Baseboards for the Basement (also, SNOW!)

There were a lot of projects in the basement where I was worried that we were in over our heads and things would go terribly wrong–hanging doors, painting the floor, putting up the plank wall–but then all of those things went really well. I wasn’t worried about the baseboards at all. It seemed really straightforward. We just bought pine planks … Continue reading

Road Trip! Huntsville, AL

I almost feel as if this trip was just not meant to be; at every turn something or other got in our way and tried to keep us from taking it. So here’s the story of how we cheated fate and went to Huntsville last weekend ANYWAY. Take that, fate! The trip to Huntsville was the kids’ big surprise present … Continue reading

Merengue!

So, predictably, I’m not really going to have that weekend trip recap ready for today. We spent yesterday picking up our newest foster dog and getting her settled in, so I’m just going to provide an adorable puppy picture to get your weekend off to a good start instead. Merengue is a four month old border collie mix. She’s very … Continue reading

Watery Gallery Wall

We’ve been focused on finishing up the basement for so long around here that the rest of the house has been terribly neglected. I got all the Christmas decorations down right after Christmas and felt very accomplished about that….until a month and a half went by and I still hadn’t put anything in their place. I also keep adding to … Continue reading

Adventure Room: Thinking Ahead to Abe’s Big Kid Room

Sometimes, when people blog about their houses, they worry that someday their houses will be all finished, and they won’t have anything else to blog about.  I don’t have this worry at all. For one thing, we’re really slow. For another thing, we have a relatively big house with none of this “open concept” business; lots and lots of boxy … Continue reading

DIY Giant Shelves for the Basement

*denotes affiliate link I feel a little…slow motiony about house stuff lately. Like, for example, these shelves. I posted a picture of the almost finished shelves on Instagram like two weeks ago, and then it just took forever to get them all the way finished. (And then actually writing the post is taking me ANOTHER forever). Incidentally, the same sort … Continue reading

Monopoly Game Night with the Hasbro Game Channel

I must admit, I sometimes find the enduring popularity of Monopoly a little….surprising. Don’t get me wrong, I have a longstanding affection for Monopoly myself. My brother and I used to play it all the time. Because I was older and apparently had a thing for trains, I would refuse to play unless he agreed up front to let me … Continue reading

Superkea Sunday 2015!

This past Sunday marked our family’s third annual Superkea Sunday–when we go to Ikea while many other people watch a popular sports program on their televisions. Honestly, this wasn’t my favorite Superkea Sunday ever. I think word has kind of gotten out, and it wasn’t as dead as in years past, for one thing. And two year olds + Ikea … Continue reading

Making Plans for the Poor, Neglected Den

Here’s my inspiration picture for our den:  source It’s the family room from The Brady Bunch! Okay, so maybe SOME details will be different. Okay, maybe all of them. No paneling or plaid sofas or sliding glass doors. But it kept popping into my head when I was thinking about how we use our den and the sort of general … Continue reading