12.31.2016

Happy New Year!



2016 brought so much beauty to Stillwater Farm! Brett is working what I'm sure will be a busy shift at the fire hall today. And Baker and I will probably countdown to 9 o'clock and then hit the hay. 😂😴 

Thank you so much for following along with our family as we slowly love our home back to life.

Wishing you all the best and abundant New Year blessings! Stay safe!

2016 Highlights!

12.17.2016

Our Festive Farmhouse | Christmas Tour 2016

Merry Christmas, everyone! And welcome back to the farm!

Every year I tweak our decor.. and I've acquired LOTS of it over the years. This season we decided to keep it simple and embrace tradition and quality time with our family. I considered selling a lot of what I don't use but something held me back from listing it all. I'm hoping that I'll run across the right family to bless with some extra holiday cheer sometime and all my hoarding will pay off when I get the opportunity to pay-it-forward. :)

I've always been drawn to simple vintage decor and this year nearly everything I used was handmade or heirloom. It's all very special to us! We made our tree topper out of wood from the original corn crib here on the property. My red wooden bead garland and vintage pie safe belonged to my husband's grandmother (Granny!) and the big, chippy white window is original to our home, as well! I discovered it hiding in our barn a few weeks ago and I'm pretty sure the whole town probably heard me whoopin' and hollerin' in celebration! Aaand I drug it all the way down the barn stairs and up to the farmhouse all by myself. Much to Brett's dismay. #LOLZ. The chicken crate that I used to display our tree was thrifted during our Nashville trip this fall and my sweet hubs gifted me my beautiful German sled for my birthday a few years ago! Just about everything has a story and a memory attached. And although we have about 20 bins of ornaments, we chose a tiny tree and hand picked only our very very favorite handmade ones to hang! I probably only used 1/20th of the stuff I have but less is definitely more and meaningful for us this year! 




I scored the most darling 1974 vintage metal fire truck at our local Goodwill! It's perfect for our fire family and one of my favorite finds this year!





Classic whimsical gift wrap for the kiddos this year.. Gift GIVING is one of my love languages! Wrapping them with love is as much a blessing to me as the gift is to them!



Extra special wrapping for our "Christmas Eve" boxes.. It's tradition to open new PJs, hot chocolate, a Christmas movie and a bedtime story on Christmas Eve each year! (This super precious paper is from Target!)

My favorite Christmas cookies aren't edible! ;)


And a few Christmas throwbacks because I loved our porch last season!..




We have a few special Christmas touches in our newly spruced up kitchen, too.. (See what I did there? Spruced.. I've got Christmas puns, y'all! 🌲😂) How CUTE are these vintage cookie cutter garlands?! And both of the recipes on the vintage chalkboard are from each of our grandmothers in their own handwriting. It makes me feel like they're both with us every time we cook. One of my absolute favorite projects! (You can find my DIY chalk lettering tutorial HERE)


This jolly vintage Santa cookie jar was another Goodwill thrift find this year! And another sweet hand print craft. :)

I'm totally convinced that everything tastes better out of a santa mug. :)

DIY cup racks, cookie cutter garland and Longaberger baskets.. These are a few of my favorite things!
Handprint wreaths we made this year! And Brett made this beautiful cabinet for our kitchen a few months ago!

And how cute is this?! My momma made these for her ornament exchange.. It has dip mix inside! 

Me and Clark (Griswold)

And last but not least.. I can't blog this Christmas without sharing this.. 

"Baker Ashfurf" has been VERY nice this year! 
😂🎅🏻

Merry Christmas, everyone! We love you all!

10.31.2016

Happy Halloween!

"There is no more important safety rule than to wear.. THESE safety glasses!"

Happy Halloween from the wood shop! Norm might be our favorite costume yet! :)

#nailedit #punintended #ThisOldHouse #BiggestFans #NormAbram #SafetyFirst #NormforPresident 🇺🇸✌🏻️ #THESEsafetyglasses











And Baker got a very special surprise from our buddies at This Old House! Thanks, Norm! You guys are the best!

Your Littlest Biggest Fan!

DAY = MADE :)

10.29.2016

Fall on the Farm - 2016

It's nearly 90 degrees here in Sweet Home Alabama and we haven't had rain in months! We're experiencing pretty severe drought conditions and there are burn bans statewide. Brett has been on more brush fire calls than I can count! Unfortunately, no bonfires or sweater weather for us just yet this season, but the leaves are still changing and the farmhouse is adorned for Autumn! We patiently await the transition to crisp, cool air and warm mugs full of goodness. Until then, we'll crank up the AC and pretend we're not sweating to death. :) 

Every season I like to document and share our holiday farmhouse. It's fun to look back and see the decor from years passed and also see how the farmhouse has changed as we continue to restore it. It's sort of our way of virtually opening our doors to you and welcoming you into our home! This year I chose to go with a  pretty traditional scheme incorporating whites, neutrals and some pops of greenery because our temps have remained so mild. I still had lots of summer plants going strong and it would be wasteful not to keep them out!

Fall Exterior









Interior Touches

I typically keep our interior decor pretty simple because clutter stresses me out! We have an informal living room that welcomes guests as they enter the farmhouse through the front door. It's the perfect room to deck out each season! This year has been SO fun because Baker is totally into all the decor and asks me all the time if we can put more "magic" into each room. It makes my heart just beam!








Baker added these little mini punkins to my sugar mold all on his own! I couldn't bring myself to move them!
Baker's first vignette! LOL!
Baker also helped me decorate a few pumpkins! We used Mod Podge to make this cute kitchen pumpkin with a copy of one of my Gramma's old recipe cards..



My sweet friend Loren Miller (IG @loren_miller) sent me this adorable garland from Target! I set it up just in time for my family to visit! Makes the dining room feel perfectly festive!
Nursery Magic

Baker's room got BOOed this year, too! He kept asking me over and over again when we were going to put "magic" in his room. So we got creative and used some gauze, twine and construction paper to make this fun mummy garland and his bat family.

Consequently, he also named every single bat Boo... 
So, meet Boo, BooTwo, BooBoo, BooThang, HoneyBooBoo, BabyBoo, and BootyBoo. #boys





And despite the hot weather, we've still had our share of warm drinks and yummy treats! You can find the recipe for these fun Candy Corn Rice Krispie Pops HERE! 


We also got the opportunity to head to Nashville for our third shopping trip with my sweet insta-friends! Brett's parents came along this time and we had a fabulous time shopping the Nashville Flea Market, exploring Franklin and just having a blast laughing, eating and having fellowship with our dear friends. Hop over to my friend Stephanie's blog to read more about our trip! I so badly want her to write a book! She has such a way with words and I loved her post about social media friendships and the evolution of our relationships. It's a good one..


My Flea Market Haul! All for about $100!

And last but certainly not least..
I can't give a family update without mentioning my honey's big news!

Brett was recently named Assistant Fire Chief for the City of Columbiana and we are so, so proud of him! He is so passionate about his career and sets such a wonderful example for our little boy. His work ethic and dedication are unmatched and the awesome crew at Columbiana are like family. I know he will do a great job! Congratulations, Brett!


We had so much fun at the 2016 Fire Prevention Parade! Every firetruck loving kid's dream!  We are so proud of you, Chief Ashworth!

Ashworth Family Reunion - Palisades Park - October 2016


Best Wishes for a Bountiful Season,
-Lauren

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