Day 15: Our Photo Wall

Today I'm thankful for our photo wall.  Our living room is pretty small and there isn't a whole lot of wall space for decorating. The one wall that was open had a gaping hole in it from where a tv used to be mounted. We didn't want to put a tv up, so we bought a giant clock instead. :)

Somewhere along the way (can't remember if it was before or after the clock) I came up with his vision for a gallery photo wall. Since Doad is in the business of making dreams come true he got right to work helping me print photos, find frames, design the layout, and hang the pictures. Basically, I came up with the idea and he did all the work. Great teamwork, right? ;) 

It came out just like I imagined and this wall makes me so happy to look at. It's mostly our wedding photos right now, but it's a great reminder for me when I'm stressed sometimes to stop and be thankful for the love we share and the life we have. 

Day 14: Sewing Room

Today I'm thankful for my sewing room. We turned one of the extra bedrooms into a craft room and Doad has labored in love for me to turn it into a really beautiful space. It's still a work in progress but I love it and I love creating in this room.  I'm so excited to show you some pictures!  But first, you guys, I have to apologize.  I'm a super terrible photo taker and these pics are like the worst.  I tried to retake some but it's just not working so forgive me if none of these are pinterest-worthy.   ...and if anyone wants to give me some photo-taking tips, I'm all ears! ;)

Before we even moved into this house I dreamt of having a wardrobe turned sewing table for my craft room. My husband is amazing at making dreams come true and he found this beautiful wardrobe on craigslist and turned it into this beautiful piece without so much as a pattern!

This is the before picture.  It was a pretty nice wardrobe to begin with, but Doad just made it so "me" and I love how personalized it is now. 

Here's a pic of the table that he built to go inside.  It folds up and you can close the doors when it's not in use.  He's such a genius. :)

 Then he made it even more beautiful and painted it!!!!  <3

He even built me the cutest little ironing board so I can just swivel in my chair while I'm sewing to press my seams.  Love it!

Eeek! And look at those handmade shelves! See what I mean about labor of love?

This thread rack makes me smile. I love all the bright colors! :)

Ok, so moving onto the rest of the room.  My husband surprised me with this canvas one day. So sweet! I'm thinking a cute fabric bunting would look great on this wall. Not sure what else it needs. Any ideas? I also need to declutter that desk... And maybe get rid of the ladder ;)  #reallife #itsmessy

These fun decorations sit on top of my piano (opposite wall from the photo right above).  I have been contemplating painting the piano since we moved in, but just haven't pulled the trigger yet.  I really love the idea of a colored piano, but I'm afraid it will overpower the room.  Ah, decisions!

I have so many favorites in this room, but these lights are definitely one of them.  Every craft room should have fancy lighting in my opinion.  They are still being hooked up, but already make me feel so classy and glam.  ;)

So there's my craft room!  Again, I apologize for the picture quality and for the selective shots of the whole room.  We are still under construction in here, but hopefully I can do a big reveal post when it's actually "finished".  I hope you were still able to get a glimpse of why I love this room so much though.  Not only is it fabulously adorable, but almost all of it was done by my sweet husband.  He made and painted that sewing table.  He built and installed those shelves.  He bought and hung several of those pictures.  And he installed and wired those lights.  I walk into this room and not only do I feel peace and beauty an inspiration, but I feel love and sacrifice and care.  <3

Day 13: Our Home

Today I'm thankful for my home.  Doad and I looked for a house for about 4 or 5 months before we found this place.  (Read the story here.) It was definitely a God thing that we found it and I'm so thankful that He brought us here.  

Our sweet, little home has three bedrooms, three bathrooms (the master has a heated floor, yes please!), a finished basement, a beautiful kitchen that's about three times the size of our last one, and two driveways - because we're just too fancy for one.

The second driveway is a gravel one that you can't see on the left side of the house.

We have a detached garage with space for two cars, a man cave, and a carport behind it.  Again, so fancy.  ;)

See the Hydrangea bush?  That's my favorite part! :)

Behind the garage is a double shed.  There's hardly anything in it right now and our friends and family keep trying to convince us to get chickens and turn it into a coop.  Doad is a solid "no" on that topic.  I'm ok with that because I have my sight set on goats someday - I figure I'll need all the bargaining power I can get for that one... ;)

If we sacrificed in one area to get this house, it would probably be the yard.  We were hoping for a nice yard that we could fence in for kids and a dog to play in and unfortunately, most of it is taken up by the garage and shed buildings.  There is a mulched in area that will fit a large play-set someday though, and a nice garden area behind the shed.

We have really enjoyed the fruit (har-har!) of our gardening efforts and I'm excited to continue learning more about how to grow our own food and become more self-sustaining in that area.

As I'm writing, I realized I never really gave a house tour on the blog after I moved in.  I'm going to spend the next few days showing you my most favorite parts of our home that I am thankful for.  It won't be a full blow tour, but you will get to see the places I spend the most time and the places that really make our house a home to me.  I hope you'll come back tomorrow and see! :)


PS. Don't forget the Wellness Family Summit starts today!  Tune in to listen to these awesome interviews.  Here's what's airing today and a sneak peak for tomorrow.  ;) 

Day 12: Our Town

Today I'm thankful for our town.  I love where we live and the tight community feel that we have.  We live very close to the historic part of Sykesville, and it seems like there is almost always something fun going on down there.

I've blogged about the Art and Wine festival that they have every year.  They have outdoor movies in the park during the summer, farmers markets every Sunday, and monthly concerts in the park and local pub.  They also have an annual Beer and Chili Cook Off in September and a Fall Festival which we attended yesterday.

There were lots of local vendors and shops to visit.

And karate demonstrations from the local classes.

And The Bird from the Orioles even came to visit! :)

Sykesville is such a fun place to live and I'm so glad we discovered it while house-hunting.  :)  I love our house, and our neighbors, and the local community around us.  We are blessed to live here and hope that God uses us to be a blessing to those who live here too.

Day 11: Farmers Markets

Since I've been talking about eating the past couple of days, I thought today I'd take some time to be thankful for one of my favorite places to get our food, the farmers market.

We are lucky enough to live in walking distance to our local farmers market - something I'm very thankful for.  We stop by almost every Sunday on our way home from church to pick up our produce for the week. So convenient and so yummy! :)

I love all the bright, beautiful colors!  And there's something about the rich, earthy smell of the veggies and the warm, sweet smell of the fruit that makes everything seem extra delicious at the market.

Like I mentioned yesterday, I love knowing where my food is coming from and I love that I get to be able to support our community and local farms.  I encourage everyone to visit their local farmers market, you won't regret it! :)