Onward!

June 8, 2012

If you have followed my life on my blogs over the years then you probably know by now that I am a wanderer. We have been married for 7 years and have lived in 5 houses so far. I love change, and have always craved it until the last two years when we decided to settle down in Stillwater. I finally gave up the bug and decided that I wanted to stay in our house for forever. It was perfect and I was finally content.

When we moved to Oklahoma we had a dream of building a house on our 20 acres and living the simple farm life, but when I found out that we were expecting Solomon our priorities changed. We sold the land and we scaled back even more so that I wouldn't have to work as much while Josh was finishing up his degree at OSU.

The Monday after Josh graduated with his teaching degree he accepted a job as a History teacher and Assistant Football coach in Agra, Oklahoma. It was only 25 miles away and so I was thrilled to not have to move out of our darling renovated home. 

Well a few weeks went by and he was already starting to work on football stuff in Agra and it just seemed like I was already starting to not see him, and it was SUMMER! He was out of pocket so much that I felt a little disconnected from his new life in Agra and realized that a small town teacher is also in charge doing things like mowing the football field and spending extra days watching film at the school. Reality was slowly hitting me that he was never going to be home with us until the summer.

I was driving home from a wedding in Tulsa three weeks ago and I really felt like the Lord told me to be willing to move to Agra. I all of the sudden had peace about it and didn't resent moving from my perfect house and from all of the conveniences of a medium sized town with all of our friends and favorite church. I immediately called Josh and told him that I would be willing to move if he wanted to look into it. 

Well also if you have followed me for a while then you know how quickly we move on things. We talked about it for a few days and contacted a realtor.

Our house is now for sale!

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If we don't sell it before August then we will take it off the market and stay in Stillwater, but we are pretty sure that someone will snatch it up for their college daughter and her sorority friends rather quickly. We don't have a place to live in Agra, but are walking by faith knowing that if the Lord wants us to be 100% dedicated to the community of Agra that He will provide the perfect place for us.

Here we go again...

New and very different adventures ahead! In the mean time I am still going to be taking 1-2 weddings per month and booking sessions like normal! 

To view our listing (PLEASE BUY IT!) click here

Who knows? Maybe I will finally be able to own chickens? :)

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Ginger:

Excited for you Lauren! You are so adaptable, you'll make just as wonderful a home in Agra! And coming from a TINY town myself, I know that they are fun to grow up in! Funny you mentioned chickens...Allen wants chickens so bad!

 (06.08.12 @ 11:51 PM)
Ginny Corbett:

Yay for being in the same town as your honey! You're a great wife and mother! Proud of you, LC!

 (06.09.12 @ 09:03 AM)
Michal:

Wow! God is good and will bless your socks off in Agra. Excited for you and your hubby to get more time together and the investment you're making in the small town community. Promise we'll still picnic at the lake occasionally, okay?

 (06.09.12 @ 12:46 PM)
Nina:

Good luck on selling it, Lauren! Can't wait to see your guys next adventure! :)

 (06.12.12 @ 11:12 AM)
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Featured!

May 12, 2011

Our home remodel is featured in this month's Stillwater Living Magazine! If you live near here then you should pick one up and browse through it, it sure was fun being featured!

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aimee:

It looks great Lauren,congrats!!

 (05.12.11 @ 07:58 PM)
dara:

That is soo Awesome! It's so exciting to see all of yall's hard work pay off and so that other people can see how much you put into it!

 (05.23.11 @ 03:36 PM)
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Solomon's Room, phase 3!

April 25, 2011

The only thing I have left to do in the baby room is put up a curtain in front of the closet and birth my boy! I was so excited to be able to go to IKEA while I was in the Denton area last week and pick up the remaining things for his room: large sheepskin, 3 large frames and a curtain rod for the closet covering. Jenn Dungan (my sister-in-law's sister) also had our curtains and bedskirt ready for me to pick up on my way through Edmond. Josh had his drill ready when I got home and put everything on the walls for me and we were all of the sudden finished with the room!

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Here is a list of the places where I got each thing...

Wall color: Valspar's Crafted White
Curtains, bedding and pillow cases: Jenn Dungan (super_mom_23@hotmail.com) 
Sheepskin rugs, clock, shelving, frames: IKEA
Baby Mobile: handcrafted by me! Paper airplanes made from comic books and a new bike rim hung by 40 pound fishing line.
Ceiling Decals: Etsy
License Plates, baskets, dresser and soda boxes: local antique malls

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Jamie Kutter:

It's adorable Lauren!

