Remote Control

I could try to come up with a lengthy response as to the lack of blog writing the past several months, but it would simply fall to the reason life taking hold. I decided that I needed to get back into writing about what I love again...fashion...decor...things I love. I'm pretty sure the small amount of followers I did have, have taken me off their list of "daily reads". Nevertheless, I will try to write one post a week...baby steps.

So what is new you ask? Well, where do I begin...

Back in December, just days before Christmas, my in-laws moved in with us...temporarily of course...they are still with us. They are moving to the UK for a year, the initial departure date was "March/April" time frame and now the date has moved to May. Logistics mainly. It's a daunting ask to allow parents of your husband to move in with you. Fortunately, they have their own living space on the 2nd floor including a living room, reading room and office. We obviously share the kitchen. It made me think back at our first year of marriage. Wondering...why do you do this or that? With the feeling of exasperation. Now I know;-) Those who know me, know I'm kinda OCD when it comes to cleanliness...shoes off, counters wiped, weekly dusting, vacuuming, etc. My internal boiling point has been tested on more than one occasion, but I usually cry and cuss quietly to Mason. Bless him for putting up with me!

Lately, I've been feeling like God has been putting us through a series of tests. The feeling of losing grip on the little day-to-day things that give you a sense of normalcy, like decision making. Things like buying a car and doing everything you're supposed to do and it falls through...right between the cracks. Or to other bigger life moments that you know you need to trust God with, yet the little things you think you have control over associated with that huge decision has also slipped from your grip. I crave normalcy, having our house back, and feeling secure. I know God wants all of my trust and faith. Not just with the big stuff but with EVERYTHING. He also wants me to be secure in Him. Nothing is normal right now, everything is really just the opposite. It's a frustrating and scary place to be. Is this my new normal? Lord please don't say it so...

Well, enough of the dramatics...what else have we been doing around here...So you know those stairs we refinished...did I ever show your the result? Ta daaaa!

Well, we're on to phase II of that makeover and we caved and have decided to put a runner on the stairs. We managed to find 9' long jute runners from Natural Area Rugs.  After being quoted $1,300 for a custom runner and they too don't use one long piece of material...what did we say..."Oh we can totally do that ourselves!"

Below are a few inspiration photos.

We also aim to have the remaining wainscoating installed prior to laying this down. And last but not least...this beaut is also on the list...The foyer would then be complete:-)

Once the in-laws head out, I plan on replacing our bedding and moving it upstairs. I found this lovely duvet cover from West Elm. There are a few ideas a brewing for the master. Redo the closet space, adding some custom wood paneling to the bathroom and repainting. Never ending, right?! Who knew how much fun redoing a brand new house could be:-)

Two Month Hiatus!

Wow! I know I've been neglecting my blog, but I never thought I would go two months without a single update. The usual is to blame. LIFE! My job is going well. The HR world is much more exciting then I ever thought it would be.

Mason and I just got back from Ohio for Thanksgiving. We had a nice trip visiting with family and meeting new babies! My cousin Jenny had a boy in September. His name is Perry. And my dear friend Emily had a little girl a few days after. Her name is Romy. Both are absolutely precious!!

We finally finished the staircase (well almost) and I owe you final photos for sure. All we have left for the stairs is the trim and we still plan on putting up the wanes-coating. Hopefully this winter we'll get both done.

What else is new! Well, the in-laws are moving in...

The usual reaction I get is WHAT?! Wow! They sold their house just last week. They will be living with us until March or April until they leave for Scotland. They will be trained at a ministry called ELLEL. Their plan is to come back to the states after to open up a B&B / "quiet place" up in the mountains. It's bitter sweet for sure! We're excited for them to start a new adventure, since they've been parents their entire adult life and every job they had was out of necessity. But we'll miss having them around. They are literally the "glue" to the John family. I'm sure having them live with us will be an adjustment at first, but they pretty much have the entire upstairs aka "in-law suite" to spread out. We have this weekend to empty out the purple room and the bonus room. Their bringing some furniture so they don't have to put everything in storage while they are away. Fortunately this will force us to clean out some things that we shoved into the walk-out attic space, etc. Lord give me patience:-)

Our in-laws also were gracious enough to bring us our Christmas tree this year. Scott & Erika's neighbors, up at their mountain house, have a Christmas tree farm. All trees $40! They picked out a beauty. I wanted a chubby one this year. It was the most fresh and fragrant tree we've ever had! Do you like??

In other news, some have asked if I'm still selling Stella & Dot. The answer is yes! I haven't really done many trunk shows since starting my new job, but I'm still a stylist. I'm also co-hosting a Holiday Trunk Show this weekend in fact!! This is a joint event with Thirty-One, Miche, Scentsy, Pampered Chef and Mary Kay. Please stop by if you can. If you can't make it you can place your order online at www.stelladot.com/michellejohn. They will ship to you directly and in time for Christmas. Have any questions, please reach out!

Good Morning, Good Evening, Good Night

Hola! So what is new...

Not a whole lot, I feel as though I've neglected my blog for way too long now. Probably because when I have time to sit and meander on the computer I'm PINNING!! Do they have pinning anonymous?

So over the weekend Mason and I decided to jump right into our latest home project...

THE FOYER

We decided to pull up the plastic-y low grade carpet off the stairs and we're going to sand and restain the treds and railing to a dark brown/black stain. The treds are already a lovely oak, hidden by ugliness:-) We are then going to continue the wanes-coating that stops at the foot of the stairs to continue up the stairs and across the back wall.

