Home {is} Where the Heart Is

Having a kid in the house ensures that every holiday will be celebrated to some degree. So of course, on St. Patrick's Day, I knew I wanted to create a fun meal and dessert for his ever-growing appetite. Shepherd's Pie with biscuits and homemade strawberry preserves was on the menu, followed by a "Lucky Leprechaun" dessert dirt cup. He was confused about the Shepherd's Pie but loved the green pudding and smashed Oreo's. You win some, you lose some. HA!

As I looked back on the picture I took of his little dessert cup before he devoured it, the sign in the background caught my eye... {HOME}

As a southern woman, I pride myself of creating a beautiful home. Complete with all the snackys, variety of drinks to offer, and cute pillows to adorn my couch. Because us southern women know that if we don't offer someone a drink the minute they walk into our homes and a comfy spot to land their toosh, we've committed the most atrocious cardinal sin as a proper southern lady, and our grandmothers would be rolling in their graves. God rest their souls.

As a Christ follower, the home front though carries a much deeper meaning. I strive to have my home represent a sanctuary for the weary who carry the burden of the world on their shoulders each day. My home should reflect the comfort and stability that Christ brings to our lives, to anyone that walks through our doors. But most importantly, I pray that my home is a place where anyone who comes will know without a shadow of doubt that they are loved not only by us, but more so by the Lover of their soul.

Lord, let the walls of my house carry Your name through them.

Home {SWEET} Home

Hunter and I realized the other day that we've been in our new (to us) home for about 6 months now and we just couldn't help but thank God for His timing and mercies. Our home is small, quaint, but full of so much love. I couldn't imagine being anywhere else than where we are now.

 

The mornings are my most favorite time to watch the woods around us come to life. The fresh morning dew across the pasture, how the sunlight filtrates itself through the pine trees, and the birds chirping as loudly as they can. It kind of gives me a glimpse into what heaven will be like. I love the stillness that surrounds our home, the escape it provides to us after a long day.

We've always thrived on making our home available to any and all who need a place to come and rest. Whether it's to rest in the friendship we have over a good meal, or to literally rest in our guest room for a weekend - we just want to be available to whoever may need a place to just be.

The irony doesn't pass me that our home has become a sanctuary these last several weeks. We've had some joyous moments where celebrations were had and memories were made but we've also shed several tears in the last several weeks in our home. Through it all, God has stood by us, wrapped His arms around us, and held us close. God is reminding us each day of His goodness, His faithfulness, His love no matter what the circumstances may be.

In this home, our knees have hit the ground as we cry out in prayer. In this home, the floor has been danced on as we karaoke'd in the kitchen. In this home, we've loved deeply and disagreed lovingly over things in life. In this home, our marriage has endured some of the hardest days and some of our best days.

In this home, God has been glorified.

To-Do's

Happiest of days today! After celebrating the beauty of Easter yesterday with our families, I can't help but to feel refreshed and renewed. And so dang grateful to see some sunlight. It literally rained non-stop from Friday thru yesterday evening. All that rain sure does make the grass and flowers pretty {and the pollen all gone - praise Jesus}.

 

With the change in weather, I've been bitten by the "project bug". Yep, I literally have a list a mile long of things that I want to accomplish this spring and summer. And lucky for Hunter, all projects pertain to the house... Yayyyy! {I know he's rolling his eyes}
 

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Just to give ya'll an idea of what I've got planned (and to give myself another checklist), here are some of the items on the list of to-do's:

 

+ Backsplash in our kitchen - we really do use the heck out of our kitchen and it can get pretty messy sometimes. Plus, hellur pretty walls right?

 

+ Repaint the door frames and front door - just typical wear and tear on those bad boys requires a fresh coat of paint. It also doesn't help that our dogs have decided the back door is a fun chew toy....

+ New blinds for our back door. Again, dogs are the culprit.

