The Florida Bungalow

Well, it's been 8 months since we moved to Florida.  And I'm remembering that this little blog really was a good way to update my family and friends on our nomadic med school life. A fun way of keeping in touch.  A way that I've neglected since we became Floridians.

So without further delay, here's a first glimpse into our current life for those who have asked.

Several of you have asked how my dad is doing.  He's recovering and has put a lot of hard work into relearning to walk.  He's still himself, maintaining a good sense of humor, a laid back attitude, and patient perspective.  Still, travel is a bit tricky for him right now, so these pictures are a way to bring my life to him:)

I just love the home God has provided for us here.  We found it online 2 weeks before we moved away from Kansas City. Two weeks.  When I saw it, I sensed God's peace and knew it was the place he had for us for this next season.  He always provides.

In Colorado, He provided an apartment I deem "The Mountain Escape".

In Kansas City, He brought us to an apartment I affectionately call "The Tree House".

Here in Florida, He's settled us in "The Bungalow", a rental house.  Our first house actually. Well, not ours, I suppose.  But a house nonetheless.  And I'm so grateful for it.

It was the perfect location for both Matt and I to commute to work, and it didn't have any loud, obnoxious paint colors.  Thank you, Jesus. 

Behold The Bungalow:

They call sunrooms "Florida rooms" down here.  So here is the "Florida" room.
That couch is from Ikea, and the ottoman was a Craigslist score.

We needed an L-shaped console table for the "Florida room".  Matt offered to make me one. My man, while very smart and capable, had never, to my knowledge, made furniture by hand before.  I was a little skeptical.  But, not wanting to spoil his sweet offer, I told him what I had in mind.  Then, true to his word, he got to work and made me a table (two in fact!)

hard at work making my vision come true

he was so pleased that it was sturdy enough to stand on 3 legs

Almost done making his first piece of furniture.  I was amazed.

applying the stain  

Matt said, "That's a lot lighter than I thought it would be.  Did you remember to stir it first?"

Wait.  I was supposed to stir it?  Whoopsie.

Once painted and stained, we positioned the two tables in an L-shape to look like one piece.
Thank you, honey!

 Backing up a little bit, here is the living room where we do a lot of living:

I've had this dresser since before I met Matt.  It wouldn't fit in our tiny bedroom here, so it got repurposed as a TV stand.  I like the look of the wood in here.

Our frames got a sophisticated, neutral update.

To see Sara's photography site click here. 

This is a scene from Park Ave.around the corner from us.
It's the cutest little tree-lined, brick street of shops and restaurants here in Winter Park.

He's so handsome.
I'm a fan of blankets, even in Florida.  Matt named this one "Sweet Baby Gray".

dining nook
Our table just baaarely fit in this space.

guest room
Be. our. guest!  Be our guest!  Put our service to the test!

guest room
and a touch of my hometown

The picture above is one my mom took in the Marietta Square.  It was for a photography class assignment where she had to show parallel lines.  Didn't she do a good job?

And backing up to reveal a very exciting luggage rack with some posed luggage.

It's the little touches that make a house feel homey.
I love framing Scripture that God has spoken to my heart at pivotal times to remind me of the Truth.

Moving in took a little longer than past moves for various reasons, but when all was settled, I felt a huge relief.  I don't need big and fancy, but I have learned that I value aesthetics, and feeling "settled" and "at home" is comforting to me.

Aaand just to keep things real...

Here is the fan that fell out of the ceiling last week.  Thankfully, it didn't fall further and nobody was standing directly under it.

And here is the frog that came up from the toilet the other day, which naturally begs the question, "What else can come up through the toilet?"  Yikes!

I felt bad for him.

And here is one of the apparent millions of lizards in our yard.

Lizards are everywhere in Florida.
As are cockroaches (perhaps the vilest of God's creatures, second only to rats and possums).
I can't talk about it anymore.

On a brighter side of nature, one of my students brought me an orange from the orange tree in her yard.  I learned from our pastor friend the other day that oranges are sweetest after a cold snap.  Ah, the spiritual analogies...

an apple orange for the teacher!

These dark, grainy pictures are some of the only shots Matt and I have taken together since moving here. I'm including them so you don't forget what we look like;)

We miss you all!  It was nice to have you "over" to our place here.
Looking forward to some of you visiting in person!

Love, Matt and Liane 

Because you're dying to know about my updated dining room and burlap wreath

When I first envisioned words on my dining room wall, I pictured something close to this size:

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I wanted a different font and different words, but something that took up a good chunk of space, and looked like it was supposed to be there.

But I had a hard time finding words that scale that I could afford, so I settled for a smaller font.

After I painstakingly measured and centered the words on the wall with my fellow decor-loving mother-in-law who was visiting from out of town, I stood back and saw a very well-centered and inspiring quote...that looked very small and alone on my wall.

Shucks.

I considered putting a big, empty frame around it, but that didn't "click" with me for some reason.

So I purchased a border that looked like it would add a touch of elegance and provide a "place" for the seemingly floating small words on the big wall.

