Happy New Year!

It's been quiet here on Rhody Life, but it's been nothing but quiet in our real lives. Dylan and I have been much busier than it seems based on my blogging. We've been finishing and starting a bunch of new projects, which I am really looking forward to bringing to you this coming year.

One of our biggest projects is also probably our most exciting one. We will both be entering a new journey - parenthood! I'm sure that you may have guessed by now, judging by how absent I have been, but yes, I'm pregnant, and we will be welcoming our first child in June!

This exciting news brings a lot of new projects for us - the biggest being converting the guest bedroom into a baby's room, and in general, finishing up some long-ended projects. I'm excited to have a deadline to look forward to and reach for over the next few months.

I hope that you all have a great New Year, and keep your eyes open to Rhody Life over the next few weeks and months, as this is promised to be a great year!

Goodbye 2013, Hello 2014!

It's very hard to believe that 2013 is over and that we are now in January of 2014!  This year went by so quickly, and I think that this next one is going to as well.  We have so much planned for this year that I can't wait to share with you!

As a recap for 2013, I'd like to share with you the Top 5 Posts written this year, based on visits alone, and then I'll share my favorite post of the year.  

5. DIY: IKEA MALM Occasional Table  

Since you all know my obsession with IKEA, it shouldn't surprise you that I recreated one of their pieces of furniture.  I've always wanted a table for the bed, so when I saw their MALM Occasional Table with casters, I fell in love with it - but not the price tag!  So, I did what every DIY-er does, and made my own, for only $40! 

4. DIY: Raised Bed Planter

Since I couldn't have a planter in my back yard last year, I wanted something that was high enough off the ground that I didn't have to hurt my back gardening, and something that was portable so it could be moved in the future.  Enter the Raised Bed Planter that I built using Ana White's concept via her website.  Her directions aren't the greatest, so I made some very detailed ones here, and this has easily become one of my most popular posts.  I have plans to modify it this year to have casters on the bottom for easier moving, especially since once it's filled with dirt, it's rather heavy!

3. DIY: Repair a Hole in Wood

Before I went ahead and painted my front door purple, I had a few holes to fill from the previous hardware, which was replaced when we changed the locks after moving in.  Using some simple wood putty, I filled up the hole and sanded it down before putting on the first coat of primer, and you would never even be able to tell that there was a hole there now!


2. DIY: Curtain Rod Finials

Earlier this year, I decided to try to make some finials for the ends of my DIY Curtain Rods, so I picked up some balsa wood balls from a local unfinished wood and furniture store, carved out a ring on one of the ends and then using some silicone adhesive, I stuck them onto the end of the curtain rods.  Painted silver to match both the rods and the curtain hardware, they look great and the cost was so little!

And the most popular post from 2013 is....


1. DIY: Curtain Rods & Brackets

After researching curtain rods and how expensive they are, I was determined to find a cheaper way to hanging curtains, so instead, I just made my own rods and brackets.  Using some screws, wing-nuts, and electrical clasps from the hardware hardware store, I was able to put together my own brackets to hold the electrical conduit poles that I also purchased.  Using a conduit cutter, I cut the 10' poles to the length that I needed and then put together the brackets and hung the rods! A much cheaper way to get curtain rods, and a positive about it is that you can cut them to exactly the length that you need, up to 10' and you can even paint them to match the color scheme for your home!

And that gives you the Top 5 Posts from 2013.  But, my favorite post isn't listed here, so I figured I would include that.  My absolutely favorite post from 2013 was...

DIY: Vinyl Tiled Backsplash

This simple concept made such a huge change in our kitchen. We went from having ugly peach-colored tiles with grape bunches, garlic cloves, and olive oil bottles, to having a very subdued dark backsplash that made the space look much more elegant and modern.  I couldn't be happier that we decided to spend $35 dollars on the backsplash and do something temporary to spruce up the space.  

So there you have it! The Top 5 Posts from 2013 and a little addition of my favorite one, too. I can't wait to see what 2014 is going to bring to Dylan and I, and I can't wait to be back here next year with a whole different Top 5 for you all! I am really looking forward to seeing what you like most! 

Happy New Year!

Great Start to the Holidays

We had a very, very nice Christmas Eve with my family, and a great Christmas Day celebration on the Cape with Dylan's family.  It's very hard to have to split the holidays up, as I'm sure that many of you have to do in order to spend time with both sides of your family.

One of the things that wasn't so great was prepping the food on Christmas Eve.  I offered to do the cooking for my family's celebration, since my parents are in the middle of a kitchen renovation, and I was making the salad, one of the last things to do before heading over to my grandparent's house.  I was cleaning the lettuce, and then slicing it on the cutting board before throwing it into the bowl.

