In the fall of 2015, a group of people from our community gathered to discuss the growing needs within and around foster care in our area.  Led by a local pastor with a heart for foster care, we agreed to form a local chapter of an organization already in place,
​Called to Care.  Towards the end of the meeting, he asked if anyone felt called to be a part of the leadership team, and I felt my hand rising.  Little did I know that my life would be forever changed by the information presented to me over the next few weeks. ​

​Why is there a need for an organization like Called to Care?
Within Ben Hill, Irwin and Berrien counties, we have 160 children in foster care and only 10 local foster families.  This great divide is bridged by foster families who live in other counties, as well as children's homes that are located hours away.  This means that not only are children being uprooted from the only home they've ever known, but they're also being moved miles from their schools, communities, extended family members, and friends.  The only remedy to this is to prevent children from coming into care (by supporting those families) and to recruit more local foster families!

​Called to Care acts as a liaison between the Department of Family and Children Services and the community by communicating the needs at hand. We (with the help of our 884 Facebook friends) started a clothing and supply closet at Ocilla Baptist Church. Thanks to generous donations, we have clothing of all sizes, shoes of all sizes, undergarments, diapers, hygiene items, blankets, toys and books available to our foster children. Working closely with our local DFCS workers, we are able to meet most of the physical needs in our area.

Our brick-and-mortar retail store, The Shoppes at Fourth and Cherry, is a drop off location for donations. We have also hosted drives for specific items, which is conveinent considering that we are in the heart of downtown!

We had a local mom, Kirsten, recently bring in an overwhelming amount of donations. Kirsten's sweet baby girl, Lindy, just turned 1 year old. To celebrate her birthday, Kirsten asked if guests would bring a donation to Called to Care in lieu of a gift for her daughter. The donations poured in as family and friends gathered to celebrate Lindy.  What a special way to celebrate her daughter's life! We have been so encouraged by this gift, and so many families are going to be blessed by her selflessness.

Called to Care hosts quarterly events in which the kids are provided opportunities to leave their worries at the door and to simply play.  Snacks, bouncy houses, art projects, nail painting and one-on-one basketball games make for a fun afternoon.  We love every minute of getting to know these kids and are thankful for the opportunity to encourage and serve them.  ​

​Here's a few examples of other projects we've completed in our area:

• Blankets that were embroidered with each foster child's name on it for Christmas.
• Birthday gifts and cupcakes for children in care.
• Bibles for each child in foster care for Easter--each with a personal note inside. 
• Countless clothing and shoe needs provided.
• Sponsorships for foster children's participation in recreational sports programs.
• Help in furnishing homes for reunited families.
• Ocilla DFCS Visitation Room Re-do. *Roxie put her magic touch on it!

DFCS Visitation Room Before:

DFCS Visitation Room After:

​In less than a year's time with Called to Care, Phillip and I felt the need to create a home for our future family--whatever that may look like.  Our budget was small, but we wanted to purchase a home of our own and begin to settle in.  ​We looked at homes that were "move-in ready" as well as fixer-uppers, but nothing felt just right.  I was set on having at least three bedrooms (this would be necessary in foster care if you have children of the opposite sex in your home) which narrowed our search tremendously due to our budget. We made a list of pros and cons for some of our favorite homes, trying to make sense of it all.  Finally, my mom asked if I'd be interested in looking at a home in town that wasn't listed, but she knew the owners tried to sell it a few years ago.  I said yes, and she made the call.  This couple was happy to show us the house that would soon become our home.  Learn more about our home and the renovation process by checking out Beech Street Bungalow: Before.

​I have always loved children. I have always wanted to be a mom, and to have a family of my own.  After coming to know the Lord, I realized I had a heart for adoption--but still wanted to birth children of my own.  After maturing in the Lord, and seeing the unrelenting needs around me, my thoughts began to change and turn into what I believe to be His.  This is what I know to be true:  He has given me a deep desire to be a mother.  He has given me a husband who shares my same desires.  He is good.  He is faithful.  He will bring children into my life who need me at that exact time, whether I birth them or only have them in my home for a few months.  

