Friday Favorites

Today I am linking up with my friend Erika at a Little Bit of Everything for Friday Favorites.

1. Click here to read about our house build update, visible progress is definitely a favorite of mine.

2. We have been attending our hometown parade since I was pregnant with Hudson and it is just an absolute favorite of mine. I always do a terrible job of taking pictures because I am so busy taking it all in. The weather this year was a little cooler and it was definitely noticed.

3. Several of Hudson's friends have fitness trackers and he has been asking for one for awhile. Since his birthday is in July we decided to get him the VivoFit Jr. He has only had it about a week now but he is loving it. I love that he can wear it in the shower and swimming and that you don't have to charge it.

4. There is just something about fireworks. They are a favorite of mine this time of year for sure.

5. I enjoy finding old things to renue. This Singer Sewing machine base was a favorite find of mine. Click here to read about it. The local Orly Market is today and tomorrow. I can't wait to see what I can find.

Orly Market

I found this vintage Singer sewing machine base at the local ORLY market, also known as the Old Red Lumberyard Junk Market.  This event has been held just East of downtown McKinney for several years now and this monthly sale is a favorite of mine to attend. Often times my dad comes with me to see what treasures we can discover.

It is not pretty right now, it needs a lot of love but it is made with a craftsmanship that is almost non existent these days and I am determined it will be beautiful again. Unfortunately the ornately carved drawers that traditionally accompany these machines were no longer intact and the wooden top is so rotted it will need to be replaced but that is no reason to give up.

Fortunately my husband was very understanding when I texted him the picture of my purchase. Hudson loves that we have already gotten the pedal to start working again and I can't wait to update you all when this special repurpose project is complete.

If you are local you should definitely check out the remainder dates of the ORLY market this year.

Foundation

We are so excited to have visible progress on the build!

We are well into the foundation process and are doing a lot of work that is very important but that won't be seen once the house is finished.

Measuring out the pad site after it was leveled and cleared.

 Pier holes that are 15 feet deep were dug in very specific intervals.

Then a concrete crew came and filled the piers. They even let Hudson help put some concrete in one                                               of the piers. I am pretty sure that made his day.  

Trenches were dug. 

The plumbers even came and roughed in the plumbing.

We are very fortunate that many of these things are being completed during the summer when it is daylight longer and we can go after work to see the progress. I have to admit I am really enjoying the building process.

Friday Favorites

Today I am linking up with my friend Erika at a Little Bit of Everything for Friday Favorites.

1. Finally some visible house build progress. Click here to read more about what we have been up to.

2. Makedo cardboard connectors have been fun to experiment with at work. They are easy for kids to use to create things. I anticipate that they will be a fun activity this summer for my 7 year old.

3. Mother's day poetry. I mean seriously, how does this not make you smile? I am just going to tuck this away and get it out to read every once and a while.

4. Our baseball has come to an end, it has been so great to see these kids grow this season. I love that Hudson has played with most of the same kids for multiple seasons now.

5. We have a cute local snow cone stand that is shaped like a pirate ship that is finally open for the season. Snow cones are Hudson's favorite!

Progress Update

We have been busy the last few weeks and we have visible progress!

We were finally able to close on our construction loan! Thank you to McWilliams and Thompson for making that such a smooth process for us. There has been a lot of mowing and fishing on the weekends.

We also managed to break ground and our pad site is now prepped. Who knew the site of a bulldozer could be so exciting? 

Now we will wait for the engineer to approve the foundation plans and get on the schedule with the concrete guys. Hopefully it won't be as long between updates this time. 

Enjoying the Moment

There seems to have been a paperwork error that is causing us a delay with the house build. Long story short the original closing that was done when we purchased the land was not filed correctly. Hopefully that title company will be getting that fixed sooner rather than later but that has not happened as of yet.

Until that happens we can not move forward. I could be upset about this but right now I am taking this as an opportunity to enjoy the moment. We could be mid build and frantically running from baseball games to birthday parties and trying to check on the house while Jason is in his busy season at work. But we have been given this extra time to enjoy each other and I am choosing to look at it as just that right now. Extra time to enjoy the moment.

So this weekend we fished, we hung out with family, hunted eggs, ate bbq and enjoyed church service on Easter Sunday. I hope whatever season of life you are in that you are finding time to enjoy the moment.

Friday Favorites

Today I am linking up with my friend Erika at a Little Bit of Everything for Friday Favorites.

Spring time is full of little festivals around our area and we love to enjoy them as a family. Everyone was too distracted with the funnel cake to look at the camera but we really enjoyed this local Cajun festival. 

My son loves to play outdoors but he also loves art. I just love this age and the things he creates with his imagination. 

Baby ducks, I mean seriously can they get any cuter? 

Hudson's little baseball team got to stand on the field during the national anthem at a high school game. Several of the boys had pictures made with the players. Hudson asked to have his picture made with the umpire and I think it made both of their days. 

I may be late to the party but I have recently discovered boys clothes at Academy. This shirt is dry fit nike and only $14.99. Academy is my new go to for school clothes. Boys sizes 7-8 are so difficult to shop for. 

Wood Look Tile

If you had asked me a few years ago what I thought about wood look tile I would have not been in favor of it. It has definitely come a long way. If you haven't seen any lately it is probably that you haven't realized you were actually looking at tile instead of wood. It is available in any wood tone you could want even aged barnwood.

We are a big fan of solid surface flooring. It is easy to keep clean and it is easy on the allergies. We put in all solid surface flooring in our last home and loved it. We had wood in the living room and bedrooms and tile in the kitchen, bathroom and eating areas. Our feet never got cold and we used area rugs to break up the space and help it not feel bare. 

