Start With the Airbnb

Yesterday was our 8th wedding anniversary, and planning a special celebration in the middle of a pandemic presented an interesting set of challenges for me/us! (I usually do the bulk of the trip planning.)

Here's the funny thing: I had a whole destination picked out for us and was busily researching what we could (maybe) do there, and just as importantly, where we could stay. Unfortunately my first destination of choice is a pretty popular tourist location at the holidays, so there weren't may options left - in our price range, anyway - by the time I got around to choosing an Airbnb. 

I'm not even sure how it happened that I ended up on a recommendation for the Airbnb I found, because it's not particularly close to my original destination, but somehow it came up. This is the honest truth: I changed our entire trip solely so we could stay at this Airbnb. We have stayed in several great Airbnb spots. We've loved them. Each one has a special story for us. But I think we will be hard-pressed to ever find something with this much raw charm ever again. This one was a gem, and it was worth rearranging every other detail of our trip. 

Though we booked it several weeks ago, before things started tightening again with regulations, I have to say that we both declared if all we could do for the whole trip was come and sit in this beautiful place and look at each other, it wouldn't be a loss at all. The Airbnb was cute enough to shelter in for a few days if we needed to. And if we could have packed up the whole place and brought it back to Grabill with us, you better know we would have. Adorable.

So what IS this place? And where is it? Well, it's in Richmond - Indiana, not Virginia - which most would probably not consider a destination high on the list. But I have to say, it turned out to be quite a fun-filled vacation, and we would highly recommend it. We doubled this as a county tour, and I'm not sure we could have seen all of Wayne County in any less than the four days we were gone. 

The Airbnb is called the Starr Loft, and it is everything you'd imagine about a loft: beams in the ceilings, exposed brick walls, and original hardwood floors with all their charming imperfections. Oh...and did I mention it sits perched above a coffee shop? 

Swoon.

It's in the depot district of Richmond, and we read on some reviews that the trains are annoying. Well, we live in the depot district of Grabill, so we've learned to tune out trains. We heard them throughout our visit, but they didn't bother us a bit. Sometimes we could hear coffee beans grinding downstairs or footsteps in and out the door, but all in all, the noises weren't at all distracting. And just wait until you SEE IT!! (Let's just do that now, shall we?)

Roscoe's is the coffee shop, and those four windows with white trim above it were our beautiful loft. We did have to tackle a bunch of stairs to get up there, but...workout, right?

(They mentioned if stairs weren't your thing, this might not be the stop for you...and we see why!) 

The stairs open into this massive open living/dining/kitchen with the windows overlooking the street. Breathtaking. 

The dining table (which we never used) was right at the top of the stairs.)

You can see a curtain in the back there, which is the "door" to the bedroom. I'll show you that in a minute. But first I'll swing around and let you see the living area that was on the other side. 

This was taken from the top of the stairs looking back toward the street. Amazing, right? That chandelier! And the little Christmas tree! And the drop cloth curtains! And the brick walls! and the beams! 

Just to the right of the Christmas tree was this daybed with a trundle. We didn't use it either, but it was cute! The TV was just to the right of it. 

The couches were deep and so comfortable. And so was that egg chair over in the corner!!

More deep, comfy couch love. 

And all this opened into a SWEET kitchen with a huge island. (We ate at that anytime we ate in.) This is taken from the window by the daybed, so you can see how it all fits together. 

Fancy fancy!

Ahhhhh that SINK!!!

And then there was this simple and beautiful bedroom. Not gonna lie: that bed was super comfy. This is our first trip since owning a weighted blanket that we haven't brought it along, and the covers were weighty enough that we slept perfectly soundly the whole time. 

The view from the bed looking out. 

Now...are you ready for the bathroom?

You're not...I can promise you. But prepare yourself!

Look at the SINK!!!!!!

And this TUB!!!!

And Ryan was super excited about the rain shower head (or whatever it's called) in the shower. 

Do you see now why this was worth choosing as a landing point, and planning a trip around it??

