Raising best friends

I usually write here about our home and farm. And I really haven't blogged for a while, but I saw an instagram story from an online friend of mine Jen from Beauty and Bedlam, and I wanted to hop on here to share some of my thoughts on this.  She talked about raising her kids as friends and how important it is. I instantly messaged her and thanked her for saying how I have always felt. Without it really being something we've talked about, Baileyhusband and I have done just that.

Living out in the country, it wasn't always convenient for friends to come over, and honestly, I always said to my children that "they have each other, I gave birth to 4 of you to be each other's playmates." Kind of sounds a little harsh and rude coming from a mom, but there is more truth to that than I thought.

Without knowing, I have raised best friends. Do they fight? Um, heck YES!! But in the end, they are always there for each other and typically want to hang with each other over friends any day. I believe building that friendship and showing them how important family is over everything else is what has grounded them and built our family's foundation. We go as a family to each other's events, such as concerts, games, contests, etc. Never has been an option.

Supporting each other and being each other's chearleaders... I hope that is my parenting legacy. Parenting is hard! I feel like a failure some days, well, most days. I tend to use "bad language" in front of my kids... ( but they are not allowed to), I sometimes don't have socks clean for them, the kitchen sink is usually full of dirty dishes, and I really hate to cook. (glad I married someone who is good at it though!!) But the one thing that I feel I got right? The closeness and importance of family. I mean, who else knows how horrible your childhood is and can relate to all the mean things your parents made you do, like chores, cleaning your room before company came, or being made to eat green beans??

Our oldest is getting married soon, and her sister is her maid of honor. Her brothers are also playing a huge part in her wedding. This mama will be crying her eyes out the whole day seeing all the beautiful dresses and tuxes that her babies will be wearing, and how important this day is in the life of all of us.  And daddy walking down our firstborn?? (ugly crying just thinking about it) We are gaining an amazing new son in the process, he is exactly what my heart has prayed for my daughter. And I hope our legacy of FAMILY FIRST will be carried on to the next generation. 

All of these photos were taken at a session on a vacation we took to mark our other daughter's graduation. This vacation WAS expensive but oh so worth having us all there. These pictures are priceless to me.

So my advice? Take those vacations as a family. Make your kids play with each other over always needing to be with friends. Make them sit through each other's games, concerts, etc. Do fun things together, even as they grow up. Stay connected to family not your phone when you are together.

These are the moments that my kids will remember the most. (hopefully not all the dirty dishes)

defining your style, our home tour

For so many years living in the same home, our style has changed dramatically. As people grow and change, so should your home. Just as you wouldn't wear the same style of clothes for 18 years! 

During the past couple years, I have been working hard at DEFINING our current style. The first reason is because, well, I'm kind of a design dork. And the second reason is because I think it is important and does make a difference as you purchase things and add to your home, whether it be for seasonal decor, new furniture purchases, or liking the latest pillow you see at Target. 

Try to add a word or words to what your style is. You may need to browse Pinterest. Or does someone you know have a style that you love and would like to emulate in your own home? I have several blogger friends that I admire, but none have the exact style I love. I love pieces of what they have, and when put together in my home it looks totally different....which is good! 

Each person and each family is different, being unique is a good thing. So to define OUR style and home, I think of 3 words.

With each pillow I bring in, each new sofa I may be interested in purchasing, or that rug that is on sale....I try to fit it into at least one of these categories. 

And when re-designing one of our spaces in our home (or outside), making sure it has these 3 elements will complete our signature look. The home flows from one room to the next, I want them all to seem put together. Sometimes I can't figure out why I don't love a certain space....but standing back and thinking about what style it has...maybe it might be missing that Earthy element such as a plant or something else from nature. Maybe it's missing something tribal such as feathers or a fun pattern, or maybe it's just missing that vintage farmhouse piece that makes a room cozy.  

I thought that I'd share a small tour of what our home looks like currently....

 

I've been leaning toward very neutral lately as you can see. Colors from nature...brown, black, white, cream, green, and blue are my favorites and make our home restful. 

So, I rather like the words earthy tribal farmhouse. But also welcoming cozy home! So go ahead and try to name your style, or ask others what they think your style is. I think having a home that reflects you and your purpose is just as important as the clothes you wear or the food you eat. 

I hope you enjoyed this updated mini home tour, things are ALWAYS changing around here, and I hope to share more tours with each big change of season. 
And follow along more of what we like on Pinterest or our day to day happenings on Instagram or Facebook. 

Back Porch Dreaming with Arhaus

Living in the country, for me, means living outdoors. Our front porch was somewhere I always gravitated towards, swinging on the porch swing....

Now that we have a barnyard full of animals and a seriously beautiful barn to stare at, I am finding myself (and the rest of the family) spending more and more time on our back porch. 

Each spring, I try to move things around from how I had it arranged the previous year. All the pieces have stayed the same, but rearranging them, brings them new life. This spring was our first time in years buying something new and BIG to add to our family of outdoor furniture. And it was a game changer....

This dining set is not only gorgeous, but so comfortable....it may be coming inside for the winter! Ha, kidding....maybe! 

Our back porch/ deck area is broken into 2 distinct zones. Now that I have claimed this larger deck to be our outdoor dining space, our smaller upper porch area needs to change. This is what it looks like for now.....

Things I do like are the "shutters" and hanging ferns. This little table set is no longer really needed now that we have the larger one. 

And opposite this little dining set is this lounge.....

This is more of the feeling I want in this upper area. I actually do use this quite a bit to read. However, it is lacking in the comfort level. Adding in this old rug and a blanket and pillow has helped amp up the coziness that I crave, but I've been dreaming up some other options. 

Have you ever looked into buying outdoor furniture?? It's so exhausting! There is a furniture store that I have always admired and love looking at online. However, I didn't even realize until recently that they also carried outdoor furniture! And now I am a mama on a mission! 

