Is your bedroom lacking some style? Ours too! Below I'm sharing our master bedroom budget makeover plan that includes several affordable options to create a space we love! We've been hitting our 2021 house goals hard these last couple of weeks with hopes we can knock several lingering items off of our to do list. (I'm looking at you trim & closet doors.) With most of the big, main area projects nearing completion, it's time to start really transforming several of our spaces by giving them a proper makeover. It's one thing to add new windows, paint, flooring and trim work, but it's a completely different thing to start bringing in personality and making those spaces our ...
2021 Project Goals
Below I'm sharing our 2021 project goals and the plans we have to keep our home transformation going. Every year, at the start of the year, I like to sit down and really think about what our house project goals are for the year. Since Todd and I do all of these projects on a budget, with cash, setting aside the funds and creating those budgets is essential in actually finishing projects. House projects and budgets go hand in hand, and I've learned when we have a designated amount set aside, it's easier and more fun to create a budget for each project we'd like to complete! Even with as much progress as we've made in our Willow house, there's still more spaces to finish, projects to ...
2020 Project Overview
How did we do on our project goals for 2020? Find out below as I share our 2020 project overview. Now that we're fresh into a new year, I wanted to look back and share our 2020 project overview and see how we came out on all of our project goals we set at the beginning of the year. It's no secret, we had a lot of projects on our agenda and we had high hopes that we'd be able to complete all of them. But even if we didn't completely finish the list, we're still happy with all the progress we've made on the house. And, oh ya, we had a baby too, which just about changes everything! 2020 Project Overview 1. New Garage Doors: Complete Mark this one off the list! We had our new ...
Our Christmas Night Tour
The season is aglow with beautiful Christmas lights! Take our Christmas night tour to see our home lit up for the Christmas season and tour other beautiful homes as well! It's officially the week of Christmas! I'm so excited for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day as we celebrate our newborn king! As per tradition, I'm joining a group of amazing bloggers (seriously take the full tour below) and we're each opening our homes and inviting you in to take a special tour featuring the glowing Christmas lights we all love so much. A big thank you to Rachel from Maison de Pax for organizing this wonderful tour... it's one of my favorites! If you are joining me from Shelia at Masion de Cinq, ...
Our Christmas Traditions
Love making special memories through Christmas traditions? Us too! Below I'm sharing our Christmas traditions and how we celebrate the holidays! With Christmas being next week, I thought it would be fun to share our Christmas traditions we do every year throughout the holiday season. I know we all have those special family activities we do together, which makes the season feel so much more meaningful. Now that we have Ania, I know our Christmas traditions as a family will only grow, which brings so much excitement! Our Christmas Traditions Many of our traditions may seem "normal, or standard" to the Christmas season, but they're still cherished either way and they allow our families to ...
2020 Christmas Home Tour
Welcome to our Christmas home tour! Take the tour below and see how we decorated our home for the holiday season. I've been so excited to share our Christmas home tour. This is the first Christmas season with our sweet Ania and I felt a shift in myself as I started decorating. It's no longer just for Todd and I, but now there's a precious little girl we get to introduce to the blessing of Christmas. Marty from A Stroll Thru Life has organized this wonderful tour and I'm so thankful for the time she's taken to put everything together. If you're joining me from Sarah at Grace In My Space, welcome! I've recently found Sarah and she has such a beautiful home! She's been sharing peeks ...
Simple Christmas Decorating Ideas
Ready to add Christmas cheer to your home? See my simple Christmas decorating ideas below for easy ways to bring the Christmas season into your home. I've been working my way through the house, decorating for Christmas and challenging myself to use what I already have, just in fresh new ways. Because I'm all about simple decorating, I thought I'd share several simple Christmas decorating ideas in case you're also looking for easy ways to bring Christmas into your home... and to use what you already have! Last week I shared our red, white and gold Christmas tree, which really set the tone for decorating throughout the rest of our home. Little pops of red have shown up in ...
