Snowvid 2021

So Close, Yet So Far Out

Disclaimer: This was written like over a year ago and never got posted til now! Enjoy!

Last Summer Fred and I celebrated our Anniversary in Austin TX. About a 4 hour drive from Dallas, felt close enough to drive but far enough to call it a getaway. Although only 4 hours apart from each other Dallas and Austin could not be any more different from one another.

See what we love about Austin is that it’s funky, its different, its weird, which is to no surprise why the city’s slogan is, “Keep Austin Weird.” after all. So when we decided to spend the weekend in Austin I knew I wanted to embrace all it had to offer a vibrant, eclectic, artsy, hip vibe so we booked our stay in a motel, not just any motel, Austin Motel!

What drew me to this place was it’s modern sleek colors combined with vintage architecture and a slight Spanish villa feel. The outdoor corridors are adorned with beautiful greenery and dreamy cacti. If you look into Bunkhouse, they have a whole line of hotels that are all so well designed, I’m dying to stay in a teepee at El Cosmico in Marfa or their hotel in Cabo is beautiful too!

While I highly recommend Austin Motel for its design, great location, lots of great food places around, be forewarned, the innuendos through out this place might leave you blushing at the least or might just completely crack you up, I chose the latter. So if you’re heading to Austin ditch that boring hotel with the waffle maker and the basic vibe and stay at Austin Motel, So Close Yet So Far Out.

 

From Water Lilies to Weeping Willows

This past Sunday Fred took me on a date to the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth for the last day of the exhibit, Monet: The Late Years. I’m a girl that appreciates art but I must admit as an aspiring gardener and flower obsessed girl, I have a bias for Monet. I had been wanting to go see Monet’s flowery exhibit all Summer but our weekends had been packed and we had not been able to go. Finally we were able to squeeze in a Sunday afternoon date but apparently we weren’t the only ones with the brilliant idea to see Monet on the last day of the exhibit. We waited over an hour in line to get in!

Like anything good in life, the wait was worth it.

The exhibit displayed Monet’s beautiful water lilies and transitioned into art work from his later life. His rich warm tones over time turn into gloomy paintings of weeping willows. You see through his painting the impact that age, death of loved ones and war had on him.

I held back tears until we walked out.

I couldn’t help of the thought that like a Monet, life transitions between seasons of beautiful calm water lilies to seasons of dark confusing weeping willows. Yet every Monet, whether bright or depressing is of immense value. Life is like this.

Life is confusing, beautiful, dark, precious and every detail matters to the Lord. Psalm 139 says, “How precious are your thoughts towards me how vast is the sum of them. If I would count them they are more than the sand.”

Every stroke in the canvas of life is of purpose, beauty and value. Thanks for the reminder Monet.

Stay At Home Mommy Goes Back to Work After 7 Years

After 7 years of being a stay at home mom, I put away my stretchy mom pants, set my alarm clock, put some makeup on my face, brewed my coffee and went back to work… Yes! Work! Let me tell you, boy, has it been an adjustment for our family.

All I have known these last 7 years is home, glorious home. When I was pregnant with Luke in 2011, Fred and I made the decision that I would stay home to raise our littles until they were all old enough to be in school. This wasn’t an easy decision, this wasn’t something that we could afford to do but we both felt it’s what the Lord wanted for our family. I felt a calling to be home and invest in my boys. So I traded in my full time job in education to become a stay at home mom.

If you’ve done this before or even if you’ve spent more than 24 hours with a baby or toddler whose motives are completely selfish and will literally suck out all the life and energy from you, you know it’s hard. Times that by 3 boys…

It’s been hard but its been an amazing experience and privilege. I used to take it as an insult when strangers at grocery stores would say, “You’ve got your hands full” while I pushed a cart with a baby strapped to my body and a young toddler threw every item on site into the cart while the other daredevil jumped off the cart or barely made it out of the store alive. This was my normal and I loved it. Yes I had my hands full but my heart fuller. But trust me, after a few years of marathon outings and grocery trips with littles I would eat up all the pity from strangers I could get. They weren't judging me, well at least most weren’t; they sympathized with me and their giggles as I rolled by weren’t always malicious, at least that’s what I told myself to get through. Those were some fun times. Now that they’re a little bigger and have a little more self control, rolling into Costco doesn’t always feel like the circus just rolled into town, on most days…It’s taken years but I’ve learned to tame those wild things.

