Sweet Dreams… - Paperblog

So can we talk for a minute about how absolutely amazing my husband’s photography is? I had no idea what he was doing when he snapped the above picture, and then we got back and I saw it and… man. Gorgeous. Totally worth having to walk through some water and feel awkward posing for.

And this is also a good lesson in “pose even when it feels awkward” because I often feel silly doing poses, but they nearly always look good on camera. So, you know. That’s one of the tricks of the trade, actually; the husband was listening to a podcast with Tom Hanks, and he was explaining how most things you would do naturally don’t actually look natural on camera, so you have to tweak them. And then it feels unnatural, but to the camera’s eye it looks good. This place is my favorite place ever! All of these sweet peas grow by the inlet close to where we live, and it’s just… dreamy. Sweet peas have always been one of my favorite flowers (truth be told, I pretty much look at any flower and go “Oh! That’s my favorite!” Any wildflower, anyway), and they are my birth month flower, so when we discovered that they grow rampant by the road not five minutes away, I was ecstatic! Every time we visit the beach, I pick a handful to bring back with me. The ones I’m standing in front of actually grow down a bank that is only accessible when the tide is super low — if the tide had been high, I’d have been in water about waist-deep. But we were fortunate enough that the tide had gone out enough to snap these!

Every time we go out for pictures, I just can’t get over the beauty of our neighborhood! I would love to live out here permanently, but my husband doesn’t really like being as far away from everything as we are. Mostly because his truck is a huge gas-guzzler, and we aren’t as close to his parents as we’d like. (We live with my parents, which is great!)
We are currently saving up for a house, and I hope that once we’ve got enough for down payments and such, we can find a place that is happily between both parents, and in a good area. I’ve always loved the area where I grew up, which is a farm/hill country, and my husband likes it too. So I’m hoping we can eventually find a farmhouse that needs fixing and have our own space.

Of course, my dreams might be a little high for a first home, but hey. At least we know what we want! It might be a few years before we own something, though. I think the hardest thing for me is actually putting money away to save up for it, though — I have to have automatic transfers so that I don’t have to think about the money at all, or I forget or feel like we don’t have the money for it at the time. It’s silly, because we definitely have the money to put away a good chunk every month, but something always comes up, you know?

I’ve just got to buckle down and set it aside, and not worry about needing it elsewhere. This weekend made me realize how much I really want my own house, though! Not because I’m tired of living with my parents, because I love them, but because it’s just… nice. To have your own space to decorate.

And also, I’m tired of living in dark/windowless rooms.

Buying a house just seems so unattainable, though. It will happen someday, I know, but right now it’s just… such a far-fetched dream. We’re so blessed to be able to live with my parents so that we can save up easily!

Dress and sandals, Target | belt, thrifted | headscarf, grandma’s

I hope you all had a good weekend! Thank you for your support about my grandma’s passing; her funeral was overflowing with people whose lives she had touched. It was amazing; my birth-grandma came (my dad was adopted) as well as all of her kids who are in state, and there were literally people flowing out the doors, the service was so full. It was a wonderful celebration of her life as a godly woman. I’ve never been to a funeral so full of joy — bittersweet joy, but joy nonetheless.

Have a wonderful Tuesday!