Red, White & Gold Christmas Tree
See how I created our red, white & gold Christmas tree. I'm breaking down the process and sharing helpful tips to get you started. I always look forward to decorating our Christmas tree. There's something so magical about bringing out ornaments from years past and treasuring those memories all over again. The twinkle of the lights are always a welcome addition to our home and I'll forever love the warm glow the tree adds. This year, I went with a red, white and gold decorating theme, and I have to say, I'm absolutely loving it. After not using red in my Christmas decorating for several years now, the vibrancy has been a welcomed change, creating an exciting, festive ...
Christmas Gift Ideas
A collection of affordable Christmas gift ideas perfect for the home lover in your life! Plus, see how to gift each item in a fun, unique way! I'm still working on decorating our home for Christmas. I squeeze in as much as I can in between nap times, which some days is trickier than others since little sweet pea doesn't want to nap and really only wants to play and hang out with momma. I'm not complaining though. She's good company and she likes to keep the conversation going with her excited shrieks and constant jabbering. She sure is fun! If you're like me though, you're starting your Christmas shopping and looking for gift ideas. I've had fun putting together a collection of gift ...
Red, White & Gold Christmas Decorating Plan
Looking for Christmas decorating inspiration? See our red, white & gold Christmas decorating plan and how I'll be incorporating it throughout our home. Believe it or not, this year I'm adding red into our Christmas decor! As a lover of neutral colors, I haven't had red in my decor in several years, but I woke up the other day and decided the house needed something fresh and new... and vibrant. Bring on the red! To go with it, I'll be adding in plenty of white and gold too, and I'm loving the color combo already! I think I'm most excited to decorate our flocked tree. And even though Ania won't remember her first Christmas at just five months old, there's something magical ...
Art In The Entryway
Looking for a quick, budget friendly way to add art to your home? Digital prints are a great way to personalize your home while staying within budget! Our entryway is still going through a transition period. There's so many things I want to do, but until we can get it done, I've been focusing on easier ways to give the space the fresh look it's been needing. Adding new art in the entryway has done just that. It's been a fun, budget friendly way to really update the space, all while being cost effective. Affiliate links are provided below. Full disclosure here. Adding Art To The Entryway Digital prints have long since been one of my ...
TGI-Friday: Three Months With Our Girl
It's been a while since I've shared a TGI-Friday, but they're still one of my favorite posts to write. They always give a more personal look into our lives and I enjoy sharing fun things I've ran across and what we've been busy working on. And boy have we been busy! I blinked, and our sweet girl is already three months old! How is that even possible? It's true what everyone says... the time is fleeting! We've been soaking up every second with her, but my heart still hurts knowing time continues to go way too fast. As far as babies go, we couldn't have asked for a happier girl. Ania loves to smile and her happiness shines. She loves to talk and coo and she makes new sounds ...
Vertical Planking & Open Shelves In The Kitchen
See how we installed vertical planking & open shelves in the kitchen to make it feel bigger and brighter! Our kitchen has come a long, long way. After we had our backsplash installed, it was time to add vertical planking and open shelves in the kitchen. From the very beginning when we were designing the kitchen, I knew I wanted open shelves to make the kitchen feel larger. We don't have a big kitchen, but the new addition of the open shelves makes the kitchen appear bigger and less crowded. Before we could have the shelves installed, the first step was adding the vertical planking. Todd and I decided to tackle the project a few weeks before I was due to have our baby ...
Our Fall Front Porch
Our front porch might be small, but it sure does look good dressed up for fall! See how to recreate the look below! It's time to share our fall front porch! We've been working so hard on our yard these past two years. Last year, we focused all of our energy on the front yard, and this year we spent our time on the back yard. And let me just tell you, it's miraculous having grass and a yard. It's basically night and day difference and it's literally given us a breathe of fresh air. This year, we had a large garden area which allowed us to grow our own pumpkins. There's nothing I love more than a porch filled with beautiful pumpkins... problem is, I don't want to pay for them since they ...
