Happy holidays! I hope you had a lovely Christmas holiday, however you celebrate. Taking a break from the holiday content over here to share an easy DIY I made for my dad’s birthday. As I wrote about in this post, we spent a week in Glacier National Park this past August. It was really a dream come true for me (as corny as that sounds!), and I felt so lucky to spend that time with him. When his birthday rolled around in late November, I wanted to give him something to remember the trip, but I didn’…
I love to make things this time of year, but I also get overwhelmed easily. Are you the same way?? After seeing the idea below in a magazine (I can’t remember which one), I figured I could handle this type of craft — it’s almost foolproof, and it looked really fun! Here are the steps I followed. I promise, it was really easy! First, choose some old photos that make you feel happy and loved! I found pictures of me as a baby with each of my parents. (Can you handle the 70’s decor…
I love this time of year so much! Like, really a lot. We have bins and bins of old Christmas decorations, and I can’t bear to part with any of them because they hold memories of past Christmases. And yet each year we seem to buy more lights, more garland. In sum: I’ve tried lots of different decorations for Christmas, and I’ve found a few special things that make our house feel cozy, warm, and filled with love. Here’s a quick list of the fun, easy ideas I’m using this…
Do you love giving gifts? It’s one of my favorite things about the holidays — I love shopping for gifts that I think my family will love. When I find something that’s just right, I relish wrapping the gift, thinking about how the recipient will (hopefully) enjoy what’s inside. I guess it’s cheesy, but the whole process is such a tangible expression of love, and it brings me joy! While I’ve always enjoyed shopping, the wrapping process used to be a chore. Over the years I’ve come up…
During the past year and a half, our family has spent so much time in our house. So. Much. Time. And it’s got me thinking about the easy ways we can make our homes more enjoyable. I’ve noticed I feel more relaxed and less anxious when at least one room in the house is put-together and relatively clear of clutter. Anyone else feel that way? 1. fancy soap dispensers I probably use more soap than anyone else in the house (go figure), and these dispensers (affiliate link) are a silly little thing, but they never…
A few years ago I made this calendar and command center and installed it in a busy hallway in our house. We still use it every month, except for a long period in 2020 when there wasn’t anything to write on the calendar! And it was incredibly easy to make. We bought an old window frame at an amazing warehouse of old house parts in Front Royal, Virginia. If you’re in the DC area, I highly recommend taking a day trip out there! Their website is incredibly useful, too, because they’ve catalogued every item…
So many people on Instagram have been experimenting with baking soda and paint, and I had to jump on the bandwagon. Turns out this is a VERY easy way to add texture to vases. The hardest part is washing the clumpy paint out of the paintbrush afterward. I used primer for the green vase on the right but not the plant pot on the left, and it turns out that primer isn’t really necessary. I had to do two coats of paint for both items anyway. To mix the paint, I used a ratio of about 1:2…
Over the years I’ve added a lot of fun and wacky art to our home. I’ll frame pretty much anything if it brings me joy! Much of my art, including the pieces pictured below, comes from one of my favorite charities, Art Enables. The marvelous people who run this nonprofit help developmentally-disabled adults create and sell art. They give people community, a sense of pride, and a small income. I had the pleasure of meeting the artist who made some of the paintings I bought, and he was so gracious and excited about his art…
Happy Fall! I finished decorating the front door this week, and the seasonal look makes it feel so festive! I thought it might be helpful to share some quick, easy, and cheap decorating tips I’ve learned over the years. 1. Spray paint plastic plant pots I bought the mums from Home Depot and painted some of the plastic grow pots with black spray paint I found in our garage. It creates a more unified look, and it’s very fast and easy. I’ve read that mums last a lot longer if you transplant them into…
The landing on our stairwell was a blank slate, so I decided to mix it up a bit! And here are the before and after pics from this easy project. We already owned most of this art, which made this a cheap project! Much of it was hanging further down the staircase, and I’d wanted to lighten up that gallery anyway. I hung this sconce (affiliate link) and used the magic light trick from Nesting with Grace to make the sconce battery-operated. No need to call an electrician! I installed this small shelf (affiliate link) from Amazon…