If You Take a Kid To Target

One of Audrey's favorite books is If You Give a Cat a Cupcake.  I have recently written my own version of this cause and effect story.  Please enjoy.

If You Take a Kid To Target

If you take a kid to target, they are going to ask you for a toy.
You'll be strong and say "no" at first, but then you'll find yourself in the dollar aisle.

While your child picks their 1, 4, 7 toys, you'll also notice a few items you would enjoy.
They'll have pretty stationary, scrapbooking supplies, and oh so lovely bath salts.
This will remind you of all the things you once enjoyed that you no longer have time for, thanks to that precious child in the cart.

You'll wish for the 100th time that your house had just 1 safe "kid" room where you could place said child, so you could indulge in some writing, scrapbooking, or a most wonderful bubble bath.

You'll decide right then and there to finally make that kid room happen, and head through Target with a playroom plan.
You'll stock up on organizational bins, bookshelves, and then realize they don't have any that match your current paint color.

You'll have to take that child (and it's sibling) to Lowes, where you'll grab some paint, a new rug, and a few other "necessities."

You'll work for days until your feet are sore and you are covered in paint, all the while dreaming of those bath salts.  You'll wish you could pad the walls of that room, so the kids could really be completely safe and you could just disappear in that bath for a couple of hours.

During this time, your dear husband will decide to have a 4th of July party and invite 25 people to your house the day before you leave for the beach.

You'll paint, clean and organize, and then organize and clean some more.  You'll inspect your new playroom and be pleased at how neat and organized all the toys are.

Then you'll unveil the room to the kids and watch with a smile as they squeal at those toys like they are brand new.  You decide it's time for that bubble bath.

When you finally emerge from the tub, feeling sufficiently pruney and wonderful, you'll stroll in with your glass of wine in your robe to check on those sweet angels.

MASS CHAOS.  SHEER AND UTTER DESTRUCTION. TOYS EVERYWHERE. MARKER ON THE WALLS. FINGER PAINT ON THE FLOORS. BLUEBERRIES SMASHED IN THE RUG. BROKEN TOYS WITH BATTERIES THAT HAVE SUDDENLY VANISHED WITHOUT A TRACE.

Your child (children) will begin to cry hysterically because her princess mirror no longer lights up and tells her she is the prettiest girl of all because of those missing batteries.

You'll sigh in exhaustion, put on some clothes, and take that child to Target to get some batteries.

No toys this time.  Fo' real.


**Pictures to come  :)

Hey! I've been waiting a couple extra days to allow for anymore questions.  Please always feel free to ask if you have a question!


What is the history of your house? It looks like a much older home. Do you know who lived there before? Was it part of a farm?
Hey April, I am still working on learning all the history myself!! Several family members have told us some history, but a few of the stories contradict each other, so there are still some blanks!   You know how everyone seems to kind of remember things a little differently? :)  I wrote a little bit of what we've been told here.  I'll certainly post when I get some more information!!  I'm also really trying to get a hold of an original picture!!  If any family is reading this and has a picture of the original house, please let me know!! I'd love to frame one!!

What is the price comparison, do you think, to doing a fixer upper like you did, buying a move-in ready house, or building from scratch?
Well I am no expert, but I talked to my parents who are Realtors, (message me if you need help buying or selling a house in the area!! :) ) and they agree that the most economical option right now is probably new construction.  There are so many add ons and extras being included to make things sell, and you can get crazy amounts of square footage for the price right now!  Building from scratch can be a good option if you know exactly what you want and can STAY ON TOP OF YOUR BUILDER!!  I've heard so many stories of people who built a house and ended up taking a year or even longer to build! My parents built their dream home, but were able to go to the site every day to make sure people were showing up when they were supposed to. It took them 4 months and we moved in!

Fixing up a house can go either way.  I would say it depends on HOW MUCH fixing you have to do! LOL!  You can find some really great deals and I know we've all seen the "Flip That House" shows.  Yes, you can find a fixer upper for a good deal, but you can also end up spending far more money than you planned!! Be extra careful if you are dealing with an old house.  I have mentioned multiple times that our "budget" was blown after a few months! LOL!  There are so many things hidden in renovating and you can't do anything about it once you get to it.  Just like when we PLANNED to just add on upstairs and then ripped the roof off only to find that our porch was completely rotten and inches from falling off the house.  What can ya do?!  You have to fix it!  Always double your budget and be prepared! :)


I absolutely LOVE your home and adore your kitchen. We are getting ready to sell our first home and rent for a bit of time while we build our home. I was wondering about the bead board in the kitchen and the color of it, I love it. Is it what is used when doing wainscoting? Also, I love your kitchen table. Where did you get it from?
Thank you so much Nicole!!  Congrats on building!  The bead board in the kitchen can be purchased at Lowes or Home Depot!  It is sold a couple different ways and in different sizes, but we bought it by the sheet.  I believe it was 4ft by 8ft and was around $20.  I am obsessed with it and have used it all over the house!! It's very thin so it's easy to cut and put up.  We used an air gun and small finishing nails, but I have heard of people using liquid nails as well.  The kitchen paint is called "Rain" by Sherwin Williams.  The table came from a store called SouthEastern Salvage.  I wanted something rustic and really big and sturdy that will outlast us all.  I love naturally distressed wood that doesn't show kid dents and scratches! :)

Q & A and Requests!

Hello again friends!  I hope everyone is enjoying their summer!  I have been having "blog block" lately, as in, I have no idea what to blog about! LOL!  I have shown you the main projects that took place to get this house to where it is today.  Now, I want to know what YOU want to see.  Is there a spot in the house you are wondering about?  Need to know the name of a paint color I used?  Questions just about my family in general? (Nothing TOO personal of course!)  Is there a project you want me to explain?  Some of my favorite blogs have question and answer sessions and I always enjoy them, so I'm giving it a shot.  Someone PLEASE leave me at least 1 question or request so I don't feel like a loser! :)  Ask away!

Instagram Roll

I have a new obsession.  And as usual, I'm a little behind the trend.  Being stuck in a house with kids all week seems to have that effect! :)  Have you discovered Instagram?  I LOVE it!! It's the only way I take pictures now!  (For those of you who are REALLY sheltered and haven't yet heard of Instagram, it's an app used to take and edit pictures on your phone.)  It's easy to use, and I love how easy the editing is!  It makes me look like a photographer....which I certainly am not!  I figured today I would share some of my favorite Instagram pictures!  They're a little blurry from emailing and then blowing them up.  Give it a try if you haven't already!

Handsome boy

My Carolina girl at the marsh 

Lookin like his mama!

Snugglin my baby when he had a cold

Her favorite!

Princess Audrey Grace

At the beach

My lefty!

She has to hold my hand to fall asleep

It was a little muggy out!

They love bath time!