Archive for the ‘Family and Friends’ Category
Kara Paslay Designs “Inspire Me” Series: Green Couch Design
We we’re recently asked to be featured on an up and coming home interior design blog. Have you heard of Kara Paslay Designs? Well if you have not you definitely need to check out her and her husbands interior design company based out of Tulsa. They’ve always got lots of home projects going on with simple DIY’s perfect for any budget.
Kara asked us to share our story behind starting Green Couch Design, and the road we’ve taken to get to where we are today in a new series called “Inspire Me”. It’s a pretty heartfelt post, but one we’ve truly enjoyed putting together and going over some of where we have been and what we have overcome. Sometimes you just need to remind yourself of the process.
We hope it inspires you today as you pursue your dreams! Read the feature at Kara Paslay Designs and make sure you tell her we said hello! 
From the Farm 
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LIFE: Bye, Bye Bambi (And Other Life Parallels)
Since we found out last week that we are having a BOY it has been full on baby mode at our house. We are getting more and more eager to meet our little guy. Meg’s starting to feel him move more and also finding it harder to get around. It’s really frustrating when your body won’t let you do what mentally you feel like you can do!
Yep, we’re in full baby pre-prep. And maybe we should have been in that mode a couple of months ago, but we’re trying really hard to slow down life and enjoy the last few months we have together as Cale and Meg. Soon we’ll be adding another name to that list and although it’s exciting we feel like we’re saying bye to a lot of what we knew. What was normal. We’re saying bye to sweet moments of sleeping in on Saturdays, and being able to catchup with friends on a whim.
Josie’s still trying to figure out what is going on…
I’m saying goodbye to my feet. The next time I see you will be when I’m holding our little man.
And we’re both saying goodbye to Bambi.
That’s right, Cale didn’t think the crib design was manly enough (I don’t know why?!) so we are painting it gray with a touch of orange!
We’ll fill you in with more photos later. Can’t wait to share.
But until then, we’re prepping for baby. As much as we can!
From the Farm
LIFE: It’s Better with Friends
This weekend we put on our party hats and headed into the city. Our friends Robb and Courtney are welcoming their second baby to the world, a baby girl in June, and we couldn’t be more excited to share in this journey with them! Let’s just say Meg and Courtney have had lots to chat about and compare (like baby bellies!). We were spoiled with fresh burgers and veggies off the grill along with homemade ice cream (served in the cutest little mason jars)!
Life sure is better when shared with friends!
Handmade decorations in pink and purple… definitely the “cutest” BBQ we’ve ever attended (and Courtney claims she’s not that crafty)! It was the perfect way to welcome their little girl and celebrate with friends.
Thanks for spoiling us with great food and great friendship! We love you both and are still considering that arranged marriage if you are interested!
From the Farm
PS Get Courtney’s recipe for Pink Lemonade Layered Cake in the 2012 May Better Homes & Garden Issue (you’ll have to become a member to get the recipe online)!
LIFE: Oh Boy, It’s a BOY! :D
When we first moved into our farm house, nearly four years ago, we had a lot of work to do! We live in the house that was homesteaded by Cale’s family in 1910. We don’t have central heating and air (thank God for window units and gas heaters!), our bathroom kinda protrudes out of the rest of the house layout since it was a much needed upgrade to the original house design (in place of an outhouse), and the second floor no longer exists (featured in the photo above). Apparently Grandpa Woody lost his leg and his wife didn’t want to go up stairs and have to clean the top floor (cause back then you cleaned the entire house instead of shutting off the entire top floor for the general public), and so they had the farm hands take the second floor off! 
You could say it’s definitely full of “character”… so much “character” that my mom freaked out the first time she came to visit us because of it’s wonderful “character” (and much needed work)!
It’s taken a lot of vision and foresight to make this place home. I’m not gonna lie the first year we lived here I didn’t put anything on the walls because I myself was unsure of really making this place “home”.
But now, I love our little farm house. I love our first home and the amazing opportunities that have come up because we’ve chosen to live in this old house. Some of our “designer” friends come out to visit and think we are a little crazy. They prefer pristine white apartment walls, white washed wooden floors, and the sounds of the city. But at night, when all you can hear is the bugs and the frogs I swear it’s pure magic! It’s then that you realize what makes this place so wonderful. I often wonder what type of history has lived in this space before us? What were the children like that ran around this once working farm? Oh what fun stories I’m sure these walls could tell!
It’s beautiful, and I can’t think of a better place to raise our first son! We may not have very much installation in our walls (that is what extra blankets and footed pajamas are for!), and it’s true that our child will share their first bedroom with the washer and dryer, but it’s home.
It’s the place I will become known as “mom”, and Cale as “dad”.
