Queenies Little Kingdom

Ever wonder what I do while I’m in Texas? Besides shop, get mine and Miss Lizzy’s hair done? It’s all really glamorous, actually. I can pretty much fill my day with a whole lot of nothing or I can get out and get busy while trucking all over northern Texas. I learned a long time ago to make the best of whatever my situation might be and my long weeks in Texas are no exception.

Every single day at any particular moment, these guys wander up to the house. Sometimes they are just munching on by and other times they are moving from one pasture to another.

They walk right up to the porch steps and so I try to keep a look out for that when I let my dogs out to potty. Miss Lizzy is the queen of cow arguing. If she sees them, she tells them off. They pretty much look at her like she’s crazy. Which….. is truth.

Sometimes, these beauties come running by like a scene out of a dramatic movie.

They like their life okay. I mean, they are the bosses of the cows, so there’s that. They get a little hot-shoddy sometimes and take off chasing the cows to another pasture. Talk about bossy!

Gracie runs this place, at least that’s what she thinks. She patrols the porches and keeps an eye on all the land that her dog eyes can see. She knows when someone is coming and kicks in to bark-your-head off mode. It’s funny for the first 5 minutes!

She lives the life!

Lizzy gets in a little porch managing as well.

She even sneaks in a few winks when time allows.

I climb up on whatever I can to get the best hummingbird pics. Yes, my life really is this glamorous. This same wooden bench is the one I busted my knee on while I was chasing wasps to spray. I should’ve looked down. I still have the boo-boo to prove it.

This guy does more than make IT magic. He climbs up on the roof to patch leaks and he climbs under the house to work on a/c vents after the skunks invade and wreak havoc. He’s more than just an IT stud, y’all!

But my favorite thing about him? Is this ——>

When he pulls on his boots and gets lost in thought before UNTUCKING his pants. He is my favorite c o w b o y! Just look, he’s so darned cute!

Some moments are just meant to be spent relaxing. I don’t want to mislead anyone and make you think I leisurely hang out in the nail salons. I don’t. However, there are days…

The only bad part of getting a great pedi is NOT having my best girls with me. Guess I’ll suffer alone.

Sometimes, the power goes out on the ranch. When that happens and it’s time for The Voice, I head to the lodge to watch. It’s really exciting being here in Sulphur Springs with Hannah Kirby still going strong on Team Blake! The whole town is proud of her!

Downtown on the square, the community gathers around and watches The Voice broadcast on big screens. I can’t help but join in with cheering her on.

I love Texas. It’s my kind of place. What’s a day like in your town?

I’ve got it bad for old windows! Everywhere I look, someone is posting another fancy way of incorporating them into their home decor. I don’t even know what it is that pulls me in and captures me. I just know that I’m in love and you can’t trick the heart into forgetting something it loves so easily.

Therefore, I swoon and pine for anything window related.

Last summer, I wandered over to my neighbor’s yard sale pile and noticed he had 2 old rustic windows laying on the ground for sale. He could’ve charged me $50, that’s how much I wanted those old suckers. However, he was moving and seriously getting rid of everything clogging up their garage. He said, “Oh, you can have them!” to which I said, “NO WAY!” So, I paid him $5 each and ran off with them back to my house. Then, I remembered….I’d seen those windows before, somewhere.

When I was house shopping and found our home online, this was a picture of our front porch. The owner of my house either sold or gave them to my neighbor when she moved. Hence, my windows….were back home. As in, MINE ALL MINE DUDES!

I’ve since moved them around inside my house for decoration reasons and I love them everywhere they’ve sat.

Here is where the wheels come off (inside my window lovin’ heart). As soon as I can get my hands on a fresh pile of old windows…..I will have my hubby creating this dreamy porch divider on my front porch.

Y’all, the love. Oh, the love I feel for that pretty junky window beauty! Ka-thump ka-thump, goes my porch addict heart.

For the entire year plus that I’ve lived in my house….I’ve debated over and over in my head just what I could do to my stairwell wall. It is plain and boring! This is inspiring me to do something special with my wall and including old window frames. Stay tuned.

Look at this!!!! OMG OMG OMG!! I can’t even hide my giddy love for this look. Maps make me crazy, I love them!!! Marrying them with an old window? Double crazy!

Gorgeous!

Make it stop!!! Now I can’t wait to get back home.

What’s your weakness? Old stuff? New? Modern? Vintage? Shabby chic? Rustic? Whatever it is, buy yourself something soon and change your whole attitude. Home is where the heart is, right?

Maybe your life is everything you dreamed it would be.

Maybe it’s not.

I bet you’re like me and many other women who’ve dreamed big, yet experienced the unexpected.

While you were busy chasing your dreams, life happened. It stopped you in your tracks and knocked you around.

