Friday Fun: House Project Updates!

 

Ryan and I found this little cottage on the lake in the fall of 2022, and as you may remember, we spent about five months cosmetically overhauling almost every piece of the interior before moving in for keeps in the early months of 2023. We’ve done quite a bit to the exterior since then, but we haven’t had to do much inside since that original overhaul.

                But as with any house, home is always growing and changing. We are forever looking for ways to make this space work better for us (especially since it’s so small and every square foot counts!) and to make it reflect our story.

                Last week we finally had a chance to make a few tweaks to the house, and today I want to show you what we did!

                One room I’ve not spent much time decorating is our main bathroom. Aside from seasonally swapping a piece of art on one of the walls, I haven’t changed anything in this bathroom since we moved in. But last week we added a piece of art, and we love it.

                When we went to Charleston in May, we visited the City Market several times. There were several artist booths at the market, and one of the artists sold watercolor prints of landmarks in the city. We chose a small painting of Rainbow Row, and I thought it would look perfect in the bathroom. And about six weeks later…I finally have it framed and hanging in the bathroom! (Found the frame in my box-o-frames, so it was a freebie for this project.) Not only does it bring some fun color to a small room, it also reminds us of one of our favorite trips!

                Back in December, when we were in Indianapolis for our anniversary, we did a little tour of thrift stores, and I bought this canvas at one of them. It reminded me of our tandem bike rides in Siesta Key (on our honeymoon) and on Mackinac Island last fall. I never quite knew where to hang it in our house, because my original brainstorm in the store ended up not working as well in reality when we got home. But I suddenly decided it would be perfect here on the Hoosier Cabinet, and I love it. A perfect fit.

                I don’t know that I ever blogged about it, but a few months back, we got this used table and chairs to replace the table and chairs in our dining room. The set we have had for the last five or so years was one we picked out together at the store and loved so much, but we bought it for the Bluffton house, and when we landed here at the lake, it just felt too big for the space. It was tall, blocked a lot of light, and when we extended it to its full size, it was almost impossible for people to get in and out easily to refill their plates.

                This little round table has two leaves, so we can seat a bunch of people, but for daily use, it’s little and perfect in our dining room. But the chairs were green, and everything in our house is blue. So…Ryan recovered the chairs! I picked out the fabric at Walmart and he reached back to his mattress-making skill days and recovered all four chairs. OH, how I love the way they look!

                He had enough material leftover to recover this little footstool I got at the church garage sale. I’ve been looking for a footstool for my glider rocker, and this one is the perfect size. And now the color works!

                I also bought this beautiful garland from one of the teens at our church, and it is a great completer piece for our fireplace. She did a great job making it, and I’m so happy to have her work displayed in our home!

                I have a couple more little projects that remain undone, so I’ll fill you in on those later, after I complete them. But today my heart is so happy for what we were able to do last weekend!

Thankful Thursday: Our Holiday Weekend

 

We loved our holiday weekend. It was mostly spent at home, which we so needed. It kind of reminded me of our early marriage days, actually!

                Ryan made breakfast Friday morning, which is one of his favorite things to do when we have a day off at home. It’s one of my favorite things too, because he’s a really good cook!

                It has been so oppressively hot, so we decided to take a quick morning boat ride before the day got too sticky to enjoy.

                We worked on projects, which I’ll tell you more about in depth tomorrow. Ryan recovered our dining room chairs. (His skills from his mattress making days come in oh so handy.) I painted a little sign I’d purchased at the Goodwill.

                We finally had time to go to a new store in the area. It’s full of antique and vintage booths, and we had SO much fun looking around. (Had fun at the thrift store after that.)

                We took McDonald’s to my parents at Swiss Village and had dinner with them. They said it was the best meal ever!

                It finally cooled off enough to go for a walk, and Lexi was so excited about that.

                You know what I was so excited about? We still had a whole second day off!

