This is home

Once upon a time I lived in Southern California, and loved living there. The beach, the weather, the food, the shopping... I loved it all. However, I ended up in Central Texas for college. Before I left, I had numerous friends and family telling me that I would never come back, I would marry a cowboy, etc. I swore up and down neither of the above would happen. Well, fast forward four years and I had married a Texan, the love of my life, Steven. My loved ones were right on one count: I wasn't coming home. But, I didn't marry a cowboy. While Steven has had some "hick" tendencies (he used to work at a feed store, used to country dance regularly), I believe those are in the past. :) If he had been to California before meeting me, he would have felt right at home.

We moved cities twice within the first 16 months of marriage, but have settled outside of Austin, in Georgetown. This city is a lot like Carlsbad, where I am from: It is definitely a suburb, but also boasts plenty to do of its own. On our two-year anniversary this May we moved into our house.

 
After months of dreaming, looking, and hoping, we couldn't believe it was ours. This house is perfect for us in so many ways and we are so blessed by it. Making wherever we live feel like a home has always been a goal of mine. But when we were first married and living together, I didn't really know how to do this. We had little money, so we had gone to many garage sales to fill our apartment. The result was not pretty: clutter, lack of cohesion, and a color scheme I quickly grew tired of.

Over time, my sense of style, my vision for what I wanted our home to look like was formed. I looked at magazines, read blogs, and after much hesitation, joined Pinterest. By the time we moved into our house, we had a "grown up bed" (which replaced the $85 CraigsList bed I purchased during college), had replaced some of the more sorry previous garage sale finds, and I had a plan to make our house into a home.

My first attempts at doing anything crafty/DIY-related was Modge Podge. But over the past year, I have dared to do more-- and have LOVED it. Using a hot glue gun, spray paint, a sanding wedge, all free my spirit. I am a nurse and am pursuing a master's degree as well, so being creative brings balance to my life. I love looking around my home and seeing what I have created. The thought, meaning, and care that has gone into the details. Details that reflect our interests, our style, our soul.

I have been inspired by women who didn't let tight budgets prevent them from having a beautiful home. Rather, they picked up paint and power tools, armed with ingenuity, and made their houses homes loved to be lived in. It isn't just "that person on HGTV" that can make your houses lovely, it's you. I am living proof.