MADE

This isn’t the post I was going to write today.
But I’m just going to talk about my husband for a bit.
Because Casey is the reason I’m able to have a blog and be a mom.

He’s always been supportive about what I’m doing and is a great hands-on Dad so I’m able to leave for the weekend to go to Alt or spend evenings and Saturdays at the library working on my book, while he plays Mr. Mom at home.
I know many of your husbands are the same.  Good men.  Good dads.

And I was thinking about this when I posted pics last night on Instagram (find me @danamadeit) of an amazing 9×12, ultra plush West Elm rug I scored at the Pottery Barn Outlet.  It was originally $900 and I got it for $90! for the new house!  YES!   I showed it to Casey and he said, “it looks like the insides of a Tauntaun.”
#nerdalert
But. If you are geek enough to agree with him then I guess I applaud you because yea, it kind of does.  And it only took both of us and a wheelbarrow to move the dead carcass from my car to the garage.
I think his face sums it up.

But I’m totally excited about the rug!  The workers warned me about it shedding like crazy.  But for $90 I’ll take my chances and vacuum constantly and my friend said that after 6 months hers stopped shedding.
Thank you Tauntaun.
And thank you Casey.
And here’s the semi-serious point I guess I’m trying to make.
Casey is a good husband and puts up with a lot of my shenanigans.

When I think about the ridiculous times I’ve said something like, “okay, can you load Owen’s bed into your truck so we can go take photos by this blue warehouse across town?….and he just gives me that funny “what?” look (above)  but then shrugs his shoulders and starts loading the truck….well, I just have to smile at how cool he is about all this bloggedy blog blog stuff (as he calls it).  He never judges or asks why the heck I need to go to Joanns one more time,….and has sat in the car how many times? when I say, “I’m just going to run in for some white thread” and 20 minutes later I come out with a bag full of pleather and grommets.  He’s an excellent sounding board and helps me work through decisions about which opportunities to say yes to and which to let go of, so I can balance our family life and not be an insane stressed out person.  He even takes photos of me when I need to be in the shot, and patiently listens while I explain the angle I’m going for.  He’s just really great like that….mostly because that’s who he is and also because he sees how much I love what I’m able to do and wants me to have that creative outlet.   And, he’s always up for an adventure.  Always.


That’s actually one of my favorite things about him.  He always wants to “do stuff”.   He loves to travel the world and explore new places, try new things.   He’s a super fun dad and wrestles with the kids while I feel like pulling my hair out.  Every kid loves Casey.

He’s a busy man, works hard, teaches a seminary class to the youth kids at our church every morning at 6am and then goes off to work.  He loves University of Arizona basketball more than life, and rootbeer….but when it comes to rootbeer he’s on a quest to try every local variety we can find.  He’s a statistician and loves numbers and equations.  When I hear him talk to coworkers on the phone I know he’s speaking a foreign language my brain will never understand (which is why I got a C in my college stats class).  He’s funny, cute, dorky (but good dorky), and apparently likes to wear his red shirt.

I’m a lucky girl.

I know it’s not Father’s Day but it just seemed like a good day to point out the great men in our lives. Thank you to the other dads and husbands out there who are loving their ladies too.

Okay, over and out.
Next post: sewing and DIY.
Thanks for letting me get mushy.

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Happy Easter!  We hope you had a wonderful Sunday yesterday.

Our celebration was a bit last minute this year, with Lucy and I decorating the house on Friday.  We pulled out the Colored Rice Eggs, the Peeps Bunny Bunting, the little lambs (forgot to pull out these), and I scored some tiny fuzzy chicks at William Sonoma Outlet, which look great on the shelf.




While the kids were in bed, I dipped some of these (and may have forgotten to tell anyone about them…and may have eaten almost the whole batch by myself)

And in the 11th hour of the weekend, Old Navy came to the rescue with matchy spring dresses for the girls (with glitter jelly shoes) and a cute yellow polo for Owen.


Yay!
We chose to do our Easter egg hunt after church, in the sprinkling rain, while Clara watched from the window and I ate a few more peeps.  Seriously.  SO much better with chocolate on top!


And despite the non-Eastery weather I was determined to get pics of the kids in their Easter Clothes.  Thank you family for entertaining your crazy photographer mom.

The kids and Casey went camping at this location two nights before and I loved these never-ending trees.

We snapped some decent photos and some goofy ones, and I wished I’d brought the tripod so we could get a shot of the whole family (duh), and the 50mm lens would have been a good idea too.  Oh well.  Make it work moments, folks.  The good news is, the rain stopped right when we pulled up!  And here’s what we captured.  My three favorite bunnies:





Lucy’s a grab-bag of expressions.  And I love seeing her interact with Clara.  She is such a darling big sister.  She and Owen love their Clara doll so much.


We searched for outdoor treasures,

(I spy a candy tongue).

And we got a few keepers!
When I step back and look at photos like these, I can’t believe all 3 are mine.  And I feel humbled at the huge responsibility Casey and I have to love and teach them how to make good decisions, be kind to others, work hard, help each other, and to enjoy the beauties of this earth.  I think that last one comes naturally.  It’s hard to resist a dandelion no matter what your age.



This might be the best of all 3 kids.   Clara’s not looking but that sorta makes it more candid.

Oh how thankful I am for my little family.  They are my biggest joy and greatest challenge at times.  And I wouldn’t have it any other way.  Happy Easter from the Willard family!

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When we moved to Austin, Texas almost 4 years ago from Southern California we weren’t sure if it was a short-term or long-term adventure.   Mostly we wanted change from our current situation.  And we needed to get equity out of an investment home we had purchased in the Austin area.  So, we moved into the investment home and started a new life for our little family.

