Outdoor Rooms

One of the reasons I will have a hard time leaving my home, IF we ever do, is because of our outdoor space. With all the tall trees and the hills, I feel like we live in the middle of a park. It really is beautiful. And one of my favorite spots to enjoy my nature surroundings, is my screened porch.
French doors from my living room, open to this space. It's not a very big room, but when the doors are opened, those two rooms unite, and make if feel like much more.

View from my living room, on an overcast Fall morning.

It's a fun place to display my vintage finds. I found the Blue Bunny cooler for $4 at a garage sale. The round wooden box was on sale for $15 at a local antiques shop. The lantern was snatched from my parents' storage room, years ago. (That was my favorite place to "shop". :)

The "cabin" sign is an example of the signs I make and sell on my etsy site. They look great displayed on a porch!

The chalkboard and 7up crate were given to me by my in-laws. They sold most of the items in their home after retiring, and moving to a condo in Florida. I have lots of special treasures from them showcased throughout my home, inside & out. I got the cooler the same day as the round box. It was marked half off. I love it!

This bench is on the deck, off of the screened porch. I bought it at another local antiques store, thinking it would make a great pattern for my husband to make more. Still waiting for that. I got the wooden box at a garage sale for $1, the green crock on ebay for $8, and I made the sign from 30+ year old reclaimed, weathered wood.(You can find it on my etsy!) Oh, and the mums were $2.64 at Walmart.

That's my little neck of the woods. Here are some other great outdoor spaces I've found. Happy Fall!

(Images borrowed from Southern Living.)

Saturday morning kitchens........

I don't have a ton of time to write this morning, as I'm getting ready for some University of Northern Iowa football tailgating. Woo Hoo! Go Purple and Gold!

I love to start my weekend mornings, with a great cup of coffee, while oohing and ahhing over design blogs. Today I'm on HGTV's site. With all the great ideas I get from the blogs I follow, I tend to not come here as often as I used too. Thought I'd check out all their goodies for a change. This morning I'm looking at country and cottage kitchens. Check these out!

Great lighting here, and a cute little pantry. I want a cute little pantry.

(Borrowed from HGTV)

I've never seen a turquoise farmhouse sink. Super cute. And, there's my white subway tile. (I want white subway tile on my backsplash!)

(Borrowed from HGTV)

Okay, that was short lived.....I couldn't find the "looks" I was looking for there, so now I'm switching to Coastal Living's site. With our dream of a lake home, I'm always inspired by coastal kitchens.

Great ceilings, and I'm a fan of the natural window shade.

(Borrowed from Coastal Living)

Gorgeous! (Uhh..I'm talking about the kitchen, not the guy....Not that he's not nice looking. I just only have eyes for my man.....okay, enough)

(Borrowed from Coastal Living)

And on to Country Living........

From one of my FAVORITE designers. Sarah Richardson.

(Borrowed from Country Living)

I love adding rustic worn wood to my decor. The beam and the legs on the island are awesome here.

(Borrowed from Country Living)

Rich!

(Borrowed from Country Living)

The collections above the cabinets caught my eye here. SO my style.

(Borrowed from Country Living)

More fun collections. I want those counter tops!

(Borrowed from Country Living)

All righty then. I gotta go. House is a mess, and I still have some food prep and packing to do. Not to mention a shower! I could do this all day, and have some fun ideas for future posts.

Have a great Fall weekend!

30 day workout challenge

I need to lose 8-10 lbs. As my sister-in-law said, after I made the comment while eating pizza and drinking beer, "Where have I heard that before?". I know I've said it a lot the past couple of years. For some reason it's just been really hard. My big problem is my inconsistent workout, due to my inconsistent schedule! (Or maybe that I'm a year away from turning 40, and my metabolism isn't what it used to be!) So, I'm doing a 30-day workout challenge. I read in one of my diet books, that you don't need to workout like you're training for a marathon. Just 20 minutes of vigorous exercise a day, plus some stretching and weight training. I do pride myself in cooking healthy meals for my family, and for the most part eat well. So, I'm trying this 20 minute thing. I'm on day three, and need to get off the computer and get it done before my family gets home. For some reason, 20 minutes of my walk/run program just seems more bearable, and less boring. The past couple nights, I've ended up doing 30 minutes or more, just because it felt good. I really don't want to do it tonight, but I have no excuse not too. Sighhhhhhhhhhhh.............
Okay treadmill. I hear you calling...............

