Making the New House Feel Like Home

We’ve been spending more and more time at the Holiday House and we are officially obsessed.

Slowly but surely, we’ve been bringing furniture that we’ve purchased (mostly on FaceBook Marketplace) or that we’ve had forever, over to the new house and have been setting it up to make it feel more like home. I spent all of last week painting the living room (which you can see in our latest vlog here) and it’s made SUCH a difference! It feels like an entirely different room. We’re painting all the rooms white since we want this cottage to feel relaxing, serene, and calming. We plan to let the view and the land do the talking, so we want a neutral backdrop to let the mountains and hills shine.

We have plans to redo the flooring, the ceilings, bathrooms, the kitchen, and more, so the setup we have now will just be temporary. It’s fun, though, to bring items over and do what we can now to make it feel more comfortable for now. And to actually have a place to sit. That’s been a big plus.

PJ has been working SO hard and it’s so fun for me to see him so excited about this project. He, more than any of us, gets restored at the land. When he’s there, he says he instantly feels calmer, less stressed. I love to see him work and for the gears in his head to turn while he figures out what he wants to do next. What a treat for me that I get a front row seat to his genius.

He just got back from crawling under the Holiday House’s foundation (!) and inspecting the crawl space, so we’re going to relax and watch The Undoing on HBO (have you seen it?) and have a glass of wine and relax.

Have a good night, friends xo.

Happy Thanksgiving

Wherever you are and however you’re celebrating, whether it’s with family in person or via Zoom this year, we’re wishing you a happy Thanksgiving. May we all try as hard as we can, even if it doesn’t feel like we have anything to be grateful for this year, to give thanks for today.

We’re loading up and heading to my brother’s for a small family gathering (only us and 3 others), with no extended family this year. We’re in charge of bringing mashed potatoes and PJ’s famous stuffing, which is always the highlight of the meal every year (it’s soooooo good). We’ve been working nonstop on the new cottage and social media collaborations, sometimes not getting to bed until midnight, so we’re looking forward to spending today relaxing and eating and enjoying the down time with the kids and a little family.

Sending love and virtual hugs to you and your loved ones! Happy Thanksgiving!!! xoxoxo

(photo from last year’s Thanksgiving)

Our Favorites From Etsy's Cyber Sale

The holidays are officially here, and we’re partnering with our friends at Etsy and ShopStyle to help celebrate and spread a little cheer.

We’ve used Etsy for years (remember when we used to sell our apparel on their site before moving it to PJandThomas.com?) and have always loved the idea of supporting local, hardworking artisans and creatives. Etsy has so many wonderful, one of a kind items that it’s easy to get lost for hours browsing the site and finding the perfect gift for your loved one (or let’s be honest, for you, too ;).

So, in order to save you a little time this year, we’ve chosen 30 of our favorites from their Cyber Sale that is happening right now (!) and are sharing them below! We had so much fun compiling this list and we chose a little bit for everyone: women, men, kids, couples, and items for the home. We also chose from a variety of artisans, including Black-owned and women-owned Etsy shops. If you’re looking for a unique, personalized gift (because most of these items, as with so many gifts on Etsy, you can personalize to fit you!) to make someone smile this year, hopefully the items below will inspire you!

Without further ado, here are our favorites from Etsy’s Cyber Sale:

1. Beanie| 2. Scarf | 3. Sweater | 4. Jewelry Holder | 5. Men’s Care Kit | 6. Wallet | 7. Bracelet | 8. Beard Kit | 9. Pressed Flowers | 10. Plant Holders | 11. Wooden Spoon | 12. Cutting Board | 13. Paint Brush Holder | 14. Wrapping Paper | 15. Succulent | 16. One Line Drawing | 17. Jumpsuit | 18. Masks | 19. Bookworm Painting | 20. Wooden Name Blocks | 21. Leather Desk Mat | 22. Pet Picture Mug | 23. Gourmet Spices | 24. Candle | 25. Leather Shave Kit | 26. Blanket | 27. Family Watercolor | 28. House Watercolor | 29. Necklace | 30. Glass Straws

Be sure to check out the rest of the items in Etsy’s Cyber Sale for even more wonderful gift ideas this year. Happy shopping, and happy holidays, friends!!! xoxo

We’re Moving!

Well, kind of.

You can see all the details (and even a small, quick tour of the house!) in our newest YouTube video. We are so beyond excited for this new chapter and what it will mean for our family. The best part, and the main reason we bought the new house, is that it’s connected to our land, so we finally have a place to stay out there (after 2 years of driving there and driving back home every time).

Sharing some photos of the views from the new house below :).

It just feels right out there, and the kids love it. There’s room to run around and get out all their energy that they seemingly never run out of haha. CANT WAIT to share more!!! xoxo

When Do You Decorate for the Holidays?

I ask this question in some capacity every year because I’m genuinely so curious as to how others do the holidays.

