Joanna Gaines loves sharing little tidbits from her family home near Waco, Texas, a 40-acre expansive farm she shares with her husband Chip Gaines and their five children.
The 46-year-old is a busy mom, settling into back-to-school season with her four youngest kids (her oldest, 19-year-old Drake, returned to college) while balancing a new season with the Magnolia Network.
In between, she's finding time to make some new friends, or at least, pick up some along the way, as you can see in her latest Instagram upload.
In the short clip, Joanna introduces her fans to a new creepy crawly she happened to find in her home — a sleek praying mantis. She then proceeded to parade it around the different parts of her home while it stayed on her fingers.
At one point, she showed it off while in her kitchen, with the marble countertops, the accents of blue and gold, and the lush backsplash all in view, before taking it to some leaves in a different room with a porcelain plant-holder, and outside into the garden.
"Found a new friend in the house today. I did think about making a tiny leash so he could be my new pet… I think he misses me," she cutely captioned the video.
MORE: Joanna Gaines takes on new challenge as she spends time away from family home with husband Chip
While many fans doted over the cute new friend, others warned her about how sneakily dangerous a praying mantis can be. "They'll kill hummingbirds, so keep them away from the feeders, if you have any. They are cool, though," one said, with another adding: "I had no idea they would bite…but my husband got bit by one a few years ago…he said it was pretty painful!" and a third also saying: "Just hope it didn't lay eggs in your house! We had that happen once. The hatch was CRAZY!"
© InstagramRegardless of the icks we have when it comes to the outdoor, Joanna embraces it, living off the produce they grow on their farm, tending to many farm animals and pets, and speaking about it frequently.
She told Homes & Gardens in an interview that her love for nature and the great outdoors will often bleed into the work she does with Magnolia as well. "I always tell my team when I get stuck from an inspiration standpoint, or I can't figure out what the next step is, I always go outside."
© Instagram"I don't go online, I don't look at books – I have to step outside. Nature is our greatest teacher with design because it does it so perfectly."
MORE: Joanna Gaines shares rare family photos from beach vacation with husband Chip Gaines
She called it "such a gift, because it's free," adding: "To take and draw from the color palette that you see in nature and bring that inside, it's the best translation of that feeling, of 'What do I feel in nature?'"
© Instagram"I feel grounded, I feel this sense of calm, like this is where I belong. If you can somehow bring that into the story of your home – that's what you hope your family feels. That's what you hope your guests feel. And so to take those cues from nature, I think that's always where I would want to start first. It's rarely let me down."
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