The Day's Journal

Finding beauty in the everyday pieces of life

moving

Trusting & Waiting

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If you follow along on Instagram, you probably know that we’re moving.  If you’re a regular reader of this journal, then you probably know that we’re moving (or at least have noticed a long stint of silence).  If I’ve talked to you in person at all in the past two months, then you probably know that we’re moving. The move and the pending rush of August’s busy wedding season have been the all-consuming thoughts on my mind.  Traveling, packing and flowering have been all I could focus on for the last few weeks. We’ve been north, we’ve been south, we’ve been east and we’ve been west cutting a path throughout Michigan in a constant state of busyness. I couldn’t tear my mind away from this stressful excitement and have thought about little else.  It’s gotten to the point that I have just stopped talking, because I worry that I’m boring people with the same details over and over again.  I resorted to silence.

Vintage Suitcases

But what you might not know is that we’re moving to a new house, in a new town, in a new school district and we were supposed to have moved last week.  And yet, here we are, still in what has been our home for the past 2 ½ years.  August’s rush is behind me and yet it’s still as though we’re sitting here on a sticky pause button.

If you’ve ever bought a house, then you may understand the stress of getting finances in order, having inspections, appraisals and the difficulties of working with underwriters.  If you have not, I’ll just sum it up to you buy saying that there’s so much more that goes into the process of selling a purchasing a house then simply finding someone who’s willing to pay the price that you’re willing to accept.  There’s more to it than finding a house that you love, in your price range, in an area where you want to live and then simply packing your bags and moving in.  There’s more.  I can’t say I understand it all, but there’s about 6 weeks of paper work that takes place between “I want to buy this house” and “Sold’.

Right now we’re sitting in week 7 and our hands are tied.  There’s absolutely nothing we can do to move forward with both our selling and purchasing agreements.  We are completely out of control of this matter.

Deep breaths.

“Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,

For I have put my trust in You.

Show me the way that I should go,

For to You I entrust my life.”

– Psalms 143:8

Where there’s literally nothing at left that one can do, just trust. We’ll wait and see what the end of week 7 shall bring.

Farmhouse Dreams

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Anyone who knows me knows my love of all things vintage, shabby, cottagy, classic and old.  I’ve come to adore living in the country and while I had dreams when we moved to Big Rapids of finding a distressed little old farm house that just needed a little love, that was not in the cards.  I never found my diamond in the rough and as antique of a house that I could find (that wasn’t in town or that was within our budget) was a little 1950s ranch.  We’ve lived here 2 1/2 years and have made this house our home.  We love the property and I’ve gotten over the fact that we have modern espresso cabinets and an electric fireplace, redecorating and making this place our own.

Sometimes we have to wait for the things we pray for.  While there are instances where dreams may never come a reality, I’m hoping that this is not one of them.  We have purchased a little farmhouse!  I could possibly be jinxing all of this by sharing my exciting new before we close but it’s really out of my hands anyway.  I’m choosing to have faith that this is where we’re supposed to be and if we truly are headed in the wrong direction, then the doors will be closed to us.

White Farm House | TownLine Journal

Right now I’m basking in the joy of a longtime dream come true.  If all goes well, we’ll soon be living in an early 20th century little home, perfectly white with charming little shutters, the orginal wood floors, a darling screened in porch and my very own (seperate!) floral studio right on the property.  I cannot wait to share more about this little dream of ours soon.  Until then, I need to get back to cleaning our existing house because it will soon be on the market.

5 Months in a New Town

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I think I was a bit delusional during the moving process last spring.  I had it in my mind that I would have plenty of time to unpack, organize our lives and even decorate prior to the pending wedding season.  I even had visions of having my studio being set and ready to go.  Life is always more work than anticipated, then throw in two little girls and its game over.

#thebigmovetoBigRapids has disappeared from my feed.  Life is messy right now.  But in the name of progress, here’s where we stand since our relocation.

The House

A 1950s ranch located on 6 acres of woods, fields and within walking distance to a small lake.  It’s quiet, dirt road living.  I love the location and the serenity.

The house was completely gutted and remodeled by the previous owners.  They bought it as a foreclosure and spent the next year of their lives redoing everything.  They pride themselves in nothing original being left of the 1950s shack.  I, however, find this really sad.  From past pictures, I understand that much needed to be improved upon but I would have liked to retain a bit more history and preserved some of the home’s original integrity.

