Furniture Finds for Small Home Living

With just the two of us, my hubby and I have discovered that small house living is suiting us just fine!

But, we have made an important discovery! Every piece of furniture needs to be looked over carefully to see all the different ways it could be used. 

The more uses it has, the better!

And, the tinier it can be when not in use, the better also!

What do you think of these two finds?  🤔🤔🤔

Mary, a coworker of mine, has been following the blog for a while now. She told me that she loves seeing how everything is coming together, and can't wait to see the finished Cabin and Guesthouse.

Mary and her husband gifted us two of these cabinets recently, and we have been trying to figure out the best way to use them. There are doors on both sides, and we would like to be able to access both sides. (Gotta be able to get the stuff in the back!!  LOL)

My hubby and I think that we have come up with a solution.  💡💡💡

We are going to put a base on the bottom, and attach wheels.  This will bring it up to counter height (after adding the countertop), and allow us to be able to move it around as needed.

Why would we need to move it around, you ask? We would be able to have full access to both sides for one thing.  But, by also adding fasteners to the underside of the countertops, we can also attach the two cabinets together for a large island or table when guests come to stay.

So, stay tuned for future updates on this project!!

One of two cabinets gifted by a friend

And, to the next find...

This past weekend, the hubby and I were at Lowe's, looking into needed supplies for the project mentioned above and also supplies for finishing the loft areas.

As the hubby stopped to do some of his calculations, etc., I knda got a little bored for a few minutes and got a Facebook for just a few seconds.  I am glad that I did.  I belong to a few local FB Sale sites, and found this little beauty!

It is an Ikea fold-down table that this lady was selling for only $20!  I quickly went to Ikea's website, and discovered the cheapest fold-down table they offered was $150!

As you can see, it does have a little bit of where to it. She had used it outside the whole time.  But, nothing that a little TLC, cleaning, and maybe a new finish won't cure, right?!

It folds down to the size of a nightstand or so,...

And, then opens up to twice the size as this!  I only had one of the sides up to take this picture. 

So, all in all, this has been a very productive weekend.  I will be sure to take photos of all the finished projects, I promise!

#NationalBookLoversDay

♡♡♡♡♡  It's NATIONAL BOOK LOVERS DAY today!! ♡♡♡♡♡

Celebrate by stopping in your favorite library and taking some home today!

Recipe for a Country Bedroom

A good friend of ours came to visit recently, and left behind a wonderful gift.

Eileen, we couldn't have said it better ourselves!

This show of gratitude greets you as soon as you step foot on the porch of our Guesthouse!

We love having visitors, and I am glad that we can show you our appreciation from the minute you arrive!

We have been working hard to make you feel right at home after you walk in the door, also.

Now, y'all love new recipes, right?!

So, this is my recipe for a country bedroom!

I hope you enjoy!

Start with a Bed frame & Carpet Padding.

Then, Stir in Some Carpeting, and...

A Mattress.

Next, add in a Little Bedding. 

Finish with Sweet Baby boy Paint, and Window Blinds.

Finished Product (Minus the window blinds)

P.S., I know we still need put up the blinds! The hubby started to put them up the other day, and discovered they were missing the brackets for attaching to the window frame! 

The blinds have just been exchanged for ones with brackets (I checked! ~ Lol). And, will be up before the weekend is over! 

Painting and Sculptures...Awesome Weekend!

I know it has been a few weeks since my last post,...so (as Desi says to Lucy), "I have some 'splaining to do!" LOL 

First...for the younguns, though, I just have to let you know that was an "I Love Lucy" reference!

In my real life, outside of blogging, I am a librarian working in a public library. The last two months have been crazy busy with our summer reading program. As the adult librarian, I put on extra programs and had to have the papers ready every week for the patrons to complete to get raffle tickets for prizes. It all ended last Thursday, with a puppet show in the afternoon, and a karaoke party in the evening. 

I needed Friday just to sleep in first, and then do all of the little errands.

AND now, a look at how the hubby and I spent Saturday: 

A paint can of Sweet Baby Blue

PLUS, the Tools of the Trade

= a pretty painted bedroom!

His truck fixed...Check!

Room painted...Check!

NOW time for some fun...Check!

The hubby and I  headed out for some fun at the Sculpture Trails Outdoor Museum in Greene County. They were having an Aluminum Pour at the foundry on the grounds. They have sculptures all up and down the trails (hence the name!), but today we were here to see the Aluminum Pour. 

Please check out their website to learn more about this awesome place:  https://www.sculpturetrails.com

Visitors could buy a scratch block in which they could carve a design. We arrived too late to have time to create our own, so the designs below are from other visitors and the artists on site. 

Several scratch blocks ready to go

My favorite design...wish I could tell the artist that!

The aluminum inside the forge has to reach 1800℉ first.

