I can't believe we are getting close to painting our 1970's Remodel! They are finishing up the mudding and taping, just in time for floors to be dropped off on Friday! They will start installing the wood floors next week. Then cabinets are after that. I had to get the paint colors picked for the cabinets and obviously walls. We created larger paint samples to help us decide on colors, thought I would share what we picked! I am always saving photos on Pinterest and Instagram of paint I like in rooms. Or, if I am looking for a new color, I will google "best white paint" or search a ... Read More
Never too soon to plan for Fall Decor
Some of you are going to be very excited to see this post and some of you will get angry…"Way too early for fall!". I actually want summer to stay for a lot longer!!! That being said, some of us are planners and want to start thinking and ordering things to have when are ready to deck the fall halls! We won't be moving into our home until end of September-ish' so you won't see too much from me until then. But I linked up some favorite fall decor for you! Ruffle Duvet Set- maybe you have a white duvet and want to change it up! Or you are in the market for new bedding, this is reasonably ... Read More
House Remodel Updates and Stair Ideas
We were hoping our home would be done by now. Famous last words of someone remodeling or building a home! We bought our 1970's ranch home in December, but didn't actually start demo until end of March. We hoped it would be finished when Ella's best friend, mom, and sister were visiting this week. They weren't planning on staying at our home, but we would have loved to have them over to the house! So we ARE making the most of them being here this week. We've been showing them all around Utah. And we gave them a tour of our home. Thought I would give you an update too! The sheetrock is done, ... Read More
Salsa- Our Favorite Family Easy Salsa Recipe
My parents grow a bazillion tomatoes and jalapeños every summer. And then, lucky us, my mom makes us yummy homemade salsa! We enjoy it all summer long. I could eat chips and salsa for all my meals. I'm not even kidding! This recipe takes a few minutes to make and is a family favorite, really good with those fresh garden tomatoes. Charcuterie board of chips and salsa, what more could you want?? Perfect for parties, or lunch! Family Favorite Salsa Recipe- (There is a printable of the recipe below) 1 4 oz can chopped green chilies 2 14 oz cans mexican-style diced tomatoes1/2 ... Read More
Front Porch with Hanging Chair- Our Remodel
We are antsy to get projects done at our house! I have a motto I like to say, when life and projects seem overwhelming… "just do one thing!" So the one thing we wanted to do was get our front porch and back porch ready to enjoy. Plus, doing this simple project helped us get a vision for the entire exterior. We are at the house often and having a few places to sit would be appreciated by all! Thank you Walmart for sponsoring this post The first thing we wanted to change, besides the doors, was to add some tongue and groove wood to the ceiling of the front and back porch. The wood ... Read More
How we Made Basement Windows Bigger and Our New Windows
When we first saw our 1970's Ranch home, the first thing I knew I wanted to do was to make the windows bigger in the basement. It felt very dark and dated. I had researched how to make basement windows bigger awhile ago, I can't remember why I did…but I knew it was possible! I asked our contractor about it and he mentioned he didn't think the current windows would even pass code because they were too small and too high off the ground. So there were two reasons to make the basement windows larger. When you pull a permit to do work you typically have to bring everything up to code. (Egress ... Read More
Colorful Fun Family Room- Vintage Inspired
I have a friend, Stacy, who has loads of personality and is so much fun! Unfortunately her home wasn’t reflecting her and she was ready for a change. Back in March, she was over at my house and mentioned she wanted a new sofa and rug for her family room. I like to start with a rug, and I was happy to find one that coordinated with the wallpaper we just added to her kitchen. And our go-to for decor, Target has a new Opalhouse collection, designed with Jungalow, that looks like it was curated specifically for this family room! Ready to see the before and after of her family room?? Thank ... Read More
Basement Plans, Curve Rock Wall, and Rock Fireplace
I read a statistic that 32% of stand alone homes in the US have basements. Do you have a basement?? In Connecticut we had a basement in our 1950's home, but we lived near the beach so it couldn't ever be finished, just used it for storage. We have owned two previous homes in Utah and both of them had full basements. We actually didn't spend a lot of time in either of the basements. The first one we finished right before we sold it, wish I had pictures of it, it was really cute. The second one had a small kitchen with a big family room, we really only used it when we had parties. My kids were ... Read More
Our Shed Plans- AKA Home Gym or Pool House Plans
Remember our shed we built in the backyard of our Connecticut home? We used it as a workout shed and now the new home owners are using it as a home office. It has a floor heater, a ceiling fan, but no air conditioning...the new home owners want to eventually add it. We had plans to build this home gym in our Utah home, but we are having issues with restrictions with our water easement. We had our architect put together plans that we sent to the town. Thought I would share the plans here with you incase you want to make something similar! We did have our contractor build this shed. It is ... Read More
Bear Lake, Travel Bags, Salad Dressing, Charcuterie and More
Instead of Christmas gifts my parents gave us a trip to Bear Lake with our entire family. I am 100% on board for experience gifts. Anyone else?? Experience gifts don't have to cost more than presents. They got us an Airbnb, we cooked all our meals at the rental, packed lunch for the lake, went on hikes, played lots of games (ok, just one game, Nertz) and spent two days playing at Bear Lake. It was so much fun. Thought I would round-up things I shared on Instagram in one post. From what we did in Bear Lake (two years in a row), our new Travel Bags (and bag we used for the top of the car), ... Read More
