Or maybe they did tell you. If you were young and naive like us, you just didn’t listen. I’m here to tell you, for the record — they were right. Renovations are hard.
Garage “Mud Room”
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!
Patio Pillows
Outdoor Pillows
It was about time we decided to set up a patio table on the deck outside our bedroom. And pillows were the most exciting part! It was actually my first project that I had planned, even before we moved from the old house. I had bought fabric weeks before we even moved. Call me crazy, but it was my #1 project idea since May.
There are so many fun and funky patterns of outdoor fabric, why would you buy them from the store? And I think they’re a little overpriced if you buy them from a Target or Home Goods. So I headed to Joanne.com to find a few patterns I liked. Luckily there were many! And a few cute ones in-store too. They were even all 40% off! All I needed to do was buy some stuffing and I used my sewing machine to do the rest.
Mix’n & Match’n
Here’s what I found on my first round of shopping in Joanne.
In love with the geometric one.
I ordered these three on Joanne.com.
Lemon Coconut Muffin Bars
Happy Easter, Happy Spring
I found this recipe in our staging cookbook that we used for house showing decor. It’s the Better Homes and Gardens annual recipes 2003 cookbook. We picked it purely for the colors and photos, but hey, I’ve already made two recipes from it! I put a different spin on it to serve up for Sunday. Easter has always been my favorite holiday, and I’m so excited! If you’re looking for a good spring recipe, I would highly recommend this one. (Unless we’re going to the same family function.) It’s fairly easy, and there’s even a surprise filling inside. Hope you enjoy!
Ingredients
Guest Bathroom: From Popcorn to Knockdown
Popcorn vs Knockdown
Are you like Joe and hate popcorn ceiling with a passion? It never bothered me much, until I realized how many alternatives are out there! Joe has always wanted to try doing a knockdown ceiling treatment, so we decided to pick a sample room and try our hand. Since Steve’s bathroom is basically unoccupied now, we figured it was the perfect small space for a test run!
The Supplies
You’ll need to buy a few things before attempting this yourself.
Gingerbread House
I absolutely love making gingerbread houses and try to build one every year! Last year I bought a kit, but after seeing this log cabin, I decided I should try making one myself! So I found a handy contractor and hired him and his cousin to help me out 🙂
At first, they were acting way too cool for such childish activities, but once I got started they kind of took over! The outcome wasn’t as picturesque as this, but there was joy in the process. And isn’t that what matters?
The Tools
I rounded up all the graham crackers, gumdrops, peppermint candies, hard candy, frosting, pretzel rods, and sprinkles I could find.
Halloween Costumes
Costumes: An Anthology
I’m surprised I didn’t post anything about Halloween costume-making last year. But by now I have two years’ worth of costume concocting photos. Mwa Ha Ha. Would you rather buy your costume or make one? Or maybe you have a tried and true go-to that you wear annually. (I wore my pirate costume 3 years straight. I was in a pirate phase.) I’m definitely a fan of making something out of existing clothes or thrift finds.
S’more Summer Ventures
Hold on!
It’s gonna be a bumpy ride.
These days, we’re trying to get the most out of each summer night. We’re on the lake 2-3x/week and squeezing in any and every outdoor activity possible.
Although I love summer, I love fall just as much and can’t hold back my excitement for all things autumn. Look, the foreign exchange students are already back in my building! Saint Paul Prep School is now in session.
I got the first day of school jitters this morning just seeing them 🙂
Back to summer…
YardWork
Putting the Yard to Work
At last! You may remember that we put in irrigation a couple months back. And we did reseed the back lawn as well. But that’s about it. It already looks better, but was in a pretty sad state. We always brainstorm such great plans for the back, but they never seem to come to fruition. The back is primarily the hangout for bonfires, hammock nights, and the bunnies’ playground. Yard work is now underway! (I know, I know. Summer’s almost over. shhhh. Don’t tell the lawn.)
Summer Ventures
Summer On
It’s already August, but summer is just getting started! We refuse to go quietly into fall. Hold your horses, autumn. We’re hanging onto summer as long as we can! These last couple weeks have been a whirlwind of sun, sand and sanding. I’ll start with the fun stuff.
Camping
We went camping in Alexandria, MN and spent a lot of time on the water!