just do it. and be happy for others doing it.

by admin on November 15, 2012

“i just really like this and I don’t know why?…..”

I’ll tell you why.

God.

have you ever held something in your hands or saw something and said that?

when he created you, he decided what things would make your heart stir. what colors. what smells. what textures. what seasons.

and he decided that he was going to make you absolutely perfect to him and absolutely unique to him because that’s just the way he is.

so when you like something…a painting, a blanket, a nail polish color, a beat up old table, a rusty kitchen scale, a chair, a mirror, a scarf, a side part, an eyeshadow, a rug, skinny jeans, flare leg…if it makes you smile…then you find a way to get it, and you own it.

don’t second guess yourself.

don’t ask your friend what she thinks. then your mom. then your other friend.

because chances are they’ll all have different opinions or will slip and say *something* in some way that will make you think that the things you like are silly. and then the opportunity to be you and wear what you like and decorate how you like will fade away and you’ll wonder why things just don’t feel *right*.

and it doesn’t take money to feel like you. the notion that it takes money to decorate how you want and dress how you want is basically allowing the retail beast to win.

there’s always a way to be you with your current resources. always.

20121115-063012.jpg

i like white. I can’t help it.

anything that’s white draws me in like a seagull to a French fry.

or turquoise. or robin’s egg blue. or yellow. or red.

or if it’s metal. or rusty.

but if I listened to everyone who tells me white is crazy, then I’d be trying to cuddle up on some black leather furniture.

shivering.

love what you love.

and don’t apologize for it.

xo,

Tiffany

a tour: real time + real life.

by admin on November 9, 2012

with anything in life, when there is change or breakthrough around the corner, sometimes what appears in front of you feels like a mess.

and that’s with anything.

marriage.

family.

home.

ever have a really intense argument with your husband?

no?

well good for you.

we have.

but when you break through and press in and come out victorious on the other side, you can praise God for “the mess” and the change He brings.

moving and renovations and house projects can be stressful. all the stuff that you felt like you had order and control over in shambles and you just bobble from box to box or room to room trying to make sense of everything and get no where?

it’s not something I’d label as “fun”.

but if you hold tight to our God, the One who created us and made the entire universe that we live in, things don’t seem all that bad.

and I mean this for reals.

to me, your surroundings and your home aren’t just surface-y stuff. this kind of stuff can get me all worked up and upset. when I keep trying to get organized (and I’m not really *that* organized of a person) and life just seems to keep getting messier and I can’t get a grip on it. I’m assuming I’m not the only woman who throws a fit like a big baby. seriously, sometimes I hear my own voice and I just want to tell myself to shut it.

or maybe that’s God? In his own very nice way, he’s saying, Tiffany. Please. get a grip. find the joy. hold onto it tight. and shut it.

so on that note, i’m doing a home tour.

a real one. I didn’t touch anything.

we’ve lived here for 2 1/2 years and have just recently started to make some big changes that are more us. it’s exciting.

it’s exciting to start to embrace your own personal style.

the great room:

which is currently doubling as our bedroom whilst we install hardwood floors.

I’ve received the phone call that the white slip-covered sofa from IKEA is going to be delivered in four days. so we’ll be shoving 5 more boxes into this room until we can make sense of it.

breathe tiffany……

the entryway.

the office. that’s our bedroom dresser against the chalkboard. we’re spread out everywhere.

i really want to make sense of this room.

we run two businesses and homeschool so i need so get some separation of all those things.

the powder room off the kitchen.

soon these walls will be covered in floor to ceiling chalkboard paint.

from the office, into the kitchen.

our bedroom.

our bathroom.

let’s head upstairs, shall we?

the kid’s hall.

the older boys room.

the baby’s room.

the i-have-no-idea room.

possibly an office. i don’t know. Jason and I don’t like to be alone.

so the odds of either one of us going to a room that’s away from everyone else is slim.

but still, we need something to get organized.

m’lady’s room.

the kid’s bathroom.

the basement.

the basement bathroom.

more basement.

my lady den. the laundry room. little by little I’m thrifting furniture and accessories. i just don’t want to rush it.

and that’s it.

the place we call home.

i love it and the people who are in it.

i’ve loved every single one of the apartments and homes Jason and I have shared since we’ve been married.

i love having people in our home and i love fluffing my nest.

this stuff takes time.

i need to remember all of this when I’m throwing a fit like a whiny baby.

XO,

Tiffany

 

my ikea ektorp sectional + their home delivery service review, so far.

by admin on November 5, 2012

I love ikea.

even despite the few chincy pieces we have owned from ikea, I think their company, marketing and overall concept is brilliant. and beautiful.

our entire home is pretty much a collection of ikea, flea market and thrift store. peppered with some Craigslist and Target.