This morning I was perusing a coveted neighborhood here in the Dallas area (just out of curiosity, I’m not moving) and I stumbled upon the most amazing home. It instantly captured my heart and I drooled as I wandered through each room from my laptop screen. My hubby who was working close by had no idea that I had escaped to a world that I didn’t belong. I asked him with a giggle, “Honey, do we have THREE MILLION AND ONE HUNDRED NINETY-FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS to spend right now?”

He said, “No!” and I snapped out of my fantasy and remembered that’s not who we are, gazillionaires. We’re Don & Wanda, parents to three young adults, owners of the 2 sweetest dogs in the world and gratefully, a part of the working class who actually have jobs and can afford to live a modest lifestyle.

A 3 million dollar house wasn’t necessarily on my dream list for my life. But, there were plenty of other things on it that I’d placed a high value on. Some of it might seem silly to you or someone else, that’s what makes the dream mine and not yours. Right? However, the unexpected moments of our life can change everything.

A divorce. I can’t recall ever meeting anyone that entered a marriage hoping for a big break-up in the future. Just about everyone steps into that dream with the hopes of a real happily ever after. When love falls short and relationships come apart, dreams are crushed.

Until you’ve had to start over and learn how to do life without the person you’ve pledged your heart to….remember to love on the divorced woman. Many are souled out, devoted mama’s who are left to hot glue the pieces back for their children.

That’s a picture of life unexpected.

A death. I was listening to a beautiful song today at the suggestion of my daughter. The words were personal to the writer and full of emotion as he sang of letting someone go. Our lives here on earth are so fleeting, yet we live as if we’re dying most days. We don’t pursue life with joy, we hum-drum our way through many of our days and miss out on living life to the fullest.

Death doesn’t ask if we’re ready.

I have good news for you and me. The unexpected isn’t always bad.

What we scribble on our hearts and watch life erase doesn’t always have to mean the end. Oftentimes, it’s only the beginning. God has transformed so many of my own painful moments into victories during my life and I’m convinced that my unexpected was never a surprise to Him. He knew it was coming and He stepped in on my behalf….

Because, He loved me. And, He loves you. Your unexpected is not news to Him. He is well aware of all your crushed dreams and I believe, He has something even better in store. So, brush yourself off friend and get ready.

Expect…the unexpected.

I don’t know who decided that I was strong enough to “handle” it all but someone did and poured down an epic bucket of stress….right on top of me. It started with the Dallas shopping trip.

GPS on my phone = EVIL!

Friday at 5 traffic, downtown Dallas…..person driving sick and neither of us good with cellphone mapping turned our fun day away from the ranch into a nightmare complete with tears. Yes, I cried (after I got home).

Judge me, I don’t care. It was my party and I’ll cry if I want to.

FYI: We only made it back home because I called my hubby on the phone and he literally talked us through the mixed up winding confusing roads of Dallas! THAT IS NOT AN EXAGGERATION!

I thought that once I made it back home (to the ranch) I’d just spend Saturday catching up….on my nerves! Which, I did, for the most part. I put on comfy clothes, curled up on the couch and even put a big ham in the oven for my guys who were busy working.

I felt so proud of myself. Until…

I got a text from my son asking if there was lunch and I proudly sent one back telling him YES! Ham in oven, ready and waiting. Then, I noticed how sunny it was outside and thought, “Hmm, I should put on my swimsuit and sit on the deck for a bit!” I’ve probably NEVER (I know I’ve never) EVER sunbathed on the deck outside here at the ranch. Why I decided this day would be a good one, I DON’T KNOW!

I was only there a few minutes when I see my hubby driving up the road and for a flash of a second, a thought popped into my head – I wonder if anyone’s with him? Oh how silly, who would be with him? As he pulled up RIGHT BESIDE me (in all my ugliest glory) and see HE IS NOT ALONE! He has the new General Manager/Vice President of Operations of the Reserve in the passenger seat and they look at me and drive s l o w l y on by (a thoughtful gesture, but still too late)! and instant humiliation washed over me! I wanted to crawl under the deck and never come out!

Ever have an idea in your head about how your first meeting with someone important will go? Yea, me too and this was not how it went down in my head.

He graciously stayed on task and headed on to another meeting where people were more than likely wearing real clothes. I hid inside until he was gone. Cause, I’m classy like that!

Meanwhile, I sent one of my girls a text wishing her a great day and she quickly sent one back saying her day was going awful. Her boyfriend had purchased very expensive concert tickets for her as a birthday/anniversary present and it was the big day but HE LOST THE TICKETS! They were most likely not going now and her heart was broken. I told her I’d pray and started my mom hand wringing (not knowing just how crazy this day was about to get).

A few hours later, she messaged me back. The tickets were recovered and all was well. They would be going after all. YAY! I sent her another message later in the day when I thought they’d be traveling to Indy and wished her a fun evening. She responds with, “Pray for us, we are broken down in the middle of the street in downtown Indy!”