And turns out, we love it here.



Texas is a wonderful place.  You’ve got beautiful country land mixed with really fun cities. It’s super affordable.  There’s tons to do (and eat).  And Austin in particular is a very friendly, active, outdoorsy, artsy, musical, football-y, political, and just a cool, chill environment.  If you’ve never visited you must.  And wave hello!


In summary, Austin won.  We’re staying a bit longer.

So we decided it was time to upgrade from our starter home investment and tackle a new, larger adventure: Land and a custom home.
Now coming from California, “land” means about 5,000-8,000 square feet of property space.   To texans we’re talking 20 acres.  I needed an in-between.

And last year we found this lovely property, 1.5 acres (still more than I’ll get used to), in a normal neighborhood with neighbors around and kids down the street.  Yay!

…because I need an environment where I can still sort of hear people and wave/chat in passing.  And this neighborhood has plenty of friendly folks who have already come out to introduce themselves when we’re there.  And the property is loaded with trees!….and it’s on a slope, so it has interesting dimension (which isn’t so common in flat Texas).  Plus, it’s on the end of a cul-de-sac (which Owen referred to today as the “sac a dull”).  We loved it the first time we saw it.  And Casey’s parents loved it when we shared it with them.


And we spent the next 4 months thinking about it.

And thinking about it.

And just thinking about it some more.

And then we bought it!


And now we’re gonna build a house on that land!  Well, we’ve hired someone to build our house on that land.  A custom, one-of-a-kind home with just the particular items we love (within budget)(that darn budget).   The land isn’t as lush in winter as it was in the summer,

But there are still plenty of trees, prickly pear (for Owen to whack down with a stick), there are some crazy but cool looking weeds, and all sorts of dirt for kids to get lost in.


From the back of the property looking toward the street, you sort of get a feel for the slope and property distance.

So with the land purchased, we’ve moved on to the design stage.
Fun!
Now if it were entirely up to me, the exterior would be either gray/white craftsman style,

a modern farmhouse or East Coast shingled beauty,

or maybe a gorgeous beach home/cottage with wood siding:

But if you live in Texas you know that people here are big on the Texas Stone look.  It’s pretty and I think it’s cool to use materials from your local surroundings (photo source, source),

But it’s just not me and not my favorite when you’re a person who loves gray, white, and pops of color.  But according to our neighborhood rules the exterior house facade must include some stone masonry.  So….I’m finding ways to incorporate my style/colors with the stone look and I think it’s gonna be fun (photo source).  The Interior of course can be whatever we want.

We hired the local Austin builder, Lake Hills to create our vision.  And one of their designers Felicia did a wonderful job listening to our ideas, creating a plan, and inserting ideas she thought we would like.

Casey even came up with a rough initial plan to share with her, using floorplanner.com.  That site it cool!  And I’m impressed with how much of his original plan we actually stuck with (as far as room location)

The design process was an interesting collaboration.  And after many meetings, tweaks, and reworkings we love what Felicia did.  Here’s a peek at the Front Exterior:

And another look at the back:

My two favorite parts of the home are the back porch/upper deck with all those railings (I sort of get my beach house!….only 4 hours from the ocean).

And check out that fun room in the top right corner below….the Studio!  It won’t just be a workspace for me but more of a creative room for the whole family.  Because I’ve realized in our current home that when I’m sewing, we all seem to find each other.  Next thing I know Lucy’s sitting at the computer table next to me drawing, Owen’s playing with Star Wars legos on the floor nearby.  And we’re all in our creative spaces but we like to be near each other.  So I hope this large open room is where we do homework and art projects and everything in between.

So what’s next?  We’re ready to break ground!
And we’re also working on the interior design of the home.  I’m actually meeting with our designer Donna this morning to finalize the bathrooms, great room, and other details.  It’s a bit overwhelming to conceptualize the look of the entire house when the sky is the limit (or rather, the budget is the limit).  Sometimes I actually wish I was limited to 5 options for the kitchen….then it would be easier to make up my mind.  But a HUGE thank you to Pinterest and Houzz (oh lovely Houzz) for making home design so much easier!

I opened another Pinterest account under the name MADE House–until we decide on a more exciting name for our home—so I can keep track of all our likes, wants, and ideas (you’ll find my personal pinterest account here).  So if you’d like to see what we’ve got it mind, follow along!

And I’d love your input on a few items:
• I really want the back porch railings to be painted white wood but we live in an environment that requires a lot upkeep on that….probably an annual paint job.  Am I crazy?  Another option is white-painted wrought-iron railing which would have zero upkeep but it’s just not as cozy to me.  And synthetic/composite railings are way too pricey.  Any ideas/input?
• I’m looking for a cool chandelier for the front entry and love this one that’s been floating around blogland.  But um, it’s $4000. Haah.  Any cool/unique chandeliers you’ve found?
• Wood burning fireplace vs. gas?  I want wood, he wants gas.  We’re prob doing wood but would love your thoughts.
• Any fun, cool, great websites you recommend?  Please leave them in the comments!  I enjoy new sites for furniture, rugs, lights, and accent pieces.

Okay.
These city kids are going to learn a thing or two about having more space (me included)…..which at this point means playing with sticks and dirt.   Owen’s dreamland.

We’re in for an adventure!  And we’re thankful we have that chance.  Living in California we never imagined this idea of land and space and building a custom design.  But Texas has allowed us some great opportunities and we feel blessed. Our home is your home!…in the virtual sense.  So come on over and enjoy the photo adventure with us.

Have a wonderful weekend.
I’ll update you when we break ground, very soon!

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