{celebrate} Home Tour: Sleeping Quarters

We are almost through our house tour- woo- I hope you like it : ) It is lovely, but has a long way to go! On the agenda for today- the master bedroom. (This was going to be the bathroom too, but looking at the pictures, they are awful. So, Ill fill you in on the bathroom & closet & laundry room another day.)

Our bedroom is much bigger that we thought it was going to be (things always seem smaller without furniture), so we are definitely happy with the space.

Ignore the bird poop on the floor- a bird came in through the dryer vent between the time we bought it & we closed. Oh, how I loathe bird poop.

With furniture! Our bed is bit messy- I sat down on it & then remembered I needed this picture : ) Confession: without Dan this bed would never be made. Oh what a good man I have.

As you can see, the walls are two toned. They are pretty similar, but Im not sure how I feel about it.

One side of the view from the bed.

And the other! That door goes out to the porch, which connects to the kitchen. As you can see, were using our rug from our old living room.

See that nook up there? I have NO idea what to do with it. What do you do with a random shelf like nook in a bedroom? And why is it even there? I have no idea blogland- help me!

This corner is now the land of Bentley- he seems to like it :) Maybe we should get him a more fashionable bed....

So the to do list in here (I always feel like my bedroom gets done last, because only I am in here a lot...)
Paint?
Bigger rug?
Fashionable bed for B
Something on the walls- a must
Window coverings ? Definitely not keeping the two random ones we have
Ceiling nook?!?
And a fashionable laundry basket- right now we are using plastic rollable ones (which are awesome by the way- they are always my go to high school graduation gift because they are just that great)

If you'd like to see a more put together bedroom- here is Holly's bedroom makeover! I should go look at more pictures for some inspiration in here...

How about you- is your bedroom #1 or last priority in your decorating? Have any big weekend plans? Know what to do with my nook?! Tell me!

More Home Tour:

Living Room

Kitchen/Dining

Guest "Wing"

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Serenity Now

{create} Pond-be-Gone!

Dan and I are definitely not expert landscapers, but working in the yard is fun and rewarding. Dan would probably say that he does a lot of working in the yard & I do a lot of watching in the yard, but I try to help! The first order on our agenda was to take out a nasty pond the previous owner left.

Im sure that she was pretty once upon a time, but now she was full of rocks, algae, & dead plants. We debated for a while how to empty it- siphon or what not, but decided just on a bucket.

Look at those muscles go! At this point I did do a lot of watching... we only had one bucket! The pond was, of course, deeper than we expected, but it still didn't take too long.

At the end, muscles just pulled up the pond and went to dump it out. Then we found something REALLY scary. No joke, Dan screeched.

Somehow, this beautiful Koi had survived in our pond! We named him bucket (because he lived in a bucket!). We set up an awesome home for him with other Koi fishes at a friend's nursery... but sadly he didnt make it. I dont want to talk about it. Im so sorry bucket.

But back to another reason we were doing this.

If you can tell from the picture above- soil and wood from the house are touching each other- big no no- big rot creator. Usually there is siding here, but the previous owner changed the configuration of the basement & in the process moved the sliding doors from one side to the other. They then filled in the bottom with a wood piece, and the inspector didn't like that it was touching soil. So we dug out the boxwoods and put them in the hole where the pond was (with soil of course).

I have very fond memories of jumping on the shovel when I was little to help my dad dig a hole. After this project, I fear that I was no help at all. Virginia soil is clay-y and rocky. But eventually they were out!

Then we dug down so no wood was touching soil. Bentley wanted to dig too!

Then we used edging that came in 2 foot pieces that snapped together to create a barrier. At first we wanted to use nicer edging but we figured it was going to be covered with boxwoods so no one would really see it.

You can see how we dug down to the concrete slab if you look close. Then came the rocks.

Do you spy Bentley? This will help with drainage and make sure we dont just have a file of mush. Then the boxwoods went back in!

Down went the rake and we were done! This project actually took two weekends- one to dig out the pond and another to decide what we wanted to do. I think it looks ok for our first foray into gardening.

I am terrified that the boxwoods are going to die and then this project will have 4 casualties... we have been watering & it rained all last week, so hopefully they will make it! But with amateur transplanters and a dog running around.... we will see.

Have you started any gardening projects? Any tips?? How about grass growing tips- our neighbor has awesome grass- whats the secret?!?

Need some more gardens in your life? Check out Holly's spring gardening & the vodka David makes from the excess in his veggie garden- its spicy!

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Serenity Now

{celebrate} Home Tour: Be our Guest

I am finally back with another section of our house tour! Today I will be showing you our office, guest bath, & potential future nursery/guest room. After today we have the master bed/bath, laundry room, & downstairs. Downstairs is nothing special though... so I may just skip that one!

So without further ado, our "guest wing."

If you are standing in the dining nook, here is the hallway. The door straight ahead is the guest room, to the right is the bathroom, & to the left is the office.

