FOREVER HOME-SITE PLAN

Well we have almost made it through the summer and I have been planning away. So it's almost time to start clearing the property of some trees to make room for our forever home! I am so excited! We are just waiting on some cooler temps and away we go!

I can't wait to document this experience and here is the first step, the site plan……...

We will be building the shop first so the we can start to de-clutter our current house and get it ready to sell. We may end up living in it for a short time, while the house is finished, but that's okay by me!

This will be Terry's Haven & Harley(The Jeep's) Home after we are in the house. Obviously the pool will be last, but we have a plan folks! Progress is progress.

Planning Our Forever Home

We have been searching for the perfect place to build our forever home for over 3 years now. Come to find out it wasn't too far away at all, its been right under our noses. The timing just wasn't right. In the last few weeks we found the property, contacted the seller and closed with-in a week. Its 2 acres up on a hill with a wonderful view.

We had been looking at plans for longer than the 3 years, but its funny that we found "the one" only a couple weeks before this property popped up. We just purchased the plans yesterday and are anxiously awaiting their arrival.

Its 2550sf and has 1/2 story upstairs, this plan met almost all of our check list items and will have minimal changes. We are SO excited to finally get a chance to take this journey to build our dream home that of course will pretty much signify what Country & Cashmere actually is! 

Next step….tree trimming….stay tuned!

Turkish Cotton Towels

Who else is ready for Spring & Summer? I AM!! After the Winter we have had, I think the entire country in ready for a change. We are already planning our beach vacation for this summer. 

That being said, I am always looking for new products to improve our trips. I had heard of the Turkish Cotton Towels awhile back, but was kinda of skeptical how they would feel and perform. I broke down a couple weeks ago and ordered some off of Amazon. 

I have to say I am in awe at how well they work! They actually soak up the water better than some towels we have. Not to mention the lightweight fabric and oversize makes them a perfect to fit into the beach bag for summer! I think I need to order some more!

Down Home Cooking

Well...........since we had been iced in for 3 days I thought I would share what we have been eating.

Let's just say when its cold outside I crave home cooking and the crock pot is the easiest way to make something to snack on all day long! In moderation it isn't all that unhealthy. Just make smart choices when possible like low sodium, low fat milk, turkey and small portion control.

Here is what was on the menu........................

Pork Chops & Rice

4-Boneless Pork Chops
2-Cans Cream of Mushroom Soup
1-Pack Ranch Seasoning
2-Cups Rice

Everything into the crock pot except the rice (add it in for just the last hour or so) Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8.


Nana's Taco Soup

1.5lbs lean ground beef or turkey
Minced Onion
1-Pack Taco Seasoning
2-Cans Pinto Beans
2-Cans Rotel
1-Pack Ranch Seasoning
1-Can Whole Corn (drained)

In a skillet, brown the Beef, Onion, & Taco Seasoning (drain)
Then put everything in the crock pot, Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8.

Mexican Cornbread

2- Boxes of Jiffy Cornbread

Take the left overs from the Taco Soup and drain water in an oven safe dish. Mix cornbread as instructed. Then pour on top of the soup and sprinkle cheese on top. Bake to cornbread instructions.


Red Chile Taco's

2-3lbs- Boneless Beef Roast
1 Pack-Campbell's Slow Cooker Sauces (Mexican Red Chile Taco)

The easiest of all these…..Just follow the instruction on the packet. We had these on tortillas with a little cheese & cilantro. They were pretty awesome!

Screen Door-Drying Rack

I have had this screen door for awhile trying to decide what to do with it. There are so many ideas on Pinterest that I just couldn't decide.

Then last month when we were updating the laundry room. I realized I always have clothes hanging up to dry and I could really use a rack on the wall instead of hanging them where ever the will fit. I began my search to find a clothes drying rack, and while I understand it is a functional item, of course I wanted something more decorative :)

Then the idea was born to turn the screen door into the drying rack…………….

This is what I had to start with. I ripped all of the screen out and removed the hinges. Then cut the door in half, re-applied the hinges so the top could move up and down. Added 3 dowel rods and spray painted the whole thing black.

I decided to keep the screen at the bottom for texture and added fabric to the other 2 sections. I painted and hot glued some wood letters. I am still on the look-out for a little boxwood wreath, but I already had this one for now.

Sugar & Spice Baby Shower

Well since Baby Fieseler has been born, I guess its time to post about her baby shower.

We decided to go with a Sugar & Spice theme. I did the invites, decorations, and games, then Amanda brought the SUGAR, and Steph brought the the SPICE. 

