Creative Do-It-Yourself Ideas and Inspiration for Your House and Family. Currently making _______________.
July and August have been a little crazy, to say the least. Here’s a little update to where we are in assessing the storm damage and moving forward with repairs.
Things might look bad, but really it’s nothing compared to the hurricane damage people in Texas are experiencing, so we’re counting our blessings. If you have the means to support them financially or give blood, just do a quick google search for the best organizations to provide relief.
My trees are all abloom! This is proving to be the perfect low-maintenance tree I’d hoped for back when we planted all three of them in August. These dainty white flowers are just poking their heads out. I’m so relieved they survived their first Minnesota winter, albeit a mild one. There’s a one year warranty in case they didn’t, but the fact that I didn’t need to use it gives this brown thumb a vote of confidence.
But wait, there’s more. With the $500 free plant grant, we had some extra spending money left after buying our trees, so we went wild and got some flowers and plants too!
I promise we’ll stop with the signs after Christmas, but for now we’re in full craft mode. And we’ve got plenty of basement movie room updates on the way, so hang tight.
Let’s back up a little and talk about this bathroom remodel. If you missed the first video, pop over to that and come back here when you’re done watching. Here’s a little intro of us getting hyped up to start, and me swinging a sledge hammer for the first time! Awww, my first (intentional) hole in the wall.
Joe worked on a house a few months ago, in Stillwater MN, and we were invited to their open house for the grand reveal. It was such a beautiful place! And some of the nicest people ever. Joe did a lot of the behind-the-scenes work: installed a new furnace, reworked some dryer vents, fresh air intake, moved some duck work and some other small fixes. This house was redone from head to toe, and was stunning when it was all finished!
…Or lake hockey.
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.
It only took him 4 hours. Here’s the materials you will probably need:
Yep. We are dreaming big and relocating. The idea has been brewing for a year or so, and the planning has happened behind the scenes. But everything kind of came together in the last few days, so no matter how much planning you do, you can never be 100% ready for any big decision in life. That’s what I’m telling myself at least! We put in an offer. And they accepted. Contingent upon Joe’s current house selling. Cross your fingers!
“May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.” – Nelson Mandela
All things considered, I think it’s been a pretty fun and eventful winter so far! I’m 100% happy with being in MN for the season. (I’ll get back to you around March). I’m equally thankful we don’t live on the east coast right now! So Minnesota isn’t really so bad. In fact, MN is the best kept secret in the US. This article pretty much sums up what we already know.
Anyway, we’ve been out and about these last couple weekends exploring MN and WI and have many adventures to share.
Joe won an all-inclusive, luxury one night stay at his company fish house on Lake Mille Lacs last Friday, so we figured we better use it or lose it 🙂
Two out of three ain’t so bad for a Minnesota winter. We’re still pretty sad that Steve and Shila Bear moved out, but on the bright side, there’s a new room in Joe’s house. What was once a porch addition, because a four-season bedroom. Now it’s restored to a four-season porch! Or “sun room” as we’ve been affectionately calling it.
Come take a peek inside!
I’d like to interrupt our regularly scheduled programming for this PSA.
Thursday, November 13th is Give to the Max Day. It’s a day where nonprofit organizations all over ask for your help. Whether or not you already give to a favorite charity, #GTMD is a day that we try to get everyone on board because we need all the help we can get! So I’m asking you to take a minute to think about charity.