Well....it's been awhile. A lot of life has happened since my last post. Mostly, normal full-time, working mom, wife stuff but a few other significant changes have happened as well. Many of you know that our oldest son lives in Hawaii. He made a choice over a year ago to take control of his life and has decided to make Hawaii his home. We miss him terribly but are so proud of him for living an honorable life in service to the Lord. We went to Hawaii right after Christmas 2015 and celebrated the New Year with him. Aloha 2016!! It was pretty sweet!
In other news, BougieRedneck, our second hand, resale shop became quite the hobby since 2014. We have seen, touched, moved and sold a bunch of "trash" that became someone's treasure.
Fast forward to now.... We are still handling vintage stuff, junk stuff, even some stuff that could be classified as trash but we love it. We love it so much that on July 7, 2016 I resigned from my job as a teacher to pursue a dream. Yeah, I dream of junk. Don't judge! Anyway, it's a leap of faith. I think I leaped so hard I pulled a muscle! There are moments that it feels tight and the pull tugging on my makes me a little anxious. But, greater than the stretching away from my comfort zone, the going against my own grain is God reminding me He is my provider, my protector and the ONE who orders my steps. Jeremiah 29:11 is one of my favorite verses. It was shared with me by a friend this week and I was again reminded that He is with me, His plans for me and my family are good and the future is full of hope. This journey is taking me very quickly from having a hope in this dream to stepping out in faith and making it a reality.
Your prayers, support and encouragement are appreciated because Y'ALL I'm technically unemployed. WHAT?!?!? Also, your presence and your purchasing skills are welcomed, too. You know, just keeping it real ;)
Until next time. Hopefully before Christmas.
Saturday, July 9, 2016
Sunday, March 8, 2015
I say YES to 25 years of planning, dreaming and wishing...
My 25th wedding anniversary is on March 10th. Stephen (aka Fred Sanford) and I are at the beach for the weekend to celebrate. We always stay in the same place. Nothing fancy, just our style. Before coming we talked about the different things we might do, restaurants we might want to try, etc.... One of the places Stephen wanted to go was a BBQ place in a small town in South Carolina. He saw it on a Food Network show hosted by Andrew Zimern. Sounds intriguing, huh? I mean it was on Food Network so it has to good, right?? Well, when we drove up I was like, "Um, are you sure this is it?" "Do you think it's safe to go in?" "I'm NOT going in!" Anyway, I went in. We ordered. I got a BBQ sandwich, he got the BBQ plate with beans and slaw. We also ordered some homemade pork skins (that alone made it worth it!) Another up note, we got it to go. As we were driving, I pulled my sandwich out of the bag and opened the container. No bread under or over this pile of BBQ. So my sandwich quickly became a BBQ plate with no sides. It was pretty tasty, a little too spicy for my taste buds but Stephen was WAY slobbering over his plate, complete with sides. To make up for having no bread on my breadless sandwich I basically ate a whole bag of pork skins. Clearly, not a wasted trip. Fellow southerners, you know exactly what I mean.
As we continued to travel down the road we talked about the night's plans. Where we would eat dinner, maybe a movie, the Carolina Opry, the mall...No decisions were made. There was plenty of time to decide. So, we checked into the hotel, he quickly checked ESPN, I just as quickly turned on HGTV. Dinner came up again and the decision was made. Stephen went to Food Lion to get a frozen pizza(redneck) and gelato (bougie) . It was perfect.
This pretty much sums up our relationship. We are dreamers. We make lots of plans. We wish a lot. Some plans are epic failures, some dreams have never woken up, some wishes are still floating on the whispers of a dandelion. But, I am not disappointed. I get to plan, dream and wish with my best friend. In all of the things that didn't come to fruition, there are countless other things that have been better than we could have planned, better than we could have dreamed, better than we could have wished.
25 years ago we made a promise to love each other for better or worse. We recognized the "worse" when we saw it but we have also recognized (and are so grateful) the "better". The worse has been forgiven and tucked away to remind us of what we've come through. The better continues to be the road ahead, the trip worth taking even when there is no bread on your BBQ sandwich. It's the trip where plans are planned, dreams are dreamed and wishes are wished.
Ultimately, our plans are not our own anyway. 25 years have taught us to rely on the master travel agent and He says this about plans. "For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord,plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11
These two BougieRednecks are ready for the next 25 years of plans, dreams and wishes.
As we continued to travel down the road we talked about the night's plans. Where we would eat dinner, maybe a movie, the Carolina Opry, the mall...No decisions were made. There was plenty of time to decide. So, we checked into the hotel, he quickly checked ESPN, I just as quickly turned on HGTV. Dinner came up again and the decision was made. Stephen went to Food Lion to get a frozen pizza(redneck) and gelato (bougie) . It was perfect.
