There's No Place Like Home

After being gone almost a full week, we got home last night around 1:30 am. I say this every time we get home from a long trip, even from one as dreamy as California, but there truly isn’t any place like home, is there? Messy sink, cluttered desks, shoes strewn about all over the floors and all.

Will share everything we did in California next week!!

Have a Safe Friday Night

Today was the rainiest, windiest day in recent memory.

It was so bad, in fact, that school was canceled, which means we had all three kids at home with us, just like the old days. They’re on spring break next week, so I guess their spring break officially started yesterday after we picked them up from school.

We went to the gym this morning, then to TJ Maxx and out to eat before the rain started pouring down. We darted to the car and promptly drove home to take shelter. They were saying it was supposed to be pretty bad in some areas, so we hunkered down and listened as the trees swayed and swooshed, looking like they might break at any moment. The rain was pounding the windows, begging to be let in, but I felt safe and content inside. I turned on the lamps and made some coffee as we settled in for quiet time, AKA, the kids took a nap while PJ relaxed on the couch and I read my book.

The house got so dark so quickly, but only for about 20 minutes. Then, out of nowhere, the rain stopped and the sun came out. Now it’s still windy but bright; the perfect way to start the weekend.

We’re heading out of town for the kids’ spring break and I can’t wait to share with you where we’re going!!! Hint: it’s very, very far from home and we’ve only been there once with the kids. We’re so excited!!!! xoxo

Family Dinner Night

Okay, answer me this: Is there anything better than sharing a meal with family, especially when it all comes together spur of the moment?

All we needed was the chicken. We had everything else from a small run to the grocery store the night before. So PJ went to the store and grabbed three roast chickens, which proved to be more than enough for our family plus my younger sister sister Sydney and her fiancé Elana, and my mom.

Sydney and Elana came into town from Chattanooga to visit for a little bit, but at the last minute, they decided to stay for dinner, too. PJ suggested I invite my mom, and when I texted her, she said she would be over as soon as the brownies came out of the oven. Yum!!

And so it was. We all sat down and ate and laughed and maybe had seconds of the brownies. It all felt very spontaneous and reminded me how much I love the fact that we’re all here within just a few miles of each other. Neither of us can ever imagine living too far from our family for nights like these alone. It was the best kind of night.

But then, after dinner, I got incredibly sleepy. Like, something-was-up-kind-of-sleepy.

And then today when I woke up, I was still exhausted, no matter how many cups of coffee I drank. I was so tired that I ended up going back to sleep around 9:30a for two more hours while PJ went to the gym and washed his car. I never take naps, ever ever ever, but my body was telling me I had no choice. I simply had zero energy and could barely keep my eyes open. After waking up and making more coffee and drinking an energy drink, I am finally starting to feel a little more back to normal. But isn’t that weird? I wonder what could have caused it, because I feel completely fine otherwise (I don’t feel sick, just so damn tired). I am reading to our daughter’s class tomorrow, so I hope I feel 100% by then.

Happy Wednesday, dear friends!!

The Light is Changing

Last night, PJ asked me if it felt like it was staying lighter longer during the day. He noticed how the mornings are finally brighter and, at 6p at the time of his asking, it was still very light out.

Come to think of it, I told him, yes! Which I couldn’t be happier about. I usually don’t want winter to end around this time of year, but we’ve been getting a taste of warm spring sunshine and it’s baited me in. I’m ready. I’m so ready. I’m ready for longer days and warmer weather and GREENERY. My allergies (and PJ’s, too, we’re discovering) however, are not. Dreading the months where I live on allergy medicine, but I tell myself it’s worth it every year.

The photo of our bedroom is from yesterday evening, where I couldn’t help but notice the gorgeous light hitting our bed frame. Also, please notice how sparse and soulless our bedroom is looking these days. Sad. Our roof is leaking which caused the curtain rods to fall off the walls, so we took those down and we took the art down to use it elsewhere.

Once the roof is fixed, we’re planning an entire bedroom makeover for the first time in six years. We can’t wait!!

