PSA: Just Say No to Outdoor Carpet

Disclaimer: This post has absolutely zero pretty "after" pictures. These are all befores, folks.

In the name of anonymity, I've tried to keep some details of my life a secret here. Granted, I've literally shown you the inside of my bedroom, dirty laundry and all, but I'd really hate for that one reader I have in Belgium to know every little detail of my personal life. Discretion, people.

Anyway, for those of you who may not know, I happen to have a day job that rhymes with spinglish beacher, from which I get an entire week off during spring break (My spellcheck just had a stroke). This year, I managed to convince Justin to take the week off with me. I wooed him with visions of trips to the zoo with Buggy Boy on bright, sunny days and afternoons spent sipping beer on the golf course. 

Enter reality. The first three days or so were beautiful, and we actually did make it to the zoo. And then it rained. And the temperature dropped. And we decided mid-week that, rather than relax for the rest of our staycation, we should use our remaining four days to tackle a ginormous house project complete with a respirator mask, a 16 foot diy outdoor sectional, and 12,000 trips to the hardware store. 

Totally legit. 

Here's a before shot of our screened-in porch. It's a perfect example of our home: huge with tons of potential, but a seriously hot mess to begin with.

Here's Justin, taping off where the furniture will eventually go and marking where the built-in bench supports should be installed. I believe the words "This is gonna be easy" actually came out of his mouth. That should have been our first clue. 

Side note: See how he's lining up the supports with the posts that run up to the ceiling? See the quiet wisdom in his eyes and the subtle confidence in his demeanor? It's because he thinks those are the studs. They are not. It took him over an hour to install the supports and the bench boards, sit on one of the boards, quickly discover it was supported by nothing, remove everything and start all over after finding the actual studs. Buggy Boy and I felt terrible about the whole thing while we ate Goldfish crackers and watched from the living room. Then we took a nap. It was exhausting.

In case you're wondering, yes, that is in fact carpet in our sun porch. Because apparently the people who built our house believed carpet belongs anywhere there is liquid, dirt, food, or bodily fluids. 

Can I just say on the record that outdoor carpet is a bad idea?

Thirty eight years of rain, snow, kids and dogs + a bum door that won't stay closed = a thick layer of mold, dirt and leaves. 

Just say no, people. 

(Hands off, ladies. He's all mine.)

 And here we are today:

Right now, it mostly looks like a construction zone. But, we finally got rid of that nasty carpet, and it instantly looked better. Justin already built a dining table and a bench that runs along the entire perimeter of the porch, and he's in the process of building a diy sectional. 

I know what you're thinking, but don't worry. This is a team effort, and I'm helping, too. I designed the sectional based on some cushions I found on sale. Then I waited too long to order them, the sale ended, and I ordered different ones that no longer fit the sectional. If you look closely, you can see where Justin had to build an addition to both sides of the sectional to accommodate the larger cushions. It took him an entire day. See? Teamwork.

Please also note the cracked foundation, which runs right down the center of the entire porch. We checked, and it would cost thousands of dollars to have it fixed. The porch is a separate slab from the house foundation, so it isn't structural. We've decided to live with it for now, but it's made building a gigantic wooden sectional in place super exciting and challenging (Read: we've considered burning the whole thing down on more than one occasion.) 

We still have lots of work to do, including having the entire house (porch included) stained a weathered gray color. I can't wait to see the finished product!

That's all for now, but I'll be posting updates as they come. Stay tuned!

Our little Bug's nursery

When we found out we were having a baby boy, I knew I wanted a room he could grow into. I wanted to keep it clean, simple and uncluttered. So, I decided to go with a vintage "gentleman of the world" theme.

Behind the crib, we hung a vintage pull-down map of the Western hemisphere. Adorable, no? And then he learned to stand/destroy everything within arms reach when he's supposed to be napping. Lesson learned.   

