DIY // How To Build A Patio And Lay Pavers

We’ve been loving our garden patio for a couple of months now, and thought it was time to share a DIY. Building a patio and laying pavers is definitely a do-it-yourself kind of project. It’s more labor than skill and relatively affordable. This project is all about the prep, so don’t skimp on that. And you’ll probably need to brush off the old TI-85 (aka calculator) to determine how much gravel and sand you’ll need. But if you have a long-weekend on your hands and a friend or two, this is a project for you!

DIYs, The FarmhouseCathyJuly 11, 2019Farmhouse garden Comments

How to Save Money On A Kitchen Remodel (+ Win $25,000 Towards your own Kitchen Makeover!)

We’ve been making progress on our Farmhouse kitchen remodel and today I wanted to share a few ways we’re saving money on this project. Major kitchen overhauls are expensive, there’s no way around that. But over the years, Garrett and I have developed a few tried-and-true strategies for keeping kitchen costs as low as possible. Today we’re parting with Figure.com to bring you our 9 best tips for saving money on a kitchen remodel.

The Farmhouse, RemodelsCathyJuly 8, 2019money, budget renovations, Kitchen Comments

Happy Friday 7/5/19

Happy Friday! Sharing links to…how to get rid of those pesky berry stains, camping is ‘on-trend’, death cleaning, a DIY I want to try, a book I loved, grocery budgets, the humor of family travel and what DOES taste better than skinny feels.

Links & MusingsCathyJuly 5, 2019 Comments

Meet our 1977 Airstream Argosy Trailer (+ Help Us Name It!)

After years of talking and months of looking, we finally found an old camp trailer to call our own! Meet our 1977 Airstream Arosy Minuet. Scroll down for photos and please, please help us name this cutie at the end of the post!

CathyJuly 1, 2019 Comments

Happy Friday 6/28/19

Happy Friday! Are you enjoying these long summer days as much as me?

We took some time off from our kitchen renovation this week to go camping with the kids on the Washington Coast. We walked the beach, explored the tide pools, hiked in the Hoh Rainforest, and ate our weight in s’mores. A good time was had by all! But after a couple nights of sleeping on the ground, we were all happy to see our beds again. We really need to find ourselves a little camp trailer 🤪

Links & MusingsCathyJune 28, 2019 Comments

Five Ways We Save money by living in a small town and Working for Ourselves

It’s been almost 3 years since we quit our jobs in Seattle, packed up the kids, and moved back to the small town where Garrett and I grew up (Ellensburg WA). ‘Early retirement’, as we call the transition, has been an experiment in ‘working for ourselves’ as full-time landlords and parents and part-time renovators, bloggers, and volunteers. And we’ve loved the change of pace for the most part. But it’s come with significant changes to our finances. And today I wanted to share 5 ways we actually save money by living in a small town and working for ourselves.

A Tour of Our Garden at Night

Now that we showed you what our garden looks like in the daytime, I thought it would be fun to take you on a tour at night. Being out here after the sun goes down is pure magic. The owls and frogs start their serenade, the stars shine so bright (as they only can away from the lights of the city), and it’s a perfect place to linger over a beer or cup of tea.

The Farmhouse, Gardens & FlowersCathyJune 24, 2019Farmhouse garden Comments

Happy Friday 6/21/19

These Friday posts are fun for me. You too? But occasionally I forget all about them until Thursday night when I’m pulling out our old copy of ‘The Hobbit’ for story time, preparing to re-read the same pages I did two nights ago (my darling husband struggles with the use of a book mark 😆), and then bam! It hits me. It’s Thursday night!

And I get all excited to sit down at my laptop, open a beer, and have a little ‘me time’. I’m here for Friday. Let’s make it a good one!

Links & MusingsCathyJune 21, 2019 Comments

Farmhouse Kitchen // How We’re Phasing Construction To Minimize the Disruption of a Live-in Remodel

Our live-in kitchen remodel is underway (!) and I can’t tell you how excited we are. But of course remodeling a kitchen while you live in the house is a wee bit disruptive no matter how excited you are. Especially with 3 young kids at home. We’re currently in the no-sink-or-dishwasher phase of this remodel, and I thought it would be a good time to show you our progress and explain how we’re phasing this project in order to minimize disruptions. And by ‘disruptions’ I mean minimize the length of time we can’t use the kitchen.

The Farmhouse, RemodelsCathyJune 20, 2019farmhouse kitchen reno Comments