Lights, Trailers, Graphic Designer, the Gate, Paint and Historic Family News

The lights I ordered from my favorite online store have all arrived here at our home, they've been carefully inspected and re-packaged waiting for their new homes. It was hard seeing them only to have to box them up again. I'm so stinkin' excited!

It's been a whirlwind of a week where I find myself thinking, has it only been a week? Wait! What's today? When's closing? I'm cramming all I can into each and every day and find the hours have ticked away and before I know it I'm dropping at midnight, anxious to start again the next day for every day is progress!

Erik and I were like kids in a candy store when we realized that buying a trailer was the best decision over hiring movers. It cost virtually the same, but then we have something to actually show for it after moving day. We have five kids ranging in age from 13 to 24 and some are still in our nest. The older girls have moved quite a bit since moving away from home and there's only so much we can take in two suburbans on a weekend. It's funny the things that bring you joy when you hit your forties...chrome wheels and stabilizing jacks, E-track accessories and the graphics for the trailer exterior have us smitten. Seriously, smitten. We can't wait to pick it up next week, load it up and use all the cool little E-track hooks and straps to strap in all the furniture pieces I've been collecting over the years and place them in the houses. Smitten, I tell ya!

In thoughtfully putting all the pieces together of what Legacy Ranch is all about, a tree is the only symbol that came to mind to represent this endeavor. We've hired a graphic designer and it's so exciting to share our story and why different elements mean so much. Erik has been in his creative left brain for some time now and with that mindset, I fall in love with him all over again. My creativity never quits. I simply can't shut it off, even if I tried. However to be collaborating with my husband on a creative project with multiple moving parts is simply euphoric for me. He and I pay careful attention to every little detail, and we are able to call each other out when one of us gets "analysis paralysis" because we both know what it means to be stuck there. Each time, we remind ourselves to go with our first instinct and not to try so hard.

The graphic designer we've chosen is fantastic, has an impressive portfolio and she gets me. That's fundamental! My husband quickly acknowledges when someone gets me, him or is "our people." Like all relationships, you have to click. Intellectually, creatively, and communicatively. If those aren't present, there will be issues. Cathy gets me! The tree we chose is in a circle, clearly with a meaning all it's own, but the tree! We knew it had to be something special...something with character, with roots and hearty limbs and with perhaps a few twists within the trunk to represent resiliency. In the Texas Hill Country, the Oak was clear winner, but when it came to a tree graphic, we had to take a lot into consideration. Not only is this graphic going to be our logo, but most urgently, the tree is going to be emblazoned on the front gate as you approach the property. I want there to be no mistaking the destination. The design we chose was a no-brainer and one of the most beautiful designs I could imagine to represent us. In the meantime, here's a pre-edited sneak peek of the tree...

As part of our Legacy, we find ourselves hiring people for "Team Legacy." One of our favorite people is our welder. I've known him since he was just a 7th grader and I just can't seem to let this incredibly talented kid go. He's going to be the guy in the Notebook for a really lucky girl someday. I digress...Spencer and his business partner, Miles took welding seriously in high school and built a thriving business for themselves. Their skillset, talent and professionalism never quit. I'm so proud of these kids and they're the epitome of why it's imperative to hire local artisans. I know in my heart that these boys will have thriving lifelong careers as self-employed entrepeneurs. They work their tails off every time they're on break from college at Texas A&M and Milsaps College in Alabama. You just have to embrace those talented entrepreneurs when you can and Erik and I are thrilled they're able to contribute to our Legacy with their craft.

My personal Notebook story is that of my sweet husband, Erik. The man encouraged me to use a muted Tiffany Blue color for the front door of one of the houses without skipping a beat. He may as well have handed me a dozen roses in the Sherwin Williams store today! So if you're curious, I'm going with Sherwin Williams "Blue Sky" SW 0063. It's simply delightful.

This week, I discovered a little morsel of a website with NewspaperArchive.com. Though the property doesn't currently have the precious little white farmhouse I've built repeatedly in my head, it will someday. As part of honoring our family heritage, Erik and I have planned to name it in honor of my grandmother, Bette Harper. She was the type of woman for which the quote "Well-behaved women rarely make history" was penned for. At just 29 years of age and a mom of two young children, she ran for and was elected Mayor in Alice, Texas in 1955. Reading the old news articles was enlightening and informative to say the least...not to mention the typos! (See "Administation", below) Seeing one article discussing her run for mayor, I was taken back to see that her name was listed as Mrs. N.K. Harper...my grandfather's name. In essence, they only recognized that Nolan Harper's wife was running for mayor! She didn't even have her own identity early on, but she certainly made up for it in the years to come in that small Texas town.