• good luck horseshoe
    happy list

    Happy List: #156

    Hello, hello! This week I shared a belated progress report on the projects we’ve tackled at our Colonial Farmhouse. Thank you for your encouragement over the past six months. Every kind word and thought sent our way definitely bolstered our spirits. I also shared the handkerchief art I made out of vintage handkerchiefs that used to belong to my grandparents. Handkerchief is such a funny word, don’t you think? It doesn’t really roll off the tongue easily. Here is the Happy List! LEATHER HEADBOARD This portfolio of Banda Property in the U.K. is amazing, but check out that bed. The headboard portion would be completely doable as a DIY. You’re…

  • vintage handkerchief art
    Crafts,  decorating

    Vintage Handkerchief Art

    I own a whole stack of vintage handkerchiefs. These handkerchiefs belonged to my grandpa, my aunt, my grandma and my mom. Have I ever used these handkerchiefs? Nope. Snot going to happen. I mean NOT. Not going to happen. Not because it’s not a good idea. It is. It’s more that some of these handkerchiefs are no longer practical for everyday use due to how delicate they’ve become. But back in the day, did my relatives use these gorgeous handkerchiefs? You bet they did! Handkerchiefs were meant to be used before Kleenex took over the world. No shade to Kleenex or Puffs. I love those ones with lotion. How DO…

  • white painted picket gate
    colonial farmhouse

    6 Month Progress on the Colonial Farmhouse

    It’s time for a 6 month progress report on the Colonial Farmhouse. Sure, we’ve lived here longer than six months. 8 1/2 months, actually, but who’s counting? Let’s not get bogged down in the timing. The truth of the matter is I didn’t think about writing a 6 month progress report until now. While this progress report is almost three months late, I’m only sharing progress that was finished within our first six months of living here because that makes it better. Buckle up blog friends because it turns out we’ve made more progress on this Colonial Farmhouse than I thought! KITCHEN: June 2019 Ah, ambience. Just makes you want…

  • strawberries on the happy list
    happy list

    Happy List: #155

    It’s almost March, folks! We are so close. January dragged on, but February has flown by! This week I shared some recent thrift store finds with you and a DIY cabinet door utensil caddy that has been rocking my world. If you are curious about what goes on in-between blog posts, please follow along on my Instagram or Facebook stories. I’d love to chat with you there, here, anywhere really! Here’s the Happy List! GROCERY STORE ETIQUETTE This advice column on grocery store etiquette in Bon Appétit made me laugh out loud. One of my favorite bits of advice by Alex Beggs from the article: “Please address the best way…

  • DIY Cabinet Door Utensil Caddy
    DIY

    Cabinet Door Utensil Caddy

    I swear it is the simple things in life, isn’t it? One of my favorite things you can’t even see in our “let’s make this kitchen less soul shriveling” makeover is the cabinet door utensil caddy that holds our cooking utensils. I don’t know why we’ve never incorporated something like this into any of our other kitchens because I can think of at least three where it would have worked. I may be slow to join the party, but at least I showed up. That’s a metaphorical party, by the way. My inner introvert is busy for the next million years if there’s an actual party. During our kitchen mini…

  • thrift store find flower print with scalloped edge
    thrifting

    Four Recent Thrift Store Finds

    I’ve become more interested in thrift store shopping for my home in recent years for three reasons. I really, really, really, really like a bargain. Certain items of yesteryear are made better than they are now. I don’t want my home to look like everyone else’s. Plus, it balances out my Amazon shopping habit. Oh, and did I mention I like a bargain? My conundrum with thrift store shopping is that I really don’t like shopping in general. It feels like a waste of time and I don’t usually have the patience for it. More often than not I go to a thrift store and see nothing that sparks a…

  • jon foreman stone art via my modern met on the happy list
    happy list

    Happy List: #154

    Here we are at another Friday. Feels good, doesn’t it? This week I shared finished pictures of our kitchen’s mini makeover. Thank you for your feedback on that space! This week I saved some behind-the-scenes of the makeover to my Instagram highlights. The phrase “don’t do what I do” was probably uttered more than once in those videos. I also shared a quick DIY – a wood planter with leather handles. Note to self: go water the plant in that planter! In other news, I ordered the fan for our music room. Hope I like it! I might end up ordering more than one fan from that list because we…

  • Crafts,  DIY

    Wood Planter with Leather Handles

    Sometimes I need a quick win on the home improvement front. Scratch that. I always need a quick win on the home improvement front. How often does that happen? Not as often as always. Today’s project – a wood planter with leather handles – was my version of ‘make a quick win happen’ or go back to painting an endless amount of baseboard trim. And I was desperate to have a break from painting trim. Here’s what I started with. It’s a wood box. It was left here when we moved in. It was shaped like a birdhouse. Handy Husband cut off the roof peaks and the perch. I don’t…

  • colonial farmhouse,  DIY

    Kitchen Mini Makeover Reveal

    Who is ready for our kitchen mini makeover reveal? This will be awkward if you say you aren’t ready because that’s all I’ve got for you today! I’ve been thinking about the tone I want to set with this kitchen mini makeover reveal. When I last wrote about this space I mentioned that my new standard for design, as it relates to THIS kitchen, is a place that doesn’t make my soul shrivel up. If that doesn’t set the tone for this post, I don’t know what will. This is not an “I have the most amazing kitchen ever” kind of reveal. This is more of a “we’re on a…

  • watercolor heart on the happy list
    happy list

    Happy List: #153

    Happy Valentine’s Day! Do you celebrate this holiday? Handy Husband and I don’t really celebrate, but I’ll probably make something fun for dinner tonight. This week I shared progress photos of our kitchen. On Monday I’ll wrap this whole melodrama up with some finished photos of the cabinets. I also asked you all to help me pick a ceiling fan for our music room. Summer is coming, after all. Probably. Hopefully. Please let summer come soon. I miss complaining about how stifling the heat is. When I went through the various places people left comments, the votes were split pretty evenly between fan #1 and fan #5. So…thanks? I think?…