Simple Decorating Tips

05/09/2026

We toured a bit of France this spring. Many cafés and shops in Paris had flowers and vines, (both alive and faux) displayed on their facades.

04/11/2026

Did you know you can paint faux marble countertops? Yes, seriously it is possible and not as hard as you might think! It can be a perfect treatment if you want a countertop refresh, but new counters aren't in the budget right now. Here's how I painted faux marble countertops, and how they've held up.

Did you know you can paint faux marble countertops? Yes, seriously it is possible and not as hard as you might think! It can be a perfect treatment if you want a countertop refresh, but new counters aren't in the budget right now. Here's how I painted faux marble countertops, and how they've held up...

04/06/2026

Coming up on Saturday, (4/11/26) on the blog... a post about painting faux marble countertops!
I'm excited to share this project and tell you how they held up!

02/14/2026

Here are 8 tips for painting a wall mural.

I painted a wall mural in the front entry of our townhouse and I love it, but… Well, first of all, I’m using the term ‘front entry’ fairly loosely. The front door at our townhouse is not really much of a front entry at all… From the outside, it’s obviously the entry, but from the […]

02/12/2026

I got it done and am just finishing up photos and a blog post about it. Should be published on Saturday morning!!
Yippee!

02/02/2026

I'm starting a mural in the front entry of our townhouse. Millie is holding down the fort for me, while I break for the evening. I have no idea why the paper/plastic drop cloth is more comfortable for her to lay on instead of the wool rug??

02/01/2026

Last night we had the pleasure of going to the Minneapolis Basilica Luminiscence concert with our son, DIL and grandkids. It was stunningly beautiful!

01/25/2026

My 8 year old granddaughter is learning about Van Gogh in art class. Van Gogh happens to be one of my favorite artists, (pretty much all impressionist artists are my favorites 😊, but I have read much more about Van Gogh, probably because there is so much available about him).
While she and our grandson were staying with us last week we decided to pull out a book we have with his paintings and create a Van Gogh style painting of our own.
But, and here's the fun twist, (perfect for a simple art project with an 8 year old!) instead of using oil or acrylic paints, we used a new, (to us) product. Acrylic markers on plain old black construction paper.
These acrylic markers easily washed off the counter where we went over the edge of the paper, (so easy clean up!) and they are so fun to work with! They are opaque and dry quickly so you can layer different colors over top.
We used them on several projects... Trust me they are sooo fun they're addictive!
👇Link for markers in comments 👇

Here's our version of 'Starry Night' in Van Gogh's style.

01/17/2026

Let the growing begin! This is what I'm so excited about, an indoor 4-tier grow light garden!

Now I'll have sufficient light to grow herbs all winter long! And start my own seeds for spring planting.

Check out comment for where I bought mine.

It was a snap to put together and it's very sturdy. They have obviously put a lot of thought into user friendly details.

Magnetic and adjustable grow lights for each shelf. Cord controls, and all light linked together for a single plug.

Shelves are super sturdy trays that are easily adjustable.

Locking casters.

01/16/2026

Any guesses what it is? (It was actually way easier to put together than I expected)