                Ryan made breakfast again, and CHECK OUT his creativity!!!! I loved it so much.

                The day brought more walks, some scrapbooking (whilst watching the Gaither patriotic special), and a trip for groceries. We stopped for an ice cream treat on the way home, since it was a hot summer day.

                We squeezed in a golf cart ride, and we had grand plans to watch fireworks from the boat, but as you might remember, that was a fail. The show we thought was not the main show…actually was, and we missed the whole thing. I was SO sad.

                Sunday was a true day of rest (after church) and we tried to squeeze in one more boat ride before rain came. Alas, the rain (and wind!) came early, and we had quite an interesting time pulling in the boat.

                Wind landings and failed fireworks aside, it was the sweetest weekend, and I am profoundly thankful for it.

Wednesday in the Word: Wait and Keep

 

On the heels of what I wrote yesterday, I feel like a peek at the beginning of Psalm 37:34 is appropriate for today: Wait for the Lord and keep his way…

                We’ve talked about waiting before as we’ve studied through this Psalm, and unfortunately I don’t believe it has magically become any easier to do. Waiting just is hard.

                Waiting carries a need for resolution. We wait for answers and can’t settle our spirits until we know the outcome. We wait for events and feel unfulfilled until they come to pass. We wait for people and everything feels incomplete until they’re present.

                And it seems we’re always waiting for something, right? How many things are you waiting for right now?

                I’m waiting for orientation for my next class program. (Or am I waiting for orientation to be over so I can be back with Ryan?) I’m waiting for writing inspiration for a looming deadline. I’m waiting for all those big, beautiful plants in my garden to bear veggies.

                And those are just the easy, low-key waiting moments of my life. There are bigger, deeper things awaiting resolution. It’s the same for you, I’m sure.

                But in each of those things, I’m directed to wait for the Lord. He’s present in each of the things. So as I wait, how can I find Him IN each of them?

                I’m also directed to keep His way. Don’t rush ahead. Don’t manipulate. Don’t coerce. (Those things don’t work, anyway.) Just keep His way.

                Wait and keep. Wait and keep. So simple, but not so easy.

                I have this verse marked in my Bible as one I hung onto while I was waiting to find out if the Lord would open a door for me in church ministry. Wait and keep His way. Wait and keep His way. It was so hard. I wanted to know the outcome. I wanted to know the plan. But it wasn’t mine to know at that time. It was only mine to wait and keep.

                So I don’t know what you’re waiting on today, but whatever it is…wait and keep. Wait and keep.

Tuesday Tales: Redemption Remembered

 

On the afternoon of the 4^th of July, I had a little extra time (what does that even mean??) on my hands, so I scrolled through my Facebook memories. I ran across one from a few years ago when I recounted the anniversary of God’s goodness in my life in bringing me through that very day back in 2010. I shook my head as I read because on this year’s July 4^th, I’d not even thought about the significance of that day.

                Oh, the healing God brings.

                If you’ve been reading for the last sixteen years, you might remember that 2010 was so very hard for my heart. I was in a relationship that I thought would be forever, but it ended, and my ability to breathe easily, sleep, and eat ended with it. My faith was rocked and wrecked in ways I’d never experienced, and I wasn’t sure I would ever make it to the other side of the darkness that threatened to entirely engulf me.

                Whole days were far too difficult to survive, so I worked on getting through hours, sometimes minutes, at a time.

                I had prayed so specifically, earnestly, and faithfully for God’s healing and redemption in this relationship, and I sensed a nudge in my spirit to pray for it to come by the 4^th of July that year. When midnight came on the 4^th of July and not one thing had changed, I wasn’t sure what to do or how to proceed. I had so many faith questions. But I kept putting one foot in front of the other and getting through the next minute…the next hour. (It was a far more tedious story than this recap, as you might remember.)