We had to use blue in the theme (the baby's room in peacock colors) and mom didn't want to use the traditional pastel pink, so hot pink it was. I found these awesome invites from Paperclever, she also did the backdrop banner, the diaper raffle cards and the book instead of a card poem. 

We put the SUGAR stuff on the main table and the SPICE (chili & queso) in the kitchen to serve.

Amanda with Manda's Cookie Jar makes the best sweets ever!  Look at these adorable onesie & rattle cookies and the awesome cake ball baby rattles. So cute and yummy too!

Fun was had by all! We had AWESOME Harvey's Chili, had the diaper raffle, opened lots of gifts, and  each guest painted a onesie for Baby Fieseler in all different sizes.

Thanks ladies for all your help!

Minecraft Birthday Party

Just realized I never posted about our little Minecraft Birthday Party. It was this summer, just a small get together for the family, we celebrated Colton & Mackenzie's birthday's together this year. Since all the kids have gone BONKERS over Minecraft that was the direction we went.

I have to thank Shell & Trav for all of their help with this, and Trav's awesome photoshop skills :)
They did all of the signage for the table and decorations.

The best sissy in the world made the the cardboard Creeper and actually wore it at the party!

We tried get most of crafting items covered....Emerald-Sixlets, Sticks-Pretzels, Coal-Black Gummie-Bears, Diamond- Blue & Silver M&M's, Gold-Chocolate Coins, TNT-Red Vines, Redstone-Red Rock Candy and the obvious Carrots & Melon.

And Cake of course..

The kids had a great time swimming, painting creeper back packs & of course playing Minecraft!!

Meet The Teacher

Well this Summer is officially coming to a close! Tonight is meet the teacher at school, and the last weekend is upon us. Normal schedules and activity meetings will be in full force! I cannot complain, Colton has had a nice break and actually seems to have become a bit "bored" this week. Its hard to believe he will be the big 4th grader on campus (next year will be a new location) but their are so many "special" activities they get to do this year, I know it is going to be great!

Sorry for the bad quality phone pic, but these are the little goodies I put together for tonight. I found this adorable printable at Whipperberry and the journals and pencils on clearance at HomeGoods. Attached it all together with some Washi tape....and they turned out pretty cute.....and very simple!

I hope everyone has a great year!

Summer Wrap-Up

Well this happens every year to me, our summers are just too busy and off schedule for me to keep up with the blog. So with only one week until school, I thought it was time for a little Summer Wrap-Up. We are so blessed to be able to go so many places with our family.

We hit summer with a bang, and on the day school was out and hit the road to Surfside Beach, TX. It has become our Fieseler Vacation Tradition to do a beach trip every year. I know it is something the kids will remember forever from their childhood. I didn't take a camera (mother of the year) so these were some pics I scavenged up from others. We rent a house beachside and just hang out for three or four days, relaxing and soaking up some sun. We are so lucky to still have our Nana with us on these trips.

Next up was a bitter sweet trip to Wyoming where my dad & step mom live. Many of you know that he left us this year, so this was the trip we all got together and put him to rest. He was building this log cabin for them. He peeled and laid each long by hand and was ready for the roof when he left us. Many people have pitched in to help see that his project gets finished for Jo before this winter. I know dad is very happy watching over all of us. It was great to have the whole family there pitching in and gettin' r done! July 4th in Lander in something like I have never experienced, we will for sure be heading up there for more of them!

Then last, but not least was Colton's Legoland trip. I gave this kid the choice of Disney World or Legoland and of course Legoland it was. I have to say the new hotel is everything a kid could want and more, us adults were kind of left hanging...lol Colton had a blast with 4 days all about him! Since it is right on the coast, we did manage one day at the beach.

I do have to say, I never heard "I'm bored" once this summer! With the swimming lessons, robotics camp, golf camp and trip to Oklahoma to visit family to fill in between trips. He hardly had any down time this year. As for me, I am ready to get back to a some what steady schedule. Even though there is never a dull moment around here! How was your summer?

Boho Chic-Guest Room

Ever since, the big kids moved out of the house Colton had taken over 3 rooms of our 4 bedroom house. So I was on a mission to take back at least 1 of those and make a guest room for our overnighters. The Lego Room had to to be dis-assembled and the video games & tv moved into there.

