A little Background…
From scrapbooking my way through my teen years to having a side hustle during college doing photography. There’s a burning flame in me to create. This flame has poured out into decorating too. For one of my childhood birthdays, I asked my parents if I could completely redo my room. They agreed and I went to picking out paint colors. I ended up with pink walls, yellow trim, purple shelves, a blue ceiling with sponge painted clouds, and a rainbow ceiling fan. Clearly, my love for a neutral palatte hadn’t surfaced yet.
Although the brightly colored walls have changed to Alabaster White, the same childhood passion to create is stronger than ever. Throughout the years I have learned that a house can evoke feelings for those entering through the doors. I want our house to bring out a sense of hospitality and warmth. From the burning candle in the entryway to the coffee or tea you will surly be offered, down to the comfy throw pillow you will rest on, all of this matters and these are the details that drives my passion for making our house a home.
The Story of us…
I met my husband Skot when we were in college at Troy University. I had a big crush on him for months before we started dating. Once he FINALLY asked me out, we clicked immediately. Eighteen months later we were engaged and at the ripe age of twenty-one I was a bride.
We were newlyweds and felt as if we could take on the world. The first move we made was to East Tennessee for me go to pharmacy school. We tried to buy this little, tiny, old house that we lived in for months… that’s a story for another day… but in the end, we moved in to a very basic new build on the outskirts of town. I loved that house. We made so many memories in it as newlyweds. We hosted everything we could …neighborhood Halloween parties, church small groups, progressive dinners at Christmas, Fourth of July parties, baby showers. It is in that home that I realized what an impact a house could be for community.
After our four years in Tennessee, we were off to Colorado to live the dream. I was working full time and Skot started seminary. We lived in an apartment first, because ya know we wanted to be “cool young professionals.” We quickly learned apartment living wasn’t for us. The pool was nice but we needed more space to entertain. We then moved into an older rental house without AC. It had a big (for Denver) backyard. We were back to hosting and loving on our people. We even had chickens at this house!
Then there were three…
While we were living it up with our ski passes and happy hours, God decided to give us our greatest adventure yet… a bouncing baby boy. Once I spent a summer in the rental, which let me remind you didn’t have AC, we knew we needed a home for family. Away from the hustle and bustle where we could figure out what the heck to do as parents. We drove down to a suburb and toured a model home in a new development. The rest was history…Mama got what Mama wanted.
It was so fun during the building process to pick out some basic things like the cabinet color and flooring. That home ended up being the most special yet. We brought our baby home there! I learned what being a mother looked like there! We had close friends in the same neighborhood! But, I also sat in the floor and cried there so many nights there because I wanted to be closer to our family.
Skot and I always thought we’d moved back down South. We didn’t know where but we knew we wanted to build our forever home and settle down below the Mason-Dixon line. God put it on our hearts to move back to where Skot grew up, Birmingham, AL. It was so hard to leave Colorado. Not a day goes by that I don’t have a memory from there creep into my mind.
Back in Bama…
Once I ugly cried for 26 hours straight on the drive to Alabama, We moved right into another apartment for a few months and then into Skot’s grandparents old…I mean old… house. I’m so thankful we were able to live there while we looked for land, found a builder and hired an architect. We took everything we learned about how we lived at the last seven addresses into consideration. We knew what was important to us and what wasn't. We also knew we never ever wanted to move again.
The Montgo Farmhouse…
The build was intense. It had its ups and downs. It brought out the worst of us at times. I was also pregnant during the build but I kept telling everyone that had nothing to do why I was an emotional roller coaster basket-case. Its not for the weak that’s for sure. I will save the details for a blog post on another day. But ultimately we got our modern farmhouse, on three acres of land, in a good school zone that we had dreamed about for years. It had just the right amount of shiplap, lots of outdoor living space, an open floor plan, the list goes on… it was all worth it!
We moved in December 8th, 2018 exactly one month after our second son was born. Yeah, it was as crazy as you might be imagining right now. I have so enjoyed making this house into our home. We love opening the doors, welcoming folks in, feeding them, and pouring their drinks. No one ever leaves the Montgo Farmhouse hungry or thirsty that’s for sure! I’m excited to continue our adventure in our home and bring you along too! I really hope and pray it is a light and joy in people’s lives. I don’t take myself too seriously so I hope you won’t either.
Thank you so much for being here… now cozy up and be inspired! - Jamie
The Boys
Cedar & Smith