When I first started this blog in 2013, I knew that I wanted to utilize the word “Headquarters,” because let’s face it, it’s punny. And funny. So I guess that would be pfunny? And we have always called our home our Headquarters.
Being a bit Type A, I knew I needed to use an H-word to go along with it. (Remember how all of my kids’ names start with E’s?) ‘Humble’ sounded too religious. ‘Honest’ didn’t provide the alliteration I was hoping for. ‘Hilarious’ set this blog up for disappointing the readers, since many times it’s serious. ‘Homey’ sounded a bit “urban.” So I settled with the word Happy. And I love Happy because I love cheeriness, and frankly, when I think of our home, I want it to evoke (not invoke, for all your grammar nerds) feelings of happiness.
So hello again blog world! Trice and I have been gone for the last several weeks, and can I say it is just SO GOOD TO BE HOME? Dorothy knew just what she was talking about when she clacked those red heels of hers and said "there is no place like home."
I am the type of girl that LOVES a good deal. And being that I am the CFO of the family (according to Trice), I like to make sure we stick to our budget as closely as possible. So that naturally means I am thrifty and don't like to buy things unless the allotted money is there.
That being said... There are some things in life, like canisters, that can bankrupt your budget in a heartbeat. I must use restraint when perusing the aisles of Target or TJ Maxx and looking at all their cute $15 canisters. They are a true weakness of mine! Being that we buy all of our snacks in bulk, I like to make sure that everything has its own little container.
Trice always pokes fun at me because I don't ever throw away any containers or glass jars. I always tell him that "ONE DAY" I am going to find a perfect use for each and every container! And so far he has appreciated it because we use recycled containers for so many things around the house! Why not recycle the jars that our foods come in instead of dropping money on glass vases and canisters, etc? Next time you go to buy a jar of salsa, just think to yourself, "I am not only buying salsa, but I'm also buying the perfect apothecary jar or vase!" It's like a 2-for-1 deal. And I LOVE 2-for-1 deals!
So we went to Baton Rouge for a visit for THREE WHOLE WEEKS, and thus I didn't get the chance to write a post because I was so busy with family! Trice was working some freelance gigs in New Orleans over that time period.
Speaking of freelance gigs... Trice went back to the freelance lighting world! We are loving it because it works so much better for our family. When he works, he works HARD, but when he is off, he is OFF. And we get undistracted family time. And I LOVE IT! His few months working at Gateway were an absolutely INCREDIBLE experience. He learned and grew so much and we are forever grateful that God allowed him to be a part of such a great work environment! But we are excited for the new season that we are entering now :)
So I had posted previously that I wanted to do a "close" up of each of the rooms in our house, and so today I have decided to show you an inside look at our guest room.
First of all, I LOVE GUEST ROOMS. I love guest rooms so much that we decided that baby #2 will be sharing a room with Emerson so that we can have that extra space still available for guests. And, since we have moved to Texas, we have had 9 different people stay with us at some point or another, so I'm thankful we have had a guest room!
Before I tell you about our guest room, I wanted to give you my "top 12" list of things I like to incorporate into our guest room to make our guests feel super comfy. Keep in mind, I can tend to be a little overkill, so just choose the ideas that you like from this list to incorporate them into your own guest rooms!
So I thought it would be fun to start off this blog by introducing our new house. And by new house, I mean our third new house in less than two years! You see, Trice and I bought a house in Baton Rouge in November 2011 not knowing that one year later we would be moving to Texas. So our precious little house sold (thankfully!) in December 2012, and we moved into a home in Texas that we were supposed to purchase at the end of January... Well, the purchase never went through, so alas, we moved to our NEW new house on Red Wolf Drive.
Yesterday I wrote about the importance of us homemakers being still. The importance of slowing down and paying attention to what our needs actually are. Today I am talking about what to do once you discover what your needs are. And that is to USE YOUR VOICE.
In Shauna Niequist’s book Present Over Perfect she talks about how men always take care of their needs. If they are hungry, they eat. If they are thirsty, they drink. If they are tired, they nap. But women on the other hand are not very good at this. We just keep shoving our needs down down down and eventually we snap! I hear moms say all the time “I haven’t bathed in a week. I haven’t eaten anything today. I just need a second to breathe.” Yikes. We know what we need but we feel like we can’t get it.