How I Styled My Latest Thrift Store Finds: Part 8
Welcome to an infrequent, but delightful series where I show you how I styled my latest thrift store finds. It’s not always what you find, but how you use what you find that justifies bringing junk home. At least, that’s what I tell my husband. Pull up a chair and take a sip of your coffee because this is going to be fun! In no particular order, here are my latest thrift store finds and how I styled them. Wood Tray If you look closely at the below photo, there’s a wood gardening tray sitting on the bench. This isn’t technically a thrift store find. It was a free roadside…
Festive Metal Christmas Signs
I was searching for Christmas mantel inspiration in October while knee-deep in pumpkins and apple-everything, as one does. I can seasonally multitask with the best of them. During this search, I discovered the most festive metal Christmas signs. Oh, the world of possibility! This banner-style sign from Pottery Barn was the first one to catch my eye. Partly because I thought it was wood and partly because I thought maybe I could pair it with a wood dove sign I have trouble styling. (I’ll show you the dove at the end of this post.) The $109 price tag is more than I normally spend on all of my Christmas decor…
Happy List: #365
Hi! Welcome to this week’s Happy List. You are here on a special day. It’s not because it’s November 1st and we’re now in a countdown to the holidays. It is a special day because this is the 365th Happy List I’ve written and compiled. An entire year’s worth! However, since I write roughly one per week that means I’ve been writing the Happy List for approximately 7 years. That’s a long time in the blog world! The Happy List is my way of keeping my media consumption from being a dumpster fire of bad news. It’s a protection mechanism for my mental health. It is a way for me…
The Halloween Tradition That Is Haunting Me
Of all the things that could be haunting me, particularly since I live in a very old house, I find it is a Halloween tradition of my own creation that haunts me to this day. I can’t shake it. Is it a walk through a spooky cemetery? No. No, it is not. Is it the annual carving of pumpkins that inevitably ends with mom cleaning out the pumpkin guts that no one wants to touch? No. No, it is not. Is it all of the costume drama that inevitably comes with Halloween? Everything from someone wanting to switch their costume at the last minute after we spent a small fortune…
4 Places I Use Outdoor Rugs Indoors
Fun fact about me, I have never used an outdoor rug on a deck or patio. However, I have and do use outdoor rugs indoors. I do this for one main reason…to bring the outdoors in. Kidding! I use outdoor rugs indoors in certain situations because they seem to be a little less precious than their counterparts and can withstand a tremendous amount of wear and tear. And, when something particularly gag-inducing happens (no, I don’t want to talk about it), the ability of these rugs to be cleaned with a pressure washer or hose is a godsend. Now, I know rugs of all types have their particular ways of…
Happy List: #364
Hello, hello! Welcome to this week’s Happy List. I’m glad you’re here. This week on the blog I shared how we’ve been working on recreating the exterior trim on our house. Logistics have us putting that project on hold until the spring. We’ve been paying attention to the old houses in our area and it is incredible how many old homes have had their old trim replaced with something simple and modern. I also shared (finally!) the pictures of our completed fieldstone porch on the carriage house. That porch has come a long way in the last five years. It’s no longer an eyesore, that’s for sure. I can’t say…
Fieldstone Porch For Our Carriage House
Fieldstone can be used for many things and we put it to excellent use by upgrading the porch of our carriage house. Why did it “need” a fieldstone upgrade? Well, even though it was completely functional it was looking a little sad. Let’s turn that into a DIY word problem. Sad-looking plus completely functional equals unrealized potential! If you combine that with a train leaving the station my recently learned and very basic masonry skills, you get a match made in DIY heaven. First, a mini primer on fieldstone. Fieldstone occurs naturally in the soil, likely deposited by glaciers. The stones are comprised of granite, limestone, and sandstone and are…
Recreating Historic Exterior House Trim – It’s A Process!
Recreating historic house trim on the exterior of a house. If ever there was a labor of love, this is it. We own a really old home. The oldest section dates back to the 1780s and it has been added onto since. Like many homes of that era, the exterior trim is ornate, beautiful, and rotten in spots. whomp, whomp Guess what most contractors want to do in this situation? Gold stars if you answered, “Take it down and replace it with something you can get off the shelf.” In essence, make it look like every other house on the block. I will also award gold stars if you answered,…
Happy List: #363
Hello, hello! Welcome to this week’s Happy List. October is flying by, isn’t it? This week on the blog I shared pictures of our front porch all decorated for fall. I had about 10 days with all that goodness before I had to take the ferns and geraniums inside for the winter. Now it’s looking a little bare. I also shared the prettiest acorn decor and jewelry I recently found online. What a great time to be alive – so much creativity in the world! I know you have plenty of options for how you spend your time. Thank you for choosing to spend part of it here. It makes…
The Prettiest Acorn Decor and Jewelry
Did you know that acorns and oak trees symbolize, among other things, growth, fresh starts, and potential? Yes, please to all three of those things. I’ve been crafting with acorns for ages. Maybe you have too? There’s just something about them that is so compelling for the fall season. I found some of the prettiest acorn decor and jewelry to share with you today. Maybe this will inspire your fall decorating and holiday gifting. Or maybe, like me, you’ll come away with another idea for something fun you can make with acorns! Let the inspiration begin! Acorn Bells | Etsy A combination of bells and acorns in a rustic patina?…
