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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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    • Featured

May 2, 2011

Blog of the Week and a Winner!


Before we unveil our Featured Blogger of the Week, we have to take care of the little business of announcing the winner of our
Math Blaster Giveaway!
And the winner is….
Martina from Northern Nesting, who said,
“I think my 9 yr. old son would love this! Thanks for sharing this information with us!”
Congratulations Martina! Please contact us so that we can get you signed up for this wonderful 3-month trial Membership.
And now, our Featured Blogger this week is someone who has become very near and dear to both of us. Vanessa first “met” her while still blogging over at Southern in my Heart. What started as a bond over similar decorating styles and interest, quickly flourished into a wonderful friendship.

This is Judy…

[IMG_1444_edited-copy.JPG]

And her blog…

On Judy’s blog you can see everything from her incredible Kitchen Makeover
 (get ready to drool!)
To her ingenius way of using this…

To make this!

And her gorgeous Mud Room Transformation!
But we are pretty sure that what you will also find over at Judy’s blog, is what we have found there as well. And that is someone who is warm and welcoming and genuinely LOVES this Blogging Community. She has been such a huge supporter of us here at the Fence, and we have so enjoyed getting to know her better even beyond the blog!

Judy also hosts a fantastic Linky Party every Wednesday so be sure to add this one to your list of favorite places to party.

Judy is the kind of gal who not only has the talent and knack for coming up with beautiful creations for her home, she also has the knack for making everyone who visits feel like they are apart of a community. And you know how much we love doing community!
So, please take a minute and pop over and visit Judy at DIY By Design.
We know you will be glad you did!
Thanks for visiting us today at the Fence,

14 Comments Filed Under: Featured Blogger

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Judy says

    May 2, 2011 at 1:44 PM

    I stopped by as I do everyday and was shocked and so honored to find that you had chosen me as your featured blog of the week. You both have come to mean so much to me and I completely and utterly appreciate your friendship. Thank you again for this wonderful honor. I am truly humbled by your kind words.

    Reply
  2. Pam @ Our Adventures in Home Improvement says

    May 2, 2011 at 2:06 PM

    Congratulations to Martina and Judy! I love both of their blogs!

    Reply
  3. marty (A Stroll Thru Life) says

    May 2, 2011 at 2:31 PM

    I love Judy’s blog. Her home is indeed stunning and yes, she really is such a warm and gracious person. Great choice for your feature. Hugs, Marty

    Reply
  4. ℳartina @ Northern Nesting says

    May 2, 2011 at 2:41 PM

    Thank you girls, I can’t wait to tell my son when he’s gets home from school, I am sure my girls are going to want to get in on the act too:) Martina

    Reply
  5. Val says

    May 2, 2011 at 2:51 PM

    Her home is AMAZING. Be still my heart.

    Reply
  6. Ange says

    May 2, 2011 at 4:11 PM

    Congratulations Judy! 🙂 So happy to see your smiling face and beautiful home on here. I love her blog, if you haven’t checked it out yet, head on over!

    Reply
  7. michelle says

    May 2, 2011 at 4:32 PM

    What a gorgeous home and blog! I will have to go take a peek over there and say hi. 🙂

    Reply
  8. Shelia says

    May 2, 2011 at 6:33 PM

    Judy’s blog is marvelous! How nice of you to feature her. She’s just too talented. Ain’t fair, is it? 🙂
    Be a sweetie,
    Shelia 😉

    Reply
  9. Vivienne @ the V Spot says

    May 2, 2011 at 6:39 PM

    Love Judy! Great choice!

    Reply
  10. LowCountryLiving says

    May 2, 2011 at 7:55 PM

    Wow, everything is so gorgeous! I’ll have to check out more.

    Reply
  11. Kathy says

    May 2, 2011 at 8:45 PM

    Great choices! wonderful pics – would love to have a mud room.
    Hope you have a great week,
    Kathy

    Reply
  12. Ann from On Sutton Place says

    May 2, 2011 at 11:23 PM

    I think your “blog of the week” feature is so great…I have followed DIY by Design almost since the beginning. Her house is truly lovely. Makes me wish I could win the lottery and start all over again! Have a great week…~Ann

    Reply
  13. Debbie says

    May 3, 2011 at 1:04 AM

    I know that blog!! She gives me the worst inferiority complex in blogland half the time.

    Great choice!

    Reply
  14. Gina says

    May 3, 2011 at 1:07 AM

    I found Judy’s blog recently & I love it…good choice!

    Reply

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Happy Friday!! I’m working on a blog post to sha Happy Friday!! I’m working on a blog post to share all of the details of our family room shelving makeover but I’m super impatient and just had to give you all a sneak peek!! We are SO happy with how they turned out and it finally looks like I’ve always envisioned. Our quick fix years ago (scroll to see the before photo) never felt quite right but now? Soooo much better!! 🙌🏻 Big shoutout to our amazingly talented friend Matt @redemptive_woodworx for bringing our vision to life and doing such impeccable work.

