Guess what!?! Ross found us some archival footage that I completely forgot we had from before we ever moved in! After I published last week’s 2020 house tour video I was wishing we had a recording of what the house looked like five years ago before we moved in. And we do!
Read MoreThe house is super tidy, so I filmed the annual house tour! I love these little videos to give you a lay of the land and to look back on year after year to see the changes. I did a deep clean and organization because blogger superstars Julia and Chris of chrislovesjulia.com came over to my little abode! Get to know my house in this 4-minute video!
Read MoreI went on the San Diego Green Homes Tour this weekend, which is a two-day ticketed event that allows folks to explore “green” homes all over the San Diego region. The goal is to spread awareness about environmentally friendly design to homeowners, designers, or just curious humans - it was open to all. The houses range from being showy multi-million dollar new constructions in beach-front communities, to small semi-homesteads with modest DIY improvements.
Read MoreI love looking at how people store things - especially in their kitchens. I like learning other people’s reasoning for things, I like snooping, and I always like to improve on my own spaces. So, I filmed one of my own kitchen! However, mine isn’t perfect. This whole kitchen was a stopgap solution until we could renovate the space (coming soon!) so there’s no fancy pull out drawers, no custom spice racks, no perfectly sized shelves, and certainly no perfect layout.
Read MoreWho doesn’t love a good house tour? It’s one of my favorite things to watch on YouTube. Well, here’s mine.
You’ll notice that the title says “spring 2018” and you’ll notice that your calendar says “March 2019.” Yep, that’s not a typo. I filmed this last year and failed to edit/publish it until now. Oops.
Read MoreWelcome 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.
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.
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.
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.
What I’ve been up to - from gardening, to film photography, and the books and shows we’re enjoying. Plus a house tour that requires a closer look, grass seed to always have on hand, cedar shake excitement, historic window screens, and the privilege I’m reminded of daily.
Ashley’s restoring her historic home at a snail’s pace in California. She shares home improvement DIYs, tips for sustainable living, and renovation stories - all while aiming to add more color and present real, lived-in, family friendly spaces.
I'm Ashley, a deeply systematic homebody restoring my 1915 Craftsman bungalow in California, slowly and on purpose. I don't make a single decision without first opening 100 tabs. Renovation, DIY, color, and what it actually looks like to live in an old house with two young kids.
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On data loss, real loss, and stretching further distances.