Charter Your Dream Day at Crab Island with Juicebox Charters

Charter Your Dream Day at Crab Island with Juicebox Charters

(This post contains sponsored links from Juicebox Charters. All thoughts, views and opinions are my own.)

What is Crab Island?

Crab Island is a massive sandbar located on the Emerald Coast in Destin, Florida! It is one of the most popular attractions in all of Destin! With it’s shallow, emerald green waters, dolphin sightings and floating restaurants Crab Island is one of the most favored activities, in the area! Did you know that Crab Island been featured on HGTV and Good Morning America?!

How deep is the water on Crab Island?

On Crab Island, the depth of the water is about 1-4 ft. It’s the perfect place to anchor your boat and enjoy the day! Check out my blog post here to read more about Crab Island and local spots in Destin/Ft. Walton Beach area’s.

My husband and youngest daughter had a blast paddle boarding! My number three daughter and I, relaxed on the 2nd tier of the boat, up top! We also enjoyed walking around on Crab Island, visiting with restaurant vendors and vacationers. These views have blown my mind. I am constantly awe-struck of what an incredible place we live in! It’s absolutely beautiful here on Crab Island!

Floating Restaurants on Crab Island 

There are many floating restaurants on Crab Island! From boiled peanuts, to grilled burgers and pizza or Chick-Fil-A! You won’t go hungry on Crab Island!

The General Store

The General Store on Crab Island has floats, sunscreen, googles, dry bags snacks, drinks and more! I think I even saw that they sold T-shirts!

Gulf Stream Ice Cream & Shaved Ice

Gulf Stream sells ice cream on the water, sort of like a boat ice cream truck! They will drive their boat, right up to your boat, on the water! So fun! They also have shaved ice!

 

Pirate Porky’s Pizza & Grill

For lunch, we did pizza & burgers. We decided to take one of the paddle boards over (included in your charter) to one of the floating restaurants! Such a fun experience!

Reef Burgers

Hungry for a 1/2 pound burger at sea? Reef Burgers did not disappoint!

My husband and I tried a burger a it was great! Their employees are super sweet, too!

Kluge’s Barbecue 

They seek turkey legs, pulled pork barbecue sandwich’s, tacos and more! 

Kick’n Chicken

Kick n’ Chicken sells tenders, sandwich’s, wings, ice cream and boiled peanuts!

Chick-Fil-A

You can even get your favorite chicken out here on Crab Island!!! Chick-Fil-A serves you in a boat and will deliver right up to your boat!!

Juicebox Charters

Sail away to the best sandbar in America with a private pontoon charter, guided by a USCG-licensed captain!

Let’s Plan a Trip

Planning a family outing day, a girls weekend, or a couple’s trip? A cruise through Destin Harbor, is the perfect way to explore the beauty of the Emerald Coast. Book your adventure today and let Captain Justin create a tailored and memorable charter for you!

Why choose Juicebox Charters?

The waters are pristine on the Emerald Coast and with Juicebox Charters, you can experience luxury on the open water. Their expert team is dedicated to providing an unforgettable adventure-whether you’re snorkeling in crystal-clear waters, island hopping, or simply relaxing aboard their comfortable, well-equipped vessels.

With a variety of customizable packages, Captain Justin will cater to your every need, ensuring your time with Juice Box Charters is as seamless, as it is memorable. 

Experience and Affordability 

 With over 5 years experience operating a charter boat, rest assured that they have a track record of success in hosting your group.

Competitive pricing without surprise fees.  The cost of your charter includes a luxurious, modern Harris Solstice double decker slide boat, two paddleboards, a full complement of Bote floats, a large cooler with ice and bottled water, an upgraded Bluetooth sound system, beer pong float, games, snorkel masks, net. You really only need sunscreen and towels! Check out my IG Reel for a complete video of our trip, here.

Beach Weekend Marina

Beach Weekend Marina in Fort Walton, is where you set off for your adventure, to Crab Island! The marina has a wrap around patio, which is an excellent way to enjoy a cold drink and enjoy an Emerald Coast Sunset.

