Last weekend I celebrated my first Mother's Day. I've spent years waiting to be a mother... to have a precious baby filling the house with laughter, screams and so much love the cup continues to overflow at the end of the day... even after a long day. Ania is truly such a blessing and being her mother, teaching her, loving her and watching her grow brings so much happiness and joy. A mother's love is powerful... and unending. On my first Mother's Day, Ania and Todd surprised me with a beautiful gift... a meaningful gift that brought tears to my eyes; the copper jam pan. The Copper Jam Pan Admittedly, I am a sentimentalist. There are several things that have a deep tug on my ...
Our New Living Room Rug
Today I'm sharing all about our new living room rug and how much we are enjoying this fun living room change! A few weeks ago I shared that we were getting a new rug in our living room. After several years of having a jute rug in our living room spaces (I think I bought it in 2012!), I decided it was time for a change and to bring in a new addition to our living room. I went back and forth on which rug I wanted, and shared my favorite options here, and in the end I decided on this rug. I couldn't wait to unroll it, hoping and praying it was close in color to what the pictures looked like online... Our New Living Room Rug I'm happy to report, the new rug is beautiful ...
Creating Free Artwork For Our Downstairs Bathroom
Creating free artwork for our downstairs bathroom was at the top of my list in projects I wanted to do for our budget friendly bathroom remodel. See how I made my own abstract art, completely free, and how you can too! I've been adding several final touches to our downstairs bathroom, prepping it for the big reveal coming soon. One of the elements I really wanted to add, was abstract artwork. The thing is though, art can be expensive! I'm absolutely not knocking artists, they create amazing things, but in this phase of my life, I'm not ready to invest in one of a kind artwork yet. So, enter in my mission to create free artwork for our downstairs bathroom. The great thing ...
TGI-Friday: Behind The Scenes, What’s Coming Soon & More
It's been a little while since I've shared a TGI-Friday post and today felt like a good day to change that! We have so much going on right now and I can't wait to fill you in on all of the little details. Hard to believe, but Ania turned nine months old this week. She's growing and changing and hard to keep up with. She doesn't want to sit still for one second, really loves her momma and is always looking for a new adventure. We spend our days playing, learning what the word "no" means and playing some more. She loves to help me in the kitchen, making sure she is always right by my side, and we're getting a good handle on how to dress a moving baby. We love her so much. She's ...
An Update On Our Downstairs Bathroom Remodel
Below I'm sharing an update on our downstairs bathroom remodel and how far we've come with making this bathroom complete. At the beginning of the year, I shared the plans for our downstairs bathroom remodel. What was once a tiny powder bathroom and a small walk in closet with its own window is quickly turning into a lovely bathroom. With the remodel almost complete (we're just working on the last of the finishing touches), I thought I'd share the overview of our remodel. This space has come a looong way and I look forward to sharing the finished bathroom really soon! An Update On Our Downstairs Bathroom Remodel With the demo done, it was time for our contractor to ...
Master Bedroom Night Stand Makeover
This master bedroom night stand makeover was a great budget project! See how I transformed hotel nightstands and gave them an expensive look! Back in January (how was it that long ago?) I shared the plan for giving our master bedroom a budget makeover. One of the first projects I wanted to tackle, and to free up space in our garage, was giving the set of night stands I picked up on Facebook Marketplace last year a makeover. I randomly check our Facebook Marketplace, but I generally always see something good. These nightstands were in the exact shape I was looking for, and I'm pretty sure they were made for a hotel. Priced at $25 each, and in great shape, we jumped on them. I knew ...
On The Search For A New Living Room Rug
I'm on the search for a new living room rug and I'm sharing a collection of my favorite large area rug options below, and which one we chose! Well, it's officially time to get a new area rug for our living room. With Ania on the move and crawling, I'm wanting something softer underfoot and a little less dirty. If you've been a long time blog follower, you know how much I've loved my jute rugs. I've had them for several years and they've served me well. I've always loved how much organic texture they add to a space, but admittedly, some of them aren't the most comfortable. They can also be a little bit dirty and they do sometimes shed. None of that ever really bothered me... until now. ...
