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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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November 18, 2016

There’s a Refrigerator in My Hallway

Oh yes, yes there is. Why is there a refrigerator in my hallway you ask? Well, we decided that things weren’t crazy enough around our house right now so we figured why not have some flooring ripped up and replaced?!

‘Tis the season!

refrigerator in hallway

Ok, so the REAL reason we are doing this right now is because we’ve partnered together with the incredible folks at Shaw Floors to try out a fabulous product from one of their amazing new lines.

I am beyond excited to be having these beautiful floors from the Epic Plus Hardwood collection installed in my home this week!

stack of shaw wood flooring

They’re going in the family room which has always had carpet and already this room looks twice as big. A beautiful new rug is on its way to us too and I cannot wait to see how it all comes together.

Shaw flooring installation 2

The kitchen is getting some love as well!

It had floors in desperate need of attention after 20+ years of neglect.

shaw flooring installation 1

And, I’m afraid that I will forever be known to the amazing installers working in our home this week as the crazy lady who bubble wrapped her cabinets.

Because when only a few months ago you paid to have your cabinets professional painted and the flooring people tell you that it can get kinda crazy when they pull up the old floors you decide to risk looking insane and break out the bubble wrap!

under construction

So far it’s worked like a charm even if it does make it just a tad challenging to get into any of the drawers. 😉

bubble wrap on cabinets

 

And in the midst of it all I’m also decorating for Christmas. Because, when things are already really nutty why not add a little bit more nuttiness into the mix?

This buffet table in my dining room is honestly the only pretty place in my house right now. When I’ve gotten overwhelmed this week I just kind of stare at it and pretend like everything behind me doesn’t look like a bomb went off! 😉

Christmas buffet table decorations atthepicketfence.com

 

But, today is the day when it should all be completed and I’m so excited to share the big reveal with you soon! Heather is also having new flooring installed in her home this week so we will have so much to show you in the coming weeks.

Until then, I’m just going to go and remove the bubble wrap, enjoy my new floors and scrape off the layer of dust that is now on every.single.thing in my house!

Hope you have a great weekend friends,

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5 Comments Filed Under: Good Ideas

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Comments

  1. Jeanie says

    November 18, 2016 at 4:18 AM

    Wow…a lot going on!! I cannot wait to see it all finished!!

    Reply
  2. Julia says

    November 18, 2016 at 4:23 AM

    Oh yes I would bubble wrap everything too! Can’t wait to see how it all looks!

    Reply
  3. Patty says

    November 18, 2016 at 7:57 AM

    Soooo excited to see the finished look. And have fun now getting it all put back together just right!

    Reply
  4. Carol Reddin says

    November 18, 2016 at 9:01 AM

    I LOVE the new flooring, Vanessa! It is perfect with the rest of the house! Great choice!

    Reply
  5. Judith Dragos says

    November 18, 2016 at 1:18 PM

    You actually made me laugh out loud about the refrigerator thing. Life is crazy sometimes, this will become one of your favorite stories to tell around the holidays for many years. Have a Happy Thanksgiving Vanessa with your entire family as well.

    Reply

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Yesterday on the way home from school I had the ra Yesterday on the way home from school I had the radio tuned to my daughter's favorite station and a song that was playing had a line in it that really stood out to me. It made reference to a 'season of the sticks' which I think its safe to say must mean winter. I thought that was such an accurate, albeiet kind of depressing, picture of this time of the year.

While we definitely have more than our fair share of evergreen trees here in Oregon, we also have plenty of trees and bushes that are reduced to sticks during the cold months. But, this morning as I looked out my kitchen window, greedily sipping from my mug of coffee, I marveled at the beauty of the winter sunrise. The sky was all pinks and oranges with frost on the rooftops and a little bit of fog. And, I realized that part of why it was so amazing is because I could see it more clearly through the sticks. The bare branches allowed me a view that I wouldn't be able to see if those same branches were covered in leaves. Being stripped down to almost nothing revealed something magnificent.

We have seasons of the sticks in our lives too, don't we? Times when we feel as though we've been stripped bare and left exposed. It's easy to think that this is a place where all is ugly and dark. And yet, just like the winter sunrise was more visible because of the bare branches, the vulnerability we feel in the winter season of our souls allows us to get a glimpse of beauty that we wouldn't see otherwise. In the lush, warm seasons it's so easy to become comfortable. But in the bare, cold seasons we recognize just how much we need to rely on the One who placed the stars in the heavens and is sovereign over all.

