A “Sign” Makeover + The Mountain Home I Stayed In Is Now For Sale

Welcome to the 842nd Metamorphosis Monday! Several years back I moved this small blue chest to the hallway just outside my upstairs living room/bonus room.   Though the color of the chest worked great in my bonus room, it seemed a bit crowded over in the corner of that room.   Unfortunately, that was the only place it would fit in that room, so I ended up moving it.   I … [Read more...]




My Crazy Moving Adventure & The Awesome Discovery I Made In The Process!

Welcome to the 841st Metamorphosis Monday! Have you ever rented a U-Haul truck before? In October of last year, a few months after purchasing a cottage home near family in Ohio, I needed to move a few pieces of furniture from my home in Georgia to the Ohio house, aka, The Dollhouse. I had just purchased a dining set (table, leaf, and 6 chairs) online for the Dollhouse dining room and had a wicker dining set … [Read more...]




How To Outsmart Your Ecobee “Smart” Thermostat

Do you have a smart thermostat in your home? When I replaced both of the thermostats in my home a year or so back, I chose standard, non-Smart thermostats. At that time, I didn't see the need for another wifi-enabled device in my life. Now that I am spending more time in Ohio, I have begun to regret that decision. Georgia weather can be extremely unpredictable with snow one day and 75-degree temps three … [Read more...]




All My Favorites For Tackling Spring Cleaning + Which Smart Thermostat Is Best?

Welcome to the 839th Metamorphosis Monday! Thanks so much for all your awesome input yesterday! The Dollhouse keeps boxing me into weird corners where the thing I really want to do, doesn't necessarily work in that house. I'm stubborn, though. lol My favorite style bed is a 4-poster style bed, I've always found them to be so romantic and over-the-top beautiful. So since the prevailing opinion in the … [Read more...]




Beautiful 4-Poster, Canopy Beds That I’m Considering For The Dollhouse Bedroom

Shortly after I moved into the Dollhouse, I purchased an inexpensive bed and mattress on Amazon so I'd have a place to sleep that wasn't a mattress on the floor. lol That bed is still working great, but I've been itching to change it out for a 4-poster bed. I figure if I ever decide to move to the Dollhouse full-time, bringing my current bed from Georgia along with me, I could always move any bed I purchase … [Read more...]




A Few Of My 2025 Goals For This Lovely 87-Year Old Cottage, aka, The Dollhouse

Recently a lovely BNOTP reader asked what my goals or plans were for the Ohio cottage, aka, the Dollhouse, this year.   I do have quite a list of things I would like to accomplish this year, starting here in the kitchen. Last year I replaced the ancient refrigerator that had multiple broken shelves and a non-working icemaker. One appliance down, three to go! All of the other appliances are very … [Read more...]




A Small Office Update That’s Had A Big Impact

Welcome to the 835th Metamorphosis Monday! I have a simple Before and After this week, but it's an important one. Back around August of 2022, I purchased a new desk chair for my home office/studio.   This chair has been great and is super comfortable. I've really enjoyed it! (Chair is available in 3 colors here: Comfy Desk Chair.)   Off and on over the past few months, I started having … [Read more...]




So This Is New And Different—And Just A Little Bit Weird

Welcome to the 834th Metamorphosis Monday! Hope you had a fantastic weekend! I'm back in Georgia now, arrived back home late Friday evening and spent part of the weekend unpacking the car, grocery shopping, and washing clothes. Are you caught in this Polar thing that's moving across the country and dropping the temps to single digits or lower? The heat has been running almost non-stop so I've had my warm … [Read more...]




Yes, This Is Exactly What I Had In Mind

A few months back, I shared some ideas I had for the windows and chairs here in the Dollhouse dining room. In keeping with the cozy, relaxed cottage feel I envision for this home, I mentioned that I'd like to go with a Buffalo Plaid fabric for the dining room chairs. I would like a coordinating fabric for the windows, in addition to the plantation shutters I have planned. Hope to get the shutters ordered … [Read more...]




Christmas Home Tours & The Start Of Creating A “Theater” Room In The Basement

Welcome to the 828th Metamorphosis Monday! Happy Monday! Hope you had a great weekend! It was a really busy one here with Christmas festivities and home tours. We lined the streets of our community with paper bag luminaries and it looked really beautiful! Unfortunately, I had a gigantic limb fall off the tree in my front yard a couple of days prior. It was out on the curb awaiting pickup—kinda bad timing … [Read more...]




New Furniture For My Study & A Most-Special Gift From Fortnum & Mason

Welcome to the 827th Metamorphosis Monday! It was a long drive back to the Dollhouse but listening to a book definitely helped pass the time. The weather was great the whole way and traffic was really good to me on this trip up. I tend to overdue a bit on these trips back to the Dollhouse, as I always squeeze in as much as humanly possible into my SUV, so the loading and unloading is quite the workout. I … [Read more...]