Dream home.......OR Dream cabin ideas!

About seven years ago, my husband and I spent a beautiful autumn day riding around in the country on our motorcycle. Some how, (I'm not sure how we happened there), we found this beautiful neighborhood called Rustic Hills. We lived in a small, but very cute 1940's bungalow, in a city about 20 miles away. With two active boys, we were rapidly outgrowing our tiny home, and had talked of buying something bigger. On that day, in this pretty neighborhood, we found a lot for sale. We love the winding hills of Wisconsin, and this place totally reminded us of that. We called on the property, and within a week, we were the owners. Shortly after that, we decided to put our house on the market, and made plans to build. Now, as much as we enjoy our home in the woods, we have an itch to start over. Actually, if I could, I would build another home, right where we're at. It's not that I don't like my home, but there are things about it I wish I could change, that just aren't possible. We have an open floor plan, and I think I'm now leaning towards a more traditional floor plan. I don't need a mansion, but I'd like a little more space for entertaining. The thing is, this dream could take years. Since we are happy here, it's going to take something pretty amazing to make us leave. I would either like a house in the country, or a lake home. So, for now, I'm just collecting ideas. That way when the time comes, I'll know exactly what I want!

I'm not sure if I would want a galley style kitchen, but I love the way this room looks. I can just imagine making my family breakfast here, with the sun spilling through those windows!

(borrowed from Pinterest....colorandtexture)

The subway tile backsplash and the awesome pendant lights caught my attention here. I may have to borrow this idea for my current kitchen!

(borrowed from Pinterest.....pinmarklet)

I REALLY want a pretty laundry room, since that's where I spend most of my time at home! You should see mine. It's not pretty. I'll share sometime.

(borrowed from Pinterest....pinmarklet)

If I were to own a lakeside home, I would love to do a rope railing. I'm a huge fan of coastal accents.

(borrowed from Pinterest.....pinmarklet)

Amazing bunk beds! We have family stay with us often. I would love this option for them!

(borrowed from Pinterest.....pinmarklet)

And finally, for tonight, I just wanted to include this great bench. Oh, and I'm pretty much in love with the walls too. I've been debating on doing that in my dark entryway.

(borrowed from Pinterest......lovely bedrooms by Cori Henderson)

Signing off from dream land, and re-entering yucky laundry land!

I want to live here!

I have many favorite blogs, but this one is right up at the top of the list.  It's called Our Vintage Home Love, and I LOVE it!  I can sit and stare at the wonderful pictures that she took for hours.  Our rustic cottage home is only 6 years old, and as much as I try, it just doesn't completely have the character of an older home.  My husband and I would love to build again, so I'm constantly pulling ideas for my next dream home.  I don't want a cookie cutter home.  That's just not my style.  I want something new, that looks like it could be a century home.  This home is a great model to hold on to!

You'll find her blog saved on my blog list. Check it out! You'll adore it!

By the way.........If you read my last post about the whole copy and paste rant.......Well, I obviously figured it out! On my own! I'm SO excited! :) I'm going to have all kinds of goodies here now! :)

My home in sepia

There's a certain window of the day, that I can take photos of my living room/kitchen/dining room, and the colors turn out great.  I'm never home during that period.  It's Saturday morning, and I'm playing with my camera again.  I decided since I can't get it right, I'm showing my home in sepia.  My kids spent the night with my parents last night, and while they were gone, I decided to say good bye to my summer decor, and bring in my Fall elements.  My sepia photos are my summer home.  I want to try to capture my autumn home this weekend.  It just feels so cozy!

one more note..........Why am I such a computer dumby?!