I’m a super visual person so their showroom just never gets old.

a place to touch every pillow, down comforter, sofa, rug, artwork, lighting and kitchen utensil you have?

yes please.

we recently had our basement refinished and it has become a second family room. we moved the television and game system down there.

we moved our family sofa down there too. we call it the spooning sofa. it’s so deep. it’s not a sofa you can sit on without a couple pillows behind your back. it’s a sofa meant for husband and wife canoodling. I was helping my mom hunt for a sofa a few years ago and we came across it on the showroom floor. they were discontinuing it and the only one being sold was the one on display. I loved it. I tried to convince my mom to get it, but she decided she wouldn’t like such a deep sofa.

so I saved up all my part-time photography and etsy dollars and bought it. and I still love it.

sorry mom.

it sits very low to the ground, maybe 6 inches, so it’s perfect for the lower ceiling of the basement.

it always actually looked a little misplaced to me in our great room. we have a 2-story room right in the center of the house and the low profile sofa always looked like a block at the bottom of an elevator shaft.

but it’s perfect downstairs in its new home.

20121105-060422.jpg

now i have a blank canvas to work with in the great room. briefly, I had considered a mismatched collection of chairs, but then I realized there are 8 of us in our family and it would look like a waiting room.

20121105-055300.jpg

so after at least 5 years of crushing on ikea’s ektorp line, i ordered the sectional slip-covered in white. i bought two ektorp chairs off craigslist a few years ago, and they’ve never done us wrong.

jennylund

here she be.

yes, in white. i love white.

i went with ikea’s home delivery for $250. ikea isn’t known for their online sales and home delivery. they want you in their store. and of course they do. it’s impossible to leave without new pillow covers, tongs, plastic storage containers and more baskets to hide and store life’s clutter that you didn’t need. i know they play subliminal messages telling you to keep putting stuff in your cart and to buy a cone of frozen yogurt when you’re done.

had you not walked through their showroom, then you wouldn’t have filled up the plastic shopping bags both you and your husband were carrying on your arms.

after placing the order i got a confirmation email from ikea.

20121105-074720.jpg

five days later i received the email that ikea has shipped the sofa to the delivery carrier.

i’m a review reader. that’s why i love e-commerce sites like overstock, amazon and zappos. i think their review system is awesome. i research products before i purchase them and i always love hearing what others have to say about them.

in saying that, on digital paper, the delivery carrier that is bringing the sofa doesn’t fare well in customer review world.

i’m not going to let it get me down.

i prayed and i’m going to remain confident that the delivery will go smoothly.

20121105-053729.jpg

i’ll keep you posted.

xo,

Tiffany

 

 

random. i had to start somewhere.

by admin on November 3, 2012

we just recently renovated our basement. it’s something we’ve been talking about doing ever since we moved into the house 2 1/2 years ago. What started out as one giant cinder block space with a washer and dryer and all our basement-y stuff is now a cozy family room and commercial kitchen for us to grow our cold brew coffee business. it’s perfect for us.

decorating the space has been heaven for me. I started a gallery wall that will be forever changing.

Here’s the wall right next to where the kids are bonding.

20121103-100803.jpg

our bathroom off our bedroom has looked like this for months. briefly for a second, I considered painting it gray. I do that sometimes. i get these ideas in my head that I want to paint the walls, and every single time I do it, I paint them back to antique white. every. single. time.

white walls for life.

20121103-100812.jpg

i often find artwork tacked onto our headboard. i love it.

little stick people families who are doing spread eagles into the air together under a blazing sun is one of my faves.

20121103-100823.jpg

the table tennis was a happy addition to the basement renovation.

these two are wild.

her name is Tiffany too and we have the exact same birthday.

she’s a pregnant gangster.

20121103-100852.jpg

I get to be in the room when their first baby boy is born. and hopefully for every baby after that. it depends on my behavior.

only 6 more weeks. max.

20121103-100840.jpg

I have mastered the art of fancifying minute oats.

we buy minute oats in bulk for the refined taste-buds in this house, and I like to serve it as meals when daddy isn’t home to feed us.

apple cinnamon oats was a big hit.

20121103-100859.jpg

i call these two “Frick and Frack.”

wikipedia it.

the four kids cycle between pairing off together when they play, and when these two get together, it’s comical. two 2-year old is speaking equal parts fluid english and gibberish, so their conversations as they destroy each floor of the house is always very entertaining. after hours of play, they then turn on each other.

20121103-100905.jpg

i colored my hair nearly black a few weeks ago and declared that i was taking a bleach break for an entire year.

this is how long that lasted.

i openly admit to being addicted to both bleach and denim. i only feel like a whole person if my hair is white and i’m wearing jeans.

20121103-100920.jpg

she now says she wants to color her hair purple.

not all of it, just “some strands.” who am i to say no?

so I thought I’d color her hair after we went and got tattoos together.

just kidding.

20121103-100831.jpg

i just love a crowded table. these are all my people.

our older girls. the younger four. my dad.

we need a bigger table.

that would give me a reason to bring home more thrifted chairs.

20121103-100927.jpg

xo,

Tiffany