Author: narciddreffs

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Monday

by narciddreffs1 Comment on Monday

Happy Monday, friends.  I want you to know that my heart is sad today…..I know that many of you are sad too.   What happened to George Floyd (and so many people before him) breaks my heart, and I am sure it does for y’all too…but if you are like me, it’s so hard to know how to use that broken-heartedness and channel it into change around you.  Do you find yourself in this same place?  If so, I am going to share something with you that might help.

My pastor challenged us this weekend to engage in and show our love to ALL people in our immediate communities.   Black, white, yellow…everyone.  This is the Gospel and what we are called to do, and it’s something that we can all do better.  Actions speaking louder than words, right?

I think love can take the form of speaking out….We can and should make it clear on our platforms that we won’t stand for racism. You don’t have to be an “influencer” for this.  In fact, you influence the people around you in the most beautiful and organic way.  In my opinion, that’s equally (or arguably more) impactful than anyone who has a large social media following–from your home to work, friends and family.  Wouldn’t it be even more powerful to be doing this while standing beside our precious black friends in our communities and showing them how deeply they are loved through our actions as well?   I think this can look a bunch of different ways…be creative and think about who you can love on during this time….  to show that that you care and SEE them in their pain.    Building relationships and breaking down barriers…it’s a beautiful thing if you think about it.

Anyway, I just wanted to share this with you, because it helped me know how I can help.  And, in case you find yourself in the same place…where you are wanting to learn more, I wanted to pass it along to you too.

I will see you back here on Wednesday with What’s been going on! See you then! XOXO Narci

Edited to add:  As I’ve watched how our country is hurting this week, I just don’t see how I can post for the remainder of this week.  The pain is so deep for our black brothers and sisters.   I am grieving with all of you over this and taking some time off this week to dig into my community and to see how I can make a difference.  I love you guys, and I will see you on Monday.

XO Narci

Recipes

EASY Berry Shortcake Buffet-Style

by narciddreffs10 Comments on EASY Berry Shortcake Buffet-Style

The weather is getting warmer, so I am thinking about whipping up some of our favorite summer desserts!

I love a good strawberry shortcake, because it can be prepared the night before and something about the layers just makes it feel a little fancy. 🙂 I have a strawberry shortcake trifle recipe that I love, but on the days that I need easy, we serve it buffet-style and it’s always a crowd favorite.

Ingredients

  • 1 large angel food cake.  (I used a mix for this, but I am anxious to try this from scratch at some point)
  • homemade whipped cream
  • 2 lbs fresh berries, cut in 1/2 (if berries are extra large, they can be cut into quarters

Directions

I baked the cake and tore it into fun bite-sized pieces, washed and cut the fruit, and prepared the whipping cream.  I served it at the bar just like this and let my family go to town.  It was a huge hit!

Happy Friday, y’all!! Xoxo N

 

Family, Home Projects and Decor

This and That

by narciddreffs9 Comments on This and That

Happy Wednesday, y’all! I am so happy to be back with you and here today!  Did you notice that I changed the look around here ?  I just cleaned things up and added a few fun changes as this space evolves.  Thank you for being here!

In other news: we are three weeks from closing on our new house, and one of us will say something like “I can’t wait to move to the new house” at least once a day.  To say our family is excited is to put it lightly.

I’m being careful about what I share on here, because it’s not officially ours yet, right?   (I will sigh a HUGE sigh of relief on closing day when I don’t have to be so guarded.)  For now, here’s a quick picture from the road. 🙂

Here’s my precious realtor in front of our dream door. I still need someone to pinch me and tell me this is really happening.  

In other news, we are making our way through packing quite nicely!  Slowly but surely! 🙂 We’ve been tackling the worst places first.  You know: attic, garage, kitchen, closets.   

In the meantime, Luke graduated from 5th grade and is heading to middle school next year.  I am super excited for him!  This year, Luke settled into himself, gained so much confidence, and grew in so many ways..  We couldn’t be more thankful!

And, Miss Presley is off to be a big 5th grader.  She had a great year also! This girl gained so much confidence academically and is soaring.  What a blessing this has been for her.  

Their principal and teachers have been amazing.  We are so thankful!

And now?  It’s summertime for these guys and we are settling in nicely!

These are the days, y’all! See you back here on Friday! XOXO Narci

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Memorial Day

by narciddreffs6 Comments on Memorial Day

Today, we honor the cost of our freedom.  Taking today to reflect on this here.

If you have a loved one or family member that has passed away while serving our country, I am so very sorry…and I thank you from the very bottom of my heart.  My words could never be enough in this situation, but I am so very thankful to live in a country that honors their sacrifice.  Much love from me to you.  I will see y’all back here on Wednesday.  XO

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.–John 15:13

Home Projects and Decor, Uncategorized

Outdoor Fun!

by narciddreffs8 Comments on Outdoor Fun!

Do you know what my mind is on?  Outdoor seating, outdoor spaces, and all the room we will have at the new house. I thought it might be fun to share a few of the budget hacks that I’m using to create a really pretty space for us!  I know we all are planning on spending more time outside so I thought this might be useful for others too!

