Master Bedroom

I can't believe it.  After almost 11 years of marriage, my husband and I have our very first BRAND SPANKING NEW bedroom suite. Our first set we had was a king size and my husband had it when we got married. We kept that one for about seven years and I inherited my grandmother's queen set. That set is so beautiful with iron work and details. But the queen size was just a tad small for my 6'4" hubby and our 3 am daily toddler addition. So I turned my office back into a guest bedroom (update on that soon) and we headed out with our truck and trailer to our favorite furniture store. (Virginia Furniture Market) We found a few we liked...and when we saw this set? Neither of us needed to say a thing. King sized. Two toned. As you can tell, the master is right off of our kitchen. Our kitchen has white cabinets and black granite tops. So naturally, this set is perfect! New mattress (and amazing new pillows)....no for real. These pillows weigh about 10 pounds I may exagerate but are pretty much customized to the size of the person sleeping on them. I die......well...I sleep. Here are a few pics of our new master! I am slowly converting my house to as much white and black as possible and this is a start!

The only things I have left to complete:

Find throw pillows. Really leaning toward two chinchilla dark grey and an antler/buck pillow (I already own) in black and white

Spray paint the cross black. Right now it is copper and I'm thinking black would flow well. The cross is from Willow House years ago.

The view off of our kitchen...with my sweet lemon picture I painted a while back and my EAT sign a dear friend made. I love little details!

Drink bucket from Willow House years ago. Cutting board from Pioneer Woman.

Canvases of our three babies. These are 12x12 and I am planning on updating them soon. These are about 3 years old.

I loved the cabinet doors! My husband likes to "pile" his shorts rather than put them in drawers, so this set up is perfect! I also love the distressed pewter knobs and "feet" of the furniture.

Our bath is directly off the master

Can we take a second to admire these lamps? They are from WALMART! Can you believe that? I headed to several stores looking for grey lamps with white shades and came up empty handed. Headed grocery shopping and there they were!

And the comforter set? Yep....you guessed...Walmart as well!

I love this Monogram ring dish I found on Etsy years ago. The store I purchased from no longer sells these, but I'm sure you can find many more.

Tray from Marshalls

I purchased this dress form from Amazon and the mirror is from Pier One.

Aly - sunflower senior mini session

Our oldest. Wise beyond her years and beautiful beyond measure. This year, she is a senior in high school. Can someone tell me how time flies so quickly? I will never fathom the speed of time, nor do I want to. A few weeks ago, Aly and I headed to the sunflower field near our house. We live in a very rural area surrounded by cattle farms, tractors, and the most beautiful fields you've ever seen. One farm planted sunflowers this year. Acres and acres of sunflowers. I was honored to be able to capture a wedding at this farm through my photography business, but first, we headed out a few hours before sunset and I was able to grab a few of our precious Aly.

First REAL post

I can't believe this day has come. Yes....I think I've started blogging at least a half a dozen times...and honestly, I think I may have even started a few with that same line. But truth is...only ONE other blog has been 100% me. That was my first blog, The Busy Bee Mommy. I blogged about life, home, recipes, love, and family. Things that mattered to me. It was an outlet...a journal of sorts. I've tried blogging other things after that....but to be truthful, they all had another agenda. I was 'selling' something here....or advertising something there. But this? This is me. The real, raw me. This is me not wanting to forget life. My oldest is getting ready to go to college, my middle is embarking on her new world of high school, and my youngest is looking forward to his first year of kindergarten. These are the messy, chaotic, busy, humbling moments I never want to forget. So what you will find here? My attempt at healthy recipes (which usually consists of the easiest ingredients; and honestly, usually more budget friendly than healthy #nojudgementzone), my massive journey into minimalistic living (yes, attempting this with three children....and two dogs), my new personal career journey (more on that to come), and life. Frankly...this is just the current life of the Deals. The life I wouldn't trade for the world.

Meet Sandy

As a blogger, you read so many posts and articles about the importance of your "about me" page. Honestly that is one reason why I put it off for so long. What if I don't make people like me? What if what I write about myself is boring? What if I'm not engaging? Then I realized....I AM pretty boring. And there is really no way around that...now matter how flowery I make my "about me" page. So I decided to title it "Meet Sandy". You know, so the pressure is off. 

So with that? Here is a little about me.

I'm a wife of 11 years....we were married before we were even together six months. Can't mess with true love! We have three amazing children together. Our life is pretty easy and perfect most days; pretty mundane and uneventful. I wouldn't trade that for the world.

I truly have a love of good coffee, good wine, and vests. Yes, truth. I can throw a vest over anything and think I'm 100% fashion forward. Just don't ask my kids. I bargain shop anytime possible and have a true obsession with anything that has the name Joanna Gaines. I may or may not have even purchased the same blush she wears.....but I digress.

Speaking of blush. I LOVE makeup, yet I wear the same look virtually every day. I'm working on it!

My dream vacation used to be Hawaii...until that dream came true. As much as I loved Maui and the memories and views I have from there, Grand Caymans is my favorite. It may be the "high roller" status.....just ask my hubby. haha!

I live at the base of the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. We celebrate every season in all it's glory. I couldn't ask for a more beautiful hometown. Fall was my favorite season for my first 34 years. However, now all I want is 95 degrees and a chair on some beach somewhere. Is it because I turned 35? Am I hitting a mid life crisis? If so....I'm running with it!

So here it is. A few love letters of my life....most of the time, my little dysfunctional life. A little chaotic, and little messy and unorganized, a little more Chef Boy-R-Dee and a little less organic. But this is me.

Signed, Sandy

Test Post, two! Cook Nook and Lifestyle posts coming soon!

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Just a quick little test post. <3