Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens... (if you didn't just read that with the voice of Fraulein Maria, I encourage you to read it again and I promise you the happy song will be stuck in your head for a while!)
We all have numerous favorite things and lately I've been creating a mental list of my favorite things concerning our new home. I can't help it when I'm outside or inside and something about our house catches my eye and I think, "oh, I just love that!" Matt and I are truly in love with our little homestead and we are so thankful for it! A 1937 built home is not for everyone, but we are loving the potential it holds. We enjoy discussing creative ways we would add to our house's charm to make it work for us and add it to a future to-do list. For this post, I want to share our top 20 favorite things (in no particular order) about our home in hopes that it inspires you to find your favorite things about your house that just make you smile. We all have them!
1) hardwood floors (supposedly the original and they're beautiful!)
2) old glass door knobs
3) the way the light shines through the old keyhole on our mudroom door and into our kitchen
4) the floor plan - it's fairly open for a house of the '30s and the hallway is quite a decent size
5) my two large windows in the kitchen - they make my small kitchen feel bigger!
6) slightly uneven floors due to age (yes, not ideal, but it does add character and makes us laugh when
we move furniture around)
7) the brick chimney wall on the front porch - people told the seller to paint it, but he said he knows someone will like it's rustic look and it was one of the first things we LOVED about the outside of the house!
8) the way I can look out my family room window or back office window and see/hear the neighbors'
cows
9) having a carport area and shed/small garage
10) the walk out to the coop to gather the eggs every day
11) the quiet, open countryside that makes you forget you're just 3 minutes from the highway
12) walking around our property together dreaming about what to plant here or there, and how our future children will have plenty of room to play
13) all the wild birds - just the other morning I counted 17 robins while looking out my kitchen window, and that's just one species!
14) a gravel driveway that circles around the house
15) rockers on the front porch
16) large shade trees in most areas of the yard
17) a mudroom entryway
18) full size attic that we can make useable for storage space in our house and more storage in the loft above the shed
19) new windows (this makes a HUGE difference when comparing the rental house from the late '30s to this one!)
20) having pear trees and pecan trees
Wish I had a picture for each of these, but that would make for a long post. I'll post photos of our favorite things over time :)
Showing posts with label home. Show all posts
Showing posts with label home. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Monday, August 15, 2011
There's quite a few exciting things happening!!
Yes, I’ve been away from blogging for quite a while, but I really have a great excuse! Remember how we were in the process of purchasing our first home? Well, here it is!
We closed on this charming, 1937 country home on Thursday, May 5th. We were beside ourselves with joy and this overwhelming feeling of being blessed. The house is 30 minutes from the rental home, yet closer to everything important! Moving is quite a process… especially when you had things stored at your parents’ home on top of all that needed to be moved from our rental house (oh, and let’s not forget packing up my classroom!). The house and moving process would not have been possible without our family! God is so good!
So we closed on the house May 5th and guess what blessing we received on May 6th? The gift of expecting a baby! Yay! Again, joy flooded our hearts as we were able to share this news with family in our new home. How perfect… more to come on how we shared the news later! Here is a photo of our sweet baby at 13 weeks and one of me at 17 weeks. We are now almost 19 weeks along and can’t wait to meet our little boy (yes, a boy!) in January!
While in the midst of organizing things in our new home and feeling giddy over the fact that there’s a baby growing in me, we have been busy with Taflan Pictures as well. Meeting clients, shooting weddings, maternity sessions, and senior sessions have kept us (especially Matt) constantly at the computer editing after a day of work. We have also tackled a couple projects around the house and are in the middle of a couple more! We finished the chicken coop and all it needs is a coat of paint, the washer and dryer have been set up and operating in the laundry room in the shed, and we are in the middle of building custom desks for our little office. We also have a new front door sitting in the dining room waiting to be put on, and should I even mention what the future nursery looks like? It’s shocking…yikes!
Those are just a few of the things keeping us Taflans busy. It’s crazy to look back to May and see all that has taken place since then in just a few short months. We are so thankful and continue walking in faith that God will continue to provide and care for us as He has done so faithfully in the past.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
~Spring Happenings~
Seeds have been planted, chickens are fully feathered, the sun is gradually warming up our days and my break is drawing to a close. We have truly enjoyed experiencing the season here in NC. It's so beautiful to see the new life springing up everywhere we go. Here's some of what's been happening around the Taflan household...
I planted some seeds for our future garden a few weeks ago. They're growing a bit too quick for me because we have yet to get a piece of yard ready for them to grow! Squash, cucumber, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, and green beans are some of what's been planted. I sure hope they make it! Herbs are next.