Since our yards have always been small, We’ve never had a great outdoor space that has allowed for meaningful outdoor time, so I am super excited for this at our new house.  I actually have been collecting outdoor furniture from friends as they decided to change to new furniture, so we are all set on that. We have a great table and chair set, and a few extra chairs and fire pit. What a great start, right? I’ll be spray painting all of those items for a fresh and clean look. Yay for design on a budget!

Also, our front porch is needing a great porch swing, so we are are planning on following this tutorial for a swing bed.

Isn’t their finished product so dreamy? I will definitely keep you posted on this project!

And, speaking of swinging, our awesome hammock chairs bit the dust this winter, so we are looking at these hammock chairs as a replacement followed spray painting the bases that we already own for a fresh look with a lower cost.  It should be so pretty!

I love this off white one as well.  I am going to put these around the fire pit with a few Adirondack chairs.

Another low-cost hack for inside!

We are moving our TV stand into the kitchen nook to act as a buffet, and these brushed gold handles will be so pretty to update it to a more modern look.

They are under $30 and will totally change this piece of furniture. I can’t wait to see how this turns out.

Can you tell that we are in full-on planning mode around here?  Also fun: I’m mapping out when the best time is to plant wildflowers and bluebonnets and patiently waiting to get baby chicks.  (I can’t wait for this!) What a FUN adventure ahead.

I hope you guys have a great weekend, friends. XOXO Narci

 

Family, Uncategorized

What’s Been Going On!

by narciddreffs8 Comments on What’s Been Going On!

What’s been going on here?  Oh, just a little bit of this and that! 🙂

On Monday, we had the inspection for the new house, and this has me so incredibly excited!  Honestly, Rob and I were floored when we walked through this house, because it was almost the exact same plan that we had hoped to build, on the exact same lot size we wanted to buy, and finished out in mostly our dream finishes.  And, even so, in our downsize budget.  How on Earth???  Only God, y’all.  I could cry just thinking about it.  The good news is that there are a few fun projects here and there but the inside is completely move-in ready. I’m still in shock about it all.

I guess we really are moving to the country. 🙂

Also, all our current furniture and decor is going to be great for this space.  🙂  We are having to donate quite a bit since this house is so much smaller, but the style is not so far off from what we currently have.  I am so thankful that there’s no need to buy new things.   Another huge blessing.

Other than packing, we’ve been enjoying Drive-In church at our local football stadium

And, it’s finally summer over here!  Woohoo!  This has me so happy for our kiddos.  They were rock stars during home school, but no more AP tests or finals or book reports or zoom calls!

We officially have a senior, a 6th grader, and a 5th grader. 🙂

Also, these days are rainy days cuddled in bed . Presley and I spent Saturday morning outside in the drizzle and rain….

and changed into cozy jammies and snuggled in bed after we were done.

A bunch of you guys asked about this top on my stories last week.

And, I think you will love the boutique that I picked it up from. The name is 31 Roots, and their selection and inventory is PERFECTION.  All of their clothing is super on-trend…and the quality is on-point too.  I really can’t say enough nice things. Everything is so cute!  I don’t know about you, but I love supporting small businesses when I am able to during these times.

Here’s another one of their cute tops!

See what I mean? SO CUTE! So, go ahead and check them out, if you’d like to.  If you decide to shop, you can use the code: narci for 20% off or FREE shipping for any order over $50!

Ah, these are the days, friends.  See you back here on Friday for a fun house DIY.  I am super excited about this!  See you then! XOXO Narci

Home Projects and Decor, Uncategorized

House Update & Packing Tips

by narciddreffs14 Comments on House Update & Packing Tips

Happy Monday!  In case you missed it over on the gram, we have some very sweet news to share over here:

We found and signed a contract for a house!!

I have SO MANY things that I can’t wait to share with y’all about the new house, but I am going to wait until it’s actually officially ours to dig in. Thank you, thank you, thank you for all of your incredibly kind words and sweet comments and emails about our news.  Your support has been just breathtaking and such a precious gift.   Thank you for being excited for our crew. We close in a month, and I can’t wait to share more about it all on here. We are just so very thankful!

Since we are packing things up over here, I asked y’all for some great packing tips, and oh my stars did you guys deliver!

Packing Tips

Quite a few people asked for me to publish these tips for you to reference later, and I am so happy to share them with you today! Before I do that, I added my 5 favorite tips (that were all you from you guys..thank you!) to get you started.

WHAT’S WORKED FOR US SO FAR!

  1.  Start with the hardest rooms first–We did the kitchen and master closet first and this was fantastic!  About halfway through the ktichen, I was regretting the kitchen.  However, now it feels so good to have this done. and not looming over us.  We’ve also done Presley’s room, the playroom, and the media room.
  2. Purge and then pack–since we are downsizing, I have made a pretty extensive donate pile during the process.
  3. Label everything.
  4. Pack away seasonal decor and items first.
  5. Ask friends for leftover boxes and packing materials.  This has been huge.  We have received so many donated boxes!

Want to check out the rest of the tips?  There were some amazing ones submitted.  Moving can be a beast, but these tips are so incredibly helpful. 🙂

 

Happy Monday, friends!  I will see you here on Wednesday with a little bit of what’s going on around here.  See you then! XO Narci