Normally, for us, as soon as Halloween is over and November 1st rolls around, we put away all the spiders and witches and candy and trade them for wreaths and bows and old-timey Christmas lights. We love Christmas (our favorite holiday) and want to celebrate it for as long as we can, which in our case means two months!

I know this is probably not the norm for most, and a lot of people don’t start decorating until December. But this year seems different. I’ve seen more and more people put up their holiday decorations earlier than usual in an (much needed) attempt to spread more cheer. It seems everyone is looking forward to enjoying the most wonderful time of the year (and all the warm, cozy feelings it brings) for as long as possible this year. Honestly, after 2020 has kicked pretty much everyone’s ass, couldn’t we all use a little more cheer?

So when do you decorate for the holidays? Do you start early like us or wait until December? Are you starting earlier than usual this year? Let’s discuss!

See You Next Year, Fall

Sharing some photos of life lately surrounded by the beautiful fall colors that are sadly diminishing before my eyes as I write this. I’m thinking by next week they’ll all be gone and we’ll be left with the brown, dark, and somewhat sad colors of winter.

I’m eating up every bit of these fall colors while they last, though!!!

That’s all! Have a wonderful Wednesday, friends! xoxo

Would You Correct Someone if They Misgendered Your Spouse?

“Sure, think it over with your wife and give me a call back to let me know and we’ll go from there!”

These were the words said to me on the phone from the pest control guy who was giving me a quote to spray our yard for mosquitos a few months back. My mind immediately wandered to: do I correct him and let him know that I in fact have a husband (not a wife) or do I brush it off?

99% of the time I will kindly and nonchalantly inform them that I have a husband, because I think visibility is important and it’s good for people to meet an out, married gay couple (especially in the south), and to not make a big deal about it (because it’s not a big deal!), but this time I let it slide. He was talking a mile a minute and I had already made up my mind that we wouldn’t be using this company for pest control anyway (for reasons unrelated to the misgendering), so I wanted to do whatever I could to thank him for his service and then get off the phone. So that’s what I did.

But I’m curious: what would you do? Would you correct them or let it slide? How have you handled situations like that in the past?

“Is Santa Claus Real?”

It finally happened. The question that every kid inevitably asks came last night (albeit a lot sooner than I thought it would). I overheard this exchange in the backseat on the way home from the land:

Older brother: Is Santa real?

Little brother: No, Santa is not real.

Older brother: Does Santa wear a costume? But he has a beard. His beard is real, right?

Little brother: No! I said he NOT real because he’s not!

Older brother: Yes he is real. Remember when we just see him at that place? He’s at the North Pole. Wait, the North Pole is a long time to get there, right?

**5 minutes goes by with multiple conversations in between**

Older brother: But is Santa real or no?

Little brother: No! I said he is not real!

From the mouths of babes. Their endless conversations are always a source of joy and humor and wonderment for me. I’ve said it before, but I’m going to miss these ages when they get older. Granted, these funny conversations are peppered in between a whole lot of hard and frustrating moments, but the ages they are now are sooooo fun. I love seeing the world through their eyes.

Is Santa Claus real? Well, he is for now :).

Happy Saturday

The sun was shining just right in the living room (probably the only clean room in our house right now) and I thought the light looked so beautiful. Sunny, fall days are my favorite and today is the epitome of one of those days, so I wanted to share :).

That’s all! Hope it’s gorgeous where you are, too, and have a lovely weekend!!! xoxo

Room with a View

The view from our office today. One of the biggest perks of working from home is you get to choose where to sit, and today it’s the couch in our office. It’s not Amsterdam, but it’s safe and warm. It’s home, and could I really ask for more?

A Fall Day I Want to Remember

Yesterday was one of those hard days personally, so I’m choosing to only remember the good parts of it, like watching new (to us) shows with PJ on the couch after the kids went to bed, and walking to the park with the kiddos while the beautiful fall colors shined bright all around us and the sun was peaking through the branches.

This time of year is always the most beautiful in our area. The reds and burnt oranges and yellows make the rest of the year somehow seem less special. It’s been rather hot this week (in the 80’s!) but we’re expecting rain in the next day or so, so hopefully that will bring some cool air through.

Only a few more weeks (days??) until all the gorgeous leaves fall off and winter sets in, leaving the trees bare and empty. I miss them every year when they go!

May we all do the best we can to find beauty in the every day, even when it’s the last thing we feel like doing. Wishing you a beautiful Tuesday, friends!! xx

Little Brother’s Birthday Party

We celebrated our middle kiddo turning four this weekend with a small little celebration at home with our moms, sister, mamaw, and aunt, and for the first time in a long time, things felt somewhat normal.

We had no idea what we were going to do for his birthday and if we were going to celebrate with more than just us. Covid cases are the highest they’ve been since the start of the pandemic and we’ve been so careful about social distancing the last eight months, even from our family, but we decided to have a few people over to help us celebrate our new four year old who we love so, so much.