This pretty much sums up our relationship. We are dreamers. We make lots of plans. We wish a lot. Some plans are epic failures, some dreams have never woken up, some wishes are still floating on the whispers of a dandelion. But, I am not disappointed. I get to plan, dream and wish with my best friend. In all of the things that didn't come to fruition, there are countless other things that have been better than we could have planned, better than we could have dreamed, better than we could have wished.
25 years ago we made a promise to love each other for better or worse. We recognized the "worse" when we saw it but we have also recognized (and are so grateful) the "better". The worse has been forgiven and tucked away to remind us of what we've come through. The better continues to be the road ahead, the trip worth taking even when there is no bread on your BBQ sandwich. It's the trip where plans are planned, dreams are dreamed and wishes are wished.
Ultimately, our plans are not our own anyway. 25 years have taught us to rely on the master travel agent and He says this about plans. "For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord,plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11
These two BougieRednecks are ready for the next 25 years of plans, dreams and wishes.
Saturday, February 7, 2015
A new adventure.....more redneck than bougie.
So. We have a new adventure on our hands. Not only is BougieRedneck a way of life, a blog name, an expression of my creative side, it's now an online "store" name. Yep, it's a little crazy. Let me tell you how it started.
My husband watches those picker shows and that other one where they bid on storage buildings to only be surprised by it's contents. Anyway, it started there. He found a place where they have storage wars within driving distance and started to check them out. One day the itch got too strong and he scratched. He bought the contents of a storage building on the sly. He knew I would freak out at first. By nature I am NOT a risk taker but he also knows me well enough to know that I just need a little time to process and get on board. I was only a little mad but it didn't last long. I could see his vision. I just needed my own eyes to open. This investment turned out to be quite profitable. He basically doubled his money. Since then he's been a scavenger, I mean a collector of sorts. I lovingly call him Fred Sanford. I guess that makes me his Elizabeth.
The next phase of this journey came when my grandmother passed away. Her house and several buildings has the contents of her shared life with my grandfather who passed away a few years earlier. Roughly, 85 years worth of the belongings of a crafter, a hunter, a cook, a gardener, a reader, a crocheter, a ceramics maker, a painter, a Dollar General lover, a furniture lover (especially recliners),......you get the point. It's a lot of stuff. As we are sorting out her belongings we have quickly discovered that not only is there a lifetime of stuff there is a lifetime of memories that need to be handled thoughtfully. There are many beautiful, interesting, functional and sentimental items that the public will never see but the other stuff......well, let's just say Fred and Elizabeth realize that BougieRedneck has the potential to become an extension of what Stephen already started. Now it just has a name.
We are always "looking" now. We have that picker eye, that hope in the restoration/repurposing process. And let's face it, we have a very real hope for self-sufficiency. You see, our long term goal is to be business owners. Stephen aka Fred wants to reopen his family's community convenient store (Black's Grocery) and I want BougieRedneck to become more than an online/pick up at the corner business. We both want to grow old buying, selling and creating relationships with the amazing people we meet on this journey. It's a busy, stressful, crazy life but this BougieRedneck girl wouldn't have it any other way.
My husband watches those picker shows and that other one where they bid on storage buildings to only be surprised by it's contents. Anyway, it started there. He found a place where they have storage wars within driving distance and started to check them out. One day the itch got too strong and he scratched. He bought the contents of a storage building on the sly. He knew I would freak out at first. By nature I am NOT a risk taker but he also knows me well enough to know that I just need a little time to process and get on board. I was only a little mad but it didn't last long. I could see his vision. I just needed my own eyes to open. This investment turned out to be quite profitable. He basically doubled his money. Since then he's been a scavenger, I mean a collector of sorts. I lovingly call him Fred Sanford. I guess that makes me his Elizabeth.
The next phase of this journey came when my grandmother passed away. Her house and several buildings has the contents of her shared life with my grandfather who passed away a few years earlier. Roughly, 85 years worth of the belongings of a crafter, a hunter, a cook, a gardener, a reader, a crocheter, a ceramics maker, a painter, a Dollar General lover, a furniture lover (especially recliners),......you get the point. It's a lot of stuff. As we are sorting out her belongings we have quickly discovered that not only is there a lifetime of stuff there is a lifetime of memories that need to be handled thoughtfully. There are many beautiful, interesting, functional and sentimental items that the public will never see but the other stuff......well, let's just say Fred and Elizabeth realize that BougieRedneck has the potential to become an extension of what Stephen already started. Now it just has a name.
