Posted
in Wedding Advice on Dec 18, 2020
Social media can make everyone look like a fabulous expert ready and willing to make your day surpass your expectations and meet all your dreams. If you don't have close friends who have gotten married recently, or are planning from a distance, you might be staring at a Google search that seems endless. How are you supposed to choose?
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Posted
in Past Weddings, Sustainable Wedding Tips on Apr 10, 2020
An Earth-friendly, Boho wedding set in early Spring stepped out in style
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Posted
in Past Weddings, Sustainable Wedding Tips on Apr 10, 2018
We have to tell you about an amazing couple — more than once we have gushed at how incredible it was that they had hiked to the bottom of Cloudland Canyon State Park for those waterfall photos … without breaking a sweat, messing up makeup, or even slightly staining that beautiful dress. They came out looking as fresh and amazing as when they left!
But what we haven’t said much of is this — when Rachel and Josh first came to see our barn, it looked like this:
No concrete. No walls. No deck. There may not have even been rocks in the section of driveway out to the barn, meaning they had to wal...
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Posted
on Sep 30, 2017
I hadn’t heard of Shinrin-yoku until last winter, when I came across an article explaining the restorative, calming, benefits of the practice. There are full studies on the effects of forest bathing being held in Japan, noting reduced blood pressure, improved mood, increased energy levels, improved sleep, an increased ability to focus and even accelerated recovery from surgery or illness.
Having purchased this property while working in a fairly stressful job, I can attest to how just taking ten minutes to breathe outdoors here, staring up at the tree canopy or sitting on the ground did far mo...
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Posted
on Sep 23, 2017
Confession time: I, Cris, am a tableware hoarder.
I’ve wanted an excuse to create an “ocean” themed table for ages, ever since I first found this vase some years ago. As time went on, I found more pieces that related to it — flower holders, salt and pepper shakers…
And then it just happens that my family has three birthdays in September. And that one of those persons is usually not in town.
And it also just so happens that Mom and Dad come back from the Bahamas with yummy things like lobster and crab that Dad found while snorkeling. And suddenly a table concept was born. With only a day left...
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Posted
on Sep 01, 2017
Well, kinda revealing. It’s not finished — but considering where we started a few months back, the transformation is coming along well.
We had a deadline that we never expected would be tight, but with all the rain this spring it took for-ev-ah to get dirt and rock up here. Also, due to our location, a lot of work has to be done by hand. Mostly by two people. Myself, and Dave. I’ve got some pretty cool muscles going after slinging a pickaxe so often. Who needs a gym, when you are remodeling a barn on the side of a mountain?
Our deck is complete, save we will be changing out the farm-fence l...
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Posted
on Jul 03, 2017
The passage of time is a strange thing when you are working on a big project, because every day you see one more small thing finished or changed and it seems like progress takes forever, until you look at your photos from a week or two ago and realize how far you’ve come.
This was the MOAD less than two weeks ago (Mother of All Decks, which is what we are jokingly calling the massive deck we are building off the barn’s stall doors). Dave and I now have added the beginnings of stairs, considerably more posts, cross bracing and more cross bracing, and the board aprons.
When the Cottage isn’t r...
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Posted
on Jun 18, 2017
We cannot believe a year has passed since we purchased Oakleaf Cottage. A year ago today, we left the title office, packed a tiny overnight bag, an air mattress, a bottle of wine and our favorite celebratory glasses: a pair of gold-decked champagne flutes Dave’s mom found at auction. We treated ourselves to dinner at Canyon Grill, still trying to absorb what we had done, and what we needed to do.
We dozed off with the full solstice moon shining blue through the uncovered windows, lulled by the sound of a pair of owls talking to each other across the night, and a soft breeze in the treetops. Da...
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Posted
on Jul 07, 2016
I’m still mentally trying to process how fast life changes. I’m sure Dave is, too.
Since March, we have been on the hunt for a property. Dave has spent many days checking out listing after listing, driving distances and evaluating possibilities. We came close a few times to making offers, but each time, something would happen… and, I just wasn’t excited about the properties. We can make a lot of things work and go toward our dreams, but I always said to Dave “We would know the right place when we found it.”
About 2 months ago, a house on 27 acres popped up on the market. As I skimmed the listi...
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