School House Rehab
Trying to leave our little slice of America better than we found it!A Nursery Lamp Update
January 2, 2014
I wrote a little bit about my ideas for the nursery here, but it can really be summed up in the mood board I created below. See the red lamp with the linen-y drum shade on the board above? I have those now! Well, my version, at least. I had yellow lamps that I spray painted back in the day to use in the guest room, but yellow lamps would drive me crazy in a room that was mostly whites, creams, blues, browns and reds!
House Goals 2013: The Year-End Update
December 31, 2013
I know every other blog in blog land will be doing their year recap today, but I promise we didn’t get to everything on the list… that sets me apart from many of the blogs out there. No one likes a crazy overachiever. 1. **Replace kitchen counters! Success! **We tackled this over the summer, and we are still thrilled with our decision to go with the solid surface, acrylic counters. They’re easy to clean, pretty, smooth, and functional.
Kicking Off the Nursery Design!
December 30, 2013
Did you have a nice holiday? We had a great Christmas. We are so, so blessed. We saw lots of friends and family and even managed to grab a picture (albeit blurry) of us and my burgeoning belly. My dad cut Matt’s head off in this picture, but you can still tell that it’s us. For the most part. I really can’t believe it’s the end of the year already. The holidays flew by for us as they do for most people.
Hanging a Wreath Over a Mirror (After Painting It)
December 11, 2013
This is my first post this week because yes, I missed another Sunday Cookin’ post. Oops. Maybe I should aim for every other Sunday instead of every Sunday. I did, in fact, cook. I just didn’t take pictures and blog about it. Actually, I took one picture, since I thought the table looked festive and pretty. Matt and I hosted a small brunch for his mother’s birthday and we served (among a few store bought things…) eggs, pancakes, bacon and fruit.
Sunday Cookin': Homemade Cheesecake
December 1, 2013
I’m not sure if any of you noticed or not (my guess is no) but last week I skipped my Sunday Cookin’ post. Oops. We had a lot going on prepping for Thanksgiving and I just couldn’t carve out time to get ‘er done. My apologies. I did, however, finish painting the beam that runs through the kitchen and I painted all of the radiators in the guest room. We also found time to rip out the guest room baseboard trim and install new trim.
My Favorite $14 Christmas Update
November 30, 2013
I know it’s November 30th, but I hung my favorite Christmas decoration. Obviously it’s my favorite. It’s the first. I haven’t even taken out the Christmas bins from the attic yet. There will be more favorites to come. I popped by Trader Joe’s to grab a fresh boxwood wreath that I saw advertised for $10! I couldn’t believe the price. I feel like a local nursery would charge $30-$40 for the same thing.
Beaming Up: Part 2
November 19, 2013
Now that the beam in the stairway is complete, I set my sights on the dark beam in the kitchen and dining area. Don’t mind Griff sticking out his tongue. It’s a big one, so I decided to break it into thirds and tackle it that way. I’m happy to report that the first third is done. Phew. Of course, I saved the overhead part for last. Oh well. I normally don’t have pictures of the actual process, because I do a lot of my “schoolhouse rehabbing” in the morning after Matt leaves for work.
Sunday Cookin': Knotted Dinner Rolls
November 17, 2013
Well, it’s Sunday. That means it’s time to cook. This week, when Wednesday rolled around, I started looking at recipes that I wanted to try for this week. I stumbled upon a recipe for “Knotted Dinner Rolls” and was smitten. The picture made them look amazing, and this girl loves her carbs. I don’t want to show “the professional” picture because it will make my rolls look bad, but you can find it and the original recipe here.
Strange Happenings: Phallic Mushrooms
November 16, 2013
Disclaimer: This very well may be the strangest post I’ve written to date, but I had to share. It’s just too freaking weird not to share. If you’re not into really weird stuff (or slightly curious about things) that I find around my home or yard, feel free come back tomorrow for a “Sunday Cooking” post! I promise I won’t drop the phrase “penis-shaped” in that post. That being said…
The Porch Rocker Reveal!
November 12, 2013
Remember our old, inherited-when-we-bought-the-house porch rockers that were falling apart at the seats? They were still solid as can be, but the wood frame was weathered, and the caning work on the seats and backs was really starting to fall apart. As in… you’d feel a sharp piece of wood poke you in the rear when you sat down. It wasn’t pleasant. Over the summer, I decided to look into finding a craftsman or craftswoman that would be able to help to re-cane the neglected beauties.