 

+ GARDEN - I'm most excited for this one! I'll plant a couple different types of flowers but my main goal is to plant a couple different easy to grow vegetables. If I can manage to keep them alive, then I'll add more to the garden next year. Start small, less heartache in the end and less money out of the pocket.

+ Creating our back patio area into an oasis. A small oasis, but an oasis nonetheless.

 

+ Paint the guest bedroom - I'm going to regret this one.

 

+ Remove satellite dishes - so when we had satellite for tv, they decided to place the dish in the most inconvenient and eye-sorest spot possible. Fun fact if you're looking at switching to satellite: They don't remove what they placed there if you cancel it. Thanks, DirectTV. Since we've done away with cable in general, those bad boys are getting ripped out. 

+ Remove a towel rack in our guest bathroom {replace it with a cuter and more efficient one}, paint a small wall {accent wall} in our guest bathroom.

+ Lay down wood flooring - this is the biggie. We have tile throughout our entire house, with the exception to the bedrooms. Those are carpeted and with dogs, it's just gross. I'm already not a fan of carpet anyways {allergy freak} so dark wood floors are going to be put down. And I will swoon, swoon, swoon.

 

I've got a few other little things on the list but these items will do for now. Wish us luck! More importantly, pray for the hubs to survive. Ha! I'm sure I'll share in the adventures because maybe, if we're lucky, we'll become famous like Chip and Joanna Gaines. I can dream. Also, anybody want to donate to our fixer-upper adventures?! {Totally kidding, maybe.}

New Adventures

I mentioned on Monday about some peace we've had with a decision that was made, and of course, had to leave ya'll hanging. I'm not a fan of cliff hangers so I thought to myself, "Self, you can't leave these people hanging. You wouldn't like it either."

 

Self is pretty wise.

 

No, we're not moving. Nor are we having babies through pregnancy or adoption (yet). Nobody got a new job. And yes, we're still married.

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It's actually quite the exciting news we have, a bit unnerving because of the unknown, but nevertheless we're resting in God's guiding hands on this one. Let me back up a little bit...

 

A couple of months ago, we received a letter from the County Commissioners' Office notifying us that a wonderful condominium complex was in the works of receiving approval and being built right next to our neighborhood. We thought, "Great! Our property value will rise and will only help this house sell one day." We were invited to join in on the meeting where they vote on the building plans, but like almost all of our neighbors, none of us went because we were under the impression that this could only be good.

 

Our wise HOA manager decided to go and sit in on the meeting as our representative. So glad he did because when he returned, we discovered that the condominium complex being built is part of the re-entry program we have here for homeless and transients (people coming out of prison).

 

Here's where the hypocritical, ugly, snobby Christian came out (I'm still ashamed of myself). Our immediate response: UGH GOD NO!! WE CAN'T LIVE NEXT TO THOSE PEOPLE. WE'VE GOTTA MOVE. CALL THE REALTOR! CALL FRIENDS! WE'VE GOTTA GET THE HELL OUTTA HERE!!

 

So Christian, right? And then we were served a nice dose of humble pie (it didn't taste good, if you're wondering). We realized that it's so easy for us to GO into other communities to love and serve on others; it's so easy for us to GO to another country to share the Gospel there. But when God BROUGHT the need to our backdoor (almost literally), it wasn't part of our plan. The reason it's so easy to go and seek others is because, at the end of the day, you can leave it. You can come home to your nice things, your comfortable routine, all the pretty prettiness. Am I right?
 

 

I know we appear clinically insane to some folks, but we're actually really excited about this {now}. God is bringing an opportunity to love on others, to support them in their efforts to get back on their feet. They are already facing so much condemnation and judgment from society - we do not have the authority to make those judgments. Judge your brother/sister, you will be judged by the Creator (Romans 14:10). And good news for us, we have a couple of friends who are part of the re-entry program and they are helping us to take the necessary steps to educate ourselves on what to expect, not to expect, etc.