We are excited, and we are nervous.  This process is slow, especially when you're in the middle of remodeling a home!  We now have a group of 7 local families ready to complete training to have children in their homes. (Roxie, Jorjanne and I are three of those families!)  What a blessing this journey has been and will continue to be.  

​If you are interested in being involved in Called to Care, please let us know!  You can visit our Facebook page or email us at calledtocarebhib@gmail.com.  If you don't live in South Georgia, look for ways to positively impact the foster care system in your area!  We would love to hear from you and answer any questions you may have.  I believe that we are indeed called to love, called to serve, and called to care.  The beautiful thing is that everyone can do something.

In honor of Mother's Day this weekend, I thought I would share one of my Mom's favorite recipes!  There are two dishes that come to mind when I think about her; Sweet Potato Souffle and Buttermilk Salad.  Both of these dishes seem to make it to every family gathering or holiday meal--usually per request of one of my cousins!  Since summer is upon us, I thought I'd share her sweet and simple Buttermilk Salad Recipe.

Since my mother has made this recipe my whole life, I've never had to! She let me borrow her coveted Big Creek Church Cookbook for me to attempt it myself. This book has been well loved over the years, with paper clips marking her favorite recipes.  

All you need are four simple ingredients to make this refreshing treat.  In our family, this "salad" is a part of the meal, not dessert. Although it may look deceiving, this definitely pairs well with fresh peas and cornbread.

It wasn't until I started to make the recipe that I realize my Nana was the one who submitted this selection! Come to find out, Nana made this for her family and now my Mom carries on the tradition.

It only takes a few minutes to whip up, but you must let it set up overnight.  My mom likes hers to be extra fluffy, so she uses 16 oz. of Cool Whip rather than 8 oz.  If you think you'd like it to be tart, use two cups of buttermilk.  If not, just use one!

If my mother had made it, it wouldn't be so lumpy.  If my mother had made it, it would be a little fluffier!  Some things are just best left to Mom.  

I am so thankful to come from a long line of women who love to cook and serve. If you'd like to reminisce with us about our Mothers a little more, check out our Mother Memories blog! I hope you'll try this recipe as well as some of the others we've shared. Don't forget, you can always check out our Recipe Archive when you are in need of a new one to try!  

On the last Beech Street Bungalow update, I shared our progress in the kitchen.  Since then, we are excited to say that we have moved in!  This means we are living in a construction zone, but it is so nice to finally have our own little nest.  ​

We had quite a time drawing up our master bathroom, but I had no trouble at all dreaming  it up.  When you get down to the nitty gritty of planing out a solid floor plan, you realize that the space you thought was plenty of room for a toilet turns out to only be half of the space you need.  The area for the bathroom we were working with was limited in order to avoid relocating an exterior door.  The space was also made a bit tricky due to the location of a window, keeping the brick along the bottom left wall, and including a bathroom door (original re-located glass french doors to be exact) and closet door.  After hours upon hours of trying different layouts, we finally agreed on one we thought would work.  

Now, the fun part.  Remember all that dreaming I was doing before the drawing got in the way?  Back to that.  I loved the look of the subway tile with the dark grout.  I thought it was so classic, yet edgy!  I also loved the gold hardware and fixtures.  Phillip wouldn't let me use gold in the kitchen (he thought it was a bit trendy), so he compromised with the master bath.  Here were my pinterest inspirations for the look I was going for in our bathroom. 

You may not know this about me, but I'm pretty crafty.  When we talked about doing a tile shower, I was like, "Yeah, I can do that."  So confident, and so mistaken.  Luckily, my Dad has tiled a shower or two in the past, so he agreed to help me!  With a handy-dandy tile book, his past experience, and my determination - we tiled our shower.  Let me just tell you, it was miserable. 

It was about as fun as it looks.  I was so involved that I totally forgot to take pictures along the way.  With only being able to work on it two days out of the week, it took us almost two months to completely finish the shower.  Knowing what I know now, I would have chosen a larger tile and built a smaller shower.  Haha!  It is full of imperfections (as you can imagine), but honestly, I do love our shower.