I'll tell you more about our trip in the coming days and you'll see we had plenty of adventures, but honestly we were back at the Airbnb by about 5:00 - or earlier! - every night and were perfectly happy to stay there and enjoy the amazing atmosphere. 

(Oh! And bonus: our stay came with 2 breakfasts AND 2 lattes every morning. All we had to do was run down all those stairs and zip into the next door over and tell the baristas we were staying upstairs. That may or may not have been another selling point.) 

As a precaution, we did re-sanitize all the surfaces when we arrived, though I know Airbnb has some pretty strict policies for owners to make sure they clean well. We loved our stay, and we would absolutely recommend this stop for ANYONE - especially those who appreciate character and atmosphere! 

Eight is Great

 

Today is one of my most favorite days in all the year: our anniversary. Today we celebrate eight years of doing life together! Every year on our anniversary, we read a letter we wrote to each other the year before, and then we write a new one to be read next year. And every year we say some version of, "well, we never imagined this year bringing along THAT!" 

Well, we'll be saying it again this year for sure - and in the biggest way ever so far. (Makes me nervous for next year!) 

So in the spirit of "didn't see that coming!" allow me to share some of my favorite moments from each of the last twelve months that show why I love doing life with Ryan, even if I didn't know to expect whatever God sent our way in this life!

December

Right after we arrived home from our seventh anniversary trip, we stepped into dressy clothes and onto the platform at our church to serve as narrators for The Sights and Sounds of Christmas. We didn't know it at the time, but it was our last time to be part of this program. Our worship pastor retired this past summer, gatherings of this size have been nixed, AND we moved away from town. We had no idea this was our last time. It was THE most powerful program. I plan to watch the DVD of it this year, because it was that moving. The music was amazing, and getting to serve with Ryan in this way was a joy for me. It always is.

January

In January, I went back to work full time - serving as a fill-in at church. This picture represents all the times Ryan surprised me at work at lunch to have a date with me, or got up early to take me on a pre-work coffee date or drove me to work because the roads were slick and slippery roads terrify me. He really is such a thoughtful husband in all the little details, and I love that about him. 

February

For Valentine's Day, Ryan planned a surprise overnight getaway to Indianapolis. He picked out a tiny Airbnb that overlooked the canal and the skyline, and we had the BEST time. There was a coffee shop IN OUR BUILDING, we were able to tour downtown the next day, and we had a great time together. We had NO idea that inside of a month, we wouldn't be able to travel on a whim anymore, so this was an extra wonderful surprise. I love all the detail he puts into things like this for us. Of course I love travel planning - and plan most of our trips! - but the fact that he's not afraid to dream up surprises like this makes me so happy!

March

Ahhh, the month when the world shut down.  When everything happened so quickly, he took it all in stride. He was reassigned for his job and welcomed the chance to try something different for a while. He served (without complaining) as the designated household runner, doing all the grocery shopping and anything else we needed so I could stay inside the house. (My job was also moved home at that point.) He launched into home improvement projects, knocking out a complete gut/remodel of our guest bathroom. He began perfecting his breakfast-making game and joined me on the couch for jammie church every Sunday. The world missed all the beats, but Ryan never missed one. When I was anxious about the changes, he calmed me. If you're going to be sheltered in place in a pandemic, you want to be sheltered with Ryan. It's the best gig.

April

We were still sheltering in April, and that month was SO different for us. We celebrated Ryan's birthday - at home. I turned our sun porch into a Giordano's restaurant and tried to make a special pie-themed night for him. We completely redecorated our guest room together. We celebrated Easter all by ourselves - doing all the cooking and having a very special day of worship together. But most of all, I was proud of Ryan for being part of a proning team for the hospital. He worked on a COVID unit and was trained to turn patients - even if they were on a ventilator. He spent his days working with a team that became dear to him, and he did all of this without showing an ounce of fear. I learned so much from him during this season - the embracing of change, the foraging ahead without fear, and the joy of being home together all day, every day. In fact, that was what led to some pretty big changes for us.