 

So friends, we ask for prayer. Prayers that as more develops, we will remain at peace with our decision. Pray that God will use this opportunity to really bring people to know Him. And honestly, just pray that people don't get mean and nasty about the whole situation. We were there in the beginning, and it's not very nice.

DIY Wall Wood Art

So I clearly have an obsession desire for palettes. And really, anything wood. I just love the rustic look, feel, flair, and country bumpkin pizazz it can bring into a room. I was perusing Pinterest, trying to find something that I could make. I stumbled upon some inspiration and decided to run with it.

 

A quick note before I jump into the steps of the project... Ladies... Appreciate your man. If your man helps you with these said Pinterest projects, shower him with lots and lots of kisses. Because let me just tell ya'll, it's hard work. Now this is coming from a dreamer-my-husband-does-the-work kind of person. Hunter was kind enough (and brave enough) to teach me how to use the saw, and set up the design. Thank you for teaching me valuable skills!

 

Onto the project....

 

We still have some palettes lying around from my last Pinterest project so I decided to start there. Rather than trying to painfully remove the nails from the boards, the boards from the palette, I got the bright idea of sawing them off.

 

 I first sawed (is that correct usage??) along the middle, cutting each one away from the frame of the palette.

 

Once the middle had been cut free, I worked on the outside. Hunter actually did most of the outside for me because honestly, my little twig arms were about to just fall off.
 

 

Now you will have nice little planks and no residue of curse words lingering in the air. God is good. I took 2 of the uglier pieces of wood and used them as the backing for my wall piece. I spaced them as such so that they measured roughly 10 inches across the backside.

Once I had the desired wood backings in place, I nailed the first piece of wood across the both of them at the top. I like the idea of "unevenness" so I skewed each row of boards.

 

 

And that's it! You can nail hooks on the backing for hanging, or leave as is to lean against the wall. Truth: I haven't painted mine yet because I've got a couple of ideas in my head. Once we move, I'll be able to decide where I want to place this beauty, thus paint desired saying on it. Super easy craft and adorable!

DIY Rustic Palette Headboard

Hey friends! It's been a hot minute since I've posted any DIY projects or recipes. Let's face it, it's hard to do these things knowing that they will just end up in the closet until you can move out of your parents' house this summer. Just sayin...

 

Anywho, I'm always browsing Pinterest looking for crafty ideas. There are always those flops but every now and then I can find something that is doable. Sometimes with the help of an awesome husband and dad :)

 

I love anything rustic. Le duh, our wedding screamed rustic. I've been wanting a headboard for quite some time but with character and flair. Enter, the palettes. 

God was shining down on those palettes...

 

First things first, think of your design and how you want your headboard to look. We originally were going to build a frame, remove each board, and arrange like so. That plan quickly changed when we realized how difficult removing said boards are.

 

 

Once we realized where we wanted to go in our design, it was just a matter of finding similar sized palettes. Each palette was designed differently - some had bigger boards than others, some were more rectangular than others. Once you have similar palettes and the design down pat, begin attaching the palettes.

 

To attach the palettes together, we took 3 boards from another palette and used them as the connector. By attaching one at the top, one in the middle, and one at the bottom via screws on the backside, the palettes became connected in an instant. Well more like 15 minutes but you get my drift. We also placed 2 boards across the top of the palettes to serve as the top-piece, and essentially keep the top from being open and allowing things to fall through the palettes.

 

My sweet, hardworking men. Please excuse the ripped sheet - thank Jep for that. Also, please excuse no bed skirt... it's currently packed away somewhere.

 

Finally, we lined the palettes to the wall, the bed to the palettes, made sure all looked dandy, and secured the bed to the palettes with screws. By using screws, this will allow us to back out the screws and break down the headboard when we move this summer.

 

Please excuse the mess (namely me) on the bed... I didn't believe in getting dolled up that day. All wall décor were wedding gifts.