If you feel like your soul has been stripped bare and you've been left exposed and vulnerable, may I encourage you today to ask the Lord to help you to see the beauty in this 'season of the sticks'.

“Answer me quickly, O Lord! My spirit fails! Hide not your face from me, lest I be like those who go down to the pit. Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul." Psalm 143:7
I just went to make my mid-morning protein shake a I just went to make my mid-morning protein shake and grabbed a banana out of the freezer and was about to put it into my shake before I realized it was a frozen egg roll. Sooooo that's how my day is going so far! 🤪How about you?

It's honestly fairly representative of my state of mind these days as I can't seem to make the date on the calendar match the date in my spirit because it feels like it should be January 45th. Every year this month drags on and every year it seems to surprise me for some reason. In addition, my heart just feels heavy as I witness a lot of darkness and sadness around me. So, I'm choosing to control what I can control by making my house feel as cozy as possible, relishing the sunshine whenever it dares to peek through the clouds, gathering inspiration for warmer weather projects and, most importantly, resting in the comfort of the sovereignty of my Father.

“God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways; he does great things beyond our understanding. He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’ and to the rain shower, ‘Be a mighty downpour.’ So that everyone he has made may know his work..." Job 37:5-7
What if you could do something at the beginning of What if you could do something at the beginning of your day that would be a gift to yourself later on? That’s what we’re talking about on this week’s Tip Tuesday! #tiptuesday
The sun decided to make another appearance today! The sun decided to make another appearance today! It’s been such a lovely Sunday. Chocolate croissants for breakfast followed by church then naps/football/reading/etc and soon we’ll be heading out to dinner with friends. These are my favorite kind of weekends. Hope yours has been lovely too! 🌿
Yesterday was stormy and cold but today the sunshi Yesterday was stormy and cold but today the sunshine is breaking through the fog and my house just seems happier. We definitely needed to see that light streaming in through the windows and it’s a gift I don’t take for granted.

And yes, there are still twinkle lights on my mantle because those help when the sunshine goes away again. ✨
Happy weekend! The rainy and gloomy weather here i Happy weekend! The rainy and gloomy weather here in the Willamette Valley has me feeling less frustrated about my migraine forcing me to just snuggle up indoors and these flowers in my kitchen are lifting my spirits. What are you up to on this holiday weekend?
It’s time for TIP TUESDAY! This week, I’m offe It’s time for TIP TUESDAY! This week, I’m offering a gentle reminder from my own parenting experience after feeling my heart pricked with conviction about what was waiting for my daughter every day after school. I hope it will encourage you! 🌿#tiptuesday
The day after Christmas I found myself laundering The day after Christmas I found myself laundering and folding all of the linens we used the previous night as we hosted my husband's side of the family for dinner and other festivities. As I laid out each cloth napkin and folded them one by one, I couldn't help but be struck by what a simple, yet meaningful, task it was. It's such an honor and privilege to be the hostess and, at this stage of my life, I realize that this has almost one hundred percent become my role now. Our parents are in their 70's and have either downsized significantly or simply don't have the energy to take on hosting duties for a large group. I could resent this. I could feel overwhelmed by it. But, instead, I'm choosing to embrace it knowing that, someday, I too will pass the hosting torch and I hope that I will be welcomed with love and attentiveness. So, I fold the linen napkins, taking pleasure in the way all of the creases line up and how neat and tidy they look in the drawer of my dining room buffet. These seemingly simple chores are part of the lifeblood of homemaking and my attitude towards them can either be one of gratefulness or grumbly-ness (yes, I'm making up words now). 

And I’m choosing gratefulness. 

“This job has been given to me to do. Therefore, it is a gift. Therefore, it is a privilege. Therefore, it is an offering I may make to God. Therefore, it is to be done gladly, if it is done for Him. Here, not somewhere else, I may learn God’s way. In this job, not in some other, God looks for faithfulness.” (Elisabeth Elliot⁣)
Welcome to Tip Tuesday! I’m so excited to be kic Welcome to Tip Tuesday! I’m so excited to be kicking off the year with a brand new series! Each weekly installment will feature a tip for everything from your home to faith to parenting to family life and so much more. My goal for 2023 is to have far more personal interaction with this community while continuing on with the mission of weaving together all things heart and home. I hope you enjoy this first tip and I’d love to hear from you about whether or not you decorate for winter! 
#tiptuesday #organizing #winterdecorating
“He has made everything beautiful in its time. H “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” 

Here’s to beginnings. Happy new year friends! May you experience the majesty and sovereignty of the Lord in 2023 like never before! ✨
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