Step 2 - Paint the Formal Dining Room

 

Remember this?

Yikes!  Looking back at this picture gives me major anxiety.  This is what our formal living room looked like in September.  We had so much junk and debris in there.  We had painted different samples on the wall to see which we liked better.  We had boxes that we were trying to fill up with items to donate.  It was a MESS!

Well, we finally painted it!

Isaac removed the trim from the bottom of the walls so that we could paint them a darker grey color.  Contract and all, ya know.  We then painted the walls and luckily one coat was enough to get us through the whole room.  

I'm so happy with the color that we chose.  It gives the formal dining room an updated and modern feel.

What I really really really want to do now is find the perfect wall paper and place it on one wall only.  OR find a massive art piece to put on our largest wall.

Hope that yall enjoy the quick video of us painting our formal dining room!

Cowboy Room - Phase 1

Our ranch house has 4 bedrooms that we will be redecorating slowly but surely.

The video above shows the first phase of transformation for one of the guest rooms that we have now named The Cowboy Room.  

As you can see from the attached video, The Cowboy Room was a dumping grounds for our stuff.  It looks like an explosion happened in there.  It was a mix of my in-laws stuff and our stuff and truthfully, I avoided that room.  I knew that if I went in there it would frustrate me and make me feel like I'm a homeowner failure.

But the time had come to take action.

It took a few hours but we were able to make the room much cozier and livable.  I've ordered some stuff off of amazon to make it tie it together even more.

What I can't wait for is to repaint the walls (I'm thinking a soft white) and add some western flare to the walls.  I also want to change out the brown curtain and put in wood flooring, in time.

Can't wait to show you all how The Cowboy Room transforms in time!

-C

First Denim Project At The Ranch

I finally made a jacket that I had been eyeing for such a long time and I am so in LOVE with it!

I finally documented this project from beginning to end.  It's so nice to see it come to life before my eyes.

This picture has been my inspiration for so long.

And I finally did it!

I haven't made a jacket in so long and this was the perfect one to do to get back in to the groove.  I can't believe how great it came out.  I cannot wait to wear it during this fall season!

Hope that yall enjoyed seeing this project come to life.

-C

Driving

Since moving out to the ranch one of the most popular questions that I find myself receiving is
"What about your drive?"  "How do you like the drive?"

It has its ups and downs.  It can be a major bummer knowing that anywhere that I want to go is a MINIMUM of 30 minutes away.  I have to fill up with gas every 3 days.  

But on the flip side, I get to see the most beautiful sunrises ever.  I get to see cows and goats every single day.  I have time to listen to some really really good podcasts.

Like with everything else, there is good and there is bad.  One day I'll look back on these drives and say, "I can't believe that I used to drive one hour to work and one hour back!"  Dare I say that I might even miss it one day.

At the top of the page is a short snippet of what my commute looks like.  This day in particular I was driving back from a friend's house....who lives 30 minutes away from me.

Enjoy!

-C

Step 1 - Picking A Paint Color

I didn't update last week in remembrance of 9/11. 

But I'm back on my every Saturday posting grind. 

 This post is not going to be a ranch-glam post. It's going to be a "this-is-real-life" post. 

 We've decided that we are going to paint the formal dining room first. 

 But with that comes the not so easy task of picking a paint color!

Our current situation.  It's not great.

Who knew that picking a paint color would be so difficult?!

Though we thought we'd go with a soft-white, Isaac and I both agreed that we'd like the interior of the house to be primarily a beautiful, neutral grey.  And once you settle on a color, then you have to SETTLE ON A COLOR.  

There are so many shades of grey!  Grey with white tones, grey with pink tones, grey with blue tones, grey with black tones.  It's so overwhelming!

After spending much time looking at the swatches, we decided to try the following three that you see in the pic above.

After letting the paint dry, we've decided to go with the one on the far right.  A soft, heathery grey.

Next on the agenda is to actually DO IT!  
Which means that we need to finish selling/donating select items in our formal dining room, moving things out of the room, getting the plastic tarp to protect the floors, and just doing it!

Here comes the fun part of being a homeowner.

Wish us luck!

Premonition...

I posted these photos on 11/20/2020.  

I posted this picture November 20, 2020. I had no idea that in 8 months from when this picture was taken that I’d be living back in Deep South Texas, let alone living out on the ranch. 

But that’s life for you. It can take you by the biggest surprises. 

I get asked a lot how do I like living at the ranch. The answer is mixed. I love the house, I love the yard. i love seeing cows and beautiful sunsets everyday.  But I miss living in a city. I miss being able to go shopping at any moment. I’m back in the valley but I don’t feel like I’m BACK. 

Hopefully within a year isaac and I will have a house in the main valley. 

Mini Ranch Tour

Wanted to show yall around El Coyote Ranch!

Well, at least a snippet of it.

