Whitewashing a Brick Fireplace

DIY whitewashing brick fireplace

How to Whitewash

Alright, this project has been on my dream wish list of house projects since before we even moved in. I figured we could tackle this in a day, and it didn’t even take that long. Honestly, it was so easy. This took me two hours, tops.

Supplies

  • White paint
  • Paint brush
  • Painter’s tape
  • Towel
  • Shop rags
  • Water
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A Zamboni for Pond Hockey

…Or lake hockey.

DIY zamboni

Right after the first snowfall Joe was looking for deals on hockey nets. And it’s about time we got some snow! Everyone has been waiting on edge to get out there.

We have a pretty slick four-wheeler plow attached to the front Joe’s dad’s four-wheeler that we use to shovel the driveway. Wayyy faster than snowblowing. So we used that to shovel off an oval-shaped area for the rink on the lake, just offshore.

But when Joe told me he was making a zamboni, I honestly thought the idea was one big joke. He’s not actually serious, right? Silly me. I should know better by now… He already had the blueprints in his mind within minutes. So, now we have a redneck ice resurfacer.

The Supplies

It only took him 4 hours. Here’s the materials you will probably need:

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Downsize and Declutter

2106 new year's resolution goal get organized

 

One of Joe’s New Year’s resolutions is to get organized, and I was pleased to hear that! I can definitely help with that one. (His other resolution is get his six pack back – I can probably help with that one too.) Sorry Joe, for outting your two resolutions. Consider it public accountability. You can thank me later. 🙂

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Hello 2016

We hope you are enjoying the holidays and are looking forward to a great 2016. I’m definitely enjoying some down time – keeping all the Christmas lights on for a few more days and polishing off a few leftover cookies.

A Year in Reflection

I’ve been thinking a lot about what my 2016 goals/resolutions will be, and I keep coming back to one word: Abundance. I like to choose a theme or word instead of a traditional resolution to focus on throughout the year, and this year I want to embrace the abundance that comes my way. Remembering that there will always be enough time, always be enough money; the things I sometimes feel lacking in. Shifting a scarcity mindset to one of abundance, trusting in myself and God’s provision and plans. This can be hard and scary, but I’m so excited to see where 2016 takes us and the gifts it brings into our lives!

It’s been a great year for us with many firsts, new traditions, new memories, new friends, old friends, family, and lots of love. And of course, challenges too. But I think I really did my word from last year justice: Celebrate. We’re so grateful for the blessings this year has brought. Now, on to a year of abundance.

Fun Stats

These site stats are super interesting to me, and I thought you might like them too. If there’s anything you would like to see more of next year, please let us know! It’s really nice to hear from people and which types of projects are most inspirational/helpful to you. We have a boatload of projects backlogged that I’ll be posting, and some new construction sites in the house as well. It’s hard to keep up with Joe!

 

Here’s an excerpt:

A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 5,500 times in 2015. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 5 trips to carry that many people

Click here to see the complete report.

 

What are you doing for New Year’s? And what are your resolutions?

Decking the Halls

deck the halls

Decorating for a Cozy Christmas

Something about baking, putting up lights, wrapping presents and listening to Christmas music just puts me in the most relaxed mood. I love seeing everyone slowly settle into the season’s comforts. I’m all about adding layers of decorations, day by day. And I love seeing everyone’s Christmas lights – new ones seem to spring up every night! It’s a month-long celebration and we’re right in the middle of it.

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Sugar Cookie Protein Bites

healthy protein sugar cookie dough bites

Are you craving Chritmas cookies like me? Stay strong! We’ve made a batch of cookies already, but I’m doing my best to keep my hands out of the freezer. I devised a plan that both my sweet tooth and my brain can agree upon.

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Garage “Mud Room”

garage entry

Maxing out Garage Storage

Ideally, we’d love to have an actual mudroom or entryway some day, but for now, we are making do with the space we have. If you know us, you know we I have a lot of shoes. There’s really not a great space in our house for our shoes to live, so we’ve been keeping them in the garage.

Well, we’ve engineered a somewhat functional solution that we hope to keep improving. It’s a big improvement actually. With winter on the way, this will give us a central location for all the snow pants, jackets, hats and everything else. And it’s a step up from keeping them all in bins!

 

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Burlap Lamp Shade Upgrade

lamp shade upgrade

Lamp Shade Upgrade

This project was incredibly simple and affordable. I’ve been seeing burlap-covered lamp shades everywhere, and noticed my trusty bedside reading lamp was looking a little dingy. The shade was getting dirty and it was just too plain. So, why not use what I had and make it a little more homey?

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Halloween House

Happy-Halloween

 

A couple weeks ago, Joe and I took a few days off work for our very first staycation. I’ve got to say, it was really exciting! We hardly told anyone where we were going – I know, it’s pretty anticlimactic when you realize our big getaway vacation was actually… nowhere. But to us, it was our time to truly enjoy the house for the first time between moving in, work, and a summer of nonstop commitments.

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Unpacking our Bags

moving in

 

We’ve been moved in for awhile now, but we can finally look back and decompress. Although, we still have a box or five that still need to be sorted.

Moving day was a crazy blur. We left the old house and did both closings the same morning. We handed over the keys and a few tears were shed, but we were really happy to learn a disabled military veteran would be buying the house. We were just excited to get an offer, but this was icing on the cake. He was most looking forward to the running trails and impressed by the neighborhood. We thought he’d be an excellent fit!

So, we were homeless for a few hours before going to our second signing.

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