it gets really hard. They are committed through thick and thin, highs and lows, and everything in between. And that to me, that’s real love. Real love isn’t just what you feel when you have butterflies or when you wake up to a love note and flowers just because. Real love is what fights to get through the hard times because you refuse to give up. Real love says I will do whatever it takes because I’m committed to you for the rest of our lives. Real love loves when it’s easy AND when it’s hard.

Real love isn’t only a feeling. It’s a commitment to love even when you don’t feel it. 

Throughout my own marriage there have been so many seasons where love feels easy and so many where love feels hard. I’m glad I had a friend that told me that before I got married, but I wish I would have understood what it meant. Maybe it would have helped me navigate the earlier years of my marriage better if I wouldn’t have set such unrealistic expectations of what a healthy marriage looks like based on what I watched on tv.

What I’ve learned is that loving each other looks different in each relationship because love translates to each of us differently. So my encouragement to you today is to do your best to not compare your relationship with other relationships. Comparison doesn’t do you any favors. Trust me, I’ve done it enough times to know:) Stay committed to YOUR relationship. Marriage really is a beautiful thing, truly. I remember thinking how wild it was to be with one person for the rest of your life before I got married. Now, after nearly 11 years, I still think its wild to be with the same person for the rest of your life. Wildly fun, wildly adventurous…I guess I’ve just learned over the years that life is what you make it. And the same goes for your relationships. My husband and I have made a commitment to one another to do whatever it takes to make our relationship great. Its not without fault. Its far from perfect. But we are in this for life, so instead of letting life just get by and having a mediocre marriage, why not fight to make it the best, most exhilarating, most meaningful relationship you have right?

Okay, I could write for days on this, but I’m going to end here for tonight:) We will talk more on relationships next soulmate sunday! Have a great week!

boys room sources.

Happy Saturday everyone! I hope y’all are all enjoying your weekend. I’m sitting in my kitchen right now with every window open just enjoying some fresh air, and it’s amazing. Fresh air and some sunshine just do something good for your soul.

Well, I posted a few photos of my boys room this week and got lots of comments on it, so I wanted to share as many sources as possible from their bedroom. Like I’ve said before, I am a lover of neutrals. I hope my kids don’t hold it against me one day that I never let them have a character themed room…but to my defense, I do let them have stuffed animals (if they are on their bed though, they most definitely match the room:) ) and they have their favorite character themed blankets they both like to sleep with. That’s enough though right? I just feel like they change what they are in to all of the time, so you can’t go wrong with some light walls, neutral bedding/decor, and a few items they love but can easily be put away when they don’t want it anymore.

To be totally honest, doing kids rooms are one of my favorite spaces to decorate because you can do so much while keeping it so simple all at the same time. So for color in their room, since there really isn’t much, I decided to do this reading wall to display all of their books. I can’t say the thought of spray painting their books gray or white didn’t cross my mind though….which I fully realize is outrageous, but I’m just being honest here:) Anyways, it added so much to their room. It adds color and gives it just the right amount of “kid-ish” vibes for their room without being overwhelming.

So with that said, I’m going to link most of the things I have used in their room below. I am a pretty inexpensive shopper. I don’t spend a large amount on most things, especially in a kids room! So their bedroom was very easy to create on a small budget. The only thing missing from the space is a large rug for under their bed, and some frames for the artwork I had them make…which I will post about later:) Other than that, their room is pretty much complete, thank God!

Okay, okay, I won’t keep talking about it anymore, I’ll give y’all what you actually want. Here is just about everything they have in their room. I am pretty sure the only thing I don’t have a link for are the frames above their beds. They are hearth and hand framed map pictures that are last season and no longer sold. But, you could frame a piece of art the kiddos make, put their names above their beds, put their initials or the first letter of their name, I mean, the options are pretty endless. But anyways, here are all of the links to everything else. Enjoy!

