School House Rehab
Trying to leave our little slice of America better than we found it!To-Do List: November 2012
November 24, 2012
I’ve decided to start putting my monthly to-do lists up on the blog at the beginning of each month so that I’m held accountable for the things I pounce on and the things that seem to slip away from me. That, and Matt reeeeeaaally wants me to go paperless. He doesn’t realize that is nearly impossible for a girl who loves cutesy notepads and personalized stationery. But back to this month’s to-do list.
School House Road Trip: Sandy Edition
November 14, 2012
As you may or may not know, we were relatively unharmed by superstorm Sandy as she ripped through the region a few weeks ago. We miraculously kept our power on throughout, and were able to use the house as a warm spot for friends and family to gather if needed. My mother-in-law, however, was not so fortunate, as she lost power for about a week and had this happen to her home:
Getting Our Sand On
November 7, 2012
When I decided to fix-up the guest room, I figured I’d need some paint and bedding upgrades, but I didn’t think there would be room in the budget for new furniture. Then I remembered my parents were looking to get rid of a pair of beat-up dressers my sister and I used as kids. We’re all grown up now and the dressers are empty! More importantly, my dad used these dressers when he was a kid, too!
Christmas Came Early!
November 4, 2012
It feels like Christmas came early this year for me. It feels like this for three reasons, and two of the reasons are particularly exciting! The first reason (and this is the less exciting of the 3 reasons) it feels like Christmas came early is: I went outlet shopping! I bought a lot of gifts for other people to get ahead of the game but admittedly, I bought quite a bit for myself, as well.
Guest Room Sneak Peek
November 1, 2012
I am going to put some finishing touches on the guest room this weekend (lighting issues, specifically) and I know, I knowwwwwww it’s taking forever. Girl’s gotta work, sheesh! Here are a couple of shots to give you an idea of where I’m heading with this little makeover of mine. This is the rug I’ve been eyeing since our trip to Texas, where I first spotted it at a local Costco near my sister’s home.
October 2012 In Review
October 31, 2012
Happy Halloween, you guys! We didn’t do any costuming this year, but perhaps next year. We just needed a year off from Halloween festivities. That, and we get ZERO trick-or-treaters (which breaks my heart - next house!) so there isn’t much motivation to go all out. When we do have a house someday that gets trick-or-treaters, watch out. Just watch out. It’s going to be scary up in here. But back to the monthly recap.
Our School House vs. Mother Nature
October 29, 2012
With “monster storm” Hurricane Sandy whistling outside the windows, I wanted to take a look back and see how this old house of ours has weathered (ha - pun intended) storms of school house past. I’m currently writing this with the power ON, but I know others are dealing with MUCH, MUCH worse conditions. I’m praying for you all out there battling this “Frankenstorm.” Sandy will be our fourth epic storm in under a year and the fourth epic storm we’ve had to battle while in this house.
The Bees Knees...Not.
October 29, 2012
Late in the summer, we found a ton of bees nests “nestled” behind our shutters. It seemed every shutter was plagued by it, but one was especially bad, with a incessant stream of bees going in and out. The nest covered the back of the shutter and was starting to make it’s way around to the front. Nasty. Matt wielded two cans of bee killer spray from the porch, spraying the nest with overlapping motions, like he was swinging nunchucks.
A Slippery Stair Situation
October 28, 2012
When we moved into this ol’ house of ours, the stairs leading up to the two guest bedrooms looked like this… Eek! After pulling out the carpet and removing all of the nails, we had the tops of the stairs refinished professionally. Back in April, I was busy painting the stairs white to go from this… …to this… I’m still reeling over the difference a little paint can make on a set of very dark stairs.
Starry Night
October 25, 2012
Fall is in full swing, and all of the time I’m spending snuggling up on the couch, (in my new blanket, of course) drinking my tea, and perusing the new fall catalogs is making me want to shop. I’m particularly smitten with Moravian stars. They’ve been trending for a while, and I’ve loved them for a while. Seems like the stars are aligned. Time to get one. I want this (or something like it) for our front porch.