Welp, I didn’t see you in May. But hello June! 😎

May is THE busiest month for me! Not only was I trying to finish 6 good size projects- along with some smaller jobs, the twins started drivers ed, we had 8 stays at our Airbnb, I cracked a bone in my ankle and Casey was gone for the entire month. Whew, I got overwhelmed again just writing all that out. 🤪

I am happy to report ALL of my children are still alive. They’ve finished school for the year, the twins are enjoying driving (although they prefer to drive with ANYONE but me) and the BIGGEST parts of 4 of my jobs are complete, with the other 2 finishing up next week.  I finally feel like I am starting to breathe again.  I’ll be tying up little ends here and there, then taking a short break before I dive into planning fall and winter projects.   

I am REALLY looking forward to SUMMER – it is my absolute favorite season and I plan to take advantage of the fact that- for the most part- the kids still like hanging out with Casey and I.  And, at 15 and 11 (and even though we live on the lake) THIS is what the kids are excited for this summer… meet Billy.  

Remember to take a look at the *new* finished projects posted here on the website. We are still catching up on past projects from the last couple of years so there is a delay of newer (this years) projects being posted. One day we will be caught up..

If you want more real time updates of projects, make sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram – and check there for pictures of projects that are wrapping up now. You won’t want to miss these ones! Here is a little sneak peek…

I’m blaming my lateness on the lambs.  Actually, April and May are my two busiest months for projects.  Since my business is mostly built on vacation homes – we are in the home stretch for ALL projects to be completed by mid-May so my clients can enjoy the beautiful days Lake Osoyoos has to offer.  So, I also have more time to enjoy the beautiful lake days! It’s a win-win.

April also holds: 

• Spring Break – we spent the week adventuring on Whidbey Island with some of our bestest friends and decided that it must become a tradition!

• Spring Sports!  Which means I become a non-paid Uber Driver for 4-5 hours Monday-Friday.  🚗🚗🚗 Ha.
• Getting the Greenhouse ready – I love the colors April brings to North Central Washington!

• The Twins Birthday 🥳🎉🎈 – this year they are 15.  Obviously, I’m not old enough for that, but here we are. 🤔
• And apparently LAMBS.  They are getting big -spending most of their time outside and beginning to wean for their move back to the Farm in 3-4 weeks.

See you in May…hopefully! It’s only going to get busier..

Um. So. I’m like REALLY busy with projects.  We’re at our big push to get things completed by late May/early June for summer fun ☀️ on the lake.  But that didn’t stop us from doing a thing…

Yup, those are our bottle lambs, Rosie and Rusty.  We’re just fostering until they are big enough to go back to the farm, but at this point, in our 2nd year of fostering, we’re basically professional lamb mommies.  Bottle Lambs are a LOT of work at first, but they are also SO fun.  NO ONE can be mad, sad, stressed, grumpy when a teeny lamb is jumping, running or even snuggling with you.  Our sweet little Rusty-boy was a preemie, so he took quite a bit of extra work and some nights sleeping with him to keep him warm before he decided he’d take life by the horns and survive.  I’ve been struggling with my twins turning 15 this year – but reliving the newborn stages this last week with “the lambs” has been a good reminder that I’d rather have 2 almost driving than waking me through the night.  It’s also been a good reminder that in 3 years I won’t have the kids begging me to do a crazy thing like foster lambs – so I’m going to soak up all the sweet memories while I can. 

The projects will go on and I will continue to put my best into each and every one of them, treating them like my own homes, but I’m also sticking to my new years goal of creating more memories with my family.  Although, just like when the twins were born – we’re so tired, I’m not sure how much we’ll actually remember.  