Looking back it seemed like a tough decision to stick it out here, but we are so proud of this simple life we’ve chosen. All “design” chat aside, it’s everything we’ve dreamed it up to be. We cannot wait to see what our farm house will sound like with a little boy running around catching bugs (or chickens) and coming in and saying “I didn’t do it!”.
Bring it on little baby boy! We’ve been waiting for you.
From the Farm 
PS The photo above is an original family photo (and one of my personal favorites) of our farm house with Cale’s Uncle John as a little boy. Apparently he liked to carry the chickens around as pets. 
LIFE: Blue or Pink? Moments That Change Everything.
This weekend we find out if we are having a boy or girl. It’s been a crazy week and one that has barely allowed us any free time to actually process what this weekend will mean… but, this is one of those moments that changes everything.
When we first found out we were pregnant we found ourselves constantly saying; “We just want a healthy baby”. But one night as we were laying in bed Cale revealed that he was just saying that because it’s the “politically correct” thing to say. In all honesty he really wants a boy.
So… since then we have been saying we really want a boy.
But, we just checked the Chinese Gender Predictor (that is over 700 years old) and it says we are having girl?! All I can think about is that part at the end of Sleeping Beauty when the two fairy Godmothers keep changing her dress… “Make it blue… No, make it Pink!”. Does anyone else know what I’m talking about?
I have no doubt we will welcome whatever gender God has given us, but the battle wages on in my head. What is this Little Noodle (that is what Cale calls it) inside of me? Ultimately, we are excited to know either way. 24 weeks and counting!
Here’s to a weekend full of BIG events!
From the Farm
PS Keep up with our nursery inspiration by following Meg’s Pinterest Board: I Have a Thing for Whales
PPS Whale image from Room29 on Etsy. It’s only a $1.00 to download and you can transfer it onto anything of your liking!
Lesson #4: Have an Orginal Idea
I think for creatives, for anyone really, the hardest part is coming up with that truly “original” idea. But, sometimes it doesn’t take a truly “original” idea, it’s just looking at something that has been done before and finding a way to make it better and make it your own. How can you take a tea towel and customize it to your design aesthetic? Are there products that you love, but that you wish came in a certain pattern or function? Our entire Kitchen Line was started with a need for a modern Mixer Cover Design. When I couldn’t find the style of prints I wanted I decided to make and sell my own. I can’t tell you how many handmade stories I have read where entire businesses were started from an absence of a specific product someone was looking for.
To help define if your idea is original you have to be able to look at your product and/or service and answer the following questions (be honest now!):
- How can we make our products/service more original and uniquely our own?
- How can we make our products better and different than our competition?
- How can we make our products/service harder for people to copy just from seeing a photo or sharing a bit of our process?
For us the process of answering the above questions developed as we walked through the following phases in our product development: Phase 1: Materials, Phase 2: Production, and Phase 3: Value.
PHASE 1: Materials: While it’s ok to start with what you have it’s also important to think about the type of materials you are using, what do they say about your brand, the over quality they add to your products, and their availability? Stores want to sell and customers want to buy a product because of it’s unique materials and style. If you have to change your product depending on the materials available it can be harder to establish brand recognition and in turn see a consistent profit.
Originally we started creating our concrete jewelry out of materials we had found like: rope from the old pull windows we took out of our house, recycled wire, carved bones, found buckles in an old shed, and metal casings we purchased at a local craft store. All these materials worked great until we sold out of that particular style of necklace and people wanted more! It was at that point we felt stuck because we didn’t know if we could re-create a similar design without those exact materials. We decided to think of our first initial jewelry set as a sort of “test” round. Taking a step back we did lots of research and established new relationships with vendors that were reliable and could provide an unlimited quantity should we need to order large batches in the future. By slowing down our production and taking time to find quality materials that were available at our disposal we were ready to meet the need we had created within our own market, felt confident about the materials we were using, and also opened up the doors for both consignment and wholesale retailers.
LIFE: Easter Weekend
Two weekends ago Cale worked at the Architecture firm till late on Friday and all day Sunday.
Two Saturdays ago Meg’s ankles swelled up for the first time (21 weeks and counting!) from cleaning out the milk barn all day and, helping Cale cleanup the yard and flowerbeds from a long winter.
BUT this Saturday, we had our first big bonfire with friends.
This Saturday we got lost under our favorite tree (in front of our house) playing old school yard games.
Killed about 300 301 Mayflies (RIP).
Took the tops off our cold frames and built a third raised bed (bring on the hot weather plants)!
Went to our first Easter Sunday service with Little Noodle (Meg cried).
And added venison to our fall menu (taken from a friends night cam on our family property)!
