Entertaining
6 Outdoor Entertaining Musts
We're ready to have people over in our backyard space now that it's so nice out in North Carolina, and it reminded me of the elements that I think really create that perfect outdoor setting for guests. Outdoor entertaining, to me, is really about making people feel comfortable and special. Here are a few things […]
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May 9, 2024
DIY
How to Hang String Lights
Over the weekend, Chris and I hung some string lights in our backyard, and we wanted to give you a proper tutorial on how we did it! We have plenty of ground lighting, but we really needed some overhead illumination for these upcoming summer nights, and string lights are the perfect solution. Here are 10 […]
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June 1, 2023
North Carolina Home
Our Complete Exterior Renovation: The Final Reveal and Cost Breakdown
In the past two homes we've lived in, we prioritized renovating the inside of the house before the outside. So when we made the move to North Carolina, where the outdoor living is outstandingly better than Idaho, we wanted to focus on the outside first. And I'm so glad we did it right from the […]
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May 24, 2023
Other Makeovers
Maximizing the Layout of a Small Deck in 5 Steps!
This post is sponsored by Article and was written by my lovely sister and brand manager, Victoria. Okay, I have to tell you something: Last year, I bought a dapper dining table on Facebook Marketplace and appointed it on my deck with promises of al fresco suppers, season after season. I weatherproofed it (obviously)(or so […]
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April 19, 2023
Sourcing & Planning
5 Exterior Paint Colors that Pair With Red Brick
We've been making some improvements to the overall curb appeal of our exterior, and so naturally, I've been looking more and more at our bright white trim and wondering if we could do better. We've made no changes to the exterior of the house, and I find the red brick to be incredibly attractive and […]
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March 16, 2023
Renovations
What's Been Going on With the Landscaping?
If you've been following along on Instagram, you may have noticed our front yard has been torn up since December. It all started with wanting to expand the driveway because it's sort of a bottleneck situation when it comes to cars coming and going. We also wanted to take out some of the trees and […]
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March 13, 2023
Projects
"Planting" Faux Plants Outside
I guess I'm partially embarrassed and partially excited to tell you about the fake plants I "planted" in these pots right outside the dining room. Unfortunately, I didn't inherit a green thumb from either of my gardening expert parents, so I took matters into my own hands and went the faux route this spring. 36" […]
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March 6, 2023
Renovations
An Overdue Outdoor Kitchen Update
This outdoor kitchen has been a long time in the making! And we're still not done, but it's officially usable and in service. Chris's parents AND my sister Patti happened to be in town over the weekend and so we figured... Why not break in the outdoor kitchen and pool furniture and throw a pool […]
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September 21, 2022
North Carolina Home
The Pool Furniture in Our Backyard Vacation Oasis
This post is sponsored by Sunbrella. This little slice of backyard heaven has been a long time in the making, but it has actually come together at the perfect time. I had my moments of discouragement — when the backyard was a literal mud pit — and it was hard to believe this day would […]
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September 19, 2022
North Carolina Home
Take a Step into Our Outdoor Shower
An outdoor shower was not on our radar AT ALL until our contractor asked if there’s going to be a shower in the pool bathroom (which will be replacing the downstairs laundry room). There’s only going to be enough room for either a stacked washer and dryer, or a shower, but not both. And so […]
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September 7, 2022
Projects
Project Punch List: What's Left On Our To-Do List
I recently made a declaration that I'm not starting any more home projects until our current projects get all wrapped up. There's so many moving parts at the moment and I'm feeling a bit frazzled with all the loose ends. And so! I came up with a list of all the things left on our […]
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August 31, 2022
Entertaining
The Best Lawn Games
We've been focusing on outdoor spaces on the blog this month (if you haven't noticed!) and today is a fun one–all about lawn games! You're never too old for a lawn game! Both Chris and I grew up playing games outside and so of course we love doing that with our friends and family. Growing […]
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June 24, 2022
Entertaining
5 Outdoor Entertaining Musts
As we're getting ready to start using our backyard space, I can't help but picture all the entertaining we plan to do. It's going to take years for this outdoor space to fully mature and grow into what we envision, but I'm not waiting for things to be perfect before we invite our friends and […]
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June 22, 2022
Projects
Outdoor Spaces Then and Now
Any day now we're going to be jumping into that backyard pool, I just know it. It's been a wild ride getting to this point but already it feels so worth it. When we moved in, the backyard space was limited to just a small little courtyard barely big enough for patio furniture. While overflowing […]
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June 16, 2022
Projects
Outdoor Kitchen Plans
When we started to plan our outdoor kitchen, we had a lot of discussions about how hard we wanted to go on it. We now live in a climate that begs for us to be outside almost year round, and I wanted to create a space I'd not only want to cook in, but that […]
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June 13, 2022
Projects
Inspiration for the Outdoor Shower
We were not planning on doing an outdoor shower until our contractor asked if there's going to be a shower in the pool bathroom. There's only going to be enough room for either a stacked washer and dryer, or a shower, but not both. Lately we've been leaning more and more towards washer and dryer […]
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June 6, 2022
Projects
An Overdue Backyard Update!
Wow, wow, wow it's time for a major update in the yard! Now before you light me up and say you like the before better... in this state?–I'm with you. Demo started December 5th and we still have a couple more months of work to go, including hardscaping, landscaping and then years for everything to […]
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May 12, 2022