Yup. It’s the sun’s fault.  That’s why I’m writing this towards the end of an already short month.  We just spent 2 glorious weeks in the Palm Springs 🌴 area, soaking up as much Vitamin D as our bodies could hold and trying like crazy to tan our pasty white Washington winter ❄️ skin.  I actually went to work– Casey and the kids just went to be warm.  We stayed at a client’s house–who’s more of a friend because after 20 years of working together you just decide to be friends While I was there, I redesigned her kitchen to include a larger island and a built-in pantry and wine 🍷 fridge, planned for a Casita in their detached garage, and finally sourced material options for flooring throughout, countertops, cabinets and more!  It was SO nice to be warm for a couple weeks AND make new contacts 📱 in the contracting/design field.  

It wasn’t all work – we had some delicious Happy Hours, saw other clients who have become friends, golfed at night, went to a desert zoo, open air markets, farmers markets and luxury shopping markets, tallied the fancy cars we saw, hiked (don’t ask the kids about this one) and just all around had a fabulous time in the sun!

So– just putting this out there, I’ll travel to all of the warm places to redesign your spaces between November and March every year.  Seriously, give me call. 😉

Here’s a little glimpse of our time in Palm springs below ⬇️

Wait. I must have blinked…twice? Maybe. All I know is my calendar is telling me we are already 12 days into 2024.  How did that happen?

Ahh…new years, new resolutions, right? –  I am trying to budget my time more efficiently (I have a contractor who teases me that I need to do this and I want to hit him over the head with a 2×4 every time he suggests it), but really, I need to plan my days better so I can get more done in a shorter amount of time because my biggest goal is to spend more time with my family this year.  The twins keep reminding me I only have 3 more years with them – although, living at our house is pretty cush, so I don’t think I am going to be that lucky.  Just kidding.  They want to spend time with us right now so I am going to soak up all of that while I can.  

New years also brings the articles titled “Yucky designs no name designers are warning you to stay away from in 2024” (I totally made that one up). But here’s what I recently scrolled across..

I won’t get too far up on my soap box but I can’t stand articles like this.  Designing your home should never be based on what some Designer is telling you (even me)– your home should be a reflection of what YOU love and what makes you comfortable.  A designer’s job is to HELP you create that space. Projects big or small, my goal at the end of a job is to create a space that YOU love.  If that’s what you’re after, why don’t you give me a call!

This fall was a super whirlwind, a tornado, if you will.  December doesn’t look like it’s going to slow down at all.  Which doesn’t bother me since the weather is still fairly mild for North Central Washington. Although, I do love a cozy, snowy Christmas at the Cabin.  But that’s where the snow can stay for this year – in the mountains. Wild to think this time last year we had SO much snow.   It will be my husband’s fault if we don’t get snow anywhere (even though some say it’s El Nino’s fault) – he’s had snowmobiles rotating in my garage since last February so he can be EXTRA ready for the snow this season.  Poor guy.  I guess that will leave him more time to help pick up and deliver flooring – his favorite thing in the whole wide world.  Ha.

Two blowouts and a full scale remodel with an addition were started last month, another large scale remodel with plans set to kick off the first week of January. Then you mix in flooring installs, window treatment installs, and more plans to get 2 – 3 smaller remodels started by the end of January.  Oh then there’s just my busy life. Whew! Writing that all out makes me tired already. Stay tuned on our socials for progress pictures along the way!

Stay tuned for my next post, but it’ll have to be next year! Haha. And Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you!

Yah, Yah….this is November’s update, being written 2 days before the month is over. At least it’s being posted on the last day of the month. Small victory. I promised Carly when she took over the website I’d do a blog post EVERY month at the beginning of the month so the website would stay up to date.  I had every intention of writing it on Halloween just so I could fulfill my promise – but then the kids actually WANTED me to go trick or treating with them and at 11 and 14, I feared it might be my last year to be invited so I jumped at the chance.  