Yes outings were hard, sometimes miserable but home has always been sweet. It's been our safe place. Most of the boys life training has happened here. How to treat and love others, be a friend, problem solve, be polite, gain independence, have dinner as a family, read the bible as a family, how to respect authority, how to show hospitality, how to tidy, how to help in the kitchen, how to wipe your butt, pick out you clothes and be responsible, dance like no one is watching, these are just a few that come to mind. I guarantee you we have not been perfect in our raising and have probably allowed more iPad and video games than some responsible parents are comfortable with but I can rest assured in God’s kindness that his grace will abound in the life of these boys.

And it’s with the Lord’s grace and kindness that we finally send them all off to school! Luke 2nd grade, Noah Kindergarten, Nate Pre-K. All 3 going to school full day. Time flies by ya’ll. Hold on tight to those sweet babies because unfortunately they grow up! (Insert crying emoji here) And with all my babies going to school that opened the doors for me to go back to work! I love how the Lord prepared me for this.

Back in the spring I had a conversation with Fred, I was in tears as I told him I felt the Lord telling me “Change was coming.” I had no idea what that meant but it felt like the Lord was preparing us for a big change. I’m a person that does not like change, I don’t even like to update my phone if means my settings are going to change. At that time I thought for sure it meant we were going to be switching churches because Fred had been applying for graphic design jobs at some churches in the area.

As time passed we didn’t change churches and I had forgotten about that conversation. One day I found myself looking through jobs online to see what was out there, not actively looking just out of curiosity. I saw that the day before they had posted a Receptionist job for a brand new elementary school that was opening up in the fall only a few miles from our home. Receptionist in an elementary had been my first job when we moved to Texas, while I only did it for a year before I moved into a classroom I really enjoyed it and I saw myself doing something similar once the boys were all in school, so I talked to Fred and he encouraged me to apply and just see what the Lord did with that. So I applied and didn’t hear anything for months.

Summer started and the boys were out of school, all that was in my mind at that time was our upcoming Italy trip, then I got a call. “Can you come in for an interview next week?”

Still unsure if this was the right decision I went in for the interview. I felt a calmness and confidence that I know was not of myself but of the Lord. There was literally a rainbow that morning after some rain had passed and I drove to the interview. God is good. They asked many questions but one stood out to me, what do you think would be hardest part of the job for you? I was 100% honest. I said learning how to be a working mom after being home all these years and figuring out how to balance time and life. Well, somehow my answers didn’t scare them and I got the job!

We flew to Italy a week later and we felt like not only was it a celebration of our 10 year anniversary but also a celebration of a closing of a big chapter of our lives, we knew come Fall our lives would look different and that change God had spoken to me about in the Spring was indeed coming. God’s timing is good and he knows best.

This season of me working full time has been chaotic, the transition has been stressful, I’ve cried more than my pride wants to admit but I’ve also found a deeper dependance on the Lord. Our lives have changed and were still adjusting, finding our rhythm and what our new normal will look like. Weekends are sweeter, time together as a family is not taken for granted and a home cooked meal is much more appreciated than before.

I’m grateful to the Lord that I love my job, I love the people I work with, I love that I will be able to be off when the boys and Fred are off. I’m confident that the Lord will use me for his glory at work as he has used me for his glory at home. Today I celebrate Labor Day with more appreciation and countdown the days to Thanksgiving break!

Some pictures of the boys first day of school, mommy going to work and a few pictures of my office!

My Mother's Day Weekend

Hey there! It’s been a while!

Hope you had a wonderful Mother’s Day.

My boys treated me to all my favorite things, carbs, shopping and picnics!

Saturday I got treated to coffee and delicious chocolate croissants at Tulla, a French inspired patisserie and cafe. It was my first time there and if I could have I would’ve tried every pastry they had in sight. I went basic and ordered a chocolate croissant but this croissant was far from basic! My mouth is watering as I type! A buttery, flaky pillow from heaven filled with chocolate goodness… Yum!

We then stopped for a quick Target run and of course I had to pick out something for myself since it was Mother’s Day weekend and it was only appropriate. Our run turned into a marathon as it usually happens every time I walk into Target. Out of a billion things I tried on I found a cute top and romper on clearance, $20 for both, score!

We then hit up a Frisco Festival, and forget photo booths, Magnolia Terrace a local event venue had the cutest bike set up for photos, and you don’t have to tell me twice! I’m adding a beach cruiser back on my wishlist if I get one it will most definitely have flowers hanging out of the basket just like theirs!