The guest room has a random two toned paint job. That is on the list of things to do... someday.

It is not a bad size, especially if it will be used as a nursery, and it has a big closet. So one day, the make over will include paint, a bed skirt, an organized closet, & something on the walls!

Here is the guest bath. Holly thinks it has nice high ceilings. Everything in this room came with it- the shower curtain, the picture, even a towel on the back of the door!

This bathroom doesnt really have the same feel as the others in the house (all tile showers, etc), so one day we may upgrade the shower & definitely the linoleum. I like that there is one space we can do a bit of work too!

Also, does anyone else hate beigeish light plates? As I redo / redesign each room, I will be replacing them... but then you have to replace the switches too...

And finally the office- I love this room.

This room is listed as a bedroom, because as you can see, it has a closet. However, there are double French doors, a glass door, a set of windows, & a closet- so no where to put a bed!

Here is a picture from the listing that shows it a bit better:

In here, I want to hang out diplomas above the Expedits (they were previously in the closet) & maybe get some other things for display. And the closet needs some organizing help!

This room is right off the front hall- what you see with all those shutters on it, so with its placement & glass doors, it needs to be organized.

And last but not least, the view back into the dining room.

So our to do list:

Guest Room:

Paint

Bedskirt

Accessorize

Long term- nursery

Bathroom:

Long term- tile shower & floors

Office:

Organize closet

Hang diplomas

Any other fabulous ideas for these rooms? I haven't thought about them too much...

More Home Tour:

Living Room

Kitchen/Dining

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a bowl full of lemons

home stories a to z

{celebrate} Mother's Day

Hope you all had an enjoyable weekend! We sure did- Holly & the pups came up for the weekend & we went to a fun happy hour & just hung out. Dan & I chaperoned prom (ha!) on Saturday night & then Sunday I made brunch!

Mimosas for Momma

Flowers from last week- repurposed!

Gouda, Blue Cheese & Homemade bread!

I made my French bread again (wasnt planning on this, but we left the other bread in the cart at the grocery store- I hate when that happens- how is it possible!?!) & had some yummy cheeses. I also made spinach & goat cheese quiche & cinnamon toast. I tried the popular recipe on Pinterest from the Pioneer Woman & it was a hit- all gone before I could even take a picture!

It would be impossible for me to write a post about how awesome our mom is, but here are a few things I love about her.
1. We work in the same school & she comes & eats lunch with me
2. She dresses better than I do
3. She somehow raised two girls that could not be more different (in looks & in life) but also could not be happier
4. All of my friends love her- sometimes I think they hang out with me in hopes that my mom will be there
5. She is way more fun than I am

I could go on & on, but I will just say Happy Mother's Day Mom! And Happy Mother's Day to my amazing Mother in Law, as well!

PS: In the picture above, there are two updates to the house I will be sharing soon... can you spot them?!?

{celebrate} Wedding Planning?!

I have to start this blog post by thanking Madeline who has been able to take over the blog while I deal with planning a move cross country, trying to find a job, finishing my spring semester of school and starting my summer one, and somewhere in there figuring out a wedding! To say that I am overwhelmed is an understatement right now.

Madeline has also been trying to help me find wedding venues and after a solid week of contacting (what feels like) every venue in Virginia I really just want to elope. My ideal wedding would be very small in a location that means something to us and doesn't cost a fortune. However, David and I both come from big families so how do you have a small wedding without disappointing people? Also, how do I plan a wedding in Virginia from across the country? It all seems a bit overwhelming so for now wedding planning is going on the back burner until I move out to California, find a job, and get settled. However, while looking this past week Madeline and I did find some beautiful venues...some we can't afford but hey fun to look.

This is Berry Hill in South Boston, VA. I  love that you can rent it out for pretty much the whole weekend and have the whole weekend to celebrate with friends and family.

This is  Kings Family Vineyard in Charlottesville. A little too expensive but it would be great to be able to be married in Charlottesville.

And here is my ideal location, Debordieu. This is the beach that my family has been going to since I was born and to me it is perfect. I just want to be able to walk out onto the beach and get married. No need for chairs or violinist or thousands of dollars in flowers. Just me and David with our family around us on the beach. However, there are a lot of issues with this scenario starting with this being a private beach and needing to actually own property here to get married here. It is also far for all of our families to travel but for now I can dream of a simple wedding on our family beach.

{bake} Pinterest Challenge- French Bread!

Welcome to the Pinterest Challenge- Spring edition! (Check out our mummy cake & memory coins from previous challenges!) This is the time where lots of bloggers stop pinning & start creating! It is hosted by Sherry from Young House Love & Katie from Bower Power- check them out! The co-sponsors this month are:

Emily from Sparkle meets Pop

Renee from Red Bird Blue

Cant wait to see what everyone comes up with!

