Old House

We moved out of our house just a little over two weeks ago and in some ways it already feels like a lifetime ago. We've been going non-stop since we said goodbye to our house and we really haven't had the chance to think about everything that's happening. We're currently navigating apartment life while we wait for our new home to be built. Apartment living with children is not for the faint of heart. It's been a bit of an adjustment, but we're making the best of it. Once the pool opens this summer, we'll be smooth sailing I'm sure.

Because we've been so busy, I haven't really stopped to think about our "old house" as Crosbi calls it. We packed and got out so quickly that it sort of felt more like a dream than reality. The other day in the car Crosbi said she wanted to go to her "old house" and I was reminded that it really was a special place for us. Todd and I bought that house when we were 24 and 25 years old. We didn't have a clue what we were doing. We spent over seven years there. We both started our careers, brought home a baby, and practically grew up in that home. We have so many memories with friends and family. There were marks on the carpet from the Super Bowl parties we hosted every year. There's a small stain from when one of my best friends jumped up and down (while holding a cup of coffee!) after hearing I was pregnant. I smiled every time I saw it. There was a mark in the bathroom from when my sisters were experimenting with hair color. It's the little things that make a home.

But I'm also at such peace about our future. When our buyers had their final walk-through, their realtor told ours that the husband and wife both had tears in their eyes as they walked through what is now their home. Hearing that, I knew our season in that house was officially over. It belonged to them, the new owners, to make their own memories. I pray the memories they make are as sweet as ours.

I didn't post many photos of our home. I did a post on Crosbi's bedroom and our bonus room makeover, but I'm not one to do a "house tour." However, I do want to remember our old house. The photos our realtor had taken make me smile. I'm sure I'll come back here many times to relive old memories. These photos were taken when our home was at its best, but I can still picture the dirty laundry and dishes in the sink. The puzzle pieces in the floor and crayons on the kitchen table. We were really blessed by our first home.

I'm more than excited to start creating a home in the country, but I know now more than ever that it's not the size or style. It's not the furniture or the accessories. It's the love and memories that fill a house that make it a home.

Goodbye old house. You sure were good to us.

xoxo

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Guest Bathroom: Before & (nearly) After

I'm pretty excited about this post. It's not that our guest bathroom got a major overhaul, it's more that it just needed to be personalized a bit.

When I decided to give our bathroom a much needed makeover, I knew I wanted it to have a lake/cabin/camping feel. I'll explain why that was important to me in an upcoming post. This post is more about the art I found to fit the theme.

Originally I had the idea of framing black and white photos from past trips to the lake. Sadly, after I developed them, I knew photos didn't fit the look I was going for. Instead I wanted drawings or sketches. I searched for weeks on Etsy, art.com and other sites. I found nothing. I had a pretty specific look in my mind and wanted so badly to match it.

Then it hit me. I was reading Darby's blog (if you've read my blog at all you know how much I adore Darby and her blog). Darby designs and sells the most darling t-shirts for children. I was scrolling through her photos when I realized her drawings were exactly what I was looking for.

Knowing it could be a long shot, I e-mailed Darby and told her I wanted to use her drawings as art pieces in my bathroom. She was so sweet to not only allow me to use them, but she quickly e-mailed me the images. I had them printed on card stock and framed. I am thrilled with the results!

Before:

After:

I'm really happy with the turnout so far. There will still be some tweaking here and there. Soon we will add white beadboard to the walls to really make the green pop, but that will be a few weeks down the road. I'm just glad the room is starting to feel more like us. It's still simple, but playful enough that it can serve as a kids bathroom one of these days.

Thanks to Darby, this bathroom feels a bit more complete.

More updates to come!

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XOXOXO

I find so much inspiration from blogs; from recipes to book recommendations to home decor ideas. I think it's because most of the blogs I read are written by normal women who need quick recipes for their busy families or ideas for the home that aren't too far out of reach.

Several weeks ago I stumbled on a blog and a light bulb went off. The photo of the author's kitchen stopped me in my tracks. She had the greatest art pieces hanging below the bar in her kitchen. For months I have been trying to find photos or art for a bare wall in our kitchen. Once I saw this blog, I knew I wanted to try to replicate her art in my house.

See the X & O prints under her bar? I love them.

This morning Todd and I created a version of our own for our kitchen.

Before:

During...

After:

xoxo,
Tara

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S is for...

S is for Stepp.

I decided to get a little crafty today. We had a wall downstairs that was just a little too plain. I've gone back and forth over what to do with it. I had landed on adding more picture frames, but we already have several frames downstairs. Instead I decided to put a large "S" on the bare wall. Family friends of ours had an "R" in their kitchen and I always thought it looked so great in their home. I decided to copy the look and I think I'm pretty happy with the results. The good news is that I spent less than $10, so if I decide I don't like it, I won't feel too bad taking it down.

Pottery Barn confirmed my decision too. I was worried this trend was long gone, but it looks like this type of wall accent might stick around for awhile. I found inspiration here (they used numbers instead of letters), here and here.