2 Updates In The Office, Including A Major One—Plus, The Home Alone House Is Back!

Welcome to 825th Metamorphosis Monday! Hope you had a wonderful weekend! I have two updates to share here in the office, one I wish I had done ages ago. When I first chose furniture pieces from Pottery Barn's Bedford Modular Collection for my home office, as soon as they were delivered, I had a local glass company out to my home to measure the tops so protective glass could be cut to the exact dimensions of … [Read more...]




Beautiful Albino Squirrel, Brilliant Bag Storage & 1st Attempt At Making A Tarte Soleil

A week or so ago I visited the Wright Memorial Library to get a library card. There's just something about obtaining a library card from your local library that makes you feel more like a real resident. As I was leaving the library, I saw this little guy running about under the trees. He is so pretty! I wondered how rare all-white squirrels are and did a quick search. Turns out they are pretty rare with … [Read more...]




Creating A Cozy Seating Area For The Office, How Do You Like The Chair(s) I Chose?

The last time we checked out the office was a few weeks ago when the plantation shutters were added to this room. Around that same time, or maybe it was a few days after, I stumbled across a chair I really liked while shopping for something else on the Home Depot website. I didn't realize HD had branched out into offering furniture on their site. It reminds me of the days when the Home Depot Expos were … [Read more...]




How To Change The Direction The Door Opens On A Speed Queen Dryer

Welcome to the 821st Metamorphosis Monday! The laundry room in this 86-year-old house I purchased at the very end of May, is located down in the basement. Over the years as I've checked out homes that were listed for sale in this area, the laundry room was pretty much always in the basement, usually in an unfinished part of the basement. I have to wonder what the original homeowners of the homes in this … [Read more...]




A “Smelly” Before and After, How I Store My Perfume Collection

A few weeks back I shared a little update I wanted to make in this upstairs bath. Notice the cabinet on the wall to the left in this photo from when the home was listed for sale a couple of years ago.   Right after I first moved in and began exploring various rooms, as soon as I opened this cabinet in the hall bath that is located just outside the master bedroom, I thought how perfect it … [Read more...]




The Plantation Shutters Are Finally Here! Do They Look The Way You Expected?

Welcome to the 820th Metamorphosis Monday! Oh my gosh, I have so much I want to tell you about the trip up to Ohio but I will save that for a future post because it was quite the adventure. Ha! Everything went really well until I hit the Cincinnati area. They had completely shut down all of I-75 North for the weekend to do road work. When I first left early that morning, Waze said something implying I-75 … [Read more...]




Finally Tracked Them Down & They Are Just What I Needed For My Kitchen

A little over a year ago, my son and daughter-in-law completed a full renovation of the kitchen in their charming, 100-year-old home. The renovation turned out beautifully! If you would like to see the 1970s version of their kitchen before its renovation, plus all the changes that were made, you'll find that link at the end of this post. One of the updates that took place during their renovation was the … [Read more...]




Dollhouse Updates: You’ll Never Believe How Much I Brought Up This Time!

Welcome to the 818th Metamorphosis Monday! So much has happened since I shared my last post for Tablescape Thursday. As I'm sure you've heard, we had a big weather event across the southeast. I was scheduled to head to the Dollhouse last Thursday, but I stayed put until things looked better in my area mid-day Friday. I had one of the best drives up I've ever had with very little traffic and no major backups … [Read more...]




How I Protect My Car’s Seats From Denim Transfer Stains During the Fall And Winter

A few years back I noticed dark blue coloring on the leather seats of the SUV that I had at that time. I came to realize it was from wearing dark jeans. Fortunately, I was able to get it off with my favorite super cleaner. I think that's when I first discovered this super cleaner—when I was trying to find a way to remove denim transfer off the leather seats of my car. I use this Super Cleaner for so much … [Read more...]




6 Major Purchases That Could Not Wait: What I Purchased & Why

When I bought a second home a few months back, I wasn't sure how long it would be before I moved there full-time. So I had some tough decisions to make about what to purchase for the home right away, and which things could wait. After thinking it over, I did what I always do when I'm in an unfamiliar situation and not exactly sure where to start—I started with the "knowns." In my mind, there were two … [Read more...]




The Best Way To Remove Tape Residue From Hardwood Flooring

Welcome to the 815th Metamorphosis Monday! Happy Monday! Hope your weekend was awesome! I have a house full of painters here right now, they are working on finishing up the painting in the kitchen and the basement.  I'm still anxious and nervous about how the kitchen desk restoration will look in the kitchen once that is completed. I'll keep you posted on how it turns out. Today, I'm sharing a smallish … [Read more...]