It is ready!

Getting the crucible ready to pour

Gotta scrape the top stuff off first

Pouring into the sand mold, designed to resemble burnt wood

Pouring into the mold

Finishing the pour, and scraping it flat

A finished design from a previous pour

A sculpture created from an intertube

A loomed rug that has been turned into a sculpture

Check out all that texture!

Created by a visiting artist, using a grinder. The pieces
will be attached, & displayed on the trail.

Grinding off the rough edges of a visitor's design

Brushing off a few rough spots

Although we didn't make any sculptures ourselves, we still had a wonderful time! Jacob, the blacksmith, did a fantastic job with answering all of my hubby's questions about setting up a forge (another of his future endeavors!).

And...Gerry, Paul and Andrew you three went above, and beyond, in answering all of my questions. I know that I asked a lot of them! 

The hubby and I are looking forward to coming out to the Iron Pour in a few weeks, and I am looking forward to hearing the the presentation at the library that I talked you into before I left!  Thank you again!

If you would like to check out some photos from the Sculpture Trails, check out their website (https://www.sculpturetrails.com), or you can check them out on Facebook. Just type:   #sculpturetrails  or search on FB for Sclupture Trails Outdoor Museum.

Let me know what you think!  Awesome place to visit!

You Just Never Know…

Some days, you just never know what is in store for you!

This morning, I woke up to a day off of work.  No alarms, no agenda in particular.⏰

The hubby had a few small things for us to do on an outside agenda, before the heat of the day started in on us. 🌞🌞🌞

We got a couple of these done, then he decided to add one more thing to his agenda that was a surprise to me…

To get up on the tractor and learn how to drive it around our property!  🚜🚜🚜

I’ve made it over 50 years without having to drive a clutch, but that record has now come to an end!!! LOL

My View from Tractor Seat

He had me driving it all over the property.  I was a little on the nervous side when he had me drive between some trees on the right, and the creek bank on the left. I wasn’t too sure that I could make it through, without a happy ending!😟👀😟

I am so happy to say, that not only did I keep from putting the tractor in the creek…🚜

But we also got to witness these cute little ducklings following Momma down the creek!  Wish I could have gotten a little closer, but that would have required getting the tractor in the creek!

~ Not a good idea, and would've scared them away anyway! ~

Darling Little Ducklings!

We continued up the trail, until almost reaching the road. At that point, he took over the driving to manuever over a ditch near the road.  I figured his skills were more important than my pride, so no bad feelings!!

Besides that, I needed the exercise! LOL. 🚶🚶🚶🚶

I am very glad that I walked that last leg of the trip.  I found a bunch of daisies that made a cute bouquet for the Guesthouse! What do you think?

Daisy Bouquet!

And, was able to get up close and personal with this beautiful butterfly. No hitting zoom on this shot. 📷 It was kind enough to stay still for me.

Ready for my Close-Up!

Does anybody know what kind of butterfly this is, or will I need to do a little bit of research?

And last, but not least, we came inside to eat🍕, watch a little bit of a movie📺, and get work done🔧🔩🔨 on the Guesthouse. Good timing on that decision! Within about ½ hour, the wind had really picked up, and it just poured for about a good solid hour or so.  ☔☔☔☔

I am so very glad that we weren’t out on that tractor still! LOL 😁🚜☔

So...How was your day?

Progress, Plans and Patios!

I know, I know...it has been a little while since I have blogged about our home, sweet home.   It has been a whirlwind last few weeks as we made a quick trip out west for family reasons. 🍼🚼🍼

Now, we are back, and working hard to get the Guesthouse ready as quick as we possibly can.  

Not too long ago, I drew out a quick sketch of what we have been envisioning with the two houses.  

The Cabin, patio area, and the Guesthouse

After we finish the inside of the Guesthouse, the patio area will be next.  

But for now, this is what we have been doing in all of our spare time...

Cutting out holes in drywall...

And, filling them in.

                     

                       And again!

                         

                             I think that's the last one!!  LOL

The hubby has been working on making sure the electrical is all ready for all the necessities...like TV and air conditioning! 📺

And, this past weekend, I even made a little time to clean out the hummingbird feeders, and restock them.  I have already seen a few of my feathered friends!  🐦🐦

Cleaned, refilled, and ready!

This coming weekend, my son will be down to visit. He has already promised to help with whatever we need.

I am sure that we can find a thing or two for him to do!  LOL

CallieCat the Magnificent

CallieCat the Magnificent is here to grant you one wish.

She knows that you have dreams, and she would like to see them come true.

What is the one wish that you would like to see granted?

🌠🎱🌠🎂🌠

P.S.  I figured adding shooting stars, Magic 8 ball & birthday wishes might help Calliecat a little in the granting of your wish!! Lol