Here's a look at the bathroom once it was sheetrocked, somewhat painted and tiled. 

The bathroom fixtures that I chose were Champagne Bronze by Delta.  This is similar to gold, but much softer, giving you the gold look.  The hardest thing to pick out for our bathroom was the lights!  I knew we would have can lights, but I really wanted sconces on either side of the mirror.  Trying to find a sconce that matched the finish of our fixtures was impossible!  Finally, I took a chance and just ordered the lights that I liked.  When they came in, I realized that they were in fact the wrong color.   Roxie suggested spray painting them rather than heading back to my search.  This made me nervous, considering how expensive lights are these days, but I finally decided to give it a shot.  The closest match in spray paint that I could find was a shade of Rust-Oleum Metallic.  I taped up the parts that didn't need to be painted and sprayed away!  Below you can see the difference in the Champagne Bronze and the original color of the light fixtures.

I thought that the lights turned out beautifully!  It still isn't an exact match, but it is much better than the original finish.  We chose to use the same cabinets and counter tops as in the kitchen, so those will look familiar to you.

Now, here is a look at our finished master bathroom!  Notice the glass french doors--one set was relocated here from the living room!

I love the paint color for this room, Artistic Taupe by Sherwin Williams.  Phillip wasn't sure about it at first, but he loves it now!  I think it is the perfect complement to the bright white trim, gold fixtures and hardwood floors.

Here's a closer look at the Champagne Bronze fixtures with our tile and quartz counters.

The hardware on the cabinets was our finishing touch to the master bath.

You probably don't remember, but we decided to push into the hallway in order to add a master closet.  This choice made the most sense because all we had to do for it to work was make the opening to the kitchen a bit smaller.  Phillip added custom built-ins to maximize our hanging and storage space.

There you have it.  Our master bath was a slow process but well worth the wait.  The guest bathroom will also have tile, but after this, my tiling days are over!  The master bath was a very educational experience for me, and though I joke about it, it is nice to gain a skill like tiling.  I am so thankful to be as far along as we are, but I cannot wait for it to be completely finished.  We are enjoying life in town, and Breeze sure does love our back yard.  

Last week made it an entire year that we have been working on our home.  After some reflection, I have realized that I have allowed the last year of my life to revolve around a house.  Though it seems (and to some extent is) honorable and good to work so hard towards building a home, I believe that I have allowed this renovation to steal my purpose and joy this past year.  Luckily, I have realized the effect it has had on me and have made a decision to now put people first.  The house can wait, loving people cannot.  Though it seems as if I have fallen short this past year at loving the people around me, I will strive to love them even better than before in the years to come.  It is a fine line finding a balance between the responsibilities and stressors of everyday life and living as Jesus calls us to.  I am thankful for His grace and all of the support Phillip and I have had throughout this journey.  We look forward to the day when our home is used as a tool to love others.  Until then, we will make time for the people around us - including each other.   

As I sit here contemplating how to begin this blog, I find myself struggling with the syrupy sweet words I am accustomed to using.  Today I do not feel syrupy, but rather very heavy.  If you live in our area or have been watching the news, then you are aware of the tragedy that surrounds us.  We experienced terrible weather this past weekend which resulted in multiple tornadoes that destroyed countless homes and claimed precious lives.  I find it hard to concentrate on my work, carry on small talk, or even drift off to sleep at night.  I wonder what I can do to ease the pain and loss of the families in our surrounding counties.  I am overwhelmed by the many needs but oh so grateful for the ones who have sprung into action.  What I do know is the needs that these areas are currently experiencing and I can start there.  I will do what I can to support these families and I will stay informed in the days, weeks and months to come.  If you too are interested in donating to the families who have been affected by these storms, I would encourage you to find the nearest collection location and give.  A little goes a long way.
​

​Something special happens when you invite someone into your home for dinner.  I believe that same magic is present when you bring food to their doorstep.  Preparing and cooking a meal takes time, it takes thought, it takes love.  A casserole has the ability to minister to someone where words can't reach. 
 