When Am I Selling My Home & Moving? Answering All Of Your Questions

Ever since I shared in a post that I had purchased a home near family in Ohio, I've received quite a few questions via comments and emails. Today, I thought I'd try to answer some of those questions, although I'm not sure I have all the answers myself. Before we jump into the questions, let me give you a little background about how I came to find the home I've come to affectionately call the "Dollhouse" due … [Read more...]




Luxury Bathing: A 1938 Cinderella Bathtub, Plus Knob Upgrades For 2 Laundry Chutes

Welcome to the 814th Metamorphosis Monday! I'm back in Georgia and work will start back up again in the kitchen next Monday. I'm glad to have a week to get caught up before work begins again. Hopefully, they will be done this next week with the painting and the rebuilding of the desk. A week or so ago I shared how I had the unique and unusually-shaped tub in the Dollhouse master bath reglazed. I could … [Read more...]




So Many Lighting Updates, Plus A New Console Table For the Upstairs Hall

Welcome to the 813th Metamorphosis Monday! When I first moved into the Dollhouse, it was a dim, dark place! I didn't have any lamps, yet, and a lot of the lighting either wasn't working properly or contained dim, low-wattage bulbs. For example, the master bedroom has an overhead ceiling fan with a light attachment, but one of the bulbs was physically shattered and the other bulb was a 40-watt bulb. I was so … [Read more...]




How To Remove Tape & Sticky Glue Residue From A Painted Door, You’ll Never Believe What I Used!

See that closet door on the other side of the room here in the office? All the closets in this home badly needed to be painted, but that particular closet had another issue, and I'm not just talking about the bare bulb light with the pull-string that hung right in your face when you opened the door. Thankfully, that's gone!   On the inside of the door, someone had stuck tape on the door and … [Read more...]




What Is The Name of That Blue Paint In The Bedroom, Bathroom & Your Office?

Ever since I shared a tour of the upstairs part of the Dollhouse in THIS previous post, I've had several comments and emails asking if I know the brand/name of the blue paint that was used for the Master Bedroom, Master Bath, and the FROG (Finished Room Over the Garage) that I'm using as my office. Recently, I came across several paint cans in the Dollhouse basement, and as I cleaned those off before moving … [Read more...]




Great Storage Solution For The Home Office Closet Or, Really, Any Closet

Remember this room? ;) Right now, this room almost seems like it's from another lifetime. I love this office, it's very different from the one I'm gradually putting together in the Dollhouse.   This is probably a good time to explain a little better how I'm kind of envisioning this room looking if/when I finally move to the Dollhouse permanently. The Pottery Barn Bedford file cabinets/storage … [Read more...]




Larger Rug For The Office, Dented Refrigerators, & A Great Dish Soap Dispensing Brush

So, how's the 9' x 12' rug look here in the office? It arrived yesterday, a day earlier than projected, and my oldest grandson helped me get it into the room. It arrived folded in a big, rectangular package. We were a team cartwheeling it up the 7 stairs to the office, moving it into place, and getting it up underneath the desk. In the photo below, you can see how the 8 x 10 rug looked that I shared a few … [Read more...]




So Many Kitchen Updates, Plus, My New Speed Queen Washer & Dryer Are Here!

Since moving into the Dollhouse, I've been gradually updating a lot of the things that I need and use every single day. Recently, I shared the repairs and updates I made to this super wide drawer here in the kitchen. I am still crazy in love with the expandable flatware/organizer that I found for it. It drastically improved the functionality of this drawer. (Expandable organizer can be found here: … [Read more...]




A Look at My New Expandable Flatware Organizer, Great For Wide Kitchen Drawers

A few days ago, I shared about this wide drawer that is located in the kitchen of the dollhouse, and how I had found it with the center bottom of the drawer busted downward, held that way due to a large bolt that had somehow become wedged between the back wall of the drawer and its bottom. I discovered it was that way the first time I placed something in that drawer and immediately heard the item fall out … [Read more...]




So Many Updates For The Dollhouse, & More To Come!

Welcome to the 808th Metamorphosis Monday! Whenever I'm here at the Dollhouse, I always feel a lot of pressure to get stuff done, and get it done right now! That's because my time is always limited since I have projects going on back in Georgia, too. The minute I pull into the driveway, I'm on the go. I usually have appointments set up with repairmen or tradesmen starting the very next day, so there's no … [Read more...]




Removing The Sticky, Deteriorating, Residue From Tool Handles, Surfaces, & Devices

Years ago, I noticed the handle on my hand mixer had become super sticky. Washing it with soap and water didn't help, it's as if the rubbery surface of the handle was dissolving. The mixer still worked great, so I didn't want to replace it. Over the years, on the rare occasion when I needed to use it (I normally use my stand mixer) I always wrapped a paper towel around the handle, otherwise it was way too … [Read more...]




Gotta Leave Now, So I’m Staying In A Big Canoe TreeTopper—Plus, A Fabulous Dress!