It came in the mail, and I noticed right away that it was much thicker than I anticipated.  Like, the lines were thick.  Not elegant.  Bulky.

"Hm, maybe it will look better when I put it up on the wall."

I set to work measuring and putting up the border optimistically.

When all was done, I stood back to admire my work.

Crooked.  The border was clearly CROOKED, lopsidedly higher on the left.  I think I might have heard it laughing at me ever so faintly.

It's hard to tell in this picture, but trust me, the border was crooked. 
And a bit bulky, yes?

I thought the whole thing looked a bit emblem-y and didn't love it.  But it remained in this state for several weeks, until I decided to peel off the outermost border, thinking that would help.

Meh.

The problem remained that I still needed something to flank the sides.  I imagined candle sconces, plates, sprigs of fake flowers or greenery, a frame gallery,... all sorts of things.  But, nothing that I was sold on.

Truth be told: sometimes I deliberate over small, insignificant decisions.  Does anybody else do this?

For months, the wall stayed incomplete as I stayed indecisive.  And every time I walked by that wall, I felt a twinge of annoyance (even though, of course, the truth of the quote remained uplifting).

And then, one day, I was in Target (the land where dreams come true) and happened upon some faux willow branches which called my name.  They were understated and natural-looking and did not appear tackily fake.  Perfect.

The vision for my dining room wall finally became clear.

Thank you to my 2nd grade class for the Target gift card!  I was waiting to use it until just the right moment.

I got home and fished out from under my bed some sconces I've had since college.  Sconces that I wasn't sure where to put in our new place.

Here's the finished look with the branches.  The words are still a tad small-looking, I admit, but I'm pleased.  I no longer feel that twinge of annoyance.

Next project.

My next door neighbor had a burlap wreath on her front door that I had been admiring. When she told me that she made it and shared with me how easy it was, I headed to JoAnn to get myself a wire wreath frame and some burlap.  Like this:

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I wove the burlap in and out of the wire wreath frame like she said, pulling and scrunching and separating the loops.

At first, it looked like nothing was going to come of it.

Am I doing this right?, I thought, as I periodically glanced up at the PBS special on the Rajneesh movement in the 70s.  Bizarre cult.

Then,...slowly but surely,...it started to take shape.

And eventually, I had myself a wreath!

Behold.

I like it from every angle and think it completes the room. 

The letter-block pillow was a Christmas gift made from a mom of one of my students last year.  I love it.

Speaking of crafty gifts, another mom of a past student of mine gave me a cute, homemade wreath of her own.  She has her own wreath-making business.  To see her full collection, you can check it out here.

My taste, I am discovering, is traditional meets cottage-y meets pinterest-y.  I really do want my home whether it's big or small, fancy or not, to be welcoming and cozy.  Like an updated twist on a Hobbit hole.

"There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort." - Jane Austen

Or (a quote I can equally appreciate),

"Decorate your home.  It gives the illusion that your life is more interesting than it really is." - Charles Schulz 

Earring Holder craft

This week, I made a craft to organize my beloved cheap Target earring collection.

Behold.

It hangs in my bathroom.

This was my earring situation for a long time:

cluttered

This is the earring situation now:

neat rows

I can now see in one easy glance where this or that pair of earrings is located.

It saves me time and hopefully will better protect them from damage.

The craft itself is not complicated.  There are many similar Pinterest ideas to copy or tweak.

Here's how I did mine:

1. Spray paint unused frame a color of choice.  I found my frame at Goodwill for $0.99 and used Krylon indoor/outdoor gloss spray paint in white.
2. Leave frame outside for a day to air out so as not to develop horrific lung disease.
3. Nail (or staple gun) wire to back sides of frame.  I used tiny nails and wrapped the wire around them.
4. Hang earrings, use, and enjoy.

Our Thankful Tree

Collected some branches from outside to fill our empty dining table vases and as a nod to Fall.  Matt asked me if I had checked them for ticks.  I can't say that I did, but I tend not to worry about that kind of stuff.  I did brush them off with my hands and made sure they didn't have any cobwebs.  So as far as I'm concerned, they're practically store bought!

A few weeks ago, I had collected and displayed a few branches that had colorful leaves.  But then, naturally, the leaves dried up and the branches looked sad and silly.  This tends to happen to plants when they are not given any water.

So this time, I collected branches that had already shed their leaves.  After gathering, arranging, and standing back to admire my work, the naked branches looked a little blah.  Matt agreed.

So I thought I would make some paper leaves for them that won't die.

Then the Thanksgiving spirit grabbed hold of me, and I decided to write a few things I am thankful to the Lord for on those leaves.  I didn't originally intend the branches for this purpose, but now I really like our little "Thankful Tree" (which I'm sure is not original and is probably pinned all over the place on pinterest - in fact, I saw a similar idea done for a fundraising event by our school's PTO recently.  So full artistic credit is not due me.)

Our Thankful Tree.

 It's fun to let new friends who come over add a leaf of their own to the Thankful Tree.

I'm trying to be thankful for our camera, which focuses inconsistently and forces me to do some creative editing (as evidenced in the very different styled pictures above.)

What are you thankful for?