Not sure how many more gatherings we’re going to have for the rest of the year, but I am so glad we went ahead with this one. It was a gorgeous day, and it felt so good to be around family. It was comforting, familiar, and so very needed. It’s weird how quickly you get adjusted to living a certain way: being careful not to hug or kiss when you say goodbye, staying 6 ft apart, holding your breath when they walk by so you don’t accidentally breathe on them. Such a weird time we’re living in, but necessary precautions to take.

PJ’s mom brought over a one-time use helium machine and blew up balloons and the kids. went. wild. It was so cute. Thank you, Lori! Such a great idea!!

And then somehow, by the end of the night, the balloons ended up in the upstairs bathroom. I think PJ said he brought them up there? Regardless if it was him or the kids being sneaky, that bathroom could use a little color anyway :).

You can see the video version of his little party in our newest vlog.

It was a beautiful day spent with our most favorite people celebrating our favorite little brother. What would we do without these kids, y’all? Every birthday, holiday, milestone, makes us realize how grateful we are for them, and also begs the question: what did we do before they were the biggest part of our lives? It seems strange, even only after a year and a half, that there was a time when we were only living for ourselves.

Happy Monday, friends!!!

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris!!!!!

History was made today.

For the first time in years, I feel like I can let out a sigh of relief. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will be the next President and Vice President of the United States. I feel an indescribable amount of joy and gratefulness for what the possibility of the next four years hold. May we all come together to help unite this beautiful country and rebuild it for a better tomorrow.

We did it. Now let’s get to work.

pic via here.

Bikes! Bikes! Bikes!

After talking about it for what seemed like forever, we finally got the kiddos bikes! We debated on waiting until Christmas to give them, but decided it would be better for them to be able to ride for a little bit before it gets too cold to in the coming weeks.

I remember learning to ride a bike growing up on the same sidewalks, the same street, as they are now. How has time gone by so quickly? I look at old pictures of me on bikes (like below with my brother teaching me to ride) and I can remember the uncertain, nervous feeling of getting up onto one for the first time and feeling like I might topple over. And here we are today (and by we, I mean PJ since he is the one teaching them to ride) with our kiddos as they learn to ride their first bikes.

The boys have picked up on riding quickly. They haven’t cried when falling down (yet!) and after about three days, are pretty much riding on their own, with their training wheels keeping them safe and balanced. Sis on the other hand is still learning and trying her best. I almost feel like she is borderline too young, but at the sake of not being left out, she needed one, too. And maybe, with a lot more practice, she’ll be better than them all!

It’s supposed to be sunny and hot this weekend (that’s November in Tennessee for you!) which will be perfect for a little more practice on these babies, and a very welcome distraction from agonizing over when we’ll find out the results from the election. Have you been checking your phone/TV/computer every 5 minutes, too????

Happy Friday, friends!!! xoxo

Happy Birthday to Our Middle Kiddo!!

Little brother, our middle kiddo, is 4 years old today! It’s hard to believe when I sit down and think about it, because he was only 2 1/2 when he and his brother and sister came to live with us. I can’t stress enough how true the cliche saying of “they grow up so fast” is. It’s something I didn’t understand until we became parents, but man is it real.

We’ve gone through what raising a 4 year old boy was like before (his older brother was 4 when they came to live with us, now 5 1/2), but it will be so fun to experience little brother as a 4 year old- to see the similarities and differences he shares with his brother at this age. I love how very different they are from each other and often wonder what traits they’ll carry with them into adulthood. At the same time…why can’t they stay these ages forever?

We’re so beyond grateful for this precious little boy and all the joy, laughter, and love he’s brought to our lives. We love him more than he’ll ever know.

Election Day 2020

It’s finally here.

We voted. We’ve told everyone on our socials to vote, our friends, our family. There’s not much more we can do but sit and wait. The day we’ve all been waiting for for months (years?) will be over in just a few hours.

We’ll be watching and following the election results tonight (with popcorn and wine, of course) and most likely tweeting and posting to IG. I’ve never been this anxious in my life and haven’t been sleeping well the last few nights.

Sending love to you all today and for the next four years, whatever the outcome is. xoxoxo

PS: loved this list of things our friend Quigley put together to help relieve the stress of this week, and A Cup of Jo is helping ease Election Day jitters on her site as well.

The End of Daylight Savings Time

It got dark and cold at 6:30p tonight, so naturally I made a red sauce with shaved Parmesan and a glass of chardonnay. Would a red wine probably have been better with the pasta? Yes, but remember how I am much more into whites these days? Every time I try to drink red wine lately I end up with a headache before the end of the night.

Hope you’re staying warm and cozy, and may we all find ways to stay joyful during the dark winter months that are inevitably coming!! xoxo