Have a Cozy Friday Night

Hi loves! What are you up to on this rainy Friday night? We’re staying in and our friend Julia is coming over for dinner and making a homemade Alfredo sauce with garlic bread and salad. Doesn’t that sound so comforting on a dreary day like today?

Something else to note this weekend: for the first time in months, we don’t have to wake up early on a Saturday morning to race off to a basketball game! The boys’ final games were last week so we are officially finished with basketball season. It feels so good to be able to say that. We will be waking up and heading out for a different reason: to my best friend’s son’s 1st birthday party! I can’t wait to squeeze them both, and watch all our kids play with hers.

Have a wonderful, cozy weekend! Our first newsletter of the year is (finally) going out tonight, so make sure you’re subscribed!! xoxo

Happy Friday! What's for Dinner?

Hi darling reader and happy Friday. How are you feeling heading into the weekend?

It’s a cold, wet day here in Tennessee. There’s a leak in our roof in our bedroom, so every time it rains, the inside of our window and wall (on my side of the bed!) gets soaked and all I hear all night is the sound of water dripping beside my head. We have roofers coming out to fix it hopefully next week, and then we decided, once it’s finished, that it would all be a great excuse to redo our bedroom. We’ve been itching for a total refresh in there for years but have always put that room last on our to-do list. Isn’t that how it always goes?

We’re doing pizza tonight and watching the new episode of Servant on Apple TV+, but before that, we’re going to head to the next town over to see if they have more tile for both of the bathrooms at Holiday House.

Hope you have a cozy weekend!! xoxo

PS: A great start to the weekend for Allan! So proud.

A Fun Day

Can’t wait to show you what we were working on last Friday. Should have a date soon and then we can reveal more! xoxo

One Big Sigh of Relief

We did it! Yesterday came and went. It happened. And we survived.

Not that there was ever a doubt that we wouldn’t, but I think we just built it up so much in our minds, and put so much time and effort into it, that we couldn’t see very far beyond Friday. For the last month, it’s been “Get to Friday. Be ready for Friday. Make sure everything is set for Friday.” And now that Friday is over, it’s like we can both let out one big sigh of relief. It’s all down hill after this.

The whole day was really, really fun, and we pushed ourselves to make the absolute best of it. The people we were working with made everything seem easy and seamless. We felt very comfortable the entire time. I can’t wait for you to see what we did, especially because we can look back on it years down the road and always remember this exact moment in time.

The rest of the weekend will be for basketball games, trips to the farm, and enjoying a very, very clean house. Our house hasn’t been this clean since our HGTV pilot back in 2017 (when everything had to be pristine and TV-ready). Every nook and cranny got a dusting, a mopping, an adjusting of some sort. It feels so good to live in a clean house again. Is this what most people feel like on a day to day basis?

Have a wonderful weekend, loves!!

A Blustery February Day

Yesterday was the kind of day where all you wanted to do was light a candle, pour a cup of coffee, curl up on the couch, and crack open a good book. The wind wouldn’t let up all day, making it hard to want to go outside or do anything much at all. However…

There were last minute errands to run, including an exciting meeting with a stone company out at the farm for Holiday House, which we can’t wait to tell you about!! There was a trip to the store before rushing to our son’s parent teacher conference and then back home to finish getting the house ready. I am happy to report, though, that it is ready! We got it all finished in time and we’re so happy with how everything turned out. I don’t think our house has ever been this clean, neat, or tidy.

Now all that’s left to do is to relax and try to enjoy the process.

It’s 6:30am and the house is still asleep as I sip my coffee. Alyster (our cat) is making biscuits in the blanket beside me and all I hear, besides him purring, is the quiet hum of the dishwasher in the kitchen. The quiet before the storm. I’m excited for today.

Here we go!

The Property Lovers

You may have noticed a slight change when you went to PJandThomas.com today.

After almost 4 years of having the logo “PJ and Thomas”, we’re going back to our roots with The Property Lovers as our new logo. We’ve been thinking of changing our name to The Property Lovers on Instagram, too, for various reasons, but we haven’t 100% decided just yet.

TBD on that, but for now, it feels good to be back to our old name, which brings feelings of nostalgia for when Instagram and the blog and all of it was so new and fresh and exciting.

Where have the last 8 years gone?