Back in eighth grade, when my idea of love was swooning over the lead singer of the Backstreet Boys, I kept a keepsake box. And when I say keepsake box, I mean a caboodle full of junk. But it was my junk that mattered to me. I’m talking birthday cards, seashells from beach trips, movie ticket stubs…I even saved a…
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Wedding Week I: 50 Date Ideas
To add to our wedded bliss-filled week, I thought I’d share a bunch of date night ideas that Robert and I have done over the years (or at least dreamed of doing since some of them are on our to-do list). Sometimes it’s easy to get stuck in a rut with the typical dinner and a movie go-to. Robert and…
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Wedding Week I: Our Backstory
This week, Robert and I are celebrating our 3 year wedding anniversary (yaaay!), and even though I have some projects to share with you guys, I thought it would be fun to do a wedding week. I posted a while back about the details of our wedding day, but I never wrote about how it all started. If you’re up…
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Getting Designer Paint Colors for Less
We’re having a pants party! Steve Carell welcomes you… Okay it’s technically a paints party…sorry if you’re disappointed, but I’m excited. We finally have some color upstairs! About time, right? I know, I’ve ranted about it for the past month. Living in a sea of white is something I want to leave in my apartment-dwelling days (room reveal at the bottom…
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Recipe: Gluten Free Four Cheese Spinach Quiche
I haven’t gotten into sharing any recipes on here yet. Frankly, it’s because I usually lack originality in the kitchen. But I’m a darn good copy cat when it comes to following other peoples’ recipes. Last night though, I was a rebel (gasp!). Okay, I’ll come clean. I hadn’t planned dinner and I looked at my pathetic, bare pantry only…
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Alcohol is my Best Friend
Remember back when Robert and I stripped our fireplace mantle and I was in love with the Citristrip we used? Well, that relationship has run its course and after this last furniture stripping project, it’s time for a breakup. Sorry Citristrip. It’s you, not me. And just like every difficult break-up, I turned to alcohol to get me through it….
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Welcome to my brain on varnish stripper
Okay, not literally my brain on varnish stripper as in huffing the stuff (although it is hard escaping the fumes), but for the past 24 hours I have been up to my elbows…literally…in an icky, goopy varnish removal process on a set of dining chairs I thrifted. More on that later. But for now, despite my urges to curse throughout…
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A Little Out-Of-Season Inspiration
Even though it is 70 degrees outside and I am officially on spring break (hallelujah!), I have been looking for inspirations to help me visualize our upcoming faux fireplace project. (Which I know has been upcoming for a couple of months now…hey, I never said we were fast DIYers, right?) Back in January, we found an old 1940s full fireplace…
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If a Typewriter Could Talk
Call me a hopeless romantic. I don’t know if it’s the English teacher in me who constantly analyzes literature for deeper meaning and has inspirational discussions with high schoolers on a daily basis (those teeny-boppers have some powerful minds), but I always find myself drawn to houses that could tell a story. My mom and I have had this discussion…
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Pottery Barn Knock-Off Moss Letters
Here I go again with another Pottery Barn related DIY. It’s a sickness really. They do have some amazing cottage decor, but I can’t bring myself to spend a huge wad of cash to get it. When I figure out little shortcuts though, I get to have the PB awesomeness and still have money to buy Jimmy Choos (not). Or…
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Topiary the Mornin’ to Ya!
Maybe it’s this gorgeous South Carolina 70 degree weather that has me in the mood to be outside because I have been giving the front of our house a lot of love. (If you’re reading this and you’re still buried under the lingering snow, I’ll send some of our sunshine your way.) I’ve been working on our exterior little by…
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The Grass (isn’t always) Greener
Our lawn is like a middle-aged man with a mullet: patchy and graying in the front, wild in the back. Spring has officially sprung and while our neighbors have some beautifully luscious lawns, ours is well…the red headed step-child of the neighborhood so to speak. I’m pretty sure other HOA members are looking down their noses at our not so…
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Mr. Craig Strikes Again
Craigslist success strikes again! Yeah, I’m an addict. If paying half price for furniture is wrong, then I don’t wanna be right. We have paid the majority of our attention to the downstairs since embarking on this decor and furnishing quest. When you have a folding card table in your breakfast nook, sometimes the lack of necessities are hard to…
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On the Bright Side
After wrestling with not one, not two, but three fixtures, Robert and I finally are happy with Olivia’s bedroom light. It was a comedy of errors that included 1 stubborn ceiling fan that I didn’t really like in the first place, 1 Ikea Maskros light that I bought on Craigslist for $20 and in my excitement of finding the deal…
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Tiny Dancer in my Head
My daydreams of Olivia’s room plans have me singing some Elton John lately. 🙂 If you’ve kept up with my bedroom plans for our rambunctious 1 year-old, you’re probably thinking this chick has issues with commitment. Well, yeah you’re right. When it comes to decor plans, I hem and haw way too much. And Robert just shakes his head and…
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15 Tips for Craigslist Savvy Shopping
Not to toot my own horn but…eh who am I kidding. I’ve hit the jackpot lately on Craigslist and I am bursting at the seams because of my awesome purchases in the past few weeks. When we first moved in to this house three months ago, we had next to no furniture. Zip. Zilch. Nada. Well, okay we had a…
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Paint Spiel
I feel like I’ve been a paint tease for the past two months as I’ve been planning wall colors without so much as a hint of a follow-through. Life happens, my friends. But fear not, spring break is T minus 7 school days away. (Not that I’m counting or anything. Heh.) I’ve been mentally preparing myself by loading up my…
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DIY Chalkboard “Hand Lettering” Decal {Tutorial}
A few weeks ago, the hubby and I mustered up the courage to paint an accent wall in our kitchen to use as a chalkboard. I have to say, it’s pretty darn functional. I actually do plan out our menu for the week on this wall, write down any items as we run out to snap a cell phone picture…
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Ode to Craigslist’s Lost
I thought about quoting some John Keats, but then I figured I would spare you the literary torture I cause my students to endure on a daily basis and just cut to the chase of my disappointing little kick-myself-in-the-butt experience instead. I have this little habit of not always practicing what a preach and my Craigslist experience this week proved…
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Shabby Chic or Shabby Cheap?
I mentioned before in my super simple mirror window DIY that my fabulous mother-in-law let me raid her barn chock full of old windows, doors, and random furniture scraps from their 1905 house. The shabby chic geek in me freaked! (Say that 5 times fast.) After the window salvage, I wanted to give some old window shutters a go by…
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