Here in the South, it is customary to deliver a casserole to someone when certain life events take place.  (Deaths, births, sickness etc.) Whether the event is tragic or filled with joy, sending food their way is an opportunity to communicate that we care and are willing to help in a time of need. 
 
I believe cooking and baking to be one of my love languages.  I blame it on my Southern roots as well as generations of good cooks and caring women.  I love having people in my home and at my table.  We share more than food--we share life. 
 
Only recently have I started this venture in loving people through food.  Now that I am married with a home of our own, I find joy in filling the freezer with delicious casseroles (to make dinner for a hectic night easier, or to share with others).  This Christmas I decided to make lots of cookies and casseroles to share.  When choosing a casserole, I decided on one of our favorite dinners: Chicken Pot Pie.  Who doesn't love Chicken Pot Pie?!  I found a recipe last year on Pinterest from Lovely Little Kitchen that we just love.  

​After tweaking it a bit, I have finally perfected it for us--and for freezing!  I would like to share this recipe with you, in hopes that you might share it with others!  

To Freeze: 
Wrap casserole with saran wrap to ensure that it is sealed.  
Cover with tin foil, labeling what it is.  
*I like to use cute labels, making sure that I give clear directions on how to bake, if it is a gift.  
If baking straight from the freezer, uncover, remove saran wrap, and place the tin foil back over the casserole.  
Bake at 400 degrees for an hour, or until bubbling.  
Be sure to remove the tin foil during the last few minutes of baking to brown your crust!

If thawed, just follow the directions on your recipe card!

*I found that I like to cheat and use canned biscuits to make my crust, but you can use any type of crust you like!  This dough works well with freezing, so if you change it up, I would just suggest that you do a little experiment before gifting it!

**Also, if you are having trouble weaving your crust, here are a few helpful tips at Gimme Some Oven! 

Sometimes showing love to those around you looks like making a plate of food and taking it to the widow next door.  Sometimes it looks like dropping off baked goods at your local DFCS office.  Sometimes it even looks like buying canned goods for a local shelter.  There are so many ways to love the people right around you, and often times we are too busy to notice.
 
Though feeding people may be one of my love languages, what is yours?  You don't have to bake a casserole to show someone you care--that's just one idea!  This world is desperate for love and attention, and if we don't show it to them, they will search elsewhere. 
​
I heard Jen Hatmaker once say that your physical neighbors were not placed there by chance.  We were chosen to live alongside one another and care for each other--and if we can't love those directly around us, how can we love the world?

Though you may not be able to reach out to the tornado victims I mentioned in the introduction, I would like to challenge each of our readers to think of someone in your community who may need a little love.  Whip up this Chicken Pot Pie, bake a few slice-and-bake cookies, or take them a vase of flowers.  Let's consider what others around us may being going through and let them know we care.  In the busy-ness of life it is often easy to miss opportunities to love--so let's make one.

In my last renovation update, Beech Street Bungalow: The Floors, I was able to show you pictures of our beautiful refinished floors!  After the floors were completely dry, we did our best to cover every inch of them with thick paper!  The last thing we wanted to do was scuff them up or drip paint all over them.

The next project on our list was to begin painting! Phillip informed me that as soon as the kitchen was painted, he could begin installing our cabinets and counter tops!  That was enough motivation for me, so off to Sherwin Williams I went!  I didn't have a problem choosing the color families of my paint, but narrowing it down to a specific color took me a while!  As I joked in an Instagram post, it's easy to pick paint colors when you already have favorite polish colors. And if you know me, you know I have tons of favorite polish colors! (Check out: Why Nails Were Meant to be Painted)

So, my first bite would be to focus on the kitchen!  After analyzing, over analyzing, and analyzing some more, I finally decided on Eider White for the walls!

​I had already visited the Cabinet Warehouse in Fitzgerald to shop for cabinets and counter tops.  Phillip worked with this company for about 7 years, so he is pretty knowledgeable in this area!  He was able to save us a good bit of money by installing them himself. We chose a simple grey cabinet and white quartz counter tops, so I thought that Eider White would work well with those components as well as the other colors in my home.