Welcome to the 805th Metamorphosis Monday! I am looking forward to a few slower days sometime soon. Right now every day is jam-packed. I just got back from donating some things to Goodwill, including some of the mirrors that I had down the front staircase wall. I'm preparing to have the upstairs hall painted so it was time to remove everything along this wall.   The boxes are growing in the … [Read more...]




The “Necessary Room” & How I Plan To Hide The TP

In my home in Georgia, the main-level, half/guest bath is outfitted with a nice-sized vanity. The cabinet is so large, in addition to toilet paper, I use it to store the paper towels that I use in the kitchen that's just a few feet away.   The half bath in the Dollhouse in Ohio is a very different story! That bathroom is quite small and has a pedestal sink, so there's no place to hide away … [Read more...]




2 Mysteries In This 1938 Cape Cod: 1 Marked Solved, 1 Still Unsolved. Any Ideas?

Welcome to the 804th Metamorphosis Monday! Buying a 1938 Cape Cod has been an interesting, intriguing, and sometimes challenging experience. Some days are days are challenging, and some days are filled with mystery and intrigue. In a recent post, I shared a mystery electrical switch that I discovered in an unusual spot in the master bedroom. If you look closely at this picture of the room when the home was … [Read more...]




Beautiful, Affordable, Comfy Bed & Mattress, Plus, A Special Secret Storage Space

Welcome to the 803rd Metamorphosis Monday! If you've been following along, you may remember that the closing on the Dollhouse took place on the 30th of May. The sellers had asked to stay through the 14th, but they ended up moving out on the 8th, except for a few items that they came back for over the following week. They graciously allowed me access to the house a bit earlier, which worked out great since I … [Read more...]




How To Save Your Favorite Jacket When It’s Ruined From Color Bleed In The Wash

Welcome to the 799th Metamorphosis Monday! Have you ever had a favorite top or outfit ruined due to color bleed in the wash? My friend, Teresa, loves to travel, and one of her favorite jackets that she often takes along when she travels is a Tommy Bahama jacket in a nice neutral color. Having just returned from a trip, her hubby, Frank, was trying to be helpful by washing some of the clothes they wore … [Read more...]




Hope This Tip Will Save You A $149 Electrician Visit—Still Can’t Believe It Worked!

Thanks so much for your helpful comments and suggestions yesterday. I am much, much better today and feeling right back to normal, thank goodness! No more wall paper stripping without a mask on! So, I have to share this crazy "lighting" thing I just discovered in case you ever run into this issue. Hopefully, it will save you from having to call an electrician and pay a troubleshooting fee, as I just had … [Read more...]




Covering Edges Of Melamine Shelves & What Happened To My Fave Wallpaper Remover

Welcome to the 797th Metamorphosis Monday! Hope you had a fabulous weekend! I've been working on a few bathroom projects this weekend. One of the tasks I worked on involved the shelves in the closets of both upstairs baths. When this house was built many years ago, I'm not sure why, but the closets were built with wood boards inside for shelves. I think they were 1 x 12s or something like that. There are … [Read more...]




The Upstairs Living Room Window Seat Just Got A Much Needed Update

A few days ago, I made a small update/repair here in the upstairs living room, aka the bonus room or FROG.   It turned out so well, I thought I'd share it in case you find it helpful. When I moved into this house so many years ago, the upstairs living room already had window seats under all the windows.   There's storage built in under each of the window seats. The two dormer … [Read more...]




All My Favorite Must-Have Tools Gathered Into A Single Post

Welcome to the 793rd Metamorphosis Monday! Last month, Pam left this comment on a post where I shared a photo of my tool chest in my garage. Over the years, as I've completed a few DIY projects around the house, I've gradually accumulated quite a few tools that I really enjoy using. I have too many to try and list them all in a comment, so I let Pam know I would work on a post sharing my favorites, those … [Read more...]




How I Plan To Stop My Car From Being Stolen While Pumping Gas

Have you been hearing about this latest issue where people are having their cars stolen literally right out from under their noses? Yesterday, I saw a video about this particular incident below that happened a few days ago. A woman had just finished pumping gas into her SUV and was replacing the gas cap when a thief jumped into her vehicle and drove off with her SUV, her handbag, and everything else she had … [Read more...]




How I Repaired A Loose Strap Keeper On My Pochette Metis Hand Bag

Welcome to the 789th Metamorphosis Monday! Almost six years ago, in August 2018, I purchased a Louis Vuitton Pochette Metis bag in the Reverse Monogram style. This bag has been a workhorse! It's the bag I wear during the fall/winter months the most, especially on days when it's pouring rain and I have a ton of errands to run. It's impervious to rain, and when wearing it crossbody it somehow becomes one with … [Read more...]




