summer heat and staying cool

Today is going to be a hot one! Finally! Last summer we didn't really have much heat, it rained a lot and stayed pretty cool. This summer I think is going to be different. And with this Iowa humidity, it usually feels hotter than the actual temp.

I finally turned on our air yesterday, the humidity got to me. Actually the melting of my Annie Sloan wax while I was trying to work on a piece of furniture inside my house got to me. That is a little uncomfortably warm if your wax melts inside your house, don't ya think?

So, today, I will be working comfortably with air conditioning. But while we have air in the house, our farm animals do not have that luxury.

These gals think they have the answer to staying cool. Yuck!

We will be outside several times a day in this heat, checking on our animals. The cows have automatic waters, and they have ample shade, but all of our birds (chickens and peacocks) will need fresh cool water brought to them throughout the day. Besides drinking it, they like to stand in it. That is the fastest way for the birds to cool their body temperature. 

And also, my pretty flowers will probably need a little extra attention in this heat. 

These are the days that I wish we had a pool here at the farm. But maybe if we go outside in our swimsuits and water down our 4H calves, we can pretend that we are laying poolside....that is what I'll tell my kiddos! 

A Summer-ized Coffee Room, take 1

Our coffee room was built long after we moved in. Realizing that we wanted a fireplace to sit around and be cozy with on cold mornings. That was 9 years ago !!?? Weird how time flies when you are an adult. Anyway, not until this past spring did we understand that we could actually use this room the other 6 months of the year! Who knew? I find myself sitting in here every morning....sipping my coffee....listening to the morning moo'ing and cock-a-doodle-dooing outside.....reading the day's Jesus Calling page....and catching up on my favorite blogs! There is no better way to wake up each day, in my opinion! 

What probably took me so long to use this in the warmer months was that the furniture placement was always wrong. This is a small room, and therefore I just had 2 big comfy chairs and an ottoman in here, along with some side tables. You can see the other ways that this room has looked HERE and HERE. But I longed for better seating, and since I am always rearranging my furniture to different rooms, why not try something new in here??

So in came the furniture that was a regular in the front room. It had a loveseat and matching chair and ottoman. Now normally, I don't go for matchy, matchy, but this works well together size-wise and are super comfy! They were hand-me-downs by my mom, so free is good, right?

Summertime is all about being outdoors, so I bring in a lot of plants to my rooms. Since doing the Cozy Minimalist class, I am trying to stay with what was taught to me, and tried to only use things that are beautiful and useful to us. 

A lot of pillows are always a must with our family, and not just because I'm a pillow hoarder! We actually gather in this tiny room most mornings, so the extra pillows are used as backrests for my kiddos. (That new "South Side" one is an ode to my upbringing, which makes me happy!)

And yes, I don't like the fact that you see a cord hanging down the wall, but this fountain is so amazing that I deal with the cord! Ha!

Now here is where I tell you that this room is about to get an overhaul. I actually LOVE how this room looks and feels, but you know how I told you that my mom gave us this furniture? Well, she wants it back....{Sigh}. 

But, with every cloud....there is a silver lining, right? I get to stretch my design wings, and see what I can come up with. It will probably end with me shopping for new furniture....but will start with me shopping our house and using some imagination. 

And why is it that when you see a picture of yourself, or a room that you think looks good, you can see ALL THE FLAWS?? Getting ready to load pictures and write this post, I suddenly can see that the stone wall is way too busy for the rug currently in here....which is sad, because it's my favorite and its super soft.... so when this room gets re-done in the next couple weeks, I will be sure to show you what I came up with as a temporary solution (until new furniture is in the budget). As of now, I have no idea!! 

Obsessed Much Mondays: It's OK to be lazy

As we are nearing the end of our summer...I feel myself really wanting to get as many projects done in and around our home as possible. But that is actually a double edge sword. My mind is going in a thousand directions, and it is really tiring! Sometimes, I need to allow myself just to stop and relish in this season. 

Enjoy the fruits of our labor... and just be still.

Summer, when I was growing up, was all about being outside... playing..  and sometimes just good old-fashioned laziness. But these days, it's like keeping up with the Jones'. So and so are going to the pool everyday, or are taking all these vacations.... I really just want my kids to be bored like we were when we grew up! Actually one of my favorite "mom" sayings is "If you are bored, than you are a boring person." (my kids HATE when I say that)

Being HOME is my favorite place to be...and living on a {mini} farm, there is SO MUCH TO DO. To me, we live in a vacation spot. I am aware of the fact that some families that live in the city or in town love to go camping or other vacations to get away from it all. Well, we are away from it all. So, no need to go anywhere, right? 

Having the animals to tend to and play with is just the start of it. 

The exploring of nature and all it's beauty (we live next to a wooded area that has a bike trail and creek running through it)


The sense of pride and accomplishment when eating from your own garden that you planted yourself

The chance to build something yourself, and just let yourself be creative. We need that time to let our minds wonder, to sit and daydream. Getting in tune with yourself and Mother Nature is good for your soul. 

