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C&C At Home, Talking Kitchens :: Unit 1

February 16, 2021 by Michelle Filed Under: Decorating/Remodeling, House Flips Leave a Comment

Alrighty it’s Camellias & Copper At Home day and today we’re going to start our discussion on kitchens! I entitled this post as Unit 1 because with each aspect of a kitchen, there is a lot to discuss, and I envision many posts on kitchens alone.

When Andrew and I are renovating a house, we almost always have to do something to the kitchen. Whether a full gut job or something as simple as painting cabinets and perhaps ordering new drawers and doors {yes, it’s a thing!}.

We do an initial walk-thru and discuss major things like, does a wall need to be moved or removed and do the appliances/plumbing stay where they currently are. I’m a big fan of open spaces with kitchens because as a mom of three kids, it’s imperative that I can not only hear them but see them – especially when one is screaming… y’all, it’s for real over here.

I understand that yes, there are times when it would be really nice when you could close off the kitchen so all your guests don’t see your mess or mound of dishes to be cleaned, but I think there’s more grace in 2021 being extended to messy homes than maybe in the 50’s. Do you agree?

In this post I’m going to share with you three kitchens we have renovated in the last year. With each kitchen I’m only going to talk about the space itself – you’ll see a before then an after photo, where I’ll tell you more about the actual space and why we did what we did.
As always, please post any questions or thoughts you may have!

Kitchen #1 :: Glenwood :: Before:

Things you may or may not see from this photo:
*this room is essentially a square
*the only counter space you see is in this photo
*to the left of where this photo was taken, was a doorway and a dining room/eating area on the other side
*to the right, behind where I was standing, was a pantry area
*to the right of the fridge {next to the range} was a doorway leading to a desk area and the back of the house
*not a ton of brightness
*misuse of space to the left of the range – there’s a large gap that isn’t being utilized

Now…here’s the after:

The biggest thing for this space was utilization of the square footage we had. It was really a large space and I wanted to make the most of it, while also opening it up to the rest of the living area.


Kitchen #2 :: Hemphill :: Before

I do love the coziness of this space, however here are some things that you may or may not notice:
*the electrical panel is in the kitchen {not uncommon in some older homes}
*the hot water heater is also in the kitchen
*this was a tight galley kitchen closed off on one end
*there was a small kitchen table + chairs in the space
*natural light was slim

Now…here’s the after:

Honestly, this is probably one of my most favorite kitchens so far. One thing I loved about it was having that larger window to contend with, and after trying a few options, we ended up creating a cozy window seat. We completely opened the end of the kitchen that had formerly been closed off to the rest of the home which added so much more light.

Kitchen #3 :: King :: Before

I really just don’t have words for this space. This was a 100+ year old home that had been turned into a duplex and here is the sad state of the downstairs kitchen space. A few things:
*the space was completely underutilized – look at the range just sitting by itself
*there was a doorway on both the left, behind, and right of this photo, making it seem like a galley kitchen, only it was wider than a typical galley
*behind me in this photo there was a very sad ‘pantry’ that I would have been scared to go into at night
*the lighting was very dreary

I’m not sure that you will believe the transformation but,

Now, here’s the after:

I could spend hours telling you about the demo and the amazing men who spent hours upon hours making this kitchen/home what it is today, but I promised to focus solely on the space. I promise this is the same room 😊 just with fewer walls to enclose it. Again, it’s all about opening it up to the rest of the home. There was something about this very old home that made me want to give grand life back to her…so we opened the space as wide as we could. We utilized as best we could every inch that she had to give. What you don’t see is to the right of this photo there is a “wall of cabinets” – what my contractor affectionately called it. It’s where the refrigerator and the double oven are as well as all the storage one would need to host a fabulous dinner party for all their friends.

I’m a big fan of the flow in any residence. Kitchens are definitely a favorite room to design because it truly is the hub of the home. When it comes to figuring out the kitchen specifically, I envision myself in the space, with kids and friends hovering around the room. Between a Saturday morning eating pancakes as a family to a grand Friday night dinner party.
I ask questions like, where will people sit or stand? Where will the food go? If I’m cooking supper, can I see the kid that is screaming his head off?

