MN to NC: Reno Update!!!

OK, y’all! So, I know it’s been a minute since I gave an update. It becomes a wee bit of a problem when you move into your house but can’t get internet to it for a couple weeks. (Though… that has a beautifully disconnected upside as well, I must say). Anyway, I’m currently “phone blogging” out of pure desperation. I’ve never blogged on my phone before. It’s interesting, so bear with me.

Of course, I had thought of heading to a coffee shop. I could enjoy the atmosphere and use the free Wi-Fi. Except for one, or should I say, three tiny, little things. Three loud, tiny, little things. Three male, loud, tiny little things. Do you follow me?

Anywho, real quick here, I just wanted to give you guys an update on the Hixson’s Fixin’s. Yeah… I made that up myself… is it obvious?

So, I mentioned before how much I absolutely despise dark paneling. Oh, and whoever thought of putting carpet in the dining room just didn’t think that decision thoroughly through. So, we’re fixing it. And by “we”, I mean that good looking handy man I married.

Now I should tell you ahead of time that it’s not done. There are vents and shoe mold and new trim yet to be finished. And part of me wanted to wait to share the renovation until it was all done and I had it decorated and beautiful and complete. But that could be a long way off. It’s all a process. It’s all a journey. And since you’re doing the journey with me, it’s only fair to let you in on the process.

That being said, I give you… the “before and current” shots of our dining room!

For whatever reason, the designer of this home decided to build a HUGE dining room and an itty, bitty kitchen. I don’t understand this.

Our future plan is that the weird, windowed wall into the kitchen will eventually go away. We’d like to do an entire kitchen remodel to really open things up… and though I’d love to take a sledge hammer to it, like, today… it’ll have to wait for now. So, for the time being, I’m planning to put a big, fun sign up there about food or “gathering” or some such thing. We’ll see if it helps.

And next: the laundry room!

In our last house, my laundry room was down in a creepy corner of our basement… which did not encourage me to keep up with it. (Don’t judge my basement-phobia, it’s a real thing). So now, I’m beyond excited to have same floor laundry right off the kitchen! Annnnd right off the den, so I can watch Reba while I fold. (Yep, I’m reliving that sitcom and loving it as much as ever). It’s perfect.

Oh, and the church who sold us the house left a hutch in the dining room. At first I wasn’t sure if I wanted one or what in the world I’d do with it. But I’ve decided I LOVE how it looks up against the lighter walls and it’s PERFECT for the extra storage I don’t currently have in my somewhat smallish kitchen.

I should call this my “sister-in-law” cabinet.

My sister-in-law, Hannah, bought the Bed&Breakfast sign for me a few years back since we love to host and have company and I finally have the perfect spot for it!

My sister-in-law, Amanda, a healthy cook and a beast mode mama of eight, inspired me to use large glass jars for food storage. It’s the first thing I notice when I step into her kitchen. I love the look AND I’m completely convinced that anything you store in a glass jar is automatically made healthier. Seriously, storing Peanut M&Ms (one of my guilty pleasures) in a Mason Jar must certainly knock off a couple calories. Oh, and they automatically become organic and naturally colored by fruit and vegetable juices. Don’t ask me why I think this. But I do. It’s simply my truth. So you can’t question it.

And of course, my sister-in-law, Janelle, is always inspiring me to experiment and try new things and cook healthier and I feel as though a cabinet of glass jars must certainly be a step in the right direction.

That’s All Folks!

Well, I think I’ll wrap it on up here. I can’t share the “current” photos of the den yet, because, although it has new floors and paint, it’s currently our storage space. It’s hard to renovate and try to unpack all at once, but we’ll get there.

I’ve honestly had a few days in these past couple of weeks where I’ve felt completely overwhelmed and at a loss on where to even begin with everything that needs done. But I’m trying to remind myself of what I heard in yesterday’s sermon… seeking out God’s blessings in our struggles… because He is unfailingly good. When we discover anything in our house that’s more broken than we thought, we need to be thankful we have a house in which to find broken things, as well as the ability to fix them. When I feel like my kitchen is small, I need to be thankful I have one at all. When I feel overwhelmed by everything I have to unpack… I need to remember that I could have nothing to unpack.

And then, whenever things start to feel too heavy… I go sit on my porch for a bit.

It’s then I’m reminded that while our house may be a work in progress, one of the reasons we chose this place is because it’s surrounded by reminders of God’s beautiful handy work, which is so perfect and complete and in need of no fixing up. Creation surely does speak to the glory of it’s Creator and it calms and restores my heart each day.

Till next week!