Looking for creative DIY summer projects? Here are 15 projects–one for every summer weekend to make this summer even more creative. Remember when I wanted an obelisk for my Dipladenias and remembered I was on a spending freeze? Yikes. What’s a girl to do when her heart is yearning for English garden accessories and all she has is spare change? Find a set of embroidery hoops at the bottom of the craft closet and some wood strips from the wood shop and DIY obelisks for her planters. There’s nothing better than a budget-friendly DIY. Raise your hand if you love summer (those comments yesterday ..read more

  || blue and white striped chairs || blue and white rug || khaki sofas || gold coffee table || Yesterday I walked into this room and from every window the sun was shining in. Outside the skies were blue. The flowers were blooming. The birds were chirping. The sunbeams were dancing across the 110-year wood floors. I closed my eyes just for a moment and smiled. And thought to myself…. ….hello summer—nice to meet you. *sigh* I’ve been waiting for you for like….ummm….ever. || branches || There’s nothing like summer. Nothing. I mean winter is awesome with all the cold and ice and potato so ..read more

Random thoughts on a bright shiny new Saturday morning: 1. Have you seen the new way to hem your jeans? You keep the original hem and just fold it over and sew it in place. It’s kind of a game changer. 2. What are your thoughts on decaf coffee? I switched recently and don’t tell the coffee people, but I can’t tell a difference. If I get in a situation where they don’t have decaf? I just ask for 1/2 coffee and 1/2 hot water. Less caffeine and I can’t tell the difference. 3. It was a great week on the blog. We discussed: 17 amazingly useful things to keep in your bag the sweetest love story h ..read more

See this bag? It hangs over the back of my chair in the office. Truth? You never know where life is going to take you. A trip to the library. A walk around the lake. A coffee date that turns into a work date. A last-minute shopping trip. And the amazing thing about this bag? It’s always ready for an adventure. It’s ready to go at a moment’s notice. I’m always on the go and along the way I had to learn to be prepared. So I filled this bag (and the bag before this bag and the bag before that) with my on-the-go essentials. You know. The kind of things that you didn’t know you needed until they ..read more

Want to add some character to a room in your home? Here’s how to build a shutter wall to change the look of your home. Just in case no one else mentioned it today? You. Are. Amazing. I LOVED reading the comments from yesterday and all the discussion on getting rid of clutter. Number 3 on the list was getting rid of old magazines (which just between us is a little painful to me). So when I sat down to tell them all goodbye I found this shutter wall project featured in one of them. Yep. A wall full of shutters. A long time ago in a land far away we created this wall in the upstairs guest bedro ..read more

Thinking about decluttering your home? It’s so cathartic when your spaces are organized. Here are 21 things to get rid of right now. When I wrote the post for Memorial Day, I went searching for old photos and that led me down the rabbit hole that is our attic. There are bins and bins and bins of STUFF that I’ve collected over the years. Those navy photos? They were packed away under a lace-covered wedding album, faded newspaper clippings, and folded-up pep ribbons that we used to buy for football games. And when I went through the bins? There were tons of things I wanted to keep—but in surpr ..read more

Random thoughts on a Saturday full of sunshine: 1. We worked out in the yard and my husband’s allergies are acting up. He has a runny nose and his voice is a little hoarse. But in amazing news? He sounds just like Kenny Rodgers. I told him that you got to know when to hold ’em and know when to fold ’em. 2. Remember that herb garden we planted last year? I’m recreating it again this year. Fresh herbs taste SO MUCH better. I use the mint in drinks and the rosemary and the sage and the basil for cooking. 3. I just wanted to say thank you to our military families who have made the ultimate sacri ..read more

Looking for ways to repurpose underused space? From Murphy bed DIY to turning bookcases into built-ins, here are 9 creative projects to help your spaces live large. I thought our first home was space challenged. And then? I watched CBS Sunday Morning this weekend and saw a 75-square-foot apartment. Yep. Let that sink in. 75 SQUARE FEET. I’ve seen closets on Tik Tok that are bigger than that. And as I watched the tour and saw how the tiny apartment dweller had maximized every single square foot of available space, it gave me pause. In most houses so many times there are corners and landings a ..read more

Wondering how to paint a fireplace? It’s so much easier than it sounds. Here’s the step-by-step on how to transform a fireplace with paint. Remember this office from before? It was a neutral room with neutral walls and neutral furnishings and neutral accessories… …and a neutral fireplace. But have you met me? Ummm. Just between us? I am not really and never have been neutral. Instead? I’m over the top with a helping of extra on the side. And this is my office. This is where I work and where I dream and create and plan all the next adventures in my life, so I needed my workspace to be a littl ..read more

Random thoughts on a weekend full of sunshine: 1. I know I’ve mentioned this before, but those Dipladenias on my porches are making me so happy. They keep blooming and growing so much bigger thanks to this tip. 2. I have the BEST Father’s Day (or treat yourself) gift idea. I’ve been using these super affordable earbuds for four months now and I’m HOOKED. They don’t fall out. They have extra cushioning for the ear and they fit perfectly and the earbuds have different levels of sound depending on how much volume you need and they come in tons of colors. I’m never ever ever using another earbud ..read more