–Matheney Platform Bed // https://www.wayfair.com/furniture/pdp/andover-mills-matheney-platform-bed-andv2256.html?piid=24102551%2C24102548

–Striped Duvet Set // https://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00229998/#/20230000

–Accent Pillow // https://www.target.com/p/leather-piping-square-throw-pillow-threshold-153/-/A-53975436?preselect=53478381#lnk=sametab

–Throw Blanket // https://www.target.com/p/yarn-dye-stripe-ringspun-cotton-blanket-threshold-153/-/A-50343159 (The dinosaur ones I have are from home goods, so I just linked another option)

–Wall Lamp Above Beds // https://www.amazon.com/Wray-Bronze-Metal-Plug-Wall/dp/B01LXWNSYN/ref=sr_1_18?keywords=wall+lamp&qid=1553968947&s=gateway&sr=8-18

 

–White Dresser // https://www.target.com/p/modern-4-drawer-dresser-room-essentials-153/-/A-53404844?preselect=51111265#lnk=sametab (I put two of them together so each of my boys could have their own)

–Dresser Lamp // https://www.target.com/p/table-lamp-base-large-made-by-design-153/-/A-53314585?preselect=53130896#lnk=sametab

–Dresser Lamp Shade // https://www.target.com/p/large-solid-lampshade-made-by-design-153/-/A-53314581?preselect=53131188#lnk=sametab

–Large Wood Round Mirror // https://www.worldmarket.com/product/large-round-natural-wood-wall-mirror.do?sortby=ourPicks&from=Search (The one I have is from home goods, but this one is almost identical)

 

–White Nightstand // https://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50374271/

–Nightstand Leather Handles // https://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20348896/?query=ÖSTERNÄS&icid=iba|us|unbxdsuggestion|201811132211556208_1

 

–Reading Wall Letters // https://www.hobbylobby.com/Crafts-Hobbies/Painting-Surfaces/Metal/Black-Metal-Tube-Letter—A/p/80903351

–Reading Wall Book Shelves // https://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00290778/?query=FLISAT&icid=iba|us|unbxdsuggestion|201811132211556208_1

 

–Canvas Drop Cloth Curtains // https://www.lowes.com/pd/Painter-s-Pride-8-oz-Canvas-6-ft-x-9-ft-Drop-Cloth/1000132679

–Black Curtian Rod // https://www.target.com/p/loft-by-umbra-curtain-rod-bronze-28-48/-/A-14151118?preselect=14104935#lnk=sametab

 

Hopefully this is super helpful for you! If you have any questions, please always feel free to comment, and I will do my best to answer! Have a great weekend y’all!

d i y d a y.

Happy Friday y’all! We have had family in town this whole week, and it’s been absolutely amazing! Our family is kind of spread out thru multiple states so it’s always nice when they come to visit and we get to spend some time our fam:)

Well, I wanted to continue with my unintentional diy Friday tradition and share a super easy and beyond budget friendly project! I have always wanted a fireplace, and we finally got one in this house we are in now! I don’t know what I wanted more….the actual use of a fireplace or just a great mantle to decorate:) I was so excited to decorate our mantle until I realized that the only place for our tv to go was above it! Ah! I totally don’t love TVs above the fireplace but we really had no other option SO I have been challenged in trying to make it look stylish and cozy around the tv.

I cant even count how many times I have rearranged our mantle, tried new things, and have continued to be unsatisfied with the results. In a dream world I would have a huge mirror with some large vases and stems, a few candlesticks or lanterns and call it a day. But that darn TV!!!

So I was in our garage one day and saw we had a huge bin of unused books, and it gave me a brilliant idea. I could cover the books with some linen fabric and arrange them in different ways on the mantle. I already had all the products on hand so this project was literally free for me. But even if you don’t just have linen fabric lying around, it’s very inexpensive to buy!