I hope you all have a great start to the 4th of July weekend and make sure to check my stories later for Friday Funnies!
The month of June is coming to a close and it has The month of June is coming to a close and it has been JAM packed! The highlight by far though was my son's graduation from high school. When I started blogging, he was only 6 years old and some of you have been apart of my community here for that entire time. Now, he's 19 and there is a reason parents are told not to blink because the years truly do go faster than I ever could have imagined. He has become such an incredible young man we are so excited to see how God is going to unfold the next chapter of his life. We celebrated with parties galore (SO many open houses to attend!) and made memories we'll forever cherish. My mama heart was filled to bursting with the joy of it all! Now we're taking some time to just enjoy these warm, summer days making even more memories because, when you’re at this stage of parenting, you know all too well how much you need to grasp every opportunity to spend time together.

I hope your summer is off to a great start too dear friends! 🪴
“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts o “And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.” F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Happy first day of summer dear friends!! I can’t believe it’s been so long since I posted something new here but life has been crazy. I’ll have some new photos of house projects and life events to share with you soon but, got now, I’m just going to enjoy this gorgeous first day of summer after our ridiculously long, wet spring. ☀️
“It was June, and the world smelled of roses. Th “It was June, and the world smelled of roses. The sunshine was like powdered gold over the grassy hillside.” (Maud Hart Lovelace) 

Welcome June!
“No man is entitled to the blessings of freedom “No man is entitled to the blessings of freedom unless he be vigilant in its preservation.”
General Douglas MacArthur

Grateful today and every day for those who were vigilant to the point of death in the preservation of our freedom. May we honor their sacrifice by being vigilant too. #memorialday
“Those who know your name trust in you, for you, “Those who know your name trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.” Psalm 9:10
This is one of my most favorite projects from my b This is one of my most favorite projects from my book Life in Season! 

Because, if heaven has a fragrance, I’m fairly certain it smells like lilacs.

I think that somewhere along the way the verse in the Bible that said, ‘heaven will smell like lilacs’ just got lost in translation. But it HAD to have been in there at some point, right?

When I bury my head in the blossoms (which I absolutely MUST do every single time I walk past them), I immediately feel a stirring in my soul.

It seems like I wait forever for my lilac tree to bloom. Every year I anxiously watch as the buds begin to form on the branches and then when the blossoms finally burst forth I begin that agonizing process of deciding the absolute perfect moment to snip them and bring them inside.

And then, after all of that waiting and watching it’s just over…done. Because, unlike heaven, lilacs don’t last for an eternity. So, making my own lilac room spray seemed like the perfect way to enjoy their fragrance long after the blossoms have faded.

Here’s how to make it! Ingredients: Water, Vodka, Lilac fragrance oil. Directions: Fill spray bottle with 50/50 ratio of water to vodka. Add 12 drops of lilac oil. Give it a shake, spray and if the scent isn’t strong enough, simply add a few more drops of lilac oil.

Once you’ve made this lilac scented room spray you will be very tempted to spray it in every room in your house. And someone may want to use it in the bathroom to cover up other less…ummmm….pleasing aromas.

But, do not, I repeat do NOT, let them.

You’ve captured the fragrance of heaven in a bottle and you wouldn’t want to go and tarnish it now would you? 😉
We had two back to back days of sunshine (the most We had two back to back days of sunshine (the most we’ve had in a LONG time) and now we are back to pouring rain. This has officially confirmed what I’ve know to be true for awhile now.

I’m a MUCH better version of myself when the sun is shining! 🤪 So I’ll just be over here today plotting and planning how my husband and I can be snowbirds someday when the kids are out of the house.

If you could spend your winters (and apparently most of spring too!) in any part of the country, where would it be?
Happy weekend sweet friends!! We’ve had a LOT of Happy weekend sweet friends!! We’ve had a LOT of rain lately (which is saying something when you live in Oregon) and I’ll admit that it’s affecting my moods a bit. I feel like I’m dragging and struggling to find the energy to get stuff done. So don’t mind me if I’m over here looking at photos of my garden in the summertime and finding that it keeps me hopeful about those days to come. They will come, right?! 🤪. 

What are your favorite plants that you look forward to seeing in the summer?
We’re going to be giving our laundry room a make We’re going to be giving our laundry room a makeover soon. It’s LONG overdue! In fact, the folks from the counter company were just here taking measurements. While we have made some simple, inexpensive updates over the years, it still has many of the original elements from when the house was built in 1992.

Two of our bathrooms are also in need of major makeovers. And we’ve saved up enough money over the years to tackle those projects. But, for the most part, we made the decision to use the bulk of that money in another way. While we knew that it was financially wise to invest in our house, we also knew that the greatest investment we could make was in our children. 

I’ll admit, there are times where I see other people doing massive overhauls of their entire home in a matter of months and I feel a prick of envy. But, we decided that if our choice was between waiting a bit longer to enjoy a renovated bathroom or going on adventures as a family, we would choose adventures every time. And we don’t regret that decision for a single second. It’s not that we haven’t tackled home projects (we’ve done a lot!). It’s just that it’s been a slow and steady process. 

Most recently, we let our son pick where we would travel for spring break since this is his senior year of high school and we are trying to make up for lost time. With so much of life ‘paused’ for two years, we have appreciated these moments more than ever. And, since he’ll be heading to college in the fall, we are very aware of how important it is to spend this time together while we still have a modicum of control over everyone’s schedules.

We have many years left to remodel our home but only so much time left to make memories with our children.

And, while I’m always happy to look around my home and see rooms that are updated and more reflecting of our style, it doesn’t compare to the joy I feel when I look around my home and see the people I love the most who have been shaped by the many adventures we’ve experienced together.
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