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At The Picket Fence with Vanessa Hunt

Where Ideas for your Home Meet Inspiration for your Heart

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Painted Staircase Handrail Makeover
A New French Country Dining Table
Gaining Perspective
Baked Lemon Rosemary Donuts

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Christmas Kitchen and Family Room

*Welcome to part two of my Christmas home tour! Part one can be seen here.* ~~~~~~ "Mom, will I inherit this wooden spoon when you die?" My daughter and I were in the kitchen baking Christmas goodies last weekend and when it was time to stir the ingredients, she immediately reached for our favorite wooden spoon. Anyone overhearing us would, most likely, have been startled by this ... continue reading...

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Devotionals

A New Gig!

Lessons From Growing Out My Bangs

Gaining Perspective

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Welcome to Autumn

Simple Fall Decorating Ideas for Your Home

Autumn Home Tour

Apple Bread Pudding

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Honey Tea Cake Loaf with Lemon Glaze

Apple Bread Pudding

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Christmas Kitchen and Family Room December 19, 2021
Christmas Home Tour Part One December 10, 2021
Easy Hot Cocoa Station November 21, 2021
Simple Fall Decorating Ideas for Your Home September 28, 2021
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Happy weekend friends! After several days of an of

Happy weekend friends! After several days of an off and on migraine (I was literally in bed all day Wednesday while my head felt like it was going to explode) coupled with really hard, sad news in my feed both on a national and personal level, the sunshine we had yesterday was such a wonderful gift. It’s amazing how something as simple as seeing sunlight streaming through your windows can make such a big difference.

Today is a new day though and, while there is heavy fog outside now, I’m carrying that gift of sunshine with me. ☀️.

What are you up to this weekend?

“I believe that a godly home is a foretaste of h

“I believe that a godly home is a foretaste of heaven. Our homes, imperfect as they are, must be a haven from the chaos outside. They should be a reflection of our eternal home, where troubled souls find peace, weary hearts find rest, hungry bodies find refreshment, lonely pilgrims find communion, and wounded spirits find compassion.” (Jani Ortlund).

As we start a new week, I’m thinking about the tangible steps I can take to make my home a haven from the chaos.

What are some of your favorite ways to create a sense of peace in your own home?

Slow. That's how I feel right now about starting o

Slow. That's how I feel right now about starting out the new year. Cold temperatures, pouring rain (often mixed with snow) and dark days have me feeling not overly anxious to pack up all of my Christmas decor. The twinkling lights at 6:30 in the morning help to lift my spirits and make things bearable until I can get more coffee in my system.

So, I'm giving myself permission to just take things slowly. I ease into decorating for the season so why can't I ease out of it? As I transition my home from Christmas to 'winter' I'm determined to make it feel as cozy and warm as possible. Candles, greenery and, yes, even a few twinkling lights will definitely help. And I'm embracing this slower approach in my spirit as well as in my home. Instead of racing out of the new year gates, I'm finding myself in need of more reflection and time to process where I am in this stage of life, career and ministry. In a culture moving at breakneck speed, going slowly feels a little rebellious. And I guess I'm ok with embracing my inner rebel. 😉

We don’t get snow in the Willamette Valley very

We don’t get snow in the Willamette Valley very often so when it arrives (and doesn’t bring with it massive ice storms) we enjoy it to the fullest. Especially when it arrives Christmas night and stays for awhile. I hope you have all had a lovely few days with family and friends! We certainly have! 🎄❄️

“And when we give each other Christmas gifts in

“And when we give each other Christmas gifts in His name, let us remember that He has given us the sun and the moon and the stars, and the earth with its forests and mountains and oceans–and all that lives and move upon them. He has given us all green things and everything that blossoms and bears fruit and all that we quarrel about and all that we have misused–and to save us from our foolishness, from all our sins, He came down to earth and gave us Himself.” — Sigrid Undset.

Merry Christmas, dear friends, from my home to yours!

Merry Christmas Eve Eve friends! I hope you are so

Merry Christmas Eve Eve friends! I hope you are soaking up all of the sweetest moments of the season and making memories to last a lifetime. 🎄

It seems like such a sweet gift that following sev

It seems like such a sweet gift that following several days of rain and wind that Winter’s solstice would dawn with sunshine. There’s even snow in the forecast! 👏🏻 ❄️.

