Food

I have known for years what to eat and what not to eat.  Doing it is different.  But yesterday I watched a video that involved children.  My eyes teared up.  Kids, my kids, your kids ~ it is heartbreaking what we as parents see in the grocery store aisle and buy.  We buy it because its labeled as "natural" or "no sugar added" or "whole grain"...all catch phrases to imply healthy.  However if you turn over to the ingredient section you will not be able to pronounce half of it.  And in my opinion if I can't pronounce something I better look into eating it.

http://www.takepart.com/video/2014/04/15/fed-up-trailer?cmpid=tp-ptnr-100days

I may be fixated, in a cult, or whatever you want to call it.  But, one thing is for sure I am going to research and educate myself on something that could affect my children. 

I have no more time or money then the next person.  And when it comes to eating I think that's most of our excuses.  Organic pasta, organic pasta sauce, organic frozen green beans and corn, and fresh made meatballs cost $15 to feed our family of 5. My husband took leftovers to work today and I will feed the kids with it again tonight.  If we would have went to Pizza Hut it would have cost at least $30.  Its math.

I am not perfect and we will probably eat at Pizza Hut in the future.  The kids have Book It coupons to redeem.  What I am is aware.  I am open minded.  I am learning. 

Watch the video and start doing your own research.

 

99 samples of paint on the wall....

Don't laugh.  Yes I purchased over 40 samples of paint while we were building the house.  And yes, this is all for the interior. 

If you have followed along you know that I had a tough time deciding on the white.  ~the white that all the doors, trim, and kitchen cabinets would be painted~  It was tough.  And you know that I did not like the white I chose at first.  I still would label it as off-white not white.  However, it is working.  As we live in our house it has grown on me and I am now really happy with it.

Also, if you were to visit (more inside pics coming soon) you would probably be shocked with the color of the walls.  They are very light and almost white.  The wall colors of each room are anything but colorful.  So why would I buy so many samples?  Well, because I knew in my head what I wanted it to look like and, as I have learned, I have a hard time pulling the pictures out of my head and into real life.  I think some of it has to do with me being so critical and specific. 

Lesson:  if you have a Pinterest board or pictures from a magazine just show the painter and let them recommend a few options...few, as in less than 40. 

Note: all were purchased during a SW sale...not at full price...in case that justifies the purchases.  And I made new friends over at the local Sherwin Williams store.  They know me. 

Shutters!

I think the pictures speak for themselves.  Super happy with the result!

Hello March!



I am not quite sure where November, December, January, and February went but I know we were busy doing this or that.  From a 2nd birthday party to moving to Thanksgiving to decorating for Christmas to Christmas festivities to taking down Christmas to finally unpacking to putting a few things on the walls to raising 3 kids...Oh there those months are.  We blinked. 

 

Ahhh, but I finally feel like I have been able to breathe...just a tad.  We are not finished unpacking.  The "craft room" upstairs is still very packed with boxes of decor and picture frames that I have not decided if I will use or not.  Also the garage has this or that to go through.  But for the most part we've made HUGE progress.  The kids rooms are done...even pictures on the wall and closets organized.  Joe and I still have projects to do that we just didn't get done while building the house but my vision is a little clearer now. 

 

Our shutters should arrive any day.  I had to put  those off for a few months.  I literally could not make one more decision or purchase one more thing.  So we ordered them a few weeks ago and I think the front of the house will go up a notch or two once they are installed. 

 

We received quite a bit of sleet here in Texas yesterday.  No school for the kiddos today and I am working from home.  I snapped some pics this morning before the sun got to work melting the layer of ice.       

View from the front porch looking out.

Please pardon the cluster of boxes on the back porch.  One of the cons of country living...its not as easy to have a garage sale.  This is our garage sale pile along with a storage building in town.  We should have it gone in March :)  I'm recruiting family/friends in town to let me use their driveways.

View from the back porch looking out.

View from the balcony in the back of the house.

View from the upstairs window in the front of the house.

We are currently working on the 10 page application form for our wildlife ag exemption.  We are mostly concentrating on birds but we will also have a deer feeder in the back.  Joe built 4 bird houses himself and he installed a total of 6.  We are targeting bluebirds but have not seen any until today.  I snapped these pics of our little bluebird.  Joe is thrilled.  I guess when you work hard on something, no matter what it is, you get a little excited when it works out.   

