Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Welcome Back to Butterfly Acres: A Tour of My New House!

If you want Hadley's new house, you can download it here.

Okay folks...sorry it's been awhile...moving has kind of taken it out of me...in retrospect, moving with two children and three toddlers was a BAD idea...



When I got to my house, Mama was there to meet me.  When she pulled me into a hug, I immediately felt like I was home.  Her hugs are always warm and smell a little like honeysuckle.


Mama and I talked and I introduced her to Blaine, Jesse, Shelby, Sam, and Sonny, then Mama told me about the house.  Like I mentioned before, she decorated it after Aunt Z designed and built it.



It is more beautiful than even the pictures showed.  Mama had lined the walkway and planted flowers.  I'm, although she admitted to having Daddy plant them.  Her thumb is about as green as a stop sign.



There is a gazebo to the left with a sitting area and a table.  The gazebo was Aunt Z's idea, which was genius, then Mama put in color-coordinated chairs, tables, and lighting to finish it up.  I can imagine sitting out here, relaxing, just taking in the views, which are gorgeous, by the way...but I'll get to those later.



There's a loveseat on the front porch with ivy growing above it.  The seat is turquoise, which Mama remembered is my favorite color.  Okay, as for the inside...



Walking through the front door, there's a hallway with doorways on either side...the left doorway goes to the living room while the right goes to the dining room.



it is decorated in a cozy orange, but the furniture and mirror on the wall makes it more modern.  I am beginning to think that's my style.



This is the dining room.  It's probably the most unique room in the house.  Normally I wouldn't be able to take that busy wallpaper, but it is balanced with solid, subtle colors, so it works.


Mama even gave me high chairs that match the dining room chairs.  If that isn't obsessive compulsive, I don't know what is.


At the end of the hallway there's a sitting room with a beautiful fireplace, bookshelves, and seating.  It is painted in a tranquil light blue with matching furniture.  It's so nice, I still haven't let the kids bring any of their toys in here...I'm too scared to mess it up.


There's a whole mess of digital picture frames just waiting for me to fill them up and a doorway that leads to the study.


The kitchen is to the right of the sitting room.  Once again, the classic modern look works perfectly.  I have all new appliances, but the cabinets are a classic wood with stained glass on the cabinet doors.  


The kitchen has a hutch and a hallway that leads to the dining room.  That door leads out to the laundry room and across from it is the guest bathroom.


The study is decorated in turquoise and this adorable rug.


The study also has the stairs that lead to the basement and the bedrooms.


The upstairs hallway is pretty bare, but I am sure the walls will be decorated with pictures, scouting badges, and all sorts of other stuff...the kids drag in a lot of crap...lol


When you walk up the stairs, the master suite is directly on the left.  There is another fire place like the one in the sitting room...hmm, this is making me want to get a boyfriend so I can have a romantic evening in here!


The decor is simple and tranquil, perfect for a mother...I think Mama realized that.


Doesn't this just look like it's right out of a magazine?  Well, that's partly because it is - according to Mama - but I still love it.


There's an extra door in my room...where could it lead to?


Up a set of stairs and to a private patio/gazebo...another special touch from Aunt Z...


Check out this beautiful view from here...man, it's so good to be home.


Well, back downstairs and off of my room there's the nursery...I absolutely love this!  It's gender neutral, which I prefer...quite honestly, I have better things to do than freak out when I accidentally put my son in a pink crib!


This is in my master bath...once again, very tranquil...and Mama made sure and stocked me up on bubble bath...God bless that woman!


This is the girl's room...I was a little sick of pink and purple, so I'm glad she went with yellow.


The girls' bathroom.


The bathroom for the upstairs study room.


This is the study room for the kids.  It's technically a bedroom, but we have enough of those...there's a computer, a stereo, a couch, and I'm thinking about putting a treadmill in here later.


This is the boys' room...it's pretty simple and I love the red, black, and blue colors.


This is the boys' bathroom.  I especially like the toilet paper holder that you just have to set the tp on.  Mama said being boys, maybe that would make things easier on them.


This is the bathroom that's off the nursery...as you can probably tell, we are not hurtin' for bathrooms.


