Microwave Station Adds Extra Kitchen Storage
The other side of that weird hallway off our kitchen has been absent from all mentions on this blog and social media because it is where I created a microwave station and microwaves aren’t that interesting to me. However, extra storage in a hallway IS interesting to me. Remember that hallway? The one where we added some built-in shelves? That weird hallway used to look like this when we bought the Colonial Farmhouse. Can you tell why I wanted to buy this place? Hahahahahaha! This hallway connects the kitchen to the main floor bathroom, which seems like a normal function for a hallway. In person, the whole space just feels…
Dry Sink Printer Stand
Have you ever felt like a fish out of water? It’s an uncomfortable feeling. Now imagine how our colonial era house must feel to have all this fancy stuff like modern plumbing, electricity, and now *gasp* wifi invading its space. Our home has wires where wires were never intended to go! Talk about uncomfortable. The one issue that transcends the age of any house is where to put all the modern office hardware that we need, but for which we don’t always have a place. What do we do with the printers and the computers and the jumbo box of paperclips? Why are there so many cords? Do the cords…
Decorating with Thimbles in a Modern Way
My mother, who sewed her own wedding dress, is getting a laugh from heaven today. Can you hear it? Despite all of her attempts (and there were many) to teach me any type of sewing because it would be a handy skill to master, I never really took to it. I still have dang it had a stubborn streak and very little patience for detail-oriented work. I definitely have not had the need to pick up a thimble in my adult life, but there’s still time. Therefore, the fact that I’m writing about decorating with thimbles today would be a wee bit laughable to her. The moral of this story? Mom is…
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…
Ceiling Fan for the Music Room
As much as it pains me to get rid of gargantuan chandelier from the 1990s (sarcasm alert), it seems to be the most practical choice for our music room. What in the the world would I replace it with? I thought you’d never ask. We would replace the gargantuan chandelier (see below photo) with a ceiling fan. That felt anti-climactic, didn’t it? Wait until you find out I haven’t purchased one yet. Oops. Forget I typed that. A ceiling fan for the music room is not my first choice. It’s probably not my second choice either. But remember, it’s the practical choice. B.O.R.I.N.G. But practical. We have a little problem…
Piano Pedal Tree Topper
When I set out to decorate a music-themed Christmas tree this year, I didn’t plan on creating a piano pedal tree topper. It just sort of happened on a whim. Was it a good whim? It’s hard to tell, but you know me, I’m running with it! If you’re new here, we took apart an old upright piano that was left in our Colonial Farmhouse when we purchased it. We’ve been repurposing the piano parts for other projects (like this piano harp art). That’s how today’s piano pedal tree topper came to be. Piano pedals are made of metal and these have a lovely patina from decades of use. They…
Invisible Picture Wire Saves the Day
Do you ever have one of those “anything is better than nothing” moments? Any seasoning at all would be better than having to eat one more bite of this bland food. A few lunges while I brush my teeth is better than no exercise today! This mint stuck to the bottom of my purse is better than having no mint and bad breath! Using my husband’s deodorant is better than not using any deodorant at all! Added perk – I can enjoy the manly smell of ‘arctic ice’ coming from my armpits all day long. I had one of those “anything is better than nothing” moments as it relates to…
My Thrifted James Peter Cost Art Is Worth How Much?
A few weekends ago I was browsing the art section at my local Habitat Restore. By art section I mean stacks of framed art haphazardly leaning against a wall. All art in this particular Restore is $2 unless otherwise marked. I found a large painting of a barn for $5 by an artist named James Peter Cost. I don’t know how long the painting had been there, but it was quite dusty. I stood there staring at it for several minutes trying to decide if I’d regret not buying it. I know $5 isn’t a lot, but I’m still intentional with how I spend my five bucks. It is less…
In Praise of the Ceramic Colander
Ceramic colanders might seem like a funny blog topic. Are you wondering if I’ve run out of things to write about? Is this my ‘jump the shark’ moment? No, I have not and I certainly hope not. I just really, really like my ceramic colander. And I almost threw it away. The ceramic colander was in a box of jumbled junk in our garage. (In case you are new, we bought a house and the seller left a ton of belongings behind.) I remember picking through the box and finding a bunch of planters for houseplants and then the ceramic colander. I didn’t know what the “bowl with the holes”…
I’m Keeping the Ruby Glass Chandelier
I had zero pleasant feelings about the ruby glass chandelier in our living room when we moved in. In fact, I loathed it. Have you ever heard of the red light district? Don’t worry! This isn’t a story about that. Unless you drove by our house at night when the ruby glass chandelier was turned on and saw the red glow emanating from our home. Then you might think it was about THAT. Our living room quite literally glowed red. It was almost comical. It wasn’t even helpful in terms of illuminating the space. The seller had tried to sell the ruby glass chandelier at an estate sale before closing.…
