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Category: Home Life

Living With Less: A Fresh Start

August 15, 2017August 14, 2017 ~ Anna Wray ~ 1 Comment

...And we're back! After taking the month of July off to buy a house and move, I'm thrilled to be back with you all! I did promise you a recap of my Summer 10x10, and that's in the works. For now, I have all the thoughts on my new house and recent move which I'm … Continue reading Living With Less: A Fresh Start

Words to Live By: Goals

July 4, 2017July 3, 2017 ~ Anna Wray ~ 3 Comments

Happy 4th of July Friends! And if it isn't your country's independence day today, happy 4th of July anyway! Remember how a couple of weeks ago I said I really had house stuff on the brain? Well, there were other reasons for that as well. Hubs and I are buying a house!!! pause here for … Continue reading Words to Live By: Goals

On Home Decor, Inspiration, and Confidence

June 20, 2017 ~ Anna Wray ~ 1 Comment

Hello again friends! Lately I've been thinking a lot about the home environments we create and live in, probably because I've been binge listening to Young House Love Has A Podcast. It's so fun - makes me smile and gets my home decorator gears whirring every time I listen! With home decor on the brain, … Continue reading On Home Decor, Inspiration, and Confidence

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Anna Wray

I'm a market research professional, vintage swing dancer, and swing DJ in Bowling Green, KY.

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Recent Posts

Beyond The 10×10: The Capsule Rebuild Project
Diamond Gusset Jeans: USA-Made Denim for Him
Ethical Denim from FashionABLE *** UPDATED
Living With Less: A Fresh Start, Part II
Summer 10×10 Recap

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You know when you walk through your house and catch a glimpse of something that makes your heart swell with cozy, homey joy? This view was that for me today. 😍 #homelife #homedecor #homestyling #fauxplants

I don't believe defeatist, negative self talk is useful in any way, but this is today's mantra. #notafailure #adulting #homelife #somedays #success #staypositive

Baby update: approximately 20 weeks along, and we just had our second ultrasound. Baby got a clean bill of health today and appears to be growing perfectly normally! So so so grateful! I'm feeling great and have had very few issues so far. It's been fun to feel baby wiggling around! Still no cravings or food aversions yet, just feeling extra clumsy and grateful for slip-on shoes! #babybump #20weekspregnant #babyontheway #firsttimemom

One thing I'm working toward this year is reading more nonfiction. After graduate school, I was completely burnt out on reading. It took me several years to get back into enjoying fiction, and now I finally feel motivated to start reading nonfiction again. I really enjoyed listening to this book as I folded laundry and got ready for bed last night. I've loved the YouTube clip of Admiral McRaven's 2014 commencement speech to the University of Texas for a while (if you haven't seen it, search his name and "make your bed" on YouTube), and this book is a short, practical, and interesting expansion on the 10 points he made in that speech. #nonfiction #bookrecommendations #read #reading #makeyourbed #militarykid

Since I've been sharing some of the things I'm doing to prepare for 2019, here's something I started doing and loved last year. Near the beginning of the year I wrote down a list of things that we'd like to purchase in the coming year - items or projects that require a little more than we typically have in our regular spending budget. After hubs and I review the list, we prioritize the items and write out some idea of what we would be willing to spend on each one. Write everything down! And not just purchases, include projects, significant repairs, vacations, big gifts, and special activities, too! Once you feel good about the list, put it on your phone or somewhere you can access it regularly (I love @wunderlist for this). Then, whenever we're tempted to make an impulse purchase, review the list and recognize that that impulse purchase will likely prevent or delay your progress toward saving for these planned purchases. Ask yourself if you're willing to make that compromise. If you aren't, don't make the impulse purchase! One of my favorite things about doing this last year was seeing how many items we acquired for WAY LESS than what we had anticipated spending, which helped us have extra for other goals and allowed us to be more generous in some of the ministries we support. #2019 #goals #personalfinance #consciousconsumer #stayfocused #planning #newyeargoals #cultivatewhatmatters #cultivateyourlife #homeeconomics #homelife

