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My Life in Cell Phone Pictures.

Melissa Beene Ford/ Annie+ Katie

I’m sort of over this blog at the moment, if you couldn’t tell by my absence.

Well, not over it over it, but I’ve been wrapped up in bigger and better things…

Like, to start with, I quit my job.

This is the sky on my last 30-mile drive home, and every time I look at this picture it makes me sing in my head, “And it’s so wonderful… just to be here now… Praise Him under open skies.. Everything breathing praising God…”

 

We got our first hand-me-downs in the mail this week, a SUPER generous gift. And among all the fabulous, like-new girly clothes? These. Shoes. Oh. My. Thank you, God, for giving me another girl… 

Doing some cleaning and reorganizing of my hair bow room, I came across these: invitations to a long-ago Mission Party. Sigh. Happy Memories.

We took the girls to Splash Kingdom for the first time. We had SO much fun. Well, three of the four of us did; one of us doesn’t own a maternity swimsuit and had to just hang out and watch.

Which may or may not have been an excuse as I have no desire to flaunt my bidness in public whilst I’m sporting a seven month pregnant Body By Santa Claus.

You know what makes me happy? A new box of grosgrain ribbon in the mail. FUN!

You know what else makes me happy? Cucumbers from our very own backyard, covered in yummy, healthy, homemade, MSG-free ranch dressing made with fresh dill and chives.

A whole rack of hair bows in my home office… happiness. And even more so when there’s a cute freckle-faced girl playing hide-and-seek behind it.

I tried my hand at making from-scratch biscuits again, can’t seem to get them to taste like momma’s did when I was a kid. They tasted OK, but the yeast was old and they were sort of … hockey pucks. Sigh. I’ll keep trying.

Waiting for cousins to arrive.

This picture cracks me up because Katie was sitting at Chic-Fil-A drinking blue Powerade, and going on and on about how she loves her new toothpaste because it’s making her teeth so white. We almost convinced her her new toothpaste was making her teeth… really blue.

Annie requested a bow with bling and feathers to match her new USA t-shirt. I was happy to help. It’s the size of a dinner plate, but everything’s bigger in Texas, you know…

 

Silly Annie loves to smell everything. Everything. Everything. A chair at Toys-R-Us… for example…

There are some things in life that defy explanation.

 
My friend Jeanne sent me a care package the other day containing — among many fabulous gifts — this vintage Pyrex bowl. I love vintage bowls. And I mixed my lame biscuits in it the other day. Thanks again, Jeanne, for the bowl…. 

And did I mention that I quit my job? These are the keys I left behind on my former desk.Just thinking about it makes me sing in my head,“Feels like I’m born again… feels like I’m living… for the very first time… for the very first time… in my life.”

And so begins my new life of hanging out with kids, baking with vintage bowls, and making lots of hair bows.

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Comments

  1. LKS says

    August 8, 2012 at 3:22 am

    LOVE Annie's bow. I want one. Maybe without the feathers…not much of a feather girl…

    Reply
  2. Kathy says

    August 8, 2012 at 2:21 pm

    Hi Melissa,<br />You don&#39;t know me…I&#39;m a blog stalker and found you through another friends blog.  I absolutely love, love, LOVE your blog.  I have tried almost all of your recipes and they turned out great.  I make your famous hawaiian bread french toast with Wrights brand bacon every Saturday.  My family says THANK YOU!  Since I think you are a fabulous chef I was hoping you could

    Reply
  3. Melissa from the Blue House says

    August 8, 2012 at 6:55 pm

    You got it LKS! 🙂 

    Reply
  4. Melissa from the Blue House says

    August 8, 2012 at 7:09 pm

    I am with you on the pot roast!! It took me years but I think I finally figured it out. This is my original recipe here <br />https://www.thebluehouseblog.com/2011/07/sunday-lunch-bacon-seared-creole.html but since I posted that, I&#39;ve changed it up a little… 1) use only chuck roast, 2) I make my own cream of mushroom soup because the canned stuff has MSG in it (recipe here <br />http://

    Reply

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About Me


Hey there... I'm Melissa! Texas girl. Mom to three + one goldendoodle. Believer. Old house fanatic. Creating a happy + healthy home with purpose is my passion. I'm so glad you're here!

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I don’t know who’s big idea it was to strip 80 I don’t know who’s big idea it was to strip 80 years of paint off of this door down to the wood and start over… but that person has no business starting new projects. 😅 My neighbors must have thought this project would never end. *I* thought this project would never end. 😰 If you’re thinking of doing this yourself? Just don’t, ok? Throw the whole door away and buy a new one. 😂🤣 Just kidding.  Old house weirdos like me… we can’t just do things the easy way. Anyhoo… after some trial and error, @sherwinwilliams Celestial is what I landed on, and I have to say… I like it. Periwinkle-ish blue looks great with the yellow house and will look even better when the azaleas are in bloom. Was it all worth it? That’s not important right now. 🤭 Will I do this all again in two years? The magic eight ball says… without a doubt. 👏🏻 I’ve already picked the next color. #gluttonforpunishment #somefoolsneverlearn #oldhouselove #oldhomelove #makinghome #southernliving #gardenandgun #azaleadistrict #tylertx
Spring in the Azalea District makes the winters in Spring in the Azalea District makes the winters in an 80-year-old house completely worth it … what broken pipes, icy hardwood floors and drafty windows? 🤔 I forgot already. #comeonspring #azaleadistrict #tylertx
Happy Saturday ☀️ Happy Saturday ☀️
Salt Lake City is always magical ✨ Salt Lake City is always magical ✨
2022 had its highs and lows for sure, but scrollin 2022 had its highs and lows for sure, but scrolling through my pics from the last twelve months made me realize how blessed and content I am. Prosperity, love, and peace have been ours in abundance, in spite of the pain of losing my dad. The second picture is the last picture of him… the last time I saw him. 💔 But God has been good to my family this year and 2022 is ending far better than it began. 😄 #2022inreview #thanksforthememories
Who wants a Christmas tour of my home? 🙋🏼‍ Who wants a Christmas tour of my home? 🙋🏼‍♀️
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That’s it. That’s the tour. (Slide two). 
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It’s a new trend I’m starting: bare Christmas tree. Lowe’s tag still attached (so quirky and unexpected)! Christmas ornaments still in boxes. Coming soon to an Anthropologie window display near you. 
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Every year I think, “next year I’ll do better. Next year I’ll have it together.” And then, here we are on the SIXTH Christmas that we’ve been in this house, the sixth Christmas I’ve dragged our chaotic bunch of Christmas mess out of a chaotic garage I still haven’t unpacked from our move six years ago. 
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Maybe this year is the year I’ll organize it all and put it back neatly so that by Christmas number 7, it will be smooth sailing. People will flock to my social media to see how I’ve pulled everything off SO PERFECTLY. Next year will be my year. 
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Seems every year there’s less and less bandwidth for all these things. There’s more grief and stress, less money. More demands, less grace. 
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I put this sign on the wall in my office so I could keep it in front of my eyes: Love. Joy. Peace. And all that. I am SO unlike Jesus most days. So lacking in all of these character qualities. And that’s WITH waking up most mornings and spending my first 30 minutes with God Himself. 
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How lost would I be without that? Geez. I can’t fathom. I REQUIRE being transformed by renewing my mind every single morning, and even then, responding to people and life with love, joy, peace and patience doesn’t come naturally. 
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It’s the goal, though. 
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This weary world needs that from us Believers during this season, more than ever… even more than an Anthropologie-window-display worthy Christmas home tour. 
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I’m working on both.
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