Some of my nephew's cows.  Their names are Ginger, Baby, Scary, Sporty, Posh, and Simon Cowell. Clearly I named them.

Where the cows drink water.

Garza Family Cemetery 

Just messing around

Totally unfiltered.

El Coyote Ranch is a lot of land.  It's perfect for the cows to graze on all day long.  There are deer, rabbit, coyotes, and other little ranch critters out there.  As long as the snakes keep away from me, then I'm good!

Going from city life to country life has been and continues to be an adjustment.  I definitely miss being in close proximity to stores, restaurants, museums, but I do enjoy being able to see these animals.

Hope that yall enjoyed this post.
Till next weekend-
C
 

A Day/Night Out In Starr County

 

If you live in Starr County, you have gone to this Chili's. 

You know this Chili's.
You were probably at this Chili's the same day that I was here.
I feel God in this Chili's. (it's a joke, if you know where it's from, points for you)

A bonus to living out in the country is that one of my best friends lives here, too!

April & Cynthia.  Taking selfies as usual.

Funny story-April and I met ten years ago when we worked together.  It just so happens that we both moved to San Antonio one week apart from each other.
Then she went off an abandoned me there (jk).
And now we are back together in the 956.

So naturally we HAD to go eat at this Chili's!

After leaving the restaurant I spotted this wall and HAD to take a picture in front of it:

Top - Walmart
Jeans - Old Navy
Shoes - Target
Handbag - thrift store
Sunnies - Marc Jacobs

Later that night Isaac and I set out for La Borde House in Rio Grande City and 

OH MY GOSH

I was not disappointed. 

This place was just perfect.

We had the whole place to ourselves.  We listened to good music, enjoyed wine on the patios, sat in the warm summer night air.

I never would have thought that RGC had something like this to offer.

Jacket - Goodwill
Dress - Shein
Shoes - Target

I mean, how stinking charming is this?!

If you find yourself in RGC Wed-Saturday after 8pm, stop by 
La Borde House.
Get some pics in, enjoy some wine, listen to music, and live your best life.

-C

Week 1 At New Job

First week at new job down and done.

I cannot believe that I get to work here. It truly is an honor to be able to work with an organization thats sole focus is to not only feed but educate and support my community. The community that I grew up in. That’s a true treasure. 

The RGV Food Bank's sole mission is to eliminate hunger from our community and to educate our residents about proper food nutrition.  The FB is a safe place for someone to come and get the nourishment they need with no fear of judgement or scrutinization.  We are here to help our gente.

This is some beautiful artwork outside of my office.   This was donated to us from Feeding America in 2020.  If you look at the artwork, the workers are wearing facemasks.  Something that 2020 brought in to all of our lives. 

Something fun that happened my first week is that I got to have lunch with my sister. This is the FIRST TIME IN OUR LIVES that we have spent a lunch break together. Once Adri moved away for college we never lived in the same area code again. In case you are wondering, we ate at Luby's.  yum! 

I’m going to try to update this temporary blog every weekend. Hope that y’all enjoy it!

-C 

The Closest Grocery Store Is 20 Minutes Away

On today's episode of Accidentally Green Acres,  
I traveled to the closest grocery store to our ranch house....
and it's 20 minutes away.

Living in cities meant that grocery stores were a stone's throw away.  If you forgot to purchase something, no worries, you can run to the closest Walgreens/CVS, Neighborhood Walmart, HEB, etc to pick it up.  Not here.  Here you better make sure that you have a running list on you because if you forget something, get ready to do without or plan your 20 minute commute back to the store.

Bright side, I did get to see some of the family's wind turbines. 

They look so pretty against that big blue sky.

HEB in Rio Grande City.

If you're from Starr County, you've been to this HEB. 

Puros chicharones y Botanera en esta pared.

THIS picture is how I know that I'm back in the 956.  A whole wall dedicated to chicharones y Botanera.  If this doesn't scream "VALLEY!" I don't know what does...

Being this far away from a grocery store is going to be a huge adjustment for me.  I'm hoping that it will make me a better grocery shopper.  Did you know that most Americans "throw away" thousands of dollars at the grocery store annually?  Many of us (myself included) aren't conscious grocery shoppers.  We shop on impulse and end up wasting/throwing away most of the food that we purchase at the store.  Here's to training myself on buy what I need and need what I buy.

Till my next post!
-C

24 Hours at El Coyote Ranch

I've officially been living at El Coyote Ranch for 24 hours and it still hasn't hit me that I'm living out in the country now.  Maybe once I start commuting to and from my new job, the drive will slap me into reality.

But until then, I'll enjoy these types of mornings.  Watching Astro soak up that morning sun.

Aaannnndddd can't forget that I saw the largest moth that I've ever seen in my life.  One of my nephews messaged me after I posted this photo saying that they get bigger than this.  Like, why?? 

Tomorrow is a day of more cleaning, unpacking, organizing, and slowly making this place our own.