The Rodeo

Today is the last day of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. This season in Houston is one of my favorites! I enjoy any Americana type event like a fair, a rodeo, a carnival, a zoo, an amusement park, a craft show, flea market, food festival... The Houston Rodeo is a little bit of all of that. It's good ol' fashion family fun complete with petting zoos, baby animal births, impulse-shopping, mutton-busting and fried any-kind-of-food.

Last week we took our little one, all his grandparents and my brother's family to the Rodeo. It was one of the most fun and memorable family days of my life. A perfect day really with my favorite people in the world. Here are a few highlights.

 

 

 

 

 

It's about the Mix, not the Match

 

I am really into mixing prints right now! In my outfits, in Wrenly's outfits, in our home.... I can't put my finger on what it is that makes me love this so much I just do.

Mixing prints is one of those things that you think breaks the rules when in actuality it has a few rules of its own. If you're thinking about trying out this trend, here are a few things to keep in mind.

1. It's good to mix one large scale geometric with one small scale geometric and one floral.

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2. Keep one color consistent from print to print.

For example: magenta/grey; magenta/white; chartreuse/white; chartreuse/grey/white....

 

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3. There are a few neutrals that work with almost anything.

For example:

stripes in navy & white or black and white (and always leopard)

 

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4. And, keep it in the same color values.

Use deep saturated tones with other deep saturated tones; pastels with pastels; etc.

 

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Here and Here are a couple expert opinions for mixing patterns in your home. Enjoy!

Finding your personal decor style (for now anyway)

What is your décor style? Have you ever been asked or asked yourself that?

Sure, there are the simple answers: "eclectic", "modern", "contemporary", "traditional", "farmhouse"...

Then, there are the more complicated answers: "modern rustic", "shabby chic", "farmhouse industrial", "new vintage", "earthy modern", "global fusion", "edgy Classic" and "I'm-overwhelmed"....

Ok, so I made up that last one, but it could be true. What do those names even mean? Who really cares? It's good to know what you like and, if you can, it might be nice to put a name on it, but don't feel like you need to be boxed in. There are no real "rules" and if there were, there are no real punishments for breaking them every now and then. And, your style is going to change as time goes on, so re-evaluate every so often.

Here are a few things I do or have done to help me identify my décor style and put it into action in my home.

1. Buy what you love.

If something stops you in your tracks and takes your breath away, you should probably get it. Does it cost a million bucks? Oh, ok, then don't get it but take a picture. Then, look for a more cost-effective option.

I believe that if you buy things you LOVE in colors you LOVE (and neutrals) then it will magically start coming together. It's just one of those things...

2. Start an inspiration board.

Whether it's through pinterest, or just good ol' fashioned magazine clippings, start collecting ideas you of décor and spaces that speak to you.

I like to pin a lot of pictures on pinterest where I love the whole room. That way, I can start to recognize patterns. You may notice a theme of color, or texture, or furniture style...the list goes on.

Here are a couple pictures I've pinned. See if you notice a pattern.

Take photos like this with you shopping. Or, photos of the room in your house that you are currently working on.
When you see something that you are considering purchasing but are one of those "But, where would I put it?" kind of people, then, check your photos. Brainstorm ways to try it out.

3. Just try it!

Go for it! Do it! Take a leap.

The Nester, a blogger that I love and draw inspiration from, once said "Your home is the safest place in the world for you, why wouldn't you take risks there?" (Or something along those lines).

Don't be afraid of failure. There are worse things in life than patching a bunch of nail holes because you didn't get "the perfect place" just right. And, the people you share your home with love you more than anyone else - and a wrong paint color isn't going to change that. It's an easy fix.

We shouldn't save all our good ideas for our "next house." And, I'd rather be in-progress in every room in my house than to never start anything for fear of 'messing it up.'


4. When all else fails, get some help.

Chances are you know someone who is good at stuff like this. And, chances are, if they're good at it - they love to do it. So, ask a friend to help you get your house updated, decorated or your style figured out.

If you have no friends good at it... well, hire a professional. There, I said it. :) If you can't hire a professional, call me. I'll come over for you, my friend.

Loving The House You're In

About six or eight months ago I got that "I need a new house" itch.

This Summer we will have been in our house five years, or is it six? Anyways, it's a sweet house, not our forever house, but a good one, with good neighbors... and we've begun to make it our own.

But still, with our human, materialistic nature, and the fact that I live in Texas where 'everything is bigger,' I got the ol' "I need a new house" itch.

And then, I read this article by Ashley over at The Handmade Home. (She is amazing. If you haven't read her blog, you must. She is super creative and inspiring.)

You see, I don't want to be materialistic. I don't want more house than I can afford. And, I love that I have chosen to be home with my little 15 month old while he's still little. And because of all that, I decided to love my house more.  Chuck and I have been (and will continue) doing a few simple and inexpensive updates around the house so we can love it more. We want to be good stewards of the house that God has given us so that one day, when the timing is right, He will trust us with more.

I love this quote:

If you have fallen out of love with the house you are in, or if you have that "itch," considering reading the following posts. They have totally changed my perspective and priorities.

10 Simple Ways to Love Your Home

Lessons I Learned by Staying Put

                                                                               our home

Three Things: a link-up with a friend

My good friend Lindsay over at Strickland & Co. features great finds every Tuesday in her Three Things posts. She asked me to make a guest appearance and I couldn't pass it up. Here are my "Three Things: Valentine's Edition!"