 (04.25.11 @ 12:45 PM)
Chelsea:

So cute! I love the red everywhere, Sol will be so happy in here!

 (04.25.11 @ 12:46 PM)
Nina:

This looks great Lauren!

 (04.25.11 @ 01:00 PM)
Cristy Cross:

Great idea with the birds on the ceiling. He is one lucky fella :) You are gonna be a wonderful mom Lauren.

 (04.25.11 @ 01:27 PM)
alison holcomb:

it looks amazing lauren!!! i bet you are so excited for that sweet boy to get here:)

(04.25.11 @ 01:27 PM)
dad:

It's absolutely gorgeous! Who would have thoughts months ago would be transformed into what it is now, besides your creative eye

 (04.25.11 @ 02:10 PM)
Amy C:

What a great room! Love the birds and the plates :)

 (04.25.11 @ 03:38 PM)
MK Loeffler:

LOVE the birds on the ceiling in the corner!

 (04.25.11 @ 08:55 PM)
MK Loeffler:

LOVE the birds on the ceiling in the corner!

 (04.25.11 @ 08:57 PM)
Lindsay Nicholls:

LOVE the room... What a wonderful idea of the ceiling decals and the mobile. I follow your blog and wanted to say congrats on your coming arrival. Being a mommy is amazing!!!

(04.26.11 @ 07:38 AM)
Meredith:

You should be a decorator in your next life:)

 (04.26.11 @ 09:16 AM)
Tabitha H:

beautiful room!!

 (04.26.11 @ 08:08 PM)
Megan:

Absolutely soo precious! I LOVE IT! Great job!!!

 (04.27.11 @ 09:24 PM)
Love and Lollipops:

Absolutely wonderful room - so cool!! Love the red!

 (02.29.12 @ 09:49 AM)
Kelly:

Hi, I love the mobile and was thinking of making one as a gift for a friend. Would you mind sharing how you attached the bike wheel to the ceiling? Thanks!

 (05.27.12 @ 11:05 AM)
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Solomon's Room, phase 2!

April 2, 2011

This week has been such a whirlwind! We left for Kansas City last Sunday morning after we got the call that our friends went into labor and ended up waiting for 3 days before she had her... more on that next week when I have time to go through 800 + photos! We drove home late Tuesday night about an hour after Camille was born and the following afternoon had my good friends Ginny Corbett and Shari Henson stay for a short visit. I kept asking Josh what day it was yesterday because I just had no idea what day of the week we were sitting on! I'm glad that the weekend is finally here because it is my last one without anything to do for almost 2 months... and then I'll be birthing a baby! Wowzers.

Here is Solomon's baby bedding that my sister-in-law's sister made for me. I am in love with how it came out, if you are wanting custom baby bedding made then message me and I'll give you her info! We still don't have a mattress for the bed or the curtains and so it's not complete for another few weeks, but we are getting darn close!

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I also sat for a few hours yesterday and made a river rock alphabet (I always get ahead of myself and buy/make things for when Sol gets to be about 3 or 4:) inspired by this etsy listing.

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shari:

lovely! you're so creative!

 (04.02.11 @ 10:46 AM)
jean smith:

i have been LOVING all of your home remodels. sigh. it looks AMAZING. love solomon's room :)

 (04.02.11 @ 11:15 AM)
Nicole Mc:

Everything is awesome Lauren, and it's great that you're getting ahead of yourself. When Sol is 3 or 4 you won't have the energy for these kinds of projects...and most likely you'll have 2 by then!! :)

 (04.02.11 @ 12:38 PM)
Tara:

HI Lauren! I've been following you for a long time! The nursery is precious and I LOVE making things that I've found on Etsy for cheeper!

(04.03.11 @ 10:23 PM)
Erica Sledge:

Can I live there? I LOVE that room! So refreshing to see someone steer clear of the blues and browns!

 (04.04.11 @ 08:48 AM)
Chelsea:

LOVE the bedding! It's coming along so well.

 (04.04.11 @ 01:00 PM)
Meredith:

I've been following (aka "stalking") you and your blog for a while now. I love your photography style and your creativity! Solomon's a very lucky boy:) Can't wait to see the finished product.