A Bee-utiful Solution For My Tool Chest & Other Dinged or Dented Stainless Appliances

Thanks so much for all your great suggestions in the comments of Monday's post! If you missed that post, I was troubleshooting possible solutions for getting rid of a really noticeable dent that somehow appeared on the front of this large tool chest here in the garage during the time the garage was being painted.   One suggestion made in the comments that, unfortunately, wouldn't work in this … [Read more...]




My Absolute Favorites For Spring Cleaning The Porches And The Garage

Update: Just noticed that Talbots has made their 25% off sale even better with 40% off any one item and 25% off everything else. You the code SPRING40 to get 40% off any one item. If you missed my spring favorites post, you'll find it here: Getting a Jump on My Spring Wardrobe, Everything is Currently on Sale. You'll find the Talbots spring sale here: Talbots Spring Sale. The temps here this week have … [Read more...]




How To Make A Decorative Bee Skep For Spring Decorating Or A Spring Centerpiece

Welcome to the 785th Metamorphosis Monday! Happy New Week! I have a fun spring craft for you this week! I don't know why but I always get a bit apprehensive when I try to make something I've never made before. I think that's the perfectionist in me coming out. Argggh! I've been working on an idea for a spring table setting, and for the centerpiece, I'd like to use a decorative bee skep. The prices of … [Read more...]




A New Addition To The Garage For The Rainy Days

Welcome to the 783rd Metamorphosis Monday! Thanks so much for all your amazing and much-appreciated comments on our 800th Tablescape Thursday post! I can't wait to see what the next 15 years holds. If it's half as fun as the first 15, I know it will be awesome! If you missed the Tablescape Thursday post, you'll find it here: Celebrating 800 Tablescape Thursdays & Looking Forward to Many More. No … [Read more...]




Would You Have The Nerve To Do This? Yikes!

Mr. Gingerbread Man and his many stories live on! Hahaha! During November and December, whenever I shared about this adorable Kate Spade Gingerbread House bag, the emails, pictures, stories, and comments I received from BNOTP readers, friends, and my daughter-in-law were the best! This fun bag stole the show and was always the topic of conversation everywhere it traveled. I could write a blog post doing … [Read more...]




How To Make A New Candle With Wax Left In The Bottom Of A Candle Jar

Welcome to the 780th Metamorphosis Monday! Do you love candles? Have you ever had an issue with a candle creating a well down the center of the candle as it burned? I've read so many tips about how to avoid that issue, the main one being to let the candle burn allllll the way out to the edges of its container the first time you light it. That, along with keeping the wick trimmed to a normal height, is … [Read more...]




Throwing Fisticuffs–It’s That Time Of Year When I Duke It Out With The Mattress! Ha!

Welcome to the 773rd Metamorphosis Monday! Or, maybe it's more like a wrestling match! It was past time--normally I swap out my summer bedding for my winter bedding around the first week of October. I think I'm late this year because it really hasn't felt that fallish. We've been having some wonderfully warm days. The leaves have really started falling now, though--so it was time, past time! My biannual … [Read more...]




Love This Idea For Keeping Valuables and Collectibles Safe

Since I'm a crazy, handbag-obsessed woman, I like to occasionally watch YouTube videos of handbag unboxings or handbag reviews. In one particular video I watched recently, the YouTuber shared how she secures her expensive handbags and jewelry when she's away. She hinted that there had been an issue in the past, saying, "If you know, you know." I'm not sure what she was referring to but it sounded like she's … [Read more...]




A Wonderful Dollhouse Before & After: The Restoration Is Complete

I'm back today with Part 2--the reveal of Elena's wonderful dollhouse renovation/restoration. If you missed yesterday's post, check it out first so you can see the condition the house was in before Elena worked her magic. You'll find Part 1 here: A Wonderful Dollhouse Before & After: The Restoration Begins. If you remember from yesterday, the railing and balusters of this porch area were broken and … [Read more...]




A Wonderful Dollhouse Before & After: The Restoration Begins

Welcome to the 769th Metamorphosis Monday! When I was growing up, I never had a dollhouse. Did you have one when you were little? I never even remember seeing a dollhouse when I was little, I guess none of my friends had them, either. I didn't really become aware of dollhouses until I was much older, but once I did become aware of them, it made me really wish I had had one growing up. One day many years … [Read more...]




New Blinds For The Basement & A Minor Repair You May Find Helpful

Welcome to the 768th Metamorphosis Monday! Happy Monday--how was your weekend? I hope it was awesome! I have two Before and Afters to share for this week's Met Monday--one is kinda small, but will hopefully, prove helpful, and another one that was a bit pricey but I'm glad to have completed.   Let's start with the pricey one--if you've been reading BNOTP for the past year or so, you know I've … [Read more...]




