Design and Devise your Dream Outdoor Space on a Budget!

Posted on June 30, 2017 by Sarah

Today, I’m so excited to share my little summer living outdoor getaway, with you! Plus an entire blog hop full of other beautiful outdoor spaces, The Great Outdoor Living Event: Summer! (At the end of this post you can find all of my awesome fellow bloggers’ links to check out their amazing outdoor spaces too!)

This year, I decided that I really wanted to make our outdoor space the perfect family hangout spot! It took a lot of designing, and a little bit of devising in order to make this affordable, on my way-to-close to zero dollars budget… But, I think that I may have achieved exactly what I was going for!

So let’s check it out, and you can let me know what you think! Continue reading →

A Spring Tea Party in the Kitchen!

Posted on April 1, 2017 by Sarah

Well, I’m pretty sure that we just had frost again the other night… but I don’t care because its April, and we all know what that means! April showers bring May flowers, and I just can’t wait!

Continue reading →

A Christmas Home Tour featuring some of my favorite Antique & Vintage Collectibles

Posted on December 19, 2016 by Sarah

Oh Christmas! I started decorating for Christmas really early this year, and shopping! But somehow, I’m just finally finishing now… And Christmas is almost here! Oh life!

This year, I decided to head out to The Project Pile sitting out in the garage and pull out some of my favorite pieces that I have been saving for certain rooms in my home, that I just have not gotten to yet. And I’m actually really excited to finally share some of my precious finds with you!

Now, let’s get to the home tour! (Lots of pics for you this year!)

I started out with my tree this year. I posted about this earlier, in an article called Why I decided to spend a little more money on my Christmas Decor!

(And oh my goodness… I just noticed the little red fuzzy hanging out in this pic! Photo fail! LOL!)

My whole “white-feather” Christmas tree was inspired by this mini white feather Christmas tree, that I purchased last year at the end of the season.

This little tree gave me the idea to create a garland out of white feather boas. If you like this look and would like to learn how to create your own, you can check it out here.

I put my tree in a new spot this year. (I think I actually might have put one tree here the first year that we moved here, and had three trees because I was in some super-crazy Christmas-spirit-trance! That was also back in the days before kids…)

I’ve started referring to this section of the house as the “teacup room”, since this is where I now am able to display my beautiful antique teacups.

Two from my grandmother, and two from my mother-in-law, Judy… I just love them!

I also have my barn windows hanging in this area of our home.

These were used for the seating charts in our Autumn Harvest Barn Wedding!

Now… moving into the dining room!

I really wanted to incorporate a few of my antique pieces into my table setting, so I used this antique wood and copper tray that I was able to pick up a few months ago… And I finally got to use my antique bowling pins! I picked these up in Michigan a couple of summers ago, and they’ve just been sitting in The Project Pile, waiting for the perfect moment to shine!

Over on my antique buffet I finally decided to pull out some beauties that I have been saving for my laundry room… But it currently has a leaky ceiling, so that definitely needs to be fixed first!

(Psst! Like my pears?! They’re kinda Christmasy, right?! A partridge in a pear tree!!!)

I found this pretty glass washboard at a flea market two summers ago! It’s going to look pretty stellar on my laundry room wall! Someday…

I also found this beautiful antique laundry roller at the same flea market. I paid $50 for it, but I have seen them online for up to $600! Total score! It’s also going to look awesome in my future laundry room makeover!

Up above on my oak shelves, are some pretty stoneware plates that my good friend gave me to put up there when I first got the shelves. I haven’t done any research yet, but I’m betting that they are pretty old too!

I’ve also got a few pieces from my antique bottle collection mixed in on these shelves, as well as the massive cast iron and wooden antique pulley from the farm where I grew up.

All of these bottles were personally hand dug from the fence-lines of the 179 year-old farmhouse. These are just a few of hundreds that have been found! (Someday maybe I’ll actually get to cataloging them!)

I’m so happy that I’ve finally started pulling some more collectibles out of The Project Pile, so I can actually enjoy them in my home, as well as share them with you!