We are always "looking" now. We have that picker eye, that hope in the restoration/repurposing process. And let's face it, we have a very real hope for self-sufficiency. You see, our long term goal is to be business owners. Stephen aka Fred wants to reopen his family's community convenient store (Black's Grocery) and I want BougieRedneck to become more than an online/pick up at the corner business. We both want to grow old buying, selling and creating relationships with the amazing people we meet on this journey. It's a busy, stressful, crazy life but this BougieRedneck girl wouldn't have it any other way.
Friday, January 2, 2015
Happy New Year! The last couple of weeks of 2014 was full of Christmas, family, food, creativity and MESS. As I waited to take my Christmas stuff down and pack it away I was anxious to put a new plan into action. I acquired two trunks that are now in my living room. One is used as a coffee table, the other is between two overstuffed chairs. Up until this year, my Christmas decorations have been in my closet. Let me back up, I do not, I repeat DO NOT keep clothes in my closet. I keep them in my bathroom cabinets. I mean it's where I get ready, why wouldn't I?? Right? Right. Anyway, my closet has basically been a storage room and I was a little tired of it. Not because I wanted my clothes in there. I wanted a craft room. A place where my daughter could put ALL her craft things that are spread across multiple rooms in the house. She's a mini BougieRedneck ;) I wanted a place to keep those things, for us to go and create with them and shut the door. Simple, right?? Hmmm......not so much.
My plan was put into action on December 26th. I didn't waste any time!! As I carefully put the Christmas things away, I was excited that most every item fit in the two trunks, plus a few things in a small dresser I keep behind the front door. Like my closet, that dresser does not have clothes in it either.
Now on to the closet...to start with I put a folding narrow table to do our work on. On the shelving, I put all the supplies we had. Some things are stored in baskets to give in a more polished look (there's the bougie). I also have an over the door shoe hanger that I keep smaller items in the pockets. This is a huge space saver! Because there is no outlet in the closet, I ran an extension cord (there's the redneck) in there for the glue gun and anything I may need to plug in. Finally, to make the space extra special I hung up things from my kid's childhood that I had packed away. It really gives the space a special feel. Sometimes I just go in there and look. It makes me happy.
My plan was put into action on December 26th. I didn't waste any time!! As I carefully put the Christmas things away, I was excited that most every item fit in the two trunks, plus a few things in a small dresser I keep behind the front door. Like my closet, that dresser does not have clothes in it either.
Now on to the closet...to start with I put a folding narrow table to do our work on. On the shelving, I put all the supplies we had. Some things are stored in baskets to give in a more polished look (there's the bougie). I also have an over the door shoe hanger that I keep smaller items in the pockets. This is a huge space saver! Because there is no outlet in the closet, I ran an extension cord (there's the redneck) in there for the glue gun and anything I may need to plug in. Finally, to make the space extra special I hung up things from my kid's childhood that I had packed away. It really gives the space a special feel. Sometimes I just go in there and look. It makes me happy.
Sunday, December 14, 2014
It's been awhile....
It's been awhile since my last post. Since I last sat down to blog I've taken on a few DIY projects. In this post I'll only write about one. My favorite one..... The vanity. So, our second bathroom, the one my 3 kids use and the guests who are not so fortunate to use needed some upgrades. The floor seemed mushy in spots, the tub/shower was beyond cleaning (I think it used to be white), the vanity top was mauve (90's eeeww) and the commode.....never mind, that's just gross.
Anyway, we decided to call our personal handyman, Joe. He's a jack of all trades, will do about every crazy thing I come up with and he's affordable. As we talked about what this bathroom was going to look like we decided to take out the tub/shower and replacing it with a tiled shower. I like neutral colors on stuff that's going to be there awhile so tans and browns it was. We chose a wood "look" vinyl flooring (it's cheap and does the trick). The new commode is well, just a commode.
Here comes my favorite part.....the vanity. When Joe ripped out the old vanity we quickly realized we could not reuse it. It SERIOUSLY had a front and one side. The original installer apparently thought the bathroom walls would suffice as a complete vanity. Oh well.....
Because we have a Lowes credit card we started there in our search for a vanity. I wanted something a little different, I wanted drawers not doors, one for each kid. The first thing I noticed was everything is sold separately. The vanity, the vanity top, the sink, the faucet....DANG! That adds up. So, I took to pinterest. I knew I could find something that would inspire me. I did....
