Life in the Country

Traveling here, where we live, is relaxing.

There's no traffic on the country roads that lead to the city.

Some days I'll take a detour, a smaller country road,

 that loops back to the highway

just so I can crawl at a snails pace

 and take in the beauty of this place.

I never tire of it. 

Ever.

I thought maybe you'd like to see...

 

The wind is picking up a bit right now 

as there's a storm headed our way.

We're in for a few days of rough weather.

Prepping the basement today, just-in-case.

xo, Amber

Step By Step

As we progress through our complete-house-renovation,

my new rule is was,

"No more tearing out unless we have material

 to put it back together!"

Riiiight....

Honestly, some things must be ripped out

so you can see what you're working with.

The staircase railing was one of those things.

We won't get into how atrocious that was or

how many beer cans we found underneath

the stair treads. That, my dear was another HUGE hint.

Not surprised though since the walls we've torn into

and the crawlspace in the ceiling had just as many.

Let the good times roll! Haha!

Ahem, back to the story...

Since we completely redid our old house before we gave it away,

there were things there that we loved.

And, yes, the staircase was one of those things.

The old house staircase had a pony wall that went down

the entire length and ended in the hallway.

It was very 1990's and it looked like 

everyone else's house in the 'hood. 

We had a better, more custom plan.

Bruce put a landing in and

turned it into the formal living room.

It was beautiful. 

Yeah, I miss that house.

Probably because the renovation

there was complete

{sometimes when you remember the past, you just remember

the good parts and forget the bad}.

Bruce designed and welded it

and we're doing that again in our

new home.

We picked out material last night and are going

with the same newel posts and pickets but

going with a different hand rail and end.

Oh, I cannot wait!

The iron inside the house will match the iron outside the house.

An unexpected cottage surprise. 

{Have I mentioned how lucky and happy I am that I married

a very talented man? The man has skills!}

The upstairs will then be completely walled for

Petunia's bedroom and bathroom with plenty of room for a new guest room.

The guest room will have a "balcony" overlooking

the great room (another idea taken from another house I lived in)

and have the spectacular view of the woods.

I'll make a curtain that can be drawn for privacy.

Yesterday was demo day:

Thank goodness I have pictures to envision what it'll look

like one day.

May you all have a Blessed Easter.

xo, Amber

Simple Pleasure

It's a fact that you cannot buy

real happiness. 

That always comes from within. 

You can buy a simple pleasure

and something that brings a smile, though...

I hope you treat yourself to something

lovely today.

You deserve it.

xo, Amber

I Want Babies

We went to the city yesterday to pick up

some cattle panels at Tractor Supply.

After peeling my three boys and girl

 away from the

clothing and boot department,

we finally got to venture through the rest

of the store but not before the Mr.

got some new work boots and a John Deere

t-shirt that the boys picked for him to match 

their JD ball cap and t-shirts

(we don't even own a tractor yet but when we do, 

I hope it's green) and Petunia got

a new winter coat for next year at 60% off.

Anyway, as we walked further along,

I heard babies.

Fluffy, downy, extremely cute babies, 

chirping and squeaky quacking.

We didn't bring any home

but you better believe I'm fixin' to.

I'm tempted to do what I did last time...

get the chicks so my coop

gets bumped up on the list.

Devious? Mmmmmmaybe.

xo, Amber

Eat Cake

I LOVE to bake so today,

I put on an apron and did.

I have created several new recipes of 

extremely moist (and delicious)

Bundt cakes.

Every week it's a new creation

and a new favorite.

Part of me wants to share

but the other part wants

to hoard my recipes

because there may be 

a day that I use them

for something special.

Yeah, sometimes I dream of opening 

a very petite bakery slash coffee shop in town

but it's not my true dream.

I mean, I could make it work but

there is really something else I 

really, really want to do. 

That's a whole other post of its own!

If I did (open a small bakery),

 I know I would have customers!

The Monday morning crew that comes around to 

pick up greens (limbs/leaves/clippings) are my

biggest fans right now.

If we have a big pile out there, I usually

get up early and bake their favorite:

Brownies.

Or I'll change it up and make some muffins

or cupcakes for them.

It's amazing how happy you can make someone

just by baking them a little something as a sign

of appreciation.

{Truth is, I just want to make sure they keep

coming back to pick up our piles!}

Today's new recipe is Double Vanilla Buttercream.

My taste testers approve (my boys).

Never does a cake have enough time to cool

before they are ready to sample.

Today was no different.

Happy Spring and eat some cake!

It will make you happy!

xo, Amber