Here’s to looking forward to seeing what I can dig out for next time!

Last Minute Thanksgiving Vignette!

Posted on November 19, 2016 by Sarah

Even though our Canadian Thanksgiving has already come and gone, the American Thanksgiving is just around the corner… That’s why I thought that I would take the time to put together a very simple Thanksgiving Vignette to share with my American friends and family!

My mom recently gave me this really neat candle holder that is made to sit within a wine bottle. I decided that I wanted to try to build my vignette around this… And instead of using a wine bottle, I would use one of my antique bottles from my collection! (I love my bottles, and I get really excited when I get to use them!)

Next I decided that I would use this new serving tray that I just picked up last week. I found this beauty in the old train station in the little town of Stirling where I grew up. The trains and tracks are now long gone, but the old train station is still standing and over the last few years has been filled with beautiful antiques and collectibles, and is now one of my favorite little spots to hit up and see what I can add to The Project Pile!

This tray could be very old, or it could be vintage… I still have to do my research, but can’t wait to find out! I also still have to see if I can find a way to buff out the scratches, but we’ll save that for another day. Any suggestions?!

The next thing that I added to my tray were the cobs of corn. I snatched these little guys off of the stalks that I have out on the front porch, and haven’t had the heart to take down yet.

I also had some left-over mini pumpkins and gourds, so I added those to my vignette as well.

I then played around with the placement of my antique bottles and the candle, until I came up with something that I liked.

I didn’t want to cover the entire tray, because I just love how pretty the patina is, but I still had a lot of bare space on the tray… that’s when I remembered my little supply of bittersweet that I had stocked up on earlier this fall. I just added a few sprigs here and there… and – voila! All finished!

It really took only about 10 minutes to throw together this Thanksgiving vignette, and I really, really like it! I hope you have enjoyed this post and feel inspired to create one of your own!

Master Bedroom Dream Makeover Mood Board

Posted on July 27, 2016 by Sarah

So I’ve been wanting to re-do our master bedroom for a few years now…. We’ve been in our house for about six years, and I’ve got a few rooms finished (or almost finished!), but I have been completely putting off the master bedroom because it is just a huge room to paint! It has beautiful vaulted ceilings, and the color it is right now really isn’t that bad, (beige), but I feel like it needs a little more pizzazz!

I’ve finally been able to decide on a color pallet, somewhat similar to the colors that I’ve painted my kitchen, living room and dining room. (Surprise! Surprise!)

My amazing friend and neighbor, Courtenay from over at The Creek Line House suggested that I create a “Mood Board” for my master bedroom…. I wasn’t really sure of what exactly a mood board was, so she sent me her mood board that she created for her beautiful master bathroom as an example! She’s just so helpful! (Psst! Take a peek at The Creek Line House Master Bathroom Renovation Mood Board…. It’s really quite fantastic!!)

Sometimes you just need a little inspiration or motivation from the right people to get the ball rolling! So, without any further ado — I present to you, my Master Bedroom Dream Makeover Mood Board! (Click here to view the full PDF version: Master Bedroom Mood Board V04)

This mood board is a collection of inspiration colors, textures and pieces for my future master bedroom makeover! I love the look of a cooler aqua and grey color pallet, mixed with warm cream tones…. The assorted textures of wood, rod iron and lace will give the room a softened, yet slightly bold look! In case you can’t tell, I love the “old-world-antiquey” feel, and I feel like this unique mood board reflects my tastes perfectly!

Now, notice that I used the term “future” master bedroom makeover…. We’ll see how long it actually takes before I get around to it! I’m currently 7 and a half months pregnant and spend most of my time chasing my 2 year-old, wild-child, beautiful little Miss Lacee Grace…. Plus I think I’ll wait until I’m not pregnant to climb 20 feet up on the ladder to paint the walls! But — that doesn’t mean that I can’t start shopping! 😉

If you like any of these items, here are the links to all of the sources for my inspiration pieces!