The Home Facelift
Summer is right around the corner and many of you may be thinking it’s time for a home makeover. The easiest home refresh… is paint. Whether you do-it-yourself or hire a professional, painting is one the most inexpensive ways to give your home a facelift. It’s like the compliment you want someone saying after a great night’s sleep, “I can’t put my finger on it, but she looks fantastic”. That kind of facelift.
Fireplace Remodels
Kim and I both live in the same neighborhood where the houses were all built in the 80’s. This meant both our homes had original red brick fireplaces that needed major overhaul. We each just completed our fireplace remodels and did them separate ways. We are so happy with the way they turned out and for the most part they were simple projects.
Thanksgiving Tablescape
This fall we decided to do a complete Thanksgiving table to help people find inspiration for a simple, yet beautiful way to decorate. When we began our search for our own inspiration, it was hard not to get wrapped up in all the new things stores were putting on display. How do you keep up with the trends without spending a ton of money? The answer is….you don’t. If you have enough money to buy new stuff every year, then I say more power to you, but if you are like us and don’t have a money tree in your backyard, then you have to find ways to be creative.
The Mom-Made Market
Both Renee and I like to seek out events we can shop local and hand-made items, bonus is when it’s moms like ourselves. The Mom-Made Market in Santa Barbara did just that. Roughly 70 vendors came together at the Impact Hub on State Street. For those of you that are unfamiliar with State Street in Santa Barbara, it is one place you should put on your vacation wish list. The weather is almost always perfect, never too hot and never too cold, much like Saturday while we were there, a perfect 75 degrees. Beyond the weather, the atmosphere is so eclectic: people are there from all over, including the locals, and the shops range from clothing to bohemian furniture. Swanky restaurants flood the area and high end retailers such as Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue also have a place here.
DIY Window Bench
When we began planning our home remodel this year, I always knew I wanted to incorporate a cute yet functional banquette-style seat and small table in my eat-in kitchen. Since I have 3 young kids, the banquette area needed to be multi-purpose and serve as a place for both homework and quick meals. When I started looking online for banquette style seats, I found many options but they were very pricey and wouldn’t fit exactly as I needed them to. Plus with three messy kids, I wanted seating that would be easy to clean… this meant avoiding expensive fabric cushions that would get ruined in the first week.