I'm a home improvement enthusiast, living a very merry DIY lifestyle.
You can find me writing for HGTV and DIY Network, follow me on facebook and instagram, or drop me a note if you'd like. I love notes.
Thanks for visiting!
Expertise needed for this recreational Zone 5 gardener. Leeks: My daughter and I have routinely started our leek seeds (“Hattie’s Leeks”) on Valentine’s Day. This was after noticing that the ones at Wegmans were about 2.5″ in diameter, and clearly […]
Hello, pumpkin season! What should I do to make the most of you? I can only eat so much pie, so I’ve been looking for recipes that’ll make better use of the pumpkin supply from our CSA (we’re 4 years in […]
In a world of crazy store-bought and DIY Halloween accessories, broken glass windows certainly seem like one of the most subtle accents one could add to their home this time of year… they look super cool in the evening when all of […]
A thousand words couldn’t properly articulate how much we love living here. We celebrated our 5th “homeiversary” in June, and just wrapped our 6th summer in this lovely place. This year, I attempted to replicate a few of my favorite […]
Our newest BFF, companion girl, partner-in-crime, littlest sister arrived home earlier this month. Martha–named as a nod to our family’s infatuation with The Beatles and my insistence on using human names for pets–fell right into place. We were ready for her, with a […]
This post was sponsored by STIHL because they supplied the chainsaw (STIHL’s MSA 120 C-BQ) and sharpening equipment. The content itself is my own. It’s no secret that I advocate for homeowners to try battery-powered tools. Everything I’ve purchased and tested is pretty awesome, and […]
Heart-eyed emoji! If you’re wondering if you’ve seen this big piece of driftwood before, probably yes. It was the star of one of the first projects I featured on this blog back in 2010, and one of the few pieces of […]
This post was sponsored by STIHL because they supplied the cut-off machine and safety equipment. However, the decrepit steps are my own, and repairing them has been on my list for a long time. Thanks to STIHL for partnering with me on […]
Always committing to doing the things I say I’m going to do–in this case “barn quilt all the things”–I extended my collaboration with Buffalo-based designer Whitney Crispell of Local Color Quilts and made another totally crushworthy piece of outdoor art. […]
This post was sponsored by STIHL because they supplied the chainsaw and safety equipment. However, the project is my own and Swedish cut fire logs really are things we make and use at home. I figured it was about time you […]
Spring! That refreshing but awkward period of time between when the ski season ends and the gardening season begins, and there’s really not a lot we can do to speed things along. Seedlings are already started indoors, the garden’s still […]
Our garden’s archway trellis was a new addition in 2017, and one that we’re going to use again this spring. Aside from being a great way to raise climbers in an enclosed garden space, it was the perfect little tunnel […]
I crunched some numbers and realized that it took me 237 weeks since moving in to get art hung on the walls of our master bedroom. Mild case of “hole-in-the-wall-phobia.” Now, I know that’s totally crazy. I know how to […]
Last week we said goodbye to Cody. Our partner-in-DIY. Codeman. The one who was at his happiest when he was by our side. The buddy who you’ve gotten to see on this blog. He was simply awesome. He came to […]
What began as an idea to foster our daughter’s fine motor skills, turned into something that quickly became one of my favorite ever-changing pieces of art. In many of the art classes and craft camps that our kids have participated […]
The barn quilt I created for DIY Network is a special project–probably my favorite project of the year–and I wanted to be sure you didn’t miss it. If you’re ready to go down a rabbit hole and want shortcuts over to […]
Elaborate landscaping and flowering gardens exist in our dreams; not so much in reality. Container gardens are my domain for now, and between herbs and potatoes and flowering front porch planters, we kind of rocked it this season. I always knew […]
Alt title: The Thing the Woodpecker Nibbled Before it Could Be Photographed Alt-Alt title: The Thing that Wasps Found Before I Could Finish This Post Dry storage space in the garden wasn’t really an issue until this house, where most of […]
Ready to make some raised planters that’ll hold up really, really well? No bolts, no screws, simple design. After you make the cuts they assemble securely with pieces of rebar. The interlocking design shown way back when on an episode […]
I'm a home improvement enthusiast, living a very merry DIY lifestyle.
You can find me writing for HGTV and DIY Network, follow me on facebook and instagram, or drop me a note if you'd like. I love notes.
Thanks for visiting!
Cheap IKEA Drawers (And The Quick Fix)
Our Refinished Midcentury Buffet
The Driveway Rocks
Less Is More: How to Remove a Fireplace Surround
Honestly, This Is Tillary
Javalicious, A Gel Staining Reveal (Update #3)
How to Make Your Own Barn Quilt
The Time I Killed All of the Succulents
Painting Everything White: We Chose Snowbound, By Sherwin Williams
The Easy Way to Hang Art on Brick or Stone