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Leah Reinert Pinterest Marketing Specialist & Home Designer

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Why We built a modern farmhouse

Part 1

building a modern farmhouse

It was so weird. I was careful what I ate, I lifted weights, I generally tried to take care of myself. 

But suddenly, I was sick, and not with just one aliment. My medical records were filling up fast…scary fast. 

Long story short, from January to June 2017 I had developed a multitude of unexplainable symptoms that were bringing me down fast. 

After months of intensive testing, still no explainable cause to my symptoms. Below are the main ones. I know the list looks ridiculous, but I’m not kidding.

These were the worst sypmtoms:

vertigo

breast lump development

extreme sensitivity to light

blurry vision

difficulty finding words

brain fog

red rimmed eyes

extreme fatigue & weakness

shortness of breath

heartburn

upper abdominal pain

difficulty swallowing

reaction to almost every food

extreme nausea

diarehea

extreme morning stiffness

extreme night sweats while feeling cold

menstrual cycle disruption

I felt like a hypochondriac

I felt like a fool going back to the doctor over and over again. None of my symptoms matched up logically with another. I started to feel like a hypochondriac, except I wasn’t. 

I really did not feel right. Something was wrong. 

By this point, it wasn’t just my health failing. My toddler daughter and husband were demonstrating odd symptoms as well.

Mallory was 2 1/2 years old at the time and she was constantly sick. Hers’ were primarily respiratory, including pneumonia and aggressive allergy like symptoms. However, over time, she was even pointing at her upper abdominal region saying it hurt when she ate. 

Mark had the least symptoms of all of us, but his allergies and insomnia were getting worse.

desperate to find answers to our mold illness

I was desperate to figure out what was going on.

I’ve always loved science and anatomy, so naturally that’s what I studied at ISU. I am absolutely not a doctor, but with my basic understanding of anatomy, I dug into research mode. Every spare moment I had, I devoured health podcasts, articles, and made phone calls. 

One day on a health podcast, the host was interviewing someone who had unknowingly been living in a house full of mold. 

As the guest rattled off his long list of mismatched symptoms, I couldn’t stop the tears. I had almost every ailment he had been fighting.

His advice...get out of the moldy environment now!

For weeks I had this discussion with myself, “No…no way…it couldn’t be that. I mean, there’s mold everywhere. Surely it’s something else.” 

“But what if it is mold? What if?”

At this point I needed to talk to my husband about my suspicion; that our home could be making us sick. 

Ugh!! Ladies, you know what I’m talking about?! You have your “Mom hunch” or “spidey senses,'” alerting every cell in your body on how to protect your family…and yet you have no hard evidence and people look at you like you’re bat s**t crazy!! That’s the worst feeling, and that’s where I was.

To my surprise, when I brought up the topic of calling a mold inspector, I didn’t get much resistance. I had no clue who to call, so I jumped on Google and picked up my phone.

Within a couple of weeks, the first mold inspector came out to look over our house. 

We cracked open an access panel to the attic (which was next to our daughter’s bedroom) and suddenly, maybe, I wasn’t so crazy. 

Below is what we saw.

mold growing under roof of attic in our old house

The underside of the roof decking was covered in mold. All that black that you see, that’s mold growing. When the door opened, you could smell the distinct musty smell of it. 

The mold inspector also said, “I smell bat guano. You guys not only have a serious mold problem, but you have bats. Mold also thrives on bat guano.” 

We clearly had an issue, and we had absolutely no clue what to do about it.

to be continued...

