A Coffee Bar And Other Stories

You know, I always tend to think that I have nothing to blog about since I'm so preoccupied living life... And the ideas I do have wouldn't be good enough since I'm never accomplishing Pinterest-worthy things... But then I remember that this is a blog about real home-living! And when I take the time to ponder that, then the blog ideas just start flowing.....

We're never doing fancy or impressive things... Just enjoying our home and family; Reading books, sipping coffee, watching birds, playing the piano, cooking meals, doing school lessons, admiring early morning sunlight...

And I realize... THIS is why I blog...

To help teach the younger mama's that they don't need to leave their homes for a career to achieve happiness.  (Titus 2:4-5)  There is much freedom and joy in home living! 

~ Just stay home and love your family! ~

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You'll see that we lost our beautiful snow. Old Man Winter is settling down. He is never in a hurry, though. It is still too early for blooms on our trees...

(Look at that bright sky...)

But I am loving the longer, sunnier days!

"A society grows great when men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in." 

~ Greek Proverb ~

This is what our favorite tree looks like right now, but every summer she fills in and droops down, almost touching the ground... Giving us the most wonderful shady get-away!

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Did you know that it was my wedding anniversary the other day? 

Micah and I have been married for TEN years!

Aren't ya proud of us, friends?!

(*wink)

We leave next week for our Costa Rica trip, so I want you to know that I'll be taking a bit of a blogging break until we get back. If we're friends on Facebook you'll probably see a few photos come through your feed. I want to try to post a little on there, but other than that I plan to unplug and savor every moment!!!

Because of our upcoming trip, we decided that we wouldn't exchange gifts this year. 

I had a different idea, instead.

Hoping to avoid too much boring detail, I will just quickly give you the brief backstory...

We've had a Keurig coffee maker for years but it has lived in storage because I prefer a brewing pot. We sometimes pull it out at Christmas or other times when we're expecting a large amount of company, and a custom-made cup of coffee or hot chocolate is a nice treat for guests. But Micah has always said how he wished we kept it out all the time. 

I decided to surprise him for our anniversary, and set up his very own coffee bar!

Just a heads up, I do realize that there are photos of beautiful and stylish home coffee bars all over the internet. You've probably seen them. Mine is neither. (*eye roll...)

This is a real-life blog!!! 

I thought about what he uses when he fixes up a cup of coffee for himself, and assembled everything together in one spot.

I didn't buy anything new for this. I used items we already had. I pulled out his favorite mugs, his favorite sugar spoons, and put it all together...

If you're curious, this is what the buffet has always looked like before:

I think it looked much better this way, but the truth is it was useless. If there's a need in the family or a way I can make our home a more enjoyable place to be, than I'd rather give a pretty spot a more meaningful purpose!

My thinking was, We live here! Might as well make it comfortable!

Roman always likes to get involved in whatever projects I'm working on. He asked if he could make a sign for the coffee bar.

I thought it was a good idea, so I let him create it.

I think he did a great job!

Micah was very excited about his coffee bar and I've noticed he's used it everyday since I put it together!

And even though we said, "No gifts," he did come home the night of our anniversary with this beautiful bouquet for me!

Yes, I am lucky! Lucky! We all are, aren't we, girlfriends? 

Husbands, children, homes... 

There's nothing better in this world!

~ "Count your blessings name them one by one..." ~

I decided the dining room table would be a good home for my new bouquet...

I've been enjoying them over the last few days, as well as enjoying candles, coffee, books, music, and all the other wonderful things we get to do in our homes when the weather's still chilly.

But one of my most favorite home activities I enjoy is creating posts for this blog! Because it makes me feel like I'm visiting with sweet friends! You all ARE my friends, you know that, right?! Even if we've never met!

A funny side note, I received a Private message from a gal who's been following my blog. She asked if I'd be willing to meet her for coffee and a chat. She said, "I know we've never met, but I feel like you're my friend!"

Oh, what that meant to me!!! That did my heart a lot of good!

I loved meeting her and visiting with her! And now we are real life friends!

So! Friends... It is late...

And we need our beauty sleep!

I'll be back in a couple of weeks with traveling tales to share...

Until then,

xo,

~ Courtney ~