I’ve also found very few people in this area share my passion for white cabinets, light walls and cottage chic décor.  There’s a lot of brown in this town.  I’m on a mission to infuse a bit more of my style into this home without making it clash with the brand new pieces that have been so carefully selected, such as the deep espresso cabinets, the chocolate bathroom vanity and rusty gold tones of the travertine fireplace surround.  The one project I have been able to tackle so far is painting all the walls in my living room and kitchen white (naturally, I tackled that project the night befor Willa June’s first birthday). It’s a step in the right direction, even if I’m not completely sold on the chosen paint color.

The Studio

Our house has a fully finished, walk out basement.  It’s very homey and not at all your typical dingy, damp basement space.  This is be a space where I can work, design and meet with clients.  Half will be designated as a “work zone”, with shelving, counter height tables and – fingers crossed – a sink.  The other half will be more of a cozy, meet and greet space.  I have an antique sofa that’s just waiting to be reupholstered and I’m looking for a few other cute pieces in my travels.  I love any excuse to purchase new furniture.  I’m even hoping to include a small play area.  And the best part is there will be a door between the two halves, so when the studio side gets a little messy, we can close it off to the living area and hopefully keep the floral disaster contained.

As far as progress goes on this space, we’ve ripped out half of the carpeting since I can’t really work with flowers on carpet.  But other than that, there’s been a lot of dreaming about potential.  I’m hoping to select a paint color before we lay new floors but I’m stuck on what color.  It’s all dependent upon what color I want as a backdrop for my flowers to be Instagrammed against.  So sad, but so true.

The Gardens

This is another big dream area.  We simply didn’t have time to plant anything this year and I really wanted a summer to see what grew naturally on our property.  So far we’ve found wild raspberries, mock orange (or something that looks a lot like it), apple trees, irises, lots of autumn olive, sweet peas, more ferns than you could possibly imagine, chokeberries, grapes, daffodils and oodles of things I cannot possibly name.

I very much want to plant and grow some things to add to my floral designs and am looking forward to that sense of accomplishment.  However, I’m a little scared.  I don’t exactly have a green thumb and I think this might be a huge, frustrating challenge ahead of me.

There you have it, the last five months, in a nutshell.  Living here feels so natural, I can hardly believe it’s only been four and a half months.  I’m excited for the autumn and dreading the winter a touch, but I definitely have enough things in mind to keep me busy all year through.

Cat in Highchair | Vintage Aqua Highchair | The Day's Deisgn

Photography: Justine Simmonds  

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The 5 Most FAQs for the Month of March

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I’m full on having an ADD month.  I start one project, leap to another, tackle the unpacking of one box, grab a paintbrush and splash some color on half a wall, check my email, forget to respond to the message I just read and end the day feeling exhausting and unaccomplished.

Moving.  That’s what’s on my mind. And of course the impending wedding season which is full of flowers.  Ah, flowers.

Through the shuffle and the driving, I’ve had some amazing blog posts run through my head.  But when I actually stop to sit down at a computer.  Poof.  My mind immediately goes numb.  I forget how to form a sentence, proper grammar and all forms of punctuation go out the window.  The three parts of a story – gone.

So today’s post will be in list form, between to-do lists, project lists, packing lists – this just seems fitting to have a blog list. The answers to my 5 most frequently received questions over the last month.  Here’s everything you need to know, even if you really don’t care to know it.

How’s the move?

Such a loaded question.  Moving is hard.  It’s emotional, time consuming and strenuous.  I’m so sick of looking at boxes, wondering where things are and feeling unorganized.  But if I can put all of that aside, it’s really good.  The house is great so far, we’ve had our challenges of being in a rural setting, but overall I think we’re going to be really happy here – if it ever stops snowing.

How’s the new house? Are you getting settled?

See above.  The house is great so far.  A sweet friend texted me today reminding me that even small steps are progress.  But it’s hard.  I really want things done NOW.  Patience is not a strength of mine.

How are the girls adjusting?  Does Gretta like her new room?

Packing and moving an entire house up is hard.  Packing and moving an entire home AND business is harder.  And packing and moving both of those things with two small children is crazy.  What were we thinking??

