tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42361647875371140742024-02-20T03:48:22.863-05:00I'm Always NestingUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4236164787537114074.post-50523870571405000302015-03-11T10:22:00.000-04:002015-03-11T10:22:28.574-04:00Master Suite: Design IdeasWell, it started as a master bathroom remodel & as these things often do, has spiraled into a master suite refresh.
We have been planning to bring new life to our bathroom for a while, but it wasn't until we got new carpet in our bedroom that some things needed to change. Here's a peak at our bedroom and bedding before.
Burgundy carpet, people! Funny thing is that I was Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4236164787537114074.post-4912617748235277412015-03-09T02:30:00.000-04:002015-03-09T02:30:01.089-04:00Before: Master Bathroom One of the last rooms in a house to get a make-over always seems to be the master suite. Why is that? Probably because it's one of the last rooms in the house guests will actually see. But, I'm here to put an end to our dated bathroom.We haven't decided whether we'll be doing a remodel with some demolition, or just fixing what's not ideal.
Let's start with some before pictures and ideas of what Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4236164787537114074.post-27027568605244562882014-09-18T15:41:00.002-04:002014-09-18T15:42:36.835-04:00The Table is In!
Welp, it's finally finished!
I made this table way harder than it should have been, and in the future I will be able to complete a table way quicker.
The trouble with this table was that it had to be built in our garage (and by ours, I mean my husband's side, he was thrilled... thrilled to have his garage back!) and installed at our cottage in pieces, so I couldn't assemble it Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4236164787537114074.post-89628414893666788572014-08-27T05:00:00.000-04:002014-08-27T05:00:05.889-04:00A Bedroom Fit for a SuperheroWhen we moved Matt into his "big boy" room almost 3 years ago (wait, what?!) we were going for a hockey theme. Somehow it didn't all pan out as I imagined. The one cool thing we did was take dad's broken hockey sticks and made drawer pulls out of them for his built-in dresser. And besides a few framed prints of hockey apparel and some pucks he got from a Griffin's game, that was all...
So Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4236164787537114074.post-47703005841298866912014-08-19T15:23:00.001-04:002014-08-21T07:08:38.088-04:00A Big Boy Room for My Little ManIn a little over a month, Ty will be 2 and a half. He still loves his crib, but I know the time will come quickly when he'll be ready for a bed, just like his big brother, and we're sort of hoping to make the transition before Thanksgiving guests arrive.
We have three bedrooms upstairs in our house - one is Matt's room, one is the guest bedroom/office, and one is the nursery, or Ty's room. We Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4236164787537114074.post-87565302093246149432014-08-01T09:37:00.002-04:002014-08-01T09:37:48.510-04:00Favorite Finds: July
I've decided to start a monthly series of favorites that I've
found around while searching, shopping, talking to friends, etc. I hope
you find it helpful and fun! I've seen other bloggers who do a weekly
post, but I'm going to stick to monthly. ;)
<<<ONE>>>To start
out, as I was searching for a pair of accent chairs for the living room
in our cottage, I came acrossUnknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4236164787537114074.post-23269096029879690862014-07-25T15:51:00.001-04:002014-07-25T22:08:29.285-04:00Blueberry Picking & Recipe Round Up
This morning the boys and I went blueberry picking at a farm a couple of miles from our house.
I love this place.
If I could pick a farm to live on, this would be it! They have acres upon acres of strawberries, blueberries, apples, corn, you name it. And one of the things I love most is that not all of the blueberries are together. There's a patch toward the front, then on Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4236164787537114074.post-73048644488165235012014-07-16T13:10:00.001-04:002014-07-16T23:10:40.253-04:00Design Board: Colorful Cottage Dining RoomI've been busy scouring thrift shops and Craig's List for the right dining chairs to pair with the Farmhouse dining table that's currently in progress in our garage. Right away I found a couple of simple wicker parsons chairs for $40, and just last night I found a set of 6 wooden chairs that were originally purchased from World Market for sale at $15 each. 8 sturdy chairs for around $100 sounds Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4236164787537114074.post-70797935383581415342014-07-09T10:07:00.000-04:002014-07-10T07:06:39.854-04:00My Family Cottage & A Dining Plan
I hope you all had as fun of a 4th as we did! We spent the whole weekend
with family and friends at my family's cottage - just a short walk from
the beach on Lake Michigan - swimming in the lake, playing in the sand, eating ice cream, and of course watching fireworks over the channel.