I have a hard time labeling November as the month of Thanks.  I mean I know it’s Thanksgiving month, but honestly I am thankful every month, life is busy and I might get rattled, stressed or look like a crazy person most days, but even on those days I am truly thankful for ALL of it. Right now, I am REALLY thankful for my clients who have invited me into their homes and everyone that has encouraged me to continue trucking, even when it seemed too hard to keep going.  I always knew I wanted to own my own business and even though I was still in my senior year of college, I filed the paperwork to begin my business.  Two short years later, I opened my store front and a year and a half later, I found out I was pregnant with twins.  After Carson and Aubrey were born in 2009, I combined businesses with my BFF, Sandra, so that I could stay home with the babies part time.  I did the design thing within the store front, and as it continued to grow – our family grew too. We welcomed Maylee in 2012 and I realized I didn’t want to be tied to a store front with set hours- I wanted to be home with my family.  So, in 2013, we sold the retail side of the store and I moved to my home office with my design business.  I always dreamed- but NEVER thought it would grow to this size – especially working out of my house.  I am currently in an office that is WAY too small for the project load I have and the samples needed, so in the Spring we will begin to build our shop, with a larger office that will allow me to better serve my clients.  This shop will also be paid for in cash that I have been able to save  over the last 5 years because you continue to invite me into your homes and lives. 

I can’t thank you enough for supporting my dream and my family!  Happy November, Friends!

Clearly it’s been a minute or two.  I know everyone says this, but it’s true – the older I get the faster the years go.  I used to be ok with that (like when I wanted to just go to Jr. High or turn 16), now, not so much (the grays keep popping up, my kids know more than me and in 3 short years we’ll only have one kid left at home).  I have been so blessed to have a job I truly love (most days), that is flexible enough to navigate my traveling husband’s schedule and be present in my kids’ lives (read: be the taxi driver).   In order to keep a semi balance between work and family life without being admitted to a mental hospital (although a quiet room by myself sounds nice most days), I’ve had to let a lot of things go as a business owner. I always wanted to have a strong social media presence and keep my website up to date, but those were a few things that went to the wayside as I got busier.   

This last year was my busiest to date – so I am excited to introduce you to Carly, my new assistant.  Carly isn’t new around here.  When the twins were born, she was our live-in nanny. She went on family vacations, melted butter lids to my stove top and begged me to make a resume for her.  We cried when she left for college and looked forward to her visits home.  I was 36 weeks pregnant when I was her maid of honor, Carson was her ring bearer and Aubrey her flower girl.  Maylee came exactly one week later and I still blame it on the 45 minute bumpy drive up the mountain to Carly’s wedding venue.  Carly loves caring for people, so naturally she worked at the Hospital as a Lab Tech until this last January when sweet baby Brantley was born.  I tried to convince Carly to go back to work just so the tables could turn and I could be her nanny, she refused, but she accepted the next best thing, being my assistant.  So, if you’re a current or potential client, you’ll see her and hear from her from time to time.  If you’re on our website, facebook or instagram, she’s the one posting and responding most of the time.  She’s caught on super quick and she’s really good at her job and I am lucky to have her as my assistant and my Saughter (sister, because I’m not really old enough to be her mom/daughter, because I mom her all of the time).

We are working on getting the website updated, so stay tuned! There’s already two new project posted so go check it out here! And here!

2018 was by far my busiest year in business to date. It was an amazing whirlwind of kitchens, bathrooms, whole house remodels, company, swimming, kids, laughter and lots of love….and a little craziness. At the end of 2018 my husband and I bought a vacation home in a quaint little town 45 minutes from us. I am excited to share our renovation journey with you as well as growing my business even more!

I know this is said ALL. THE. TIME. but the days go SO fast!  I can’t believe we’re already well into January 2018!  I have several projects in the works right now, a new residential construction that is just about to wrap up, two bathroom remodels, a residential remodel that is in the planning stages, a second kitchen addition, and a great room update (new floors, paint, furniture).  I also have some VERY exciting news, but I can’t share it with you just yet, but this photo is a little hint …. (these are Dal-Tile sample boards and I will be doing a LIVE reveal of them over on my Facebook page) .

https://www.facebook.com/welcomehomeidoroville/