Hey There!

We’ve been working to get the house cleaned and organized, and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel – for the bedroom anyway.

We bought a GIANT hutch to organize my clothes a month or two back. Somehow I managed to take the measurements of the hutch, doors, ceiling and wall space, but I didn’t measure the hallway!

We tried so many times to inch it and scoot it and twist it to fit into our bedroom, but there was just no way! Finally, a buddy came over and took the molding off of the top and bottom of the hutch, and we finally got it into the bedroom. I love having my clothes all organized, and it’s allowed me to work on organizing The Fellow’s clothes too!

We’ve been slowly buying matching pieces for the bedroom. First the headboard, now the hutch. The next thing I need is a dresser.

I’m a little obsessed with navy ticking for bedding, so I’m getting together a full bed set of it. I like the old-time farmhouse vibe it gives. The only issue I’m having is that I don’t know if it goes with my curtains.

I’m really struggling with the curtains because I’m not convinced that I want to get rid of my stressed Boho vibe and go full on farmhouse. I’m going to play around with it some, but wanted your thoughts!

What do you think? Can you mix Boho and farmhouse style? Help me out!

 

Hey There!

The Fellow fancies himself a farmer and was dead-set on putting in a garden this year. All I really need are a few tomatoes and zucchini to be content, but he went all out.

Since our backyard is pretty barren, (We have a hard time even getting grass to grow!) We opted for a raised bed of sorts. My brother gave us some of his cattle mineral tubs to repurpose, and The Fellow drilled holes in the bottom for drainage. Then we lined them with rocks and finally some good soil from his grandfather’s farm.

We’re not the most attentive of caretakers, but we still have a decent little crop growing, and we’re starting to get the first of our veggies in!

I think next year I need to invest in a gardening book, because we’re pretty sure we got our timing off.

So far we have made zucchini pizza boats one night for dinner, The Fellow has been snacking on cucumbers and balsamic vinegar (not my thing, but he swears it’s good), and enjoying some fresh tomatoes on our sandwiches. I’m super excited to have BLTs on homemade bread!

How are your gardens going? Any tips or tricks for The Fellow for next year? Let me know in the comments below!

Hey There!

As I mentioned in the last post, we’ve been working on our outdoor living space. So far, we have rearranged the vintage glider my folks gave us and the picnic table my father built for us. The Fellow got the new grill he’d been eyeing, and we hung bistro lights.

When I told the Fellow I wanted to put up lights, I pictured them zigzagging across the porch. Unfortunately, the ceiling is so low that it just doesn’t quite work. Instead, we hung them around the edge of the porch, and I think they look alright – even if it’s not quite what I had envisioned. I think I will like them even better when the porch is limewashed!

Our next step is to put up some curtains to keep the mosquitoes out. A little research told me that Lill curtains from IKEA work and are the right price, but the shipping cost is astronomical. We’re looking to phone a friend near an IKEA or go on a road trip to get them.

We had a few friends over the other night to break out the new grill, and I served a light cream tea out to the porch. It was wonderful – warm early summer air, good tea,  scones, and conversation with new friends. This is what summer is all about. Tea on the porch may just be my new favorite thing!

What are your favorite porch activities? Tell me in the comments below!

Hey There!

Today I just want to sit down and chat and get you caught up with what’s going on with the Fellow and me. You, me, and a cup of tea. Sound good?

May is our busiest month of the summer. It is completely booked and moving SO fast! I’m photographing what I am sure is a going to be a fantastic wedding (It’s themed; any guesses on what theme?), hosting a Mother’s Day brunch, the Fellow and I joined a kickball league (of all things! I’m sure some great stories are headed your way on that one!), and we are taking a long weekend for a SCA mini-event which my soul sorely needs.

Amid all of those things, we’re also working on our cottage, as I’ve decided to call our house. ( I am obsessed with old farmhouses and English cottages, so I figured, why not?)

As you may recall, two years ago, after the Fellow firmly shut down any dreams I had of living in a tiny house, we started house hunting (a process that took over 2 years and the world’s most patient real estate agent). We looked at every imaginable combination of houses and price points.