A New Method For Storing The 13 Christmas Wreaths I Hang On My Exterior Windows

Welcome to the 763rd Metamorphosis Monday! How was your weekend? I hope you had a great one! Mine was busy and turned out to be quite productive. I started pulling out all of the holiday decor I had stored under the attic eaves, hauling it all two flights of stairs down to the basement.   There was a lot stored here on the Christma-storage side. In addition to what you see, there were around … [Read more...]




This Miracle Trick For Removing Pen & Ink Marks From Leather Saved My Handbag

Recently I discovered an amazing little trick that I never knew about! I had a mini-disaster occur with one of my handbags. There's a barbecue restaurant about 15 minutes from my home. I'm rarely in that area so when I do find myself near the restaurant, I'll sometimes go through their drive-thru to order one of their BBQ plates. On my last visit a few weeks back, when I reached the window where you pay … [Read more...]




How To Adjust The Size Of The Grind On A Salt Or Pepper Shaker

This is probably one of those, "everyone in the world knows this but me" things. lol I love this salt and pepper shaker that I purchased a few years back--except for one thing. Over the past few months, the pepper shaker puts out these huge pepper chunks when I grind a little pepper into my eggs in the morning. This morning, after it happened once again, I started thinking I was just going to have to look … [Read more...]




Make Seashell Napkin Rings For Your Summer, Beach-Themed Table Settings

Welcome to the 760th Metamorphosis Monday! One of the things I love most about blogging is hearing from you and all the wonderful crafts and projects that you're working on. Elena, a lovely BNOTP reader, recently set a fun, beach-themed table for family that included these wonderful shell napkin rings that she hand-crafted herself.   I've made shell chargers before--tutorial for those is … [Read more...]




La Fermière Yogurt Pot–How to Remove Adhesive Off The Rim + A Yeti Tumbler Hack

Welcome to the 774th Tablescape Thursday! I was visiting family in Ohio for the past 9 days and just got home around 6:30 last night after a long 9-hour drive. So though I don't have a table setting to share, I have two things that are table-related that I hope you'll find helpful. Yesterday, I shared these delicious yogurts I discovered during my time in Ohio. As mentioned in yesterday's post, this … [Read more...]




Attractive, Waterproof, Patio-Deck Storage For Outdoor Cushions, Toys, Gardening & Grilling Tools

Welcome to the 756th Metamorphosis Monday! Hope you had a fabulous weekend! Well, it has been a process spanning several years, but I have finally managed to move all the toys I saved from my son's childhood--to my son's home in Ohio for his children to enjoy. Of course, I didn't save every toy from his childhood, but I did try to save the best ones that I felt were perennial and would never be outdated. … [Read more...]




Sometimes It’s the Little Things That Can Make Life A Lot Better!

Welcome to the 753rd Metamorphosis Monday! Have you ever had something annoy you for a long time, then one day that final straw hits and you realize you have to do something to fix it, or at least find something that works better? That's what finally happened to me with these super annoying tape dispensers I've been using for ages. The red one normally lives in the basement and I have another one just like … [Read more...]




Finally Did It–Had The Roof Cleaned! What Do You Think?

Welcome to the 750th Metamorphosis Monday! Two years ago, in June 2021, I shared a post where I mentioned I had noticed the roof on my home was looking kinda dirty. In this older 2012 photo, here's how the roof looked when it was still relatively new. It was around 5 years old at that time.   Looking back at older photos like the one below, I can see now that over the years a bit of staining … [Read more...]




Easy Solution For “Fixing” & Hiding Beige Outlets In A Room With White Trim

Welcome to the 749th Metamorphosis Monday! Last year I had the "almost finished" side of the basement painted. The walls were painted in Benjamin Moore White Dove and the trim was painted in Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace. Chantilly Lace is a bright white with an LRV of 92.2.   Though this basement is a daylight basement with 5 good-size windows and two French doors, I wanted to keep the room … [Read more...]




Some Fun Ideas for Summer: Crafts and Decor Ideas

Recently someone asked in the comments about this 3-tiered planter pictured here on the potting bench that I painted in the color, Dahlia. It made me realize that I really should occasionally link back to some of the hundreds of posts I've written over the past 15 years because many are still relevant. This post took me forever to put together this morning because I found myself rereading them all again and … [Read more...]




So…How Do You Feel About Purple?

Welcome to the 748th Metamorphosis Monday! Hope you had a restful Memorial Day weekend and are enjoying some additional time off today. When I last shared the basement storage/work room, the painting was mostly finished except for the windows and some areas that needed a bit of touch-up. Before I share how it looks now, here's a photo of where we started. This side of the basement was functional for storage … [Read more...]




When Things Go Sideways–Literally! Never Had This Happen Before!

Welcome to the 746th Metamorphosis Monday! Happy Monday! I hope you had a fabulous weekend! Mine was great except for one mind-numbing incident. lol So you know how I've put together a gazillion of these white storage cabinets for use here in the garage? I have 9 here in the garage--five along the side wall and four on the front wall.   I decided to order two for the basement storage room … [Read more...]