Haven't they grown? Oh, and notice how there's a white one in the mix? Yep, she surprised us and ended up being an Americauna, not a Buff Orpington like we had thought. She'll lay greenish blue eggs... interesting, right? The Ladies eagerly await the completion of their coop that Matthew has been constructing. It's going to be great when they have a place of their own...outside...where they can roam free and use the bathroom wherever they'd like, as opposed to taking up half our sunroom! Would you believe that Matt is building a coop large enough for more than just our 6 chickens? You know what that means... either he's quite taken with the Ladies or he's planning on being greedy for eggs! We'll try to make it through this year with our 6 and see what happens next spring. So far they've been healthy and entertaining to watch :)
This is the lovely wind chime we have enjoyed hearing on these windy, spring days. I would like to find a smaller one for the other side of the house. The first time we really heard it ring we both had the same thoughts... it just makes our place feel more like home.
We've done some traveling lately too. Here's Matthew in Barbados... yes, he went on an amazing Silver Seas cruise without me for an entire week! Of course, it was all business related as he filmed different events and photographed for work. We missed each other a great deal and he certainly wished I could've been there too. Next time maybe?
The day after Matthew arrived back from the islands, I caught a flight with my mom and youngest sis to NYC for a few days. Here we are on the double decker tour bus as we learned about Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Harlem. We were able to see How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying starring Daniel Radcliffe and Chicago with Christie Brinkley on Broadway. Great memories!
I planted some seeds for our future garden a few weeks ago. They're growing a bit too quick for me because we have yet to get a piece of yard ready for them to grow! Squash, cucumber, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, and green beans are some of what's been planted. I sure hope they make it! Herbs are next.
Haven't they grown? Oh, and notice how there's a white one in the mix? Yep, she surprised us and ended up being an Americauna, not a Buff Orpington like we had thought. She'll lay greenish blue eggs... interesting, right? The Ladies eagerly await the completion of their coop that Matthew has been constructing. It's going to be great when they have a place of their own...outside...where they can roam free and use the bathroom wherever they'd like, as opposed to taking up half our sunroom! Would you believe that Matt is building a coop large enough for more than just our 6 chickens? You know what that means... either he's quite taken with the Ladies or he's planning on being greedy for eggs! We'll try to make it through this year with our 6 and see what happens next spring. So far they've been healthy and entertaining to watch :)
This is the lovely wind chime we have enjoyed hearing on these windy, spring days. I would like to find a smaller one for the other side of the house. The first time we really heard it ring we both had the same thoughts... it just makes our place feel more like home.
We've done some traveling lately too. Here's Matthew in Barbados... yes, he went on an amazing Silver Seas cruise without me for an entire week! Of course, it was all business related as he filmed different events and photographed for work. We missed each other a great deal and he certainly wished I could've been there too. Next time maybe?
The day after Matthew arrived back from the islands, I caught a flight with my mom and youngest sis to NYC for a few days. Here we are on the double decker tour bus as we learned about Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Harlem. We were able to see How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying starring Daniel Radcliffe and Chicago with Christie Brinkley on Broadway. Great memories!Coming up we have Easter with the family, Matthew's birthday, and hopefully more time to spend outdoors working on projects and enjoying the warmth!
Oh,
P.S. We just may be closing on our first house this coming week! We're staying prayerful - details to come!
Oh,
P.S. We just may be closing on our first house this coming week! We're staying prayerful - details to come!
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Chicks, Feathers, Eggs... Oh My!
Yes, chickens are in the very near future for the Taflans! The chicks will hopefully be ready this weekend and their box and heat lamp await them in the laundry room. You may be thinking we're crazy, or have a weird obsession with feathered friends, but we see it like this - when you have a little bit of land, and part of it is already fenced in, and you love the thought of having fresh eggs from an animal that initially costs $3 each... then who can resist having their own backyard flock? Not us! We think it's great that we have the opportunity to take care of God's creatures and enjoy what they produce here in our own backyard :)
I've thought for a while now that having chickens would be a neat, productive pet to have and when we began renting our little white house, I felt like the place was perfect. Will our landlord agree? We don't really know! Maybe fresh eggs will make her think like we do... In the meantime, before gathering our first egg, we have to keep the little chicks warm and inside until fully feathered (around 6 weeks) and then they probably won't lay an egg until mid to late summer. I'm not sure what our parrots will think having more birds inside, but we bet they'll imitate the chickens a little now and then. While the chicks are growing feathers, Matthew plans on building the chicken coop in the fenced in portion of our yard. He has it sketched out and we plan on cutting costs some by using wood found in our shed and my dad's shed. I'll post pictures whenever it gets completed.
Buff Orpington is our breed of choice and we hope to pick out some healthy little hens (fingers crossed that we don't get a rooster!). Right now 4 is the magic number and I've had the names picked out for them since this past fall. I'll share those later along with a picture of the chicks once they're home.
If I could (maybe one day?) I'd add a milk goat and dog to our miniature farm... although a dog is much more likely than a goat in Matthew's opinion. For now I'll be content with some chickens!
