Hi, I’m Rachel!
Inspiration is my morning coffee. It makes me alert, focused and feeling ready to tackle anything. This is my sanctuary to share my creations that come from those inspirations. You will find tips, techniques, and, hopefully, some inspiration to tackle your own projects. Thank you for stopping by and I am so honored to have you here.
A LITTLE BIT ABOUT ME
I have had a vivid imagination since I was a small child. My mom could tell some great stories about creating my own toys with nothing but a vacuum cleaner hose, hair ties, and sticks from the yard. I am obsessed with bringing visions to life.
I share a busy home with my husband and son, whom I refer to as our lovable Tasmanian devil. He only stops to hug and cuddle with mommy and then he’s off like a tornado again. Welcome to my wonderful world!
ABOUT THE WEBSITE
HOME REMODELING
My husband and I share a passion for home remodeling and makeovers. We have built our skills over a decade of repairing homes. In fact, when we purchased our current home, there was no running water, it was disgustingly dirty, and the bathrooms need gutting. Here is our kitchen when we purchased it:
And here it is after we remodeled it ourselves!
Since then, we have taken on clients and our community to save homes. We do EVERYTHING ourselves. My husband and I are not professionals, but we are very capable and experienced. Quality, and not band-aid repairs, are important to us. Trust me, if we can do it, you can too! I am the creativity and hubby is the practicality but we both share a passion for DIY that brings us together as a family. We are a lot like the average couple – we bicker, we have different visions, and we get the job done.
I hope that you will join us as we chronicle the transformation including our DIY renovations, home decorating projects, storage and organization, and the general mayhem of DIY, one project at a time! I like clean lines, graphic prints, with soft, natural touches. My desire is to create a home the showcases elegance, encourages curiosity, but most importantly, where you just want to dive into the couch and put your feet up.
You can browse our home projects and posts here or take a tour of our progress so far. There is a lot more coming and if you would like to keep up with our adventure, consider subscribing to the newsletter.
DIY & HOME DECOR
You will find holiday crafts, DIY furniture makeovers, printables, and lots of tutorials. I make my tutorials as clear and obvious as possible so you can recreate anything you find on this site.
Here are some examples (click on photo to go to tutorial):
RECIPES
I love to cook and create tasty recipes for my family. I share the time-tested recipes and methods I have used since I was a kid. You can find categories including soups, family favorites, and desserts under my recipe index.
Here are some of our Best Rated Recipes by Readers:
Thank you for stopping by and I hope you find some inspiration and a little how-to in these pages! Be sure to sign up for the newsletter to keep up with all the action.
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yvonne says
can I mix bar keepers powder into a thick paste leave overnight brush softly with a toothbrush or soft cloth, wash in warm soapy water and then polish with powdered bar keepers friend with a dampened clean soft clot sprinkled with BFK
Rachel says
I have not specifically tried to leave it on overnight, so I cannot speak to that. Barkeepers’ friend and other products like Brasso have oxalic acid in it which is much stronger than the acetic acid from vinegar. I haven’t found it necessary to leave barkeeper’s friend on overnight.
I says
I have a question. If I pack the bowl in ice can it withstand a 4 hour trip to a graduation? Thank you
Rachel says
I am not sure exactly which recipe you are referring to in order to answer. Most that I can think of, such as punchbowl cake or broccoli apple salad are fine for travel in a cooler.
Nicole says
I love your design. Our kitchen cabinets are the same color and we are wanting to keep them as well. Is the front of your island still the original cherry color? We are thinking of doing 3/4 of the island but would love to see how it looks.
Rachel says
Yes, the side facing the cabinets is still a brown-cherry color and has drawers and hides the trash can. We built and painted the outward 3 sides. We decided that since we cook daily, it would be best to leave it darker to hide dirt and it looks cohesive that way.
Betty Nielsen says
Hi Rachael,
When did You purchase your custom vanity top from Lowes? I asked someone at my Lowes that said they didn’t do custom bathroom vanities. The Home Depot near me does but the review I’ve read were not good.
Thanks,
Betty
Rachel says
I have done 4 in the last 3 years from different stores and in 2 different states. While I can’t say that every store does offer this, and it may be true that this particular store does not. However, I know from experience that my own mother was told they didn’t offer vanity tops so I went in and ordered it. Unfortunately, the Lowes employees often leave a lot to be desired in their knowledge and training. I usually ask who the manager for that department is and when they are working and come back.
Laurie says
I work hybrid and my husband entirely at home. I’m salivating at the photo of your home office/craft site.
Nancy Beach says
Rachel, I think you are very talented. I have enjoyed your web page and I love the card that you make. I don’t do Facebook so I can follow you here and I love to.
Gma Beach