DATE 2: {Twelve Dates of Christmas!}

Today has been a quiet, calm, lounging around kind of day in the Myers' home. For me, that is not something I am too good at. I like to stay busy, clean, be out & about. Sitting around from noon to night is hard for me. But thankfully, my husband forced me to just relax and enjoy the day.

So Date #2 was catching up on our favorite shows (Parenthood, Grey's & One Tree Hill!) and getting some ice cream from Kroger. We also bought a Hunger bag for a needy family.

Nothing fancy today, but it was a good day with my studhub. I'm sure my body will thank me for the extra rest :)

- Becky

DATE 1: {Twelve Dates of Christmas}

I'll admit, I got the idea from a blog I saw through Pinterest, so I can't take credit for the cute idea, but I am all for this! I called Jearen and we talked about my crazy idea to implement twelve dates into our already crazy schedule for December. Technically, we aren't suppose to start this until the 1st, but we had a free night & were spontaneous, so I declared it DATE 1!

We ate at Boston Market (which was my first time there). We ate, talked about Christmas gifts for our families, and then headed to the next destination: Toys R US. I was a little skeptical of going, but maybe that's because I've NEVER been there. Crazy, right?! Blame it on growing up in a small town & not having kids :). We walked the isles talking about games we loved as kids, the ones we always wanted but never got & what we thought our FUTURE kids would like. It was sweet.

Then we window shopped in three other stores and made wish lists of what we wanted for Christmas :)! So other than dinner, it was a cheap date that included some light exercise, laughter & straight up browsing! Can't wait till DATE 2! :)

-Becky

Myers' House Warming Party!

 The only way I can even start this blog is with a HUGE THANK YOU! Thank you to our family for coming out and visiting with us. Thank you Jearen for all of your hard work in getting this house ready. Thanks to all the hands that helped Jearen do all of the "man stuff" i.e. plumbing, flooring, drywall, etc. Thank you friends for filling our house with laughter and playing games in our living room. Thank you Goodwill for ALWAYS having something for me to purchase and recreate for my walls. Thank you Lord for providing us with this home to grow, love, and live in. See, I told you I had to start off with saying Thanks! 

Saturday morning we were running around this home like chickens with our heads cut off. So much left to do before we had company over, but boy let me tell you. It was SOOO worth it! We had such a good time with everyone. I was able to get a picture of all who attended (or at least I tried to....sorry new neighbor!) Did I get some eye rolls & jokes because of said pictures?! You bet! But everyone was a good sport and loved me enough to smile at least once ;)! I heard from several people that they were going to go home now and decorate! Yes, I love that. My prayer prior to everyone arriving was that there wouldn't be jealous feelings, because I have been there. Going into someone's house and feeling like yours is dirt in comparison. Yeah, I didn't want that. I want my home to be a place where anyone can come in, feel loved and comfortable. If it so happens that someone gets inspired to go back and get creative in their own home, then awesome! As long as you go to thrift stores/garage sales/goodwill first ;). 

The skyline outside our home was gorgeous that day!

Top Left: My brother Kaleb & his wife Courtney
Top Right: My Mom
Bottom Left: My sister Ashley & her hubby Eddie
Bottom Right: My Brother Cody & his wife Chelsea, plus Noah & Brooklyn

Top: Jearen's Mom Jowonnah & Brother Adam
Middle: Jearen's Cousin Randy, his wife Ingrid & daughter Hannah
Bottom: Jearen's Dad Roger & Stepmom Sherry

Party Gang :)

Kate & Ashley :)

Baby Brooklyn is growing up so fast!

My mom made me an apron, and it was so cute! Even had Becky hand stitched on :)

Gal Pals-Serena, Lindsay & Kristen

Kent & Lindsay

Caleb & Rachel

Chase & Serena

Sarah & Joseph

It was a joy to have our loved ones over! If you weren't able to make it, please know, you are ALWAYS welcomed at the Myers' Home! 

Hope to have you over soon!

-Becky

Hello, Hardwood!!!

Oh, the glorious day has arrived! After hours & hours of hard work, cleaning dust & settling back into the swing of things again at the Myers' home, it is all done.

 Let me give you a small backstory before you view the pictures! The day Jearen & I moved in, we had a flood. Due to a corroded pipe that was missed from our inspector, Jearen had to stand holding a busted pipe gushing with water for 15 minutes while I had to call the fire department to come turn off our water meter (another thing our inspector missed :/). After hours upon hours of clean up, fixing the pipe, meeting unhappy neighbors whose water was shut off thanks to us, and tired muscles & minds from having moved all day, you could easily say this home owner thing gave us a kick in the butt from Day One. We went to sleep that night with dwindled spirits and heavy hearts. Here is where it gets good. We were at church the next day, trying to share our joy of having just moved into our FIRST HOME, and our minds kept replaying the day before. A man after Worship got up on stage before our Pastor began to preach, and mentioned a new ministry he was starting for people who needed home repairs done. HELLO, DID YOU JUST HEAR ABOUT YESTERDAY?! OK GOD, WE SEE YOU!

 We laughed because it could have only been God's timing. He's timing is always perfect, you know! Now here we are, several months after that day, and I feel like what the enemy intended for bad, God turned it around for good! We had plans to take the carpets out downstairs, but planned on waiting a year or so to save up for it. {Thankfully we were given a check from our insurance from the damage, so that sped up our renovation plans.} 

We have been incredibly BLESSED by that man who spoke about a home repair ministry that one Sunday, Bill Kanewske. He gave several weeks of his time, hard work & labor to help make our downstairs BEAUTIFUL! I don't think we could thank him enough. Plus, we have some pretty great guys in our life who have also stopped by to help with the prep work, clean up, the whole nine yards. Again, we are BLESSED! This house just keeps getting better & better. Oh, and I should also thank my husband for all his hard work in all of this too!! He's by far the biggest blessing in MY LIFE, but I don't gotta tell ya that ;)!

