an unconventional home
It’s that (most wonderful) time of the year again. When everywhere you look, you’re greeted by the evidence that the holidays are right around the corner.
The radios are playing carols.
The stores are stuffed to the gills with gifts and decor.
The coffee shops have replaced pumpkin with peppermint everything.
It’s officially the first week of fall. And if you are like me, you’re decorating your home, busting out the scarves and boots, and enjoying some pumpkin spice and apple cider.
We may be focusing on cozying up indoor spaces in autumn. But fall is also the perfect time to turn out focus outdoors. Because while leaves are turning on established trees, it’s also my favorite time to plant new trees. This year, we planted a few trees, already, and have plans for a few more before the ground freezes.
Here are five reasons we prefer to plant trees in the fall:
In less than a month, my little girl will turn two. So I figure it’s the perfect time to share the photos from her first birthday – a pumpkin patch party for our sweet little lady.
I don’t know if there is a respectable time frame for posting photos after a party, but I’m sure it’s not 11 months. But there are a few TOTALLY VALID reasons that this is so late.
I spilled water on my computer while uploading party photos last October, which ended up meaning I didn’t actually get many photos and had to buy a new computer soon after. I was VERY displeased. I had just deleted the photos from my camera, which meant I couldn’t recover them.
I sometimes wonder if anyone really wants to see photos of actual, real-life kid parties anymore. There are so many perfectly coiffed photos out there.
I’m a little lazy.
See. Totally valid reasons. Moving on.
In our home, our garage is a hardworking space. It not only stores vehicles, but also shoes, coats, outdoor toys, sports equipment and tools. Since the space is designed to fit two cars, that means we have to truly maximize the space. And it can too easily become a dumping ground.
But we have a few simple tools and ideas that have made this small space work better for our family.
As Owen is settling into his new room, we also needed to create a joint space that works well for Henry and Lucy.
In truth, our bedrooms are not large.
Each bedroom is less than 10×10. Which makes a shared bedroom a bit of a challenge. But in the end, we created a good space for sleeping. The kids are doing well in it – better than we even expected given their age difference. Henry has wanted to share a room since Lucy was born, so it was a dream come true for him.
Henry is a baseball fiend, so we agreed on a baseball theme for his room. Originally, this space was going to be an eventual room for the boys.
Our house has been looking a little different the past few weeks. And not just decor-related changes. We have a new member of the family – Owen Frederick was born on July 7 and has been adjusting to life in our tribe.
He’s tiny and sweet with very strong vocal chords. He makes himself known, even though he’s our littlest. (Photos of Owen by Giraffe Photography)
Knowing that a new baby was on his way, we focused our attention on bedrooms over the past few months.
When we built our home, we built only three bedrooms. (Knowing we had a basement and the barn apartment for guests/extra space.) So when we decided to expand our family, we knew it would mean some sleeping adjustments.
We originally planned to have the boys share a bedroom down the line and keep Owen in our room for the time being. But a few folks on Instagram shared their own experiences and made us rethink that plan.