Final Thoughts

Crab Island was a blast with  Captain Justin from Juicebox Charters! The best pricing, which INCLUDES all you need for a trip to Crab Island! The boat is super clean and nice, no worries with being uncomfortable. The team from Juicebox Charters was amazing! Friendly, nice, very accommodating!! Our family loved it so much, we plan to go back again before the summer is over!!

Coastal Farmhouse Outdoor Bathroom

Coastal Farmhouse Outdoor Bathroom


[This post contains sponsored links. The items featured and linked in this post were all provided by Pfister, Frame My Mirror, Marlo+Olive, Oasense, Amazon and Stencilit; all opinions and reviews are my own.]

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Ok, ok, we know at first glance, an outdoor bathroom may seem unnecessary or excessive, but hear us out! We are in a coastal area with sand.

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LOTS and lots of sand! We literally live across the street from the beach, we are constantly tracking in sand.

Here’s How We DIY-ed Our Outdoor Bathroom 

IMG_2442Step 1-Draw Up Plans

We decided a few years ago that we definitely needed some sort of outdoor bathroom. Last fall, we decided to head to Pinterest to get our juices flowing for ideas, draw up plans (Wes & I doodling designs in our notebooks) and go for it!

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Step 2-Plumbing & Concrete Pad

The next step was planning out our plumbing-deciding where the sink, shower and toilet would be placed. Install plumbing. 

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Step 3-Build Out Walls


After plumbing, it’s time to build the walls! We used 4×4’s for the corner posts, along with 2×4’s, all pressure treated. We used galvalume for the walls. One of our granddogs, Ranger, was here visiting when we began construction of the bathroom. 

Step 4-Build Shower Wall & Floor

First we built a frame for the shower wall and shower floor, out of pressure treated 2×4’s. Covered it in 1×6  decking.

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We also decided on concrete pavers to have easy access to plumbing. 

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Step 5-Concrete Pavers

We diy-ed the concrete pavers. Leveled out the ground. The price was a little bit cheaper to make than to purchase concrete pavers. 

Step 6-Bahama Rock

We added a a tractor scoop of Bahama Rock to go in between the concrete pavers. 

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Step 7- Staining Wood

Our youngest two daughters helped us with staining the wood! In the picture, to the right, you can see the floor board of the shower.

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I had a helper that liked to chat as we worked together. (I didn’t mind the chatting.)

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Step 8-DIY Paint & Stenciled Concrete Pavers

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I painted a couple layers of black paint first, allowed it to dry, then added the stencil and used white paint.

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After allowing the paint to dry, I added several coats of a matte sealer to the concrete pavers.

Step 9- Installing Fixtures & 

Finished Result 

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Rancho Single Control Bathroom Faucet is from Pfister. Spot Defense is a perfect for a busy Mama like me! (You , too!)

Visalia Towel Ring with Spot Defense is from Pfister. Love the sleek design!

Visalia Tissue Holder in Brushed Nickel is also from Pfister. My favorite feature is how you can just lift up and change out the roll like an easy breezy summer day!

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Our Highland (Black) Decorative Mirror is from Frame My Mirror. Love it’s sleek, yet modern design! Budget friendly! You can use code sweetsoutherngrace15 for 15% off!

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Our Turkish Bath Towels are from Marlo+Olive, in Haven Black. Turkish towels are compact, sand-resistant 🙌🏼, quick to dry, and hypoallergenic.

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Our towel hooks are from Amazon! Budget friendly, modern farmhouse design!

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We also decided to up grade our showerhead to the Oasense Reva Showerhead. It is the world’s first sensor enabled smart showerhead-automatically reduces the water flow to 15% whenever you aren’t actively rinsing, and resumes 100% full pressure every time you step forward to rinse. The embedded sensor suite has advanced sensor fusion hardware with machine learning algorithms that automatically calibrates the sensors during each shower. 

That concludes our DIY Outdoor Bathroom! Thank you so much for taking the time to read about our diy outdoor bathroom! If you have any questions, please let us know!

❤️-Shae

How to Bring Character to Your Home with Modern Rustic Hardware

{“This blog post contains sponsored content. It reflects my personal views and opinions on the products.”}

I am always looking for ways to character to my home. What about you? Hardware is one way to add character to your home and instantly elevate your space! Today, I want to take you through our self-built barndominium (completion date is Dec 2023) and share how we have upgraded our hardware with Ageless Iron. (Front porch and side porch (3) completion date is spring 2024.)