This is the downstairs guest bathroom...I forgot to put a picture up earlier...


Back downstairs, out on the patio, it overlooks a pool and past that, a beautiful view of the ocean...we don't have any beaches in Butterfly Acres, but the ocean makes for beautiful views.


The patio.


Off to the side is a hot tub and a quaint little fountain.


Daddy started a garden for me...I had been telling them I wanted to start gardening, but my thumb is about as green as Mama's.


This is a total view of the back yard.  The playground area is off to the other side with a pretty much anything a child could want.



Last but not least, the basement...I walked downstairs and really thought the room was having an identity crisis...


On one side was a play room for the teens...


Complete with every game ever invented...


The other side was a play room for the kids...with every toy for them ever invented...yup, you can tell this area was decorated by a grandmother.

So that's the house...thank you all for being patient with me...I have been busy with family the last couple weeks, but I'm back and ready to start updating a lot more frequently!


Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Where I'm From: Part 2



I aged into a teenager and entered my awkward stage...I wasn't very comfortable in my own skin, but what teenager is? I developed the nurturing trait, so I would dream about the day I would be able to get married and have my own children.



Evie was still my best friend. She and I would spend hours on the phone every day and we would constantly come up with hair-brained ideas together.



One day, Evie and I were talking and she came up with a crazy dare for me...
Evie: Truth or Dare?
Me: Dare.
Evie: Ok...kiss Mason...on the lips.
Me: Ewww! Why?
Evie: Well, he's never really dated anyone and I know you haven't...you may as well kiss each other.
Me: Seriously?
Evie: Come on, just do it! It'll be really simple...Mom and Dad are taking me out to look at a car and he's going to be home alone...just wait until we leave and pucker up...it's that simple. Unless of course, you're too scared...
Me: No, no...I'll do it.



After Evie, Aunt Z, and Uncle T-Bone left, I rang the doorbell and there stood Mason. I had always thought of Mason as more of a brother. Not that he's not a cutie, he is...it's just weird.



I honestly can't remember what I talked to him about...I was so nervous...it was my first kiss...I just kept batting my lashes and looking at him...



I remember I told him he could kiss me if he wanted and at first he seemed taken aback...



...but then he looked at me shyly and smiled...



it seemed really strange, but I knew I had him...I had always just looked at Mason as a big brother, but suddenly I saw him in a different light...



Despite all the nervous pauses and giggles, sweaty palms and stops and starts, our lips finally met each others...it was awkward...but it was a kiss...my first...then I got so weirded out, I ran out the door and Mason and I never talked about it again.



Soon after that, I met John Ellis...well, I had always known him...it's a small town...I pretty much knew everyone before I could even crawl...but John started showing romantic interest in me once we got in high school. He was really sweet to me...at least at first...



He started out by insulting pretty much everyone in my life...my family, my friends, he tried to separate me from them...I knew he was trouble...he was an only child and he lived with his parents and people talked a lot about how his dad had his mom trapped and he was really mean to her...but somehow I thought John wouldn't be like that...



I would try to stand up for myself and my loved ones, but it seemed like whenever I pushed back he would push back even harder...



Looking back, I'm ashamed to say the abuse got physical and I still didn't get out...



After he would lose his temper and hit me, or push me against the wall, or backhand me, or knock me down and kick me, he would be so sweet...I was stupid enough to believe that the part of him that used me as a punching bag wasn't the real him...I used to think I could find the real him in that remorseful boy who would bring me flowers and tell me how much he loved me...



One particularly bad fight lead to a trip to the emergency room for me. He had thrown me down the stairs of his house and kicked me so hard I was having trouble breathing. It turned out I had two broken ribs and a sprained ankle. Evie stayed by my side the whole time and we both swore never to tell another soul. We both knew that if our parents caught wind of what John had done they probably would have killed him. At that point I was eighteen and I thought the only way I was ever going to get away from John was if I left town...so when I graduated high school I decided to leave...the idea to do the challenge came later...but I have never been able to trust another man like I originally did John...but now I am going back. Over the years I've figured out that John can't hurt me if I don't let him. I'm not afraid of him any more. Let's just hope I'm right.