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• Creating Quick, Inexpensive, Yet Elegant Holiday Floral Centerpieces
  on Dec 19, 2016 in Budget Shopping Christmas Decorating Tips Entertaining Entertaining:Entertaining Exclude-Teaser-Projects:Recipes Cocktails Entertaining Header Image Holidays Holidays:Christmas Scottish Christmas Walk
  The holidays are squarely upon us, and 'tis the season for gathering with friends and family. Whether you are hosting a family Christmas dinner, having a few neighbors over for a dinner party, or simply dressing up your table to be more festive, crea...
• Santa Surprise: Peppermint Buttercream Chocolate Christmas Cake
  on Dec 15, 2016 in Baking Christmas Header Image Holidays:Christmas Projects:Recipes Projects:Recipes Cocktails Entertaining Recipes
  What's black, and white & red all over? My newest holiday baking experiment, a moist chocolate cake with a sweet peppermint buttercream!It feels like it's been ages since I wrote a baking post! While I haven't been diligent about documenting my v...
• My Personal DIY Anthem - "Jump Around"
  on Dec 9, 2016 in Header Image Quick Fix Water House Water House Office
  Who would have thought the 1990s hip hop party anthem "Jump Around" would eventually serve double duty as the theme of how I attack renovation projects? Everlast, DJ Lethal, and Danny Boy May never have intended for a 30 something DIY enthusiast to h...
• Our Built In Bench Beneath the Stairs: Blending Old and New
  on Dec 2, 2016 in Header Image Under Stair Project Water House Woodworking
  One of the most difficult aspects of renovating an old home is to ensure your alterations are not only functional and attractive, but are in keeping with the character of the house. The hallway on the day we moved inAnyone who has renovated a home...
• Lulu's Live TV Debut, Old Home Enthusiasts, and Some Project Progress
  on Sep 2, 2016 in Header Image Main Hallway Plaster Repair Salvage Woodworking
  Slow and steady progress across multiple major projects feels quite nice!But before we get to our "tortoise and hare" style of renovating, we have a few fun things to update you on this week, including a live TV morning show debut! First off, last Fr...
• Toolbox Tuesday: Ivy League Trimming
  on Aug 23, 2016 in Backyard Header Image Projects:Essential Tools Toolbox Tuesday Yard Work
  As the old saying goes, "it's a jungle out there." And we'd have to agree.This summer has felt like a battle against the elements when it comes to our home's vegetation. Take our ivy, for example. When we purchased our home in 2003 it was one of the...
• Scooby Doo Style Hidden Panels in Our Bead Board Bench
  on Aug 9, 2016 in Header Image Salvage Water House Woodworking
  Today we're really excited to share a good amount of progress on our salvaged bead board storage bench!Yep, that's right, we're starting to actually get stuff done...who knew that was possible with our projects?Our last updated we gave you a glimpse...
• Reviving Our New Plantings with Drip Irrigation
  on Jul 29, 2016 in Garden Header Image Water House
  As we've been working on projects at our country house we've been trying to strike that delicate balance between major overhaul projects, minor upgrades and facelifts, general upkeep and maintenance, and just trying to have a good time with friends a...
• Creating Bench Storage from Salvaged Beadboard
  on Jul 22, 2016 in Header Image Projects:Salvage Salvage Water House Woodworking
  At the beginning of April we filled you in on our plans to disguise the new HVAC intake under our beautiful main staircase.If you were reading you may have missed this post since it was below our April Fool's post and you had already closed your brow...
• Using Marine Waterlox to Refinish Our Outdoor Dining Table
  on Jul 15, 2016 in Header Image Outdoor Dining Room Projects:Woodworking Water House Waterlox Woodworking
  "Just because something doesn't look quite the way you want doesn't mean you have to live with it."This should be a DIY mantra of some sort, perhaps tattooed across a self respecting handy person's calf or shoulder blade. I can see it now, there's no...
• You Might Be a DIYer If...
  on Jul 8, 2016 in Fun Stuff Header Image
  The title of "DIYer" is a hobby for some, and a true way of life for others. Whether you see it as sweat equity, a logic challenge, the way to make something with your own two hands, or the ultimate way to control the outcome of what you're working o...
• Searching High and Low for Antique Hotel Room Numbers
  on Jul 1, 2016 in Antique Header Image Hotel Salvage Water House
  We need your help identifying where we can find some antique architectural details!That's right, I've searched high and low for these buggers and can't come up with a viable source thus far. "What am I looking for?" You might ask. Antique brass nail...
• Plaster Restoration Part 3: Master of Plaster Finish Coat with No Sanding!
  on Jun 24, 2016 in 2nd House Living Room Header Image Master of Plaster Plaster Plaster Repair Plaster Repair Series Water House
  Traditional plasterers achieve perfectly flat and smooth walls with nothing more than a trowel...no sanding required. Yes, you heard me, no sanding at all!For years I've used what was readily available to achieve the "plaster" look. At this point I'v...
• Completing our Completely Custom Small Budget Vanity
  on Jun 14, 2016 in Downstairs Bathroom Header Image Water House Woodworking
  Do you remember our dingy, floral on floral on floral covered first floor bathroom? You know, the one that we started stripping wallpaper in the first weekend we owned the house in 2014, and then kept starting and restarting projects in until it end...
• Where the Sidewalk Ends
  on Jun 6, 2016 in Header Image Patio Water House Yard Work
  There's just something I love about a white picket fence and brick garden walkway.When we were looking at houses two summers ago, there were many things that attracted us to the home we ultimately ended up buying. The location on the water was number...
• Plaster Restoration Next Steps Part 2: Master of Plaster's Beautiful Lime Base Coat
  on Jun 2, 2016 in Header Image Master of Plaster Plaster Plaster Repair Plaster Repair Series
  Lime based plaster is sort of the holy grail of plaster restoration, so why is it so hard to find a suitable plaster product? Apparently you just need to know where to look. Last week we shared part 1 of our two part post on our plaster repair projec...
• Plaster Restoration Next Steps Part 1: Base Coat with StructoLite
  on May 26, 2016 in Header Image Plaster Plaster Repair Plaster Repair Series Water House
  Back in January we shared the first steps we were taking to properly restore our original plaster walls. Today we have part one (of a two part) update on our progress. In true Alex form, this project has stretched on and on, taking far longer than an...
• House for Sale: All Inhabitants Convey
  on May 19, 2016 in real estate Water House
  Today my most legit phobia in life came into play begging the question, does anyone want to buy a beautiful historic waterfront home on over an acre of land? What's driven me to this point? There's just one GIANT slithering detail! Our home has a lo...
• Decor Advice for an HGTV Magazine Sweepstakes Winner
  on May 9, 2016 in Header Image HGTV Magazine Sweepstakes
  It seems 2016 is flying by in the blink of an eye. And while I haven't been writing many decor posts, that doesn't mean I haven't been working on some exciting decor projects. While 2016 may have started out on a bit of a low, there have been a...
• Celebrating Our 5th Year of Blogging with Five DIY Lessons
  on Apr 29, 2016 in Anniversaries Header Image
  I couldn't believe it when I looked at the calendar last week. I noticed that our blog was about to turn five years old!A few days later Facebook's "On This Day" feature did what it does best and led me on a nice walk down memory lane by showing me t...