 

It was so nice having this headboard to spice up our room a little bit. It made living with mom and dad for this short period of time that much more bearable! Kidding mom, you know I love you. We didn't stain or sand the wood down because I love the rustic look. I wasn't sure if it would pick at our pillows and sheets but no problems there. I also love how each board is different in size and color - it adds character!

 

I have another palette project up my sleeve that I'll be working on this weekend. I can't wait to share it with ya'll! My DIY groove is back in action. Just wait until we move this summer - I'll be a designing/crafting fool!

Did ya'll miss me?

Looky looky who's back and in action! Ya'll, it was so so nice being off of work for 2 whole weeks but I will say that coming back to reality is also very nice too. I still cannot get over the fact that I have been a married woman for over a week now... and the holidays are just around the corner. Uhhh hellllurrrr?!

 

As I'm getting back into the swing of things, I'm going to make this pretty easy on myself. I'm joining up today with the beautiful Mrs. Emily because ya'll, she's just awesome sauce.

 

Today I'm so grateful for my wonderful workplace and job that I can return to. I honestly had no regrets about returning to work today. That says a lot when you love your job that much.

 

Today I'm so grateful for the time off I had. I got to spend the first part of my 2 weeks off getting things ready for the wedding (a post on that will surely come), and then the 2nd part of the time off was spent with my husband. We enjoyed life, laughed a whole heck of a lot, and drank in all the warm fuzzy newlywed feelings. I truly married my best friend.

 

 

Today I'm so grateful for the cooler weather. I woke up today to a brisk 36 degrees and smiled the biggest smile ever.

 

 

Today I'm so so  so grateful for all of the friends and family we were able to see at our wedding. I cannot begin to tell ya'll how happy that made our hearts.

 

Here's to a beautiful Monday and every other day after this! What in the world have all of ya'll been up to??

 

Had to put this up... Just because my SIL is amazing 



Just a little R&R

 

Below are the pieces that would accompany these fun barstools:

 

As you can see, I love the idea of relaxed, woodsy style. It's just so me! Thank you to Chairish for the inspiration and allowing me the opportunity to plan my dream home bar area!

 

What do ya'll think? What kind of bar stool are you?

3 Southern Girls Link-Up: The Rules

Welcome back Y'all to another week with the 3 Southern Gals. 

 This Throwback Thursday Link Party has been such a blast.

We have met some amazing bloggers and read some incredible posts!

  As always thank you for sharing and linking up with us!!  

So what  is so great about this link party?  Anyone can link up!!  You can share a post you wrote today that shares old pictures and/or stories...  But if you already have something else scheduled for today, or maybe you just found this link-up, no worries....link up an old blog post.  We just ask if you link up a previous blog posting, that it be older than a week old.  If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask one of us.

Cat @ Yes DEER :   Bloglovin / Twitter / Pinterest / Instagram / Facebook

Kelly @ Southern Komfort :   Bloglovin / Twitter / Pinterest / Instagram

Tela @ Sweet Southern T :   Bloglovin / Twitter / Pinterest / Instagram / Facebook

Before you link up please read and make sure you are following the party guidelines :)

The Rules are Simple:

1.  Make sure you are following ALL 3 of the Southern Gals Blogs.

Cat   //  Kelly  //   Tela

2.  Link up your throwback blog post.  This includes a post where you share old pictures and/or stories.  OR you may also share a blog post that was posted prior to last week.  

In other words please do not link up to your blogs home page, a post you wrote this week that does not include something from the past.  

3.  Please no giveaways, shops, or other linkups. 

 (as these would also not fall into the throwback category)

4.  Share our party button and/or link back to our party.

<div align="center">
 <a href="http://www.yes-deer.com/search/label/throwback%20thursday" title="3 Southern Gals TBT"><img src="http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/ii604/cklshine/TBTButton_zps213737fc.jpg" alt="3 Southern Gals TBT" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

5. Don't just link and run...check our some other TBT post.

6.  HAVE FUN!!!

****NOTICE****

  We want this to be a fun link up, so link up your post!!  Lets reminisce together.  All we ask if that if you link up, PLEASE follow ALL the rules.  We really do not want to delete links.  Honestly this is the last thing we want to do, but these link parities take a lot of our time an effort.  In return we just need for you to be respectful to our party and to others.  In the past linkups  we have had a few each week that have not followed all the rules.  Going forward we will have to delete any link that does not follow the party rules.  