Then I went to work on the new guest room, this room was Colton's nursery when we first moved in. That is when we added the beadboard and shelves. It has 2 entries, double doors off one wall and a regular door off the hallway. To get a headboard focal wall, I hung full drapes over the double doors and added some boho flair. I cleaned out 2 closets and found many items I had used to decorate in the passed, but had grown tired of and put away. I have also been collecting things from my Nana's house and Dad's since his passing. As I pulled these items together, I realized they began to tell a story. Everything just seemed to come together in a eclectic boho chic kind of way.

From Nana's quilt to Terry's mom's piano and everything in between, there is a story behind each piece.    I pulled all of the art I had once hung somewhere, just because I liked it, then realized it just didn't go. They all seemed to work together, so I decided to do a gallery wall of the mixed matched items.

And because no guest room is complete without a tray and travel items in case you forgot something, I added those too.

It worked out perfect that Nana was the first guest to stay in this room, who's next?

Teacher Appreciation Week

Last week was Teacher Appreciation week and our school does a different theme for each day of the week. So, of course we forgot all about it until Sunday night and had to scramble through the craft room for something to do for "Desk Day". Colton also has 2 teacher's so we have to times everything by 2. Here is what we finally came up with....(now I am out of office supplies...LOL)

Tuesday was "Fruit Day" so I cheated a little and went by Edible Arrangements and picked up some goodies and used some left over containers. I have to thank Eighteen 25 for the cute printable.

Wednesday, the theme was "Sweet Day, I had enough time to run to Dollar Tree to pick up a few items to make these cute buckets filled with cream caramels.

This day was also his main teachers birthday and she is really into gardening, so again Dollar Tree to the rescue. We put together this little pot with gardening accessories, herbs, and a little succulent plant.

Thursday was "Snack Day" when there again Dollar Tree kept everything under budget. We decided to go with a movie night theme.

For Friday which was "Note Day" we kept it simple and Colton just wrote a personal note to each.

2 Year Anniversary

Today marks the two year anniversary of most likely the scariest day of my life. This photo was taken about 2 hours prior to our wreck. We were having a blast in a moment....and in the next we were laying on the ground.

It makes me a little sad because it was such a fun thing for us to do as a couple to reconnect, but we realized we have others to look out for as well.

In some ways, I feel like it is one of the luckiest days of my life, because we are both still here and it wasn't worse than it could have been. 

So now we have the Jeep(a 1980 CJ5), which we have named "Harley" and Colton can join us in the fun. I just wish it would get a tiny bit warmer so we can plan a trip and go somewhere! I'm Ready!

Bungalow Magazine Premiere

Well with so much destruction going on this week, I thought I would just share some "feel good" eye candy. Out this week, the premiere of Bungalow Magazine. It features the more simple Texas style that I so love! It also features my fellow Dallas designers at Pulp Design Studios, Carolina & Beth.  To view the entire online layout go HERE.

Pet Station

Since "My Critters" have their own page on my blog you must know how much a part of our family they are. So I decided they needed a more decorative space to hold their necessities and that just looked nicer in our kitchen area. I found this cute little chest at HomeGoods. HomeGoods is the best place to by pet beds, food containers, ect. Their prices are great and are much more designer driven.

The 2 treat canisters, and artwork also came from HomeGoods. The drawers are great to store medicines, toys, leashes, and brushes. 

I am still on the lookout for some inexpensive food tins like these.

I may just have to make my own. I like the square ones vs. the round ones. If anyone know where I can get these let me know! 

Spring Coral

Since I am ready for Spring & Summer and done with this cold! I just purchased these adorable Keds from Madewell yesterday. I put together a little outfit, and I hope to be wearing something like it this weekend! Its been a LONG time since I wore Keds, but they were just too cute to pass up!

Spring Coral by rannaperdue featuring a stretch bracelet

Farmhouse Dining Table

I have been wanting a farmhouse dining table for a couple years now. The main problem I had was the space we had to fit it in. We only use our "breakfast nook" for dining and the space was built to hold a square or round table. Every time I fell in love with a table it was too large for the space. Like these..

Then I found some plans and was going to have Terry make one, which still may happen at a later date :)


When I came across one at World Market, it was the the perfect smaller size, but I wasn't sure it was beefy enough and kept looking. Then it went on sale, and it was a done deal! I am a sucker for a sale!

I love the nailheads on the chairs and warmth and texture of the top of the table.

It has really opened up this space! Since we moved in almost 10 years ago, we have always had a counter height table. And although it is taking some getting used to to feel like we are not sitting on the floor now. I love how much more visual space it gives us.