comic book banner

The thread and bias tape was around $5 and I purchased three comic book sets for $6. Total, $11.

double wide bias tape (and my new pink pin cushion)

other than the paper being a little delicate, this was super easy

Finished!

finished!

I added it to Young House Love + Bower Power's (unofficial) Pinterest Challenge. I read about it last week and it enough to nudge me to finish the banner. Love!

pumpkin hunt

Pumpkins are a big deal in our neighborhood. Its an unspoken "we welcome you, fall. we're friendly. and you can come trick-or-treating here." I hoped to have a fun family outing to a pumpkin patch but it just didn't happen. So yesterday I headed to the grocery store and picked from the leftovers: bottom of the box, moldy pumpkins. I'm happy with ours. They're imperfectly beautiful, don't you think?




What fall traditions do your neighborhoods have?

ps. I did something a little out of my comfort zone today. I linked up with a bloghop from muchloveilly. If you are visiting today, welcome!

{pause}

(ps) our 6th anniversary is tomorrow! We met in Savannah 8 years ago...I'm so happy we wed there. I can honestly say I had no clue we'd end up in Minnesota. Lee Fain, you are my best friend. I love life with you!

accent wall inspiration for kid's rooms

closet space (love the grey crib and yellow mobile)

gold + white wilderness wallpaper (a designmom house tour)

cheerful swedish bedroom. and proof that wallpaper can go on a window wall

gender neutral shared bedroom

chalkboard and wallpaper.

I love this trend. Do you have a favorite? You can also find these on my kids@home and accent wall boards...

working in the basement... progress

Lee and his buddy Chris took down the last of the paneling on Saturday. We had an old built in desk and when they pulled it out they found mold behind it. SOO glad its out of our house! They also took down the old ceiling tiles. Lee has a lot of ideas for the space (my favorite--polished concrete floors), I'll ask him to blog about it!

our new light

In other news, our little guy's room was on Ohdeedoh last week! You can see it here. If you are visiting from Ohdeedoh, welcome...

store credit

24x36 Batman Puzzle $19. Medium Wire Crate Storage set of 2 $55. Chalkboard Storage Bin $19. Gray queen fitted sheet $32.

Benjamin Moore Ben Paint $35.95. Perch Glass Lamp in yellow $69. Glass Bubbles $9-24. Large Basket $54.

autumn at aadmodt's

Growing up near the coast of Georgia and South Carolina, if we wanted to experience the change in season we trekked north to the Smoky Mountains. Fall in Minnesota is filled with color, chilly weather, cider and pumpkins. I love it. Monday we met friends at Aamodt's, an apple farm in Stillwater with plenty of space for tots to run and climb.

evolution of a chalkboard, part 2

estate sale tips

1: Join a mailing list. A few years ago I signed up for emails from a site devoted to estate sales. The weekly email shares how far each sale is from our home and includes photos. You can also check craigslist (garage sale section).



2. Check for images. For example, this sale has 72images with a lot of stuff...including some trains, cars, a few old signs. More stuff sometimes means cheaper prices.

3. Go to the sale. The best way to judge condition. Were they smokers? Was the basement water-logged? I noticed antique books at a sale a few weeks ago, but they were covered in mold and bindings were broken (and for resale, condition matters)

4. Divide and conquer. If you have kids, try to go solo. The sales are usually on multiple levels so strollers won't work. One of my favorite estate sale visits was with Lee on my birthday, he sat in the car with our kids while I looked then we swapped.

5. Take a risk. If its $5 and you like it, buy it! Its a fraction of what you would spend at the mall. If its a big ticket item, throw out a lower price. A few months ago I spotted a mid century curio cabinet. I offered $80 in cash. He moved his price down $20.

6. Go the last day. If you aren't looking for anything in particular, go on the last day. Prices are usually marked down 30-50%.

7. Reflect. Its humbling to walk through years of a family's life. I often see their faith in the material they owned. When we find old Bibles and theology books, we buy them. By buying an old book or piece of furniture you are preserving its future.

Any other tips? I'd love to hear them!

playground in october

basement storage wall gone!

Lee's been hard a work in our basement. With the old storage and walls gone, he will paint drylock on the outer walls and will add a wall around the furnace/water heater. We also have 1 more wall to remove (it currently houses a built in workbench)... Meanwhile I will help organize. I have bins and bins of baby + kid clothes, any ideas for storing them? We're probably going to need a few of these.

wall + storage Lee tore down last month (notice the brown paneling on the left?)

yep, he removed all of it Saturday. good thing we have a dumpster in our backyard!

notice the concrete? thats new square footage

and lost treasure unearthed... (a toy gun and wooden nickels. one from stone mountain!)

rummage sale

we have a dumpster!

Between removing the carpet upstairs and Lee tearing down a wall in the basement, our garage was FULL of construction material. We are so excited for its arrival! And it means we can move on to more projects.

estate sale

bed designs

Last weekend Lee created some bed concepts. We're will see which design is affordable to build and hopefully end up with a custom bed. Do you have a favorite? Mine are concepts s and c...