See that antique steamer trunk in the corner? It has a secret. Inside is a very unfortunate looking mini-fridge that we use to store bottles for Buggy Boy's middle of the night milk cravings (although there may or may not be a string cheese or two hiding in there for Momma. No judging.)

 

Those baby Nikes used to belong to Justin. I love that his mom kept them all these years and very graciously gave them to us when we found out we were expecting. I couldn't resist finding a spot for them in Buggy Boy's room.

 I made the pinwheel mobile out of scrapbook paper and an embroidery hoop.

Justin built a long cubby shelf to fit perfectly under the window and house all of Buggy Boy's unruly toys, puzzles and blankets. 

We hung vinyl gutters along the wall next to the glider to house our massive collection of books (This is only about half of them. We have to rotate them with the seasons. Hello, my name is Katie, and I am addicted to books).

  My grandfather built the wooden rocking horse for my brother and me when we were babies.

This is my favorite part of Buggy Boy's room. I found the wire display rack and basket at a flea market in town, and they added some much needed clothing storage. One holds often used items, like socks, pajamas (or jammie jams at our house), and sleep sacks, while the other functions as a hamper. I also found wire baskets at a local antique store and use them to store diapers and wipes. We hung them from a peg board painted with chalkboard paint to keep the clutter contained and away from curious hands.

The baby sized paddy caps we acquired before we even started trying to have a baby, because really, who doesn't need a collection of tiny jaunty hats in their life?

Here's hoping you have a day that is wild and free!

Welcome to our home. Please come in...

Our entryway is fairly large, but it's pretty long and narrow. We chose this spot to display our family photo gallery wall as a conversation piece when visitors first enter our home. To keep it from becoming too busy, I try to keep the seasonal decor fairly simple.

A few gourds here, a pumpkin or two there.

 

This buffet was gifted to us by some dear friends who inherited it when a family member passed away. It wasn't their style, but they didn't want to sell it, so they generously passed it on to us. Now, it serves as our mail sorting station/dining room linen storage and helps to contain one small peak of the mountains of clutter we seem to accumulate. 

 

 

 

Our gallery wall is a collection of family photos, art and architectural salvage. If you look closely, you can spot the bizarre light switch that controls roughly 3/4 of the lights in the house, as well as an indefinite number of outlets throughout the first floor for no apparent reason. (Fun fact: When we were buying our house and had it inspected, our home inspector said he'd never seen anything like our electrical system in his 25 years of experience. Awesome.) You can't find plate covers for our light switches anymore, but I'm working on a solution. Stay tuned for that one...

 I love adding a natural pop of color, and I actually think a branch of bold autumn leaves is more beautiful than fresh flowers. Especially when displayed in a well-loved pair of wellies.

 Thanks for stopping by!

An early morning walking tour

There was a time, not so long ago, that I could sleep in. I loved it. I planned my entire weekend around it. Justin, my husband, and I would sleep in, have breakfast in bed, read for hours, and not even think about getting dressed until well after noon. On Saturday mornings, our bed was our own little private island of perfection.

 

And then we had a baby. Like a literal thief in the night, he swept in with his sweet chubby cheeks and midnight demands and stole any dreams I had of ever sleeping in again.

 A year later, he sleeps peacefully for twelve hours every night, and I'm up before the sun twiddling my thumbs and sipping my coffee waiting for the day to begin.

 And those quiet early mornings are when I am happiest to call this my home.

 With my (first) cup of coffee in hand, I stroll the back forty (technically only three acres, but we're super cool and like to pretend we live on an actual farm. Stay with me.) while the dogs hunt for deer poop to roll around in frolic playfully in the field. 

 I snap a few pictures before I'm summoned back to the house to resume my motherly duties of snuggling and locating exactly the right sippy cup for breakfast. It's a different kind of perfection, but it's perfect nonetheless.

Besides, sleeping in is overrated anyway. Unless you're offering to babysit, in which case, just have him back by Monday!