Goodbye, 2017!

2017. What a year. It was a very interesting year for us, as we're sure it was for most people. We had a lot of highs and a lot of lows, but every step of the way we had each other, something we feel grateful for while looking back at the last 12 months.

Were there fights? Oh yes, plenty. Were there tears? For sure. Was there yelling? You betcha! But there was also so much love this year, probably more so than any that came before. And not just between us! From YOU guys! We felt so accepted and loved by you this year and have grown so much closer to y'all that we feel like you're a part of our family now. So, welcome to the fam!

This was the year that our HGTV pilot premiered, we met lots of new friends, took a couple of vacations, and bought a farm. We counted down our top 10 favorite moments from this past year in our newest YouTube video with never before seen pictures and videos. Be sure to stay tuned until the end to see what took the top spot!

We want to thank you for this year. Without you, none of what we did would be possible. We have loved hearing your stories, getting to know you, learning you, receiving your praise and criticism, and being able to cal you all friends. You have inspired us to work harder and push our creativity to the max. We have some fun things already planned for 2018 that we can't wait to share with you. Here's to a happy, successful 2018 for us all.

Feature Friday with Ron Hodge

Happy Friday y'all! The last Friday of the year! Do you have any big plans for New Year’s Eve? Every year we have a small get together at home with snacks and family. Last year we spent it with some out of town guests which was a blast, but this year it will just be us and the family.

This week's FF is a deeply personal one. Ron opens up about his coming out process and how his kids took it. He has a thing or two to say about living authentically and his writing makes him seem familiar, like you've known him forever, probably because he's hilarious and so very relatable. We found a lot of truth in his words and we think you will, too. Read on to see what we mean:

Where are you from? Born and raised in the Detroit metro area. Totally changed scenes my senior year of high school when my family moved to rural Indiana. I spent some time in Tennessee and Alabama during and after college and now I'm back in Indiana. 

Where do you live? Terre Haute, IN is a small city west of Indianapolis almost all the way to the Illinois border. Our biggest claim to fame is a mention in "A Christmas Story" - "The line stretched all the way back to Terre Haute!" 

What’s your Instagram handle? @ronwhodge

Age: 34

Relationship Status: My guy, Alex, and I have officially been together 10 months as of the day after Christmas. 

What is your favorite place you have ever traveled to and why? I'd have to go with Lake Michigan. It's not the most extravagant or exotic trip by far but since my kids were young, it's been an annual trip to travel up the west coast of Michigan and explore new little beach towns. It's been a way to connect them with my birth state, enjoy nature and make great memories. It's also where I committed to coming out three years ago. 

Choose a song for the story of your life: Todrick Hall's 'Wrong Bitch', lol, not really but I have been obsessed with it lately. Although this changes with my eclectic music tastes, I'd have to go with 'Secrets' by Mary Lambert - love her

What is your proudest accomplishment? I get itchy when I think about bragging on myself but pretty freaking proud of the two awesome kids, Madi & Carter, that I've helped raise. They are growing to be caring, loving and empathetic little people and I love them absolutely.

How would you describe your home décor style? I'd call it an interdenominational modern retro comfort look- I like modern, I like retro, I want to be comfortable and I'm open to how those religions mix. 

What is something you wish you would’ve known when you were younger? Living authentically is worth the repercussions- any other kind of life will leave you regretting time sacrificed on the altar of other people's convictions.

What is one thing still left on your bucket list? Really want to take Alex and the kids on a huge adventure to see the national parks out west

How old were you when you came out and what was your experience like? I was 31 when I finally uttered the words for the first time. It was at times excruciating for me and the people closest to me. Overall the most nightmarish scenarios that I had used as excuses to my hesitation for years did not come to past. I did lose most of the community I had known since I was in a deeply religious community as a part time pastor. I did receive many ugly notes and phone calls, and I endured some uncomfortable conversations and scoldings during some reparative therapy that I agreed to attend in an attempt to ease into the new reality with my soon to be ex wife. These things along with the months of uncertainty that followed the big decision have paled in comparison to the new freedom found in living authentically. Life still has its challenges and living out is not always as fabulous as I built it up to be in my mind, but I'm so very thankful.

What have you learned about yourself in your coming out process? When you live life compromising your true self and hiding from those closest to you, you don't realize how thoroughly that affects everything you do. The insecurities I had nurtured into these big monsters took a while to recognize. I didn't realize how much I struggled with my body image or with the idea of trusting someone. Also, I have emotions! Dad always called me the ice man growing up. I hated showing emotions. Since coming out I'm crying during those damn ASPCA commercials.