As soon as we embark on the simple project in our heads, it always ends up being a little bit more challenging then expected. Once the carpet was pulled-up, which took oh a whole15 minutes, there were several staples and carpet spikes we had to remove. That took about 2 hours to get those all pulled up and removed. I started to get blisters by the time we were done with that step. Yuck!

This weekend is all about sanding and staining. We tested a few spots to see what we were in for...since our lovely builder barely put a coat of stain or poly, that stuff came off like butta! Below are a couple pics of our inspiration. I'll show the after once we finish! Happy Thursday!

I Heart Pinterest

Alright kids...so I'm officially ADDICTED to....

'Tis true. I can spend hours or just a quick 5 minutes and my inspiration meter is on overload. Every. Time:-)

Have you pinned???!

Once you start...you won't be able to stop!!

When I look at the collection of my pins and those of my friends its really amazing to see their tastes. The collection of things that are pinned really do reflect who they are, it's pretty neat to see! A friend used to say a girl's wedding truly reflects their true taste, which I still very much agree, but I think pinning does too:-) 

Here are a couple things I'm pinning these days!!

Happy Pinning!!

Building a Dream

{Our Dream Home}

So Mason and I having been dreammmmming! So Sunday afternoon, we decided to take a drive to look at homes and property over in Gaston county near Lake Wylie.

We currently live in a neighborhood on Lake Wylie in Charlotte. We are just a couple miles from the border of Charlotte and Belmont and we have grown to love this area. We were at first apprehensive of moving even further away from Charlotte, but after further "research" there are plans to build a turnpike called the "Garden Parkway" that would go from that area of Belmont (near the Botantical Gardens) to I-485. So that clears-up that concern! We'll see if that actually happens...gotta love gov't BIG plans;-)

With that said, we would love to build our next home. Since we're not in any rush to move out of our current place (room to grow), we figured it may not be a bad idea to see how much land would cost to purchase especially now. Well, you can find an acre of land between $50k up to $350k. Lake front...you're pushing the $300k mark just for the land, ouch! But if we're going to compare to other lakes in this area, that's peanuts! We also love the idea of really building it ourselves via UBuildIt or something similar. We like the idea of a custom home without the custom price tag:-)

While driving we stumbled upon Cramer Mountain Country Club and Properties. It is a gated community and the area is wooded and hilly, it almost feels like you're in the mountains. It's an older community and some of the homes started going in around the '80s. The country club opened in 1986. However, there are still properties available and the best part you can bring in your own builder. There is an HOA and architecture governance, but we view that as a good thing so some ugly thing won't be going up next door. We're definitely keeping that one in mind.

From there we headed over to Paradise Point. There is a house for sale now that I just LOVE, some lots for sale, and a foreclosure that's lake front! Gorgeous, but still ~$600k:-) We are also liking the idea of not having to deal with a neighborhood or an HOA and this area would be like that.

We started a wish list of sorts of the must-haves for the next house, some of those are:

• Huge laundry/mud room...I'm talking HUGE place to wash the dog, fold and iron clothes, etc.
• Butler Pantry
• Woodshop for my carpenter
• Large Master Closet
• Place where the kids can go play and you don't hear them...how bad does that sound?! haha
• Huge sliding doors in the living room out to the patio to give you that lanai feel
• Tons of custom finishings like moldings, coffer ceilings, etc
• Library (floor to ceiling bookshelves)

As far as the look and feel of the exterior, we both LOVE a mix between the cape cod and craftsman style home. Not the typical shape but more the finishings, like the shingled siding and stone...Enjoy! xx

Wedding of the Year: Recap

Hola Amigas! I really don't have an excuse for the lack of blogging other then I'm no longer painfully bored at work to take up my time:-) That's the truth, sorry, nothing life altering and exciting other then I'm a busy girl between 9 and 5!

Now shall we get on with it...the broham's wedding in CALIFORNIA!! Wow, what an amazing trip!! We flew into San Diego on Friday and arrived around noon. From there we made our way over to our abode where we'd be ruffing it for the next 8 days...

After bags were dropped we made our way up to Fallbrook to meet up with the Bride and the other maids to hang out pool-side in our private cabana! What fun:-) From there we made our way back to La Jolla for dinner with my parents, my Aunt Karin and my cousin Justin and the groom-to-be...

Saturday was the rehearsal luncheon...we met at the venue around 10am. Following that my parent's hosted a luncheon...

Obviously, I save the best for last...the Wedding DAY!! Woot Woot!! Let me preface by saying that this was by far one of the most intimate, emotional and touching weddings I've ever had the honor in being apart of, including my own. To give you all a background. Christopher (my brother) and Amber were high school sweethearts. They have been through A LOT. I've seen them grow and mature over the 10 years they've been together (minus the 2 when they were broken-up). For those that don't know, but Amber's father has ALS. A horrible disease that no one should ever have to endure. But Mr. Butler is not just anyone. He's an amazing man! Words can't even describe. Every time I see him. he's wearing a smile and is laughing about this or that. He's more concerned about you, before he's concerned about himself. He's genuinely interested in you and getting to know you. So to be able to see Mr. Butler walk Amber down the aisle....no words! I won't even get into the toasts!! I don't think I stopped crying!

Congrats Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Wilson!! We love you so much and pray the Lord bless your marriage together!! xx