Have you heard of Arhaus? They are a furniture company who is designing some amazing products, that are so beautiful. From sectional sofas to the most amazing rugs (and you know I'm a rug person!) to anything else you need to complete a room. The company's commitment to our planet , by developing unique and functional pieces out of recycled natural resources, and never using wood from endangered forests is what seals the deal for me! 

I have picked out 3 items that I can't stop dreaming about.  

Starting out with that amazing rug!! Hello!?! It has fringe! And is black/ white!

 Then, I would want 2 matching sofas...I've thought about a sectional, but having 2 sofas gives me more rearranging options, and I can just picture them facing each other...what a great place to take naps!! (And it's called the Wyatt, so we HAVE to have it!!) 

And lastly, that table! I love me a table that is a signature/ statement piece all on it's own. This one reminds me of our table in the coffee room that is my favorite item we own.

These three elements remind me so much of the inside of our home. And I really like when our outdoor spaces are just like that, a reflection of our style. I would be adding in some other items that are our style also...feathers, an outdoor dreamcatcher, pillows, lanterns...  

Arhaus is currently having their Anniversary Sale, I hope some of my dream items can become a reality. Do yourself a favor, and go to their website...you can click here....and do some dreaming of your own. 

These are the last few weeks of summer, and we plan on getting the most out of them as we can. But having a cozy porch this fall is also very exciting!

Follow along on Instagram and Facebook to see all of our daily life here on the farm! And stay tuned for a late summer tour of our home. 

A gift from my husband

Welcome to Irishman Acres....

Ever since we started traveling to the Rocky Mountains and seeing big beautiful ranches they have out west, with entrances announcing their farm or ranch name, I've wanted a similar sign hanging at the end of our driveway. This will help in giving directions to our home now...." turn into Irishman Acres!". 

My handsome husband finally listened and for Christmas this past year, I got it! He designed it and had local metal workers make this large heavy thing! It definitely didn't fit under our Christmas Tree! 

Most women wouldn't be as giddy as I was getting a huge metal sign. My husband knows me so well, and he was just as excited to give this gift as I was to receive it! 

We had to wait until spring to install it at the end of the driveway. The ground had to thaw....and then it was too muddy with the spring rains.....and finally, PROGRESS! 

I wasn't home at the time, and probably a good thing....anytime there is heavy machinery, ladders, and our boys involved, I should not be around!! HA! 

We are loving this new entrance to our farm. Baileyhusband says that he would like to add another pole across the top to steady it even more, I'll let him decide that, sounds like a lot of scary tedious work to me. I, however, do have plans of adding some landscaping around the base of each side. I'm picturing a lot of perennials that bloom in every season. Some iris for spring, lillies and daisies for summer, and mums for fall. I will update here when that is done, hopefully later in the summer/ early fall.

 In the meantime, you can follow us on our Facebook page. Or on Instagram.

Would love to connect with you there! 

Our Farmhouse Laundry Room

I'm so excited about doing laundry.....said no mom ever. But, I will tell you that this update to our messiest room in our home will make it easier to bear. 

I started thinking about ways that would make me enjoy seeing this room 546 times a day. It's our family's entrance/ walk-thru each time we come home. It's where all of life's stuff gets stored (and washed). And I hated it. It was too loud. 

The goal was to make this look like any other room we have in our home....so the door can stay open and guests are free to enter without me being too embarrassed. And maybe, just maybe, the mundane chore of laundry will be a little more enjoyable.

 Remember the dark red walls? The barn tin wall looks so much better now....

Better, right?? And that huge laundry cart has SAVED MY LIFE! 

Now for the mudroom side.....We finally have all the mess tucked away behind doors! This is probably a no-brainer for most people. But we lived with open style lockers for so long that this in itself is a game-changer! 

. 

Baileyhusband built those doors for us using plywood and trim. Simple, yet very effective! 

Those leather handles? Yep, we got our DIY on and used scraps we had. I love the added color and texture they give to our plain jane doors and cupboards.

The hat hooks on the outside of our lockers had to stay. With 3 boys (sorry, honey I'm including you) living in this house, I desperately need to keep a place for them all to land....instead of the kitchen chairs! 

So this is what it actually looks like with ALL THE HATS...

Still a little busy looking, but I have to choose my battles around here. 

I brought in things that aren't usual laundry decor. I wanted this to be another part of our home that showed our style, but just so happened to have a washer and dryer in it! :) Art, plants, rug, even a pillow...... TEXTURE! 

Using mostly what we already had on hand....leftover white paint from our basement, one of my favorite prints from Vol. 25, macrame plant hanger, pillow, old window, leather scraps, vintage laundry cart, farmhouse bench....and only actually purchasing a new rug from RugsUSA (that was super affordable and is almost always on sale). 

We now have doors on the lockers, YAY!! We kept the cupboards above the washer and dryer, but adding the same leather handles as the lockers helped incorporate them into the room. 

Don't be afraid of re-doing a room in your own home that just is not working for your family. I will be honest that Baileyhusband was not on board at first, I just started painting one day. Of course, I needed his help on many things, so after he saw a little of my vision, and wanting to get this done quickly because of a party this weekend, he joined in and got it done for us! He also just wanted to make sure it was done right.....HA! 

This room doesn't scream at you now, it quietly whispers Welcome Home.

What is missing from any of these photos are all the muddy poopy farm chore boots that we all own. They are usually thrown all over this room. And guys, this room STUNK.  But bringing in this rug has helped (for now) to remind them to TAKE THEM OFF IN THE GARAGE....(said in a nice, non-yelling voice) 

Thanks for stopping by our little blog today, you can follow more of our day to day activities and farm life on our Instagram or Facebook.