Tuesday, May 2, 2017

Home Sweet Home: Our First House



We've dreamed of this day for a very long time, but never saw it in sight until recently. Greg and I moved out of our duplex rental into a family members house to save money and begin the home buying process. We thought we'd be with them a lot longer, but Jesus had other plans. We found a home we fell in love with immediately while walking through it. Is it our style? Somewhat, yes, The bones are FANTASTIC, the hardwoods are beautiful and "style" can be fixed by paint and filling it with the right items.

We officially closed on 05/03/17 and this cute little key is officially ours. We can't wait to share this journey with you as we renovate, paint and go through the roller coaster of emotions that comes with home-ownership.

As we begin to paint, clean and move I want to leave you with a few verses that are speaking to my heart at this moment in time. Enjoy!

Proverbs 24:3-4 “By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established;
by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.”


Numbers 6:24-26 “The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.


2 Chronicles 7:15-16 “Now my eyes will be open
and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place.
For now I have chosen and consecrated this house that my name may be
there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there for all time."


1 Samuel 25:6 “And thus you shall greet him:
'Peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have.”


Proverbs 24:27 “Prepare your work outside;
get everything ready for yourself in the field, and after that build your house.”


1 Kings 8:13 “I have indeed built you an exalted house, a place for you to dwell in forever.”


Luke 10:5 “Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’”

Monday, January 5, 2015

Fasting

My husband and I are participating in a biblical fast during the month of January. It's called "the Daniel fast." We're super pumped for this opportunity to move forward in our faith and marriage. 

I fully intend to update you via our blog during the month, but also remain active on Instagram and our Etsy shop. If you're wanting to stay in touch and do not currently have a way to do so, please don't hesitate to reach out to us before we deactivate our remaining social media accounts. 

Has anyone done this specific fast before? Any recommendations? Thoughts? 

We're excited! xoxo 

Sunday, January 4, 2015

2015. New outlook. New goals.

"Home is wherever I'm with you..."

Christmas time and New Years are always a wonderful time to reflect on your life. I typically spend time gazing at the tree, writing cliche resolutions or goals for the new year. This year was different. Christmas Eve I got to thinking about life and all of our blessings, but also all of our complaints or excuses. I didn't write our typical New Years resolutions, because they weren't important to me. I spent time praying. I spent time focusing on my husband and our dog, plus their needs, but also the needs of my kids at work and my wifely duties. I found myself focusing on the real meaning of Christmas and the real blessing of Him. It helped me to put our life into perspective & see how much the good out weighs the bad.

 I realized I spend a lot of my mornings drinking my coffee, driving to work and dreaming. Sometimes I get so involved in planning out our week, month, baby nurseries, DREAM house and future plans that I get lost. I lose track of what is real. I lose sight of the present. I miss the moments that matter now


It sometimes takes me quiet moments staring at a Christmas tree or the peaceful silence of nap time at work to wake me up and realize the blessing that NOW has to offer us. A home is not about the appearance, space or value. It's about the memories you create in it with the ones you love. Christmas isn't about the presents, santa or the snow. It's about Jesus and all he has done for us. Life is meant to be a journey and a walk with Jesus. I don't know about you, but this isn't our "home" forever. Heaven is our goal, so why put so much thought into the feelings of others and try to constantly please this world and the people in it?
Today I am thankful for these simple reminders, our current home and everyday blessings.

Friday, December 26, 2014

Christmas 2014

Merry Christmas!

My husband and I celebrated our first Christmas in our new apartment. We were married last Christmas but lived in a house with a bunch of friends, and it wasn't as meaningful without all the home decor and family surrounding us, like we had this year. We really tried to incorporate the true meaning of Christmas into this year, because it seems like so much of the world is forgetting the true meanings behind Christmas. I'll share more about our holiday and the many blessings we received in our next update (tomorrow).

It was a year of smiles, tears and laughs. We're sad to see 2014 go, but know that 2015 will bring many new blessings, memories and challenges. We're ready to go running with the new year. Are you?

