A Very Good Day

Today was one of the good ones, y’all. Just a really fun day with family and friends and our hearts are extra full.

Hoping to share more soon xx

Out of Town Guests

Our best friends Matt & Beau are in town for a while while after evacuating Louisiana because of hurricane Ida.

It’s a heartbreaking reason for their visit, but we’re so happy they were able to evacuate and shelter in Tennessee for a bit. How long will they be here? No one knows, but I know I speak for both of us when I say we wouldn’t mind if they stayed as long as they want to.

Because of crazy schedules and then becoming parents and then the pandemic, we went years without seeing them and suddenly we’ve seen them three times in the last few months. The kids love them and, after a stressful few weeks with work and renovations, them being here is just the bright spot we needed in our lives. Again, I hate the reason they’re here, but I’m glad they’re safe and I’m glad for their company.

We finally got to show them the farm and Holiday House after they’ve had to hear us talk about it for a few years. Also, they’re amazing cooks. Last night they made the most delicious chicken Parmesan and homemade Caesar salad that I’ll be dreaming about for years.

I’m just feeling so grateful for their friendship tonight.

Everything is Beautiful in The Clouds & Happy Friday!

Happy Friday, friends.

How was your week? It was another crazy one for us: we’ve been at Holiday House renovating it, with PJ being there every day this week. The best part? School was cancelled for the boys yesterday and today due to a shortage in staff because of covid. I’m being sarcastic about that being the best part, by the way 😂. Nothing like renovating a house in 93 degree weather with three kids who would much rather be at school than in a half-renovated trailer. However, they make their own fun and love playing at the farm, so it isn’t too bad.

Meanwhile, we've been dealing with some drama with our big tiny project that I can’t remember if I told you about on the blog or not? I know we mentioned it in our last YouTube video, and it was supposed to be here and worked out by now, but almost 3 weeks later and it’s still not settled. It’s caused a lot of anxiety and stress this week and PJ dives into more in this week’s new YouTube vlog premiering Sunday. Ugh. What a week, y’all.

In other news, and on the plus side: the pond is coming along great (finally) and so much progress has been made in such a short amount of time. It looks amazing!!! You can (sort of) see in the picture above how big and deep it’s going to be. The pond guys are confident it could be finished within a few weeks and then it’s up to Mother Nature to fill it up. We’ll see!

It’s going to be another nonstop weekend over here: we have a collaboration to shoot, Holiday House to work on, and then we have to get ready for an exciting thing next week that we can’t wait to share, but first we have to get the supplies for it. Stay tuned!!!

Lastly, we were driving home from the farm yesterday and our oldest was pointing out animals he was seeing in the clouds. I mentioned to him how beautiful the cloud shaped like a dog was, and he responded with, “Everything is beautiful in the clouds” which for some reason really resonated with me. It made me stop and think, yes, everything does seem to be more beautiful in the clouds. Such an accidentally profound statement from a six year old, don’t you think?

Have a great weekend, friends xo

Is It Ever Too Early To Start Decorating For Fall?

I mean truly, is it ever?

It’s a question I ask myself every year around this time as we inch closer and closer to September. When is too early to start decorating for our favorite season? Or, do you even decorate at all? It could be something as subtle as an orange vase or some branches in a room, or a wreath on the front door, or maybe an extra throw blanket on the couch. Or even my personal favorite: a new fall candle.

I brought an orange vase into the living room from Holiday House the other day with some branches PJ found years ago on the side of the road and it was just the small touch of fall I think I needed to get me excited for it this year. Even though autumn is reportedly going to feel different this year, we still get excited about it all the same and I don’t think that’s ever going to change. After all, we did get married in October (6 years ago!).

A few photos from last year’s fall:

So we haven’t gone full-out in decorating for fall yet; we don’t usually do that until September. It’s 93 degrees today with no signs of getting cooler any time soon, so the A/C will be turned down to 70 for the next couple of months until it feels good enough to open the doors and windows and let the cool, fresh air in.

Happy Friday Eve, friends!

The Living Room Renovation at Holiday House is Officially Underway

Here we go!

