Author Archives: Christina

07.17.14

Breaking the silence

Posted by Christina // Leave a reply

Tap…tap…tap….is this thing on?

Oh man I have missed this space. It’s even more beautiful than I remember. I miss writing. I really miss being creative. I miss oversharing. And I miss photo editing. But mostly, I miss you guys.

What I didn’t miss was the pressure. I have talked about it before as have a ton of other bloggers. Pressure to post every day. Pressure to grow your following. Pressure to have a prettier life. Pressure to get sponsors. Pressure to collaborate. Pressure to do more. Pressure, pressure, pressure. I started resenting our home, our life, my work schedule, that I couldn’t make more hours in the day, and my lack of craftiness. I started to resent the blog.

Which is NOT why I started the blog. I wanted to write, to document our life, and make friends with you. I didn’t want to feel bad about my wonderful life anymore. So I shut up.

My deepest apologies for the radio silence. It wasn’t really fair to some of the awesome friends I have made blogging. I took on a management role, made a major lifestyle change to get healthy, and kicked wedding planning into overdrive….which were all excuses to be “too busy” to blog and ignore the real reason I stopped.

This space morphed into something I “had” to do instead of something I “got” to do.

I don’t ever want to abandon Homemade Ocean. There are lots of memories here, but my heart is not.

Tim and I decided to create a new space. A happy space for BOTH of us, with just a few rules. No ads, no schedule, no guilt, and lots of imperfect cellphone pictures and honesty. If that is not your thing, we totally understand. If you decide you might like to stop by, we would love to have you – although we will never know it because another rule is no stats.

Thank you all for your love, support, friendships, and overall awesomeness. Hope to chat you up over at A Gray Day!

01.07.14

Going to the Chapel....

Posted by Christina // 23 Replies

Are y’all ready for this….

In November, our beyond awesome friend from Vermont flew in to snap some photos that are commonly referred to as engagement photos. I don’t think I have ever been so excited in my life. Until I woke up that morning and it was pouring. Cats and dog type rain. Even though I tried to pick out some cute rain boots and a flowery umbrella, I was secretly just hoping that my waterproof eyeliner could pull through.

Luckily, Sandy was able to reschedule her flight (I know right, what an awesome photographer) to snap some photos another day. Unfortunately, the rescheduled day had a “high” of 30 degrees….do you know how cold that is in a cardigan? Pretty frickin freezing. Want to ice that cake? My contacts fogged up for who knows what reason and I had to yank those bad boys out and use Tim as my seeing-eye-fiance. What an adventure.

SO worth it though, enough words….time for the good stuff. Can you tell how cold we were? Poor T’s nose was perpetually red. And in nine out of ten of these photos we were definitely shivering. I know the sun looks warm, but boy is that deceiving. I so wish we could have just kept that blanket bundled on us for the whole photo shoot. I like to call that our kissing montage. We kissed a lot….it’s how we stayed warm.

Even though it was so cold and windy, we had such a great time. Can’t thank Sam from Lost Hill Lake Events enough for all her help that day….especially for that fire. She was such a doll.

And Sandy and Erica were serious troopers, they even put up with my blubbering and got a very important shot.

Thanks to any and all that helped out with our photos, we love you as much as we love them!

10.22.13

Now accepting kayak donations....

Posted by Christina // 6 Replies

So this happened…. Yep, on a whim one day Tim decided he was ready for an upgrade from his Benz to a DIY dream machine. We had been talking about it ever since we had to rent a truck to build our planters. Then really started throwing the idea around once we declared a more active lifestyle. The last straw was falling head over heels for one too many “that won’t fit in the car” pieces at estate sales.

When we realized the payment would be the exact same, insurance would be cheaper, and we could officially do all the things we want to….we were sold. Techy Tim even got to keep all the fancy features he loved about his sedan. Warm-bottom toaster seats, bluetooth, and get this…the navigation tells you the current speed limit.

Now I say we need a big project and a road trip! If you are in the area, and in need of a fancy new ride….be sure to give Barreth Chrysler in Washington, MO a chance. They were beyond friendly and made the whole experience (dare I say it) fun. They didn’t give us any “mention us” discounts or anything….we just loved them enough to want to jump on our little ~~mountain~~ molehill and shout it out to the locals.

What do you drive?
Does anyone else have a storage shed just for estate sale projects?
Got a kayak we can borrow?

10.17.13

A little accountability....

Posted by Christina // 18 Replies

Just to prove that I don’t complain about being out of shape and then devour a box of Twinkies, I wanted to update you all on our little fitness journey.

I have worked out every. single. day. since September 13th and my goal is to workout at least twenty minutes a day until Christmas. Even if it is just two ten minute slow walks around the blocks, I am forcing myself. I haven’t gotten burnt out yet, and I am actually getting to the point were when I haven’t worked out I get a little antsy. How long does it take to form a habit again?