After painting the kitchen and butler's pantry, Phillip began installing the cabinets!  This was so much fun (for me, not him) and made the house start to resemble a home.  I don't know about you, but the kitchen is always one of my favorite rooms in a house!  I spend so much time in that space doing what I love to do--cooking, baking, (eating), talking, laughing; all with the people I love. 

Just like most of the world today, I love Pinterest!  I love how organized and inspiring this tool is.  Not only do I have a "Home Sweet Home" board, but I also have a secret board for each room in my house!  This was the perfect way for me to organize my thoughts and ideas all in one place.  Later on, I'll share a few tips with you on how to stay organized (and on budget) during a major renovation like this!  Here are three pictures (each linked to the original source) that gave me a little inspiration for this space:

I just loved everything about the last picture you see above.  I love the soft color scheme, the two-toned cabinets, the counter tops, and of course, the lights.  I too would have a large island with a sink so this kitchen was speaking my language. 

Now that you know what direction my wheels were turning, let me remind you what we were working with.

This was the opening we made for our large pocket doors to be relocated.

And with a fresh coat of paint, they were ready to be hung!

We taped off the layout of the island and cabinets to help us determine where plumbing would need to be run and outlets should be put.

Now for the fun stuff.  Here is what our kitchen looks like today:

Phillip was able to build a vent hood cover, and I just love it! It gives this crisp and clean kitchen a farmhouse feel.
*Side note: The Keurig and electric kettle on the counter came in handy while working in 30 degree weather!  Coffee and warm water for the caulk bucket made my workers happy. :)

I searched for the perfect pendants to hang over the island, and all of the ones I absolutely loved (like the ones in the Pinterest picture) were way out of my price range.  I finally found a similar style within my budget, and I am quite pleased with how they look! I also LOVE how the bead board wall turned out once it was painted.  I guess all of the scraping was worth it!  

After we installed the vent hood cover, we liked it so much that we decided to incorporate that look into the island as well.  I knew I didn't want to have a solid grey panel on the back of the island, but I wasn't quite sure what I did want.  Phillip suggested for us to try the matching wood running horizontal along the back and we both just loved it!  This was a great decision, because it not only will be more durable over time, but it also brings the look together (and cost us a little less)!

This view allows you a sneak peek at our beautiful butler's pantry!  I just love how much storage and practical space it provides.  The Cabinet Warehouse was wonderful to work with and they were able to order the exact glass doors that I wanted for this space! I am so happy with how it is looking and I can't wait to put on the finishing touches!  

You can also see how opening up that wall in the kitchen where we placed the pocket doors brings so much light into the room!  It also makes the kitchen feel much bigger when they are open.

Well there it is.  With the exception of cabinet hardware and appliances, we are ready to roll!  Our bedroom, bathroom and laundry room are coming along nicely as well.  We are having so much fun seeing our dreams come to life and we can't wait to relax in our new home.  More updates are coming your way, so be sure to keep up with The Southern Mercantile Facebook page and sign up for our email list on the home page for a weekly website update!

In my last update, I gave you a tour of the new layout of our home.  Although it was called Beech Street Bungalow: The Walls, we didn't have actual walls up yet! In this post you will get to see the transformation that the floors made as well as the sheetrock!  We have had an exciting past few weeks and I can't wait to share it all with you.

Just in case you have forgotten what the floors were like when we purchased the home, here is a little refresher.  Most rooms in this home exposed the original hard wood floors.  In a few areas, we had carpet and layers of linoleum to remove. (And when I say layers, I mean LAYERS!)  

​The hallway and the kitchen became our biggest challenge due to the type of adhesive that was used to lay the linoleum flooring years ago. Whoever put this flooring down did not intend for it to come back up. :)  

The pictures above are a small glimpse of what our hallway looked like--can you say yuck?!  I spent countless hours trying to peel, scrape and dig it up! After many google searches and multiple chats with knowledgeable floor men, I realized that absolutely no one had the magic formula to removing this mess.  Through trial and error, I found that my handy dandy multi-tool was a great help in removing the layer of linoleum from the glue.  This is not a speedy process nor is it fun--and if you're not careful, you will dig into the wood!

