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Carpet for the Bedrooms

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Did I mention that we’re putting down carpet? Re-carpeting the floors has very much been out of the picture since Day 1. With three huge dogs and a toddler, we’ve quickly made a total mess of the original carpets in the house. We fully intended to replace them with hardwoods as part of the remodel. However, since we’re doing the …

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Hardware for the Bathrooms

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When it rains, it pours. Now that we have a little bit of momentum going into the master renovation – we’re quickly making strides toward a full sprint. We’ve previously looked at fixtures at a handful of Kansas City shops. This week, we finally ended up at the Ferguson showroom in Lenexa. Game changer. In our 90-minute appointment, we solved for …

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The Ceiling Falls

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This is that exact moment when you look around a wonder if you’re doing the right thing. Scott is back in the master today pushing our renovation plans closer and closer to completion. Of course, things have to look worse before they can look better. Last week, we decided to vault the ceiling in the master. It wasn’t part of …

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A Shed for the Shooting Range

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Shortly after the arrival of Spring on the farm, Aaron and a buddy set up a shooting range in our back pasture. On a handful of occasions, the range has been used for target practice with handguns, rifles and (for me!) recurve bows. One ambitious week, Aaron loaded our garage with cardboard and paper targets. We’ve since collected a few …

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Day 1 of Many

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Demolition has officially started, again! To be completely fair, the original demo kick off was a random spirited day where Aaron and I thought we were going to make huge progress on this renovation by ourselves. After finding out we were pregnant over the summer, that changed. A lot. We finalized the plans in November and have, since, been interviewing …

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Back Home on the Range

In Livestock by Laura CrossleyLeave a Comment

Last week, our family took a quick little road trip to Estes Park, Colorado. While we were away, my dad took care of our cattle and goats while our house sitter Reagan watched the dogs, cat and chickens. As avid travelers pre-COVID, we never really had to worry about the abundance of animals that we’ve acquired in the past year. …

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Excellent Eggers

In Farm Life by Laura CrossleyLeave a Comment

We’re still collecting tons of eggs. I honestly couldn’t tell you what I thought would happen. But as the garden has faded away through the Fall and Winter, I guess I expected the eggs would be a seasonal thing too. Like, maybe chickens just don’t lay in the winter? Ridiculous, I know. Well, at least now I know. In reality, …

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A Crazy Night for the Chickens

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Last night was a pretty wild night in the chicken coop. We were later than usual getting outside to close the gate on the chicken run. By 8 p.m., everyone was in the coop and settled in under their heat lamp. With the gate open, a possum decided to help himself to the rotisserie buffet. Aaron pulled into the driveway …

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Snug in the Coop

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Chilly temps mean all the animals are spending the nights tucked into their cozy beds. The calves have a makeshift shelter to ward off the wind and snow. The goats have the Goat House with a heat lamp for extra warmth. And the chickens have …a rotisserie. The coop continues to be one of the most epic things we’ve managed …

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Billy Goats Go to Auction

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Today, our six billy goats went back to the auction barn. Seeing them go was pretty bittersweet to be honest. They’ve been awesome brush chompers through the late Fall and have really turned the Goat Trails into a pretty cool part of the farm. However, they stink. The very first thing we learned about all of the billies we acquired …