So all I did was wrap these books like a present, figured out how to arrange them in a way I liked, put a few vases and candlesticks on them, and I had me a simply decorated mantle that I actually loved….even with the tv there:)

There are so many ways to decorate a mantle, but I just wanted to share how I did mine on a basically free budget! If you have shelving units, built ins, or open shelving, adding wrapped books to them gives them a clean look while also adding some texture.

So, there you have it. Find some books you don’t use anymore, grab whatever fabric suits you, wrap the books, and find some empty spaces that you can add them to!

Hope y’all enjoy this quick and easy project! Have a great weekend!

soulmate sundays.

Well y’all, another soulmate sunday in the books. I look forward to Sundays for a few reasons…getting my perfect children ready for church (because its totally the easiest thing in the world to do this) church itself, laid back afternoons, eating anything bad I can find because I know on Monday I have to eat healthy again, you know…the usual things…but I totally look forward to this day also because of soulmate Sundays! I know they are short and sweet videos right now, but I have some fun plans for them in the future:) So, in honor of yesterdays video (head to ourhouse_onthehill instagram to see it) I wanted to write an extension of what we both talked about.

The topic was “If you could do one thing differently over the last almost 11 years, what would it be?” My husbands response was that he would be less selfish. To be totally honest I was a little shocked by his response because if I had answered for him, I would have said something totally different. Haha! Thats terrible! I’m sure he had some selfish moments throughout these last several years, but I truly, truly think he lives to serve me as his wife. I would never describe any part of him as selfish. And I’m not even saying that to make us look good, I really mean it!:)

I remember on our wedding day, a part of his vows was washing my feet. Some of you may be thinking that sounds totally weird and gross. I was just grateful I had just gotten a fresh pedicure and my feet weren’t looking ratchet as usual! But he washed my feet as a symbol of being a husband who will serve his wife as long as he lives. It was really beautiful. And emotional. And beautiful. Now, has he been perfect at serving me throughout our marriage? No. And neither have I. But I don’t believe the beauty of marriage is having a perfect one. I think the beauty of marriage is making a commitment to keep trying, to keep growing, and to keep getting better. And that’s something I love about my husband, is his commitment to not just me, but his commitment to making himself better. I could write a million pages on what I love about him, but I’m going to do my best to stick to the topic for today! According to him, he may have been selfish more early on in our marriage. But seeing where he is now, he is the most selfless person I know. He lives to serve me and our family. And again, there are moments, days even, where he misses the mark. But he is committed to getting better every single day. And for that, I am forever grateful.

Now for my response……oh boy, I could write a book on what I said. My response to that question was that I would live less offended. What do I mean by that? Well, let allow me the next three hours to explain:) I am a pretty carefree person. I love spontaneity. I love doing things outside of the box. It takes a lot of get me frustrated or upset. Well, it takes a lot for anyone other than my husband to make me frustrated or upset:) I’m not easily offended. Truly. But for some reason, with my husband, I’m a different person sometimes! Can anyone relate? I think for the first few years of our marriage I just developed this totally unrealistic expectation for my husband. I just expected that our lives were going to look like the fairtytale movies where the man is just so head over heels in love with the woman…like, she can do no wrong, and he just bathes her in words of love and adoration all day every day. But if you’ve been married or even just in a relationship with someone, you know after the first few months that this doesn’t exist. Because the truth is, we are all human. We are going to say things and do things that aren’t always kind and loving and endearing. Sometimes we are selfish, hurtful, and offensive. But when I finally evaluated myself, several years into our marriage, I realized that I take everything, and I mean everything, offensively when it comes to my husband.

I went to coffee with a friend one morning years ago, and we started talking about our marriages. I don’t remember what question I asked exactly, but something along the lines of “why does it seem like yalls relationship is just easy?” And I will never forget her response. She told me it’s not that it’s easy, she just decided one day to stop being easily offended and to take a more laid back approach at her marriage. And she told me it naturally just made things easier because she wasn’t so uptight and upset all of the time, and they were able to just enjoy one another and have fun. Mind blowing right? Well, my mind was blown! So I left that day determined to be different and to better myself in that area. I feel like I’m a pretty fun person, and my husband and I have a lot of fun together, but marriage just gets heavy when you live from a place of offense and when you are constantly uptight about everything. And that was me. And I didn’t want that for him, for myself, or for us!