NOW LETS GET THIS PARTY STARTED

An InLinkz Link-up

Wednesday Wishes + Slap in the face momento

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winner winner chicken dinner

do I do when my brain is scattered?

That's right - I make lists.

• Meet with realtor today and go over the steps for the selling process
• Will I be able to sell quickly?!
• Oh my gosh, my neighbors have all their crap out by the road. Seriously, thanks for dropping the value of my house.
• Did I scrub that tub good enough?? Presentation people. Presentation.
• God, can we have a nice and smooth transition from our house to Nene's (Hunter's grandmother) house?
• If I can't sell it by April/May (which is when we can get into Nene's house) that means I have to put renters in my house while I sell it. This realtor is dabomb.com for holding court with renters.
• SHUT. THE. FRONT. DOOR. My AC is broke in the house. God whyy?!!? Oh wait, I just need to change the filter. Home Depot here we come.
• Is it really that hot in here?? Will the realtor notice?? Oh God.
• Did I put on deoderant?!

Please pray for my sanity. And Hunter's as we go through this process.

Let's BBQ!

With summer here and the warm weather all around us, I can't help but day-dream about my patio/deck/BBQ place once Hunter and I are able to move to Quincy and establish these dreams. It's funny how things work out sometimes... Hunter's grandmother's house is for sale and I just adore it.

Her house is quaint, country-styled, and has been in the family for several, several years. With her passing just shy of 3 years ago, the home has been up for sale and is currently being rented. We've always wanted to keep her home in the family, and now with our plans moving forward to relocate to Quincy, we can't help but want her house.

It has the original wood floors, brick fireplace, and a front porch that is perfect for some rocking chairs. With the purchase of this house, we will be doing some rennovations to it - completely redoing the bathroom, the kitchen, and enclosing the backyard with a fence. Now we're mulling around the idea of building a deck area for grilling out along the backside of the house.

Of course, as any insane woman would do, I went straight to Pinterest for ideas. I couldn't help it ya'll! Here are some of my favorites, that also coincide with what I have in mind...

All pictures are courtesy of Pinterest

Of course some kind of cuteness has to be displayed

I'm loving the color scheme - notice the sunflowers (our wedding flowers)

I love the lights and woodsy look

I want to try so hard to not kill every plant I touch

Again, the lights

I am making this palette bench and table happening

 

What are some of your favorite patio looks?

 

DIY Mason Jar Centerpieces

The other night, I finally sat down after work to put together some burlap mason jars for our wedding. I was really impressed with the ease of it all!

 

ONE: Purchase a roll of burlap (as seen above), along with some pretty scissors.

 

TWO: Measure out the burlap to wrap around the mason jar, with some overlapping.

 

THREE: I swear by this adhesive. It sprays so make sure you have a towel down.

 

FOUR: Be sure to have plenty of mason jars on hand. I purchased mine from Target.

 

FIVE: Spray one side of the already-cut burlap with the adhesive.

 

SIX: Have your mason jar ready to wrap. The adhesive doesn't dry super fast, but still. Also, make sure you have chipped nail polish.

 

SEVEN: Swaddle that baby up! Remember, chipped nail polish on one finger is the key here.

 

EIGHT: Swaddle many mason jars with burlap and voila! You're starting to look like a pro!

 

NINE: Arrange in a group for a pitcha.

 

TEN: Ta-da! Burlap mason jars.

 

I set these jars off to the side to finish drying over night. I'm going to go back and tie some twine around them and see how they look. I may just leave them as is. So many options!

 

We will be filling these jars with candles and/or flowers... Not together though! Lord knows I can't be burning down barns.