This Giveaway is Now Closed. Congrats to ArtsyNina for taking home the area rug gold! A good quality area rug can transform a room--and we have a lot of rooms to transform in this house. So, when RugsUSA offered up a freebie of my choice, I jumped on that! Actually, I played it cool and […]
Something this blog is not--instant before and afters. I like to take you a long for the complete ride. Although the "after" pictures are definitely the most exciting, there's too much work that happens along the way and too many changes and decisions, I think it would be a complete injustice to not share with […]
Whew, where has the time gone, huh? I've been awol from the blogging world for the past, mmmm, 4 months. You'll have to forgive me because we have made some pretty rockin' meals in that time, none of which have been posted. Forgiveness please. Now that summer is here, I have some great meal ideas […]
1. Surprisingly it's not that most pants are capris on me. At least not this time. I am 6' tall and the fact that these skinny cargos are more like super-crops or capris on me is okay for the summer. I'm also not complaining that they were on mega sale, either. Originally $89.50, when I […]
Saturday morning, I woke up and decided to paint the front door. I kinda envisioned getting it painted that day, but deciding on a color took an entire day. I have been pinning yellow doors like crazy lately because I think they look so cheerful, but once I got the swatches up, I just wasn't […]
This week has been all about sprucing up our front entry. This front entry: While we are not quite ready to do a grand reveal (the door needs to dry before we hang it), there are a few other things that we changed that deserve some attention. Like our new house numbers. Those bright gold […]
The downward spiral started yesterday when Chris took both sets of keys to work, leaving me no way to get around. The funny thing is, I usually go nowhere, but yesterday I had a few errands to run, including picking up the paint for the front door. He quickly resolved to bring the keys home […]
Am I a little embarrassed that this is what is welcoming people into my home? A little. It's so boring. That blue welcome mat was there when we moved in and I never thought to change it. The door knocker has the previous homeowner's name engraved on it. There are discolored, dingy hangers everywhere that […]
Chris has been putting in 80 hour weeks for some time now. Remember when I mentioned he was busy?--I wasn't lying. He is the executive director of conferences for an e-learning software company and just got done with the biggest conference of the year on Saturday. He brought me home a shirt and I slipped […]
Have you ever read the book, If you give a mouse a cookie? There’s a little mouse that is given a cookie. As a result of eating a cookie, he wants a glass of milk and then a straw and a napkin and before you know it he is trimming his hair and mopping the floors […]
It took a few days for me to complete, but I finally finished painting our main staircase railing and spindles. I used the same color as I did to paint the smaller railing in the dining room: Benjamin Moore's Steel Wool. Chris and I each picked up a free sample and there is still a little […]
Greta and I just got home and it feels good. Actually, it feels a little muggy because the air hasn't been on for days, but just knowing we made it home safely is a good feeling. Greta is already tearing into things as if she is discovering our house for the first time all over […]
I took a quick trip to Idaho to visit my parents while Chris holds the fort in Utah and remains busier than ever. While there, I realized how much of my art my parents have on display in their house. While I tend to do more abstract pieces for our home, my parents have a […]
That's how I describe Pinterest. Everything I love--organized. I told my sisters over Easter that it has changed my life and they all kinda chuckled and made fun of me a little, and now they are hooked, too. So, if you haven't jumped on the Pinterest bandwagon, I urge you to do so. I would […]
Big shout-out, first and foremost, to Patty-Patty (my sis) for giving me the 30 second tutorial on how to make tabs for your blog. And I know--well, I think--I am one of the last people to figure it out, but just in case I am not the very last and you have been Googling for […]
I have been waiting to write this post for awhile now. It's definitely one of those things we didn't want to get too excited about until everything was official and in place. One of our many goals this year, was to expand our family with another little one. Well, it's June (it's June!?) and we […]
When I am painting, I have loads of time to just think. And if you have seen how many spindles are on our staircase, you know my mind has been spinning lately. It may have hit me what to do with the far wall in the family room. Chew on this! Currently Potentially ...back […]
Update: This post is not a true representation of what our home looks like, but merely what it looked like the day this was posted. For an accurate view of our case--check out the House Tour page. I finally got around to our "House Tour" tab. Here you can find the full grand tour complete […]
Sometimes there is so much I want to tackle, I can't decide what to do next. My solution: I do whatever is free. And since Chris is working late every night, lately I have been picking projects that I can do easily by myself. In steps the stairway railing and her little sister, this […]
When we moved, we lost something very valuable: our babysitters. Chris's brother, Brandon and his lovely wife, Stephanie, eagerly watched little Greta whenever we wanted--and sometimes they even volunteered! Not only were they family, but they lived right around the corner from us--and they were free, although we tried to throw in a pizza or […]
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Welcome to our online community where we've posted home, DIY, style, renovations, and family since '09. Renovating our #cljmoderncottage in Idaho and headed for new adventures in Raleigh, NC. #cljfam #cljtransformations