                Within a few months, it became clear the relationship was fully over. He had moved on, but I had no idea how that would ever be possible for me. I began praying for healing for my shattered heart, and piece by piece, it began to come. I found my smile, laughter, sleep, and joy again.

                It wasn’t lost on me that exactly one year later, on the fourth of July, I was poised to begin a brand new job at WBCL – and with it, a whole new life. And just over two years later, God brought Ryan into my life.  

                The season of the year that had been so devastating began to bring pieces of redemption, a little at a time.

                And now it’s been sixteen years since that desert journey. Sixteen years. I haven’t forgotten the journey, but the date no longer presses into my soul the moment I wake up on the 4^th of July. It doesn’t rule my life anymore. God has worked a healing, and I celebrate that.

                Today I write these words because I want YOU to know that if you feel like you may never heal from a wound that marks your life, don’t underestimate God’s healing hand. I am and will be forever marked by that relationship and loss. I will never be the same girl I was before it. I learned so much that made me who I am today – who I need to be in marriage and ministry. Though it nearly destroyed me, it didn’t, and I am stronger because of it.

                So yes, it marked me. But it no longer defines me. It no longer rules over me. God has wildly redeemed and restored all that was broken and lost. It is part of my testimony, and today I wanted to share that God still heals, redeems, and restores. And I’m so so thankful.

Menu Monday: Nourishing Body and Soul

 

                Good morning and welcome to a new week! I confess that both of us are struggling a bit this morning…the long weekend was SO nice, and we don’t feel ready to return to normal programming! Anybody relate?? Maybe talking about food will help. Let’s do that.

Monday: Leftover Deconstructed Enchiladas

What we loved: This was a long day for both of us – with me at the conference and Ryan working over unexpectedly. Coming home to leftovers was a blessing indeed.

Tuesday: Brisket, Broccoli, and Tater Tots

What we loved: A few weeks ago, we bought a brisket at Aldi (preseasoned), and it was so good. It was also so easy. So on a recent Aldi trip, they had more on sale and we bought some to store in the freezer. Since I had to leave extra extra early this day, and Ryan was working all day, this was a perfect dinner. We just put it in the slow cooker with a little water, and it was so ready when we arrived home. (We were so ready for IT, too!) Ryan steamed some broccoli and did tater tots in the air fryer, and that was our meal!

Wednesday: Leftover Brisket, Cucumbers, and Homemade Bread

What we loved: Again, leftovers on a busy week – yay! This time we had our brisket with fresh sliced cucumbers and homemade bread. Delicious.

Thursday: Date Night at Amazing Joe’s

What we chose: One of Ryan’s coworkers told him about Amazing Joe’s, so we decided to try it. He went for the breaded tenderloin and steak fries, and I had the grilled tenderloin (sans bun) and sweet potato fries. We decided to only eat half our meal that night so we could have lunch the next day, which was a great decision. I will say that the grilled tenderloin wasn’t dry. Sometimes they can be, I think, at restaurants. We split the apple pie alamode, and I could have absolutely LICKED the plate.

Friday: Subway Sandwich

What we chose: We had dinner with my parents on Friday, so we got McDonald’s for them and Subway for us. The deal of the day was black forest ham, so we each got that – and of course, I got mine on flatbread.

Saturday: Sloppy Joes with Broccoli and Salad

What we loved: For lunch this day, I made sloppy joes and added steamed broccoli. We ate inside because it was a thousand degrees outside, but it still felt like a good cookout meal. And for dinner, I made salad with lettuce from our garden!

Sunday: Leftover Salad

A Plan B Meal – I had another meal all planned out for Sunday night – a burrito bowl meal, but alas, all the ground beef we bought at Aldi the day before…was bad! We opened all of it and it was all really really bad, even though it was a week and a half away from its date. We contacted the company because last week we had to throw away pork chops from there that weren’t any good. That was a LOT of money lost on meat in two weeks, so hopefully we can find a resolution. Meanwhile, we had to find something to eat, so we just had leftover salad.