I’ve searched high and low for a cute little tray to put on our kitchen island. There are a lot of styles and materials out there but I was looking for the perfect one. If you’re anything like me, you’ll understand what I mean when I say, “I like what I like and I know what I don’t.” Although I can’t always imagine it, I know it’s always out there. I wanted something a bit unique but nothing that I’d want to throw out in just a few months. That’s when I stumbled across this beauty.

I’m not sure what to call this room. When we first moved in it was just the unused, empty bedroom, until 2020 came and it became a temporary home office, then it turned into all things storage, and now it’s a guest room but like — we don’t really ever have guests. So, I guess I’ll call it the “daybed bedroom” because…

We recently ripped out all of our home office built-ins to construct a big, beautiful arch. Before you hate us for taking out dreamy built-ins, please know that these cabinets were glorified storage space for all the someday items that I “needed” to keep but never actually used. The space served next to no purpose and so, it was a catch-all. Plus, ripping out the cabinets gave us just enough square footage to finally fit a full-sized bed in here.

I decided on an arch solely for aesthetics. It won’t serve any purpose other than to be really, really pretty.

Having a cozy, atmospheric backyard has always been a dream of mine. You know the ones I’m talking about. The ones with the cozy couches, decorative pillows, flickering candles, ambient lighting, and flower-drenched pergolas. Yeah, that type. 

That type takes the two things we don’t have a lot of: money and time. 

Here’s how I’ve upgraded our backyard space on a tight budget.

You know how everyone says the last mile of any race is always the hardest? Well, it’s the same for house projects. The last big checklist is always the most difficult to complete. So no, we may not have cabinet doors or door faces yet but we can still get to ORGANIZING! Read on to see all of our kitchen organizing must-haves.