Everything Home Magazine - February Issue!

Our February issue is live! Enjoy and Happy Love Month!

2016 One Word Resolution

I "met" my Instagram friend Sarah from East Plum last year when she invited me to showcase some of her amazing handmade pieces in our nursery reveal and I've just adored her ever since. Not only is she super down to earth and an amazing and passionate momma, but she's incredibly talented to boot. Her shop is brimming with the most unique and whimsical items. (You can shop her Etsy store here or follow her on Insta here.. And no, she didn't pay me or ask me to share her links. I just love her that much!) :)

Not long ago Sarah invited me to participate in the launch of her latest collection entitled One Little Word. A concept centered on selecting and highlighting one word to represent the upcoming year. Since I'm not one to make a long list of resolutions, this project was right up my alley! It has allowed me to truly reflect on the past year and my goals for our family in 2016. What an awesome project, right?! Sarah will be sharing more about this collection on her Instagram account and I encourage you to hop over and read more.

I wanted to document the word we chose and share our photo collection. It will be interesting to look back on this next year and see if it did indeed embody whatever 2016 encompasses for us. Here's to hoping!

Per·sist | verb: To continue firmly or obstinately in an opinion or a course of action in spite of difficulty, opposition, or failure.

"2015 was a long year of pushing through week to week. We’ve been living with ripped out kitchens and bathrooms and entire sections of our home. My husband averaging only a few nights home each week. Little money and little time hasn’t allowed for much progress on many fronts – if any. But, amidst the chaos we’ve tried our best to remain steadfast in our goals for our home and for our family. We are incredibly grateful for the home we’ve been blessed with. We’re incredibly grateful for our jobs. We’re incredible grateful for the challenges we’ve faced because without them we would lack the wisdom and perspective gained by the experiences. Here’s to hoping that 2016 will continue to be a year of persistence. That know matter what, we will continue to move forward and make positive changes in our home, in our relationships and in our family!"

Happy New Year! - Lauren

Everything Home Magazine - January Issue!

     Happy New Year from the Everything Home Magazine​ family! In less than two short months our magazine has gained over 400,000+ readers and we're growing every day! We couldn't have done it without your continued encouragement and support. The future is bright and we can't wait to see what 2016 has in store! We hope you had an incredible holiday season and that you enjoy our first issue of the new year. Happy Reading!

-Lauren

DIY Parking Garage

Baker's stocking was a huge hit this year! Santa was on a tight budget so he had to get a little creative. ;) We really love homemade gifts and toys anyways so we enjoy creating things for our home that are unique and special. We can't take credit for this idea at all. I actually found it here! But we did customize it a bit to fit our needs. Baker loved it so much and it was such an easy and inexpensive project. I thought I'd share the details in case anyone else has a car or truck lover like we do and wants to give this DIY a try!

All we used to make this was a crate, some scrap PVC pipe and a piece of scrap wood. The crate is from Michael's and was about $14. (We used a 50% off coupon.) Overall, we spent a whopping $9 on everything! I do like the look of natural unstained wood, but I wanted it to look a little more polished so we put one coat of light wood stain on the crate. And because our little boy has cars and trucks of all shapes and sizes we decided to incorporate two different size PVC tubes to accommodate them all. The tubes fit very tightly in the size crate we used so we didn't think it was necessary to glue them in. But, if you used a different size crate or PVC you could easily hot glue them in to secure them, as well.

I decided to distress and Mod Podge the little "Parking Garage" sign. I don't have a Cricut machine nor do I have the best hand lettering skills so this was the next best approach to getting a really precise look! I do have a few tips if you want to attempt this technique! Mod Podge is a really simple product to use. I have the liquid product in both the matte and glossy finish, as well as their all-in-one aerosol spray product. I actually used both the matte liquid and the spray on this project and I'll tell you why below!

The first thing I did was design and print my wording. I then cut it to my desired size and shape. After I painted and distressed my sign, I sealed the sign by spraying it with the aerosol Mod Podge product and letting it dry completely. This step is what kept my blue paint from smearing across the white paper once I was ready to attach my wording. 

Once the Mod Podge spray coat was dry I applied one layer of matte Mod Podge liquid to use as glue for my piece of paper. After I placed my wording where I wanted I just painted one last thick coat of matte Mod Podge all over the entire sign. The product goes on looking milky and thick, but dries completely clear providing a seamless and permanent finish. I chose to hot glue it to the top of the crate so there wouldn't be any visible nail or staple holes.

It turned out so darling! And it could be customized and used in so many different ways. An incredibly simple and inexpensive DIY product that our little boy absolutely loves! Happy DIY-ing!

-Lauren

A Country Christmas | 2015

Merry Christmas, everyone! Brett has to work at the fire station on Christmas day again this year so we're celebrating a little early at our house. Christmas time is so special to us. Especially now that we share the season with our little boy. There is nothing quite like experiencing Christmas magic through the eyes of a child. This morning we watched as Baker tip-toed down the stairs and turned the corner into our living room to find his surprises from Santa. My heart nearly burst! Pure joy!

I always like to look back on our holiday details from years past. To reminisce and reflect on each season and to see how our Christmas home has changed from year to year. The farmhouse is such a beautiful back drop for our traditional Christmas decor. We are so incredibly thankful to call Stillwater Farm home.

We didn't send out Christmas cards this year, but we want to wish every one of you the Merriest Christmas! May your New Year be blessed and full of joy. Big hugs and well wishes from our family to yours!

Getting Cozy Indoors

Festive Farmhouse Exteriors

Christmas Memories

We make homemade ornaments and gifts every year. This was my favorite this season!

A sweet surprise in the mail from a dear friend. Warmed our hearts!

Christmas Morning

"Mr. Tatah Head"

Baker's new "parking garage" for all his matchbox cars!

            

            

-Lauren