The laundry detergent softened the adhesive and made it easier for me to scrape it using a 5 in 1 tool.  Although this seemed to help, it did not remove the tough spots.  The detergent softened not only the adhesive, but also the wood.  This caused a problem when I began to scrape making it easier to dig into the wood floor resulting in deep gashes.  

As it turned out, the angle grinder worked!  However, it did take what seemed like forever and it was completely disgusting. 

We wore respirators to keep from breathing what the grinder was throwing up in the air.  We went  to such extreme measures to remove this adhesive because we were planning to refinish the floors ourselves.  This adhesive would ruin too much sand paper to try to sand it off with the floor sander.  

After a couple of weeks, Phillip and I finally decided to contract out the rest of the floors.  We were running out of time and energy!  We had saved enough money to hire Burris Cleaning out of Fitzgerald, GA to come in and sand, stain and polyurethane our entire house! Alfonso (pictured on the right) was such a pleasure to work with.  He and his team were so dedicated, honest, hard working and kind.  We couldn't have had a better experience and we're so thankful that they came to the rescue!

Now, the moment you've all been waiting for...
​Take a look at our beautiful new floors! (And walls!!)

Little by little, it's all coming together.  We are so proud to have the floors restored to their original beauty and we can't wait to enjoy them for years to come!  

I found myself at this particular pear tree about this time, ten years ago.   

I climbed into his truck, not knowing what the day would hold.  He asked if I liked to fish, and I smiled and said yes.  He packed us a picnic lunch and gathered the fishing poles while I talked to his Mama on the porch.  

He had a gentleness about him, and a sweet spirit too.  He made me laugh and allowed me to simply be myself.  After fishing a while, he took me over to the pear tree and told me to pick as many as I could hold.  He took a few bites and told me to follow him.  We walked down to the cow pasture and he threw one their way.  Once they realized what was being offered, one by one they came.  We fed the cows until our hands were empty, and then went back for more.  We laughed and talked for hours, not wanting the day to end.  

Here we are ten years later, still making those old familiar rounds.  We wish for the days to still be long, no rushing or running to ruin our mood.  The things we talk about now are different--the laughs are deep and true.  We've now grown to know each other's heart as if it is our own.   

Though this may seem like just an old pear tree, it is far more than that in my mind.  It is the place where I came to know Phillip, and realized who he could be.  My favorite days are spent with him, talking, laughing, and dreaming wild dreams.  I am so thankful for this special place, but even more so for where we find ourselves today. 

​

You should know by now that I can find any excuse to bake--especially if fresh fruit is involved!   I am sharing the recipe for my Pecan and Pear Breakfast Cake through our Recipe Club!  Be sure to have joined our email list (subscribe on our homepage) or have a login and password to access our Recipe Archive!  This delicious cake is perfect served warm with coffee, but I personally enjoy it with a scoop of ice cream on top!

​As we continued the tearing out process, our next focus became the walls. The walls in our home were covered in a particle board-like material. (Almost like thick card board--but much heavier!)  I have been told that this material was used before sheet rock became popular in the forties.  It came in sheets, much like sheet rock, except the seams were covered with 2 inch wooden strips.  Since we wanted to add insulation and give the home a more updated look, we decided to tear all of this out.  Boy, was this a job -- a job that lasted weeks!  This material covered every inch of the walls and ceilings in the house.

We started tearing out in the living room, which was where we discovered the beadboard walls!  We were so excited at the thought of keeping some of the originals walls in the house to add to the character.  As we revealed more and more of the beadboard walls we discovered that some were patched and some were solid.  This means that we would be able to keep some (the ones that were solid) but not all.  
​
The patched walls are the ones you see so full of color--what a terrible feeling tearing it all out!  The colors were so inspiring that we decided to keep a good bit of the beadboard for future projects.

After tearing out the first layer we were able to assess our situation and decide what was salvageable.  Unfortunately, most of the walls had been patched and there would only be a few we could keep.  The other bad news is that we would have to tear out all of the beadboard that we would not be keeping due to issues with trim fit and ease of insulation.  This was WAY more work than I had expected, but little by little we were able to see it through.  

