A Farmhouse Christmas Kitchen

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Every now and then I like to pull back the curtain on what happens in real life behind the scenes of a blog. I know the pictures look like I have my crap together all of the time, but nothing could be further from the truth. lol The times that I actually have anything together happen maybe twice a year. No lie.

Adorable Farmhouse Christmas Kitchen ... and a real life tale of how this blogger balances motherhood and photo shoots. 🤪

As I was staging this kitchen for pictures I kept having out-of-body moments, thinking to myself – if I could document this for all the world to see, people would literally not believe this is what it takes to get pictures of a clean, decorated kitchen.

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Adorable Farmhouse Christmas Kitchen ... and a real life tale of how this blogger balances motherhood and photo shoots. 🤪

Don’t get me wrong, I love to decorate and the decor is real. But usually there is a ton of real life happening around the home that gets cropped out or moved just outside of the camera frame for pictures.

But let’s get back to the actual happenings on the day this photo shoot (almost) took place. I actually had to postpone it for two days because of all the craziness.

Adorable Farmhouse Christmas Kitchen ... and a real life tale of how this blogger balances motherhood and photo shoots. 🤪

I have shared before about how I hired a house cleaner this year. It’s one of the most amazing things I’ve ever given myself. It keeps the clutter in check around here and once every two weeks my whole house is clean from top to bottom. I really, really, really try to coincide picture taking day with the day she comes to clean. That way I don’t have to clean a bunch for the photos and everything’s already all picked up.

Adorable Farmhouse Christmas Kitchen ... and a real life tale of how this blogger balances motherhood and photo shoots. 🤪

So, last Monday was that day. I was planning to finish my last minute touches in the kitchen once she finished and then snap my pics. Time of the day is also crucial because you only have a couple hours of really good light in the winter months. My cleaning lady usually finishes up around 11, which was going to be perfect.

Adorable Farmhouse Christmas Kitchen ... and a real life tale of how this blogger balances motherhood and photo shoots. 🤪

But that weekend the girls got sick. My youngest even ended up in the hospital one night because anytime she gets croup she ends up in the ER. So, I literally got no sleep that night and spent the rest of the weekend trying to make up for it while my husband was coaching a wrestling tournament. Also while juggling a sick 6-year-old. Mama was tired.

Adorable Farmhouse Christmas Kitchen ... and a real life tale of how this blogger balances motherhood and photo shoots. 🤪

On Sunday night the kids were feeling much better and Monday looked promising. I was planning to send them both to school and to get my work done.

Adorable Farmhouse Christmas Kitchen ... and a real life tale of how this blogger balances motherhood and photo shoots. 🤪

But then I woke up sick. The 6-year-old came in an said she still didn’t feel very well and she still had a pretty bad cough. So, I decided we were all staying home one more day. This was good because the girls could entertain each other while the cleaning lady was here and while I was working.

Adorable Farmhouse Christmas Kitchen ... and a real life tale of how this blogger balances motherhood and photo shoots. 🤪

They play pretty well together, but there are the occasional fights and bickering which was hard to handle while I was working and dealing with my own sickness.

Adorable Farmhouse Christmas Kitchen ... and a real life tale of how this blogger balances motherhood and photo shoots. 🤪

We ended up eating Chick-fil-a for breakfast and McDonald’s for lunch – both being in the car because I didn’t want to get the kitchen dirty. 😜

Adorable Farmhouse Christmas Kitchen ... and a real life tale of how this blogger balances motherhood and photo shoots. 🤪

And because I needed to get them out of the cleaning lady’s way while she was cleaning their rooms.

Adorable Farmhouse Christmas Kitchen ... and a real life tale of how this blogger balances motherhood and photo shoots. 🤪

Then, back home once the kitchen was cleaned and I could take pictures, it was so hard to get anything done because the girls were tired of playing together at this point. For the whole 5 minutes that they played nicely outside on the trampoline, I was meticulously ironing kitchen Christmas towels. For reals.

Adorable Farmhouse Christmas Kitchen ... and a real life tale of how this blogger balances motherhood and photo shoots. 🤪

By the time I ripped off part of my lip while trying to hang up the faux boxwood wreaths on the cabinets, I had pretty much decided that pictures were going to have to wait for another day.

Adorable Farmhouse Christmas Kitchen ... and a real life tale of how this blogger balances motherhood and photo shoots. 🤪

(Ouch!! Who knew putting tape on your lips could rip the skin right off. I’ve been holding extra tape in my mouth for years and have never experience this phenomenon before!)

Adorable Farmhouse Christmas Kitchen ... and a real life tale of how this blogger balances motherhood and photo shoots. 🤪

Y’all. I am posting this a week after all of this happened and it just makes me laugh at all of the juggling that goes into taking some pretty pictures for this old blog.

Adorable Farmhouse Christmas Kitchen ... and a real life tale of how this blogger balances motherhood and photo shoots. 🤪

When the stars all align and the girls are in school and I can work quickly, it is a beautiful thing.

