The Big White Farmhouse

intentional living, little by little

{BWF} Making Space for Big White Farmhouse: the Plan

Guys, it’s happening.  Slow and steady, Big White Farmhouse is growing.  Like itty bitty, squint your eyes and tilt your head to the side growing.  But growing!  So far in year two, we have acquired more product, reached more potential customers and even received a few sales from people we don’t know!  (Insert this hilarious commercial.)  With all of my business headed in the right direction, I think it’s time to create an office.

We are fortunate to have the space in our home to designate a room just for BWF.  It will take awhile to purchase all the pieces I want, but I’ll be saving my pennies!  In the meantime, I’m making plans.  When I think of my office, I envision a clean, functional space that provides me with the room I need to both package orders and work on my laptop.  I’d like to have my products visible and accessible, a mini brick and mortar store if you will, as well as hidden storage for the less pretty things: packaging supplies, papergoods, etc.  
After a quick Google search, I found and used a free online room planner to take the ideas out of my head and into physical form.  This was SO fun.  I was somewhat limited by the choices provided by the software, but you can definitely get the gist:   

My Big White Farmhouse office to-do list:

  • Paint (I’m thinking a very light grey with undertones of blue)
  • Purchase two or three white cabinets: shelves on top, hidden storage on bottom
  • Install bamboo roman shades to the two windows
  • Purchase (or work with lumber we currently own) a large workspace/desk
  • Lighting with either a table or floor lamp
  • Comfortable desk chair
  • Hang bulletin board
  • Print and frame big vintage picture of the real big white farmhouse
  • Create a distressed wooden sign (maybe something like this?)

{health} What Self Care Looks Like for Me Right Now



This post was inspired by a recent one from Modern Mrs. Darcy.


I feel like I could sum up this summer in one word: introspection.  I’ve been in my head a lot, turning things over and over, trying to learn more about myself and how I work.  My “one little word” for 2015 is thrive and it’s been a difficult one for me.  In previous years, with words like intention and brave, I was able to baby-step into that realm with relative success.  But thrive?  Most days, I feel like it’s a standard that’s impossible to achieve.  Does it have to be, though?  I’m not sure.


Like everything, it’s a process.  And step one was the realization that I need to take better care of myself…my whole self.  I need to see what helps and what hinders me in my best efforts to be a wife, mother, teacher, and business owner.  I know I won’t be thriving at much of anything without this necessary step.  So here is what self care looks like for me right now:    


Self care looks like planning my day the night before.  I bring my planner with me to bed and jot down the items that are rattling around in my head: vacuum the stairs, send that e-mail, bake something with those peaches before they go bad, etc.  My sleep has greatly improved and I wake feeling less frazzled.  I’m ready to face the day with a plan of attack.


Self care looks like making the effort to add more prayer to my day.  For whatever reason, with the general chaos of my days, praying seems like the first thing to go and I’d like that to change.  Instead of frantic pleas for help (which still happen often!), I’d like to have more mindful prayers too.  Starting small with the morning offering first thing when I wake up.


Self care looks like daily quiet time in the afternoons: I send the kids down to play in the basement or everyone finds a comfy place to read or draw.  Some days, I’ll even put on a long movie!  Regardless of what they do, I need and appreciate the 15-30 minutes I get all to myself.


Self care looks like fitting in time everyday for something that fills me up: exercise, cross-stitch, reading a good book.  The choice and duration are less important than the act itself.


Self care looks like watching what I eat, but not stressing over every calorie and carb.  It’s so hard, but I’m giving myself the grace to enjoy every sip of that special Chick-Fil-A milkshake without worrying about how long it will take to burn it off.  Also hard, but I’m trying not to stress about how much pregnancy weight I’d still like to lose and just appreciate myself right here today.


Self care looks like wearing my Fitbit again, but challenging myself to add more movement to my day with the kids.  We play Follow the Leader (walk like a mummy…act like a ninja…hop like a bunny) around the house and it feels good to get us all moving and our hearts pumping…and it’s fun!

