Frequently Asked Questions:
On Sewing and Crafting
• Will your new house have a new sewing/crafting room?
Yes! And I am so excited. It is a room right off the main hall and has wonderful morning light. When we lived in the house before, we used it as a sitting room and I loved drinking my coffee in that room before the boys got up. It has built in bookshelves across one whole wall which will be great for my new and vintage book collection. I am trying to pick wall colors as we speak. I can’t wait to have a girly room all of my own as I am surrounded by boys. And I feel very spoiled to have such a space to work in.
• What are some of your favorite finished projects?
I love using vintage fabrics or repurposing old worn out items. So my favorite projects would have to be this backpack, this apron bag and this crocheted rag rug.
On Junking (Thrifting, Rummaging, whatever you want to call it)
• When did you start thrifting (junking)?
I have junked all my life. I grew up in a family who each were on the hunt for items to add to their individual collections. My first collections were dolls that I found at garage sales and auctions. I couldn't wait to look them up in my parents price guides to see how much they were worth. My parents now have two antique stores in Weatherford, Texas and I love to go treasure hunting with them to this day.
• Do you resell?
Yes, I do resell some of my finds. I love quality vintage items of all kinds. Some of them are my style and some of them aren't, but I know they have the potential to fit someone elses's style. Sometimes I find things that are just such great deals that I just can not pass them up. And sometimes I use an item for awhile, and then decided it might be better living with someone else. You can find items that need new homes at my Vintage Chica Etsy shop. I plan on restocking soon with many of the great things I have found while here in Texas.
• How do you know what thrifty finds to go ahead and buy for resale? Do you just go with what catches your own eye, or do you research trends somehow?
No, I wouldn’t say I research trends. But I do read several decorating magazines. But mostly, I just buy what I love and hope that someone else does too. But I do sometimes buy something that I know someone collects and then see if they would want to do a swap for something they make. 
On Decorating
• What is your decorating "style"?
I honestly don't know how to answer this. I love anything that has a story behind it, whether it is shells we collected from the beach, an old painting I found at a garage sale where the woman tells me her mother painted it, my Dad’s old pair of boots, or an apron with lots of wear on the pockets. It is very eclectic with lots of color and personality.
On Being a Wife (and a military wife)
• Why did you fall in love with your husband?
Because he makes me laugh and reminds me not to take things so seriously (which I tend to do). He pushes me to do things I never would have the courage to do alone…like going to Nicaragua on a mission trip, learning to surf, and starting to write again. All of that, plus he is very hansom. He’s got a nice bum and gorgeous eyes (that my boys have all inherited) and he looks great in his uniform. He’s an all around great package in my book.
• Do you like being a military wife?
Not so much. But a with all jobs, there are positives and negatives. The positives are a secure job for my husband to support our family and the option for me to stay at home with the boys, good medical care, the amazing friends we have made, the travel and the opportunity to truly miss my husband and appreciate all that he does for us. The negatives are him being away from us and the stresses that go along with it and the moving so much.
• How long until you will see your hubby again?
He will be joining us in Virginia in December. As far as serving with the US Navy, he deploys for 6 months at a time normally. But he is gone quite a bit in addition to the regular deployments for training. The first year the twins were born, he was gone 9 months of the year.
• Will you be living in military housing in Virginia?
I am not your typical military wife as I say that with the utmost respect for other military wives. I am not a huge fan of military housing, no matter how cheap it is. I like having as “normal” a family life as we can and being completely surrounded by the Navy does not fit into that vision.
On Mothering/Unschooling
• What do you like most about being a mom?
I love watching my sons as they are all turning into incredibly caring, creative, strong people. I love seeing them actually putting the values we teach them into use.
• Will you homeschool all of your kids?
I actually do not consider myself a homeschooling mom. My oldest two start kindergarten at a public school this fall half days. More on this decision here. And we will supplement their education with lots of unschooling activities in the afternoons and encourage their natural interests. Does that make me a homeschooler? Or an unschooler? I would welcome either title, but don't feel like I really have earned the right to claim either.
• How old are your kids?
I have 3 boys. Twins who just turned five and my youngest is two.
• Will you have more kids?
I’m not sure. I don’t think I will ever get pregnant again, actually I know that for a fact unless God intervenes. But I would love to adopt a child at some point.
My Previous Life
• Did you have a career before you were a stay-at-home (working) mom?
Yes. I worked in the marketing field and did website design as well. I had no intention of staying at home and thought I would put the boys in daycare at 8 weeks. But when the time came, I just couldn’t do it. I encourage women who feel it is best for their family for them to go back to work after having their children to do so. Otherwise, I would not have my wonderful woman pediatrician. But, I know that with my husband’s schedule and no family to help most of the time, the best thing for our family is to have me at home and available for the boys. I do small website design projects from time to time and sell a few vintage items on Etsy, and I will go back to work again when the boys get older. But as long as my husband is working in his current job, I don’t think I will ever have a 60 hour a week job.
Answers to Random Questions
• If you were a dessert, what would you be?
Anything with chocolate in the recipe works for me, either molten chocolate cake or good ol’ strawberry shortcake. Why? No, major indepth psychology here, just because those are my favorites.
• If you could go back in time and do just one thing differently, what would it be?
I would go back and change some things that happened to my husband in his childhood that really affected him in a negative way later in life.
• Do you have any cool party tricks (you know like Molly Ringwald in Breakfast Club using her cleavage to apply her lip gloss)?
I can't think of any right now.
• If you could live anywhere, where would it be?
I would probably have to have a few houses as I love changes. I love Central and South American people and culture, so I would love to have a house there. I love Texas with all my heart, so I would love a little lake house down the road from my parents. I love to ski and snowboard with my family, and there is no place like Colorado for that. So, I think I would have small houses all over the place.
• What is your favorite old movie?
I love old westerns. I think because it reminds me of my Dad. I love Lonesome Dove, and old Gene Autry movies. But I also love watching Swiss Family Robinson with my boys. I have always wanted a tree house like theirs ever since I saw that movie as a kid.
• If you were single, jobless and loaded with time and money to spend, what place on earth would you most like to visit and why?
I would head directly to South America, probably Nicaragua, to open up a large orphanage. I would use the rest of the money to help women become self sufficient through farming and handcrafts I would establish an organization to provide healthcare for them and children. Also I would lobby the government to change the adoption laws in that country.
• What are the 5 essentional things you'd take to a desert island, and the 5 luxury items you'd take with you?
Essentials – a water filter, a knife, a box of needles, a good pair of shoes and a pound of dark chocolate
Luxury items – my crochet basket, the stack of non fiction books I keep telling myself I am going to read, my iron skillet, some burt’s bees lip balm and my mountain bike
• If you could invite anyone to dinner, who would it be and what would you serve?
I would invite my great aunt Grace Herdrich to dinner and serve some of the recipes out of her original cookbook. She was an incredible woman for her time and a great hostess. She grew up in rural Indiana, went on to college, helped run a huge canning company, hand painted an entire set of dishes for herself and taught me that ladies do not bite their nails.
Off to finish hemming...have a wonderful rest of the week. And I hope to be back with lots of rodeo pics from tonight including one of me in this sweet shirt.