My favorite thing we have taken on is hiking. Every weekend Tim and I try to find a new trail to explore. Our favorites now are about 4 or 5 miles with lots of Missouri bluffs. And I now laugh at the first time we hiked when after one mile in I was practically in tears. I sure have come a long way.

I can feel myself getting stronger and faster and it feels amazing. I have lost 17 pounds this month, which I know sounds like a LOT of weight….it should give you a hint at exactly how terrible I was eating on the daily. Looking in the mirror I don’t see any difference, but when I pulled the first photos of our very first hike I can see that I look much less bloated. At least I think, at least I hope. Or whatever. I also started taking St. Johns Wort. An all natural mood-enhancer. Can we spell out game-changer real quick. My mood is so much more stable, which Tim appreciates.

Now I just have to stick it out for the next 80 pounds.

10.15.13

his + hers active october

Posted by Christina // 8 Replies

We recently revealed out loud, all over the internets, that we are taking on a more active lifestyle.

Over the last month and a half we have found a few products that we are head over heels for, thought maybe we could share some of them with you in our monthly round-up. 1. I am fairly certain I have professed my love for my Nikes on more than one occasion. Never have these shoes ever given me a blister or worn out…and they have seen a lot of miles now. Hands down the most comfortable shoes I have ever worn. In fact, I am saving my pennies for another pair.

2. On a recommendation from a fellow busty lady, I bought myself a Moving Comfort “Juno” sports bra. This sucker is good. Those girls don’t move, no matter what craziness I get myself into. The straps are easily adjustable, so I feel like it will stay with me through a few pounds. If you have ever had to wear two sports bras, invest in one of these bad boys asap.

3. Once again, on a recommendation from a fellow blogger, I bought myself a Flip Belt. It holds your cellular, keys, debit card, and well anything you used to shove in your sock. I love being able to keep my phone handy without it bouncing around like crazy. It does ride up more than I would like, but I think once I lose ten more it will be perfect.

4. I love technology. It makes everything so easy. The Lose It app is so incredibly easy, and keeps me accountable and motivated. Tim prefers a different app, but I just think this one is soooo easy to use.

5. Let me tell you, chafing was most definitely the devils doing. Nothing worse than being half way through your workout and realizing you are going to be totally raw by the time you finish. Thank goodness for Body Glide. And spandex. 1. I have been using the My Fitness Pal app on my phone to log my food and really look into what sort of nutrients I am getting. Christina thinks it is not as user-friendly, but I am a sucker for graphs. More protein please.

2. Our most recent big purchase was an elliptical. Was it out of our budget, yes. Does it take up our whole living room, you betcha. But Christina has worked out every single day since early September, so I know it was worth it. We bought this one because it is extra sturdy, and simulates running through the woods. I figure that can get me through this rough winter we are bound to have.

3. You should remember I have gone gluten-free. On our long hikes I always pack one or two of my favorite snacks.

4. Our Fitbit Flex’s were probably the best buy we have made in the last year. They have forced us to be so much more active. My competitive fiancé will even run up and down stairs now just to get more steps than me. I also like being able to track my sleep, or lack thereof.

5. We just started trail running last week. I learned quickly that I needed to replace my old backpack with something that wouldn’t bounce around and hold me back. Enter Camelbak. Enough storage for everything we need and plenty of water for our long hikes. Why am I just now jumping on this bandwagon?

What caught your eye this month?
Any fitness goods we are missing out on?
Did you notice the part where T said we are trail running? Say what?

10.14.13

Make Monday Matter...be neighborly

Posted by Christina // 3 Replies

Have you ever lived next to a nasty neighbor?

Here’s hoping that our neighbors never find this little old website…we have one family that live right next to us and to put it nicely, they are jerks.

Most of our neighborhood consists of friendly retirees with beautiful lawns and freshly washed cars. They usually always wave, and never call the cops on our early morning hammering. Then we have our jerks next door. Mean since day one. Have called us in to the city officials for a supposed leak in our pool, all the while violating about four or five city codes themselves. We wave, they glare. Don’t even get me started on the oil stains in front of our house. End Rant.

Today, we are going to make an effort. Let’s think about it. Fenced in back yard for leisure, long days at the office, a garage that lets us in and out of our house with no human contact, no kids to play outside, no time to wash our car, no time for anything really. These are the things that make us inaccessible to our neighbors.

With the fantastic weather Missouri has been dishing out, we are going to take this week to be outside. Social butterflies in our community, hopefully someone will talk to us. Or at least wave while they are driving by. We also made a deal to go to our next community meeting…maybe it will give us an edge in the holiday decoration contest.

Are you a good neighbor?
Do you live in a community of youngsters?
Should I bake our mean neighbors cookies?