Leah Reinert

Leah Reinert Down Leah's Lane Pinterest Marketing Specialist and Home Designer

Leah Reinert
Pinterest Marketing Specialist
Home Designer

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We're currently having a blizzard here in Iowa ❄ We're currently having a blizzard here in Iowa ❄️ and with temps forecasted to plunge down to -15* 🥶 this weekend...I'm dreaming of warmer days and pit fires in the backyard!⁠⁠
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We hope to work on our backyard this Spring, and I'm starting to get in the creative mood to find ideas and inspiration for it.⁠⁠
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Can't go wrong with this build by @tollbrothers !!⁠⁠
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Do you have any other awesome backyard inspirations? Send them my way!! ⁠⁠
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#modernfarmhouse  #modernhousedesigns #farmhouseexterior  #hometour #luxuryfarmhouse #curbappeal #landscapedesign #backpatiogoals #patio #firepit #outdoorkitchen #kitchendesign #moderninterior #pergola
Wondering why and how to create Pinterest Perfect Wondering why and how to create Pinterest Perfect Fresh Pins? ⁠
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I knew you were! 😉⁠
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With nearly 450 million monthly viewers on Pinterest, it's time to get your content on there. ⁠
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I've written a simple blog post outlining the details, and in case you need more details, I also have a workbook on creating Pinterest Perfect Pins. ⁠
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Get the most out of Pinterest by perfecting your pins! ⁠
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click link in bio for more 😁
Do you have a favorite exterior color? I was looki Do you have a favorite exterior color? I was looking at green exterior homes on Pinterest (cause ya know, searching beautiful homes on Pinterest is a real work hazard for this Pinterest Marketer 😂)...⁠
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...anyways...I came to the conclusion that green homes need to be done just right, or they may end up looking a tad 'National Park Lodge' looking. ⁠
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This green home by @mhousedevelopment is a stunning example of how to do a green exterior perfectly!⁠
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Do you have a favorite exterior color? ⁠
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Photo: @margaretrajic⁠
Design/build: @mhousedevelopment
I'm super excited to be a guest speaker for SideDo I'm super excited to be a guest speaker for SideDoor's new webinar series, all about helping Interior Designers create new revenue streams!⁠
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Go to @onsidedoor or onsidedoor.com and sign up for the free webinar! ⁠
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Designers, are you using Pinterest to promote your business? ⁣⁠
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If you answered no, you’re missing out on revenue. Pinterest is the “go-to” search engine and a gold mine for Interior Designers. ⁣⁠
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In our exclusive #SideDoorUniversity webinar THIS TUESDAY 2/2/21 1 pm EST, our Pinterest expert @leah_reinert will show you how to grow your brand and your revenue on this critical channel and present a few examples of how other interior designers use it to monetize their business!⁣⁠
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Sign up for this free webinar now! Go to @onsidedoor or onsidedoor.com and sign up for the free webinar! ✨
You know me and barn doors and steal! ♥️! . So You know me and barn doors and steal! ♥️!
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So this Sol Duc Design from @olsonkundig is easy to fall in love with! Photo credit: Benjamin Benschneider.
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Thanks to @ourbarndominiumlife for sharing this sweet find! She always know what I love ❤️!
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Do you have a style feature you just can’t help but loving?!
Raise your hand if 2020 looked anything like the p Raise your hand if 2020 looked anything like the plans you made for it at the end of last year! 🙋🏻‍♀️⁠
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Yeah? Me neither. ⁠
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But you know what? I never would have guessed I’d have grown my online business 3-fold as a result of a global pandemic. ⁠
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I learned adaptation and focus is the key to making it in an ever-changing world. ⁠
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What unexpected lessons shaped your 2020 vision? ⁠
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And what’s in the plans for 2021? 🤩
Are you Team A: "I still have my Christmas decorat Are you Team A: "I still have my Christmas decorations up and you'll only take them down over my cold, dead body"...⁠
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...or are you Team B: "It's 6 am on Dec 26th and these decorations are coming down!"⁠
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Come on people, this is an easy one...⁠
Team A rules!!! 🤣⁠
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Especially if your decor looks as sublime as @boulderparkfarmhouse !!⁠
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Aright, which Team are you on?! 😄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Pop quiz! Which of these options most describes yo Pop quiz! Which of these options most describes you? ⁠
A. Introvert⁠
B. Extrovert, or⁠
C. A little bit of both? ⁠
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Personally, I’m 100% introverted! 😅⁠
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My personality is the perfect match for life as a Pinterest Marketing Strategist. Some solitude is what gives me the most creativity, further solidifying the fact that I’m right where I’m meant to be. 🥰⁠
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Tell me, what is your personality type, and what do you do? ⁠
Comment below!

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