It’s a process that requires great consideration of who might live there, because we never know.

I’d love your feedback on the kitchens in this post. What do you like or don’t like? What would you like to see in future C&C at Home? I’m so grateful for all of your comments!

Until next time…

Monday Muse:: My Comparison Trap

February 15, 2021 by Michelle Filed Under: Faith, Life 1 Comment

First of all let me tell you that Emory is home today due to a teacher work day at his school. When he is home with us, we never know what will happenπŸ˜†.
Case in point: so there I was on the treadmill, because it’s raining yet again today, Andrew was sitting at his computer working, and above the podcast I was listening to I heard the lovely tune of a harmonica. Odd, I thought. I laughed and looked over to where Andrew was sitting and said, “Is he playing a harmonica?”

He’s played it off and on all morning…and dare I say he’s getting pretty good at it.

In between tunes, he screams at the tv. I messaged two friends this morning that he keeps yelling at Dora…he disagrees with everything she says πŸ€¦β€β™€οΈ

Now that I’ve shared that with you and hopefully you had a little chuckle, here’s where my heart is today. I’ve recently started a new Bible study called Take Courage by Jennifer Rothschild. It’s based on the book of the Bible, Haggai and his four sermons to the Jewish people.

This morning I was reading and studying chapter 2, specifically verse 3 where the elder Jews are comparing the current temple being built to the former one of Solomon – the one that was destroyed.
Without getting too in depth with the study, the idea is that they were caught in the trap of comparison and thus became discouraged and started complaining. They even said it was “nothing like” the former temple.

When the study questions turned to a personal reflection, I recalled all the times where I’ve become like those of the Old Testament, lamenting of my shortcomings.

Maybe you can relate? I scroll social media {that trap of all comparison traps} and see someone’s house, possessions, look/appearance, etc. and find myself in despair over being “nothing like” them or what they have.

Even with my work, I go to our projects and start thinking about so-and-so’s remodeling ideas and projects, and wonder if mine are even good enough.

I feel self-conscious can become discouraged and even fall into despair. How about you?

A quote from my study book was a precious reminder this morning: Using someone else’s gifts or calling is a crooked measuring stick.

I pondered that for a bit…If using someone else’s gifts, talents, or calling is the crooked measuring stick…., then the straight measuring stick would be mine – issued by God. Right?

What are my unique gifts, talents and calling? What are yours? What if we focused more on our own abilities, ways we have been blessed by the Lord, instead of thinking, I don’t have her _______.


So, what do you have? What are your gifts and talents? What is your calling in life? In what ways has the Lord blessed you? If you haven’t cataloged all the ways in a while, let me urge you to do just that.

The best way to get out of the comparison trap is to look around and remember what you do have… “…once you begin to take note of the things you are grateful for, you begin to lose sight of the things that you lack.” – Germany Kent

I’d love to hear your thoughts on your own comparison trap if you’re so moved to share πŸ’•

Until next time…

To Color or Not to Color…

February 10, 2021 by Michelle Filed Under: Girl Posts, Life Leave a Comment

That is the question I posed to my cousin this afternoon. After I sent her a bunch of photos of my roots asking, “are YOU this gray!?”.

She lol’d me, and said “No not quite!”

She’s seven years older than I am…how did I get all the gray genes when she and I favor so much.

My entire head, if I didn’t color my hair, would be a disco ball of silver and gray. I am convinced of it. Even though Erin, my stylist tells me it’s not. Sometimes I think she’s just trying to make me feel better about my hair aging faster than I want it to.

I definitely don’t believe her. I sit in front of the mirror and after three weeks, I’m wondering how in the world my hair grows as fast as it does {blessing and curse, mind you}. I have so much gray framing my face and beyond..as I draw a line through my hair with my finger…all I see is gray.

Last year when the world shut down I seriously considered letting my color go after going thru several cans of brunette dry shampoo. I recall talking to Andrew about it and him literally saying to me, “I’m not ready for that yet.”🀣

Maybe it was enough for him that I had already turned 40…

And maybe it’s because my birthday is tomorrow that I’m even considering this. Is it a futile attempt to keep my youthful appearance when I’m feeling old and worn out? LOL.

