Easter 2021

This Easter was so special for many reasons!

First, because of what it means to me as a Christian...that Jesus conquered the grave and came to bring us LIFE! I love waking up in the morning and shouting "HE IS RISEN" and having someone else echo back "HE IS RISEN INDEED!". What a savior we have in Jesus.

Secondly, it was Avonlea's 4th birthday. While we threw her a birthday party the day before, we have a family tradition of doing breakfast in bed on her actual birthday. She requested Lucky Charms (which she has never had before, but she saw them at the grocery store one day and asked for them. That was 2 months ago and they've been sitting in our cupboard ever since haha!). She got SOOO excited when we waltzed into her room singing happy birthday, and squealed with delight opening all her presents! I grew up with this tradition, and love passing it on to my kiddos!

Thirdly, this Easter was special because it marked the first time in a year when our entire family has been together for a holiday. All my siblings and their spouses, my aunts and uncles and grandparents were able to all come. It was sunny and gorgeous outside, so we were able to celebrate amidst the gorgeous Dogwood blooms of my parents trees!

The egg hunt was a total delight for my kiddos, they got so so excited to hunt for eggs! Don't kids just add an extra sparkle to holidays? I love it!

I hope your day was lovely and beautiful and redemptive! xoxo 

{kids LOVED the egg hunt so much! We kept taking eggs out of their basket without them seeing and re-hiding them! So it went on and on! haha} 






{my sister and her husband with our sweet girl!} 

The 1880's Farmhouse of our dreams!

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!!