We see you have kids (they’re so cute!), how did they take it? The kids grasped most of what was happening much quicker than I expected. In spite of the fact that I was changing the makeup of their home and completely flipping over much of the moral structure that I had taught them and espoused my whole life, they were quick to see the reality of the choice I had to make. They are so sincere in how they see people that they were able to see past the opposition they were hearing from other sources and recognize the happiness and contentedness I was experiencing by being me. There are still times they feel conflicted and confused by the opposing viewpoints in their lives, but the majority of the time is spent simply being active little kids. They absolutely love Alex and the new home we've created together. Our community has grown to replace what was lost and the future is exciting. 

Who is your biggest inspiration and why? This is something that jumps around but at the moment I would have to say Dr. Maya Angelou. "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" was a crutch when I was coming out. When she said, "there is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you", I cried. Here was this deeply religious and spiritual person that was not ashamed to be herself and excelled at it. She was a person who really lived her life and was still compassionate and loving- I want to be that. 

Our Newest Addiction

We have been completely obsessed with something for the past week and we aren't afraid to admit it. Honestly, it hasn't even been a full week yet and we are almost finished with season 2.

That's right. We're talking about a friggin TV show here. And the TV show in question is Showtime's Shameless and we are absolutely hooked. Have you seen it? Are you as obsessed as we are?

We are pretty late to the party on this one. It's been out since 2011 but Thomas' sister advised us to watch it (read: forced us to watch the first episode one night) and we're so glad she did because now we spend every night on the couch watching it before bed. We haven't been this obsessed with a TV show in a while but this show grabs you and keeps you attention from the first episode.

It's a comedy/drama (a dramedy, if you will) about the Gallagher family who live in Chicago. The dad, Frank, is a complete piece of shit who is constantly drunk and looking for fast, easy ways to make money, usually at the expense of his family. His oldest child is Fiona, who is barely 21 and is taking care of the other 5 kids. It's a family show at heart, with a full house of kids helping each other out and doing what it takes to survive. It gets pretty graphic at times, but we can't recommend it enough if you haven't seen it. We are completely obsessed. 

All of the seasons are currently streaming on Netflix. The best part is, season 8 is currently airing right now on Showtime and the show was renewed for a ninth season, so we will be watching this show for a while! #blessed

 UPDATE: DirectTV reached out to us and showed us a fun little graph that shows you how much items in the show cost in real life (like the house and their cell phones). Check it out here!!

(Above pictures from here and here)

Christmas 2017

How was your Christmas? As you know we hosted for the first time this year and it was a success! Family, friends, food, dogs, Christmas Fettuccine, movies, and laughs. The works!  We hope you had a merry Christmas, too, friends.

 We documented our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in the video below, if you'd like to check it out:

A Christmas Tradition

It's Christmas Eve and we are checking off last minute items from our to-do list in preparation for hosting Christmas for the first time at our house. Luckily, there's not much to do. Clean a few bathrooms, change the sheets, sweep and vacuum. Easy right?

No matter if we are doing Christmas at our house or another family member's, we always make sure and keep one tradition going each and every year. We are big on movies in this family, have we mentioned that? 

There are some movies we go back to each year like The Holiday or Love Actually, but there's one we look forward to more than the others and have seen at least three million times. We watch The Family Stone every year on Christmas or Christmas Eve. Thomas and his family have done it for years even before us, but we have kept it going and it never gets old. Have you seen it?

 A lot of people are divided on it (for reasons unknown to us) but it's the perfect representation of what a big family is like when everyone gets together around the holidays. There are some fights, lots of hugs, tears, laughs, great food, deep discussions, and plenty of love. Not to mention THE HOUSE. Oh man, don't even get us started. It has to be our favorite movie house of all time. It's old, warm, inviting, cozy, cluttered, comfortable. It's done in browns and oranges, with tons of wallpaper (swoon) and old oriental rugs. It has been the biggest inspiration for us yet as far as movie houses go. 

We highly recommend it if you haven't seen it! What are some of your family's Christmas traditions? Maybe you watch the same movie every year or go see a play or ride around to look at Christmas lights? We would love to get some ideas! Merry Christmas Eve, y'all. xx

(Above pictures from here, here, and here)

PJ, From Last Night

Because he was just too dang cute not to post. Happy Friday everyone.