After we finish the wildlife exemption form and make sure we have our bird houses and feeders going Joe is going to start on his shed/barn.  He's building it himself on lumber we had left from the house and pieces we've picked up here or there.  Once this is done I think I will finally be able to park my car in our garage!  Hopefully while he's working on that I can start on some landscaping. 

Our garden and chicken coop will definitely be waiting until next year.  But that's ok.  Trust me, we have plenty to do at the moment.   I am happy to finally feel like we can breathe and start making our memories in our new place.  Oh, and the white dove paint is growing on me.  Provides a bit of softness I think the house needed....:)  That is all. 

Paper Trail

I have not posted in forever and this is why.  I have been buying EVERYTHING to finish out the house.  And unfortunately no one could do this but me.  I mostly knew what I wanted and went on a search to find.  From the looks here Home Depot and Lowes topped that list followed closing by Lamps Plus.  But also, Amazon and Vintage Tub and Bath were great places to find what I needed (aka wanted).  Also, I am a sucker for Pottery Barn.  I just like the look.  Oh yeah, and I threw in the HEB receipt because its the only place I could find REGULAR CLEAR light bulbs...who would have know!  I can not wait to post the finished product.  Floors and base boards this week and the painters return next week to paint the base boards and touch everything up.  Almost done. 

the white dove minority

I don't like White Dove.  I don't hate it, I just don't like it as much as I had hoped I would.  And after my hours and hours of online research and long conversations with my very tasteful friends I am definitely in the minority when it comes to the infamous White Dove. 

I am not sure if you are supposed to capitalize names of paints.  But, it is White Dove right?

Ok, so with that being said I am still hoping the secret to White Dove comes after the floors are laid, electric lighting is in place, counter tops installed, back splash is done etc etc. 

Here is a pic of the kitchen, White Dove and all.  Or Off-White Dove.

 

The Long and Winding Road

This post may be a little long winded.  For starters I am super excited that we have our "driveway" in.  If you call it a driveway.  I prefer "our road".  It should be OURS as much as it cost.  Geez.  And not just the rock.  Oncor should be able to give out nice Christmas bonuses this year for what we had to pay to run the electricity back to the house.

 

So the rain that is coming this weekend will not prevent anyone from working on the house.  And after it rains I can not wait to wash my car!  Of course from here on out I realize I will never have crisp black tires again...unless I don't go home for a few days.  To me its like a passage of some sort.  We traded cement paved roads for a little dust and rock.  We will forever have that gray dust line that coats the edge of your tires.   

The Front

 

Notice the pretty S curves all the way down.

Almost there (keep'em coming)

 

You can see the peak of our house behind these Mesquites.  Almost there.

And here we are.  All roads lead home.

 

I love coming to the house and just walking around.  I usually (okay always) have a list to go over or someone to meet.  But when they leave I take a few minutes to breath it all in.  This is it.  Our home.  Our life.  What I wanted.  And that's where I get a little confused. 

 

Yes, this is exactly what I wanted.  (Well mostly...if that dirty little word budget didn't exist I can only imagine the overwhelming decisions).  But its good.  Budget.  I am not trying to have the best of the best.  By far we are blessed and have more then we need.  But I want limitations.  My purpose was never to be glitzy.  My purpose was never to be showy.  My purpose was to change how we were doing things.  And we are so not there yet.  Its slow.  Its gradual.  And I am not patient.  But I have a vision.  And its no different then any other person's vision. It is not something new and undiscovered.  Its taking things back to basics.  Putting first things first. 

 

Life is a long and winding road.  When you put your faith in front of you and accept all the S curves that come you actually find out they lead to something great.  And not only do they lead to something great but the view along the way is peaceful and tranquil.  

 

Yesterday my youngest and I walked from the house to the front of the property.  She stopped every few feet to pick up a rock or grab some dirt or touch a leaf on a tree.  It was one of the most relaxing things I had done in a long time. You could hear a little road noise but other than that, nothing.  I took a deep breath, thanked God for making this happen, and watched my almost 2 year old chunk rocks. 

 

And that my friends was what this venture was about.