Kristi’s Budget-friendly Basement Hang-out Room

If you follow me on Instagram, you probably gathered that we’ve been out of town for the past week and a half. We just got back late Saturday night from a road trip to Washington, DC, where we did many things and saw many relatives. More on that later in the week! This post was supposed to be one of … Continue reading

Another Edition of Thrift Finds

I like to do these every now and then because we haven’t gotten any projects finished around here I like to see what other people find out thrifting, and it seems likely I’m not the only one who’s like that. This round-up is special because it’s mostly stuff other people found for me. One of the few things as exciting … Continue reading

Blue and Gold Star: This Year’s Quick 4th of July Project

Historically, I’m not the best at either decorating for the 4th of July or putting stuff on my front door to make it look all pretty and seasonally appropriate. So with this project I tried to fix both of those things, with mixed results. Last year’s sole 4th of July project was these pinwheels. This year I pulled out a … Continue reading

Abe at Seventeen Months

Look at that crazy toddler! He looks all calm and charming in that picture, but what’s going on is that the camera is the only thing that can make him appear still. I’m not sure if Abe is more nuts than my other toddlers or if I just blocked those memories. Probably the latter. I suspect he’s pretty normal, but … Continue reading

DIY Swing Set: Wrapping Things Up

The last of the swing set posts! Here we have the long promised cost breakdown, links back to all the posts in the series and a quick tour of the finished swing set, and some final thoughts about the whole big project. First off, here’s a quick rundown on what we built. The tower is six by six feet square … Continue reading

Redecorating the Blog

So things are looking different around here today! What happened was I mentioned that I needed to make a business card before Haven, the blogging conference I’m going to later in the summer, and my wonderful blogging friend, Katja, from Shift Ctrl Art said she could help me out, and the next thing I knew she’d not only designed a … Continue reading

DIY Swing Set, Part 3: The Swing Set has SWINGS!

This is the post where Dave tells you how we attached the actual swinging part of our swing set. Let’s be honest: if you have no immediate plans to build your own swing set (or maybe just an unusually strong interest in swing set construction), you’re not going to read this whole thing. So please feel free to scroll through … Continue reading

Road Trip! Athens, GA with Kids

Road Trip to Athens, GA with kids

I went to college in Athens and spent four years there, but I mostly learned things like where to find cheap beer (and, you know, all the stuff from the classes, too)….not so much about what to do there with kids. And Dave actually grew up in Athens, so he really ought to have had a lot of insight, but … Continue reading

DIY Window Plant Shelf

shelves with plants

Thanks to BLACK+DECKER for sponsoring this post.   I am a lot like Laura Ingalls. Let me explain. We used to live in a (relatively) little house in the middle of (relatively) big woods. Now we live on our own very tiny prairie. At least when we moved in it was like a prairie, because it had been empty for … Continue reading

(Another) Big Wooden Whale

front view of finished whale

I know what you’re thinking: “Didn’t she just post about making a big wooden whale like eighteen months ago? Damn. Get some new ideas, lady!” And, frankly, I think you’re being a little hard on me. There are many differences between this whale and that whale: That whale’s tail does not flip up. That whale is stained dark walnut; the … Continue reading