Adorable Farmhouse Christmas Kitchen ... and a real life tale of how this blogger balances motherhood and photo shoots. 🤪

But even when it doesn’t all work out perfectly, I’m super grateful for a job that allows me to work in the cracks and crevices of the roller coaster that is motherhood. I love being able to show my girls how you can follow your dreams and work and be a mom all at the same time. Even if we have to eat Chick-fil-a and McDonald’s in the car for two meals.

Adorable Farmhouse Christmas Kitchen ... and a real life tale of how this blogger balances motherhood and photo shoots. 🤪

My girls and I are mostly healthy now and excited about celebrating their birthdays this week along with dear friend and family, then spending special quality time together as a family of 4 as we gear up for Christmas. It’s going to be a wonderful week!

Adorable Farmhouse Christmas Kitchen ... and a real life tale of how this blogger balances motherhood and photo shoots. 🤪

I hope you enjoyed my Christmas Kitchen Tour. You may like to see the rest of my home decorated for Christmas this year …

A Very Merry Farmhouse Christmas Kitchen

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14 Comments

  1. This is perhaps the cutest Christmas kitchen EVER!! I just love everything about it. As a mother of 2 grown children, I know what the sickness is like…and being sick at the same time as them….and eating a biscuit in the car on the way to their early Saturday morning basketball games. ALSO, I truly know about the cleaning lady. I gave that gift to myself as well, but this year have kind of let it slide. It seems I am always working on something and have craft items in more than one room (if you know what I mean)!! I must start that routine back after Christmas….if she is still available! Thanks for sharing all of your ideas!! Wishing you and your family a blessed Christmas!

    1. I toooootally understand the crafting and projects going on multiple rooms of the house. I usually try to round mine up before my cleaning lady comes, but sometimes I just have to tell her to skip a room. I skipped a time or two while I was decorating for Christmas, because there was just too much stuff everywhere. But it keeps me more organized and less junky when I have her come. Thank you for reading!! Have a wonderful Christmas with your family! xo, Laura

    1. Hi Kim! I’m originally from Franklin. I grew up there, but now live in North Alabama since getting married. We go back and visit often since my parents still live there. Love, love, love Nashville and the surrounding areas! Miss it, too!

      1. I’m from Franklin too! Class of ’87. Actually, I grew up in Leiper’s Fork which is why the sign caught my attention since the original Puckett’s Grocery is there.

  2. Haha, this is great! Just YESTERDAY my son (out of 7 of them I have one who is “artsy” and likes decorating with me, lucky me!) said something about “How do bloggers get their WHOLE HOUSE perfect at one time for pictures?!?”. Ha! I told him they don’t, their house looks just like ours, they just kinda push the mess of life across the room to snap the pretty picture. : ) Ah-ha moment for one 16 year old there. ; )

    1. That is so funny that he caught on… it is SO true!! There is no way my house is all clean at once (except for the hour after the cleaning lady leaves). I literally took photos of my Christmas tree today and piled everything on my dining room table and then scooted the table in the next room. Our house looks just like everybody else’s! 🙂 Have a Merry Christmas! xo, Laura

  3. I feel your pain! I ripped skin off my lip in high school, hanging signs on the football player’s bus! Ouch! I still remember the pain!! And that was in 1970!!

    1. I’m shocked it never happened before now, but man that hurt! Thankfully it’s all healed up now, but I was like “son of a gun!!!” 😂

  4. I am glad you took normal everyday “real” life and made us all smile! Nobody ever gets hurt fo two fast food meals in a row……the house looks great!!!!

    1. LOL! That’s what I tell myself after pulling out of the McD’s parking lot. Two fast food meals back-to-back every once in a while never hurt anybody. I’ll confess that it’s day 2 of Christmas break today and I gave them their gingerbread houses for breakfast. LOL I figured it’s not any worse than cinnamon rolls. And I promise I do feel my kids healthy food, too. Dinner is almost always a protein and several veggies and they love it, too! 😜 Thank you!! And have a Merry Christmas! xo, Laura

  5. First off let me say I love, love, love your site and it’s the first email I check when it pops up in my emails…..however… I hate to say this but… I would rather see real life pictures than …oh the cleaning lady just left so I had to hurry and stage and do this and that… Most of us do not have a cleaning lady..we ARE the cleaning lady… it just kind of put a damper on my excitement of thinking ” oh yes I can do this ” .. I will still be excited to see what you are doing butttttt it’s not real life as I know it…. everything you do is great and I really like your blog..I just have to remember that you have worked hard to get those little extras that most of us can’t afford.

    1. Awww, Jan! I totally get that. But trust me, you don’t want to see my dirty house. 😉 I will say that it is decorated just like you see in the pictures on a normal day, but there are toys strewn around or food items on the floor. I just assume most people don’t want to see our mess. I’ll share a real home tour soon so you can see what it looks like on a normal day, too. And trust me, I’ve been the cleaning lady for all of the years before this one, and my kids are so messy that I still have to be the cleaning lady on the daily. So, I get it! 😊 I have company coming in town tomorrow afternoon and I will be cleaning all morning up until they get here!

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