Baby Jones' Gender & Name Reveal!

If you haven't heard, we're expecting our first baby the end of April 2020! We announced it in the nursery reveal and have been eagerly awaiting finding out it's gender since. We've had both names picked out almost since we started dating and getting to finally use one of those is so gratifying. Okay, I won't make you wait any longer, baby Jones is a.....

Simple & Modern Christmas Printables (& Free!)

The Christmas season can sometimes feel like pressure to spend money on new and pretty decorations or expensive gifts. Let's be honest — it's the worst! That's why I teamed up with some awesome bloggers to bring you guys a bunch of free Christmas printables. There are gift tags, ornaments, banners, and so many other good ones you can print right at home.

DIY Christmas Bucket + Door Mat

Christmas is right around the corner! We enjoyed Thanksgiving with our family and ate all the regular trimmings until we could pop. Baby was especially happy with the homemade (extra cheezy!) macaroni and cheese. Now turkey day is officially over my brain can start to get into the Christmas spirit. My biggest goal when decorating for the holiday this year was to keep the budget at a minimum and try to utilize things I already had. When we did our Very Merry Christmas Home Tour before Thanksgiving, you guys sweetly commented on my two DIY's I did for the front porch — the bucket and the door mat. It was super easy and budget-friendly and anyone can do it, so here is the tutorial!

2019 A Very Merry Christmas Home Tour: Minimal & Natural Christmas Decor

It may not be Thanksgiving but I bet you're already thinking about Christmas decorations! Let's be honest, most of you already have your seasonal decor up and most likely your tree too. I'm generally not that person, but this year my friend Carrie from Lovely Etc. invited me to participate in the annual Verry Merry Christmas Home Tour! Hopefully you've had the chance to follow along with the 2019 lineup already and are here from Lehman Lane — welcome! I'm Elizabeth and my husband Auston and I bought this house (our first) 3 years ago at the bottom of the market as a major fixer upper. We live on a budget and believe you can make your home designer-beautiful without spending tons of money.

New GE French Door Fridge for the Kitchen!

We've lived with a fridge from the 1970's since we moved in. It came with the house, but was originally an almond color so I spray painted it with appliance epoxy and we lived with it for 3 years. It was a whirlpool and was a really nice fridge for the time, it lasted almost 50 years! For the last 6 months we had to kick the bottom of the door for it to fully shut, it was time for an upgrade. We searched the sales for the last two months and finally Lowes and Home Depot came out with their pre-Black Friday sales.

Baby Jones Arriving May 2020 + 16 Week Update

I can't believe I'm finally writing this post! Last week, we announced through our One Room Challenge Reveal that we are expecting our first baby May 2020. It was supposed to be a guest room but we really turned it into a nursery. We are so grateful for all the love and excitement you had to share with us — this community really is the best. First things first! My actual due date is April 26, 2020 so it's easier to just say May than it is end of April. Since I'm 16 weeks now, I have a lot to catch you up on!

I've always known I wanted to be a mother. When we got married we made a plan (aka the spreadsheet) and laid out all the goals we wanted to reach before we would start trying. The highest on that list was to pay off our house, which we did last year. Then it was paying off his student loans, which we also did last year. Then it was saving up to afford the "start-up" costs of the first baby, which we reached earlier this year. Then it was going on our Alaska Cruise, which we did in June. Finally, we were at a place where we were ready!

One Room Challenge | Week 6: Surprise Nursery Reveal (!)

We've been keeping a secret... we're expecting our first baby in May 2020 and for this One Room Challenge we're revealing what was supposed to be a guest room that we actually turned into a nursery! I used the same moodboard and aimed for the same feel, we just swapped out a bed for a crib and a glider.

If this is your first time here — hi! What a week to stop by! My name is Elizabeth and my husband of 3 years is Auston. We live in the Northeast Georgia mountains, a little more than an hour from Atlanta. We bought our first house (this house — a 1960's brick ranch) when we got married and have been renovating it ever since. Both of us have day jobs but this is my hobby! This is my 5th One Room Challenge and I'm a big advocate for women using power tools and just doing it no matter your skill level!