Gretta is adjusting great.  She loves it.  The first change we made to the house was painting her room pink (actually a subtle blushy white, but it’s pink to her – she is 100% girly girl).  And everyone who comes over gets to see her pink room as the first stop via the Gretta home tour.  Willa June, on the other hand, has been very out of sorts.  I didn’t expect it to be such a struggle for her, I figured she was young enough that the environment change wouldn’t have much of an effect.  I was definitely wrong.  She’s been a little extra clingy and doesn’t seem quite herself.  I think we’re finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel with that as the last couple days have been much improved.

What’s the house like?  I can’t wait to see what you do with it!

I don’t think I’ve shared much about the house we bought here so I’ll give you a little history on the home.  (You may remember me contemplating a couple of choices back when I posted this here).  We ended up buying another 1950’s ranch.  It was foreclosed on a couple years back and last January a couple bought it to flip.  They did a ton of work, it’s completely remodeled and brand spanking new – which really isn’t like me at all.  It feel strange not changing things out of pure necessity.  But it’s pretty nice not having all the projects lingering over my head.

I will, however, be adding my own touches to the space.  While the finishes are really high end and the couple who fixed it up did a great job, not everything is completely my style or how I would have done them. My sister summed it up perfectly “it looks really nice, but it doesn’t look like Shelby.”

I’ve had so many people share how eager they are to see what I do to the new house, how I decorate, etc which I think is really funny.  While I love home décor, I’m not an interior designer and have never pretended to be.  I’m just a girl who likes to keep up on style and binge watches Rehab Addict whenever possible.  However, you can follow along with my tweaks and updates #thedaysinteriordesign, just be nice.

One of my favorite parts though is the location.  We have six acres of wooded lands, wild grasses and rickety old fences.  There are birch trees, an apple tree and lots of potential for foraging.  I found a pussy willow a couple days ago.  Chickens live across the road and we’re within walking distance to a little lake.  And the crickets and bullfrogs sang us to sleep on the couple of warm nights we experienced.  I am aching to have the windows open and smell sweet scent of fresh country air.

When does wedding season start?  How is the move affecting business?

These are big questions.  Part A – wedding season starts at the end of this month.  I have a huge wedding April 30th in Grand Rapids and I’m so excited for it.  It’s going to be a beautiful explosion of spring flowers and vibrant colors.

Part B – what many people don’t realize is that even though I previously lived in Grand Rapids, I really didn’t do that many weddings in the city itself.  I think only about 25% or so of my weddings were local.  With that said, I wasn’t really afraid of the move.  I’m closer to my Traverse City/Leelanau brides and it’s not too much further from those Southwest Michigan and lakeshore brides.  And I’m working on having a proper floral studio within my home, which is going to be amazing and help with my workflow and productivity so much.

Willa June | The Day's Design | Moving to Big RapidsPhotography: Justine Simmonds

Last week I stayed up for a couple of late nights painting our living room.  And on Saturday we hosted our first of many family gatherings, this one in celebration of Willa June’s first birthday.  We still have a huge horse trailer full of belongings sitting in our driveway and I’m just trying to take one day at a time.  I think we have finally found reliable internet service, so we feel connected to the world again.  Week three of country living and all is well for the night.

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Note: Just to clarify, I don’t really have ADD – just days I mindlessly hop from one task to another and cannot sit still as I’m overthinking every little piece and project in my life.  Focus Shelby, just focus.

The Science of Moving

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Newborn Photography | The Day's Design | Hetler Photography

If you don’t love it, leave it.  That’s the name of the game this week. On Monday, we will be handed the keys to our new house.  Done deal.  We’ll begin the process of moving on…

It’s a very surreal feeling.  I’ve been going through the process of packing and decluttering but it’s almost as though I’m just watching myself and not really in the moment.  And I hate packing.  Between the ages of 18 and 25, the years between moving out of my parents’ house and when I got married, I moved at least 11 times.

In moving that many times, you’d think that I might become pretty good at it.  I might even have it down to a science.  However, that’s not the case.  Every time I moved there were always boxes that remained unpacked – which was definitely nice for the next move – but obviously they were unnecessary items.  There are still boxes in my basement that I’ve never unpacked and we’ve lived here for 6 years.