May

May was MY birthday month, and he planned an extravagant back-up party for me. His original plan (which I still don't know in case it could happen at another time) was canceled because of the virus, so he planned a beautiful Anne of Green Gables party for two. He made all the food from scratch (food inspired by the books and movie) and decorated our new guest room with Anne printables. Then we watched the movie in there and had a sleepover in our own guest room. He kept working on home projects - board and batten in our entry, plus painting in the living room and kitchen - and we had another BIG moment that month. We applied for a new job - just to see if God would open a door for us to work together. I loved celebrating with Ryan, working alongside him at home, and dreaming of working alongside him FOR work, too.

June

And so it was that in June, we were invited to interview for this new job. We went together and sat for three hours in a conference room, answering dozens of questions (that were really hard and deep!) and touring WillowBridge, wondering if it would be our new home someday. We were accepted for the job and one day later, Ryan's hospital announced its closure, eliminating his job. We launched into motion to sell our house (done in a jiffy!) and begin packing for our move!

July

And that's how July became garage sale/pack furiously/move temporarily/train for a new job/move for real month. Ryan was a rock star in it all. He helped me organize and run the garage sales. He helped me pack as many boxes as he could. He helped me choose what to bring for the temporary move. Together we sat through probably close to 50 hours of training for this new job, minds swirling to comprehend it all. And then he did all the heavy lifting in the move. If you ever move, you should have Ryan. He's the best at it. 

August

And then came August - where we took ownership of our new jobs for real. We planned community nights, settled into our new home, worked on organizing the building, and tried to figure out everything we needed to do. I learned in NO TIME that working alongside him every single day was really the absolute best plan in life. All day every day - from morning to night, we get to share life, and we love it.

September

We started to feel like we found our footing a bit by September. We kayaked and biked and took long walks and visited a sunflower farm. We had the best time outside of work and continued loving our work AT work. But we also realized it wouldn't kill us to be able to get away from the building on our days off, so we saw a new dream realized: we bought an RV. It was on the bucket list, and then it happened. I never could have imagined it. We are so excited for this chapter!

October

Felt like we found even more of our groove in October. We began to learn to balance work and regular life better, having fun in both. We embraced fall in all of its fallness - with pumpkins and corn mazes and salted caramel coffee - until we did the sugar detox. That's another thing we did together, because Ryan is that amazing and will detox with me even if he doesn't need to do it. We got back on a healthy eating train, and we both feel better!

November

The couple that remodels together...wears a lot of paint! We finished out this year of marriage by painting and painting and painting in our RV. And we decorated for Christmas. And we learned we can get through long solo runs of work if we band together. 

This is not the year we saw coming. We didn't see lost jobs and new jobs and apartment living and working in social work and sheltering in ANY place and buying an RV and demo for days in all kinds of places, but here we are, and there isn't another soul on this planet I would rather have all these adventures with. Ryan makes everything fun, easy, and delightful. He teaches me every single day. He models Christlikeness. He pursues God. He leads me - and leads me well. He spoils me, and I don't take him for granted.

Ryan, thank you for being my pandemic year partner. Thanks for eight astonishingly amazing years. Thank you for making the hard days better by the end of them. Thank you for bringing my coffee to me every morning and understanding when I need a scrapbooking break. Thank you for leading us so well. Thank you for working hard. Thank you for being YOU. I love you so much. Happy anniversary!

Thanksgiving in Shafferland

Happy DECEMBER FIRST, everyone! Eight years ago today we were rolling into Florida, then not rolling anywhere for three hours during the longest traffic jam my engaged heart had ever seen, and then finally rolling into our resort for our wedding! We were married just over 24 hours after we arrived. (That still boggles my mind when I look back on it.)

Today we are not driving anywhere, though we are enjoying our anniversary celebration and can't wait to tell you all about it. MEANWHILE...may I tell you about our Thanksgiving? I know. It was so last week. ;) So last month. But it was monumental, so I wanted to share!