I just spent, wasted, thirty minutes trying to copy and paste a photo from the Junk Bonanza's site to my blog. Reason number one, why I should probably NOT have a blog. I've never taken any formal computer classes. Shows my age........ We just didn't use computers when I was going to school, the way they're used today. I mean, I actually sat in my dorm room and typed my papers on a TYPEWRITER!  I don't think those things even exist.  That does it.  It's time to take a class.  I can't stand not knowing how to do the simplest things any longer!  I can usually figure it out on my own......... but copy and paste?!  If I can't figure something out as simple as I KNOW that is, it's time to swallow my pride, and shell out a few dollars to have someone teach me.

Junk Bonanza

I LOVE four day work weeks, which means I have a three day weekend! One of the perks of working as a teacher's associate! Why then did I not think to make plans to go to the JUNK BONANZA?! I'm missing out!

My brother and sister-in-law live just outside Minneapolis. Last year my daughter and I,and my parents, made the three hour trip, and we all went to the Junk Bonanza together. I LOVED it, but didn't feel like I really took my time to soak it all in. Mostly because of my 5-year old, who hasn't quite acquired my love of junk. Don't worry......I have faith in her.....she'll get it. I vowed that this year, we'd go without kids. Thought we could get a room at the Holiday Inn in Maple Grove, with the fun indoor water park. The guys could stay back and play with the kids, and the ADULT girls could walk through each booth at a sweet leisurely pace. There are SO many great vendors there. It's a great place to find new treasures, but also to see how to display the junk I already have! Boo Hoo. I wish I were there... :( Oh well...........I guess there's always next year!

9/11

My heart goes out to the families and friends of those touched by the 9/11 tragedy. God Bless Them All, and Give Them Peace.

(Image from 9/11 Victims & First Responders)

Painting signs, and drinking wine.......

It's Friday night, and right now I'm thoroughly enjoying myself. I'm sitting at my kitchen island, painting some primitive cabin signs for my etsy, and drinking a nice Cabernet Sauvignon. The kids are all outside playing on this gorgeous night, and with all the windows and my screened porch opened, I can hear them giggling and having fun, while I bask in my little moment.

I need to mention, it's my husband's birthday. Yes, my daughter's birthday was yesterday. She was born 30 minutes before midnight, so they came very close to sharing a birthday. She just wanted her own special day! I love them both tons, and am happy to have had another great year with them!

Gosh it's a beautiful night!

My baby girl is 6 today!

 

Happy Birthday to my sweet, but mostly sassy, baby girl! She told me she had a great day at school today, because it was all about her. We all need days like that sometimes!

The verdict is in..........I'm a terrible blogger.

I so wish I had the time and effort to put into this blog, but the truth is, I'm just spent. I'm a classroom associate to a kindergarten student with Down's Syndrome. We just started school Monday, and I'm thoroughly exhausted. She's a darling, and has been amazing her first week, but as can be imagined, there's a lot of redirecting and keeping close watch. I want her to have a great experience, AND I want her to be safe. Don't get me wrong, it's a happy and rewarding kind of tired.
My days are non-stop from 5:45 A.M., when I have to get myself and the kids ready for school, through 10:00 at night, when after making dinner, cleaning up, helping kids with homework, doing laundry, getting everything packed for the next day, tucking my kids into bed with books and prayers, I can't stand to be up any longer and crash. I was a stay-at-home mom for nine years, and being constantly busy myself, I often wondered how working moms functioned day by day. Now that I am a working mom, I still haven't figured it out. I'm so fortunate to have a job in the school that allows me to be available to my kids. I admire those women who have to work longer hours than me, continue their educations, and still be mom, wife, and homemaker. Hopefully I'll get into a nice groove again, and have a little time to sit here, chill, and share.
Have a safe and relaxing Labor Day weekend!

***I traditionally take photos of my kids waiting for the bus on the first day of school. This is the first year we've had no tears. Just excitement. Makes this mommy happy that they're so well-adjusted and enthusiastic about their first day, but sad that they're growing up so quickly. Some days, I just wish life had a pause button so I could soak them all in!***