And I bet you can see where this is going...

I had a bunch of lettuce on the board, with my thumb on one piece of wet lettuce, and it happened to slip on another piece of wet lettuce and right under the brand new kitchen knife I was using.

So yeah, at 2:30pm on Christmas Eve, we jumped in the car and sped to the emergency room, where I ended up with a tetanus shot, two shots for numbing my thumb since the first one didn't work, and  4 stitches.

So for the last few days, I haven't been able to do much. Thankfully, the cut was on my left hand, and I'm a righty, so it hasn't caused too much trouble, but I'm having a hard time with the simple things, especially since my arm is bruised and the muscles are super sore from the tetanus shot.  Putting on my pants and taking off shirts is the worst.  Also, I have to be really careful that my thumb doesn't get wet, so I haven't been able to cook or clean either.

I can't wait for this to heal. It's so painful and really annoying, so it needs to be gone, especially since we have so many things to do for the house.  And if you're interested, you can see a picture of the stitches on my thumb here. I didn't want to embed the picture in the post in case you get really grossed out about that kind of stuff.  But, I did a really good job.  Dylan has actually told me that I'm not allowed to use anything sharp anymore.

Anyways, I was going to have a house post for you today, but this kind of throws a wrench in some of the projects we had planned, so I wanted to tell you about this.

Have any of you had an injury that has played into your home renovations and decorating plans? Ever had stitches? These are my first other than the ones I got when my wisdom teeth were removed - and I'm not counting those!

Merry Christmas!

Dylan and I aren't really ones to send out cards, so you'll have to settle with a picture from last year - our first married Christmas.

We hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas, and that you are able to spend time with your families and friends.

Have a great holiday, and we'll be back later this week with another house update and, of course, this week's Flash Sale Friday!

Merry Christmas!!

Christmas Without a Tree? No Problem!

This year, we will not be getting a Christmas Tree.  And it's not because Dylan was fired from lighting it last year, which he was, by the way. It's because with the chance that we will be having our floors refinished this month, setting up a Christmas Tree would be silly when it would just need to be taken down or moved somewhere else.

So, I'm here to talk with you about how you can decorate for Christmas without setting up a Christmas Tree.  Before we lived in a house, Dylan and I only decorated minimally and never had a tree in any of our apartments.  So for those of you who are also living in spaces where you either don't have a tree, don't want a tree, or legally can't have a tree, here are some great ideas on how you can spruce up your home for the holidays - no pun intended!

Decorate your Front Door. 

You can buy an outdoor spotlight to illuminate your front door from any hardware store.  The spotlight can just be stuck in the lawn and an outdoor extension cord could be run to provide power.  A spotlight would be perfect if you were going to put a wreath on your front door.

You could also use string lights to go around your front door, bringing the attention to that one spot without going overboard and lighting every edge of your home in string lights. If you don't want to line your font door completely, you could always just light the sidelights. Last year, I used some Smycka sticks that I purchased from IKEA and put half of the bundle on each side of my front door, and strung lights through them.  I loved the way that this looked, and can't wait to set up this part of my decor again when the rain stops.

Make or buy a wreath to hang on your door using 3M Command Strips.  I made one a few years ago out of coffee filters, and it is so seasonal. It's big, white, and fluffy, and I love it. This year, I have it on my front door and it really pops against the purple. While this may not be the best wreath for all of you, I am able to use it here because the storm door protects it from the rain and snow.

If you don't have a storm door for protection, go with a wreath that is made of something other than coffee filters. You could use ornaments, or even go with a beautiful evergreen wreath that you can add a ribbon or some other accessories to.


Light your Entryway or Foliage.

If you have a railing or posts in front of your home, get some rope lighting and light it up!  The addition of even one string of rope lights could help bring the holidays to your space!  If you don't have any railings or posts, you could also use net lighting and go over some of the larger bushes in front of your home.  Rope lighting can also be wrapped around the trunks of some of the trees in front of your home.

Garland and lights for your Staircase.

If you have a staircase in your home, grab some garland, real or fake, and wrap it around the banister or railings.  This welcoming touch can help make guests feel that your entire home is open and cheerful. Adding some lights makes it look really pretty, and can even act as a nightlight for those little ones who may need to go downstairs in the middle of the night.

Do you have a gallery wall going up your stairs?  Take some holiday themed wrapping paper and place a cutout over a few of the pictures that you have hanging in your space to bring that little bit of holidays into your every-day decor.


Fireplaces and Mantles.

