After owning this shed for about a year, we finally made it look less like a big, grey box. We actually ordered the shed with white trim, but there was a mixup and we didn’t think it was worth it to send it back.
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Last week in a FB group I’m in (shoutout to Yes and Yes Blog’s Money + Happy group), someone asked how to make thrifted items look cohesive in a space. I, of course, was raising my hand enthusiastically to help! Here’s some of my best tips…
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Our small home’s living room makeover is three years in the making. As much as I love a good HGTV style flip, this wasn’t it.
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When you have a small home, outdoor space can be such a blessing. Sick of your spouse? Go outside. Need a change of scenery? Go outside. Wanna feel fancy AF? Eat outside.
George and I knew we wanted to create a sort of “outdoor room” in our backyard, but we didn’t have a lot of money to do it. A deck would’ve been both expensive and time-consuming because we’d have to get a permit to do it.
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We finally completed the guest room and it feels good! Well… to be honest, “Guest room” is kind of a loose term. Our guest room rarely functions like a guest room. We use it to store stuff for our business, pack orders and take pictures. So, it needed it to be light and bright, have good storage, and function as a room for the rare guest.
First, let’s take a trip down memory lane, shall we?
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This year I’ve decided to take on the One Room Challenge! It’s a biannual event where designers make over one room over the course of six weeks. 20 designers take on the challenge and guests are encouraged to participate, as well.
I’m participating this year as a guest and I’ve decided to make over our porch! It’s not exactly a “room,” but it counts, y’all! We’ve done a lot of work on the exterior of the house, but I want to get a few more things done before it gets too cold, so I thought this would be the perfect kick in the pants! Continue reading
Man, this bedroom makeover has been a long time coming. As you may or may not remember, we completely ripped out all of the drywall in our home and took it back to the studs a little less than 2 years ago. Since then, we’ve painted bare drywall (which is a huge pain in the a**), hung new doors, put up lighting and a fan, built new closets, built the bed, built bedside shelving, hung blinds and curtains and created art. Not to mention all the cleaning and organizing! I’m tired just thinking about it.
But today, well today is a monumental day because today, I can say we’re finally finished with out bedroom! It’s only the second room in the house that’s completely finished, so this feels like a win. Continue reading
I’m all about buying vintage or used items whenever possible, but the reality is, sometimes it’s just not possible. Sometimes you have to invest in a new piece. And when that happens, you might as well get something while it’s on sale. Am I right?!
Here’s a few of the best home goods sales happening this Independence Day weekend. Continue reading
A couple of weeks ago, George, two friends and I boarded a plane for Buffalo, NY. About a year ago, a college friend had planned to get married that weekend. Fast forward about 6 months and that friend called off the big wedding and just had a small thing. That’s cool, no hurt feelings, but we had non-refundable plane tickets. Instead of moping about our used vacation days, we decided to make the best of it. And by making the best of it, I mean seeing something slightly more exotic than Buffalo. Toronto and Niagra Falls are nearby, so we hopped in a rental car and went looking for some adventure.
We didn’t really plan on seeing the Niagra Whirlpool, but we saw so many parks and signs for it, that we just pulled over!
We stopped at a park and discovered the 237829371283 stairs it took to get a closer look at the whirlpool. Although my legs were burning on the way back to the top, the view from the bottom was worth it.
After the whirlpool, we decided to mosey on over to the American side of the falls. Most people had told us it was dirty and not worth it, but we figured it wouldn’t hurt to check it out.
The American side of the falls was surprisingly clean and of course, breathtaking. Seeing that much water rush over the side of a cliff is spectacular.
The view from the top of the tower.
After the American Falls, we headed over the border to Toronto. We stayed in Hannah’s loft while we explored the city. She has a great view from her balcony. We ate a lot of food and visited the CN Tower.
Finally, we finished up the trip by visiting the Canadian side of the falls. We went “Behind the Falls”– it’s kind of self explanatory– and we rode on the boat that gets you up close and personal with the falls. We did a lot of touristy stuff on this trip, but we still had so much fun. The people you travel with can really make or break the trip.
Not only are my friends fun, they are also thrifty. Here’s how we saved some dough on this trip.
Thanks for letting me live vicariously through my travel photos. Ha-ha. Have you ever been to Niagra Falls or Toronto? Talk to me in the comments!
love,
melanie
*Affiliate links, but the Airbnb link gets you $31CAD off your next trip!!!
I’ve been under a lot of stress at work, so when I finished up the huge conference I was planning, I threw caution to the wind and decided to go on a little weekend getaway. I’ve been on a spending fast for a while, i.e. I only spend $100 per month on unnecessary stuff. I knew this would totally blow my budget, but I did it anyway. Travel is so important to me, but I also know that if I travel too much, I’ll never save any money. It’s a Catch 22.
We did a lot of things to cut costs for this trip. Charleston is only four hours from our home so we drove there in my fuel-efficient car. I found a budget hotel and used my credit card points to book it. We packed snacks, we participated in free attractions (we found a gorgeous park and visited the beach!), we had a continental breakfast each morning at the hotel and, although we ate at restaurants several times, we also picked up dinner from a local grocery store.
We even took Bambi with us! That was an adventure, but places were much more accommodating than I imagined. And after she got used to the hotel and not barking every time someone shut a door, she calmed down. By the end of the trip, she was a road dog. We even took her on a horse-drawn carriage ride around the city. Ha-ha. I’m sure we looked insane, but I love that little girl.
How huge are these houses?!
Charleston is so pretty and I’m glad we got to share it together as a family. After the trip, I felt much more relaxed and ready to take on the world.
What are your favorite tips for budget travel? I want to hear all about it in the comments!
love,
melanie