Hello and welcome — I’m so glad you’re here!
My name is Julie and this is my family.
As you may have already guessed, we live in Texas. And, if you’re like most people, you’re probably a little curious about the name of this blog.
First, let me explain the word, “longhorns” is not about the University of Texas. My husband, the Texan, is actually a Horned Frog (Texas Christian University). So, it’s really about the overall style of Texas…you know, longhorn cattle, cowhide rugs, leather furniture, ranches.
Don’t most people picture cowboys on horses and longhorn cattle when they think of Texas? The longhorn is iconic, I think. So, the word represents my husband, his style and his very masculine and Lone Star State tastes.
“Lilacs” represents me. I grew up in Minnesota. I am a Scandinavian, meat and potatoes-eating, big trees, clear lakes, lush gardens and lilac-lovin’ girl. I am pure Midwestern. Moving to Texas more than 20 years ago was a bit of culture shock. It is very different from where I grew up.
That said, I have loved Texas from the get-go. It is a great place with a rich culture, great food and great people.
Five years in to my life here in Texas, I met my husband. I didn’t realize it back then, but when I married a Texan I really married a whole different culture. Even though we had so much in common, we were very different.
As a result, building our life and our home together meant making some compromises. It meant finding common ground that would satisfy both of our tastes — how we would decorate our home and what kind of food we would eat.
Fifteen years in to our marriage we have gotten pretty good at compromise.
I have figured out how to blend our decorating styles and I have also discovered recipes we both enjoy (and some that please our kids too!).
The learning process was sometimes hard and there were times when I felt like my creativity was stifled. As a result, I created this blog.
This website is my creative outlet.
It is a place where I share my love of all things home.
Here I get to express my love of decorating, organization, home cooking, gardening, crafting and DIY.
If I can offer you any inspiration or wisdom along the way it will make my day!
Thank you so much for visiting…I hope to see you here often!
Hey! I saw your website name scrolled on your pic on craigslist for your couch and im not sure if the phone is working. Could you please call or text me at 918-938-3984? I texted very early this morn but not heard anything back.
I’d love to have it! We can pick it up whenever! I am a fellow blogger on fibro issues and stay at home wife myself!
Mandy
Hi Mandy,
Unfortunately, a scammer pulled the picture of the couch I had refurbished off of my site and posted it on Craigs list. I am not giving it away, nor am I selling it — I don’t even live in Tulsa! I found the posting on CL and have flagged it as spam. Hopefully I can find a way to have it deleted.
Just thought that I would let you know that someone is trying to give away your leather couch in the Tulsa, Ok. craigslist. I thought it was a little weird, and they seem to have given a bogus number, but after visiting your site, it is definitely your couch. Just FYI! Oh, and if you decide that you do want to give it away, I’d probably take it off of your hands! LOL! Have a great day!
Danny,
Thanks for the heads-up! It’s amazing what goes on on the internet. I found the posting on CL and flagged it as spam. Thank you so much for taking the time to seek me out and let me know. I really appreciate it!
Julie
Can I ask you Where you got your chandilier at..the one with the burlap shades?
Thank you!
The chandelier is from Pottery Barn. Thanks for asking!
Hi Julie love your home and the colour scheme , you have have a good eye for interiors. Hope you don’t mind me asking where did you purchase your tray for your coffee table, love the arrangement you have done.
Kind regards
Debbie
Hi Debbie! Thank you for your kind compliment! I bought the tray at TJ Maxx a few years ago. It is very similar to a tray I saw at Pottery Barn at one time. Hope that helps!
Have a great day,
Julie
Is it true I can not longer subscribe to this post by email? I tried several times but it says the publisher has canceled this?
I just found you, and I am new to the blog world. Please keep up the great work…
Nancy
Hi Nancy,
Thanks so much for letting me know about your email subscription issue. I recently changed over from Feedburner to MadMimi for my email subscription service and it appeared that all subscribers successfully transferred. I am so sorry yours appears to have been lost! If you look at the top of my blog there is a little bar that appears across the top that enables you to subscribe to email there. If you don’t mind, please try subscribing there (if you haven’t already) and I’ll look for your email address in my subscription list to make sure you’re there. Like Feedburner, you will still be able to receive my posts by email and you can subscribe and unsubscribe as you wish. I hope this helps. Please let me know if you continue to have problems. I really appreciate that you want to receive blog posts via email!
Julie
I love your idea of hanging photo ornaments on the garland, it’s super creative. I collect photo ornaments every year of our family and now that we have quite a few I wasn’t sure if I should have a small tree with the ornaments but now I will be doing the garland idea. Thanks!!!
Can I purchase from you the two different Sweater Christmas stockings that were featured in the December/January Issue of Country Woman? If not, could you me the instructions to make them?
Hi Joan!
Thanks so much for your sweet comment about my Christmas stockings! Although Country Woman made it look like I made them myself, I actually bought them from Target a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, I’m not open to selling them right now. I would recommend taking a look at Target next year. I also noticed that Pottery Barn Kids had some cute sweater stockings as well. I hope that helps!
Julie