I haven't been updating much lately due to a new job and the busy of getting used to working full time and the holidays/beginning of the school year. I'm back with a full line up of updates for you guys- starting tomorrow! Are you ready!? I'm ready to be back!

xoxo

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

F A L L to do's

Where has this year gone? We're coming up on my birthday, Greg's birthday and our wedding anniversary. I can't remember the last time I was able to update this blog. This summer got away from us too quickly, while leaving one too many things on our to-do list for fall.

First things first: What's new with us? Well, the Day Camp program I was working is now over and we're in the process of the "before and after school" program. It's part time and it's a split shift which is hard on my schedule, but I'm making it work. Greg started a new job at F&F Tire about two months ago. He loves it. Greg also started ushering at church on Sunday's. I'm so proud of him and how hard he works to support our family. Juno is doing good. He's starting to slowly, but surely, gain his winter weight as we have less time to spend outside, but he's happy and sassy. That pretty much sums up any chances we've got going on around here.

We've got a lot of things we want to do this year as a family. This is not our first season of holidays as a married couple, but we lived with friends until March of this year so we didn't get to do all the cute fun stuff that newlywed's get to do together for the first time. This year we're planning on doing it all, from pumpkin patches to buying our first Christmas tree :) and I'm beyond excited for every step. We've already started adding movies to our "holiday" selection and decorated for fall. We're in the process of phasing in our fall recipes, but our kitchen is a disaster right now as we're finishing up our kitchen chair remodel. I'm putting together a list of things we're going to do this holiday season and plan to share it with you all over the next week. What are some of your favorite fall traditions?

I've gotta get back to work but I will leave you with a fall recipe. We made this last week when we had friends over for the PACKERS SEASON OPENER....and a lot of you asked us to share, but we never actually got around to posting it. Here's the recipe!

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P U M P K I N | C H I L I
You'll need: 1 red pepper, 1 yellow pepper, 1 green pepper, 1 red onion, 2 lbs of either spicy sausage or beef, 2 cans of beans (we used one red and one black), 1 can of pumpkin, 1 can of diced tomatoes, 1 can of tomato paste and one can of green chilies. You will also need the toppings of your choice. We used Frito's, sour cream, green onions and cheese.

Directions: 1| Chop up all peppers and onions
2| Brown your meat
3| Drain your beans
4| Combine all canned items

Place everything in the CP & cook on low for 4-6 hours
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Enjoy xoxo

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Garbage disposal stink?

Ive recently noticed that the warmer it gets outside the more our garbage disposal stinks. I ran to the internet to find ways to get rid of the stink and came up with this recipe. It's simple and healthier for everyone in our household. 


You'll need:

1 cup of lemon juice 
1/2 cup of baking soda

Mix the two in the large mixing bowl and pour down drain. Let sit for 2 minutes and the run garbage disposal with water for 2 minutes. 

Wal-ah! Your kitchen and sink smell amazing. 

Enjoy 😃👍

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Becoming the Roberts: Living room revealed



DUN DUN DUN... onto images of our actual living room. Here's our reveal:

This is the basic layout of our living room from left to right, while standing in the kitchen. We were going to paint the wall with the window on it, too, however we decided that'd be a bit much for the small room. Our apartment offers a bay window with wooden ledge in each unit rather than a patio or balcony. We love this, because it allows a lot of light into the apartment, but also the freedom to close the blinds if we're not in the mood for daylight at that given moment. There is a horrible glare on the TV if we leave the window open, due to them being directly across from each other. Disclaimer: I didn't pose Juno in any of these images. He seems to hate having his picture taken when I want to take, but loves to photo bomb shots I don't want him to be in - thanks Jubuggy.
LIVING ROOM ACCENTS AND DESCRIPTIONS