It was a beautiful weekend and just what we needed to remind ourselves what all this “work” is for. There are a lot of people who love the idea of owning land, but it’s also a lot of work! Your weekends are full maintaining and updating the property, on top of working a full-time job, running a home based business, staying on top of household chores, and all that other stuff you have to do as an adult. There are small moments we relish the idea of a city plot where mowing takes 30 minutes (with a push mower), but then we have weekends like these and we’re reminded just why we could never live anywhere else.
Here’s to many more summer nights under our favorite tree, slow Sundays with family meals, and wondering how it will all be different next year when we have a little one running around.
Happy (late) Easter Weekend everyone!
From the Farm
LIFE: The Right Stuff
When was the last time you spent sometime in the baby aisle at your local retail store? Have you really looked at all the stuff they tell you that you will need for your new Little Noodle? Recently, Cale and I were purchasing items from a baby registry and I swear we could have gotten lost in all the gismo and gadgets (who knew there were so many options for a pacifier?)! I realized then and there that if we got this child all the “stuff” that they say you need our little farm house would only have room for one baby! I’m not saying essentials like diapers and bottles are not important, but seriously how do you even know where to start? How do you know what really is the right stuff?
I don’t know if this makes me a bad parent or not but I kinda figure the Little Noodle’s necessities will be met one way or another (the Grandmother’s are already bringing stuff over); but, the part that freaks the hell out of me is how do you as a parent provide the other stuff? The life stuff? How to create a since of hope and adventure? How do you cultivate an explorer instead of someone full of fear? These are the questions I’m more worried about. I know the Little Noddle will have plenty of toys and as far as the breast feeding equipment goes, well… I’ll figure it out! But what weights more on my heart is establishing a safe place for our child to dream big. A place that cultivates new ideas and a since of wonder.
Below is a list of images that have inspired us as we create a space for our Little Noodle.
Green Couch Design started from a place of dreaming big and that is exactly what we want to instill in our children. Call me crazy but I think the right stuff starts with the nursery decor. I’m more of a visual person anyway so we’ll get to the gismos and gadgets later.
First, let’s create a space that speaks to the heart and soul behind our vision and love for family.
That’s my kinda stuff.
From the Farm
PS See more of my nursery ideas on Pinterest.
LIFE: Waiting
It seems lately we’ve been doing a lot of waiting.
Waiting for spring.
Waiting to find out the sex of our Little Noodle.
Waiting for checks in the mail.
Waiting for our next vacation (1st week in June!).
Waiting for the rain to pass.
Waiting for the asparagus to grow.
Waiting for parenthood to begin.
Waiting for this project to end.
Waiting for the fabric to come in.
Waiting for an email.
Waiting for the grass to get just a tad bit taller (so we can mow it AGAIN!)
Waiting for a new car.
Waiting for a free weekend to catchup on the “house”.
Waiting to get our products in more stores.
Waiting to make our next BIG move with the business.
Waiting to find a photographer.
We’re learning a lot about waiting and it’s kinda hard.
From the Farm
Lesson #2: Work Smarter Not Harder
This week we’re sharing lesson #2 in our series about running your business around your home life instead of letting your business run your home life. Figuring out how to work smarter not harder (thanks for the title James!) has been a very important lesson for us and something that we are still working on implementing. In order to work smarter not harder you first have to recognize that even though the marketing world would tell you something different there is no right or wrong way to do this. It honestly starts with knowing your own lifestyle and business perimeters and setting up tasks to help you stay within those boundaries. This will look different for every person, every family, every business. If you are single you may not mind working late into the night and if you are a mom you may find that you get your best work done early in the morning before the kids are up. Either way, you figure out how to work smarter by first recognizing what daily tasks are foundational elements to establishing a satisfying home life for you and your family.
Start by asking yourself what are the day to day tasks that have to be done in your home life? As fun as it is to dream up the perfect home life at the end of the day what stresses us out is the stuff that everyone has to deal with; chores and all that responsible adult stuff! More often times then not it’s the daily tasks of running a household that can easily distract you when you work from home so it’s important to figure out what those daily tasks are and how they align themselves up with your preferred lifestyle.
For me (Meg), my list looks like this:
Based on the list above there are four categories that are important to me and the home life I desire to have:
- Chores
- Marriage/Immediate Family
- Personal
- Social/Friends/Extended Family
By going back through the individual pieces that make up each category I was able to establish simple, everyday tasks that have helped me meet and maintain a healthy and realistic balance to my preferred lifestyle:
High class design in overalls. It's the simple life of a farm through the eyes of a couple of crazy designers. We call ourselves Green Couch Design and we are Bringing Design Home.