We ended Saturday with dinner at Outback Steakhouse, last time we went I was pregnant with Nate! I had prime rib, medium rare, the only way to eat a steak… For dessert we checked out a new snow cone place in Denton Square, Gnome Cones! It was an amazing experience, super thought out down to every detail, the sound of squeaky gnomes calling out your name when your order is up! I need to do a post on this place alone because it’s truly magical, check it out!

Sunday Fred made me avocado toast with his homemade jalapeño cheddar bread! We headed to church and I wore my Target find from the day before. We came home for lunch with family and afterwards I was ready to just relax and wait for Game of Thrones to start but Fred surprised me with a picnic and homegirl is always down for a picnic! Fred made us yummy sandwiches and we spent the evening at the park.

Grateful for my sweet husband who is so thoughtful, goes above and beyond for me and makes every celebration extra special. I love you with all my heart, you make me a better mommy grateful for you and our crazy boys! Love you!

Bread Adventures

Hey, how was your weekend?

Saturday, Fred spent all day baking, made us waffles, he made sourdough bread, french rolls, he’s amazing, he even sold a few breads to some friends. I’m loving this new bread hobby he’s into because I freakin love bread!

So after eating bread all day Saturday what did we do Sunday after church? Went to a bake sale!

Yea, the bread obsession is real.

Patina Green our favorite sandwich spot in McKinney was having a pop up bake sale and we had to go. Pamela and Brock, the bakers selling their bread could not have been sweeter despite our wiggly and chatty children, also their array of breads was fab.

After picking out our baked goods we grabbed some sandwiches and sat down for lunch, sliced right into the freshly baked bread and my heart soaked it all in, family and good food are some of my favorite joys.

Totally recommend Patina Green if you have not been there and check out Pamela and Brock their bread was everything you would want bread to be!

Hope you have a great week! Eat something delicious.

Go, eat your bread in joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart… Ecc 9:7

Valentine's Date in Deep Ellum

On Saturday Fred treated me to an early Valentine’s Day Date. He knows me too well and planned it just right.

Dallas, Food, Duh.

While a girl can eat a big meal, trust me… I’m more of the tapas philosophy, small bites so I can try a little of everything and take my time. So Fred decided to take me out to eat small bites at a few different spots.

We started our date at Jimmy’s Food Store, the best Italian market in Dallas. Italian cuisine and culture is so near and dear to us and being in Jimmy’s Food Store makes me feel like I’m there though I've never been but I like to pretend while i’m there! You can buy a glass of wine to sip on while you shop. You’re completely surrounded by every imported Italian ingredient you might ever need along with local goods. I found the perfect pasta noodles for my Galentine’s Party coming up and we bought our meats we needed for pizza night from the deli, the deli!!! At the deli you can buy sandwiches, the most amazing sandwiches in town, Fred and I split a prosciutto caprese sandwich, soo tasty!

We then headed to Deep Ellum, one of my favorite spots in Dallas. We walked around the outdoor market, hit up a few shops like Jade & Clover and Archer Paper Goods, seriously adorable shops!

Then came our second food stop, Revolver Taco. We had authentic street tacos with wagyu beef carne asada, cilantro and onions! The best part? There’s an abuelita in the kitchen making your tortillas, (insert tears of joy here) and you can actually see her throwing it down in a cute Mexican apron. You won’t find your typical Texas “fajita meat” tacos here, just the real good carne asada.

We ended our date with dessert at Emporium Pies. It was my first time checking out the Deep Ellum location so I was really excited to check out their floral mural, insta worthy. They have their seasonal “Valenpies” I had to go with the Dr. Love pie, a gooey brownie with red velvet cream cheese, need I say more?

Though it was a chilly 30 some degree date, my super hot Valentine kept me warm, like literally, my thoughtful Fred even bought me hand warmers to put inside the pockets of my coat. Thank you Fred for always loving me, caring for me, spoiling me. I love you my dearest Valentine.

Galentine's Mood Board

I’m throwing my very first “Galentines” party next week for the ladies in my community group from church. They are such a blessing to me in so many ways that I wanted to celebrate them and make them feel loved and appreciated in return. What better way than to host a Galentine’s Party?!?