Upper left hand corner: This image is my absolute favorite! It gives you an idea of the wall color we choose, along with a bunch of items that have tons and tons of meaning to us. The upper left hand corner was a gift from my grandmother the day before our wedding. It reads "Greg & Kristin 09-21-13". She captured my heart with this piece as it's extremely vintage and it has the golden metal as words. The upper right hand corner was a piece I had purchased online from a crafter, and had a lady at church redo the writing. It speaks a lot about who we are and how we put all of our trust into Jesus. Bottom left: This is my main inspiration for this entire room. This is from our collection of engagement images from Danah Zoulek photography. We shot them at Old Falls Village in my hometown which is a country western restored park that allows children to see what the olden days were about, & last but surely not least - our last name on a wooden plaque with gold nails and yellow yarn. OBSESSED! Not only does it have my three favorite materials but its original to us and our marriage. This is the main focal point when walking into our apartment. 

Upper right hand corner: The table that has the beautiful decorations is being replaced with the table I posted at the beginning of this entry. The tulips are a gift from Greg on Easter, the golden candle (Micheal's) in the hurricane vase (Signature Homestyles) is our unity candle from out wedding. The white stand (Hobby Lobby) holding the large white melted fake candle (gift from our wedding) was also used as a part of our unity candle. The Owl that is a part of our entertainment stand was purchased from Micheal's, too. I had two [one big and one small] but gifted the other to my mother for helping with out move this past March. She loved it, as do I.

Bottom row: The brown boxes will be stacked next to the side table [beginning of entry] when we get it and the owl and lamp will make it's way on top. The owl I got as a gift for our wedding, and the boxes I bought for $1/box at Michael's craft store. They hold our wedding keepsakes and photos we printed and don't want to forget. I absolutely love pulling them out during long days and going through each of them to relive memories of our marriage and engagement. I plan to get a new box for every single year. The lamp is from target and can hold anything in the bottom. I chose to place these small wooden balls in them because we have yet to go on vacation to a beach where we can collect sand and seashells. We'll replace the wooden balls when we make it to a beach. This lamp was $34 at Target, but $29 with my cartwheel app. The rug that's in the middle underneath the table is a $150 Nate Burkus rug that I scored on clearance for $22.00 one busy afternoon at Target. My bestie and I made a trip to goodwill later that day and saw another one on their floor as a Target reject for $75! I think I got mighty lucky when I scored this baby for our living room.


This is the cabinet that holds our 20 gallon fish tank compliments of our best friends Nicole & Jason. We got the cabinet at Target and it's been sturdy enough to hold the fish tank and showcase our belongings on the bottom. The white basket behind the Showboat picture is holding a ton of fish food, fish receipts and fish tank cleaner ;) - and the Showboat thingy has a picture from our honeymoon inside of it. The awesome yarn rhino is from Target and was a gift from our wedding. He stands on top of all of our diploma's as a symbol to me that you can defeat anything, school and tuition payments included. The bottom shelf showcases an owl I scored for $3 at Bath and Body works, a vessel holding sand and sells from our honeymoon and a wooden sign that I bought of groopdealz.com shortly before our wedding. I love the saying "have a thankful heart".

There is also a close up of the owl with this grouping of pictures that sits in our TV stand. If you can't already tell by this post that my favorite colors happen to be yellow and real and I've got an obsession with owls, then you need to get your head checked, haha.



We love our living room and feel it discribes and fits us perfectly at this point in our lives. It will grow with us and it will surely allow for changes as we add members to our family and change with the seasons. I can't wait to see it decorated for fall or Christmas, but my husband is quick to remind me to have a thankful heart and not get ahead of myself in wishing away time we have today.

We'd like to take a minute to thank the many people who have taken time our of their day to help with decorating, moving and cleaning our apartment over the last two months. Our move wouldn't have been possible without you. I'd also like to thank the many people that supported us in our marriage and on our wedding day. We love you and are blessed daily by each and everyone on of you. Please check back soon to see more awesome apartment reveals. Enjoy your rainy Tuesday friends! We'll be posting our bedroom reveal on Thursday and our bathroom and kitchen reveal on for Five on Friday! 
I'll give you a hint as what to expect....
teal, lots more teal :P    .

xox the Roberts