My parents bought our cottage when I was 4 & we practically lived out Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4236164787537114074.post-7583507796367058722014-06-30T09:33:00.002-04:002014-07-10T07:06:52.930-04:00Client Kitchen Updates: Design PlanFor years now my mom has been wanting to change a few things around in her kitchen to brighten it up and make it feel a little bigger. Due to the location of the kitchen, without major renovations, there's really no way to make it bigger or change the cabinet layout. It's a galley style kitchen, and that's how it shall stay.
Her home is very unique & pretty well known in our area. After all,Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4236164787537114074.post-83845596783078335432014-06-25T10:56:00.000-04:002014-06-25T10:56:56.846-04:00Seven Scrumptious Ways to Enjoy Strawberries
It's berry season here in Michigan, and I couldn't be more excited! One of my favorite things to do with the boys in the summer is pick fresh berries - strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries - we pick 'em all!
Last year we picked at a farm right by our house, which was convenient, but the berries weren't the sweetest. This year we drove north a bit and found a fun farm with Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4236164787537114074.post-44571825668542463022014-06-01T17:05:00.001-04:002014-06-07T06:41:23.159-04:00Where We've Been
You may have been wondering where I'VE been lately. I seem to have gone missing after my half-bathroom reveal, but no worries -- I'm still here! Life has been busy, and this little hobby takes a back seat when that happens. I've been working on a client project, helping my mom choose a few new finishes and fixtures for her kitchen update, and last week was M's last day of 2-day Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4236164787537114074.post-62381155666627296372014-04-19T08:17:00.000-04:002014-04-29T13:11:20.502-04:00Half-Bathroom Reveal
It's been a long time comin'!
This little space is not 100% complete, but with the exception of a window treatment, it's ready to be enjoyed.
Months ago, I had to take a long break from my living room projects when our tile installer called on a Friday and asked us if we would be ready for our new floor to begin installation on Monday. We couldn't say no. We had been Unknownnoreply@blogger.com33tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4236164787537114074.post-12207146414231182372014-04-18T21:55:00.001-04:002014-04-25T06:49:46.614-04:00Watercolor Inspired Spring Mantel
Well it's finally feeling like Spring here!
After a beautiful weekend reaching into the 70's, we had another round of snow on Tuesday, leaving everything covered in ice topped with inches of snow.
Bleh.
BUT that meant I had a little more time to play around with the shelves in our dining room that I call my mantel.
When I blogged about my fall mantelUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4236164787537114074.post-8252320536010946152014-04-02T15:55:00.003-04:002014-04-07T07:17:43.902-04:00Freezer Meal Swap with Friends
In March, four of my friends and I decided to start a freezer meal swap, initiated by my friend Kristin. Out of the five of us, three are pregnant. Nope, I'm not one of the three -- no news here on that front! However this will make life easier for all of us.
We swapped our first round of meals in the beginning of March. It was a fun & relaxing couple of hours of girl time. I stopped at Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4236164787537114074.post-32982829781557664272014-04-01T14:36:00.002-04:002014-04-16T07:57:02.953-04:00DIY "Dipped" Baskets
We've made major progress in the half-bathroom since I last posted. We were waiting on our quartz counter top to be fabricated, which took about three weeks. Once that was ready, I kicked it into high gear, because I was so excited to have the final piece in my hands!
I started accessorizing the bathroom with a couple of big baskets I picked up for under the sink. I searched high and low for Unknownnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4236164787537114074.post-3219124378591820362014-03-10T05:00:00.000-04:002014-03-15T07:28:38.449-04:00Half-Bathroom Sconces -- a quick fix!
After a quick & impromptu project, we've decided not to replace our sconces, but to renew them!
I've received a lot of compliments on our $20 Home Depot sonces, and I really liked them too, but the original chrome finish just wasn't working in this new rustic setting.
