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 ...
Tagged with: outdoors
Replacing Our Back Patio
I mentioned a few weeks ago when I shared all about our new windows that we were getting ready to replace our back patio. Like pretty much everything else with the house, the patio is in really rough shape. We have so many plans for the backyard, but before we can start on any of them, or the mountain of landscaping we have to do, the patio needs to be the first thing we change before moving forward. Even though we've repainted the house, installed a new roof, soffit, gutters and windows, we still have so much to do... as you can see! Replacing our back patio is the first step to really being able to start working on the back of the house. Here's what our existing patio ...
DIY Raised Garden Boxes
A while back I shared how badly I've been wanting to have a garden. I love having fresh fruits and vegetables on hand (and I thoroughly enjoy canning and preserving food), so when this spring rolled around, I knew planting a garden was essential. The thing was though, that I didn't want to spend hours outside weeding everyday, so I came up with the concept of raised garden boxes. I love how they turned out, and I love that the construction of them is based off the recycled metal roofing my brother had on one of his farm sheds. Not only are the raised beds such a great addition to the backyard, but they also really serve a functional purpose. I love it when those two ...
New Outdoor Patio Furniture
Our outdoor patio was needing a little bit of a refresh. The hard winter months had left it feeling sad, depressed and ready for a tiny makeover, which I was happy to give, considering our patio is one of the first things you can see when you walk through our home... specifically because the back wall of our house is filled with large doors. For a few months there, we didn't have the prettiest set up out there. I had pushed everything to one corner to make it easier for snow shoveling, and it just sat there looking depressed. That wasn't anything a little makeover couldn't fix though... You may remember the outdoor furniture that I transformed last summer, it was such a big makeover, but ...
How To Make A Log Planter
Hi friends! I hope you are having a wonderful Saturday! I was recently asked to be an eHow contributor, and I am so happy and excited to share my first project with them on their website. Head on over to eHow to see how to make a log planter, which is the perfect way to give function to, and use, those random stumps that are laying around your yard. It's a completely customizable project, which I love, and it can be made with whatever shape, size, type of stump you can use, or gather up! I also think they would look amazing in a grouping with different sizes and heights of stumps. :) I hope you enjoy it! See you over there! :) ...
Rustic Wood Pumpkin Stand
Add the perfect touch of fall character to your front porch with this easy and beautiful rustic wood pumpkin stand. It's a versatile piece that can go from front porch decor, to part of a serving station at your next fall party! I am so excited to share my latest DIY project. I love, love, love versatile pieces that can multi-task and go wherever I need them. Today's project is one of them. This pumpkin stand is perfect on so many levels. The size is great, it's easy to customize, and it is a multi-tasking boss! Want it on the front step for flowers? Check. Need to use it on your serving table to hold cups or utensils? Done. I could go on and on, but I think you get the idea. ...
A Walk Around Our Property
Today I'm sharing the view from a walk around our property... I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. I went for a walk the other night, just as I do so often. The weather was perfect and the setting sun was casting a beautiful glow on everything it touched. I absolutely love this time of evening. Almost every day, I try to pause and take in those precious moments... Since we have so many windows, and full glass doors in the house (which we did for this purpose!), it makes it easy to stop and stare at the beauty that surrounds us. We have put so much work into our property. It hasn't always been the most exciting projects, but they have added up to create a lovely place we call ...
Outdoor Coffee Table Makeover
Our patio furniture makeover continues to be one of my very favorite things I've ever painted. And that's saying something since I basically live with a paint brush in my hand. When I found our set on Craigslist, I knew the coffee table would need a bit of reworking. I didn't love the current set up, and I thought it really dated the furniture set. But, I also knew the coffee table had great bones, so a makeover would be easy. I was right. Really, this was a simple little update. Here's what we started with... After I removed everything but the bottom frame, here's what was left... Because there was a great indent on the frame, we decided to fill it with a piece of ...
How To Prep Cushions for Outdoors
Cushions are expensive. Like, whoa!, really expensive. When I was searching for a patio set, I knew a chunk of money would need to be spent on cushions. Then, our dishwasher went out, and any money I had for cushions and a patio set went with it. But when I found our set on Craiglist, I knew I could make it work. Have you seen the before pictures?? Yikes. After I got the set home, I was motivated to get the furniture repainted and reupholstered, so I started looking around at outdoor fabric. Yikes, and double yikes. The fabric alone was half the cost of a brand new patio set. I was so torn with what to do. Then, I remembered the potential of drop cloths. But, instead of buying ...
DIY Wall Serving Station
Outdoor entertaining is among us! I know I can't be the only one seeking the outdoors in their free time. And especially since we now have an outdoor furniture set. I am in heaven. :) Today, I am so happy to share another idea for your outdoor space, a DIY wall serving station. Outdoor entertaining spaces can be limited sometimes, so this serving station is a perfect solution to those small space problems. I haven't gotten around to hanging ours on the wall yet... We would have to drill into our stucco exterior, so I'm still deciding where I want to hang it. In the meantime, it makes a super cute serving station on our coffee table! Here's how I made it: First, I started ...
Outdoor Patio Furniture Makeover
Oh. Man. I am so excited to share one of my biggest furniture makeover's to date! Early this spring, I decided it was time to put to use, and really use, our back patio. Until a about a month ago, we had a huge, lovely patio with random miscellaneous furniture. And some of it wanted to blow away when the wind hit. I was tired of chasing chairs across our farm fields. And as soon as I made up my mind to finally buy a new patio set, our dishwasher decided to skip out. Needless to say, I wanted a dishwasher more than patio furniture. So, just like that, my furniture budget was gone. My determination and desire for a patio set, however, was still there. What's a girl to do? About a week ...
