It’s the million dollar question. I’ve had so many of you ask, “but why did you move onto base? Your off-base home seemed like the perfect setup! It was so cute!” etc. And you’re not wrong. We loved our off-base home. We loved our little English village. We loved our neighbors and, most importantly, we loved our kitchen! In a country where most kitchens don’t even allow 2 people to comfortably cook at the same time, ours had room for 10. AND we had an American size fridge/freezer. At the end of the day, the answer truly comes down to prayer. Champ and I had both received some prompting to mov ..read more

How many refreshes are we gonna do, right? I know. I know. I have a problem guys. Use code JAMIEERICKSEN for 15% off Beddy’s website! The things is, this room was cute from the beginning. But it lacked a system. It lacked proper organization. And since English homes lack closets, it can be really tricky for an American with American amounts of stuff to shove all that stuff into wardrobes. The system just didn’t exist. So we had to make a new system. I had to beg the hubs for weeks to let me go ahead with this. I think he’s worried we’re going to be “refreshing” rooms every month if he doesn ..read more

This is our 3rd year homeschooling! I can’t even believe those words are coming out of my mouth! … Or, my fingers (since I’m technically typing them and not saying them ya know? … ) Homeschooling has been the absolute best journey I never thought I would go on. It has been all of my life’s greatest tender mercies all wrapped into one big, beautiful, edifying package. It has helped me embrace the facets of motherhood I never embarked on before. It’s pulled me, stretched me, and helped me to take my weaknesses and try (and try and try and try) to make them into strengths. The Lord has such a fu ..read more

Carbs. My love language. The way to my heart. I adore carbs in all forms. I’ve been making bread for 8 years. But I was stuck inside my comfort zone. The same bread recipe. Tried and true and always came through for me. (It is amazing and delicious by the way, and I still make that recipe at least once a week! If you’re looking for a good sandwich bread, or delicious dinner loaf recipe – definitely try it!) I’ve never considered myself much of a baker. I’ve never felt that I was any good at it. I also hated the mess it made. But about a year ago, I started getting this urge to bake. It was li ..read more

We are a military family. But you already know that. Unless you’re new here, in which case, Hi! Welcome to the circus! I’m Jamie and most of the time, I have no idea what I’m doing. But back to military life, (which is just one of the acts in this three-ring-circus).  Military life comes with a lot of ups and downs. One of the peaks, (and simultaneously one of the valleys) of it all is traveling.  We often live far from our families.  And even when we live close(r), it seems like we end up being the ones that travel to see them …  I’m looking at you family …  Traveli ..read more

If you’ve been following our family for awhile, you may know that we made some big changes a little over a year ago. I’m not talking about moving to England. I’m not talking about following the prompting to homeschool either. I’m talking about our shift from a screen-indulgent family to a (mostly) screen-free family. Let’s face it. Screens are so convenient. They entertain our children for us. Often they babysit for us. Sometimes we are just craving that momentary silence and deliverance from the messes. As a military wife, I’m often solo-parenting. Screens lightened that load tremendously ..read more

2 bedroom posts in one month? Why not? I haven’t posted much on my blog in the last (crazy, overseas-moving, military living) 6 months of life – but why not throw up two bedroom reveals within weeks of each other? Listen, I don’t make the rules of blogging. I also don’t live by them. Don’t actually even know them. I do my own thing and sometimes that includes a major hiatus of posts. Today, I give you Tess’ bedroom! You know my love for removable wallpaper. I’ve adorned several walls of our homes with it. But I haven’t ever done anything so bold. And I was really nervous about this print. I ..read more

Halloween has come and gone again! Once again, I homemade our costumes! … Once again, I procrastinated the crap out of the project and was maniacally sewing all hours of the night until Halloweve. But, once again, the pictures are worth the hours of sewing and £100 of fabric …. Seriously, what is wrong with England? Why can you not find fabric here? This year I also made all the costumes without patterns because I just couldn’t find them, nor did I want to pay for them after purchasing, what should have been illegal prices on cotton fabric. Our first Halloween in England was the perfect ye ..read more

You know, by now, that we are a military family.  If you’re new here, Hi! We’re an Air Force family currently living abroad in the UK!  Wallpaper c/o ColorayDecor Military life comes with its challenges.  One of the biggest challenges being, moving. A lot. Like, all the time.  [show_shopthepost_widget id=”4578480″] Moving a lot means redecorating, over and over and over again. Making each new house a home. Making old furniture in new spaces. And buying new throw pillows … obviously.  I actually love moving.  Except for the 3 months leading up to a move and the ..read more

6 years ago, after graduating from BYU, my husband’s career in the Air Force began. We, along with our toddler and newborn, moved away from Utah to the other side of The United States. Away from family, friends, and everything familiar. I was so excited for the adventure (and the beach, duh.) I learned a lot of hard lessons those first years of military life. I also learned a lot of valuable lessons. And one of those lessons, was how to make bread. I have reflected on that time in my life often. I was young and immature. Do we all wish we could do things from our 20’s differently, or is it ju ..read more