Week 1: The Middle Room Befores
Week 2: The Neutral Minimalist Mood Board 
Week 3: Middle Room Is Painted
Week 4: New Dresser & Painted Closet
Week 5: Customizing IKEA Dresser + New Shades

One Room Challenge | Week 5: Customizing IKEA Dresser + New Shades

It's the last progress week! Week 5 of the One Room Challenge was mostly waiting on products to arrive and cleaning out the rest of the room. We actually did some traveling over the weekend so I had some time to think about all the reveal shoot details. I almost always take a last minute trip to Target or some boutiques to get the finishing touches the weekend of the reveal shoot so I scribbled down some things I think might be missing in preparation.

If you're like me and have missed reading the some progress weeks, you can catch up really quickly.

Week 1: The Middle Room Befores
Week 2: The Neutral Minimalist Mood Board
Week 3: Middle Room is Painted
Week 4: New Dresser & Painted Closet

One Room Challenge | Week 4: New Dresser & Painted Closet

Reveal week is creeping closer and closer! This has been a slow but productive week for our One Room Challenge middle guest room. We took a huge trip to IKEA, which is an hour and a half trip, and got most of the furniture. I ordered 90% of the products online and some have already started to arrive.

Week 1: The Middle Room Befores
Week 2: The Neutral Minimalist Mood Board
Week 3: Middle Room Is Painted

The New Roof is Up

Last week I showed you the different options we were considering for our new roof color from our roofer United Roofing. I landed on a dark gray and a lighter gray. After photoshopping both colors onto the house I decided on the darker gray called Charcoal Gray. A few days later the company showed up to work their magic. Yes, absolute magic.

One Room Challenge | Week 3: Middle Room Is Painted

When we first moved in we painted the entire interior Sherwin William's Repose Gray. It really is the perfect gray but I was ready for this room to have something different for a while. For Week 3 of our One Room Challenge the goal was to get the middle room 100% painted and ready to be styled. Well, I'm happy to report we got at least 80% done! It may not seem like much but we had company all weekend and Monday was a holiday.

Week 1: The Middle Room Befores

Week 2: The Neutral Minimal Mood Board

One Room Challenge | Week 2: The Neutral Minimalist Mood Board

It feels like with every new room, every new mood board, I get a little closer to finding my actual style. l feel a little more comfortable letting go of color and exploring more with texture. I've pinned and saved so many photos to come to the conclusion that the spaces I really love have minimal color but are always still so beautiful and interesting. This week for my One Room Challenge update I tried to find products that I loved both individually and in the same space Once they all were side by side, I could see the room's vision come together. Like a lightbulb went off. My neutral, minimal room is ready to be uncovered.

One Room Challenge | Week 1: The Middle Room Befores

Our middle room, as we call it, has served many purposes for us over the last 2 and a half years. It was my dressing room, then a guest room, and now is storage for all those things you just don't know where to put. It became that catch all room after we turned the office into a guest room/my closet for the last ORC. This fall One Room Challenge season I'm guest participating again and I want to make this middle into... something. Right now I'm thinking of going back to a guest room.

Choosing a New Roof

We knew we were going to need to put a new roof on the house when we bought it 2.5 years ago. The current one is almost white and has weathered  (like a roof should) the elements since probably 20 years ago. We were trying to wait until it got cooler and maybe prices went down a little until we called someone for a quote, but we're finally just ready to get it out of the way and get it off our budget.

Last week we called a local roofing company to get a quote on when they could do it and for how much. They came quickly and told us they could get it done in one day and the price was in our budget. We prepared for the quote to be really high but hoped it would be less than we had planned for — it was only $200 less. We debated on getting other quotes but decided between this larger company or a self-made roofer, we'd feel safer and like we got better quality shingles if we went with the bigger company. The only cost savings we could see with a single roofer is in the quality of the shingles and we didn't want to skimp on that. These roofers even quoted us for taking off all the ugly, unnecessary vents and spiny-vent thing (I think it's called a turbine) off and replacing it with modern vents.

$100 Room Challenge | Week 4: Shed Exterior Reveal

Sometimes it's hard to look at a space and see the potential. When I started envisioning what this shed would look like 4 weeks ago, I knew it was possible, but sometimes it's hard to grasp the end goal until you actually see it in front of your eyes. As I was taking the final photos for this $100 Room Challenge reveal I felt a sense of relief that one day we could have a backyard we actually wanted to be in — and this was the first step.