Self care looks like learning more about myself and how I am wired.  I have been made this way for a reason.  I thrive on structure, to-do lists and finishing everything from big projects to the last piece of bread in the bag.  I am most inspired in the morning, prefer to window shop and love simplicity.  I used to feel the need to adapt “to be like everybody else”…now as I grow older, I’m trying to be content with who God created me to be.

Self care looks like allowing myself the ability to dream about Big White Farmhouse and where I’d like to take it down the road.  Dreams will continue to be dreams without action, so I’m following up with as many itty bitty baby steps as I can.  At this time in my life, I am unable to devote full-time hours, but every little bit helps.

Self care looks like practicing active gratitude: including thanks in my prayers, writing them down, and recalling that everything is a gift.  I’m also “looking out” and thanking those around me for their influence and support in my life.

Self care looks like watching the birds outside in complete childlike awe and delight.  Despite so much ugliness in the world, beauty still remains if we take the time to search for it.


Other great posts about Self Care:
5 Self Care Tips for Moms
Self Care for Highly Sensitive Moms
5 Reasons Mamas Don’t Take Care of Themselves
5 Ways to Make your Mornings Meaningful

What does self care look like for you right now?

{around here} Week 28/52: Week of 7.13.15

A collection of our ordinary days, recorded every week.  At the end of the year, I’ll publish them into a keepsake to treasure.

Around here, I have been:

searching for light.  Being aware of it throughout the day, how it illuminates different rooms, how it washes over my dining room table in the early morning.  I’ve been trying to “catch” it on camera and it’s amazing how much joy that simple act has brought me this week.  I’m sure there’s a deeper symbolism here too.


making an effort to reduce unnecessary screen time.  Less blog posts and social media interaction; more dreaming, planning and creating.  It was needed and I’m feeling the most refreshed I’ve been in a long time!  In the weeks to come, I’m sure it will ebb and flow, but I think this type of break is necessary to keep me focused.  


reading bits of different books all at once.  I finished Make it Happen in preparation for our book club’s last week of discussion.  I’ve also been switching off between Better than Before and Beyond the Birds and the Bees.


baking batches of blueberry and peach cobbler and bread in the bread machine.


stitching Sophie’s princesses.  This week, I worked on Anna and Elsa.  Can you guess the song that was stuck in my head the entire time? (Finally linking up again with Erica’s Summer Stitching Stash Blast!)


planning language arts for M next year.  He is a very strong reader and no program seemed like the right fit, so I’m creating my own!  He’ll be reading a mix of “easier” books that I just don’t want him to miss and others more at his reading level.  I think he’ll like it and learn a lot.

trying graze, a snacking subscription box.  Everything in my box was delicious and I’m going to stay signed up to receive it twice a month.  It seems a bit silly, but I’m excited to receive something in the mail that is just for me…no sharing!  (P.S. If you’re interested, you can use my referral link to get your first and fifth box for free!  Let me know what you get in your box!)

{link list} Best of the Web Vol.02

  • Truth from Jim Gaffigan: “Big families are like waterbed stores; they used to be everywhere, and now they’re just weird.”
  • 240 mornings: “On average there are 260 weekdays a year, counting holidays and vacations. If you take away those, you’re left with 240 mornings to get things done. 240 mornings to do your most important tasks. That is only 20 large, creative tasks a month.”
  • Forever Notes Highlight Journal: “The Forever Notes Journal is a family journal designed for the modern mother, the mother that wants to capture memories and keepsake children’s artwork, but doesn’t have the time to manage multiple journals, baby books, and art boxes.”
  • 6 Things the Happiest Families All Have in Common: “Research shows whether a kid knows their family history was the number one predictor of a child’s emotional well-being.”
  • The 7 Rules of Compliment Club: “First rule of Compliment Club (yes… we can talk about Compliment Club): Look for the positive in other people.  This is imperative.  You can’t offer a sincere compliment if you aren’t looking for the beauty in the people around you.”  

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