My Dream Home

Friends,

Lucas and I have been perusing realty and home-buying websites for months trying to figure out where we're going to end up this time next year once I'm officially an OT/R (hopefully!) and have acquired my first job.

Right now, my aunt has offered to let us stay in her lakeside cottage from January 'til June. After that, our living situation is still up in the air. BUT, Lucas and I have fallen head over heels for the Sugarberry Cottage house plans from Southern Living's House Plans. We have both agreed that it meets our dream home criteria in every way:

• It's not too big -- a little over 1600 square feet. Big enough to entertain, small enough to maintain
• It has an open floor plan that's perfect for entertaining with the kitchen, dining, and living room all essentially part of one larger room
• Two big covered porches -- swoon
• The master bedroom is downstairs -- practical for when we get older (we're definitely thinking long-term here!)
• The fireplace -- again, swoon

When I found these plans, I knew this was our #goalshouse. It suits us both in every way. Even though we still may not know where we're going to be a year from now, we do know where we want to eventually end up. I have been so giddy about finding this that I couldn't wait to share it with you all! I know Mrs. Stewart would approve ;)

Happy Monday,

Summertime Sadness

The thunderstorms are offering a really nice, cool breeze, but they're also encouraging me to sit inside on the computer. It's not necessarily a sadness I'm feeling, but I'm so overwhelmed with projects I would really like to work on. It's as if I have so many enjoyable projects I'm not sure where to begin on them. I also have chores since I'm living with my parents now. And still sometimes it feels like my whole afternoon just disappeared because I was sitting inside on the computer.

It's crazy for me to think about, but I've been graduated for almost a month. I'm not exactly sure where the month of May has gone! Since the week following graduation, I've been working on renovating an old tobacco barn with my dad on my week-day mornings. Besides this work, what have I accomplished? I have unpacked all my things from living at school and put them away. I've exchanged my summer and winter clothes from storage. I helped my parents host a graduation party at my house with neighbors and family members. I got ready for and went on a camping trip with four good friends (Miss Ellaneous, Martha S., Granny Eyre & Captain Something Fun). I've helped my mom out in the garden. I've met up with friends and my beau several different times and had fun eating out, seeing movies, going riding & going fishing. I've started Bridge to Haven by Francine Rivers. And now I'm planning a wedding shower for a good friend from high school. 

Looking back at this list it seems like I've been fairly busy, but I still want to do more. I want to relax and have a fun summer, but I also want to accomplish some things. I want my months of June and July to be full of enjoyment and all these things: crafts, more gardening, adventures with friends and my beau, campfires, swimming, summer celebrations, preparation for school year months, reading lots of books, star-gazing, lightening-bug watching and much, much more. I want to cut back on my screen-time and increase my time outside enjoying friends, family and my time off. I know in the blink of an eye, my summer break will be over and I want to look back at all I have done and smile.

That's all for now!

The Farmer's Daughter