There was a night last week when I couldn’t sleep and somehow I stumbled upon a hashtag for women {#silversisters} who’ve taken the plunge to go gray. I was sucked in and found their hair to be beautiful and freeing. Strangely enough that morning’s verse of the day was Proverbs 16:31: Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life.

I honestly think I laughed out loud when I read it. Was God really trying to tell me to stop coloring my hair?

I don’t know.
I do know I get tired of feverishly covering it and being self-conscious about it when I’m anxiously awaiting my next appointment. “Will everyone see all this gray?” “Do they even care?” “Why do I even care?”

All the questions we as women ask ourselves…

“Let it gooooooo” I laugh to myself…

What are your thoughts…if you color, what do you say about quitting? If you don’t color, would you ever start or why did you quit? I’m curious about what you’re thinking so please share.

And…until next time…

Getting What You Want – Lake House Edition

February 9, 2021 by Michelle Filed Under: Decorating/Remodeling, House Flips Leave a Comment

If you haven’t seen my post on Instagram or our Facebook page from today, you don’t know about the small bit of drama from yesterday. And that little drama has everything to do with today’s entitled post. πŸ˜‰

First of all, I care about details. I am very particular on how I want things to look, especially once I’ve {finally} caught the vision for a room or space.

Such is the case for the master shower at the #lakehousereno project. The original vision was for white 4×12 tile surround – with imperfect edges. When Home Depot delivered all 16 boxes in small pieces I had to pivot there, switching to a 3×12 similar tile I could get at Lowe’s {It took 5+ hours and going to over 6 stores to get all the tile…}. Then I was using a 1 inch hex Carrara marble tile for the shower floor, but when I realized we didn’t have enough I had to pivot once again, to a Carrara penny tile. Wondering if this shower would ever come together – things were taking much longer than they should have – we were told everything was finished over the weekend.

Note, this shower is a really wonky shape due to pipes and cinderblock walls so the more we could hide imperfections the better.

Yesterday morning we showed up at the project, fully prepared to get to work, clean up a few things and assess what still needed to be completed. And as we walked the house with our contractor, let’s just say I got curious and made my way into the master bathroom to check out the ‘finished product’.

Note, the floor hasn’t been grouted yet…

As I stood there staring at what I thought was going to be a beautiful penny tile floor…I sighed somewhat loudly and let my head fall backwards.
I heard Andrew from the bedroom, “Oh…you weren’t supposed to see that yet.”

He walked in and I said, “I hate this. This isn’t what I wanted.at.all. Where is the penny tile? Why is there 12×24 marble slab IN the shower floor???”

There have been liberties taken with some small design elements by the guy tiling the floor. Most of them I’ve been okay with, but this was something I couldn’t live with and would not compromise on.
I get it that some of you may look at this and say it’s beautiful or what is my problem, but here’s the thing.
I don’t like it. I have to live with it and it’s not what I wanted. I wanted penny tile and the last time I saw this shower floor there was penny tile laid out just how I wanted it. The other thing is, as you look at that photo above, the drain isn’t centered and it shows up more imperfectly because of the added marble slab. If it was all penny tile, as I wanted, it would be less noticeable.

I’m not entirely sure what happened, but long story short, we asked him to take out what he had done; I purchased more penny tile {praise the Lord, it was still in stock} and it will be redone the way I want it, hopefully today. I will say that there are a few things that we are taking concession on at this point with the lake house because of our time crunch, but something like this has to be redone.

Here’s my deal. If you’re paying for something to be done a certain way, don’t settle. It’s your money – hard earned and carefully spent. If you don’t like it, if it doesn’t fit or doesn’t work – you’re paying for it, so ask for it to be made right.
You may be thinking you’re not good at that…well, I’m not either. Unless I’m in a mood of directness which I guess I was in yesterday. πŸ˜† But as I would encourage myself, I encourage you to get what you want, and ultimately what you are paying for.

I hope you enjoyed my soapbox.
Until next time {and hopefully less dramatic}…

Friday Favorites! 2.5.21 Edition + a Giveaway

February 5, 2021 by Michelle Filed Under: Friday Favorites, Gift Giving Leave a Comment

Happy Friday friends! I hope you’ve all had a wonderful week. It’s been rainy and cold here mostly so I’m ready to see the sun shine!