Someone has to be on duty at WillowBridge at all times, so we sat down and worked out holiday breaks with Tim and Justine. It worked out that this year they would be off for Thanksgiving, so that meant we were on duty throughout that whole week, including Thanksgiving Day! We didn't invite anyone to join us, because we feared as soon as we made plans, something would come up work related, and we would have to abandon our company. So it was just us for Thanksgiving Day, and it was actually a really sweet and meaningful day to us. 

I shared with you a couple of weeks ago the menu I had planned - with all the recipes coming from Dashing Dish. We made them all and liked them! 

The night before Thanksgiving, I made the pumpkin scones, which, by the way, were really soft and delicious. I also made our no bake pumpkin cheesecake with an almond/oat flour crust, and I really enjoyed that, too!

I got up super early on Thanksgiving morning to put the ham and marinade in the slow cooker, and then I went back to bed. Ha! We got up a little later and spent the entire morning rotating between daily work chores and cooking our dishes!

Everything was done right on schedule! (Two of the dishes we baked had to be done at one temperature and two at another, so we used our oven and the community room oven simultaneously and it worked perfectly!

We didn't want the food to get cold, so we didn't mess with a tripod picture that day.

Braeya wanted to make her presence known. ALWAYS when she smells ham, does she make her presence known.

She thinks she's so sneaky.

After lunch, Ryan got to watch some football for a while, and then we went to get our live Christmas tree, which I will tell you about on another day.

Last year we ran from gathering to gathering - four in total, actually. This year was much more restful, even though we did all the work ourselves, and even though we were working. (We did more work throughout the evening and into the night to make up for our holiday meal time.) 

I know a Thanksgiving like this would probably make some sad, and that is okay, but we found it really sweet in its own way! And I was so excited to say we had cooked an entire Thanksgiving meal on our own!

What I Learned in November

And just like that, we've come to the LAST MONTH of 2020. Crazy! Last night, Ryan and I watched our 1-second-per-day video for all of 2020, and it was insane to see how dramatically everything about the year changed: for us and for the world at large. Crazy!! But for today we'll just talk about November. I learned a few things this month! 

1. You can purchase nut crusts for pies. 

I was looking for a premade pie shell in the baking aisle this month...you know, the graham cracker kind? That was when I discovered you can also purchase nut crusts! I had no clue. Did you? 

2. Looking at old scrapbooks is a good use of time.

We didn't do it every single night this month, but many of the evenings, we pulled out one of our old travel scrapbooks to relive the fun we've had on adventures. We have missed getting to travel this year, and it was extra fun to relive our memories. I spend a lot of time working hard on those books and always like going back to look through them!

3. Always overexpect the number of spare Christmas lights you'll need.

They don't make 'em like they used to. Strands that I know were brand new last year were dead entirely this year. And I hadn't bought enough spares at the end of the season. I had one tree delayed by a day because I had to go buy more lights!

4. It's Christmas when the Hershey Kiss handbell commercial plays. 

I love the new twist they've put on it this year. I love it that it starts with the original and then includes the newer part. It makes me happy. And hungry. :) 

5. Ryan likes pistachios.

I had absolutely no idea. He bought a bag of them at the store one night and said he normally doesn't buy them because they're pretty expensive. I actually don't like them, so he doesn't have to share with me! (Fortunately, Braeya leaves them alone too, though she does enjoy looking at them.)

6. There are 100 calorie Snicker bars.

We saw these in line at the store one night. They're like a long, skinny fun-size Snickers. Have you seen these? (Also shout out to the days of yore when I ate a FULL SIZE SNICKERS and drank a cremosa every single morning for my breakfast. That might explain some pounds.)

7. Ryan painted 196 coats of paint on doors for Abby.

It was a lot of paint. He was glad he waited until the very end to do the math. He's also glad that project is DONE.

And also...I met my goals for November! Here's an update!

1. Make significant headway on painting the cabinets in Abby the RV.

DONE!!! How's that for significant headway! In less than a month, we worked together to prime and paint all the cabinet frames AND walls in the RV, and then Ryan did all the cabinets in his spare time. She looks so cute these days - even though she still has a ways to go before she's finished. Can't wait to show you an update soon! Meanwhile, here's a peek at the cabinets installed.