WHAT?

We’re in Texas, she’s in Indy! No one is there to help her. Freak out time!

This story is long and complicated….so I’ll just tell you the end result. They had to call a wrecker(chaching $$) to pull it to my house so they could trade with my car in the garage and make it to the concert back downtown Indy. All of which, caused them to be very late to the show. The expensive, good seats, concert, show that they almost missed because of the lost tickets.

WHAT ELSE? DANG IT!

Meanwhile, back on the ranch (like, literally). Hubby & I thought we’d redeem the messed up meeting with the new boss by taking him to a fun dive restaurant for dinner. Off we went and a good time was had by all, until….

The car we were driving started pulling all over the road as if something was terribly wrong. Uhm, it’s probably a good time to mention that we are in the middle of no where and it is almost 8pm on a Saturday night.

Black cloud? Evil curse? Is it me?

We struggle to make it to a gas station and realize, we have 2 flat tires! Oh no, not just one….T W O !!! Both back tires on this jeep are flat! Hubby begins trying to get one off to change while I’m on the phone with the roadside assistance company seeking HELP! Six cans of Fix-A-Flat later, we drive it very very carefully down the highway to the restaurant (which had not a single seat left in the house) and wait for a wrecker to come get it and tow it back to a town.

I love my life!

Within a few minutes, we had a table….ordered some food and the wrecker showed up to rescue our broken down wagon. Luckily for us, the greatest human being alive (Norma our amazing chef back at the Lodge) was just finishing up her busy evening and agreed to come get us in one of the Suburban’s.

I wanted to kiss her!

We headed home a little after 11 just in time for a big ole’ Texas sized storm. Because, why not? Right?

Nice to meet you, new boss. Welcome to Texas!

I feel I must confess, I’m shopping like a boss today. Dallas is my city destination and The Galleria Mall is one target spot as well as Highland Park Village. So, while you’re here browsing over my fashion post…. I am out there beating the streets like it’s MY DANG JOB!

You’re welcome!

My partner in crime for the day (Sandy) has a few goals set for our adventure: 1) Find a Dallas based Personal Shopper. (Uhh, for her. Not me) and 2) Locate a very special pair of 7 Jeans she’s been looking for.

I’m in it all for her, y’all. Hehe!

The state of Texas is unique. It’s full of wide open spaces, little one-horse towns and happening bustling cities. Honestly, the never-judge-a-book-by-its-cover motto must have come from Texas solely based on the kind of dives on the side of the road that turn out to be some of the best eating you’ll ever find AND THE PEOPLE! People in Texas are very unassuming. What may look like a dirty cowboy very likely might be a millionaire land owner. All I know is that I love it here and I try my best to soak up every bit of fun and friendly that I can when I visit.

So, what do Texans wear? Pretty much all the stuff you think they do, actually. Here, let me show you…

Luchesse Cowgirl Boots $155.60 at 6pm.com

Ryan Michael Denim Dress $107.20

Junk Gypsy Not All Who Wander Tee $28

Miss Me Jeans $79.60

Turquoise Earrings $50

See, I told you. They wear all the cute stuff you think they do. More reason for me to love the place. Now, if you’ll excuse me….I’m off doing Dallas right with my buddy!

Hope you have a great weekend!

I’m smack dab in the middle of BigMama’s newest book, Nobody’s Cuter Than You and I have to tell you….it’s fantastic! If you’ve ever had a best friend (and I know you have) then you will laugh, cry and scream at all the stories she tells about her own sweet friendships. I left her a comment this morning that I’m purposefully setting it down every little while because I don’t want it to end.

Like a sweet friendship.

Her story could be mine or even yours. Each of us have weathered life long enough to experience real friends and fakes. We’ve been burned, broken up with and found deep forever friends somewhere along life’s path. It’s what we do with that stuff that makes us who we are as women and what kind of friends we will be to others that God sends our way.

This week, I was talking to my friend Deonne about finding forever friends. She mentioned how close she had become to a few of her younger cousins and that she had missed out on years of friendship with them because she was always the “quiet one”. Now, they are inseparable and she loves the relationship they share together. I thought about one of my very best friends (God sent my way, years ago) and how I almost missed her being in my life because I just wasn’t looking. Once I really noticed her, I have never let her go (Tabbi)!!!

Friends don’t always come in the packaging we are expecting.

For me, I’ve learned to NOT compete with or for friends. If I have to do any of that, they are probably not the friend that God has for me. I’ve also learned that MY STORY is important. It’s important for me to be willing to share it, grow from it and help someone else who can relate to it. Surprisingly, not everyone has a perfect life and not everyone has had perfect experiences. Honestly sharing what good can come from not-so-good situations can build some of the strongest friendships.

Don’t be afraid to be YOU. Ever.