New Lighting For The Upstairs Hall & This Lighting Has A Surprise, Unique Feature

When I had an electrician here on Friday to add recessed lighting to the storage/utility room in the basement, I also had him change out the three lights in my upstairs hallway to recessed lighting, recessed lighting with a special, built-in feature. This was the lighting that was in the long, upstairs hallway.   Two of the three lights are visible in this previous photo from when I was … [Read more...]




Such a Big Improvement–Love This Spice Rack Organizer!

My spice organization left a lot to be desired. The only place I have near my stove to store spices is inside this relatively narrow cabinet next to the stove. To try and make it more functional, I have a lot of my spices on a little turntable. It's not a great system because when I need a particular spice, I have to spin it around and around searching for the one that I need. Often, the smaller spice … [Read more...]




All My Favorite Cleaning Products, Including One That’s Great For Polishing Jewelry

Welcome to the 739th Metamorphosis Monday! How was your weekend? I hope it was a great one! We've been having the nicest weather lately and I've so enjoyed all the sunshine! This weekend it was so nice, I backed my car out of the garage, blew out the few leaves that had blown in, and gave the garage floor its first official mopping since it was installed last summer. There were just a few spots here and … [Read more...]




I Found A Solution, But You May Not Want To Read This Post! Spoiler Alert!

Welcome to the 738th Metamorphosis Monday! Recently, I mentioned I had purchased The Happy Isles puzzle from the Magic Puzzle Company. I didn't know a lot about their puzzles, or this particular puzzle, when I purchased it, only that there's a bit of a magic trick at the end that reveals a surprise twist to the story of  The Happy Isles. Before we go any further into today's post, if you've purchased … [Read more...]




Have You Ever Been Inspired By The Decor You Saw In A Great Movie House?

Not sure what got me thinking about this, but a few days ago I was thinking again about how much I loved the home in the movie, Home Alone, and how it had made such an impression on me when I first began buying furniture and decorating my own home. That sent me down another rabbit trail wondering what else have I done in my home that was the direct influence of something I had noticed in a movie … [Read more...]




When Is It A Collection, Or Is It Just Hoarding? ;)

Do you remember when your interest in decorating first began? I have the worst memory in general, especially when it comes to dates, but I definitely remember what kicked off my borderline obsession with home decor. My love for decorating really took off when I discovered two magazines: Colonial Homes and Traditional Home. I could hardly wait for each issue to arrive in my mailbox! I poured over those … [Read more...]




My Top 10 Favorite Amazon Finds In 2022

Happy Weekend! It's raining here. Again. It's been raining here so much, I actually did an online search today to see if we were breaking any precipitation records. I didn't find the answer to that, but I did learn that Georgia is in the top 10 states for rainfall, ranking #7. I never realized we were in the top 10, we even get more rainfall each year than Seattle! Wow! I guess that's why everything is … [Read more...]




Sometimes It’s The Little Tweaks That Make Life Better

Welcome to the 727th Metamorphosis Monday! Happy New Year to you! I hope your 2023 is off to an awesome start! Apparently, I'm trying to repeat the start of 2018 as I began the year with a yucky virus. I came down sick on Saturday and I think I'm finally past the body ache and fever stage. Unfortunately, I had to postpone the drywall work that was supposed to start in the basement tomorrow. So I don't have … [Read more...]




It’s Finished! Welcome to My Cozy Bookstore Book Nook

I should have known when I purchased a book nook kit I wouldn't be able to leave it alone until it was finished. I'm the same way when doing a puzzle. I'm always so eager to see it completed, it calls my name and haunts me until it's done. When I last shared this Bookstore Book Nook that I had just started, it was only this far along: a few pictures and a couple of shelves on one side wall, and a cute … [Read more...]




Building An Enchanting Book Nook

Welcome to the 724th Metamorphosis Monday! Hope you had a fabulous weekend! I got a bit of disappointing news on Friday--the drywall company that was supposed to start the drywall process in the unfinished side of the basement this week is putting me off for a couple of weeks. At the last minute, he had a huge job come in, a customer who is having him smooth out all the ceilings throughout her whole home. … [Read more...]




Lots of Fun Updates from Decorating to Organizing to Filling Up a New Freezer

Welcome to the 722nd Metamorphosis Monday! Have you started or completed your holiday decorating? I got my wreaths up a few days before Thanksgiving, but that's about as far as I've gotten. If you would like more info about how I hang my wreaths each year, you'll find a post where I share the details here: How to Hang Wreaths on Exterior Windows.     So, it took me a while but I … [Read more...]




Buying My First Freezer, Crazy About This Rail-Basket Organizing System!