How are you all doing today? My daughter and I have a bit of shopping to do today and I’m halfway through wrapping presents. We have quite a bit of baking left to do but that’s the fun part! Except for the cleanup. 🤪 I hope you are having a great week so far and carving out time to just soak up the simple, sacred parts of the season.

The box was sent to us every year from my grandmot

The box was sent to us every year from my grandmother who lived in Michigan. And when it arrived, you would have thought that THIS was Christmas day. Upon opening it, we would see package after package, wrapped in festive paper and there would be tins filled with homemade goodies. Peanut butter balls, molasses cookies and so much more! There were presents to be put under the tree in anticipation of the big day but there were always smaller gifts, usually simply wrapped in tissue paper, with my grandmother’s handwriting scrawled across and the words ‘OPEN NOW‘. Those had to be two of the best words in existence!

Nowadays, a box arrives to our house from across the country with packages tucked inside and the words ‘Open Now’ written on them in my mom’s handwriting. There’s always one for me too! And I can’t stop thinking about the beauty of those two words.

We wait all year for Christmas to arrive and the closer it gets, the more the anticipation builds. Cookies are baked, menus are planned, parties are held, presents are purchased, wrapped and placed under the tree. There is so much that we do to get ready for this one day. And everything that happens throughout the season is done with the understanding that it’s only a glimmer of what’s to come. So much of this season is a waiting experience. Waiting for the big meal, waiting for the family to gather, waiting for the best present. But, friends, we don’t have to wait to celebrate the birth of our Savior.

Jesus Christ is an OPEN NOW gift!

He isn’t confined to this one day out of the year and we don’t need to postpone the acceptance of the gift of His life, death and resurrection on our behalf. The greatest gift ever given. You know that feeling you get when you open the perfect present? The one where you can tell that the person giving it to you put in so much thought and care and that they just really ‘get’ you? Well, that feeling of being seen and known and loved is only an infinitesimal glimpse of how it feels to receive the gift of Christ.

And the beauty of this gift is that it’s already been given to you even if you don’t really recognize it. You only need to open it up.

To open it now.

Happy Friday dear friends! Can you believe that we

Happy Friday dear friends! Can you believe that we are exactly one week away from Christmas Eve? I'm almost done with my shopping but I still have a TON of wrapping to do. How about you? Where are you on the scale of totally done and ready for the big day vs way behind and ready to curl up in a ball and just give everyone a roll of toilet paper for Christmas (which is not a bad gift these days!)?

I'm working on the second half of my Christmas home tour and will have that ready to be sent out to my newsletter subscribers very soon and if you want to see part one you can find it in the link in my bio. I hope you are getting some pockets of time to soak up the sweetest parts of the season and that you enjoy your family and friends as we head into the home stretch!

I am a Christmas music purist. Give me all of the

I am a Christmas music purist. Give me all of the old standards with crooners like Perry Como, Nat King Cole, Etta James, Bing Crosby and the like. I do not enjoy modernized versions of the classics and I am regularly teased about this by my family who will often try to play some heinous new take on ‘White Christmas’ with way too much ‘woo woo woo’ (you know what I’m talking about!) just to torture me.

A couple of years ago I laboriously curated a playlist with all of my favorites and even found some songs I had never heard before! If you want to feel all warm and fuzzy inside, go listen to the song ‘December’ by Kay Starr.

My favorite finds were those songs that still had the scratchy record element to them. They just conjure up simpler times and, for some reason, feel like home to me.

I’ve just always been a traditional girl at heart. When I attempt to hop on board the ‘trend train’ it rarely goes well. So, I’ve finally accepted that the best approach to decorating my home for the seasons is the simplest one. The one that is less stylized and more soft. The one that might not look like it belongs on the cover of a magazine, but that makes me feel a sense of peace as I glance around the rooms. Like those old classics, my home doesn’t need much enhancement to still feel Christmas-y.

There’s definitely not a whole lot of extra ‘woo woo woo’ happening here. Just subtle touches that don’t distract from the heart of the season. Perhaps one of the best parts of getting older is becoming more comfortable, more settled, in who you are. Not that there isn’t room for change because, goodness knows, there are many things I need to work on and I definitely don’t want to get too stuck in my ways.

But, I feel less pressure to make a splash. Less inclined to try and fit myself or my home in a mold where it was never meant to fit.

Sometimes it’s just best to not mess with the classics. I think my favorite Christmas crooners would agree.

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