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The Best Camping Games & Activities for Families
Camping can be a lot of fun for the whole family when you plan the right games and activities to keep everyone entertained. Between getting outdoors and enjoying nature, and the quality family time spent together by the fire, camping is an awesome way to spend time with your loved ones. To make the most of my camping trips, I plan and pack for several “must-do” family camping activities that make our trip a blast! Plus, these camping games and activities have become a tradition, so our kids really look forward to alot of these games and activities each time we are camping. Here is my list of the best…
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Our Small Suburban Backyard Overhaul with a Deck and Patio Combo and Low-Maintenance Grassless Landscaping
Living in a suburban neighborhood in the Pacific Northwest area means having a small yard that can quickly become a year-round mud pit thanks to the generous amount of rainfall we receive. To create more usable space in our small yard we covered our deck and replaced our grass with a large stamped concrete patio and low-maintenance grassless landscaping. Our backyard overhaul proves that you don’t have to have a big backyard to have a functional and beautiful space to entertain in. Our whole backyard is designed with entertaining in mind, with lots of cozy neutral farmhouse and cottage style design elements and plenty of defined spaces for hosting and…
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Creating a Cozy Cottage Style Backyard Oasis Designed for Entertaining – Our New Stamped Concrete Patio
Backyard spaces in homes can really add additional living space to your home with the right design elements. Over the years we have spent a good amount of time working on our backyard landscaping to create a neutral cottage style backyard oasis that we could use and enjoy for years to come. Our goal was to create a beautiful low-maintenance and grassless backyard with simple landscaping and lots of space for entertaining to make the most of our small suburban space. Finally, we decided to ditch the grass and add a large stamped concrete patio to our backyard, and couldn't be happier. Today I am sharing the full reveal of…
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What to Expect When Installing a Curved Stamped Concrete Patio – A Light Grey Ashlar Slate Patio Design
Stamped concrete is a beautiful and affordable option when designing a large outdoor patio for your backyard. We have been overhauling our backyard for sometime, working to create a backyard oasis in our small suburban backyard. After doing tons of research on stamped concrete designs and colors, we selected the Ashlar Slate stamp in light grey for our backyard patio. Throughout the process of having our patio installed, we had so many questions that made the process seem intimidating. So I decided to create a simple guide of what to expect when designing a curved stamped concrete patio in a light grey Ashlar Slate stamp to help guide you as…
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How to Make a DIY Middle School Survival Kit Grad Gift with Free Printable Gift Tags
When your kid graduates from elementary school and is ready to make the big leap to middle school, it can seem a little scary. New school, new friends, a bigger schedule and a lot more responsibility. It is important to prepare them for this big adjustment, but it is also fun to celebrate their achievement! A fun way to celebrate your grad growing up and taking the leap from elementary school to middle school is to create an easy DIY middle school survival kit. This easy to make DIY middle school survival kit is made of kids favorite snacks and treats with a cute printable gift tag that plays on…
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A Montessori Inspired Kid’s Bedroom with Toy Storage and Organization Tips
Our kids bedrooms have undergone so many transformations, from a shared batman and unicorn bedroom, to creating an organized playroom for the kids, to finally giving all the children their own rooms including a batman nursery for our youngest. After building a DIY house bed for Arlo, I reorganized his bedroom and created a Montessori inspired kid’s bedroom for him with lots of toy organization and storage. By creating a Montessori style organized kid’s bedroom I can keep the space tidy and clean yet fun and entertaining for his active imagination. Take a look at Arlo’s Montessori inspired kid’s bedroom and my toy storage and organization tips to keep the…
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How to Paint Fireplace Brick White with Primer and Regular Paint
Our DIY brick fireplace makeover began with building a brick hearth from scratch and ended with a wood beam mantle and a shiplap accent wall. The final step in this complete fireplace makeover project, however, is the paint! We knew from the beginning we wanted the brick to be white to make the space as bright as possible. After debating on whitewash, German smear, and solid paint, we decided that solid white paint in the same color as the shiplap would look the best in this space and be the easiest option. No need for fancy techniques or special paint, simply use whatever paint you like for this DIY with…
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How to Build a DIY Brick Fireplace Hearth with a Shiplap Accent Wall & Rustic Wood Beam Mantle
A brick fireplace hearth has always been on the top of my wish list for our home. There is something about the hand built nature of a large brick fireplace hearth that holds that old time farmhouse charm that you just don’t see in today’s small, builder-grade, simple gas fireplace mantles. We have tried everything to update our builder-grade fireplace, from simply painting it white to adding a larger wood mantle and even adding a shiplap accent wall. While those updates definitely improved the look of our small and unimpressive fireplace, it just didn’t fulfill our dream of a beautiful and grand brick fireplace hearth. So we finally decided to…
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