Minnesota, here we come!

Howdy friend!

Kev and I are on our way here today...



And by "here", I mean here...



Okay, we're not actually going to that particular farm , but we will be staying at my aunt & uncles farm that is equally as charming!
(I just don't have a photo of it....yet!)



I spent the first 19 years of my life in Minnesota.

The first 8 were spent in a city called Mankato, and the next 11 were spent out in the country, just north of a teeny tiny town called Nicollet...



My Mom had plenty of room to grow lots and lots of pretty flowers on our seven acre hobby farm...



And my Dad had lots and lots of yard to mow, but our four "pet" horses (Jodi, Queenie, Truckie and Starbuck) did help take care of a big chunk of it...


(Queenie & Truckie)

My brother, Justin, and I spent many Summer's playing in that big barn, and we took care of many, many litters of these little guys...



Most of which we named, and then gave away to various kitten-wantin' folks that came out to our place to pick strawberries.
(My Mom had a 1/2 acre patch, and every Summer people would come and pick bucket fulls of them.)

But I didn't give all my kitties away.

I kept "Speck" so that I could take some of my graduation pictures with him...


(Me, sportin' a bulletproof "do" in 1992)

Oh yeah.

It was all about the Aquanet back then.



Anywho...I haven't been back to see my family in several years (-$), and Kevin's never seen where I grew up- so I am really looking forward to spending a few days doing both of those things while we're there.



On Thursday and Friday, we'll be hangin' out with some folks at Junk Bonanza and we're pretty darn excited about the opportunity to work with them.

We're hoping to bump into lots of fellow bloggers along the way...and lots of great junk too!





PS-

Have you seen this?



SO inspiring!

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News and a Thank You

We got some exciting career-related news yesterday, so we'd like to take a moment to thank a friend of ours for helping us figure out that it was even possible/something we wanted to do.



Back in 2008, Kevin and I decided to leave the security (and stress) of our day jobs so that we could chase our dreams.

To make matters (and our parents) even more crazy, we didn't even really know exactly what our "dreams" were.

I mean, we knew they had something to do with music and design, but we didn't know exactly what they were.

All we were absolutely sure of, was that we both had that "I'm gonna go crazy if I don't do something about these feelings NOW" feelings.

So, together, we went out on a limb.



But unfortunately, as with a lot of crazy, impulsive decisions, the limb we went out on proceeded to break clean off behind us.

Whoopsie daisy.



Fast forward to today- Friday, August 13th, 2010.

Kev and I still aren't quite sure where we fit in to the world of music & design, but as of yesterday, we're gonna give shooting and styling for a real-life, glossy-paged magazine a try!

We were hired by Cottages & Bungalows magazine to style and shoot a cute little bungalow located in here in the South, and lemme tell ya...
It.
Is.
ADORABLE.
(I'd give you a sneak peek, but I'm sure that's against the rules and mama needs to start savin' up for a new air conditioning unit with that paycheck!)



(I don't know what was more exciting- telling our parents that we got the gig, or finally being able to answer "Yes!" when they asked if we were getting paid. LOL. Oh lord. I can't wait to see the comments our Mom's leave on this post!)


Anyway, we're crazy excited/nervous about the whole thing, and I think this might actually qualify as one those dreams we started out unconsciously chasing.

It sure feels like it anyway!

But I can honestly say that I'm not sure we would've even known how much we like "shooting and styling interiors" if it weren't for an incredibly encouraging & inspiring friend of ours.

She's a real daymaker this one.

She's a talented, warm-spirited gal, and has a familiar and comforting soul.
She's sunny, yet down-to-earth.
She's confident and reassuring, and it's become insanely clear to us that she's come into our lives for a multitude of very important reasons.

She allows us to be wacky, wild, Kool-aid style.
She paints us bubbly when we're feeling blue.
She makes us feel like we're on the right track.
And she gives us the courage to never look back.

The friend I'm referring to, of course, is you.



So thank you, friend, for accepting us for who we are while we try to figure out just who exactly that is!

Warmly,



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Cleaning out the Closets

And after we're done with the right side, we've got some work to do on the left side too...



Ugh.





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I Believe She's Amazing

I love it when people surprise each other.

I love it when people dance.

I love it when people clap.

I love it when people smile.

I love it when people love each other...






Join the journey.
Recognize someone who makes you wanna dance, clap and smile- and that makes you feel loved, at I Believe She's Amazing.

My Birthday, Band Boys & the Beach House!

Today I'm celebrating my 36th birthday with my 35 year old husband.



And by "celebrating", I mean looking at, and laughing with him all day!



And doing his laundry for him while he tells me about his trip.



Ya see, I haven't seen my Mr. for an entire month.

And man has it been one verrrrry loooooong, verrrrrry lonely month.



He's been recording a rock n' roll record some 700 miles away (in Michigan) from our Lettered Cottage (in Alabama) since the beginning of May.



I'm so glad he's finally home today....even if he brought a hundred dirty socks home with him.



Here's a sneak peek at some behind-the-scenes footage the guys shot while they were recording...