Enter: Rustoleum Aged Copper Spray Paint & a mini tutorial!
Step One: Remove the fixture from the Unknownnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4236164787537114074.post-43258379473098927082014-03-06T14:45:00.002-05:002014-03-07T15:02:38.352-05:00Planking, Priming & PaintingI started planking one wall in the bathroom a couple of weeks ago. It was the quickest one, with long boards, no outlets, switches, lights, windows, etc. Things were moving fast... until I had to start using the jig saw. Seems easy enough, but my blade kept falling out every 15 seconds or so.
As if that wasn't annoying enough, I ran out of plywood with 4 boards left. I tried to stretch itUnknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4236164787537114074.post-54167592258737814772014-02-21T15:51:00.000-05:002014-03-06T21:58:38.522-05:00The New Man in My Life {DIY Vanity for the Half-Bathroom}You met the new little lady in my life recently, and now it's time to introduce you to the new man in my basement.... Kreg, AKA KregJig.
Ok, so it's not a man (I'm outnumbered as it is!). My awesome husband got it for me as a Christmas gift, and I can't believe I waited almost 2 months to use it! I admit I was nervous, but an unexpected call from the tile installer on a Thursday saying he would Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4236164787537114074.post-39754627030159709152014-02-20T14:55:00.000-05:002014-02-20T14:55:21.671-05:00"Sweet Annie"Why are a lot of my posts titled with song names? I'm a little corny, I suppose.
But this one is special, because it's more than just the name of a song, it's the name of our new puppy!
Annie is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, and she is super sweet! But she's been keeping us a little busier than usual (as if two little boys doesn't keep me busy enough...). I thought for a few days she hadUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4236164787537114074.post-59850531963537380682014-02-04T15:31:00.000-05:002014-02-04T15:32:07.603-05:00Our Favorite Meatloaf
Whenever we have company coming over for dinner I try to make something that everyone will enjoy. This recipe has been a hit particularly with my in-laws. Maybe because this family's full of men! 6 grandsons so far...
I think the first time I had meatloaf was when I first made this recipe. It kind of grossed me out to be honest. But then I thought about it, and meatloaf is pretty much a Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4236164787537114074.post-60936028082328469532014-01-31T05:30:00.000-05:002014-01-31T05:30:01.028-05:00We're Half Way There..."Woooah! Livin' on a prayer!" And you better believe it. I finished two of the four doors for the built-ins in the living room, and thanks to the awful weather we've been having, I wasn't rushed to get it all done because no one ended up coming for dinner on Saturday. However, even if it was sunny and 75, there's no way I would have gotten the other two doors done.
I have a major road block, andUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4236164787537114074.post-11497660451173322892014-01-29T14:22:00.002-05:002014-01-29T14:23:20.393-05:00Kitchen Renovation {Before}It's been almost 3 years since we renovated our kitchen, and today I thought I'd show you some of the before pictures, and some reasons why we decided to gut and start over.
Above is a view of our old kitchen standing in our dining room. Just to note, I had already removed the fruit and ivy wall paper that was on the bulkhead when we moved in. I planned on painting the bulkhead (one Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4236164787537114074.post-31762221293747234882014-01-24T05:30:00.000-05:002014-01-29T14:23:38.997-05:00Half-Bathroom Design IdeasAs I explained here we're planning a complete half-bathroom renovation. With cracking grout and popping tiles, it's time.
When I first saw the Montaigne vanity from Home Decorators, I fell in love! It's clean yet rustic, and offers the perfect storage, in my opinion, for a half-bath. I eyed this guy for over a year, and finally this past Cyber Monday, I ordered it... and then I measured. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4236164787537114074.post-27507296407049677622014-01-22T05:30:00.001-05:002014-01-22T05:30:01.099-05:00Beefin' Up the Built-Ins
In our house we have two fireplaces and a set of built-ins on either side of both fireplaces. We spend a lot of time in our living room, especially after the boys go to sleep, and I've spent a lot of time staring at the built-ins in this room pondering how I can make them a little more substantial.
If you can remember waaaay back in October, I wrote about how I wanted to make some Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0