I started at our local Habitat store. I saw a lot of things I could repurpose and settled on something completely unconventional. I didn't choose the suggested dressers, buffet tables, desks....nope, not me. I ended up with a sewing machine table. Yes, I said sewing machine table. It's perfect. It has 3 drawers, one for each kid, there is already a space cut out (for the sewing machine) which is where the farmhouse sink fits perfectly. In my head I could envision the end product and $17.50 later I came home with what would be our new bathroom vanity.
I kept the top as is. I like the character of the scratches from whoever used the table to make their creations. I used a pretty blue chalk paint on the rest of the table, distressed it and sealed it all with a waterproof/resistant finish.
This bathroom is truly bougie redneck. Just like I like it.
Anyway, we decided to call our personal handyman, Joe. He's a jack of all trades, will do about every crazy thing I come up with and he's affordable. As we talked about what this bathroom was going to look like we decided to take out the tub/shower and replacing it with a tiled shower. I like neutral colors on stuff that's going to be there awhile so tans and browns it was. We chose a wood "look" vinyl flooring (it's cheap and does the trick). The new commode is well, just a commode.
Here comes my favorite part.....the vanity. When Joe ripped out the old vanity we quickly realized we could not reuse it. It SERIOUSLY had a front and one side. The original installer apparently thought the bathroom walls would suffice as a complete vanity. Oh well.....
Because we have a Lowes credit card we started there in our search for a vanity. I wanted something a little different, I wanted drawers not doors, one for each kid. The first thing I noticed was everything is sold separately. The vanity, the vanity top, the sink, the faucet....DANG! That adds up. So, I took to pinterest. I knew I could find something that would inspire me. I did....
I started at our local Habitat store. I saw a lot of things I could repurpose and settled on something completely unconventional. I didn't choose the suggested dressers, buffet tables, desks....nope, not me. I ended up with a sewing machine table. Yes, I said sewing machine table. It's perfect. It has 3 drawers, one for each kid, there is already a space cut out (for the sewing machine) which is where the farmhouse sink fits perfectly. In my head I could envision the end product and $17.50 later I came home with what would be our new bathroom vanity.
I kept the top as is. I like the character of the scratches from whoever used the table to make their creations. I used a pretty blue chalk paint on the rest of the table, distressed it and sealed it all with a waterproof/resistant finish.
This bathroom is truly bougie redneck. Just like I like it.
Catching Fish
I have a small fish pond in my backyard. I got myself one of those kits for Mother's Day. It was no easy task digging what felt like a shallow grave. The hubs finally helped me finish it. Bless his heart. It took several weekends and more money than I anticipated to landscape it. Large rocks, small rocks, plants and gold fish (koi were way to pricey).
I posted several pictures to Facebook and found out I have a friend who also has a backyard pond. She told me she had a lot of fish and they were big! She offered me a few to add to my pond. Of course, I was thrilled and said yes. All I had to do was drive to her house to get them. Easy enough, huh?? Wrong!!
I got to her house and went into her backyard. Her pond was pretty impressive and the fish were plenty and big just like she said. Well, she got a pool net for herself and she gave me one, too. Then the "fishing" began. Let's just say we were scooping, chasing and practically diving in to get them. Every time we would get close they would dart away. They were smarter than we were for sure!
I think they felt sorry for us or just got tired because finally I got one of those orange finned fellows.....soon I had four. That was enough. I was tired.
I put them in a bucket, drove home and put them in their new home. They seem fine. They've all made friends and come to the surface for a visit when they hear the food shake open.
Most things I like are a little bougie but always executed in classic redneck style. I mean fishing with a pool net?? Yep, there it is, just like this Bougieredneck likes it.
It's not real but I am....For Real.
When I decided to start this blog I really just wanted share my style and make others feel better about theirs. I'm a pretty real person even if the stuff that surrounds me isn't....... The following are just a few examples.
We don't have real grass but I have multiple kinds of grasses that needs to be mowed. We don't have real pruned shrubs but we have some uneven box wood bushes that I would never dream of manicuring. We don't have a real white picket fence adorned with potted plants but we have a chained link fence with random metal signs hanging on it. We don't have a real dog but we have one of the "I felt sorry for him on the back of a truck in the Walmart parking lot" variety. We don't have real hardwood floors but we have some awesome vinyl flooring that looks like wood. We don't have real paintings or real handmade pottery decorating our home but Fred's has some amazing prints and ceramic knick knacks that do just fine. We don't have real fine furniture from Ethan Allen but we may have someone else's fine furniture from Ethan Allen. Habitat ROCKS!
I think being real, being transparent, being vulnerable is the most valuable gift you can give to yourself and those you encounter. No matter if the things that surround you are real or not, do yourself a favor and be real. You can be real bougie or real redneck or be BOTH, like me.
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