In case you missed all the previous shed posts, you can catch up with just a few clicks.

Week 1: The Shed Befores
Week 2: Exterior Paint Mockup
Week 3: Painted Shed Exterior

$100 Room Challenge | Week 3: Painted Shed Exterior

I am finally making some visible progress on the shed! Up until now this project has just been living in my head for the past 2.5 years. But for whatever reason it always takes 10x less times to actually do the project than it took to think and plan out the project.

Week 1: The Befores
Week 2: Exterior Paint Mockup

$100 Room Challenge | Week 2 : Exterior Paint Mockup

It's Week 2 of the $100 Room Challenge! Week 1's are always the befores while Week 2's are my planning week. This week my only goal was to decide on a color to paint the exterior. To do that I did some mockups in Photoshop and finally settled on this nice deep, cool brown.

$100 Room Challenge | Week 1: The Shed Befores

I was on the fence about participating in this round of the $100 Room Challenge just because this September is so busy, but knew that I really didn't want to miss out on the all the fun. I went back and forth about which space to tackle as per the norm. We are trying to get grass to grow in the back yard this year and the old red shed right in the middle is a huge eye sore— so that's what I chose!

Surprisingly this is my 6th $100 Room Challenge! So far I've tackled the tool closet, the full bathroom, the hall closet, the carport, and the half bathroom.    

DIY No-Sew Roll Up Shades

We finished our guest room reveal for the Spring 2019 One Room Challenge a few weeks ago and ever since then I've been flooded with requests for a tutorial on the DIY roll up shades I made. They are super easy and since I had drop cloths on hand, it was a great project for the budget. If you can use scissors, you can do this DIY — trust me.

One Room Challenge | Week 6: Modern Guest Room Reveal

And as quickly as it came, it's ended! Week 6 of the One Room Challenge has come and gone and now it's time for the reveal! I know you're here for the photos so I'll keep it short and sweet, but just know that I was booking it Monday and Tuesday evenings to get this room finished and ready for the shoot. I cut it close (it's 10:43pm) but it's here!

Week 1 | Home Office Befores & Plans
Week 2 | Prep & Mood Board
Week 3 | Final Paint Color
Week 4 | Installed Closet
Week 5 | Fan & Finished Closet

One Room Challenge | Week 5: Fan & Finished Closet

There should be a word or a phrase that describes how times moves faster the closet you get to a deadline. We're in week 5 of the One Room Challenge and everyone is feeling the crunch. We had out of town visitors last week/weekend (and obviously I have to spend every waking moment with my baby nephew because he's my buddy) so I only got a few of the things I had planned done. If you've missed the previous weeks posts you can catch up below.

Week 1: Befores & Plans
Week 2: Prep & Mood Board
Week 3: Final Paint Color
Week 4: Installed Closet

One Room Challenge | Week 4: Installed Closet

The fourth week of the One Room Challenge has come and gone and I am one (tiny) step closer to a finished room. Since I took the photos on Monday, I've completely finished painting the shelves and rods, but in this post some of them are still unpainted.

One Room Challenge | Week 3: Final Paint Color

Last week was WayDay and I mentioned that I took advantage of the sale and scooped up the rug and leather desk chair. Yesterday (Wednesday) the FedEx guy showed up at my door and delivered the chair. I'm hoping by the time you read this post he will have returned with the rug. Also this past week I was able to prime the walls (more on why I primed below) and put up the final color.

Week 1: Befores
Week 2: Prep & Mood Board

One Room Challenge | Week 2: Prep & Mood Board

Same old same old over here for Week 2 of the One Room Challenge. I did a lot of thinking on which direction to take the space. I started prepping the room to paint and moved most everything out of it. The biggest feat I accomplished was cranking out a mood board. I would bet one million dollars that it's going to change before the end of the 6 weeks, but hey it's a good start.

If you missed the Week 1 befores (you're honestly not missing anything but a messy room), you can look at them till your heart's content. If you're still reading and still confused about what the One Room Challenge is, take 5 minutes to puruse their website... then come check out this mood baord.