So this time around I’m trying to do things a little differently.  My motto, if you don’t love it, leave it.  I no longer have a desire to be surrounded with things that I don’t love.  I don’t want to hold onto things that “maybe I’ll wear someday” or “I might find a use for down the road”.  I have a deep desire to simplify and create a space that’s homey and useful.  That’s not to say that I won’t live in a highly decorated, aesthetically pleasing place, but I’m just changing my approach.

I have a tendency to hold onto things. Sometimes for sentimental reasons and other times for no real reason at all.  Why do we as humans have such an attachment to our “stuff”?  Worldly treasures, they mean nothing in the long run.

As I’m going through and deciding what to keep and what gets tossed in the box labeled “good stuff that I don’t want to keep”, it’s like a trip down memory lane.  And I only want to keep the good memories.  I want things that make me smile.  Those are the only things that I want to be attached to.

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Speaking of things that make me smile, the picture above is for nostalgia’s sake from Willa June’s newborn session with Hetler Photography.  She turns one next week, March 12th.  And Gretta, still loves being a big sister and her books. 

An Undecorated Life

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The Felt Mansion | The Day's Design | Weber Photography

This weekend we took down the Christmas tree. Packing away the Christmas tidbits is always a bit bittersweet. There’s a big empty space in my life.

And then we started packing. Not just the décor, but packing up our lives. I feel like 2016 is a huge mass of unknowns for us. We’re planning a huge move without an exact destination determined yet. I have complete faith that it will all work out, but just the same the unknown is a scary place to be.

We’re stripping down to the bare basics. I’m living an undecorated life. That’s not an easy realization for me. Pretty things inspire me. I don’t deal well with living in ugly, chaotic clutter. I’m struggling with the idea that we may find a home without floral wallpaper, thick crown molding and crystal chandeliers.  I’m seeking to find the beauty in the situation.

The new year is also the perfect time for my little blog facelift, which I’ve been envisaging about since last spring but struggling like crazy to make it happen. One of the biggest changes is actually quite minor, but I’m changing from a blog to a journal. So many of my post should really start with “dear diary” and I’m pushing myself to be more real, more open and more vocal on certain matters.  Somehow having a journal seems more natural. I’ve had a journal ever since high school when writing was the only real way for me to clear my mind. My sporadic thoughts will continue, along with insights on moving, home buying and the redecorating journey. And of course this will forever and always be the home for wedding planning and flowers. Lots and lots of flowers.

2016 goals? Surviving and living to the fullest. I can’t be specific about my goals quite yet because I’m not sure where life is right now. I have lots of dreams though for the road ahead.

dreaming is a form of planning | The Day's Design

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Photo above is by Cory of Weber Photography.  If you find a house with beautiful moss like this is the greater Big Rapids area – call me!  I’m on the hunt for my dream home 🙂

A New Adventure

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Adventure | The Day's Design | Katie Grace Photography

Photography: Katie Grace Photography

On November 2, a new adventure began for our family. My husband accepted a new job. It’s a great job and excellent career move. However, for the past 2 months he’s been commuting 60 miles back and forth each day. The situation is less than ideal.

The remedy is for our family to relocate, plain and simple. So the adventure is really beginning in the New Year. We finally have our house listed for sale, we have been scouring the real estate market and we are packing our bags.

I’ve held onto the dream of living in Northern Michigan for so long now, and I’m falling just shy. Our proposed destination town is Big Rapids, a mere 12 miles south of what most consider to be the cutoff line to living up north. So close. We’re almost north. At least it’s a step in the right direction.

And as far as business goes, I don’t foresee much change on that front. Only a small fraction of the brides I currently work with are local, and I really do very few wedding right in the city of Grand Rapids itself. I’ll be that much closer to my Leelanau brides and my Southwest Michigan brides will only be a stone’s throw further. The dream is to find a place with a potential floral studio, perhaps a small garden, or I’d at least like to get out of my formal dining room so maybe I could actually host a dinner party once in a while.

Right now I feel like we’re living on a prayer. We’ve had so much interest in our home, but the housing market in that area is a bit… challenging, to say the least. It’s a faith journey, trusting that we’re making the right decision and that it will all work out in the end.

Merry Christmas week – we’ve had 5 showings of our house this week, which is also less than ideal. It’s cutting into my wrapping and family holiday time so if your gift was late or not perfectly wrapped, I’m sorry – I don’t know how Martha Stewart does it all! I hope you’re all enjoying this season of laughter, joy and togetherness.

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