That was one of those simple pieces of advice that if you choose to take it, not just hear it, but actually apply it, it can change your life. And for me, this changed everything. Again, I’d like to emphasize that we are in no way perfect. We have arguments, we don’t always agree, and we get frustrated with each other at times. Over time though, we have learned the importance of growing as a couple and growing as individuals. It’s not that I’m never offended by anything anymore, and I’m incredibly laid back and nothing bothers me. That’s unrealistic. I have just chosen to approach life and my marriage with a less offended approach. I am a huge believer in enjoying life together. And if everything makes you uptight, if everything bothers you, if everything offends you, it makes it really hard to enjoy one another. And I really, really desire for our marriage and our lives to be enjoyable.

So my encouragement to you today is this. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Try not to make an issue out of everything. Remember, you got married to be “for” one another, not against each other. Next to your relationship with God, I believe marriage is the most important relationship on this earth that you will ever have so do whatever it takes to make it great.

Have a great day!

i n b e t w e e n.

To every before and after, there is an “in between” phase. I’m not usually very excited to post a photo of a room in our house when it isn’t complete. I feel the need to explain it. Like, don’t worry, I’m going to put a picture above the bed…those frames on the nightstands aren’t permanent…I’m not totally sold on this rug by the way…you know…the need to explain so people don’t think this is your finished product. I do that ALL the time. Whenever anyone walks into a space in our house that I haven’t been able to complete, I’m always giving a very detailed description of exactly what I plan to do. Because everyone totally cares about it as much as I do:)

So this is our master bedroom. I have always put our bedroom on the bottom of the to do list because its the least seen room by others in our whole house. So I’d just rather spend my money on rooms that people are actually in! But, since moving into our new house, I wanted to at least get some sort of a start on our room. So I have purchased the big items…a bed, nightstands, and a dresser. But outside of that, the walls are totally bare and the rug is just temporary until I figure out exactly what I want to do with this space.

I have been super particular  in this house about what I do to each room because I don’t want to just “like” what I buy, I want to LOVE everything we buy! So, for the first time ever in my life, I am moving slower in decorating because I don’t want to be impulsive. Also, my home decorating savings has run pretty much dry lately so that could also be another reason why I have a few rooms with the bare minimum!:) I just don’t want to rush anything. I would rather have nothing on the walls and nothing in the room than fill it with things I kind of like for the sake of just filling it. Its taken me years to get to this point by the way:) I’m an incredibly impulsive person. Like, don’t get me in target when we are on a budget because we all know, target does not care about your budget!!!:) And I don’t have an ounce of discipline when it comes to buying home decor. So I just don’t go anywhere near it when we are trying to save:)

Anyways, back to the bedroom. I have big plans for our room, but honestly, I really want to paint it so I’m holding off on putting anything on the walls until I am able to repaint the whole thing. And then I will put a large framed canvas above the bed, a gallery wall I’m sure somewhere, and an oversized mirror and some accessories on the dresser. But for now, I’m trying to embrace the simplicity of our room.

So just be encouraged, finished products always have a start and a middle. Its fun to post the before and after photos of a space because it creates such a shock and awe factor. The middle….not so much. Its pretty unimpressive actually. But its an equal part of the entire process from start to finish. I wanted to show this photo because I don’t want to create the illusion that every space in our house is totally finished, totally perfect, and instagram ready. So cheers to the middle of progress! I can’t wait to show this room when its complete, but until then, this is it:)

Have a great day!

 

o r g a n i z e.