Bedroom #1 (not pictured)
​The Pantry (not pictured)
The Kitchen

* A Helpful Tip: If you find yourself having to remove wallpaper or any other glued substance from the wall like I did, here is a great trick!  Mix equal parts of liquid fabric softener and hot water in a spray bottle.  Spray over a manageable area and let sit for 5-10 minutes (don't let it dry!).  Using a scraper or 5-in-1 tool, start loosening the edges and scrape away!  For my personal situation, this worked perfectly! (And gave our house a nice smell :) You can clearly see the path in which I scraped in the bottom right picture.  Also, I was gifted the electric kettle you see below as a wedding present--and boy did it come in handy!  I wouldn't have had any other way to access hot water in our house!

In bedroom #1, we decided to keep something really special.  As you now know, our entire home was filled with multi-colored 100 year old beadboard.  I LOVE the unique colors in each piece and so wished I could keep a little piece of the fun.  Once all of the walls were down, I noticed how the wall above the fireplace was a perfect little sample of what filled the whole house.  After sweet talking Phillip, and a few other folks thinking I was crazy, we decided to keep this little section of patchwork as a fun reminder of what once was.

Now, fast forward weeks upon weeks to where we are today.  With a clean slate to work with, we were able to tell what would need to be changed in the floor plan.  One major change we knew we wanted to make was to remove the closet in bedroom #2 in order to open the hallway back up to its original width.  ​

We knew we wanted to add a master bath off of the master bedroom, so we took measurements, planned it out and framed it up!  (Planning a bathroom was much harder than I ever imagined!)  The bathroom pushed into what was once the back porch, but was enclosed by previous owners.

We added a master closet as well by pushing into the hallway and relocating our bedroom door.

We removed the exterior door in the kitchen in order to give us more wall space, and brought the window up to give us room for lower cabinets.

​In addition to all of this, Phillip had to go through each room and check each stud.  Since this house was built 100 years ago, it wasn't built to today's standards!  This meant Phillip had to add a great deal of studs to the existing walls in order to get ready for sheet rock.  He had to frame out every doorway, old and new!  The walls were (what I believe to be) our toughest challenge yet, but also the most rewarding. What you find in the walls bring light to the history of the home and those that lived there before you.  ("If Walls Could Talk"--a blog coming soon :)

Phillip and I were so overwhelmed by the amount of work there was to do and how long it would take.  Most nights we left feeling defeated.  More tired and dirty than we had ever been before, but just where we were meant to be.

​We broke it all down just to build it all back up again--isn't that how life feels sometimes?  We couldn't get to where we were going without ripping out every board one by one--and let's not forget the nails!  It was painful more times than not, and much harder tearing out than putting back in.  But that's the beauty of it all.  The Lord has taught us so much in the little time that we have been working on this house, and I know that He will only teach us more.  

Remember when I said that we kept a good bit of the beadboard to use in future projects?  Well here are a few!  First, we decided to build new table tops for The Cafe!  Don't you just love them? ​

We were so inspired by the tops that we then decided to create something else that we could make available to you!  If you'd like to take a special piece of our home home with you,  check out the picture boards we've made out of the beautifully colored beadboard that covered our walls!  

Each display board is unique in color and size.  The beadboard and the trim came out of our Beech Street Bungalow.  Share in celebrating the history of our home by choosing one to take home today!

Born and raised in the South, Sweet Tea was served at every meal.  There was this unspoken understanding that everyone wanted tea--so there was never any need to ask your family members or guests what they wanted to drink with their meal.  Sweet tea was what I knew to be the beverage of choice, and it has remained so throughout my life.

I learned to make tea at an early age, due to how often this task had to be done.  After moving off to college, I continued my weekly tea making.  To my surprise, not everyone knew how to make sweet tea!  So, just in case your tea making skills are a little rusty, here are a few tips on making perfect, southern sweet tea.

The first, and possibly most important, tip is in choosing the right tea bag. We believe in using Lipton tea bags, they just taste the best! You can purchase one gallon tea bags or family size tea bags--either will work fine!