One Room Challenge | Week 1: Home Office Befores & Plans

The first week of April means it’s the beginning of a 6 week, unlimited budget, one room transformation challenge. If you’re new around here or new to the One Room Challenge - first of all welcome to my sliver of the big wonderful internet world - but mostly the One Room Challenge is a 6 week event where a bunch of bloggers and instagram’mers encourage each other to renovate an entire space. That’s all! It’s much harder than it sounds, those 6 weeks creep up on you almost overnight.

My second time doing the One Room Challenge was the fall 2017 round. I had just completed the laundry room in the spring round and was just getting started on my DIY skills. I honestly had no idea what I was doing and didn’t know what my style was (I still really don’t), but it turned out okay. All that to say, I’m re-doing the office! Well, kind of. I’m turning it into an office/guest room.

$100 Room Challenge | Week 5: Tool Closet Reveal

This reveal is probably, most likely more satisfying to me than it is to you. After living with a mess for 2 years, I finally have a space I can work from with a clear mind. Don't get me wrong though, I'm still one of those people that can tell you where every single thing is in that mess - but it was not conducive to spurring on my creative juices. If you're this far in and have no idea what I'm talking about, head on over to Erin's site about why she created the $100 Room Challenge. I hate writing intros as much as you hate reading them, so let's do this.

Week 1: The Befores
Week 2: The Plans
Week 3: Empty Closet (and I Picked a Paint!)
Week 4: The Shelves are Built!

$100 Room Challenge | Week 4: The Shelves are Built!

I know most people I come across hate painting. I absolutely love it. All the prep work, the dry time, I love it all. I love the feeling that I can go to the store and get a $30 can of paint that will completely change a space. To top it off, I didn't have to spend $1 on this paint job. I used the leftover paint from our master bedroom remodel, a custom mix of Behr's Snow Fall.

Week 1: The Befores
Week 2: The Plans
Week 3: Empty Closet (and I Picked a Paint!)

January Cure | Week 3

I had a three day weekend this week, and an extra long weekend means extra projects to fit into the schedule.This week of the January Cure was filled with cleaning and checking off those small tasks that always get put off.  It's only 3/4th's of the way through the month and I feel like I've already done a million projects - will I be burned out by the end? I guess we'll find out.

Week 1
Week 2

$100 Room Challenge | Week 3: Empty Closet (and I Picked a Paint!)

Not much happened this weekend for the $100 Room Challenge. I was able to clean out all the tools and supplies, which is way more than I thought it would be, and find some paint to use on the walls. Let's jump in to the extremely short and unsatisfying post.

Week 1: The Befores
Week 2: The Plans

January Cure | Week 2

I'll be honest, week 2 of the January Cure was harder than the first week. I don't know if it was because there were 5 days instead of 2 or if the tasks were a little more intensive. But sitting here on Sunday night, I am so glad I did it. My living room is clean, my closet feels better, and my kitchen is ready to take on the week.

$100 Room Challenge | Week 2: The Plans

Week 2 during almost any challenge for me is planning week and this week of the $100 Room Challenge is no different. I've never built anything specifically for tools so I have been brainstorimg and dreaming all week long about what my dream tool closet would look like. Some of those ideas were outrageous for the actual space, but I did come out with a few good ones. If you're not familiar with the $100 Room Challenge, be sure to check out Erin's website.

Week 1: The Befores

January Cure | Week 1

January is usually just another month to me. I've never been the one to make new year's resolutions or go on some crazy diet, but this year apparently I feel like putting in more effort. I'm participating in the $100 Room Challenge again (check out our tool closet I'm tackling), Auston are getting up early (instead of going in the evening) to work out, and to top it all off me I'm doing Apartment Therapy's January Cure Challenge.

$100 Room Challenge | Week 1: The Befores

Whew! It's officially 2019. For me January means another $100 Room Challenge. Another month to transform a space for only $100. You already know my love for this challenge and giant admiration for its creator Erin Meyer. So far I've used this challenge to re-do our full bathroom (my favorite room in the house), the hall closet, and the half bath.

This go around I'm taking on our tool closet. It's right across from our full bathroom and you see it as you walk in.  I used to have it completely organized, but lately, as I have accumulated more stuff, it has become an absolute tornado.