I am a boy mom who loves pink, it’s one of my favorite colors, I dyed my hair pink, my wedding was even pink, but these days I find myself throwing Paw Patrol parties, Pokemon parties, Star Wars parties… Did you see my last post? No pink to work with. Except on Valentine’s Day! Give me all the pink!

I knew I wanted to incorporate pink in my Galentine’s Party since it’s my fave but I also wanted to break away from the traditional bright red hearts and kisses vibe while keeping it soft and feminine.

I went to Jo-Anne’s for inspiration, walked through the store and found myself in the scrapbook aisle. Suddenly this fun paper caught my eye, this sheet with a marble dip design in dark teal, maroon and coral but I kept looking for the Valentines theme paper and nothing really stood out, my eye kept coming back to the marble dip design. I was captivated and knew I had found my color inspiration for my Galentine’s Party.

I paired the scrapbook sheet with a rose gold sheet and my heart about burst! Then I went to the fabric section in search of a table runner and in the pile of clearance rolls found a velvet teal bolt that complemented the colors so well and added beautiful depth and texture.

I’m super excited to work with these beauties and show you what I come up with next week and show you how my Galentine’s Party goes! Have a great weekend!

#fridayintroductions

Hi friends! I thought it’d be fun to do #fridayintroductions since I recently changed my personal insta to my blog insta! 

I’m Nancy, I started a blog back in May. That’s almost 6 months ago! By now I thought I’d be like one of the top bloggers in the world, you know those super cool influencers with sponsors who just have it all together? Well instead 6 months Later I realized 3 things. 

1. I suck at having a blog
2. I really don’t care that I suck 
3. My life is so busy for a blog

God has been using me in different unexpected ways these last few months. I wanted to be used through this blog but God had different plans and I’m ok with that! I’ve surrendered fully to his will for me and I’ve seen God make great things out of my faithful yes to his call. 

With that being said this blog is still near and dear to my heart and I’m hopeful it will come together in its time. I’m totally kidding about wanting to be a top blogger and influencer, i mean if you want to give me free stuff I’ll take it😜 Seriously I’m just an honest introverted nerd who loves Jesus more than anything and I just happen to come across as cool and trendy. Most of the time I feel less than, most of the time I second guess myself but all of the time God is good!

10 random facts about me:
-Grease is my all time favorite movie
-Being a mom is my greatest accomplishment 
-I pretend I like to workout but I just want to eat jalapeño kettle chips all day
-I like cheap wine but top shelf tequila 
-I’ve been to Australia🇦🇺 
-Italy is the top of my bucket list
-My first car was a black 1999 Ford Mustang it made me feel like the coolest, now I drive a white Van with a cool DVD player...
-I got engaged as a teenager, 19 to be exact but saying teenager sounds so much more dramatic.
-I lived in Mexico for like 2-3 years when I was very small.
-I want a tattoo

If you really read through all that you’re awesome and I’m grateful for you! 

Morning at Magnolia

This summer Fred and I drove down to Austin to celebrate our 9 year anniversary. Since Waco is halfway to Austin we thought it'd be fun to drop by and pay Chip and Jo's place a visit. I've heard from the day trippers, I've seen the countless #milestomagnolia pics on insta so I wanted to see for myself what all the hype was about and let me tell you, the hype is real.

Upon walking in you feel something special in the air. Everyone is excited to be there. You're greeted by friendly smiles and you feel welcomed. Hospitable to the core. It felt like Disneyland a bit, kinda magical but no Mickey Mouse or Cinderella Castle here, just a beautiful space called the Silos!

I love places that are well designed, where details matter and where spaces are transformed yet are left to display the beauty and integrity of their history and age. That with their shop overflowing with things to fill every room in your home, truly eye candy for the decorist soul.

My favorite area was the Magnolia Seed+Supply, a gardeners dream! The little garden shop took me back to our trip to Carmel CA... Sweet, quaint, cute shops have a special place in my heart.

We ended our time at the Silos by picking up some pastries from the bakery for the road. A bacon scone, blueberry muffin and a chocolate croissant, all which did not disappoint, all that was left of them were the crumbs on my lap and on the floor of the car. I'm a messy eater, just ask Fred. To our surprise we found a sweet note from one of the workers wishing us a happy anniversary! 

We left with our baked yummies, some sunflower seeds for our garden but most importantly we left inspired and with a greater appreciation for Chip & Jo and what they've built. And of course, we left with a #milestomagnolia pic, how could we not?  