In this week’s edition of Friday Favorites, I’m sharing all things that I have purchased in the last couple of months – for various reasons shown below. You’ll see a hodge-podge of items per the usual and if you have questions about anything, please let me know!
Also, if you read to the end, you’ll see I have a giveaway featured!🀩

Item #1 are these Multi-Pink Sweetheart Dangles from Hidden Truth Jewelry and bonus! they are on sale! All Valentine’s items are 15% off woot!
Eliza Jane and I met Ashley at a local boutique in December while doing some Christmas shopping and I just adored her. I ended up purchasing a few of her pieces as gifts that day and she offered to pray over Eliza Jane and me, which I thought was the most kind expression from anyone I had ever made a purchase from!

Item #2 are framed signs from SmallWoods. Y’all…they just showed up in my Facebook or Instagram feed one day and I was hooked! I purchased the sign you see below for our bedroom and then I bought several others that you will later see in our #lakehousereno that we are doing!
I love their simplicity and beauty.

Item #3 is really anything Boden. This British clothier has been a favorite of mine for years – although I always have to size up, and well, that doesn’t make me feel great 😜 Most recently I purchased these cute undies for Eliza Jane. I gave her a few options to choose from and these were the winner – aren’t they just the sweetest!? and that little bag that they come in…adorable!

YAY! I love this list of Favorite things and I hope you do too – keep reading! There are some great ideas for gifts of any amount or age – who in your life needs a sursy and which one will you buy? Reminder, this post contains affiliate links, meaning if you click through and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission at no cost to you.πŸ’•

Item #4 is this Dash & Albert rug, which I actually purchased from a shop in Portland, Oregon. Long story…but they were having a great sale and I had to have it! I’m hoping the 5×8 goes on sale soon b/c it’s a must have!

Item #5…Are you sticker girl or know someone who is? Love in Faith has an awesome sticker club – you get 5 stickers a month for $5.95 – and if you use the code: STICKER50 you can join the club for $2.98! Put them on your laptop, your mirror, your car…or your friend’s back 😁

Item #6 – last but certainly not least is my Cultivate What Matters Powersheets Planner. I have talked about this planner before, and I repeat the things I love! This planner keeps me on track with simple methods; my Tending List stays in front of my face {open and on my desk} so that I am focused on accomplishing my goals and that is so important!

Thanks for reading all the way to the end! In order to be entered to win this week’s giveaway, please share this post on Instagram or Facebook and don’t forget to tag me in your post! I’ll do a drawing Sunday night, February 7th at 7pm EST for a winner and she will get these Julia Blair Stud Earrings from Hidden Truth Jewelry!

I’ll announce the winner of these beautiful earrings in my stories on Instagram and Facebook so be on the lookout! ​
Have a wonderful weekend! And until next time…

Camellias & Copper – And Our Houses

February 3, 2021 by Michelle Filed Under: Decorating/Remodeling, House Flips, Work 2 Comments

Happy Hump day, friends! I am so excited to start sharing some of our renovation projects with y’all! For whatever reason I’ve mostly kept that part of my life {our family business} separate from Camellias and Copper, but with some exciting projects on the horizon, I wanted to begin sharing a few things here – because I think you will enjoy them! Don’t worry, I’ll continue posting about having my legs waxed and the crazy things the kids are up to – this is going to be in addition to all of that.

Today I’m going to start with a house that we are working on in a sweet, “older” neighborhood. One where, if you went for a walk, most of the folks you would see would be grandparents. And don’t get me wrong, I live in one of these “older” neighborhoods myself and I love it immensely. Give me hardwood floors, big old trees, camellias and front porch stories all day long. We are hoping that this little area will start adding in some new and young families as well, and even that one will purchase this renovated house once it’s complete.

