Before Pictures of the Vinyl Siding on our Home
Man, oh man, what a journey this has been. Hiring someone to install new vinyl siding on our house has been one of the most stressful and expensive home projects to date. Continue reading
New Siding!
Tag Archives: home
A Life Update
Our backyard and trees that won’t exist soon…
Wow, it’s been a while. I’ve been much more active over on Instagram lately (asmalllife) and ye olde blog has fallen by the wayside. But, I thought I’d pop in with a little life update. Sometimes it feels weird sharing my life specifics online, regardless, I thought I’d let you know why there’s been some silence.
So, here’s the hot goss: Continue reading
Happy Friday and a Home Renovation Playlist!
The unfinished headboard/accent wall in the bedroom
For the past few weeks, we’ve been keeping our heads down and attempting to grind out some much-needed home renovation projects. Right now, I don’t have much in the way of tutorials or pretty pictures, but I do have a renovation playlist that we’ve been jamming out to. It’s pretty random, I must admit. There’s a lot of ’90s alternative– George and I still live in that decade, musically. But there’s also some of my girl, Dolly and a little of the King, himself, on there.
Spotify is something I’ve only gotten into recently. I know, I know, I’m way behind on the times. But I’m having fun with it. You can also see my super embarrassing work out mix, if you follow me on Spotify.
Are you on Spotify? Do you have any new artists you are jamming out to? Chat with me in the comments and happy Friday!!!
Independence Day Home Deals
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
What Makes a House Magical (and how to infuse magic into your own home!)
The following post is written by my friend, Leah. Leah lives and works as an artist in a tiny house she built with her own hands! She has a really interesting take on the things that make a house magical and how to infuse more magic into your own home. Take it away, Leah! Continue reading
How to Clean Old Barn Wood
George and I have been working on a new project that I have to keep my lips zipped on, but I’ll give you a hint: it involves barn wood! We love working with barn wood because it’s cheaper than new wood, it’s recycled and it has a great look. (Side note: the best deals on barn wood are usually on good ol’ Craigslist. That’s where we purchased our wood.)
But barn wood has also been sitting out in the elements for many, many years and it may be dirty or even downright unusable. We can fix dirty, but we can’t fix termite or carpenter ant or bee damage. Always remember to check your wood for bugs! We once built a table in the winter with barn wood, then in the Spring started to hear buzzing. There were dormant carpenter bees in our table! Do’h! Continue reading
How to Get Rid of Weeds: The Fast and Easy Way!
Ya’ll. I may have stumbled across something that changes the way I garden forever! Let me tell you a little story… I was pretty distraught this weekend. My garden, due to my negligence, was completely full of weeds and grass. So much so that I thought I might just have to abandon it and see if anything grows in between the weeds and grass. Continue reading
Spring Cleaning Our Airstream
Shiny again!
George and I have been doing some major spring cleaning around the ol’ Airstream. We washed the Airstream, planted flowers, pulled weeds, and at 11:00 last night I decided I needed to recaulk our shower. Home improvement projects are like that. You start one and then realize you need to do five more.
The Before!
It all started with our air conditioning system. It broke at the end of last summer. It was almost cool enough to where we didn’t need it, but not quite. So we bought a portable one instead of the rooftop unit. The portable one was less than half the price of the rooftop unit, but it did not work as well. The first one we had also had a piece fly off in the middle of the night. I woke up screaming. I’m pretty sure I lost a year off my life.
Since we have Bambi, we were really worried about it getting too hot in our tin can, so we shelled out the $600 dollars for a new rooftop unit. Or at least, George did. He’s been working a ton lately and that money went to a good cause.
Be careful!
Well, after we fixed the rooftop unit, we decided the Airstream needed a good wash. And it did. Lord, it did. The poor ol’ thing had endured some major weather since the last time we washed it and just rinsing the dirt off was an epic improvement.
My flowers!
George also surprised me with the flowers and I think they make our Airstream look much more homey.
Have done any sprucing up projects lately? Talk to me in the comments!
love,
melanie
Tuesday Thoughts: Too Many People
“Too many people spend money they haven’t earned, to buy things they don’t want, to impress people they don’t like.”
Don’t keep up with the Joneses. You don’t even like them. It’s time to impress yourself.
love,
melanie
Houseless, not Homeless
Last week we had a funny thing happen. Someone that George had known from the church he went to when he was growing up dropped off a card full of cash at our house! Apparently they had heard that George was unemployed (he’s not) and that we were having a hard time (we’re not). But they also had driven by and saw the trailer, so they assumed all of that information was correct. It was a super sweet gesture and I was certainly happy to receive the gift, but we are not “in need.” We’ve returned the money and I thought it might be nice to share the letter that I attached to the money. The long of the short of it is: We consider ourselves to be houseless, not homeless.
Dear _______________,
Thank you so much for your generous gift. It is comforting to know that in a time of need, neighbors, friends and strangers will be there for you. I am writing to you today because this is not our time of need and we cannot accept your gift. Please let me explain.
Almost two years ago, George and I were at a crossroads. I had a new job opportunity in the area. Unfortunately, the job requires me to work evenings. I knew with both of us working “regular jobs,” we would rarely get to see each other. At the same time, George was working as a teacher by day and illustrating by night. Together we made the decision that George should quit his teaching job to pursue his art full-time. In order to get George’s business off the ground, we knew that we would have to make some sacrifices. I make a decent wage at my job, but we knew that it would be difficult to pay rent or buy a house and establish a small business at the same time. Therefore, we decided to live a simpler, smaller life. It is the best decision we have ever made. I know it may look strange to others, but our lifestyle was and is our choice. We consider ourselves very lucky. Neither George nor I have ever known hunger and this lifestyle has given us the ability to save money to pursue our dreams.
I cannot thank you enough for your concern and your gift. Knowing that people care about us is a gift in and of itself.
Thank you,
Melanie and George
Matthew 6:22 “The lamp of the body is the eye. If, then, your eye is simple, your whole body will be bright.”
Have anyone ever thought you were in need due to your lifestyle choices? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!
love,
melanie