Install molding to add interest to basic walls

I’ve been working on this wall molding project for almost four months and it’s finally done!! Geesh. I started it right after I finished the HUGE wall of bookcases in the basement but I kept getting distracted by other projects that were brighter and shinier. 😉 
The mud/laundry makeover and the garage clean out and organization took up a couple of those months. And then I was just…well, tired from all of that. A couple of weeks ago I finally started up this panel molding project again. 
It took longer than expected because when do a project like this, one thing always snowballs into a million other smaller projects. Every. time. But I’m REALLY loving how it turned out and I’m also really happy I added all of the smaller projects. 
When I finished the wall of built ins down here, I knew right away that the other walls needed
… Read the rest
Categories: Home Contractor, Home Decor, Home Experience, Home Exterior, Home for rent, Home Improvement, Home Improvement Ideas, Home interior, Home security

Amazon home favorites and more {It’s Prime Day!}

Woohoo, it’s Prime Day(s) on Amazon! Now that they’ve extended it to two days, there’s more time to check out all of the fantastic deals. (This year it runs June 21 (Monday) and June 22 (Tuesday). You can see my favorite finds from last year here. 
I always look forward to this sale to start my Christmas shopping. I know, I know…it’s early. But it sure is nice to have so many items crossed off my list! 
Like I do every year, I’ve gathered some of my favorite home decor items from Amazon to share with you here. Then at the end of the post I’ll share a few more of my recent finds and the best Prime Day deals I’ve found as well. 
**You can visit my Amazon storefront here! I try to keep the decor I’ve used updated there.
Let’s get started, shall we? My
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Categories: Home Contractor, Home Decor, Home Experience, Home Exterior, Home for rent, Home Improvement, Home Improvement Ideas, Home interior, Home security

Delicious strawberry pretzel dessert recipe

It’s strawberry season! This crunchy and sweet strawberry dessert is a hit EVERY time I make it! It’s one of my favorite desserts ever. I’m not a big cook so when I share something here you know it’s going to be good and easy. This is so yummy! It’s a perfect combination of sweet and salty, my favorite. 

A friend of mine used to make this every time we got together and it got to the point where I would request it. I finally asked her for the recipe and now it’s my go-to for summer get togethers. (But it works ALL year round!)
Here’s what you’ll need to make this Strawberry Pretzel Dessert: 

  • 2 cups crushed pretzels (make sure this is two cups after you’ve crushed them — I actually use a little more)
  • 3/4 cup butter, melted
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 (8 ounce) package softened cream cheese
  • 1
… Read the rest
Categories: Home Contractor, Home Decor, Home Experience, Home Exterior, Home for rent, Home Improvement, Home Improvement Ideas, Home interior, Home security

Brilliant solution to store & protect large photos

I’ve shared my goal to better organize our (thousands) of photos and school moments and projects a few times over the years. It’s one of my biggest organizational thorns in my side! I’ve never found a great way to store photos, especially in a way that we can really enjoy them. 
I’m sure many of you are asking why I haven’t just used photo albums, and I do plan to add them to albums eventually. I haven’t done that yet because we had WAY too many photos to even begin adding them to albums. And so many of them are too big to fit into the albums we have. 
You can see how many boxes of photos I had when I shared our organized linen closet a few years ago:
You can see how that started as my “Monica closet” here. 🙂 That didn’t include the larger boxes full
… Read the rest
Categories: Home Contractor, Home Decor, Home Experience, Home Exterior, Home for rent, Home Improvement, Home Improvement Ideas, Home interior, Home security

The daylight bulb difference {Amazing!}

Natural light is one of the easiest ways to make a room look it’s best! It shows off the true colors of everything and feels fresh and clean. For years I’d want to recreate that feel in our smaller spaces or rooms without windows, but the yellow tint of our light bulbs made everything feel drab. 
Regular warm light bulbs cast a tint on everything that changes the color. Incandescents were the worst offenders, but even some of the energy efficient bulbs nowadays give off that yellow hue that changes the color of the room. 
Years ago I found the easy the solution that is (literally) as easy as replacing the light bulb! Enter the daylight bulb…the easiest change you can make to make a room feel fresh and bright! I’ve been adding these all over since I discovered them years ago. I still find spots in our home that
… Read the rest
Categories: Home Contractor, Home Decor, Home Experience, Home Exterior, Home for rent, Home Improvement, Home Improvement Ideas, Home interior, Home security