Come on in! Let me share, how these modern, rustic door handles complete our doors and give off a, polished look, in our barndominium.

Your Home’s Style 

Unsure of how to start choosing out your hardware? Just think about your home’s style and look for options that compliment that style. Our double front doors are more of a traditional look but, I knew I wanted to achieve a more modern, rustic look with Ageless Iron’s Keep Long Plate Entry Set with Lance Lever.

I wanted hardware that blends with modern, rustic farmhouse. I fell in love with it’s hand finished iron that reflects it’s unique surface texture. I believe that with the hardware’s sophisticated black color, will remain timeless, season after season. Our hope is that our Great-Grandchildren will be turning the handle on that door someday!

The knob is an oval shape which I find, oh,so timeless. All of these characters work well in our barndo interior details, making a seemless flow, artistically throughout our home.

Mix or Match

I need to admit, I stayed on the “Match” trail for quite some time. Ask my older two (adult) children! It was the nostalgia folks!

These days, I say, “Mix”, to an extent. While I am drawn to keeping things consistent, in this house, I have really enjoyed seeing my artistic abilities come to life!

I chose the Black Iron Barn Door Grip for passages with our barn doors, like our Pantry Door and our Laundry Room Door.


Mixing Finishes 

While the finishes on all door hardware is black, I did choose to mix finishes, such as gold, with other accessories in our home, like lighting or bathroom finishes. In my opinion, I think it is nice to keep door hardware finishes consistent so the home feels cohesive.

Below is the Black Iron Barn Door Pull.


In the photo below, you will find the Black Iron Barn Door Flush Pull.

Thanks For Stopping By

I am so glad you stopped by and I hope you enjoyed seeing our new hardware from Ageless Iron. They have many different styles that you can shop on the site, here.

If you don’t already follow me on social media, follow the links and subscribe so that you don’t miss any upcoming posts!

DIY Barndominium Dollhouse

{“This blog post contains paid and sponsored content. It reflects my personal views and opinions on the products.”}

Only Time Will Tell

If you follow us on IG stories, you have probably already caught a glimpse of our finished barndominium dollhouse! And if you know us well enough, we take awhile to finish a project like this one. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I can say our longevity in this project is partly because we are still building our barndominium. Without further ado, we are so excited to share our DIY Barbie Barndominium Doll House!!

Back Story

The photo below is circa Christmas 2014. Baby number 4 was on the way and you can see a peek of the pink kitchen on your right of the photo.

Back in 2012, we designed and built this kitchen set for our number 3 daughter for Christmas.

The photo below is circa 2015.

It has been carried down to her little sister and it has also been a favorite of all of our nieces, growing up!

The photo above is after I chalk painted the kitchen set and matching table/chairs. This is circa 2018.

A Gift From Our Hearts

I’ve learned that over the years, it has been really meaningful for us, as parents, to spend time, planning and working on a gift for our children. Something that comes from our hearts.

So…the idea came to mind, to turn our daughters kitchen set, along with the matching table/chairs set, into a Barbie Barndominium Doll House!! And best of all?! It was going to look just like our barndominium that we’ve self-built! I was so excited that I was like a kid in a candy shop! I couldn’t wait to see the whole thing come together!

The photo below is Christmas 2021. We had just moved into the barndo! It looks a lot different now!

Over the last couple of years, our youngest daughter has loved Barbie dolls. We first gave her, our oldest three daughter’s Barbie dolls. She enjoyed playing with them so much that she began collecting Barbie’s of her own! I am so grateful it was a family effort!

Doll House Sketch

This is my first drawing of the dollhouse. As we built it, it became slightly different!

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The first step was to design the basic build of the dollhouse. I spent a long time searching all the different blogs of how to diy a dollhouse. I chose to do a simple, 4-foot tall house with six rooms and a loft bedroom.

Dissembling Kitchen Set

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The next step to disassemble the kitchen set carefully, so we could repurpose the wood for the dollhouse!

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Design Time

Next, I began designing and decorating each room. We wanted to keep everything similar to the interior of our barndominium.

