Lifestyle
Throwing an Outdoor Movie Night + My Ultimate Summer Family Flick List
One thing I've been looking forward to ever since we put in a pool in the backyard is an outdoor movie night. It's like the ultimate summer experience, right?! Well this is the year we finally made it happen! We got a projector, a screen, our trusty pool floats, some glowing lights, and some floating […]
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May 30, 2024
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
North Carolina Home
5 Things to Consider Before Installing a Pool
This post is sponsored by Anthony & Sylvan. We haven't even hit the year mark of our finished pool installation, but as the weather's been warming up, the girls have been enjoying weekend swims in our heated pool, and I've been reflecting on our new life as pool owners. I never had dreams of having […]
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May 3, 2023
Renovations
All About the Automatic Pool Cover, We Used
Pool season is almost a wrap but there's no time like the present to pull back the curtain cover to talk about the automatic pool cover we have and love! Pool Chaises | Striped Umbrellas | Side Tables Anthony Sylvan (the pool builder we used) recommended we use an automatic pool cover from Coverstar. Every pool company has its […]
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October 17, 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
updates
A Full Backyard Update
Lots of projects in the backyard finally wrapped up these past couple of weeks, including the pool finally getting filled, so you can find me there! And while not everything is done and tied up in a bow, it is slowly getting there and if there is one thing I have learned throughout all of […]
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July 18, 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
Design
Pool Progress + The Pool Mood Board
It has been a little bit since we've shared an update on the backyard, and we have major pool progress to report! When they promised a pool by summer, they really meant it, and I'm so ready for that. I didn't know exactly what to expect with a pool install but I've been very much […]
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February 22, 2022
Projects
How Much Is It To Install A Gunite Pool? (And How we Budgeted for it)
This post is sponsored by YNAB. Click this link to try YNAB for free for 34 days, no credit card required. A lot of you know or have been following along with the pool and have asked questions about how much it costs, how we're budgeting, and some of the logistics behind it. When we […]
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January 26, 2022
Design
Our REVISED Backyard Landscape Plans
Chris and I have been busy finalizing the plans for our backyard landscaping, including our pool! The plan is to do the pool and other updates over the winter months and have it usable by next summer. A few months back we compared the pros and cons of hiring a local landscape designer vs. working […]
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November 9, 2021