Brilliant solution to store & protect large photos

I’ve shared my goal to better organize our (thousands) of photos and school moments and projects a few times over the years. It’s one of my biggest organizational thorns in my side! I’ve never found a great way to store photos, especially in a way that we can really enjoy them. 
I’m sure many of you are asking why I haven’t just used photo albums, and I do plan to add them to albums eventually. I haven’t done that yet because we had WAY too many photos to even begin adding them to albums. And so many of them are too big to fit into the albums we have. 
You can see how many boxes of photos I had when I shared our organized linen closet a few years ago:
You can see how that started as my “Monica closet” here. 🙂 That didn’t include the larger boxes full
… Read the rest
Categories: Home Contractor, Home Decor, Home Experience, Home Exterior, Home for rent, Home Improvement, Home Improvement Ideas, Home interior, Home security

How to utilize the dead space in a closet

Hey there! Now that the garage is all decluttered and organized, I’ve been focusing more on the changes in our mud/laundry room again. 
I shared my plan for adding a ton more storage and other changes to make this room work even better for us a couple weeks ago. I’m so excited about these changes! They’ve already made a BIG difference in here. 
I’ve moved things around a bunch — including moving some things from the garage that just work better inside. I’ll show you all of that soon! This week I’ve been focusing on the closet we have in here: 
My dream was always to have a big closet in our mud room! When I saw how big this laundry/mud combo was going to be, I knew we’d have plenty of room for a closet. My favorite part is the OUTLET I had put inside. Game changer. 
Anyway,
… Read the rest
Categories: Home Contractor, Home Decor, Home Experience, Home Exterior, Home for rent, Home Improvement, Home Improvement Ideas, Home interior, Home security

Delicious strawberry pretzel dessert recipe

It’s strawberry season! This crunchy and sweet strawberry dessert is a hit EVERY time I make it! It’s one of my favorite desserts ever. I’m not a big cook so when I share something here you know it’s going to be good and easy. This is so yummy! It’s a perfect combination of sweet and salty, my favorite. 

A friend of mine used to make this every time we got together and it got to the point where I would request it. I finally asked her for the recipe and now it’s my go-to for summer get togethers. (But it works ALL year round!)
Here’s what you’ll need to make this Strawberry Pretzel Dessert: 

  • 2 cups crushed pretzels (make sure this is two cups after you’ve crushed them — I actually use a little more)
  • 3/4 cup butter, melted
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 (8 ounce) package softened cream cheese
  • 1
… Read the rest
Categories: Home Contractor, Home Decor, Home Experience, Home Exterior, Home for rent, Home Improvement, Home Improvement Ideas, Home interior, Home security

How to install molding and add interest to basic walls

I’ve been working on this wall molding project for almost four months and it’s finally done!! Geesh. I started it right after I finished the HUGE wall of bookcases in the basement but I kept getting distracted by other projects that were brighter and shinier. 😉 
The mud/laundry makeover and the garage clean out and organization took up a couple of those months. And then I was just…well, tired from all of that. A couple of weeks ago I finally started up this panel molding project again. 
It took longer than expected because when do a project like this, one thing always snowballs into a million other smaller projects. Every. time. But I’m REALLY loving how it turned out and I’m also really happy I added all of the smaller projects. 
When I finished the wall of built ins down here, I knew right away that the other walls needed
… Read the rest
Categories: Home Contractor, Home Decor, Home Experience, Home Exterior, Home for rent, Home Improvement, Home Improvement Ideas, Home interior, Home security

THE cutest {cat} door ever!

I’m back with more progress on Project Add More Storage in our mud/laundry space! It’s coming together so beautifully! I’ve been adding storage, changing up storage and moving things around to make this room function so much better for us. 
Last I left you, I finished up the simple shelves at the end of the closet in that room: 
I love this little trick for using that dead space in a closet! 
Next up, I needed to add a little something to one of the closet doors. MANY of you have been wondering where we were going to put our litter boxes. Shortly after we moved in I added a DIY “curtain” and hid the kitty litter under the folding table: 
Folding counter with cat litter underneath
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Since then we’ve installed drawer base cabinets here instead (you can
… Read the rest
Categories: Home Contractor, Home Decor, Home Experience, Home Exterior, Home for rent, Home Improvement, Home Improvement Ideas, Home interior, Home security