I've thought for a while now that having chickens would be a neat, productive pet to have and when we began renting our little white house, I felt like the place was perfect. Will our landlord agree? We don't really know! Maybe fresh eggs will make her think like we do... In the meantime, before gathering our first egg, we have to keep the little chicks warm and inside until fully feathered (around 6 weeks) and then they probably won't lay an egg until mid to late summer. I'm not sure what our parrots will think having more birds inside, but we bet they'll imitate the chickens a little now and then. While the chicks are growing feathers, Matthew plans on building the chicken coop in the fenced in portion of our yard. He has it sketched out and we plan on cutting costs some by using wood found in our shed and my dad's shed. I'll post pictures whenever it gets completed.
Buff Orpington is our breed of choice and we hope to pick out some healthy little hens (fingers crossed that we don't get a rooster!). Right now 4 is the magic number and I've had the names picked out for them since this past fall. I'll share those later along with a picture of the chicks once they're home.
If I could (maybe one day?) I'd add a milk goat and dog to our miniature farm... although a dog is much more likely than a goat in Matthew's opinion. For now I'll be content with some chickens!
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
We're Alive!
No, North Carolina has not devoured and swallowed us whole... we Taflans are just now slowly rising to the surface of the craziness of life. And by life I mean moving in with mom and dad, boxes everywhere, moving again to our little white house, more boxes everywhere, adjusting to work life 45 minutes away in opposite directions, working busy schedules, and just trying to get a grasp on these last 5 months of North Carolina living. I think it's safe to say our heads are now above water! Boxes are disappearing, our house is looking more like a home, and work is a bit more of a routine now and not so new and stressful (a job update will definitely be a future post). If it weren't for God's promise to provide, the love of a spouse, and supporting family just minutes down the road, then we probably would be swallowed up by all that's been happening!
Without further ado, welcome to our Little White House, as we so lovingly call it. This 1940s/50s home was quite a surprise and blessing to us and we eagerly spend each spare moment we can settling in. It's charming and sits on about 3 acres (are chickens in our future? bok, bok) and is the perfect size for us. The yard is a major plus, as well as the shed, sunroom, and many old windows for natural light. The house is not without its quirks though... for example, the landlord likes to keep everything white, and this means globbing it EVERYWHERE to the point that it has dried dripping down walls in some places (yikes!), there's no overhead lighting in the family room, the kitchen ceiling is only 2 inches taller than my dear husband meaning he has to remember to not walk under the light fixture, and our somewhat private lot happens to sit directly across from a gas station on a somewhat busy highway. Nevertheless, we are pleased and blessed and excited.
Plan to see updates on our little rental as we tackle projects here and there. We can only do so much given that we are just renters and not owners... but we are excited to add some color and beauty to the place. For now we just toss around ideas and will wait until the weather is warmer and our work lives are not as time consuming before we set to work on some things that better be easy on the wallet :)
We have much to be thankful for this year... Happy Thanksgiving!
Without further ado, welcome to our Little White House, as we so lovingly call it. This 1940s/50s home was quite a surprise and blessing to us and we eagerly spend each spare moment we can settling in. It's charming and sits on about 3 acres (are chickens in our future? bok, bok) and is the perfect size for us. The yard is a major plus, as well as the shed, sunroom, and many old windows for natural light. The house is not without its quirks though... for example, the landlord likes to keep everything white, and this means globbing it EVERYWHERE to the point that it has dried dripping down walls in some places (yikes!), there's no overhead lighting in the family room, the kitchen ceiling is only 2 inches taller than my dear husband meaning he has to remember to not walk under the light fixture, and our somewhat private lot happens to sit directly across from a gas station on a somewhat busy highway. Nevertheless, we are pleased and blessed and excited.
Plan to see updates on our little rental as we tackle projects here and there. We can only do so much given that we are just renters and not owners... but we are excited to add some color and beauty to the place. For now we just toss around ideas and will wait until the weather is warmer and our work lives are not as time consuming before we set to work on some things that better be easy on the wallet :)
We have much to be thankful for this year... Happy Thanksgiving!
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Going Home!
This evening Matthew and I will be flying home to see my family. I can't wait! We'll come back late Sunday night - so we'll be able to enjoy 4 days there. I probably won't post while I'm there, unless we have some down time. If not, I'll be sure to post about the trip next week. Our plans are to simply relax and enjoy being with family :) We haven't seen them since the wedding in December and haven't been home to NC since Thanksgiving. We'll also be providing entertainment/music for my youngest sister's Sweet 16 party Friday night and visiting all my extended family on Saturday. It's so nice that my relatives on both sides of the family live less than an hour away - in the same town. Matt and I will also go hang out with my other sister at UNC Chapel Hill (she's a freshman!) on Friday and bring her home for the weekend.
Here's pictures from the last time we were home.
That's Dad and Matt putting up Christmas decorations. I love having the house decorated!
This is me with my sisters ~ Hillary is in the middle and Meredith is on the right.
Well, I have much to do before we leave! I must get busy tackling the things on my list...
Here's pictures from the last time we were home.
That's Dad and Matt putting up Christmas decorations. I love having the house decorated!
This is me with my sisters ~ Hillary is in the middle and Meredith is on the right. Well, I have much to do before we leave! I must get busy tackling the things on my list...
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