While I really enjoyed the hardwood I knew I needed something more versatile for our next house. With the kitchen being so open to the living room, the flooring needed to match to help it not look broken up. Wood just didn't seem practical to me what with the pond, mud, grass etc. that will surely get tracked in. I want to be able to enjoy my family and having people over and not be the mom constantly worried about her wood floors getting wet. Enter wood look tile.

These are some sample flooring options for a farmhouse look. They include the barnwood look tile mixed with an option for bathroom flooring and some paint options. All of these fit in the gray family and all have a matte finish.

Wood look tile tips

• Keep the grout lines as small as possible.
• Choose grout that is as dark, the darker the grout the more it will look like shadow and real wood joints.
• Choose matte finish tile, glossy tile is going to throw off the wood appearance.
• Look for tile that you can feel the texture on.
• Install the tile in a traditional wood plank pattern. 

What do you think about wood look tile?
Do you have any in your home?
Have you noticed any in stores or restaurants that you visit? 

Friday Favorites

Today I am linking up with my friend Erika at a Little Bit of Everything for Friday Favorites.

1. My new little blog

I am excited to document our journey while we build our house. I also feel like this will be therapeutic for me and it will give me a place to collect ideas and resources to help others that might be interested. I hope you will follow our journey. Click here to learn about farmhouse style, here to learn about copper trends and here to see some of my inspiration.

2. Tiggly technology for kids

I come across a lot of fun things in my job and this is one I had to share. Tiggly has words, math and shapes.  They are designed to be used with an ipad to help kids practice spelling, addition/subtraction and shape recognition. You can order them together or individually from Amazon. There are free apps that you download to use with them. Click here to find Tiggly.

3. Baseball

Little league and I are in a love/hate relationship right now. I love watching Hudson play and learn but my mamma heart also cringes sometimes when I watch him and his team learn the tough lessons that come along with sports. I have also given up on the baseball pants ever being white again. Having three games in one weekend will do that to you.

4. Lipsense

I have a TON of skin sensitivities and food allergies and finding makeup that I can wear has been tough. Not to mention finding makeup that actually stays on in the Texas weather. After finding Lipsense I decided that I loved it so much that I recently started selling it. If you have been thinking about trying it, hosting an online party or have questions feel free to ask me. If you are interested in ordering click here. 

5. Flower Arranging class

In March I participated in a flower arranging class led by a local designer. It was so much fun, a group of girl friends and I had the best time learning about current trends (organic shapes and materials are in) and we all got to leave with a beautiful arrangement that we created.

Copper

This great Kitchenaid copper mixer is from Crate and Barrel

Copper is a very trendy accent right now. With the trend of mixing metals it is also a great way to spruce up a room in your house. I would recommend mixing copper with silver and even black in small doses. Several small or delicate copper items mixed in will give you a bigger impact than just adding 1 large piece. I found some great accents in a variety of price points that can be added to almost any current decor.

This 2-tier Copper fruit stand from Crate and Barrel would look great on a kitchen table as a center piece or on a kitchen island.

This candle holder is available in copper from World Market and would be a great addition indoors or out.

This tray from Nordstrom is around 13 inches and would be great in a guest bathroom to display soap or on a plate stand displayed on a shelf. It is also dishwasher safe so it could be used for serving as well.  

This chair from Target is also very striking. It gives a modern update to a very classic shape. They are sold in sets of 2.

 

If you are thinking about updating some hardware check these out from lowes. They would be great on a piece of furniture or in a bathroom as hardware. 

What do you think about copper? Have you added it to any rooms in your home?

Girls Trip Inspiration

Over the past year especially I have been very mindful of my design surroundings. Taking pictures of things that I like and trying to figure out my husbands design style is have definitely kept me busy.

In the fall some girlfriends and I went on a quick getaway, with no kids, to Fredericksburg, Texas. We stayed at this adorable house for the weekend. It is called the Prickly Pear but it could not be any sweeter.

The house had such cute decorations I took a ton of pictures knowing that I would want to try to recreate some of this charm into our new home. I am not thinking we will attach musical instruments to the wall but I wanted to capture the texture of the stone mixed with the wood and the white painted ceiling. It is easy to want to recreate exactly what we see but being practical is also important. Hanging instruments on the wall (I am envisioning my child knocking them off accidently) is not very practical for my family so I will stick with the color and texture palette but find something more suitable for us.

These antique match holders hung on a wall in the kitchen and I have to say I am a big fan. All of the colors and vintage designs on them were just darling. The chipped paint helps the room feel more casual which definitely fits my design style.

Who would not want to relax in this bathroom complete with shiplap walls?

While we were in town we visited several local shops as well as a cute local flea market. I picked up a windmill recreation as well as a fantastic wooden arch. Yes, all of this before the house is even built but they were just too good to pass up and I know that I will find a place for them.

This arch is a larger scale item but does have any glass or metal so it will actually blend in quite nicely and not stand out and that is exactly what I wanted. I find it beautiful in its own rustic way and that is what appeals to me. I also like that it is an item that I do not have to worry about breaking while I store it or in the moving process. This is something to consider if you are purchasing items that will not be used until a later time.

The reproduction windmill I just love! It has a natural rust patina that adds such great color to any room. I see this perhaps used on a blank wall upstairs or being displayed in a guest bedroom.

I thoroughly enjoyed Fredericksburg. It was a nice trip, we had a great time, but I always do love coming home. I will keep you posted on the plans for my special finds.