Ok, full disclosure here. I have never made bread without a kit. Or a bread maker. Or something. But when I saw The Frugal Girl's Easy French Bread, I knew I had to try it. Who doesn't love hot bread right out of the oven? So this was definitely trial and error but I would like to call it a success!

Here is the recipe from The Frugal Girl:

2 1/4-2 3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 pkg(2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast
1 cup warm water(120 degrees F)

I didn't know from the post if this was for 1 loaf or 2- all the pictures showed two, so I wasn't sure. It is only for one- I doubled it, because I wanted two loaves.

On another note, my "baking basket" needs some serious organization help...

Combine 1.5 cups of flour & the rest of ingredients in the mixer. Then, add water. Again, I didn't know if I was supposed to be using that special hook bread thing, or the normal one... so I used the normal one & it seemed ok. If Im doing it wrong, someone tell me!

Then, add flour until it is soft but kneadable. I had no idea what that meant. So I took it out the first time & it stuck to my hands like crazy... so I guess that wasn't kneadable. Flour is your friends- make sure you add enough, that it is on your hands, and already on your kneading surface. I waited the second time until the dough was pulling away from the bowl like below(maybe if I used the bread attachment it would have formed a ball?)

Then knead. I don't have a picture of this because I was so covered in flour! But from what I read and watched, you fold the dough almost in half & then push with the palm of your hands. Then do a quarter turn & repeat. And flour gets everywhere.

Once the dough is smooth & stretchy, put it in a bowl and let it rise for 45 minutes.

So cool! Then punch it down- that was the fun part! Split the dough into two if you doubled, if not make a big long rectangle with the dough & then roll it up & put it on a greased pan. You still need lots of flour at this point.

Put a wet dish towel over & wait 45 minutes to rise (sometime during this, preheat the oven to 400 degrees). It is supposed to double in size. Then make an egg wash (1 egg white & tablespoon of water wisked till foamy) & brush it on. Lastly, make 3-4 slits in the bread & put it in the oven!

 About 10 - 15 minutes later, you have hot, fresh, yummy bread!!

To put a little twist on this, I cut one loaf in half, threw on some BBQ sauce, chicken, & mozzarella cheese. Then I put it in the broiler to melt the cheese.

Yummy BBQ French loaf pizza! Dan said it was pretty good. I just ate mine with some goat cheese- LOVE goat cheese. 

To be honest, to begin this, I wasnt sure if this was going to work. As I was standing by my mixer with dough all over my hands I was skeptical- but it was pretty easy! I still feel like I have some dough on my hands and my kitchen was a disaster afterwards (proof below) but it was fun! The waiting 45 minutes to rise was a bit annoying, but you just plan around it!

I have challenged Holly to bake some French bread as well- so we will see how hers turns out soon!

Linked to:

a bowl full of lemons

home stories a to z

{celebrate} love, true love

This weekend was the biggest event of the year in our small town: Apple Blossom. There are parades, queens, carnivals, funnel cakes, fire trucks, princesses, circuses, fireworks, and everything else you can think of! It is a fun weekend & Winchester definitely comes alive. This year there were Duck Dynasty stars, Redskin players & Scotty McCreery!

This Apple Blossom, however, was just a bit more special! It was Dan and my fifth Apple Blossom together & 4 year anniversary of "dating." Yup, thats right- we met at Apple Blossom. To keep things short I was a princess (we wore matching dresses and helped represent the festival) & he was my Marine escort. Aww.... Here we were then:

The first night we met!

And now!

How we got from there to here is definitely a wild ride- but I am so thankful!

And just proof that Apple Blossom brings people, I played matchmaker to Kelley & Chris last year & they are happier than ever!

And not to mention one of my best friends in the world met her man there & they got engaged on Saturday!! I let Kevin tell you how it happened...

Sarah and I were at the corner of Monmouth and Washington streets, watching the Grand Feature Parade where we do every year, since we met there in 2010.While everyone else was paying attention to the parade, I stopped her in the middle of the yard (the very spot we first met), and pretended to chide her for not acknowledging how special the day was, since it was three Apple Blossom Saturdays since we first met. She said she had been thinking about it, and it made her happy, and she was sorry she hadn't said anything yet.

I asked her, "Do you love me?" and she said, "Of course I do!" I replied, "Will you love me for a long, long time?" (one of those things she used to ask me all the time, cutely), and she said, "Of course!" and then I asked her, "How long is a long, long time?" and she said "Forever."

I asked her then, "How do you turn a long, long time into forever?" and she said, "I don't know," and I got down on one knee as I pulled a ring out of my shirt pocket, and said, "I can only think of one way. Will you marry me?"

She asked if I was kidding. I told her I wasn't kidding, and that she should probably answer, or I was going to stay on one knee and make a scene. She said yes. And cried. And shook. And told her mom. Then we celebrated!

Courtesy: The Winchester Star

 Having all these love stories connect is so cool : )

How did you meet your match?