Laminate Countertops & Backsplash
The secret is out: Our kitchen has laminate countertops & backsplash! See how we made it look like real marble! It's been a hot minute since I've shared anything about our kitchen, but so much has changed lately! It's time I shared an update on one of the biggest additions yet, our laminate countertops and backsplash! When we designed the kitchen, we knew we'd need to splurge and save in different areas with the countertop and backsplash being one of them. But just because we needed to save in that area, didn't mean they needed to look cheap! Quite the opposite really! Laminate has come a long, long way from what it used to look like. These days, you can get patterns that look ...
Our Fall Home Tour
Welcome to our fall home tour! It's hard to believe we've owned our home two years now, but we've accomplished so much! This house isn't even close to the same place we bought a few years ago and it's so fun to see the transformation and how far we've come... even if we aren't finished yet! That's just one of the many reasons I love sharing seasonal tours of our home. It's so much fun to look back and see how things change, and this fall it's especially special with the new addition of our sweet baby girl. While my decorating may be more simplified this year (most of my time is spent cuddling our sweet girl), I've loved adding those warm, cozy touches throughout the house. It just ...
Introducing Our Sweet Girl
I've been so excited to share the happy, wonderful, truly joyful news that our sweet baby girl has arrived! I've waited so long to become a mother, and now that our sweet girl is here, Todd and I are both overwhelmed with so much love for this precious gift from God. Ania Nichelle was born July 13th at 2:43 am. A perfect 8 lbs, 14.9 ounces and 21 inches long. We didn't have the easiest birth, for her or I, but the important thing is we're both healthy and doing wonderful after some much needed rest. She's a true momma's girl, loving to cuddle and sleep on my chest and we've been enjoying our time together, spending most of our days snuggling and staring at each other. She's ...
Gluten Free Banana Nut Bread
This Gluten Free Banana Nut Bread is a long time family favorite. Make it gluten free by using gluten free flour, or use regular flour. This recipe works wonderfully either way! Several years ago, before I was gluten free, I shared one of my favorite recipes... Banana Nut Bread. It's always been one of my very favorites, for multiple reasons, but it wasn't until a few months ago that I tried using the same family favorite recipe, just with gluten free flour. I'll be honest, I didn't have very high hopes that it would turn out. It seems often that even though gluten free flour says it can be used cup for cup, there's something that doesn't quite translate the same. Be it a taste ...
Easy DIY Raised Garden Beds
Looking to create your own garden? These easy DIY raised garden beds are the perfect solution and can be customized to fit your space! One of our big goals this summer, is to get our backyard in shape. It's a scary mess of dirt and weeds and we're both so over it, we could cry. That's what we signed up for though when we bought our fixer upper. This is the year though... we're both determined to get this large yard in shape! Our first big project this year for the backyard, was to build some easy DIY raised garden beds. Last year our garden was in a small area of the yard, but since the property had been severely neglected for several years, I spent so much time hoeing and pulling ...
Our New Back Patio
Late last summer we had our back concrete patio replaced. It was such an exciting and house transforming project! We did all the demo ourselves and even though it was hard work, it was so fun to see that beat up, cracked and crumbling patio removed and replaced with a much better and larger concrete patio! Before we had the patio replaced, I shared our inspiration and plans for the new patio, and then some of our progress with demo, but I realized I never shared the new, finished patio! Let's take a walk down memory lane and look back at where we started... Our Old Back Patio Not only was the patio small for the house, but it was pieced together, crumbling apart ...
Summer Home Tour
It's a been a heavy few months and weeks, hasn't it? Not only with everything going on in the world, but also on the home front. A few weeks ago, my grandpa passed away. Sadness has been heavy in my heart and I haven't had the desire to share anything new here on the blog. I'm sorry for being quiet, but stepping away for a little bit was much needed. Today though, I'm looking forward to sharing our summer home tour. A big thank you to Marty from A Stroll Thru Life for inviting me to join in and share our home. If you're visiting from Heather at Southern State of Mind, welcome! She has a beautiful home with a stunning outdoor area! Lately, we've really been trying to get as much done as ...