Special shout out to @traderjoes, @thefreshmarket, @wholefoods, and @afloral for providing the flowers in this bouquet. Especially Afloral. The only specific flowers the bride and groom requested were peonies, which are a) not in season in November, and b) not cheap to order fresh in November. I picked up these lovely white faux peonies with flecks of magenta from Afloral qnd was delighted with how great they looked! Especially when mixed in with the real blooms and greenery, you'd never have guessed these were fakes! #weddingflowers #weddingbouquet #diywedding #becomingbouchard

I've been meaning to share these thoughts for a while but simply hadn't gotten around to doing it yet... Hands down, one of my favorite things of the past 6 months of 2018 was being able to be present and be a part of Andrew and Mary's wedding this past November. Not only did I LOVE getting the opportunity to try my hand at a little amateur floristry, I was just so encouraged by the amazing community of people who have committed to loving and supporting this wonderful couple. Specifically, I was reminded of the fact that God makes beautiful things out of our imperfections. Constantly throughout the wedding preparations and wedding day, the concept of "family" kept coming to my mind. When earthly families struggle, God provides. He can provide healing and reconciliation, yes, but He can also raise up and provide a new family, a family of people who choose each other. I loved meeting all of Mary and Andrew's family members and seeing the beautiful portrait of people who have chosen to be their family. I'm also excited for the new family God created on that day as Andrew and Mary chose each other. I know He has wonderful things in store for you both! #becomingbouchard

As I'm working through specifying my dreams, plans, and goals for 2019, one thing I had considered doing last year was adopting @dearmushka's system for prayer sheets to focus my prayer time and keep track of answered prayers. And walking into 2019, I can't think of anything I would benefit from more than more focused prayer time! Essentially, it's a system that sets your focus on different specific areas for prayer every day, so you're less tempted to quickly run through a laundry list of the same things every single day and can pray more intentionally over each area, whether that's family, personal development, local and global community, friends, etc. So excited to try these out! If this is something you're interested in, go check out the Prayer highlight on the @dearmushka feed and make your own. And if you don't care to make your own, she has prayer sheet templates for sale in her store. #prayer #prayerlife #prayerjournal #intentionalliving #systemsarelife #2019 #goals

Does anyone else love the days between Christmas and New Year's Day? It just seems like it's a time built for personal reflection, as well as dreams, goals, and preparations for the year to come. I no longer make resolutions, but a while ago I stumbled across the concept of picking a word or theme to help focus your time and efforts in the year to come. For 2018, my word was DISCIPLINE. I had planned to spend each month of the year deliberately focusing on one area of life where I wanted more discipline. There were certainly things that could have gone better, but overall I'm happy with the things I've achieved regarding discipline in the study of scripture, our personal finances, the ways I care for my home and family, working from home well, and treating my hormonal acne through diet. My word for 2019 is DISCOVERY. I want to embrace this new season of motherhood with curiosity and grace, knowing that it will be challenging and messy, but also trusting that it will be good and joyful. Discovery is not about having a perfect outcome, it's about trying something new, acknowledging and learning from the mistakes, and reveling in moments of "wow I can't believe that worked." I'm looking forward to exploring how to balance motherhood with the practice of cultivating my individuality and self-image (being able to pour into others without losing myself), and to further discovering God's purpose for me, specifically in my new role as a mother as I watch how motherhood impacts (and maybe doesn't impact!) my days, activities, and relationships. I want to be very clear with myself - choosing discovery as my word of the year isn't an excuse to "let things go," but rather a reminder to give myself grace as I expect this will be a year where I likely won't feel that I have everything together. It's also a reminder to embrace my desire to cultivate productivity, practicality, and efficiency, but to allow myself to make mistakes as I figure out what will be most productive, practical, and efficient for myself and my changing family. #newyear #2019 #goals #wordoftheyear #discovery #grace

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