Below is the dollhouse during the painting process. Circa January 2022.

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After painting a base coat of white, on the inside and outside, it was time to start on the first room! I thought it would be best to start with the hardest room first-the kitchen feature wall, first on the list. Circa March 2022.

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As I began designing and decorating each room, I knew we wanted to keep everything similar to the interior of our barndominium.

Kitchen

My oldest (adult) daughter was kind enough to add the herringbone shiplap, in the kitchen, for the backsplash! She did a remarkable job!! Thank you baby! It looks just like the one in our house!

Below is when Wes and I had just finished the feature wall in our kitchen, here in the barndo! Circa Fall 2021.


The photo below is a current photo of our barndo kitchen! Circa August 2023.

We used popsicle sticks and cut off the round edges for the wood feature wall. You can check out that blog of how to diy here.

Next, my oldest daughter began working on the lower kitchen cabinets. She used thin sheets of craft wood from Hobby Lobby, that she cut with a knife. She even made an oven, stove top, farmhouse sink and fridge! Painted it all with leftover house paint! I did buy gold craft paint to use, as well.

Master Bedroom 

Next, I began working on the master bedroom wood geometric feature wall! First, I made a “boho” wall hanging, just like the one in our master bedroom!

It was super simple to use balsa wood! Easy to cut and I glued on with wood glue! Painted with left overpaint from the master bedroom.

The bed is from Mountain Grove Timber. It comes unfinished and easy to assemble. I spray painted ours black, to match ours in our master retreat.

Loft

For the upstairs “loft” bedroom, I added a feature wall with leftover wallpaper from the girls room. The doll beds are repurposed from left over wood & mirror are from Melinda Lundberg’s shop, Mountain Grove Timber. She has so many beautiful wood pieces in her shop! The rug is a piece of fabric that I bought from Hobby Lobby. I made all of the bedding, mattress and pillows from a piece of fabric from Hobby Lobby. I also used drop cloth fabric for some of the bedding, curtains, pillow, sofa slip cover and table runner. I bought a piece of foam from Hobby Lobby and cut pillows and mattresses with it.

Living Room

I asked my husband to make a L-shaped sofa like ours from scrap wood.

I made all of the cushions, slip covers and pillows from drop cloth fabric, sponges and furniture foam.


The ceiling in the living room is made to match the ceiling in our living room from Barnwood USA. They carry reclaimed barn wood products! We had a couple left over pieces, so I cut them, then hot glued, to the doll house living room ceiling. I made the ceiling fan from a craft paint top and popscycle sticks then used hot glue to stick all of it together. Hot glued straight to the ceiling, to “hang”!

Bathroom

For the bathroom, I kept it simple, for now. I found the toilet from the Dollar Tree. I found the signs and blanket ladder from Hobby Lobby, at Christmas-time. I made the curtains from drop cloth, twine and barn wood by hot glueing in all the right places.

We built a vanity from balsa wood from Hobby Lobby, then I hot glued everything together, then stained! We added a cut piece of a plumbing pipe, for now, as the sink. The mirror is from Mountain Grove Timber. It came unfinished and I spray painted it black!

I bought the tub from Target. The tub came as a Barbie Doll set.

Laundry Room

I asked my husband to cut me a couple pieces of 2×4’s to Barbie sized washer and dryer. I added “doors” with a cut small piece of barn wood then painted everything to match our Speed Queens! I found the vintage doll laundry items while antiquing with three of my daughters in Waco, TX at Cameron’s Trading. It makes a wonderful addition, if your headed to Magnolia. You can read all about that blog, here.

Dining Room 

I asked my husband to cut a dining room table from a piece of extra wood that I had leftover from Mountain Grove Timber. I used small pieces of scrap wood for the table legs. I painted and stained the pieces then hot glued together. I found the chairs from Hobby Lobby but took out the legs and added my own balsa wood legs. Gave them a quick, spray paint in black! I printed a photo of all four of our girls and made a “frame” from the left over barn wood and “hung” with twine and a mini nail. It looks just like the photo in our dining room! You can peep my IG for all the photos! I even added a barndominium “beam” in our dining room and kitchen area of the doll house.

