Ferndale Day 1

Friday, September 18

Ferndale is truly a gem. Nestled in Humboldt County, in far Northern California, this little Victorian town is a must see. I grew up in Northern California, and honestly had never heard of it until a few years ago (it's THAT North, haha!). 
Ferndale was settled by European immigrants who came seeking a better life, and quickly became a hub for the dairy industry. In fact, dairy was so lucrative early on, that many huge victorian farmhouses were built in the area, and were dubbed "Butterfat Palaces". It was fascinating driving around and seeing the HUGE victorian farmhouses. If you're interested in staying in one of these gorgeous farmhouses, check out where we stayed here. 
Our first day in Ferndale we packed a lot in, and the kids LOVED it! We spent a leisurely morning at the farmhouse, making hearty bowls of oatmeal with brown sugar and blueberries. Then we drove out to Centerville Beach, which was about a 10-15 minute drive. The beach was beautiful, and for a holiday weekend, there was barley anyone there. Beaches this far north in California are cold, and it was a bit windy...so perfect for flying a kite and making sand castles. The kids dug holes and collected shells, and we took a family walk. The water was frigid, but of course Avonlea wanted to go in. That girl LOVES the water. 
After the beach, we packed up and headed to downtown Ferndale. Oh my goodness, it is so adorable. We were starving so ate at Ferndale Pizza Co, and its as delicious. If you are gluten free, you're in luck! Their gluten free pizza was amazing, as was the regular pizza. Directly across the street was a little ice cream shack, so of course we loaded up. 
We then took a stroll down main street, and made sure to hit up The Farmer's Daughter. The family we rented the 1880's farmhouse from owns this store, and it did not disappoint. Think Magnolia Market, but with way more antiques and all sorts of adorable things! I actually bought two dresses from here. And, if you stay in their farmhouse they give you a discount at the store, score!! 
After cruising the town, we headed back to the farmhouse for naps. The farmhouse itself was spectacular, so I enjoyed reading, journaling and resting in it's beauty. That evening, a friend's sister came over and babysat for Kevin and I so we could go on a date. We had made reservations at a really iconic restaurant in downtown Ferndale called Ivanhoe. It's an Italian place in an old saloon, and so cool. They had actually just opened the dining room for eating (instead of just having the patio open), and its as so much fun. The food was delicious. Highly recommend it! Also, I wore one of my new dresses from The Farmer's daughter on our date:) You can see the pink one at the very bottom, under the Ivanhoe sign! 
After dinner we headed back to the farmhouse, put the kids down for bed, and snuggled up to watch a movie and drink tea. A perfect day had by all!! 
ps- Thank you ALL so much for your excitement about baby #3! You showed us so much love on IG & FB and we are so grateful to you all:) xoxo 

Exciting News…Baby #3

Wednesday, September 16


We are excited to announce that Baby #3 is on it's way. We are due March 2021 and are rejoicing and praising God. The last 6 weeks have been pretty rough for me sickness wise, so i'm ready to be out of the first trimester this coming weekend! 

The kids have been so cute and hilarious about the news. Avonlea loves to tell everyone we see "MOMMY HAS A BABY IN HER TUMMY!!!" (yes, she speaks in all caps when she tells people, hehe!). She loves to come and rub my belly and say "I love you baby". Everett has taken to patting my belly and saying BABY! BABY! over and over again. It cracks me up. I don't really think he has much of a clue of what's coming, but he's pretty sweet with other people's babies, so I'm hoping that's a good sign. 

Each child is a miracle, and with both Avonlea and Everett I kept a prayer journal where I've enjoyed looking back and seeing the prayers I prayed over them and the dreams I had for my babies. I also love asking God for verses for my pregnancies and labors, and verses for my specific baby. 

I'm feeling like this baby is a girl, only because i've been sicker. With Avonlea I threw up constantly for a few months, but with Everett I didn't feel sick at all. This baby has made me feel really sick, but I haven't thrown up at all (which is a total plus!). We will find out the gender for sure before the baby comes, so we'll see if my prediction is correct. However, Avonlea, from the day we told her, has said it's a girl every single time we ask her. And when I was pregnant with Everett, she told me it was a boy every single time we asked her. So she just may have special powers, that will remain to be seen at the ultrasound. 

Thank you for being excited with us xoxo Here are a few pictures we took at the farmhouse this weekend to announce our pregnancy! If you didn't see the farmhouse pictures yet, click here! 









The 1880's Farmhouse of our dreams!

Monday, September 14


When life give you lemons…you make lemonaid…which is kind of the motto for 2020, right? We were supposed to be in Europe right now! We had planned to go with my family to the Dolomites in Italy, then spent a week in Hungary with just Kev and the kiddos, and finally fly to England to visit some of our best friends. Well thanks (but no thanks) to covid, we had to opt for something a little more local. 

Initially we had considered Oregon or Idaho…but when we actually thought about a massive road trip with a toddler and a baby…well…it didn't quite sound so "fun". Fortunately, at the 11th hour (when we were like WHERE SHOULD WE GO!!!) one of my close friends gave me a pamphlet (yes, people still make pamphlets! ha) on this adorable old farmhouse that her friends in northern California rented out. I took one look at the gorgeous interiors and the luscious countryside and said YES AND AMEN! 

Now…we live in Northern California…but California is a big state and this is even more north than we live! The farmhouse is located in the adorable historic town of Ferndale, and neither Kev or I had ever been there (or even heard of it, haha!). Ferndale is located in Humboldt county, 10 minutes from the beach. 

I will save our description of our trip for another post (but i'll just say it was amazing and you should go to Ferndale tomorrow) because today I want to talk about this farmhouse. Because it is epic. And because I think you need to book your next trip there asap! 

Years ago, a very incredible family purchased this property which housed a farmhouse from the 1880's as well as a huge barn. When they fixed up the barn to host their daughter's wedding, they realized it was the perfect place for a wedding venue to start renting out. This led to their decision to completely remodel the farmhouse, which they did on their own. Merrit, the mom of the family, and her daughter drove to Texas and scoured all the big antique markets to find the most gorgeous and amazing furniture! They rented a uhaul and brought it back to California to furnish their house. 

You guys…walking into this house felt like walking into something flipped by Chip and Joanna, except even more magical because of it's unique location in a gorgeous pasture with cows, minutes from the stunning coast line. I told Kevin that we didn't even have to do anything on our trip except hang out at the house, because it was really that beautiful. 

While we did take little day trips, a huge portion of our time was spent just soaking up the aesthetics of the house and property. Walking the 150 acres around the farmhouse (including 2 ponds), roasting marshmallows on the porch around their fire pit, snuggling up together on the couch to watch a movie, and making brunch together as a family and sitting at their stunning antique dining room table. 

Sadly, because they use their barn as a wedding venue, they legally can't advertise their home on Airbnb. BUT…the good news is you can directly contact them to rent their beautiful farmhouse. Just today my neighbors (who wanted to get out of the smoke because our county is literally on fire) called up Merrit and booked this beautiful farmhouse for the whole week! So i'm telling you, if you need a vacation or a respite from your life…I'd love to pass on this recommendation for their home. And as an added bonus, it was so affordable! 

Merrit let me know that the best way to contact her is by phone. If you'd like to book, please get a hold of her at (707) 407-7550. For more pictures and info, you can see their website at www.atthebluff.com and their IG @atthebluff

Enjoy the photos!! I'll be sharing some fun videos in my stories on IG so feel free to come follow along!! And stay tuned for our itinerary of Ferndale. It's a perfect place to go with kids!!