dream house: front porch edition

i have always lusted after big front porches, lush with pots of geraniums and pansies. hanging swings and rocking chairs. idealized the thought of my lover and i enjoying countless sunsets with tall glasses of cold lemonade.

those idealizations have become real life.

turns out i also have a huge passion for growing things. i'm still an amateur, but i really enjoy planting and caring for flowers. yes, i'm that crazy woman who talks and sings to her flowers while she waters them. no, they don't have names.

there is just something faith promoting about planting things in dirt and watching them bloom. i draw a lot of parallels between nature and God's love for us. it's also really nice to have an excuse to get outside and get your hands dirty.

and once in a while, i have a crafty streak.

buy a straw wreath-y thing, string yarn around and around and around forever, then use hot glue to make it stick permanently. then cut strips of felt and wrap them artistically to create flowers. add lace, buttons, and sew details into the leaves. easy peasy.

lovin' the house. travis and i both agree we never want to move again.

hope your weekends were full of sunshine and family.

xo

this old house: master bath edition

i know, you're probably sick and tired of hearing about the red brick house; i know i am. but in the spirit of being thorough and to honor travis, his brothers, and his dad for all their hard work, i have to share one last remodel before and after.


BEFORE:

my mom, taking a turn scrubbing shower grime. we scrubbed for SIX HOURS.

AFTER:

travis built these cabinets. seriously, that is sexy.

• new tile floor
• new cabinet, granite counter, faucet 
• light fixture
• new tile shower and hardware
• base molding

thank you to anyone who helped in the construction!!!

this old house (kitchen edition)

welcome to our home!
(new back door and molding)

amazing ksl classified finds

above is the afore mentioned fine china
and thanks to the many people
who give us their old things
like this beautiful hutch

BEFORE

i know you can't tell from the picture
but this kitchen was FILTHY!
we scraped the grease from the cabinets
and had to use oven cleaner to clean the walls.
pretty sad that the boydells, the previous owners
lived in this mess.

AFTER

we lucked out with the laminate floors in here
and the big windows. like the red chairs?
took forEVER! and travis's garage has
red paint all over. oops.
the curtains are vintage from my
grandmother's basement. :) my mom sewed the black part.

new countertop, sink, stove top, and backsplash.
my handihusband intalled everything!
with the help of his family of course.
but i was very proud that he figured out
the sink and countertop without much help at all.

BEFORE

AFTER

can't wait for the new windows :)

this old house

BEFORE

whenever anyone asks me what has been
going on lately? i tell them this:

lucky for us, underneath the green shag carpet
was a beautiful surprise: hardwood floors
that had never seen the light of day.
so travis and our brother-in-law josh
and of course randy, the best father-in-law ever
refinished them :)

i try to keep up with all the construction helping, but
let's face it, the guys don't let me do much.
so i did most of the cleaning, painting, and decorating!
this lovely find came straight from D.I. for $20

that map above my beautiful baldwin hamilton
was originally wrapping paper from a wedding gift.
the loveseat and coffee table came from an estate sale.
(along with a butt ton of free fine china from japan!)
i am planning to get a rug, maybe something that
looks like a persian rug? red perhaps?
and the paint color appears blue in these
pictures, but is really more of a green.

mostly old clutter i have had, plus that crown from ross.
it always confuses men who come over
(ha not that i have "men" over! that didn't sound right.
men = family, friends, home teachers, etc.)
but when women see it, they're like oh i love that.
kind of like how most guys who are over are like,
"that couch looks pretty old." but the gals love it.

can you believe people lived with this carpet? ^

i much prefer this. :)

this room's improvements were:

6 can lights
refinished floors
patching the many holes in the wall
new primer
fresh new paint
new (ish) furniture and such
new baseboards and crown molding
and soon a new front door!

buying a fixer upper has been soooooooooooo much work
but it is starting to pay off.