Welcome to my first blog entry! This is a spot where I can share my journey of becoming “country chic”. Some might say I’m closer to being a “country chick” more than I am to being “country chic”. Nothing wrong with that but I’m looking for a lifestyle that reflects who I am and where I want to be. It’s a multifaceted approach with tips and advice I’ve collected over the years layer hen layered in with my own novel ideas, freebies, original poems and more. Below is an anecdote that better illustrates my endeavor for merging the “finer things” with my rural lifestyle.
Lord knows I try. Like recently, one Sunday morning we had time before church to sit down and eat breakfast together (all five of us). I tried to get everything ready for us to eat alfresco on the back porch. A few days before, I had set the scene with a newly purchased cute floral outdoor rug from Walmart, a large umbrella off of Facebook Marketplace, and our outdoor seat cushions I pulled out from their winter storage. There were also two pots of petunias that graced the top of the hand-me-down patio table and the cushions (that just happened to coordinate with the new rug) were on our hand-me-down chairs. (Jury’s still out if the umbrella goes with the overall motif.) Listen, it was looking good and I was looking past all the repainting that was needed to freshen up things even more. (That’s a later me “problem”.) Right then, I was basking in how far along the patio area had come and how breathtakingly beautiful the sunrise was as it came up over my neighbor’s house, over our field, and continued its reach over our woods. I wrapped my fuzzy robe around tighter and breathed it all in. For a morning person, it doesn’t get better than that! With the expectation of coffee and food to be consumed shortly; I was having a moment. I didn’t care who saw my curly mop of bed head or my bare face. But, to my credit, I was wearing “presentable pajamas” as Jennifer L. Scott calls them (more on that here.) Even my slippers looked nice. They are a deep blue with a large blue bow on top. (I love my robe and slippers…it needed to be declared.) The drinks and spoons were making their way out to the table and things were going swell when a dreaded buzzing noise sounded off. Next came the appearance of not one but five yellow jackets. The children were unsettled as you can imagine. I was undaunted because, well, this mom wanted her alfresco eating experience and would figure out how to get it. So, there I was, out there in my fuzzy robe, presentable pajamas, and coordinating slippers and I plugged in my vacuum and brandished the extension hose like a warrior princess (sans the stereotypical warrior princess cry). My children pressed their bodies up to sliding glass door and watched in the safety of the dining room as I bravely eradicated the yellow jackets via vacuum, pulling them to a dusty death. (My fabulous hubby was cooking breakfast at the time of the “event”.) My determination paid off because a few minutes later we did eat alfresco. Every now and then I would pop up out of my chair and suck up some more yellow-jackets as we continued our breakfast. It was a morning to remember, all together on the porch, with the sunrise before us…. and the buzzing vacuum behind us.
For more inspiration 😉 check out my current freebie “From Pasture to Polished: 7 ways to remain classy on the farm”. And my original poem “Moon: A Farm Poem” about those times when you accidentally forget to do your evening barnyard feeding chores until late at night.
Thank you for reading,
With love,
Brittany J. Fox