Exterior Siding, Roof and Windows

The “siding” is just this wood from Home Depot. I nailed these pieces into the doll house.

The roof “shingles” are just these pieces of wood from Amazon. The windows are also made from this wood. I painted the exterior with leftover paint from the build, here in our barndo.

Conclusion 

I really enjoyed being able to repurpose and create a doll house, with the kitchen set and table/chairs set that we built over ten years ago! I want to thank my daughters for all of their help in creating this doll house and making all of our Barbie dreams, come to life! We hope that our family will get use out of this doll house for years to come! If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out! You can find all of my videos under my highlights tab on IG! You will find out how we transformed this kitchen set into the first ever, Barbie Barndo!

Trimming Our Farmhouse Christmas Tree


“This blog post is sponsored by Old Time Pottery and reflects my personal views and opinions on the products.”

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Trimming our Christmas trees has always been a favorite in our home! Yes, I did say trees. We have had up to seven Christmas trees in our home! I have always enjoyed Christmas!! From trimming the trees to our youngest placing the angel on top of our family tree to baking and decorating homemade gingerbread houses together. I love it all and I really want to create those special memories with my four daughters.

Shopping for Trees and

Trimming 

One of my favorite places to shop for items to trim our trees with is Old Time Pottery! They also have so many different varities of trees to choose from as well, like my white Christmas tree! This year, they have a wonderful selection of farmhouse items like ribbon rolls, bows and wood ornaments!

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I was like a kid in a candy shop! I decided to use a couple different varieties of their wood snowflakes and joy ornaments .

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I thought instead of garland that I would use some of their Christmas grennery picks. I found these and thought they were perfect to give contrast to the white Christmas tree. 

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I also wanted to grab three rolls of their black and white farmhouse ribbon rolls.  It is so easy to trim with ribbon! Start at the top of your tree with your ribbon and go down the tree about two to four inches and pinch the ribbon, gathering with one of the branches. You can easily make your own ribbon topper by gathering  and licking an entire roll of ribbon!

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Here I’m about half way through the roll of ribbon.

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Tie the end with jute twine! Now I just need to add it to my tree and fluff to my liking!

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I also grabbed three of their pillows that you can use from Christmas through February! Add them to the floor by your Christmas tree, where it can be the perfect spot for curling up and drinking hot cocoa! Head on over to our IG and you can see a full video of the trimmings of the tree! 

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I hope ya’ll have enjoyed trimming your tree with me, this holiday season!  If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out! On behalf of Old Time Pottery and our family, we hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday season!

❤️~Shae 

THE BILTMORE AT CHRISTMAS

THE BILTMORE AT CHRISTMAS

We all dream of that perfect holiday season. The one filled with family togetherness, Christmas trees with lights, homemade hot cocoa and Christmas movies. Often times, the reality of the Christmas holidays can bring on endless busyness. I believe that in order to fully appreciate the holidays, taking a family Christmas vacation can really help set our sights, in perspective of a truly beautiful family holiday. This helps us to step away from the day-to-day and set it in another light.

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Christmas at the Biltmore

The weekend after my fourthieth birthday, we packed the car and had our eyes set for the stunning Asheville, North Carolina, the backdrop of George Vanderbilt’s famous estate.

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This is the Biltmore’s 125 year of welcoming guests into the estate. The Biltmore begins decorating in November with more than 60 Christmas trees, 13,000 ornaments, thousands of lights, beautiful poinsettias and ribbons all adorn the majestic estate.

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On the front lawn of the Biltmore House, a breathtaking, 55-foot-tall Norway spruce with 45,000 plus lights and is lit for the candlelight evenings.

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In the Banquet Hall of the Biltmore House, a 35-foot Fraser fir Christmas tree is brought in by 50 helpers! It is even replaced mid holiday season to ensure a fresh tree. The replacement tree arrives to the house by 4 AM and decorated by the time the first guests arrive by 9 AM. The tree is decorated with 500 ornament, 500 lights and 500 packages, as George Vanderbilt decorated the tree.