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Our entryway is still pretty bare (and if you ask me, a little boring), but I'm just not the best at picking out accessories. I'm going to eventually add some large baskets under the console table and some other accents for on the table, but that is a work in progress.


S is for Small Group.

At the beginning of the year Todd and I joined a new small group. We had been talking to another couple at our church about how we felt a lack of community in our church among couples our age. We decided to start a meal group. Every other Wednesday we get together to share a meal and catch up on life. We all just hit it off immediately. I believe God has big plans for our little group. What originally started out as a humble group of three couples, will have nearly doubled by the next time we meet. Yes, twelve people (and all of their little ones) in one house! There was obviously a great need for this type of community in our church and it's so awesome to be right in the middle of it. We're really excited about what God is going to do through this group.

I don't have pictures yet. I've decided I'll ease into snapping photos of everyone!


S is for Seriously Good Book.

Okay, that might be a stretch, but I couldn't think of a good S word.

I am one chapter from finishing Dug Down Deep by Joshua Harris. I never intended to read this book. The only reason I read it was because the day after Todd brought it home, I had a flight to North Carolina and didn't have anything to read. I put it in my bag, but I was planning on just buying a magazine at the airport. Fortunately for me I was running late the morning of my flight and my only option was this book. That was a blessing in disguise. Dug Down Deep is one of the best books I've read in a really long time.

I hate to admit it, but Todd and I were both feeling church burnout. We were constantly talking about looking for another church home, but never looked because we have so many great relationships where we're at. We were both praying for God to give us a clear sign on whether we should stay or go. He gave us that answer: stay. I believe this book and our small group were exactly what we needed to fall in love with our church all over again.

This passage from Harris in response to church burnout was a huge eye-opener:

"No doubt some are burned out or disillusioned by the corruption or poor leadership they've seen. Others feel that the church is cumbersome and that there are more effective ways to get things done.

But my guess is that a vast majority of Christians who have lost their vision for the church are like I was: they've never taken the time to study what the Bible says about God's purpose and plan for the church. Instead, they're living their lives guided by their feelings and experience. They're pragmatic, so they're focused more on what "works" than on what Scripture dictates. They're consumers who approach church asking, 'What's in it for me?'

But what if we saw that the church is more than a human program, more than what we disparagingly refer to as organized religion? What if we saw that it originated in the heart and mind of God himself and that his plan began before the dawn of human history and stretches into eternity? What if we learned that the church was so precious to Jesus that he was willing to shed his own blood to obtain it? What if the church is the means by which God has chosen to accomplish his purpose for us and the world? And what if it is irreplaceable?

If we could see this, then we'd realize that rejecting the church is rejecting God himself."

That last line should make anyone who reads it really think about how they view the church. If you don't think you need the church, you're really saying that you don't need God.

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Whew! This post has been more like a novel. It was a bit all over the place, but I had a lot to catch up on. Thanks for staying with me!

Have a wonderful weekend. It's going to be in the 60's in Nashville. If you're looking for me, I'll be outside!

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For Love of the Game (and Other Happenings)

Every now and then my job gives me the opportunity to spoil my husband. I'm always thrilled when that happens. I found out last fall that one of the artists I work with had the chance to perform for the Indiana Pacers. Upon sharing the news with Todd, he quickly pulled up the Pacers schedule for 2010. We then found out that the Pacers would be playing the Cleveland Cavaliers, which meant we would have the chance to see Lebron James and Shaquille O'Neal play together. That's a big deal in my house.

I'm not a huge sports person. I appreciate sports because my husband is obsessed with them, but even I know Shaquille O'Neal is a big deal. As our trip got closer, I might have been just as excited as Todd. We packed our things and hit the road before one of the biggest snow storms in Nashville's history hit.

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I had just realized where our seats were at this point - 5th row courtside. It doesn't get much better than that!

My handsome husband was like a kid in a candy store.

Special thanks to the man sitting beside me (Phil Stacey) for making the night possible.

The Dream Team: Lebron James, Shaquille O'Neal, Anderson Varajao and Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

Shaq before the game...

Shaq after the game...

We had a blast!

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It was a long drive home through the ice and the snow, but I think I love our house the most when it's covered in a blanket of white.

I love the pops of red against the white. Todd and I picked the colors of our house when we bought it, and for a long time I went back and forth over them. Snow makes me so happy we chose the way we did.

In baking news, the girls and I experimented with a new recipe. It was so good I came home and made it again for Todd. Super easy and delicious, I'll be working on perfecting this one.

Recipe here.

I can't believe it's already the weekend! I'm so glad it is. I'm looking forward to spending the next day or two stuck inside waiting for the ice to melt.

Stay warm!