After almost a year of owning the little cottage on our farm, that we lovingly call Holiday House, we have officially, finally, begun renovating the most used room in the house: the living room. It’s the first space you walk into when you come in the front door, so being the first thing you see upon entering, I know I speak for both of us when I say I’m so excited to see it fixed up.

It’s actually a really good sized room for such a small-ish house. It’s almost the same size (if not slightly longer?) than our living room at our house in town. The room gets the most amazing light pretty much all day until the afternoon, and it’s going to be getting even more once PJ installs the new, bigger windows on the wall facing the mountain. Sooooo beyond ready for those babies to go in!! It’s going to make the room feel even bigger and you’ll get a better view of the hill and the mountain and the trees behind the house.

We’re on a bit of a time crunch on this renovation since it’s for an upcoming collaboration we’re doing with a brand we absolutely adore. PJ is there right now actually taking out the doors and the small window in order to get ready to frame in the new windows. The good thing is, we already have all of the windows we’ll be using since PJ has been addicted to Facebook Marketplace this year and found a ton of windows at super good prices. That man, y’all. What would we do without him?

We’re going to be carrying the vertical wooden boards that PJ installed on half the room earlier this year throughout the rest of the room to give it a cozy, cottagey feel. We want Holiday House to feel welcoming and warm as soon as you step through the door, so we’re planning to paint the walls an earthy tone. TBD on which color we end up going with, though I still keep trying to talk PJ into painting it white!! It’s not going to happen, but a man can dream.

So real quick, here is everything we plan to do to the living room at Holiday House:

• new flooring

• add headboard to the ceiling

• new windows

• add wood paneling to the walls

• paint

• install new lights and get rid of the two fans (possibly add just one fan in the middle for air circulation?)

PJ just got home for the day since it’s 92 degrees here and way too hot to be working outside. I was only there for a few hours with him and sis as we checked on the pond progress (so much has already been done since yesterday!) and I bagged up a bunch of insulation. Not my idea of a fun afternoon, but it’s going to be all hands on deck this week if we want to get it finished in time.

Stay cool out there, friends!

Pond Progress at Ocoee Farm

Finally!

After months of being delayed due to horrible weather, the guy who is building our ponds at Ocoee Farm was finally able to start this week!! He and his team began the digging and clearing for the pond by our warehouse building (that will one day be a house for our family) and it’s already looking so good. Of course, to everyone but us it probably just looks like a bunch of overgrown grass with big patches of mud (because that’s exactly what it is), but we can see the progress already and we’re over the moon excited.

This photo below, where the big pile of wood is, is exactly where the future pond will be. It’s going to be a pretty good size, and hopefully it will be a way for us to cool off during the scorching summer months. Remember when PJ built us a small, temporary pond behind the warehouse and the kids swam in it this past spring? We’re going for that except bigger and less muddy…and more permanent, of course.

And just for even more context of where it’ll be, the pond will sit directly to the right of the warehouse in this photo below. Can you imagine?! We’re so excited to get started designing that house (one day) and then on top of that, having a pond that we’ll be able to just walk out the front door and take a dip in sounds so idyllic to me. This is a ways down the road dream, but PJ is taking the steps in order to make it happen and it’s all so exciting.

PJ walked the land with the pond guy yesterday as they laid out the parameters and talked about sloping hills, future driveways, and where the other pond is going. That’s a whole different story for a different day, but I don’t think anything feels better than seeing progress being made on a future dream. Because when the progress is happening, it’s suddenly not so much in the future, but very much in the present.

Feeling extra super grateful this evening for PJ today and his ability to make so much progress happen.

Have A Lovely Evening & Happy Friday!

Happy Friday, friends.

How was your week? Ours was nonstop, filled with doctor appointments, emotional school drop offs, and super tight deadlines. It doesn’t look like the weekend will be any less eventful: we’re shooting a campaign tonight, tomorrow, and two on Sunday. Wish us luck!!

I’m keeping this Happy Friday post short and sweet today because we gotta get to work. Hope you have a lovely Friday night, friends, and an even better weekend. See you on Monday!

xoxo