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History of Christmas at the Biltmore

George Vanderbilt and his wife, Edith along with their daughter, Cornelia, spent many Christmases together in the Biltmore House, creating many traditions that continue today. George Vanderbilt’s descendant s, the Cecil family, now the estate’s owners and caretakers, host the annual employee holiday party, just like the Vanderbilt’s did. The Vanderbilt’s also made sure that each employee’s child had a Christmas gift and the Cecil family continues this tradition today. Records even show that Edith Vanderbilt kept notes on what gift each child received every year to avoid repeating gift in the years to follow. The lists still exist, as well as receipts from FAO Schwartz detailing some of the toys and games she purchased. 

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The Biltmore at Christmas

Throughout the house and other buildings on the estate, you will find 55 plus decorated Christmas trees, each created by Biltmore designers, all with different themes each year.

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Every detail of the estate is covered in Christmas cheer and almost every room in the home has it’s own Christmas tree.

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Not only is the home absolutely stunning with Christmas decor, the exquisite details of the estate will wow just about anyone!

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From the medieval tapestries, some dating back to the 1500’s, the detailed wood prints, exquisite paintings, 70-foot ceilings to the 10,000 rare volume priceless library!

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Estate Shops: Carriage House Shop

After touring the Biltmore House, we walked over to the Carriage House to find our keepsake ornament of the trip. We found many beautiful ornaments such as handpainted glass, wood and porcelain.  We also picked up a book about the Biltmore and I have enjoyed reading the history of the Vanderbilts.

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Estate Shops: Toymaker’s

My youngest daughter was jumping at the chance to head to the Toymaker’s toy shop! She chose a stuffed Cedric dog, which was the family dog of the Vanderbilts! I also picked up a couple pencils and a pen as souvineers.

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Estate Shops: Confectionery

Why not induldge yourself with an array of treats at the Confectionery candy shop!

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Our family chose several chocolate treats and they were worth waiting in line! From cookies to truffles, our family enjoyed grabbing a few of these before heading home!

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TIPS FOR VISITING THE BILTMORE

I did not wear tennis shoes but I would definitely recommend it! Purchase your tickets before you go! Purchase an audio for your visit. Allow time to get park and ride the bus to the estate.

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FINAL THOUGHTS

The Biltmore is a stunning place! We loved Asheville and will definitely be back! We may even make it a yearly tradition!  

Love, Shae 

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Styling a Full Length Mirror with Greenery and Florals

It’s always fun when I challenge myself with Thrift Store Challenge. The rules are that I  have to find an item from a thrift store, garage sale, estate sale, flea market or heck, even from the side of the road and share how I styled it in our homes!

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One of my favorite ways to fill a wall or add extra light to a space is through the use of mirrors as decoration! I love hunting for mirrors when I go browsing estate sales or on our local trade sites, but this time, I found a larger scale Kirklands mirror on Facebook Marketplace for $40. This mirror retails for $100 at Kirklands! Score!

I knew I wanted to place the mirror on my staircase landing, plus I decided to style my mirror with greenery and florals! I had the greenery on hand but purchase the Vintage Peonies from Amazon.



 For the greenery, I used Frosted Eucalyptus Garland  from Hobby Lobby.  They are only $10 when on sale for 50% off! I used two of these.

 I also used  Eucalyptus Leaf Garland from Hobby Lobby.  They are also only $10 each when they are on sale. I used two of each of these.  I took one of each of the Frosted Eucalyptus Garland and one of the Eucalyptus Leaf Garland and intertwined those, then placed over the top of my mirror. I tucked a few pieces of the Frosted Eucalyptus Garland behind my mirror to help secure it. Then I used one thin nail to hammer into the wall.  Next, I added the second set of combined Frosted Eucalyptus and the Eucalyptus Leaf Garland. I also tucked pieces of the Frosted Eucalyptus behind the mirror and I also sort of “hooked” on the second eucalyptus to the first eucalyptus pieces. You can also use mini command hooks to hook onto the mirror.


Next I grabbed my Vintage Peonies that I purchased from Amazon. I took apart all the Vintage Peonies and decided where I wanted to place them. I wanted to have several in the left hand corner as my focal point of the floral and greenery. I decided the best way to attach the flowers would be to add a tiny dab of hot glue to each flower and press in place until dry.