There's nothing better than decorating your fireplace or mantle around Christmastime.  If you're looking to bring in some holiday cheer, put a little greenery on your mantle - real or fake. In fact, if you're looking for some real greens, take a trip to a tree farm and take some of the clippings from the farm - they typically won't charge you for these, and while you may not be picking out a tree to bring home, you can still enjoy being outside at the tree farm.

Add some height to your mantle using pedestals with candles or tall tapered candles. If you have any goblets, use those, and if you'd like, you could even get some lighted branches and use some of those to add some light on top.  You may also want to add a wreath to the space above your mantle, or have it rest on the mantle if you are unable to hang it on the wall.  Lastly, if you have a mirror that you can put on your mantle, doing this will really help to make the space brighter and seem bigger, plus, if you add lights or candles to your mantle, the reflection of them in the mirror will look wonderful!

If you're not using your fireplace for an actual fire, place a beautiful vase of greens and berries in front, or place some battery-operated candles inside to give the illusion of a fire.

Finally, and probably the most popular way to decorate your mantle and fireplace for Christmas, is to hang stockings.  If you don't have any stockings, make your own. There are so many different patterns out there for sewing them and some for knitting and crocheting too, and these will not take long to make.  Hang them on your mantle using cup hooks or by using some of the stocking hangers that rest on top of the mantle so that you are not putting hooks or nails into your fireplace.

What other ideas do you have on how to decorate your home for Christmas without having a tree? Which of these ideas do you like the best?  If you don't celebrate Christmas, what do you celebrate and how do you decorate for the season?

DIY: Halloween Glowing Ghosts

Those of you not from New England probably have no idea what a Christmas Tree Shop is, but they are a great little chain store that has pretty much everything except clothing.  Their prices are really really inexpensive and they have the best season items around.  I went over to one of their stores a few weeks ago and was bombarded by Fall decor and Halloween decorations.

When I saw the bin of glow-sticks, I couldn't resist, especially because they were cheaper than Dollar Tree and they were only $0.79 each!  I bought twelve of them thinking that I could somehow get the glowy insides of the stick to illuminate jars that I could place on the sides of my walkway.  The problem with this was that 1. I didn't have any jars, and 2. What would happen if the jars blew over and broke on my walkway?

So, I came up with another idea.  Using some felt that I had leftover from a project a few years ago, I decided to make myself some glowing ghosts for my walkway.

I really hope that you enjoy these as much as I do!!

Materials:

Felt, preferably in white
Something Round to use as a template
Marker
Glow-Sticks
White Twist-ties
Heavy-duty wire
Scissors
Wire Cutters
Needle-nose Pliers

Directions:

Step 1 - Cut Your Felt.

Because you want the felt to cover the glow-sticks on all sides, you want your fabric to be long enough when around the stick.  Find something round that you can use as a template to make your circles, but make sure that the diameter is larger than the length of your glow-sticks, multiplied by two. I ended up using a Wok lid, which was the perfect size.  Depending on how long your glow-sticks are, you may be able to use a dinner plate or a mixing bowl.

Trace your circle onto the felt using your marker, then cut it out with a pair of scissors.

Step 2 - Make your Ghost.

Estimate where the center point of your felt circle is, and then place one end of your glow-stick in the center.  Gather the fabric around the top of the glow stick.

Secure the fabric around the glow-stick using a twist-tie, like you were making a little head for your ghost.  Twist it tightly so that the fabric stays put around the stick.

Step 3 - Make and Attach the Wire Stand.

Because I want to have these ghosts by my front walkway, I used a piece of heavy-duty wire to stick them into the ground.  My glow-sticks had a small hole in the bottom, so I wound some of the wire around the tip of my needle-nose pliers and then stuck that end into the end of the glow-stick, leaving the pointed end sticking out.

I used about 7" inches of wire, which was enough to make the coil and to stick it in the ground.

If your glow-sticks don't have a hole in the end to attach the wire, you can simply just coil the wire around the glow stick and still have enough left over for you to stick the wire in the ground.

Step 4 - Light 'Em Up!

Once you have your ghosts put together, you can feel free to use your marker to make little faces on them, or you can just leave them as they are. I chose not to make faces on mine because I can always use the felt circles for something later down the line.

Once you are done with your decorating, snap your glow-sticks to activate the neon lighting.

Step 5 - Light the Path.

If you have your ghosts all set and lit, bring them out to your walkway and stick the end of the wire into the ground near your path.  Fluff out the felt a little to make the ghosts look a little spooky, and then sit back and admire your work!

This whole project took me about 15 minutes, and couldn't have been more easy or fun.  So, you should do this for your front walkway, too!

Happy Halloween!!