Welcome to the 721st Metamorphosis Monday! How was your weekend? I hope you had a fabulous fall weekend! I was busy making the most out of my recently updated storage room. I brought down more centerpieces/decorative pieces that had been stored in my laundry room cabinets so they would all be together in one spot.   I still had so much available space on the floor below the shelves, the … [Read more...]




A Basement-Terrace Level Reveal, Sharing All 3 Spaces and How They Look Now!

Welcome to the 720th Metamorphosis Monday! I am so excited to give you an update reveal on the basement area. As you look at these pictures, please keep in mind that the basement is still not complete--I have many more plans for this space! You may remember when I first started this process a few weeks ago, the basement stairs looked like this. Not sure why, but when this home was built in 1982-83, the … [Read more...]




Not Your Usual Tablescape Thursday Post, Lantern-Centerpiece Storage

Welcome to the 737th Tablescape Thursday! Lots going on here today, I have an electrician here installing a second outlet on the unfinished side of the basement. I moved my workbench from the semi-finished side of the basement to the unfinished side. The unfinished part of the basement only has one outlet. I may eventually add a smallish chest freezer to that space, so I needed an additional outlet for my … [Read more...]




New Tablescaping Goodies, Attractive Storage Idea & the Room I’m Renovating Next

I'm headed over to Home Depot today. I have a project I'm working on in both the unfinished, the semi-finished, and the storage area of my basement. I will share a lot more about that on Monday for Metamorphosis Monday. In the meantime, I wanted to share a couple of table purchases I just made recently, as well as a few photos of the semi-finished part of the basement at the end of this post. The fall … [Read more...]




The Garage is Finally Done, Landscapers Who Hide Things & Very Hungry Bees!

How is your weekend going? I've been tidying up lots of odds and ends around here. The painter came back today to finish painting the plantation shutters in the garage. The first painter really botched them with drips and runs everywhere. The painter that came today had previously been out and sanded off all the drips and today he came back to paint them. They are once again in the windows of the garage and … [Read more...]




How to Stop a Gas Lantern From Blowing Out On Really Windy Days

I have a gas lantern in front of my home that I had installed 20+ years ago. When I first had it installed, the lantern company estimated the cost to run it would be around $12-14 per month--and it was. Definitely worth it for the ambiance it adds to the front of my home.   Years later, when gas prices went up drastically, I turned it off for much of the year. I was also having an issue with … [Read more...]




Fortnum & Mason Hamper As a Side Table, Great Place to Hide Throws & Pillows

Welcome to the 711th Metamorphosis Monday! Happy Monday! I hope your week is off to a fabulous start! A week or so ago I shared the arrival of a Fortnum and Mason Hamper I had purchased, along with the goodies that I chose to go inside. I ended up creating my own bespoke hamper to get the size hamper and the contents I really wanted.   When I first placed my order for one of their hampers, I … [Read more...]




What’s Inside All Those Storage Cabinets? I’m Throwing Back the Doors!

Welcome to the 727th Tablescape Thursday! For this week's Tablescape Thursday, we're taking a peek inside the nine storage cabinets I have here in my garage to see what's stored inside and how it's all organized. I hope this little storage tour offers up a few ideas for your storage needs.   Let's start with the cabinets here on this side wall of the garage. Before we throw back the doors … [Read more...]




Is it True? Will LED Light Fixtures Cause Your Garage Door Opener to Malfunction?

Over the past few weeks as I've shared the updates I've been making here in the garage, one question I've been asked in the comments a couple of times was if the new LED lighting I had installed would create any issue with my garage door opener.   During the renovation process, one of the things I had done was the replacement of the original seal on the garage door. Sometime over the past 40 … [Read more...]




It’s Done! The Cabinets are Back and All Systems are GO!

Welcome to the 709th Metamorphosis Monday! It was a long time coming but I finally have all the cabinets back in the garage and filled back up. Before I share the "After" here's a little reminder of where we started. The garage walls were in need of a fresh coat of paint and much better lighting than the builder-grade lights that had been here for 40 years.   Previously, I had 6 dish … [Read more...]




Garage Storage Cabinets, Progress Has Been Made But There’s Been a Few Glitches

Welcome to the 708th Metamorphosis Monday! As I type this, I'm waiting for the second garage door repairman to arrive. Hopefully, I can get this post up before he arrives. I will have to create a post sharing all the things that have had to be done and redone multiple times so you'll know life isn't all rainbows and unicorns up in here. Ha! Seems like every project I embark on has had a major glitch (or … [Read more...]




Not Again! Unfortunately, yes! Again! Plus, Sharing a Handy DIY Hack

So remember when the garage looked like this?   Well, it looks like this again. Arggh! :( I'll explain more on Monday but basically, the original painter the company sent out did a terrible job of fixing a couple of places on the ceiling where the sheetrock tape that was used 40 years ago was starting to loosen in places. He really botched it. So the painting company has sent out a much more … [Read more...]