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Guest Bedroom: Before & After

We started designing our guest bedroom last summer and I'm finally ready to reveal photos of its new look. It has become my favorite room in the house because one, it's the only room that is actually "done" or done enough and two, we were able to stick with our budget and because we did a lot of the work on our own (we made the headboard, repurposed furniture we already had, etc.) I don't feel like the room left a big hole in our pockets.

Before Photos:

As you can see this room had lots of mismatched furniture, random bedding, and no color on the walls. I was pretty embarrassed to have our guests stay in this room.

But after a new coat of paint and some elbow grease, the room now feels like a retreat, which is what our friends and family deserve.

After Photos:

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I never imagined this room being blue. In my mind, it was always going to be green. I had walked into Restoration Hardware and the store was painted the prettiest color of green (Silver Sage), but I knew I wanted the bedding to play off the wall color and I just couldn't find anything to match. So when I saw this bedding at Target, my paint choices had to adjust and honestly, I really like the blue.

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This chair was one of the first pieces of furniture ever given to me. It was my step-mom's and she gave it to me when I moved into my first apartment in college. It had been in the master bedroom and almost made the Goodwill pile a couple of times, but thankfully I kept it around. This chair was the inspiration for our headboard.

I'm pretty proud of this headboard. I think we spent less than $50 for everything. We used tips from two great online tutorials to make ours and they can be found here and here.

I had all but three of these frames just sitting around the house. I found the two small square frames at Ikea for 50 cents for the pair. Can't beat that! The others were originally black, so I just spray painted them white and then painted a few of them brown using a free paint sample I had been given. Paint samples like I used are really inexpensive and great to have around the house. You never know when they will come in handy!

The photos are from our wedding. This is the first time in the almost five years that we have been married that we have had our wedding photos on display. I would say it was about time.

This table was given to us as a wedding gift. We just spray painted it white and used one of the pillow shams that came with the bedding to tie it all together. The vase and floral arrangement are from Michaels.

I wanted a little word of encouragement as our guests went out the door. I chose this one because I feel like it represents our whole house. Todd and I moved out here because we had some big dreams to chase (and are still chasing). I strongly believe that nobody should stop chasing their dreams, regardless of age, location or situation. We serve a big God. Nothing is impossible with Him.

Overall I have been really pleased with how everything came out. The room still needs some accessories and a few more photos on the walls. If we ever have extra money come our way, I would love to put a flat screen TV across from the bed to give it more of a hotel feel. Plus, when we decide to start a family, our parents will camp out in that room and it would be great to give them their own private getaway. Maybe one of these days!

I have officially become addicted to finishing the rooms in our house. I think the laundry room might be next. Just don't tell my husband!

Happy Saturday!

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I'm Back...Sort Of

Can anyone tell me where November went? It has been a little crazy in the Stepp house. I've been meaning to blog, to record the things that have happened in our lives, (because regardless of if anyone reads this silly blog, I like to scroll through old posts to relive past memories), but life got in the way. I know I'm not the only one feeling this way. Fall came and went and I didn't even realize it was visiting. Here's to hoping things slow down soon!

Since the last time I've "really" written, I visited California.

One of the largest radio stations/networks I work with is in Sacramento, so I spent the day there meeting with some of the best promotions directors in Christian music. The next day I took a quick flight down to LA where Tenth Avenue North was performing. I only got a glimpse of the ocean, but it was great to see the sun (and palm trees), especially since I would be returning to a cold, rainy day in Nashville.

Right before I left, Todd worked very hard to put our Christmas lights up. Unfortunately he's a bit afraid of heights, so he asked our good friend Jeff to help.

Look at him. He's not so sure about the "climbing on the roof" business. He decides to supervise instead. (Sorry about the glare - it was sunny and our camera is awful)

We're so thankful for Jeff for getting our house ready for the holidays! Unfortunately we had some technical difficulties and couldn't get the power outlet situation figured out, so I left for California before I could see our home all aglow. My sweet husband worked hard while I was gone and sent me this picture via text:

I love pulling into our driveway and seeing the Christmas lights lit up. I wish we could keep them on all year!

The same week I got home from my 3-day trip to California, the greatest thing happened. One of my best friends got engaged!! Suz is now officially the soon-to-be Mrs. Matt Manes. I'm so happy for her I could burst!

 

In other news, the Pioneer Woman visited Nashville last night. My good friend Renee and I went to her book signing in hopes of meeting Ree herself. But when we arrived we found out we were in the last group and it would be several hours before we made our way to her table. I've never been the "super-fan" type. I think PW is wonderful, but we weren't about to wait in line all night. Thankfully we met the sweetest ladies who just happened to be first in line. They graciously took our books to have them signed. The lady in the black & white shirt was one of the ladies who helped us out. PW might just be signing my book in the picture!

I'd say PW has some fans in Nashville. It was a bummer to not get to meet her, but it was still a fun girls' night out.

I'm home for awhile, but not less busy. Now we're gearing up for crazy work schedules, Christmas parties and another trip back to Missouri. I don't think you will hear the words "I'm bored" come out of my mouth for a very long time.

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