At The Picket Fence

Where Ideas for your Home Meet Inspiration for your Heart

Copper and Feathers Fall Mantel

At our house, there is almost always background music playing. But, I’m going to admit something to you right now. I’m VERY particular about matching the type of music to the season/mood/setting. It’s kind of a ‘thing’ with me. I mean, we all have our little quirks right?

I think that music is one of those underestimated/underappreciated elements that isn’t really talked about when it comes to home design. Maybe it’s because it’s more of an intangible. But, like the aroma of your favorite scented candle, it can really help to set the tone you desire. And maybe I take it just a ‘tad’ too seriously, but I can’t help myself! How my house feels is more important to me than how it looks.

It’s like being dressed impeccably but never smiling. The feeling has to match the look in order to be as warm and welcoming as possible, don’t you think?

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Five Minute Fall Decorating

Hello friends! It feels like FOREVER since we’ve met here! I took some much needed time off for the summer and enjoyed making precious memories with my family. My kids are back in school now and my thoughts are turning towards the changing season. But while I may have a little bit more time to myself, I still feel like I’m juggling a lot all at once. And that’s why some five minute fall decorating is about all I’m up for these days!

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Being Mom and Friend

She likes to have one us (either me or her dad) lie in bed with her for a few minutes each night before she falls asleep. I don’t think I pictured us still doing this when she was 12 but these are sacred moments which I know will not last forever (pretty sure I’m on borrowed time!) so I cherish them.

The other night, we talked about the youth group trip she would be leaving for in the morning and I told her how much I would miss her. She said, “I wish you could come with me mom.”

I smiled and felt all warm and fuzzy inside and replied, “But if I did, you wouldn’t really want me around anyway because you’ll want to be with your friends.” She smiled knowing I was right but then she said, “But you’re my BEST friend, Mom.” (Cue the waterworks!).

After I wiped my face and gave her a million kisses and hugs, I left her room overwhelmed with gratitude. Because I honestly never really set out to be her ‘friend’. I’m Mom. I’m her parent first and I always will be.

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I Cried at Home Goods

I was at Home Goods recently (let’s not talk about the fact that I was there twice in the same week, ok?) and after perusing the aisles, valiantly trying to avoid loading up my cart with everything in the clearance section, I took my few purchases up to the front of the store and noticed that there weren’t any cashiers. I was only standing there for a few seconds before a lovely sales clerk came over to ring me up.

I recognized her as an employee with whom I had interacted a few times before (because finally having a Home Goods in our city has been a pretty exciting thing!) and we began chatting about the silverware I was purchasing and how it was going to be replacing the set that we received as a wedding gift.

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Summer Book Bundle Giveaway!

*THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED*

 

One of the things I love to do most in the summertime is to sit outside on our deck with a tall glass of iced tea and a good book. It’s those really simple moments that are the most relaxing to me this time of the year and I find myself getting lost in the pages while the sunshine warms my skin and my spirit.

As an author, I’ve had so many awesome opportunities to support other authors and friends and one of the big perks of this is that I get A LOT of books sent my way!

I noticed recently that my stack of books was getting bigger and bigger and that I even had duplicates of some of them. So I decided that the only reasonable thing to do would be to have a GIVEAWAY!!!

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Grandma’s Banana Bread

“Did you know that this is the same recipe my grandmother, your great-grandmother, used to make banana bread. It was passed down to my mother who passed it down to me and now I’m passing it down to you.”

She was just four years old, standing on the stepstool so that she could reach the kitchen counter, big brown eyes looking up at me excitedly because this girl LOVES to bake. We carefully measured each ingredient, but when it came time to add the bananas, she knew what was coming and had the potato masher at the ready. As we squished those bananas through the masher, we squealed, “Ewwww! It’s the banana worms! Banana worms everywhere!” This was our silly tradition when we made banana bread. She had watched her older brother do it and now she was taking over this sacred duty.

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The Fish Funeral

“MOM, I think there’s something wrong with Coral!” I heard my daughter’s frantic cry from upstairs and knew in my heart what had happened. We had just arrived home from school and I was in the kitchen getting started on dinner when she called out to me from her room. By the time I made it upstairs, the tears had already begun to well up in her eyes. And, after a quick look at the tank confirmed our worst fears, those tears began rolling down her cheeks.

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My Favorite Decorating Tip

I am on a mission. A mission to help you discover how amazing it feels to live in a peaceful home. More than ever, I believe that we are yearning for spaces where we can shut out the craziness of the world and just ‘be’. With access right at our fingertips to all of the things all of the time, somehow as a culture we are becoming more anxious and less connected.

And there’s a reason it’s said that our homes should be our havens. So, I am passionate about helping you build a foundation of peace in your home which will sustains you when all of the craziness of life comes at you.

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We Were Going to Remodel a Bathroom But…

Our kids’ bathroom needs updating. Badly. Other than a few minor, inexpensive cosmetic changes that we made after we moved in 11 years ago, that bathroom still has the same look it had when the house was built in 1992.

And, the thing is, we’ve had the money to do it. We save and save and save some more and then when it’s time to pull the trigger we look at each other and just know that we’re going to do something else with that money.

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Just Sweet and Simple

I attended a university that was two hours away from home. It was the perfect distance for me. Far enough to feel like I was “away” from home but close enough to be able to get a break from campus life and do my laundry for free.

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