Sourcing & Planning
A Source for Entry Door Shopping + Choosing Ours
In October, we got a new entry door hardware because our handle actually broke off. Chris fixed it no less than 3 times and it just kept falling off, which didn't make us feel very safe. Weird. But after we finally got a new slick modern black set from Schlage, I couldn't bear to put it […]
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February 24, 2016
DIY
How To Paint the Exterior of Your Home--Yourself!
Today, I have a long overdue update on the exterior of the Pugmire's home! Back in June, I shared that they had wrote an amazingly catchy song and entered their home in a contest to win an exterior makeover. My favorite line of the song is when they sang, "My favorite color isn't salmon, or […]
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November 18, 2015
DIY
DIY Modern Traditional House Number Plaque
Over the summer, we swapped out the lights on our garage and added a pretty hanging basket of flowers. While we are continually smitten with the new lights, the flowers ran their course (pretty quickly!) and we were left with a big womp womp. We tried a few other flowers but our garage gets sun […]
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November 3, 2015
Sourcing & Planning
An Exterior Light Facelift
Although there's so much going on inside, we try to spend time every week making sure our exterior stays maintained. We actually have some rather large plans for our backyard space, but that will have to wait until next year. Nowadays, we're just happy to keep the lawn mowed and the flower beds weed-free, but […]
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August 5, 2015
Toolbox
Move! That! Shed!
This is the story of a shed--our 10x14 shed that sits on one side of our house--or used to until last week. And if you follow me on Instagram, you already knows how the story ends...kind of. Since our kitchen looks out on this side yard (and will even more once we add the other […]
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June 29, 2015
Lifestyle
Make This House A Home
Last week, I shared with you the Pugmires' mind-blowing kitchen renovation they tackled all on their own, and mentioned I'd be sharing something else they'd been working on this week. Well, a couple months ago I mentioned that they should enter the CertainTeed exterior makeover contest. They have been working so hard on the inside […]
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June 1, 2015
DIY
The Prettiest Blue Paint for an Exterior + A Giveaway!
Our backyard neighbor's house is the most beautiful blue. One of the first times we met them, I told them how much I loved the color of their house and how it reminded me of the east coast, where I grew up. She laughed and said they went to medical school on the east coast […]
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November 20, 2014
DIY
Would You Rather: Real Wood vs. Composite Decking
Our actual back-backyard is pretty small. We are anxious to get the fence finished in the next couple days because we know that will help define a larger backyard for our family that will include our expansive side yards, but as for the back--this is what we're working with: Womp, womp. That scalloped fence belongs […]
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July 28, 2014
Sourcing & Planning
Insert Hammock Here
There's a little grove of four trees on the north side of our yard that was inhabited by an old fire pit for who knows how long. We knew we wanted to tear that thing out--although we'd love to add a firepit elsewhere on our property, the idea of a fire in the middle of […]
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July 14, 2014
Sourcing & Planning
Fencing: How much does it cost?!?
We have been busy the past couple weeks nailing down a lot of details pertaining to the upcoming fencing project for our yard and we have learned so much. Fence jargon--it exists! Our search to find something similar to our inspiration photo started out rough. A nearby fencing company with something very similar to our […]
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June 25, 2014
Projects
Plant Newbies
If I could (I know I could) go back to school, I would get a degree or take a class--something! anything!--in landscape design. And/or computer science. And accounting. Ha! But really, I wish I knew more about landscape design and plants in general. It's been a struggle and a fear for us since purchasing our last […]
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June 16, 2014
Inspiration
Good Fences Make Sane Parents
Our next major project is something we've been on the fence about for 9 months. To fence or not to fence. We need a fence for Charly (and most recently, Gretaaaaaa!!!). We knew that when we first purchased this house. But, our neighborhood is so beautifully open, we didn't want to move in and change all that […]
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June 11, 2014
DIY
Keep on Truckin'
We are all over the house right now. Our base cabinets are still sprawled throughout the basement waiting for hardware. I decided to rearrange the whole great room to make room for more seating this weekend and, of course, we threw in one more exterior project for good measure--luckily it only took a few minutes. […]
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May 29, 2014
Decor
Decorating the Front Door for Christmas. Fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la.
We decked the halls (okay, just the front of our house) really early this year. Back in July, Home Depot contacted me and asked us to participate in their Holiday Style Challenge this year. They sent us a room full of mystery boxes containing more Christmas stuff then we knew what to do with and […]
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November 14, 2013
DIY
Winterizing The Lawn
We were recently invited by Ace Hardware to be a part of their first ever Ace Blogger Panel. It's exciting and new and the reason for my trip to Chicago (their headquarters) a few weeks ago. Ace's whole goal is to create a hardware store experience that makes you feel like you're getting help from […]
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November 13, 2013
DIY
Onyx and the Front Door
On our pre-party to-do list was the task of painting our front door. Ideally, we could replace the entire thing. It's terribly dented and it's not necessarily our favorite design. We have actually been pricing out a dutch door. I can't stop dreaming about the functionality of a dutch door--where I can open the top and […]
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October 22, 2013
DIY
How We Spent the First Weekend in Our New House
One of these days I'll have to write a post about the lessons we learned in our first house, because we would do more than one or two things differently. The number one thing that Chris and I both took away was, you can't take even a season off from exterior up-keep. When we moved […]
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August 26, 2013
Cleaning & Organization
Tips For Cleaning Up Your Exterior
My sweet parents are in town for a few days helping us clean up a few things outside. They are landscaping gurus and work horses and the amount of yard work we got done yesterday is more than we've done in probably two years. Our exterior checklist has changed drastically. We went from prepping for […]
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July 9, 2013
DIY
How To Make Your Sliding Patio Door Open Easier
This post is sponsored by Procter & Gamble and Lowe’s. This summer, Lowe’s wants you to Go Outside and Shine! When going to Lowe’s to pick up flowers and citronella candles, you can also purchase all your favorite P&G products, too. The good folks from Procter & Gamble and Lowe's sent me a few of their outdoor […]
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June 28, 2013
Projects
Sprout It--Backyard Takeover Contest!
As you know, we have been really focusing on our exterior the last couple months, specifically getting our very first garden going. We built the garden boxes, we removed all the sod and this is where we kind of freeze because although both of us grew up with gardens, growing your own in a new-to-you […]
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June 25, 2013
