Week in Review

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I’ve been wanting to create this series on the blog for a long time — as a way for me to share the little things we’ve been working on every week in between the larger before-and-after blog posts that take weeks or months to complete. It’s also a great way for me to share products or interiors or Instagram pages or recipes or books that I’m currently loving. So here’s what we’ve been up to and what’s on my mind this week.

House Projects:

We did a lot of catching up this week after being away last week, mowing and weeding around the property. I love how our front beds are looking this year after planting them in the fall last year. I think the hanging plants and the topiaries on the front porch add so much to the whole look. I wrote a big list of outdoor projects I’d like to finish before summer ends — it’s longer than we can actually achieve but I will prioritize in order of importance as we finish things.

Outdoor Projects List–

-cleanup the tennis court

-restore the existing barn windows and find more where they are missing

-remove the old outhouses behind the house that are mostly rotten

-remove the chicken coop attached to another outbuilding

-remove the rotten planter at the end of the pool and the mulberry tree

-build brick paths in the front and on the side

-plant another white dogwood at the bottom of the drive

-fix torn screen doors, finish the enclosure around the propane tank

-paint the back of the pool fence

-repoint sections of damaged brick on the house

-hang the hammock

-paint the porch furniture and make cushions.

This week I started on the last thing on that list — the porch furniture — so that we can enjoy the front porch during the beautiful summer weather. I have chosen a color to paint them (well, almost — it’s going to be a dark green but I don’t know which one), and a cushion fabric (a white Crypton because there’s something about green and white). I cleaned them and started priming them this week but I went through 6 cans of primer and I need at least 6 more to finish. I’m thinking of renting a sprayer for the green since mine died last year and I’m not ready to commit to a new one.

To prep for the dogwood tree and the propane enclosure I ordered the tree (due to arrive in the fall) and the missing pickets (due to arrive next week).

I also contacted a brick mason recently and got on his schedule for September/October to repoint sections of the brick that aren’t in great condition. This is something that has been on our list for a while and is so important for the integrity of the house, so I’m feeling good that we have it on the calendar.

Books:

I finished Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros and the Wolves of Mercy Falls series by Maggie Stiefvater in the past couple weeks. I’ve been in a reading slump and fantasy books always get me back on the reading train. Fourth Wing is about dragon riders and has a sequel coming out this fall, and Wolves of Mercy Falls is a 4-book series that’s about 10 years old about teenage werewolves.

Travel:

Traveling for long distances and periods of time with kids can be challenging. Since the boys were born I’ve grown to love taking shorter trips for 4-5 days to places within driving distance and exploring everything our state or neighboring states have to offer. Last week, we visited Oneida Lake, NY and stayed in an Airbnb with some of our best friends. We went to Sylvan Beach where you can hardly see across the lake and the water stays shallow for hundreds of feet out into the lake. Our kids built sand castles and dug holes in the sand and we found quite a few fossils. We spent time cooking together and making campfires and s’mores, playing catch with the kids and board games. Our kids are all different ages and it was so much fun to get to see the ways they played together and helped each other. It was low-key and filled our cups — my husband said trips like that make him love everyone around him more and I totally understand that feeling he’s describing. It’s like you feel like you’re where you need to be, you’re doing okay at this life thing, and you appreciate the people you’re with to a whole new level.

Secondhand Finds:

Every time we visit someplace new I love to visit a thrift store or antique shop or local art show — someplace where I can get a souvenir that will remind me of the trip whenever I see it. At Oneida Lake I found these cobalt blue candlesticks/vases that I love in our kitchen.

I also acquired several new sets and pieces of china in the past couple weeks.

My sweet stepmom found this plate for me after seeing my post about colorful glassware where I mentioned that I wanted to find a set of these pink depression-ware plates! Such a wonderful surprise.

My kind friend Cait gifted this elegant set of black rim china to me that was her mother’s wedding china. Both her and her mother had decided they wouldn’t use it, and I was so happy to receive it — I feel like it’s the tuxedo of my china collection and I love the subtle embossed detail in the black rim.

Cait also gave me these stunning candlesticks — I’ve been hoping to find large crystal candlesticks but I usually only see the tiny ones so I was so excited to get these. The tag says Toscany, handcrafted in Yugoslavia.

My equally kind friend Kaitlynde gifted this wheat set to me — I can’t wait to use it for a cozy fall dinner and I love the metallic gold on the large and small cups. The stamp on the back says Golden Wheat.

Then my thoughtful neighbor Laurie found this pink set of plates at a garage sale and picked them up for me for $15! The small plates say Lotus Poppytrail and the large plates have serial numbers and dates on them from 1978-1979. I love the exaggerated ruffle edge!

Steve ran the Boilermaker 15K in Utica, NY this past weekend and picked up this beautiful iron outdoor dining set for our back patio on the way home (thanks to my brother Joe and Uncle Ed for helping with pickup!). I will need to find another table of similar height and width to seat more people here (both of our families are large) but this is a great start.

Products:

It’s fly season here, and I tried one of these plug-in fly catchers and was pleasantly surprised! It caught a good number of flies and its relatively unobtrusive.

And if you missed it, HERE is the other post I wrote this week about our plans for outdoor rooms at Danascara. Have a wonderful weekend!