We made the decision to add a pool about 2 months ago. Looking at our current situation with the stay at home orders, it has been a blessing, something to look forward to. And I hate to even share this for fear it sounds insensitive to others situations. We had money saved and set aside for this pool and spent time deciding if we should do it. It really isn't something you get your money back for. But we will get a return on our investment with TIME and memories for our family. They started the process of digging the hole on April 6th, and it typically takes about two weeks to have it up and ... Read More
Friday Favorites- Update on our Remodel and our Magazine!!!
How are you doing? We are staying at an extended stay, a short walk from our home. Our contractor is still working, so we decided to move out so they could come in and work without us being there. Paint, do the trim, refinish our floors (the floors take like 3-4 days) and a bunch of other things! We have actually been out of our house for 9 days and it looks like it will end up being 16 days, hopefully in by next weekend. The place we are staying has two bedrooms, two bathrooms, living room, mini kitchen and table. Not bad. But not Bahamas like where we were supposed to be for Spring ... Read More
Favorite Light Fixtures- Vanity lights, Flush Mounts and Bathroom Plans
As you know we are remodeling our house right now. And as you know how one thing can lead to another…..we are changing up our hall bathroom too. We ended up having some space to expand the hall bathroom and add a pocket door, which will be a space saver. So that means new floors and space for a slightly larger vanity. While I love to update a space, it can be hard to make so many choices without seeing anything in person. So I followed my own design rule and made a design board. It REALLY helped me to visualize what lights would look good over the vanity. I highly recommend doing it! Also ... Read More
Our New Banquette Seating – With Tutorial
We have so much more, space in our kitchen now! Does everyone hang out the most in their kitchens? We sure do! Maybe it's because it doubles as my office and Kevin is often making something delicious...and our kids like to be where we are. It's basically a multi-purpose room in our small home! The fun part about renovating a home that you have already lived in, is that you know how your family already likes to use the space and you can plan accordingly. Because of the way our family uses this space, I KNEW we needed to keep a banquet in our eating area and we also decided to wire the ... Read More
We LOVE the Frame TV- and How to add Art to it!
Our home is 1100 square feet and we just added on about 200 square feet. It is still small. Some said they were worried it wasn't going to be cozy anymore. Not the case. It is still very much considered a small home. We wanted to keep that older home feel and have separate spaces rather than a large open concept. But we do like to entertain so one way we created a larger room for entertaining was to make a cozy spot to eat, with a banquette and also make it a place that you could hang out and chat longer or watch something on TV together. So we added a Frame TV to our new brick wall. I would ... Read More
How I Clean my Entire Home using Thieves- No Toxins!
I have always been passionate about looking at labels and safeguarding my family from toxins! I've even purchases products that I thought were "clean" because of the way they were marketed(it's called greenwashing). I have been using Thieves Concentrate to clean my entire house for 4 years now! I cannot BELIEVE how simple and affordable it has been to clean every surface of my home (seriously floors to mirrors!) with ONE bottle of Thieves. Infused with essential oils and all plant based, over 19,000 of my blog readers have joined me in loving Thieves!!! Already know you want to get the ... Read More
Easter Activity Gifts and Boredom Busters
I think I would be okay if we never brought another toy into the house. Anyone else? Okay, okay, I will admit that it does bring me joy to watch Finn place his Paw Patrols on the crosses on his rug, so I am okay with some toys as long as they are well-loved and used. In my years of being a mom, though, I've noticed that MOST of the time my kids have more fun with activity or experience gifts! This year with all of us spending more time at our homes, there hasn't been a better time to give the gift of time together and activities! I complied some great gift ideas for Easter (that are ... Read More
How to Pick the Right Size Rug with Guide!
I often get asked how to pick the right size rug for under a dining table, under a bed, for an entry and really any spot! And since we are on the subject, I only believe in one design rule- you must pick the right size rug for your space! I have an older blog post on picking the right size rug (HERE)- hey, even Joanna Gaines has changed her ways, from picking a too small of a rug to the right size rug for the scale of the room and furniture. Let me show you some of my tips from some past makeovers we did. Bedroom Rugs- Tip- Depending in room size, rug should extend about 2' to ... Read More
Favorite Online Shopping Deals and Small Businesses
I have spent my life working for and now owning a small business. I love and appreciate people who create business and offer unique and fun products! I have always been passionate in supporting small business in America and now is a perfect time to support those who are still working hard to take and fulfill orders online! How amazing is it that we can create a cozy HYGGE home with just the click of a button! While we all continue to stay home, so many of us have felt inspired to organize, refresh or decorate a space that we havent had time for before!! Great news! Today I am rounding up ... Read More
Our Brick Wall, PS- we painted it white
We did it. We painted the brick in our kitchen. Our plan the entire time was to paint the brick. That is the reason we put the brick in. We wanted some texture and extra charm. Best part we were able to use the brick that was original to the home. I actually told Kevin I wanted to do brick in the kitchen right when we started the plants for the addition, and little did we know brick would fall into our lap! When we took out the chimney in our kitchen, (it was used for the furnace) we discovered it was an all brick chimney that was in good shape! As they started to remove the chimney, I ... Read More