-T

Feature Friday with Matt Jones

Hey y'all! TGIF because only three more days until Christmas! What do you have planned for the holidays? We are hosting Christmas this year and it will be the first one back in this house for Thomas' family in 9 years. We plan on staying up late, eating Christmas fettuccine, and drinking lots of wine with the family.

We were able to relate so much to this week's Feature Friday. He loves design, dogs, and has a thing for goal setting. AND! His Instagram is filled with tons of coffee mugs and cute dog pictures, so be sure to check it out! More on Matt Jones below...

Where are you from? I grew up in Odessa, Texas.

Where do you currently live? I am a senior at Texas A&M University and live in College Station, TX. I graduate in May and plan on moving somewhere else… just don’t know where exactly.

What’s your Instagram handle? @FieldAndLane

Age? 21

 Relationship Status? Single… dad? Haha. To my 8 month old Goldendoodle Marmaduke of course.

What is something you think people should know about you? I have always been a nerd when it comes to houses. The construction process, the design, the finishes, the furnishings… anything and everything basically. I’m getting my degree in Business with minors in Creative Studies and Art & Architectural History with plans to get my real estate license in the coming year. Eventually I want to get in to home renovations and staging… and have my own TV show. I know, I know…  a far-fetched dream. But even one of my business professors yelled out to me on the last day of class, “Don’t forget me when you have your own home TV show!”

Choose a song for the story of your life: This is a tough one. I’m one of those guys that listen to anything and everything. Spotify is my jam. If I had to name a couple, these are at the top on my current playlist: Congratulations- Post Malone, Don’t Let It Get You Down- Johnnyswim, Rock and Roll- Castro, Bad at Love- Halsey. I know… I’m all over the place.

What is one thing you would tell your younger self right now? “Keep your head up, set goals, be yourself, go for it, push the limits, do what everyone says is impossible. You’re going to go through some low times, but the end is so much greater than you can imagine.”

How would you describe your home décor style? Oh man, farmhouse, modern farmhouse, minimal, sort of modern-rustic? I live in a small, 623 sq.ft. Studio apartment and everything I have I either built myself or bought at estate sales. I love contrast and clean lines, but still warm and inviting- not too modern but not too farmhouse.

Any big plans for the future? Where do you see yourself in 10 years?  Big plans, big plans…. Of course I have big plans. 10 years from now I see myself renovating homes and putting my eye for design to work, most likely owning my own business, and…. having a TV show. I mean why not dream big, right?  

Tell us your favorite quote and why: “The truth is that most people never start because they don’t want to be seen starting at the bottom. Don’t be most people.”

This is my current favorite quote because I know I’m going to have to work to achieve my goals. I’m going to wake up one morning and have everything handed to me- even though that would be nice. I know I’m going to have to start at the bottom and work my way to the top. Not only will I know I worked to get there, but I’ll know that I earned every bit of it. Ask, believe, receive.

What is one thing still left on your bucket list? Most people would say they would want to “travel the world” or “vacation to some far away place,” but one thing that is yet to be marked off on my bucket list is to go skydiving.

 How old were you when you first came out and what was your experience like? I came out when I was 20, so just about a year ago. It was rough to say the least, but it has let me realize who I truly am and whom I don’t want in my life. Overall, coming out has been one of the best decisions I have ever made. I have made so many new friends, experienced the world from a different view, and have a new lease on life. 

Have you faced any backlash or hardships since coming out? Yes and no. There are obviously going to be people that won’t accept you, but the group of people who do accept you and love you for who you are is SO much greater. It’s going to be hard for a while, and I knew that, but once you’re past that point the world is a new place.

How to Make No-Bake Holiday Treats

We got into the Christmas spirit last night and decided to make some easy, no-bake holiday treats to pass out to loved ones during this festive season. We made peanut clusters, white chocolate covered pretzels, haystack chocolate, peanut butter and Ritz crackers dipped in chocolate with sprinkles on top, and pretzels with Rolos and pecans on top. Are you noticing a chocolate theme?

These goodies are so easy to make and something the whole family can do together. Did we mention they're all so addicting? Because they are, and you need to be careful not to eat them all in one sitting. We had a blast making this video and hope you guys enjoy it. Check out the video below and be sure to stay tuned until the end to watch the ridiculous bloopers!

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