Independence Day

I think Independence Day has become one of my favorite holidays, just since buying this house!  

The house was built in either 1760 or 1790 (we're still researching that).
I love thinking about what it must have been like when both this house & this country were new!  

I love working elements that are reminiscent of that era into our decor... 

The little iron George Washington statue & the framed flag embroidery are now sitting on the radiator cover in the foyer.  I also added a reproduction lantern that my sister-in-law gave us last Christmas.

On the other side of the foyer, I put some flags into a commemorative mason jar, paired with a framed "America" print...

It's hard to see here, but there's the Liberty Bell on the front,
along with the dates 1776 at the top, and 1976 at the bottom.

Outside the front door, we still have our historically correct flag flying on the front porch!

Happy Independence Day!

June Yard Sales

Yard sale season is in full swing and this year is even better because my mom is now living close enough to join us on these jaunts!  Mike jokingly calls her an enabler- ha ha!

Here are some of my recent finds:

Framed advertisement for stockings ($2)

I'm going to put this up in the master bedroom closet.  

I have some sets of unused old fashioned hosiery that I'll hang underneath. 

 

Pale green fruit bowl ($1)

I've already got this loaded with apples!

Brown Jug ($3)

It smells like Maple Syrup.  This is sitting on the bottom shelf of the bakers rack in the kitchen.  I like that it's dog proof decor (he's been doing quite a number chewing on the kitchen furniture! UGH!).

Old vanilla bottle ($2) & Old Phillips Milk of Magnesia bottle ($2)

  

I put these on the shelf in the kitchen.

Mason Jars ($2 each)

My mom had given me one of these, and the next day we found another at a sale! 

I have quite a few with the glass lids, but only these two with the old metal lids.

Travel suitcase ($4)

I'll use it for storage (cosmetics & things) either in a shelf in my closet, or sitting out next to my vanity.

I suppose I could also use it for medicine/band aid storage.  Hmmmm.... 

It has it's original tag & keys too!

Building a Tree House- Phase 1

Mike and the boys have been spending time the past few weekends building a tree house!  The boys love watching the Tree House Masters show... I hope they don't expect ours to be that extravagant!

The first step was selecting the right spot.  They picked a triangle of trees that they felt had good placement in the yard.

Mike trimmed away some branches, and framed out the floor.  He was able to use wood that we had purchased for scaffolds when they put on the new barn roof.

Mike used the tractor to lift up the floor boards... which halfway worked, but it was still pretty tricky getting them up there!

So, phase one- building the platform, is now complete.

Next up is framing the sides...

Family Room Update- Coffee table

After we purchased the new couch, it was clear that we'd also need a new coffee table.  While we love our leather coffee table, it was just too short- something I hadn't thought of when ordering the couch!  Plus the old table would be great up in the media room to store movies in (it has GREAT storage space!)

I decided to keep an eye on the sales, and wait for the right table to come along, since we weren't in a rush. Back in April, I came across this on Joss & Main... and Mike loved it too!

It fit all of our criteria:
-A bit rustic, to go with the room...  It's made out of reclaimed wood & iron.

Legs of the table

Drawer knobs

-Will hold up well to heavy use... the weathered texture of the reclaimed wood means I don't have to stress about it getting scratched.

Top of the table

-Storage... the lower shelf & drawers are perfect for magazines, coasters, remotes.

Here it is in front of the new couch...

And the Family Room now looks like this...

From the doorway

Reverse- from the side of the fireplace

Here's a quick comparison shot (including the couch update)

Next up is getting rid of that green loveseat.  We took advantage of a Memorial Day sale, and got something for there ordered and being delivered later in the month!

Catching Up- May/June 2014

Wow- two months since my last post!  Life's been hectic lately... and the blog fell to the side for a bit.
I hope that I can get back into a rountine with it!

Here are some random things we've had happening with the house...

Mike built doors for the closets under eaves of the media room.

They had to be custom built, since the openings were an odd size.

I've primed them, Mike got hinges and hung them, and now I need to paint them.

We also bought the hardware- just a basic satin nickle knob for each.




I also added this shelf up there... I'm still fussing with what goes on the shelves.  For now it's photo albums, blankets, a couple of old Atari games, and empty buckets/storage bins.






I put together these mason jars of old thread spools and buttons.  They'll look great in a laundry room (some day!)








The fruit trees that we planted last year are doing good!
We lost one of them, so replaced it with a new nectarine tree.

Most exciting is that the peach tree has three peaches on it!  They are rather tiny, but a good start!!!!

Other items...
We've been moving forward with the plans for the extension.  Of course, after living in the house for a few years and mulling over the existing drawings, we now want to change some things.  I'll post about that once we've met with the architect again.