February 07, 2019

A Crowd Sourced Guide to Seattle + A Vlog!

February 07, 2019/ Ashley

Back in early December Ross and I went to Seattle for about a week. He went for work and I went to explore the city and meet up with a couple of my blogger pals! I got to hang out with Cathy of The Grit and Polish at her beautiful farmhouse outside the city and we both met up with Joanna of Jojotastic for lunch and to check in on her kitchen renovation. I asked my fine Instagram followers for recommendations of what to do/see/eat in Seattle and you did not disappoint. I’ve listed everyone’s suggestions here!

But first, I give you a video diary - or vlog, if you will. It’s is mostly a video version of a photo scrapbook of where we ate, clips of pretty trees, and shots of animals - which is basically all I care about.

February 05, 2019

My Favorite Online Art Resources + My Personal Art Collection

February 05, 2019/ Ashley

I love having lots of artwork throughout our home. It’s probably because of my years of art school and working in art museums. Yeah, that’s probably why. I enjoy having pieces I find beautiful, ones that make me think, those that make me laugh, and the ones that are nostalgic. Bad art is my biggest deign pet peeve, simply because I hate when people fill their home with nothingness just for the sake of having decor. It makes me sad to see junk hung on the walls of people’s homes just to fill the space.

In this post I round up my favorite online art retailers, list framing options, and share each and every piece of artwork in my personal collection. Take a look!

February 01, 2019

Weekly Roundup

February 01, 2019/ Ashley

Heartwarming stories, kitchen remodels, new items from my favorite ethical clothing brand, a blog post that resonated with me, more thoughts on Loop, how I did on my yoga challenge and my favorite yoga gear, a showstopping bathroom sink, my new manicure technique, and more!

January 31, 2019

The Easiest Sustainable Way to Get Rid of Unwanted Things at Home

January 31, 2019/ Ashley

I wrote a blog post last year with a list of unique ways to donate a bunch of things when you’re decluttering. Things like dingy towels, toiletries, cleaning products, paint samples, light bulbs, eyeglasses, houseplants, and so so much more. Check it out even if you read it last year because I added a few more tips, and we can always use a refresher.

I mentioned the Buy Nothing Project in that post but I want to give it a big shout out and profess my love for this group. I mean LOVE. I’m in this group’s page literally every day and I’ve decluttered a bunch of hard-to-get rid of items (read my trash - I’ll explain later), plus I’ve saved oodles of money in the group, too. What is it, you ask? Well, I’ll tell ya.

January 29, 2019

Taking a Really Close Look at Our Energy Usage

January 29, 2019/ Ashley

Energy consumption has been on my mind lately as we’ve been gearing up to add solar panels to our roof and as we continue to think about our footprint on this lil’ world of ours. We hear lots about how we should use LED bulbs instead of incandescent and we should get energy star appliances instead of energy guzzlers - both of which I firmly believe and included in my list of ways to make green energy improvements at home. But, I wanted to know exactly how much energy each of my lights, appliances, tools, and electronics around the house were actually consuming. Because I’m type-A like that.

January 25, 2019

Weekly Roundup

January 25, 2019/ Ashley

A foster pup updates, miniature doll houses, movies I saw this week, pantry storage, a quirky apartment tour, books I finished, details on my closet system, paint color trends, painting prints, and an inspiring kitchen.

January 22, 2019

How to Fold Clothes the Marie Kondo Way - And My Take On It

January 22, 2019/ Ashley

With Netflix’s Marie Kondo special all the rage and her book selling like hot cakes, I wanted to chime in with my experience folding clothes and purging clutter the KonMari way. You may remember that a year ago my pal Natasha Habermann helped me clean out my closet using Marie Kondo’s method. Well, I started folding my clothes in the KonMari way and I’m smitten, so I’m here to show you how, too!

January 18, 2019

Weekly Roundup

January 18, 2019/ Ashley

It’s Friday already, so I’m back with a list of things that have been on my mind and what’s been inspiring me on the internet in the past week. It includes an update on our foster dog, the audiobooks I finished this week, a 1950s house tour, a good laugh, a new tea kettle, a homemade kombucha update, thoughts on our food, unique artwork, and a hot tip on traveling for free!

January 17, 2019

Answers to Your Questions!

January 17, 2019/ Ashley

I posed an open-ended “ask me anything!” questionnaire on Instagram last week and got oodles of questions. So, I’m here to answer them for you. Every. Single. One. I’m hoping this gives you more insight into who I am, more about the house, and my tricks of the trade. Enjoy!

January 14, 2019

Shop My House!

January 14, 2019/ Ashley

With oodles of new followers (thanks to Emily Henderson!) I’m getting oodles of questions about the products in my home. Here’s a post for you to skim everything I own, then click through to add it to your home collection too. Enjoy!

January 11, 2019

Weekly Roundup

January 11, 2019/ Ashley

The highlight of my week, kitchen and bathroom trend predictions, a helpful book I’m digging, a PSA, a minimal kitchen and a moody one, plastic-free toilet paper, news from everyone’s favorite design blog, a new perspective on Marie Kondo decluttering, and more!

January 10, 2019

My Home Featured on Emily Henderson's Blog!

January 10, 2019/ Ashley

My house was featured on Emily Henderson's blog this week!

Free Kids Cardigan Knitting Pattern: A Quick Top-Down Raglan Knit

My daughter wanted to dress as Little Witch Hazel for Halloween, so I got to work crafting a sweater that looks just like the one worn on the cover. What’s great is it’s a super fast knit on chunky needles! I’m not a pro knitter but I finished this in about a week while watching TV after my girls went to bed and at the playground a few times.

Backyard Renovation Report Card: Four Years of Tree Growth (Wins) and Decomposed Granite (Losers)

Welcome to a new series: Report Card. I'm going through (nearly) everything in a space and telling you how it's actually held up. The backyard's first up, and spoiler, I did not ace this one.

How We Live Here Now, Vol. 2: The Backyard

The plants finally filled in, the veggie beds are in the wrong spot, and I've learned that the yard you design and the yard your kids actually use are two very different things.

How We Live Here Now - Volume 1: Introduction

Hi. It's been a while. I've missed this. I took a longer break than I planned. Life has gotten full. I've been developing film and knitting at soccer practice, attempting to garden with the girls and fussing around with furniture layouts. I’ve also been scheduling summer camps, refilling the watercolors multiple times a day, and trying to keep the toys tidied. Around the house, I’m adding color wherever it fits and making some changes to the overall function and feel.

How We Turned a Garage into a Living Room, Laundry Room, Office, and Storage Space

My friend Martha had a vision for this garage conversion: to turn her unfinished catch-all garage into a beautiful, hard-working space that could function as a living room, media room, playroom, laundry room, home office, and storage zone. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t entirely convinced all of that could fit. But somehow(?!), it absolutely does and it turned out even better than I imagined.