The house we bought, just a few weeks ago, is next door to a precious couple, Bruce and Betsy. They are an older, retired duo and I got to spend about 45 minutes chatting with them outside one day last week – when it wasn’t raining. {It has rained SO much lately!} This sweet couple told us how happy they were that someone had finally come to pick up all the stuff that had been left from an estate sale {y’all…it was so bad}. I posted a couple of videos on our Instagram page about the trash haul…I personally haven’t seen that much stuff in a house, under a house or behind a house in a very long time. It.was.bad.
Ms. Betsy told me that the big red box we had there at that time was either the 11th or 12th one that had been there… I felt so bad for her, that these sweet neighbors had lived next to something that brought on many feelings of displeasure and frustration. They couldn’t do anything about it and the people that could, weren’t willing to.

As ‘flippers’, our intention is to bring value to the home, the neighbors around the house and the immediate community. We clean up the derelict as Ms. Betsy called it, and make it better than it was. We want the people who buy our renovated properties to drive up and be overjoyed with first impressions and then for that excitement to build with each step into the house.
I don’t do ‘cookie cutter’ – each house is unique in my mind. It’s going to be a special family, person or couple that will purchase it, and though I don’t ever know the end buyer, I try to always put myself in their shoes. ‘How would I use this room, this space, etc.?’ and how can we utilize the space in the most efficient manner.

I’m super excited to share with y’all how we do this. What some of the processes we go thru before we purchase a property, my thought processes when it comes to tearing down walls, figuring out layouts, colors, finishes, etc.

It’s gonna be fun.

In the meantime, enjoy these “before” pictures of the house next to Bruce and Betsy, that we are close to finishing. I can’t wait to show y’all the reveal in a few weeks!

…no words…
The master bathroom vanity…I’m kind of digging that green…
This bookcase was FILLED to the brim with books the first time we saw it. Reynolds walked away with a coveted dictionary πŸ˜€
The kitchen, aside from being extremely cluttered, had really good bones so we left the cabinets.
Those big windows had plexiglass on their exteriors – really foggy and sad looking. I can’t wait for you to see what this house will look like next week!
The one thing about this house I thought was a little cool – I’m a sucker for vintage wallpaper.

If you have any questions about this post or the house so far, drop me a comment!

Until next time…

Girl Post :: I got my legs waxed😎

February 1, 2021 by Michelle Filed Under: Being a Mom, Girl Posts Leave a Comment

Today I got my legs waxed for the first time ever. My best friend Ann asked me the other day, “Why are you doing this?”
Idk. Maybe because I turn 41 this month and I’ve never done it before? I want to do laser hair removal but also I know first hand how painful that is…I had my under arms done a little over a year ago and while a major game changer, *holy ouch*. I just don’t think I can bear that pain, for that long, on my legs (especially my shins and knees – which I consider both as boney). Have you done laser hair removal? – please tell me about the legs if you have.

Back to the waxing.
I’m not sure which was worse, going 11 days without shaving or the actual waxing…
Here’s my take on it: apparently the hair needs to be the length of a grain of rice. Y’all, I was slightly grossed out at my person and my 10 yr old self was screaming, “please let me shave my legs!” Also, while Andrew was marginally fascinated, not in a good way mind you – he’d never seen me so unkempt, said last night, “Uh, can we do something about THAT?” 🀣 I promised that I would follow through with my appointment today.

(this isn’t my leg btw… πŸ˜‰


To be completely honest, the waxing wasn’t as awful as I had expected it to be. Call me crazy, but my girl Haley did a fantastic job – she kept me talking I guess so I wouldn’t really think about what she was doing. Nice warm glob of wax spread on my leg then *RIP!*. I may have flinched a few times but it wasn’t all that bad. It took about an hour to do both legs – knees down.

When recounting my appointment, Andrew asked if I yelled. Seriously?πŸ˜† I’ve given birth to three children. One weight 9.5lbs, one just barely made the cut off of the epidural and the third woke the left side of my body up so no, I didn’t yell. I can deal with temporal pain…

Would I do it again? Heck yes! I just have to wait 4-6 weeks and I’m okay with that! The results are really terrific and if this means I don’t have to shave as often, sign me up, sister!πŸ˜‰

Now that my legs are silky smooth, I feel a trip to the beach is in order…wonder if we could make that happen this month? πŸ₯°

Thanks for reading – ask me all the questions and until next time…

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