I don’t know if being organized does all kinds of good things for you, but there is something about everything in your house being in it’s right place that just makes you feel peaceful. After our house was flooded in Houston, we lived in an apartment for a year while we were putting the house back together. We didn’t have any of our own things outside of some clothes, shoes, and a few decor items I purchased emotionally:) That year was absolute chaos…and needless to say, once we moved into our house here in Greenville, I went crazy trying to make everything neat and organized. It just gave me a much longed for sense of peace to have structure in our lives again.

I have always wanted organized cabinets with nicely labeled jars, fancy canisters to hold our snacks in, you know, the Pinterest worthy type of organized. But wow, it’s expensive to do this! There are surely inexpensive ways to do this, but I had a very specific look I was going for and totally refused to buy anything until I could get exactly what I wanted. So it took me a while to accumulate everything I needed, and I’m still not done! But, I can say, it has been well worth it to take it slow and get what I love, not what I can just tolerate. So here is the first a several organized spaces in our house I’m going to show you…isn’t it pretty?!:)

My cabinets and pantry are still a work in progress, but hey, at least I knocked the most used one out! I LOVE to bake. It’s weirdly therapeutic for me. And not to mention all the cozy feels that fill the house when the aroma of some homemade chocolate chip cookies are baking in the oven:) So I wanted to get my baking cabinet nice and organized because it just makes baking more fun for me when I know where everything is! So I have all of my most frequently used items in the baking cabinet and all of my extras in our lazy Susan. Which I also just recently organized mildly because it was a hot mess! This is what the extra storage looks like.

Processed with VSCO with al1 preset

Processed with VSCO with al1 preset

I have some more organized spaces I will be featuring this week so stay tuned! Here are some photos/prices and where most of these items are from for those that may be inspired to go out and get what you need to be organized!

1. Glass canister with wood lid is from target. The price ranges between $8.99-$16.99 depending on size

2. Glass spice jars. They are from hobby lobby and on sale right now for $0.99

3. Glass jar for different cooking oils. They are from target and cost $5.99 each.

4. Wood spice rack. It’s also from target and costs $19.99

5. Stickers for labeling. Mine are from hobby lobby. The black stickers are on sale for $1.79 and the white ones are on sale for $2.99

6. All of the white ceramic bowls are from Home Goods. I usually grab one or two bowls or serving dishes when I’m there just to add to my collection. I love hosting things at my house so I can never have enough serving dishes!

Well, there you have it! If you have any questions at all please feel free to ask in the comments below! Hope yall have a great day!

soulmate sundays.

Well yall, it’s Sunday, which is easily going to become my favorite day to post because it’s “soulmate sunday” every Sunday on the blog!

You might be wondering what in the world soulmate sundays even are…well…let me explain:)

Several years ago I remember posting a photo on Instagram of Trevor and I going to church and I hash tagged “soulmate sundays” and I totally thought in that moment that was the most clever hashtag of all time. Which is funny, because I was for sure not the first person to make up that hashtag, but I definitely felt like I was:) After I posted it, I remember thinking I’m going to use this one day and do something fun with it. Well, here we are, years later, and this is what I have come up with.

I have always been super fascinated with marriage. The idea of two people committing to be together for the rest of their lives…it truly is fascinating. My husband and I got married when I was 20 and he was 22. We were children. I know. But at the time it just seemed like the best idea. We were in love. We obviously had our lives together. We were certain we knew what we were doing. It just made sense right?:) So there we were, community college drop outs, living in a luxurious apartment we couldn’t afford,  working full time to barely make ends meet, BUT we were in love, so it was a fairytale, obviously:)

All of that to say, we have been married for almost 11 years now, not perfect but persistent. Persistent in working to make our marriage the best, most fun, and most rewarding relationship we have on this earth.

Soulmate sundays are an opportunity for us to share stories, things we’ve learned, advice from our own experience, and truly just to have fun talking about what life has been like over the last 11 years we have been together:)

I hope you enjoy this and find it both encouraging and fun. Because truly, life is as fun as you make it.

Have a great week!

p.s. our first soulmate sunday video is up on ourhouse_onthehill Instagram, go check it out!