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!
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’ve written a little bit every year to track the evolution of our backyard garden. If you want to go through those stories, feel free to do so here: 2013 (crushed by a tree), 2014, 2015, 2016 Those archives will prove that starting […]
Editor’s 6-month update (12/2017): Still the coolest car we’ve ever driven! Looking back at our electric bills over a 6-month period, we’re averaging an increase of $43/month over the same seasonal time period in 2016, which is not bad considering […]
If our last 4 springs have been focused on clearing brush, this season has been the year of removing big, old trees. March windstorms did a real number on the City of Rochester and its surrounding areas; come to find we lack preparedness for those […]
I mean, I’ll be damned if staining the barn didn’t add a few $$$$ to our property’s value. Not that we’re planning to sell, but if it’s going to be more than just for looks, it’s wise to direct efforts into DIY projects […]
I just set out to update the look of our barn, referring to it as my “lipstick on a pig” project. The barn–which looks like a garage but isn’t a garage since the real garage is attached to the house where […]
We took a week-long vacation in Casablanca, Morocco for a wedding – that was more than 4 years ago – and ever since I’ve been searching for my own moroccan area rug inspired directly by the ones we had adorning our hotel room. The Moroccan […]
For awhile now I’ve been meaning to assemble a list of links so you can check out the articles I’ve been writing for other publications. A few thousand new visitors still find their way to this blog every day, to which I say “hey […]
Much to my own surprise, I’ve done very little in the way of making my kid’s bedrooms photo-worthy, despite purchasing pretty nice furnishings and pinning inspiration images to my heart’s maternal desire. Wallpapering the kids’ rooms is still a project […]
We finished 2016 off right with the installation of a gas fireplace, and celebrated by blazing our great wall of fire on max heat right into the New Year; considering how much time we actually spend in our living room playing and […]
Not to brag, but I’m about 72% done with my holiday shopping and feeling pretty good about it. We bailed on the brick and mortar Black Friday shenanigans this year in favor of online browsing, and some of the deals have […]
We moved the girls into a bedroom together a few months ago to make space for the new baby; they’re busy reveling in their new bunk bed, pretzel linens, rad useless throw pillows, soaking it all up. I’ve been working […]
Agree with me on this: There are really only just a few moments in life that render as much satisfaction as buying a new refrigerator. One with no one else’s grimy gook (or your own gook) strewn about inside, one that you can […]
Hey guys, Minted sponsored this post and we also teamed up to gift one reader a $250 credit towards a future purchase at Minted.com! I couldn’t make this easier if I tried. The contest has since ended, but keep on reading. I’ve used affiliate links […]
Our time- and cost-intensive projects are fewer and farther between than they used to be, but I had one big goal for the first half of this year, that being to install a giant, wonderful flagstone patio. This post is going […]
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
How to Make Your Own Barn Quilt
Honestly, This Is Tillary
Javalicious, A Gel Staining Reveal (Update #3)
The Easy Way to Hang Art on Brick or Stone
Painting Everything White: We Chose Snowbound, By Sherwin Williams
The Time I Killed All of the Succulents