From what I understand, the label hopes to release the record in September, so we're excited to see what happens with it!



Tomorrow, we'll be gearing up for our trip to Tybee Island, Georgia.

We leave bright and early Monday morning- so look for a blog post Monday night or Tuesday morning with the first ever "before" shots of the beach cottage we're re-decorating!

Ooh!
That reminds me!
The Mess Hall actually houses two vacation rentals under one big roof.

"Mess Hall A" has already been fully decorated (by the lovely and talented Jane Coslick), and is currently available for rent through Mermaid Cottages.

"Mess Hall B" (the side we're gonna decorate) will also be available for rent, as soon as we're finished doing our thang.

But instead of just calling "our side" Mess Hall B, Diane (the woman who owns the place) asked if we'd hold a "Name the Cottage" contest here on our blog!
(Just to make sure there's no confusion between which side is which.)

We'll post more details about the contest later next week, but in the meantime, be thinking about some killer beach cottage names.
The winner will receive a great prize package courtesy of Mermaid Cottages!



Now if you'll excuse me-
I've got an incredibly handsome, incredibly tired-from-driving-all-night-so-that-he-wouldn't-miss-my-birthday-this-year, husband to go look at and laugh with.



Best birthday present ever!



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Working Out, Kitchen Switches and a New Hue for Hyacinth

Alright- show of hands,

Who loves Springtime?!


(My Knock-Out roses, preparing to explode.)

There's really nothing like it, is there?

Especially days like today when the sun is shining and the birds are singing their little hearts out.

I. LOVE IT!


(One of my favorite houses in town, completely surrounded by Spring!)

All this wonderful weather has got me wanting to bust out my favorite shorts.

Which is exactly what would happen if I tried to squeeze into them right now.

Yeah...I seemed to have packed on another ten pounds this past Winter, and right now my Spring/Summer clothes are fitting just a liiiiiittle too closely for comfort.

And because this ol' girl will always put her house before her self- buying a whole new wardrobe to accommodate my "extra curves" is out of the question.

I've got pillows to purchase people!



But-
I did break down and buy some running shoes from TJ Maxx yesterday...



Oh yeah, I got a pineapple too.

But not at TJ Maxx.
Although I did see lots of things with pineapples ON them at TJ Maxx.

The plan is to start eating better (hence, the pineapple), and to start jogging, to see if I can shed the extra weight before we head to Tybee in June.

That's do-able, right?

And although he doesn't need to lose any weight, Kevin got some new shoes to run in too. He wants to be super fit by the time he leaves to go on tour later this year.

We both took our shoes out for a spin for the first time yesterday morning.

He made it around the pond at the park three times.



I made it from here to here...



By the time I reached that second "X" I was dying.

My legs were so heavy.
It felt like I was running in the water, instead of around it.

And my lungs felt like they were being attacked by a hundred angry hornets.

Angry, fire-breathing hornets.

Angry, fire-breathing hornets with cacti strapped to their feet.

It was brutal.

But I'm not going to give up!

I'm gonna keep at it!

Because no matter how crazy it feels right now, I gotta believe that one day I'll be able to race around that thing like Kevin does.

And that running doesn't always equate to stinging lungs, lead legs and the occasional wave of nausea.



Meanwhile, Kevin will undoubtedly be running circles around me with his big, healthy lungs and springy little sneakers.


(Kevin, on lap #3)

Grrrr.



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On the home front, I've started to think about my Summer mantel already.
(I know. I'm insane.)

The Spring one was a bunch of fun to put together...



...but it's been up for like t h i r t y o n e days already.

That's like ninety one in Decorator days.

So far, I'm visualizing lots of coastal touches...driftwood, seashells, glass floats, sailboats, lanterns, that kind of stuff...but who knows what I'll be inspired by at the flea market this time!

(To see what happened last time around, click HERE. And to see how the story ended, click HERE.)

But before I get too carried away with the anymore mantel mania- there's still that empty wall above the cabinetry we repurposed in the kitchen...



I've always thought it would be kinda cool to move the upper cabinets from the left side of room, over to the right side...



...and then to install windows all the way across the back wall of the kitchen instead...

(Move your mouse back and forth over the photo to see what I mean.)



Not necessarily those exact windows, but some kind of windows would be pretty nifty, wouldn't they?
And boy would that really kick up the natural light factor!
(Always a plus in my book.)
There's about two acres of woods directly behind our house, and I'd love to be able to see more of them while I do the dishes.

Yeah, we're still hand washing over here.
And the plastic spoon that's to blame is still living inside our dishwasher...



Grrr.

Ooh!
Speaking of kitchens-
If you get a chance, swing by the Pioneer Woman's blog to weigh in on what color chalkboard paint Hyacinth should use on the wall that connects her living room to her kitchen...



The Design Team and I have been getting to know Hyacinth over the past couple of months, and I think she's finally ready to get crackin' on the redesign, but she's leaving the final color decision up to you!

And to learn more about my "Design Team Hyacinth" partners, click on their banners below...





...they're two tremendously talented ladies, and it's been such a pleasure collaborating with them.

'Til next time-

Happy Thursday!



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