 

 

1. For him: a lapel flower for my guy who loves to dress-up.

 

2. For the home: a sweet downloadable print with a little Texas pride.


3. For the little one:  a mouse in a matchbox. Wrenly already has this sweet guy but I definitely recommend him or one of his cute relatives.

 

Generosity Wins

This weekend marks one year since we saw a HUGE miracle in our lives. We won a Brand New Car!

Now, let me tell you the whole story....

When Chuck and I got married one of the things we decided as a couple, was that we would be generous. We have been on the receiving end of other's generosity and we have watched on the sidelines as others in our life have been the ultimate example and given BIG to people around them. Plus, God GAVE his only son for us. What more of a reason do we need?

On top of all that, the Bible says in Proverbs 11:24-25 "he who gives freely, receives even more!"

Knowing and believing this, we want to be givers. In the past three and a half years, Chuck and I gave away two of our cars. First, my car that I had when we got married to a wonderful family of five we knew that needed it more than us; and then Chuck's car he had when we got married, to another sweet family of five who needed it more than us. We had seen this family walk to church...in July...in Houston. It was a no-brainer. We gave.

And, we still had one vehicle left.

Then, we decided to start a family of our own and knew SOON we would need a second car...a family-mobile.

Our son Wrenly was born in the beginning of October, just as our church began a series called "The Circle Maker" based on the book by Mark Batterson. In this series, we were challenge to dream big and pray specific prayers, "circling" them with consistent prayer and faith. We decided to write down these things we were praying for. And on this list we wrote:  A brand new car w/ no payments.

We began to pray and believe but still needed a car asap. So a couple weeks went by and we found a used SUV for a great deal and decided to purchase it. We went to a new branch of a Credit Union near us and opened the account. Inside the lobby was a giant poster of a red Chevrolet Camaro and promotion for a giveaway to celebrate their 75 year anniversary. Interesting...

A couple weeks later (toward the end of November), Chuck received a call from the Credit Union. "Mr. Martin, we wanted to let you know that in honor of our 75th Anniversary, we are drawing a monthly winner every month this year and you are our November winner! You have won $1,075 and are one of twelve monthly winners to be entered into a drawing to win a brand new 2012 Camaro!"

When Chuck got off the phone, he was excited but looked and me and said " I feel like we are going to win but I'm sure everyone thinks they are going to win." I replied, "Maybe, but not everyone wrote it down in their prayer journal and has been praying for it!"

That very day Chuck facebook'd and tweeted a picture of a 2012 Camaro and posted "By the Grace of God, this is coming our way January 26th, 2013." Then, in the coming days he called the Insurance Company and got a quote for our rate adding the Camaro. You see, these are acts of faith. We began to ask in faith, believing! ( Matt 21:22; John 14:13)

Needless to say, January 26th rolled around and we went to the Camaro Giveaway Event. About 150 people or so gathered in anticipation. That morning Chuck had asked me what I was going to say when we won and I wasn't sure so I turned the question on him. He replied with emotion, "I'll say that it may look like chance won, or that this random guy won, but really God wins. Generosity wins. He who refreshes others will himself be refreshed." and then he said he'd continue with the story of us giving our cars away and trusting God that he would provide.

After "randomly"  selecting a car key from a basket and then waiting while the winners from months January through October tried their keys in the ignition, it was finally Chuck's turn. He decided he wouldn't just barely sit in the car and lean in, he was getting in and shutting the door! And he did, and the ignition started! The crowd went crazy. We, along with others, balled our eyes out. To this day, I tell people it was like watching water be turned to wine - a modern day miracle!

As we reflect on this anniversary date of winning the car, we are grateful and still in awe at the faithfulness of our God. Whatever you need, our God can supply it. He still answers prayers.

Here's a video of the actual win!

Vision Wall

A while back my Chuck and I sat in a seminar session by Dr. Dave Martin. Amongst a lot of other great nuggets of inspiring advice on living your best life, Dr. Dave began to talk about Vision. He said he and his wife had some big dreams in the back of their minds; things they wanted to see if their future, desires in their hearts - some crazy and others quite obtainable. In order to see those dreams come to pass, they decide to post them in their home. They hung actual pictures of things they were dreaming for or envisioning for their future. He mentioned that they put them out in a high-traffic place, where they would see them and be reminded of them daily.

Chuck and I were inspired by this because we too want to see those big dreams, wishes, hopes, prayers, actually happen in our lives.  So, we started on a little project: A Vision Wall.

You see we have this blank stretch of wall between our master bathroom door and our bedroom door. It's just at the foot of our bed and well, we see it all the time. This, we thought would be the perfect place.

We first ran to good ol' Homegoods and grabbed some frames that go with our style in various sizes to do sort of a "gallery wall." As we prepared to hang them, however, we got to thinking that it needed a little more "texture." So, in our garage, we gathered a few scraps of wood and began laying them out in a way that we thought would look good on the wall.

     

Then, we started hanging them - making sure to anchor the larger boards into a stud.
                                      

                                  
   

 

Then, we began arranging the frames on the floor, the way we wanted them to go up on the wall.





And, then, we hung the frames! Now, we just need to print our dreams and post them up there!

 

Habakkuk 2:2 says "Write the vision and make it plain..."