Happy Friday, friends! I'm trying something a little different today. Instead of a design or DIY post, I'm sharing 5 random-ish thoughts about my week. Starting where I got this idea from...

1. That Farm Life

After stumbling across their blogs about a year ago, I've been following Amy from The Farmer's Wife & Karli from September Farm. You may not know this about me, but I grew up on a 500 acre dairy farm, and for a short time after college, Anthony was considering going into the family business while he was working for my Dad. While I'll probably never be a farmer's wife myself, I've had a lot of fun reading Amy & Karli's blogs (I also read Modern Farm Wife ) and thinking about how different my life could have been. 

After reading their Oh Hey Friday link up for so many months, I finally decided to join the party! Click here to see Karli's post and scroll to the bottom to see all the participating bloggers.

2. IKEA, You KEA, We all KEA

We'll be headed east for a housewarming party Saturday afternoon and have decided that's a great excuse to stop by the IKEA outside of Philly while we're out that way. I can't wait for some Swedish meatballs and a couple hours of perusing one of my favorite places on earth. Maybe I'll Snapchat about it? I'm @StevieStorck if you want to follow along. Either way, would you be interested in seeing an "IKEA Haul" post? Or maybe a "758 Things I Wanted To Buy But Didn't" post?

3. Neutral x Rustic x Global Townhouse Install

Wednesday was installation day for a big project I've been working on since October. Cynthia and I worked together to totally redesign the first floor of her townhouse. We tore down walls, widened door ways, chose new flooring, paint, tile and counter tops. Wednesday, I got to see it all come together with new window treatments, rugs, furniture, lighting and accessories. I'm really proud of this project! Here's a peek at the Before & After:

4. Keeping It Real

Another room I love is this bedroom designed by Claire Brody. She shared it last May as a part of the One Room Challenge hosted by Linda from Calling It Home. I love her eye for mixing patterns and colors in a way that most people wouldn't think of. This room is a mix of eclectic, bohemian and vintage and it just works! But what I love almost more than the room itself is the post Claire shared this week, The Truth About Our Master. 

"The truth about our master is that is doesn’t look like the photos I shared for the reveal last year. Which is a little sad but unfortunately not uncommon when you put your house on the internet.  You have a “reveal day” but you’re not totally finished with the room so you style it but the styling doesn’t stick long term."

Claire shares honestly about a DIY fail, and her indecision about the direction she wanted to take this room in a way I could really relate to. You might think that a designer's house is perfect all the time, but I can tell you that's not the case! As confident as I am when designing rooms for other people, when it's time to do it for my own home I get almost paralyzed by all the options out there. I need to stop overthinking everything and start getting things done. Claire's post was a great reminder that it doesn't have to be perfect the first time. Your room can evolve and change with your tastes and budget. Whew, that takes some pressure off!

Master Bedroom by Claire Brody Designs

5. Confession, I'm a Bachelor super fan.

It happened without me realizing it. I'll admit, I've watched just about every season from the last 5 years but in my mind I always prefaced that with "but I think it's a stupid show" and "I just watch for the dresses". I agree that the premise of the show is unrealistic and  the production techniques can be described as manipulative, at best.  But you know what? I LIKE IT ANYWAY. It's good entertainment television. Deal with it. 

Anyway, I realized my enjoyment of the show had crossed over into super fan territory when I found myself signing up for the Pre-Order list for former Bachelorette, Emily Maynard Johnson's new book I Said Yes (affiliate link). It arrived on my doorstop the morning of it's release (Thanks, Amazon Prime!) and I read the whole thing in about 2 days. While I won't say it's the next great piece of American literature, I do think that Emily has a very powerful story to share. For those who don't watch the show, at just 18, Emily experienced the tragic loss of her fiance, former NASCAR driver  Ricky Hendrick, finding out only days later that she was pregnant with their daughter. To find out what happened next, and how the heck she ended up on The Bachelor and then became The Bachelorette, you'll have to read the book! 

 I Said Yes by Emily Maynard Johnson

What have you been up to this week? Comment below or connect with me on Instagram @steviestorck

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