2. Write Christmas letter and design Christmas cards.

Done and done! The letter is all done and printed so we can stuff and mail the cards. The cards are designed, ordered, and here! Ryan created and printed all the labels, and I'll probably work on it all while we are on our anniversary getaway. 

3. Plan anniversary getaway.

Speaking of...we got it done! I planned it all out and put the finishing touches on it just a couple of days ago. We may have to roll with a few punches as we go, if places aren't open like their websites say they are, but for the most part, we're all set. And you guyssssssss!!! The Airbnb we found is so cute I just cannot even stand it!

4. Decorate for Christmas.

Done!! Oh how we are loving it every day! Lights everywhere, trees everywhere...joy everywhere!

5. Complete 21 Day Prayer Challenge

Done! I enjoyed reading the emails that came to my inbox each day and praying creatively! It was a good thing for my November. 

The Shafferland Shuffle

 

Good morning and a happy first Sunday of Advent to all of you!! This week is ANNIVERSARY WEEK for us! Can you believe it? Eight years - and I'm so excited to celebrate it. This past week officially began busy season here in Shafferland...Thanksgiving, Christmas, anniversary...it all piles up together here at the end of the year!

* Last Sunday we received our first actual snow (not just flurry snow) here in Grabill. It wasn't nearly as much as predicted, but it was pretty! Ryan and I were still on our four day break that day, and we thoroughly enjoyed our day of rest. We also decorated our Shafferland tree that night - with almost ninety ornaments that tell the story of our eight years! It looked so pretty and cozy when we were done!

* Monday we had a visitor! PHEEBS!! (And her people.) We all finally had a day off together, so they came to see us, and I was so happy to see my girl again. That was twice in one week after three months of not seeing her! That evening was our switchover back to being on duty, and Ryan was so sweet: one of our tenants was working on a craft project for a birthday gift and she got a bit overwhelmed by it. Ryan sat at the table with her and helped her finish the whole thing. (SWOON!)

* Tuesday we were back on duty, and on his breaks, Ryan painted the LAST of the doors for Miss Abby. Listen to this: it took him 196 coats of paint to cover all the doors. (4 coats of paint front and back for each door, plus the drawer fronts.) He was so glad to be done with that project! I did a far less important project that day: laying out a capsule wardrobe idea for December. :) 

* Wednesday morning we did inventory in an empty apartment so it will be all ready for a tenant! It's been a looming project for us for a while and we finally got to it! Ryan hung the LAST of the cabinet doors in Abby and she just looks cute as a little button. We still have some projects to finish, but that was a big one. That evening we watched our tenant's little boy for a while...he loved all the Christmas lights in here. 

* Thursday was Thanksgiving, and it was a work day for us. First time I've ever worked a major holiday, and it wasn't too bad. Ryan and I cooked our whole meal together and it was delicious! We had checked out a Christmas tree farm down the road and learned that this year you had to make an appointment to go, so we grabbed one for that afternoon and had the best time picking out our tree! Came home, decorated it, and called it done for the year on decor! And that evening we watched a cute little Christmas movie with one of our tenants - and we squeezed in one more apartment inventory late that night!

* We did a little hall-decking around WillowBridge on Friday. Ryan worked on outside decorations since the weather wasn't too bad, and I worked on sprucing up the entry. (Official decorating for the Community Room is next weekend.) I wanted to go check out a few little sales in the cute downtown shops Friday afternoon, so we did that - and Ryan discovered after we had done a whole store that he had his mask on UPSIDE DOWN. Oh good grief. We got a good laugh out of that. We had a little coffee shop date while we were out, too! It was a fun evening - and a consolation prize from the community tree lighting getting cancelled this year. 

* And then yesterday was a catch-up day around here. We did some chores around the building and then had some visitors! Ryan's dad and step-mom came to see us, and we enjoyed showing them where we live and work! After they left, we went to get the groceries for the WillowBridge Thanksgiving dinner, and then it was home for a relaxing evening at home - with a Hallmark movie!