We soon realized we needed a reality check. We weren’t on a HGTV house-flipping show, and while I’m crafty, I’m really not the best with construction. We stopped looking at extreme fixer-uppers and started looking at move-in ready options with just cosmetic issues we could upgrade slowly.

The Fellow had his heart set on a brick rancher, and I wanted something cute with a porch and not red brick. (Yes, I was being particular, but I’d also lived in several depressing apartments and wanted to love where I lived.) See our dilemma?  After looking at well over 20 houses, he realized that he couldn’t get past his love of a good, solid, durable brick house.

I, on the other hand, could paint over my dislike of red brick. So we struck up a deal. He could have his brick rancher, and I could paint it.

We found our 1960s red brick rancher, and I fell in love with it while leaning over the pass-through kitchen window chatting to the real estate agent and my parents. I love the secluded backyard with a porch, and I could see myself baking and watching kids play through the window over the sink.

I’m pretty sure the Fellow was banking on me forgetting our brick deal (just like the deal where I wouldn’t get a pixie hair cut if he would never have only a mustache . . . Can I just remind you of our engagement photos?)

But I stuck to my guns. After a lot of Pinteresting and Googling, I decided I would limewash the house. I love the patchy-aged look it gives, and it covers that red. I  promise I will have a whole post dedicated to limewash along with a big reveal of what the house looks like once I get it all finished, but I wanted to give you this sneak peek in the mean time!

Along with tackling painting the house by my lonesome (I knew it was a big job, but I admit that I underestimated just how big.), we are working on creating our outdoor living space. We built a fire pit and are revamping the porch.

We’ve also got projects going inside the house. We are slowly finding furniture to upgrade the things we’ve been dragging around since college, and I am so excited to upgrade and decorate our space!

Lots of stuff going on and moving slowly but surely forward. That’s where we are at the moment. I am so excited to share it all with you!

What summer projects are you gearing up for?

When I was a very, very small child, I remember visiting our neighbor, and she had the best selection of movies. I remember one of my favorites was A Troll in Central Park. Does anyone else remember this movie? It’s cute. Stanley, a troll with a green thumb, wants to grow flowers and garden, and the evil Gnorga, the queen of trolls, whose thumb turns things to stone, wants to stop him. You should check it out.

I’ve never been much of a Stanley, no green thumb whatsoever, but I keep trying. I’m quite proud that I’ve kept my little office plant alive as long as I have, and now I have a house with flower beds to keep alive – with roses!

I pruned back the roses bushes and some other bushes. My gardening knowledge basically was gleaned from multiple readings of A Secret Garden as a kid, so I’m hoping that I did this correctly.

The house had some work done to the septic system before we bought it, so there has been a dirt patch in the backyard all winter which has been bugging the Fellow, so we put down some grass seed.

I’m also hoping to fill in space under my pine trees in the yard with some type of flowering ground cover and greens. I did a little Internet research and found that hostas may do ok in the acidic ground below pines, so I picked up some and planted them.

Fingers crossed! What are your favorite non-killable flower bed choices? Comment below!

Whew! It’s been a rough day. My car is having transmission troubles and is out of commission until we get her fixed, the washer machine is leaking all over the floor. The Fellow dropped me off at work an hour and a half early today, since I’m car-less, and I forgot my keys, so I spent the chilly morning outside. I spilled nail polish remover all over everything and got nail polish on my coat! One thing after another.

At least one good thing happened this week. We spent some much-needed time with good friends, and I got my curtains finished and up!

I love these curtains! Want to know a secret? They are actually shower curtains! I’ve been looking and looking for a pattern I liked, but I couldn’t find any traditional curtains that I liked.

I turned over the regular curtain holes and whip-stitched to create a channel to run the curtain rod through. I know that these curtains don’t have the usual ruffle at the top, but I like them anyway.

I also got the blinds and curtains up in the dining room thanks to a little manual labor I extorted from the Fellow and a friend with some blueberry pancakes.

My next big project will hopefully be a new kitchen table and chairs!