Our New Stair Handrail
See how our new stair handrail has completely updated our home. Visible from nearly every space in the house, it's amazing how this update changed the overall look of our home. We've finally done it! Out with the old and in with the new! Our new stair handrail is installed and I can't believe what a difference it's made for our home. Since we bought the house, we've had a rickety handrail with broken spindles. Apart from the fact that it wasn't very sturdy, it was also a complete eyesore. Like, 1980 called and wanted its handrail back. I gave it a mini makeover shortly after we moved in and painted it black (black paint fixes nearly everything) and it definitely ...
Our Spring Home Tour
Spring is finally in the air! Take our spring home tour below to take a peek at our home and see how several of our spaces are decorated for spring. Oh sweet spring time! I don't know about you, but I've been craving the spring season like no other. This last week our weather has been beautiful, only making me more and more excited for spring! Today I'm so happy to be joining Marty from A Stroll Thru Life on her spring home tour. If you're visiting me from Anita at Whispering Pines Homestead, welcome! I love Anita's victorian home and the depth of her decorating! We've had several projects going on over the last couple of months (I can't wait to share more!), and with that, ...
Family Pictures In The Hallway
See how I personalized our home by adding a trio of family pictures in the hallway. It's such an easy and rewarding project! It's hard to believe we've lived in our home for almost three years and in that time, I haven't really added very much artwork to our walls. Other than a few areas, like our entry way, our walls have basically been bare. And for about all three of those years, I've been tripping over a stack of picture frames in our laundry room just waiting to be moved, or hung on the wall. Hanging them up seemed easier than moving them to a different spot...haha... so here we are! We also had family pictures taken right before Thanksgiving last year, making it the ...
The Fear Of Making The Wrong Decorating Choices
The fear of making the wrong decorating choices is real. Below, I'm breaking down several popular fears we all have and how you can overcome them. If you're an email subscriber, you know a few months back I did a recent survey asking all kinds of questions about future interests in the blog and what you'd like to see more of. I received so many great, thoughtful answers and it got me taking a deep dive into several different thought processes we have and go through with our homes. And whether you believe it or not, what we think about ourselves, and our homes, plays a huge role into the environment we create. With that said, a common theme many of us share (myself included), is ...
Gluten Free Lemon Blueberry Scones
These gluten free lemon blueberry scones have bright flavor with a tender texture. Full of delicious fresh blueberries and lemon flavor, these scones are perfect for breakfast! It's been a little while since I've shared a scone of the month flavor and recipe. That definitely doesn't mean we haven't been enjoying our favorite scones every now and then, it's just been hard to get in a good rhythm since Ania was born. Let me just tell you, if you are new to the scone world, you are truly missing out. Scones are such a wonderfully delicious breakfast treat. Not all scones are created equal, and that's absolutely true when it comes to gluten free recipes. Yes, this recipe uses a ...
Downstairs Bathroom Design Plan
See our downstairs bathroom design plan and how we're transforming this bathroom with budget friendly items! We have several projects going on right now, with so many of them getting close to being finished! The house is feeling good. And with that, we're getting ready to start our next big project, which is our downstairs bathroom remodel. I always thought it would be the very last room in the house we'd finish, but turns out, it's getting finished before the downstairs living room and laundry room! Because there's a lot of work that needs done, and our time and energy is better spent working on other things, we're hiring most of the work out and just finishing a few things ...
How I Organize Our Wrapping Paper
After years of shuffling through boxes of wrapping supplies, I came up with a solution! See how I organize our wrapping paper and keep everything easy to find! I've talked about it before, but I thoroughly enjoy wrapping nice gifts and spending a little bit of extra time and energy into making them feel special. Because of that, I love collecting different styles of wrapping paper and ribbon. And while that's all well and good, my "collection" of supplies has grown over time making a big, unorganized mess. There, I said it... In the past, I've had more closet space to shove it all into, but in a house with very limited closet space, every inch of storage space is vital. ...
Master Bedroom Budget Makeover Plan
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 ...