My old window was repainted Teal to match the hutch in the dining room & was filled with some of my favorite instagram prints! 

Have a great weekend!!

-Becky

Thrifting Treasure

I never thought that sharing what I thrifted would have such a positive impact with others. I mean, thrifting has always been something I've been into, but lately I have been given some crazy cool kind words from friends & family about how they are beginning to thrift, how I am an inspiration, and how people can't wait to show me a project they did through thrifting. Totally awesome in my book! I don't know if I am an inspiration  :), but if I can open the eyes of one person to buy something second hand for a cheaper price, then I am all for that!! To pinpoint one reason I thrift would be tough, but several reasons are the prices are stinkin' unbeatable, the things I find are less likely to be in everyone else's house (hello, hobby lobby!), and I just can't see myself spending loads of money on items that may not fit into my home decor style a year from now. If I can buy it cheap, and if I can make it go with my decor, I buy it. I don't have to feel guilty buying something expensive that I would want to hide away in a closet down the road. If it's cheap now, I can donate it later and let the cycle run it's course. Oh the joys of thrifting!

 Here are some things I do when I thrift that may help you.

1. Be open minded- obviously, this isn't for everyone, and that's ok. But if you are open to the idea that you will be going into a store that doesn't always have "clean" as a top priority, then your set :)

2. Prepare to Dig- most of the stores I go into is packed with LOTS of donations. You will have to spend a little bit of time searching through the shelves to find what you are looking for. Trust me though, the more you  thrift, the faster this process goes. Plus, if you thrift often enough, you will know which stores to go to/which ones to avoid/ and where in the store you will find the treasures.

3. What Do You Want? My eyes are always attracted to anything red or teal (as shown by my house decor, haha) so if I am in a thrift store, my eyes usually wander to those colored items first. I also am really into DIY, so if I find something that I can paint one of those two colors, I usually buy it. I also collect Fiesta ware thanks to my step mom, so my eyes are always searching for that!

4. Be Creative- I have bought several things that didn't look good at first glance, but with some paint or elbow grease, I can make it like new. 

5. Know Your Budget- It would be silly for me to spend a hundred dollars on thrift finds if I don't have any food in the fridge or have a bill to pay. I usually try to see what I have, what still needs to be paid, and kind of go from there. If I know I have no money to spend, I don't torture myself by going shopping. And neither should you. If you DO go shopping, limit what you purchase. No need to feel up a cart just because. Select the things that you love and go from there. I often pick up things as I go, and before I check out I will put back what I can do without. 

6. Thrifting is not a contest. Sure, I love to instagram what I find to be awesome purchases, but that doesn't happen everyday. And there are plenty of times that I will leave a store with nothing. I use to get frustrated with not finding anything, but I got over that. People will always have things to get rid of, and if you  are looking in the right place, you will find some awesome things.

-Let me know if you go thrifting! I always enjoy a good thrift story!

Bought at Goodwill for $2.55, then found out they sell this candle at Anthropology for almost $30!

Found 5 of these Fiesta Mugs at Graceful Buys in Grapevine for $1.99 each!

Also from Graceful Buys in Grapevine, I bought this basket for $1 and painted over the wooden picture with white acrylic paint that I already had, painted a M (also already had) and hot glued it on. 

Tyler Company Candle from for $2 (worth almost $20), Starbucks Waterbottle for $1, frame for $1 & mercury glass vase for $1, all from Goodwill.

This fall wreath was $1 at UGM Super Thrift in Irving, and I hot glued the M on it. Easy as Pumpkin Pie!

Thrifted outfit: New York & Company Sweater from Goodwill for $4, Blue Dress from Goodwill for $3, and Eddie Bauer brown purse for $7 (was $15 but purchased during Goodwill's 50% off day!)

Green J.Crew shirt for $3 from Goodwill.

-Becky

Home Happenings.

Hey there guys and gals. I can't believe September is wrapping up already. Seems like just yesterday we were closing on our home & heading to Home Depot for some paint. Man, that day was such a treasure. Here we are now, two months into our new place, and the makeovers begin. We were very fortunate to have found a place with a lot of features that we already loved, causing us not to have to do a ton of home improvements. However, thanks to the 15 minute nightmare (water pipe bursting in the downstairs bathroom several hours after we moved in) we are having to redo our downstairs flooring sooner than we had planned. It was a thick shag carpet that felt great on your toes, but because of water damage, we decided to remove all of the carpet & tile, and bought hardwood flooring from Home Depot. We are so blessed with great people in our lives to help us through this first time home owner renovations. Our friend Bill helped Jearen on Saturday with all of the dirty prep work. Several hours later, and a TON of dust later, they finished the first steps to getting our new flooring down. We are still waiting for the flooring that we ordered to come in, and then we will move forward with the next steps. I will be thrilled when this is all done, but in the mean time, I'm enjoying the process (especially seeing my hot husband working hard to make this the best place ever!) Oh, and I threw in a before & after pic of the old window & shutters above our bed. :) 

BEFORE

AFTER

GOODBYE CARPET IN DINING ROOM

MY STUDHUB WORKING HARD

CONCRETE FLOORS IS ALL THAT'S LEFT. BESIDES DUST, LOTS OF DUST.

SHOPPING IN HOME DEPOT FOR THE FLOORING. OF COURSE I HAD TO TAKE A PICTURE. HAVE YOU MET ME?! I TAKE A PICTURE OF EVERTHING :)

VIEW FROM LIVING ROOM

THE GUYS FINISHING UP IN THE KITCHEN

 Come back for more Myers' Home goodness!

-Becky