Welcome to The Good & Pleasant

Hello! Welcome to The Good & Pleasant! 

I’m excited to finally launch this project and see it grow and take shape. My goal is to use The Good & Pleasant to build a diverse community of ordinary women doing the extraordinary through their gifts and highlight women who are willing to be transparent and open their lives to others. We are all so different, with varying talents, ideas, traditions and we all have something to learn from one another. 

My idea for the Good & Pleasant grew out of my passion for community and seeing people gather and grow in relationships. You would think that a person with this passion/vision would be extremely outgoing, extroverted and have tons of friends right? Well not exactly, its just little ol’ me and most days I feel opposite of that. I wish I could say I know exactly what I'm doing but I don’t, so the fun part is figuring it out! It hasn’t been easy, I’ve doubted myself and I’ve tried to talk myself out of it a few times but that little voice inside me has kept me going, and, so, finally here it is and I’m excited to share more about it with you! 

In a world where bloggers make life look picture perfect and cute moms on Instagram just get cuter by the post, we are sometimes left with the impression that we’re not enough, or important. I’m here to debunk that and shine light on the beauty that we ordinary women make! Don't get me wrong, while I love following bloggers and interesting people on social media there are countless of women in my life that I admire and feel like others would find encouraging and interesting as well.

So that is my goal. To gather ideas from the women around me.

I’ve gotten too comfortable scrolling through Pinterest that I’ve failed to look up and learn from the women in front of me! I’ve often gotten recipes online from people I have zero ties to but some of my favorites are from friends who have shared theirs with me, that recipe is more cherished to me. 

So here’s what you can expect. 

• Community. I want you to get to know the women and families I know that are just like you and I and some that might be completely different than you! I want to celebrate our differences so we can learn from one another and create a common bond within our similarities.

• Honesty.  Expect women like you to  share their thoughts, struggles, triumphs and stories. From friendships, hospitality, motherhood, marriage and everything in between. Be ready to be encouraged by women who are imperfect an know life can be messy and hard but also full of joy and excitement; we are all in different seasons but we can all relate as women.

• Celebration. I love me some parties and holidays! I want to share how we celebrate as a family and how others celebrate as well! We all have different traditions and I think it's awesome when we can take someones fun tradition and be inspired to begin traditions of our own. 

• Food. Expect lots of yummy food. I love trying new recipes, asking for recipes. I love that food is something we all have in common and how it has the power to bring people together. 

• Creativity. I want to share with you how I create, from crafts to home decor and also how others create too. Creativity comes in many shapes and sizes and I’m excited to share with you the creative women that inspire me.

• Self Expression. This one terrifies me a little because it means I’ll let you in a little more into our lives. But I also feel it will challenge me creatively and will encourage me to keep creating. I’ll share more about me, how we do life, some of our favorite things and all the mishaps in between. 

• Encouragement. My hope is that if you’re like me you would also step out of your comfort zone and start pursuing the women who are around you. That you would know you are not alone, that you are able and that encourgement can be found here. 

Get ready! Be patient as I tackle this project and figure out what I’m doing!

Are you ready? Ready to create, ready to try new things, ready to inspire others? I'd love to hear from you! If you want to share an idea, a recipe, a project you have going on please contact me! I’d love to feature you and make you part of this community! Lets make Good & Pleasant things happen!

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Sneak Peak

The Good & Pleasant is on it’s way! Here’s a little sneak peak!

Last weekend we went to Denton for coffee. Actually every weekend we go to Denton for coffee, but this one just felt extra special. The boys t-ball game got canceled because there was rain in the forecast. It actually didn't rain until later in the day so I was grateful for the morning off from baseball doing what we typically do on Saturday mornings, chill.

We checked out a new coffee shop, Cryptozoology. The name alone?!? So fun! Walked into an awesome open space with the friendliest baristas that didn't mind our talkative kids chatting them up on Kirby.

Then we headed outside walked on the train tracks for a bit while we drank our coffee. The boys threw rocks around and the moment could not have been more perfect. I felt the need to shout to the world what a joyous morning it had been.

It was at that moment that I just felt like I needed to get this train rollin. This blog has been steaming in my heart for a very long time, I actually began parts of it last year but never really moved forward until now. I have no idea where the tracks will lead but I'm excited to finally board the train and enjoy the ride. I hope you'll join me on this adventure!

Check it out!