 (04.04.11 @ 02:48 PM)
Tiffany Stanley:

That is the cutest boys room I have ever seen. Did you make the mobile?

 (04.04.11 @ 05:13 PM)
Dixie Dobbins:

I love the nursery Lauren! the only thing I think you havemissing are window treatments and It would be awesome to hav elots and lots of books! (and a glider to read to Soloman in) Cool books like Dr. Seuess, Cat in the Hat, Hop on Pop all those,! Reading to your hcild is one of the best things (but starting around the time they are a year is old the best. Im sure you can find some cool Bookends too! Love your style, i hope you submit it to Design Sponge when youre done!

(04.09.11 @ 09:16 AM)
Janet:

love the nursery! can't wait to see pics of baby Sol!

 (04.18.11 @ 10:15 PM)
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Home Remodel #12

March 22, 2011

I've had a lot of people ask me if we were redoing the Farm room for the baby room and the answer is NO!! It is my favorite room of the house and there is noooo way that I'm clearing it out for the baby room after just 6 months of having it finished. The truth is, we have a three bedroom house and I have just never shown you the third room because I was never happy with how it turned out.

So here are the phases so far of what Solomon's room is looking like...

After we sold our bedroom furniture (yes, I know, it looks like a college boy's room)

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Picking the paint color... we went with the most neutral color I've ever worked with: Valspar's Crafted White (I kind of regret going so neutral, but what can you do?)

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Phase 1:

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I bought a bunch of colorful license plates from a junk store in Perkins and got them all for about $30! I tied them together with jute twine and hung them with nails to make a colorful piece. I painted the dresser white thinking that the room was going to be a darker color and might end up painting it blue if it still looks too bland. The bolt of fabric on the floor is going to be the curtain color and should really add some nice contrast to the room. We were planning on painting the opposite wall with chalkboard paint and when we read the reviews on the paint and how many coats you had to add we have decided to postpone that idea for a while. I am going to just add floating shelves and storage.

I still have the baby bedding and curtains to add, huge frames, possible colored headboard, baby mobile, larger sheepskin rug in front of the crib, vinyl decals on the ceiling and a few black and white zig zag pillows before it is complete! Can't wait to see how it turns out in the end!


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amanda:

I like the neutral color.....it makes everything else stand out. LOVE the license plates :)

 (03.22.11 @ 11:55 AM)
Kate Leverenz:

I like the paint color, but I'm a fan of neutral. I'm sure the final product will be stunning. I've been thinking of making my own mobile now... I have so many ideas floating around my head that I had never even considered before. Thanks for challenging me to think outside of the box!

 (03.22.11 @ 12:09 PM)
Megan Greathouse:

It looks GREAT! But you are right...this specific neutral color doesn't really scream "Lauren" but I still think its gonna be good once you keep bringing in the other colors you are talking about with the curtains, bedding and an accent chalk board wall. I seriously can't wait to see little Solomon!

 (03.22.11 @ 04:05 PM)
Courtney:

I just painted my kitchen Crafted White. It's such a nice soft color.

(03.25.11 @ 06:22 PM)
samantha :

WE just did a chalk board wall and it turned out so wonderfully. I can't say enough about it! It actually wasn't too bad, only took two coats and ended up costing just under $30, now i wish i'd of added the magnet paint to it (they mix it in) and they can actually tint the chalkboard paint so it can be moonstone gray (which we did) OR lots of other shades of blue, yellow, etc. Some of the fun "comic book shapes" (think the bam or pow type of shapes) may be fun as well and they have those chalkboard shapes (like you' use for a crazy/photo booth) on etsy.

 (03.29.11 @ 09:56 AM)
Anonymous:

So what room is your office?

 (03.29.11 @ 01:09 PM)
Bill C.:

The license plates are such a genius idea!

 (04.18.11 @ 04:33 PM)
Bill:

great post. I love the very unique, creative ideas for the room. Really nice job! More important than the color scheme itself is that you can tell you put a lot of thought into the interior design.

 (11.16.11 @ 02:50 PM)
HVAC :

license plates are unique. Walls look much better then the blue color for sure. its always best to have light colors on your walls it makes the place look brighter and happier

 (01.26.12 @ 04:17 PM)
Betsey:

What a huge transformation. I have a client about to brighten up his color palette in his apartment and will send him this link to show what a difference a brighter paint can make.

 (07.23.12 @ 03:59 PM)
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