I will try to remind myself of these things as this summer is whizzing past. 

And I hope my children look back and see that their summer was not wasted, but the exact opposite.  

This was part of my Summer Series called Obsessed Much? Mondays. You can read all the other Mondays in this series by clicking HERE. Or at the top of the page, the tab called "Obsessed Much". 

A Budget -Friendly Camper Re-Do: Our Style

Last summer, on a whim, we purchased a camper...off of Craig's List...the night before we were going to use it! 

When we go to the 4H County Fair, we thought it would be fun and economical to just stay there the whole week instead of driving back and forth multiple times a day, tending to our cattle that we are showing, and in between fun fair activities. 

This little beauty was a great find, and a steal! It's a 1998 Dutchmen, and was taken care of by it's one owner and actually barely even used. So home it came with us!

We stayed in it that first week, but it didn't feel like ours. The cupboards were full of stuff that wasn't ours, and the colors and patterns were circa 1990's. We began to dream up big renovation plans! I even looked to Pinterest with my board titled "Camping in Style". 


But when it came time to actually start renovating it, we began to get a little nostalgic about this cute little camper. The wood wasn't really that bad to live with. The floors were easy to maintain. The brass (and there is a lot of it!) was growing on us. With a few cosmetic changes and our own accessories....it feels more like "us". 

I kind of let the camper tell me what style looked best with it. I brought in one of my favorite wedding gifts: A wedding Ring Quilt, and it just looked right at home in here. So that was the inspiration that I went with for the whole look. 

We will probably only use this a couple times each summer, and nothing screams "Summer" to me more than quilts. 

I love having the restraint of a tight budget, it is more creatively challenging. And I LOVE a challenge!

New window treatments in the bedroom were a MUST, I was going to make some,but found exactly what I wanted with these simple sheers from Target.

To balance all the girli-ness, we brought in some roughness via vintage coffee sacks. I had quite the growing collection of these, and after getting over the initial shock of cutting one up, I love the look it adds to the windows!!

Now, the window above the dining table was the biggest challenge! I know, I know...not a big deal in hind-site. But I had this "vision" of a deer rack hanging. 

After several nights of begging Baileyhusband to hang those suckers, he finally did. 

And they came crashing down as soon as we let go!

The wall paneling would not hold those heavy things! And if you could picture a grown woman hissing a fit, stomping her feet, and crying out to the decor Gods...well, that wasn't what happened. (well, maybe)

So, for posterity sake, I had Sierra hold them up for you all to see what it should have looked like. Cool, huh? 

After thinking about it for a couple days, and thinking "what in the world can I hang there that will cover that hole we made and be light as a feather??"

Well, duh, FEATHERS! We have plenty of them around here. And you know what? I like this better than the antlers....so THERE, decor Gods!! Now this is my favorite window in the camper. 

We also added burlap and rope to all the fabric panels. Amazing what a staple gun and a glue gun can accomplish! Burlap + Rope = A match made in heaven.

{One of the panels, before and after}

Some super cute, handy accessories, and we can use this as our second home! Because I always need to have fun things to look at as well as them being useful! 

Real herbs from our Farm Garden, these will be handy when grilling or making sandwiches at the campground!

Here are some before and after shots to see some of the changes:

There you have it....Our finished little camper remodel. 
It is not very fancy by any stretch of the imagination, and truth be told...it could be a little bigger, with bunk beds, a larger bathroom maybe. But, we actually adore this little gem. 

As I sit, typing this on my quilt in the bedroom, looking out to the trees surrounding our campground....(the family is down tending to our cattle in the barn)...I cannot be happier with our choice to save money and buy this, and make it home-y with our own unique style. 

 To quote one of my favorite bloggers, The Nester, 
It Doesn't Have To Be Perfect To Be Beautiful! So I hung this sign proudly.

I am a list maker, here is a breakdown of what was done/purchased:

* Burlap and rope added to cupboard panels with staple gun and hot glue

* Coffee sacks stapled over old window treatments

* Sheers purchased for bedroom windows, there are 3 windows. I only bought 3 panels and cut them in half length wise, and trimmed the bottom to fit the short ceiling height. (From Target)

* Baby crib sheets over kitchen benches, which also turns into a bed for the kids. So they work double-duty. (cheaper than a new slipcover. Purchased from Babies R Us)

* Quilt covering sofa-bed (over a fitted sheet), already owned

* Bedroom quilt and bedding, already owned

* Homemade feather garland over window in kitchen and homemade "Be Inspired" banner above bed.

* 2 seagrass rugs (Target)

* Magazine/mail holder baskets on wall (purchased new from Target)

* Feed sack pillows and other pillows from my hoarding stash

* Framed feed sack in barnwood, made by me

* Sheepskin throw/ rug (purchased from Ikea)

* All other accessories were just found around our home

I hope you enjoyed seeing into our little home-on-wheels! We are so excited for the chance to use it this summer/ fall season. 

Until next time.....

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