We've used a small copper fire bowl for our backyard fires for years. Normally we'd set it up in the middle of the yard, clearing a small patch of leaves and pine needles. It worked ok, but it could...
Blog posts from home improvement
Light-up house numbers
Our house is set back from the road making it hard to see our house numbers, especially at night. This year we finally addressed that by adding 12" numbers backlit by LED tape to the garage. We...
Wine / Whisky Room custom table
As mentioned in the Wine / Whisky Room transformation post, we'd been thinking about this room for several years. Back in Christmas 2018 we found a beautiful log from a downed tree at my parents in...
Wine / Whisky Room transformation
This September we finally upgraded our unused dining room from dumping ground to an actually-functioning wine and whisky room. We'd been discussing this for several years, but now that we are home...
It’s our anniversary but I also want to talk about my new kitchen pantry
Twelve years ago Eric and I got married! Here's what we looked like a few days before the wedding -- we were kids! :) Then, four years later, we bought a house with a kitchen that looked like this...
A new walkway to the screened porch
When we completed the screened deck last fall I mentioned that we had plans for additional yard improvements. After consulting with a landscape company over the winter we finally started on some...
first floor renovations, part VI
I finished the backsplash Sunday night, and Monday morning the cabinet painter came to take all the doors and tape off the kitchen. a total mess - but at least my cabinets look organized! after a...
first floor renovations, part V
Since we were changing so many parts of the kitchen, I really wanted to add a decorative tile backsplash as well. I've had the tile purchased for several days and last Sunday Home Depot offered a...
first floor renovations, part IV
The downstairs bathroom has been slowly coming together. The walls needed to be completely redone as the paint was coming off because I didn't properly prime it after tearing off all the wallpaper...
first floor renovations, part III
We recently swapped out our old laminate countertop for a beautiful blue-grey quartz. What a change, just as dramatic as the floor transformation. The white trim looks a bit crazy now but they will...
first floor renovations, part II
On Tuesday of last week, we began our kitchen floor transformation. It took two days for the guys to tear out the existing floors and about two minutes for everyone to realize that our sub-flooring...
first floor renovations, part I
As the screened porch project neared completion we got to thinking about the kitchen improvements we wanted to make. So, over the past few weeks we've picked out new bamboo flooring and quartz...
The screened deck, pt.VI
Though we've been enjoying the new screened deck since late August it was not quite complete-- we'd been waiting for the wood to cure a bit before staining. This week was finally time: We used a...
The screened deck, pt.IV
Much has been accomplished in the past 10 days, with electrical rough-in and screen framing complete. View from the side- we'll have horizontal slats across the lower section to protect the screen...
The screened deck, pt.II
There was a good bit of progress on our deck while we were in NY over the 4th of July weekend- we left a muddy area with some cement, and returned to a new deck! This morning the carpenters started...
The screened deck, part I
About a month ago work began on the new screened-in deck. First up, demolition of the old: Bye-bye broken hot tub Several permitting delays later we finally have footings that will support the new...
Bathroom remodel, finale
Construction on our master bathroom remodel project wrapped up in late March, and the final punch-list items completed in April. Further delaying this final remodel post were our travels to Madrid...
a long overdue ceiling fan upgrade for the kitchen
We have been wanting to replace the old light fixture in the kitchen with a ceiling fan for awhile now, but other projects took priority, you know, like three bathrooms worth of wallpaper removal....
Our Itinerary
2023 Trips
San Diego (Jan)
Orlando (Feb)
Richmond, VA (Apr)
Northern Italy (Apr)
NC Mountains (May)
Long Island (Jul)
Wisconsin (Aug)
Chicago (Aug)
Bordeaux + Rugby World Cup (Sep)
Castilla y León (Sep)
Seychelles (Nov)
Willamette Valley (Dec)
2022 Trips
Florida (Feb)
NC Mountains (Apr)
Washington DC (Apr)
Valencia, Spain (May)
Hilton Head, SC (May)
Pacific NW (Jun)
Long Island (Jul)
Florida (Sept)
Chicago (Sept)
Poland (Sept)
NC Mountains (Nov)
Euro Xmas Markets (Dec)