Now that you have the main ingredient, let's make sure you have the most important: sugar!  In our opinion, perfectly southern sweet tea takes two, yes TWO, cups of white granulated sugar.

Now, boil water on the stove in a tea kettle or pot.  Measure out two cups of sugar and go ahead and put that into your gallon-sized tea pitcher.  Once your water is boiling, turn it off and immediately pour it into your pitcher along with EITHER one gallon tea bag or two family size tea bags.  Give your pitcher a stir dissolving the sugar and let it sit for 15 minutes.  Remove your tea bags and finish filling up your pitcher with cold water.  Give it a good stir again and place your tea in the refrigerator until cold.  Serve over ice with the option of fresh cut lemons!

**Helpful Tip:  If you are a busy bee like me, I have a convenient alternative to the normal tea making process.  You will need a large microwave safe measuring cup, mine holds 8 cups.  Fill with water and your two family size tea bags.  Pop it in the microwave for 7 minutes--and wallah!  You can let the tea sit up to 20 minutes in the microwave before mixing up your tea and sugar.  This works well for me when I am doing chores all over the house and not necessarily in the kitchen to watch for the water boiling on the stove.  When you are ready, pull out your freshly steeped tea and mix in a gallon-sized pitcher with two cups of sugar.  Once the sugar is dissolved, finish filling the pitcher with cold water.

Don't you love the mid century mod glasses in the photographs?  We have two sets available in the store!  Click HERE to take a look!

Shop our favorite Sweet Tea themed products below!

If you took a look at my previous (also the first!) renovation post, Beech Street Bungalow: Before, I'm sure you noticed how many fireplaces were in our new home!  I love the character and warmth that they bring to a room, so needless to say, I was excited!  Today's post gives you a little glimpse at what we've been working on and what we have in store for a very special fireplace.

The first step in our renovation process was to begin tearing out the existing walls.  We wanted to do this for a number of reasons, the two most important ones being to make it more energy efficient and give it a more updated look.  As we removed the first layer, we discovered bead board was what was hiding beneath it.  This was a happy surprise due to hopes that we would be able to use some of the original walls!

As Phillip peeled the layers back from around the fireplace in the dining room area, he discovered a different brick that formed the chimney.  If you have picked up on my style at all, you would know that I am more drawn to this rustic and industrial look rather than the classic and formal feel.  

The newly discovered brick is known as "fire brick".  The darker brick that made up the outside of the fireplace is known as decorative "wire cut" brick.  This brick cannot withstand the heat as well as the fire brick can--which explains why the fire brick makes up the chimney!  As we began to discuss the possibility of this brick being behind the wire cut brick, our wheels started turning.  We decided to take the risk and begin removing the wire cut brick from the face of the fireplace.

We spent hours (and  I mean HOURS) removing this brick, cleaning it up, and neatly stacking it only to be relocated two more times. You don't realize how many bricks it takes to build a fireplace until you tear one down! ​

We worked into the wee hours of the night in order to see what we would end up with. (And p.s. you will definitely want to wear dust masks if you ever decide to do this!  The amount of mortar and coal dust we stirred up was amazing.)

Not glamorous, I know, but totally my style! The original fireplaces were coal burning, which means that they are more shallow than a traditional wood burning fireplace.  Gas logs would work perfectly in this space, so we hope to have them installed in the future!

The very  next weekend, we diligently started on the living room side of the fireplace.  This is when it really started looking dramatic!

So after removing the wire cut brick from the living room side as well, this is what we got:

We love how it turned out!  We decided to go with a more open concept and let this fireplace take center stage.  The beautiful glass french doors that were on either side of the fireplace are being lovingly relocated to accommodate this change.  

After spending a lot of time (days upon days) tearing out and carrying load after load to the dumpster, this project was such a fun encouragement.  It was a simple and quiet reminder that the best is yet to come.  It's little finds like this along the way that make the aching bones and restless nights worth it.  

I can't wait to share another update with you soon.  I think I'll take you on a tour of the walls! I'll tell you more about the beautifully colored strips of bead board you see above and what we have planned for them.