Stump Side Table
Is today really Wednesday? These past few weeks have completely flown by, and suddenly it's June! What the what? I have been working my booty off with the online shop. There is so much that I never even thought about doing, but as I kept making progress, things kept popping up, one by one. In the mean time, I've joined a group of amazing ladies for our Celebration of Summer! I've been so excited to spend some time outside, so I knew exactly what I wanted to share for the summer series, a stump side table. If you've been following along for awhile, you may remember my first project with stumps, my split stump side table. I think it's safe to say, I like stumps. Plus, they're ...
Bird House Makeover
I love hearing the birds chirp. It's such a happy sound! And since we don't have very big trees, I love it when they do decide to stop by and sing a tune for the house. That's exactly why I was so excited to have a cute little bird house to give a makeover. I want them to feel welcome, and to sing away, so it was perfect timing. I love it when that happens. Here's what the house looked like before... Not bad at all, but it needed a little makeover. Plus, easy projects like this add that perfect touch of character and are my very favorite. They're the type of thing you notice in a full room. And walking up to the house with this little cutie hanging in the tree is ...
DIY Paver Planter
Ready to make your own planter for the patio? I'm sharing the full step by step tutorial for my DIY Paver Planter. I'm in full "spruce up the yard and back patio" mode. No joke. Other than putting out a few pots and flowers every year, our back patio doesn't get much attention. Since we built the house, I've been saying I'm going to give it a little TLC. I just know it would be a place we'd love to hang out and relax, but that would mean we'd need more than a few random pieces of furniture! So, I've devised a plan to get our back patio into shape. And one of the first things I wanted to get done in time for planting flowers, is our DIY Paver Planter.... I am giddy with ...
DIY Rolling Firewood Cart
I've been dreaming about spending a bit more time outside during the evenings. Enjoying the crisp fall evenings with a cup of hot apple cider, a cozy blanket and a warm fire sounds just about perfect. So perfect in fact, that I even got Anthony on board to help with a new project that would make that perfect fall evening even better, a DIY Rolling Firewood Cart... I'm already so excited about using it, I could smile all day long! :-D Here's how we made it, with help from 3M DIY : Please note: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, which allows us to make a small commission from your purchase, but your purchase price stays the same. Thank you for ...
Park Bench Makeover
Today is all about a really cute park bench that found its way from the fixer upper, to our home. Anthony and I spend a lot of time in our detached garage/ shop working on projects for the house/ farm and blog, but the thing is, we never really had a place to sit and take a breather. To enjoy life. To wait for paint/ stain/ or glue to dry. And the garage itself doesn't have room inside (ahem, we have quite the tool collection....), so I took advantage of a sweet little spot right outside the door. :-D Now, we have a pretty little place to enjoy, laugh, and dream up new projects! Lucky us! And as for that bench, here's what it looked like before... It was rough. The ...
Boxwood Walkway
Boxwoods. I love them. Last year I was able to line half of our front entry walkway with them, but I wasn't able to find enough of them before the season changed and Home Depot sold out. So, our house sat for almost a year, with only one side lined with boxwoods. Classy. Any time someone came over, I just waited for them to point out the fact that we were missing a whole side of plants. They probably thought we were a bit odd. But because I couldn't help but acknowledge their odd stare as they walked up to our house, looking at one side of the walkway, then vaguely at the other, I had to fill them in on my plan. And a plan I did have! I knew that if I timed it right the next year, I ...
Fruit Crate Herb Garden
There's just something magical about summer time... from nights spent around the fire pit roasting marshmallows, to all the fresh food and awesome activities, summer is easily one of my favorite times of the year. And even though summer means a really busy time for us farmers, we all love the warm weather and family gatherings, especially when they involve the fire pit... We love those peaceful country nights! And because summer is such a fun season {and a reason to celebrate}, I'm joining an awesome group of bloggers in a summer celebration! Happy days! And since I absolutely love everything about herbs, I thought it would be fun to share a very easy fruit crate herb garden... Here's ...
Outside at The WGC
I know several of you have been wanting more information on the exterior of our home. Truth is, I haven't wanted to share too much about it because it's been such a huge work in progress. Finally though, I feel like I can share a bit more about it. This weekend I spent some much needed time outside. Sometimes I can't even think of doing one more DIY project, or painting another thing. So instead of working on projects or looking at my e-mails or project calendar, I stepped away. My mom and I went to the flower nursery, I day dreamed about buying loads of trees at our local nurseries, I helped Anthony irrigate the corn and I planted flowers. It was peaceful. And wonderful. And just what I ...
Outdoor Concrete Pots
Learn how to make your own outdoor concrete pots. I'm sharing my full, step by step tutorial. Well, we've had a few days without the wind. I'm not sure how I've survived! I mean, we can actually walk outside without being blown away. I might have had one or two good hair days... And now that I've said that, I'm sure it will have to make its appearance. Let's just pretend I didn't say anything... I've been so anxious to start adding flowers and pots and outdoor pretties, that I couldn't help myself from making a new pair of outdoor concrete pots. Concrete is a bit more in depth to work with and it can definitely be a labor of love, but the finished results are totally worth ...
Combining Corn
It's been a busy week on the farm. The snow has finally melted and we've been able to get our corn out. Last year we were able to harvest it around Thanksgiving, so this year it's definitely stayed around a lot longer. I always love to have it around us, because we feel so enclosed, but it's nice to have it out and to see our surroundings again. Luckily, I was able to snap a few pictures of it, which I thought I'd share it with you. These past few days the weather has been great, which makes taking pictures much easier. The sun was setting and everything had the most amazing glow about it. This life is pretty spectacular, and moments like this make me cherish it even ...