I have a video tutorial over on my IG.  Check it out to see how it all came together! I hope y’all have enjoyed this tutorial!

❤️-Shae

Easy DIY Valentine Pillow

Easy DIY Valentine Pillow

0E4E9784-010B-428F-9635-8AE481C48BFFToday is our monthly blog hop, challenging us to find an item from a thrift shop, estate sale, garage sale, rummage sale, yard sale, antique shop, Craigslist or FB Marketplace. Hosted by Tara from  Stilettos And Shiplap  and Emily from Le Cultivateur. Several months ago, I found 8 down pillow inserts on Facebook Marketplace for $10 and they all came from Pottery Barn! Retails for $18.00 each! Plus, they were machine wash and dry!

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I think that pillows are the stuffed animals for adult women! HA!

2CE344A1-E504-4C1E-9473-157350398A51A couple of months ago, I decided to make new pillows for our sectional sofa. The pillows that came with the couch were just not really my style. I definitely needed something more neutral. I immediately knew that canvas painter’s drop cloths would be the fabric that would be super affordable and durable with a large family! I already had a drop cloth on hand from Lowes that was around $12 from that project, so I decided to use it for this project. When I made the new pillows for the couch, I knew I could always accent those pillows with a few seasonal pillows.

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I knew for my Valentine’s decor this year, that I wanted to make a few neutral decor pieces for my home. Painter’s canvas drop cloths is seriously my best friend. They are machine washable and dryer safe! I start off by washing my drop cloths to soften them up a bit. For the Valentine’s pillow, I just made a template for the xo and cut it out of paper. I then placed the paper template on top of the canvas drop cloth and traced around each letter with a pencil. Next step was to just cut out the x and the o.

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For the pillow cover, I decided to do a invisible zipper but you could always do an envelope closure, as well. I basically used a pillow cover from the sofa pillows, as my pattern.

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My pillow inserts were 18 inch squares so I decided to make 20 inch square pillow covers. Cut two of the same size square’s for your pillow cover. I basically layed my “pattern” onto the drop cloth and cut twice.

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Pin the x and o onto one of your pillow covers.

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Then sew the x and o onto the pillow cover. If your doing a zipper closure, with right sides together, sew in your invisible zipper.

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Leave enough of your zipper unzipped to place your hand through to turn the pillow right side out, after you’ve sewn around all the edges. Next, sew all of your edges or seams. I left 1/4 allowance for seams.

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Next, turn your pillow, right side out, by placing your hand through the zipper. Place your pillow insert into your pillow cover and your done! Pretty simple!

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I hope you find our Thrift Store Hop inspirational! Please hop on over to the other ladies and see what they’ve found this month for our Thrift Store Challenge!

Love, Shae

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Thrifted Treasure ~ January

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https://throughavintagedoor.com/thrift-store-find-January/

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Antique Hutch Makeover – January Thrift Store Challenge

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https://barnhousemess.wordpress.com/2020/01/19/thrift-store-challenge-vintage-chest

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https://wordpress.com/post/clochesandlavender.com/12411

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Thrift Store Challenge – January, Pub Table Makeover

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Vintage Desk Makeover – Painted Furniture

Inspiration for a Winter Home

Inspiration for a Winter Home

Today I was invited by my friend Terrie , for a January Challenge on giving our readers inspiration for warming up your home for winter. Challenge accepted! Styling my home for winter has definitely been a first for me, but I am enjoying how much warmer, my home feels!4C95C543-D3C9-41D4-94A7-B397BE404746.png

I started by adding several small flocked trees that I purchased from Target this year. I believe the smaller ones were only $3 and the larger ones were $5.  I love antique crocks and decided to add the flocked trees to my vintage crocks. Most of my crocks are from both of my grandmother’s homes. I also decided to keep out several different varieties of greenery, along with my candles. I added flocked greenery and lambs ear to my grapevine wreath that is hanging on my antique door. The door was  found on facebook marketplace for $5 and originally painted brown. I stripped all the paint with Citristrip and was left with an antique milk paint base. I originally had the door in our master bedroom in the corner, but with January here, I was ready to start rearranging!

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For the mantel, I wanted to leave my mirror and a couple different types of garland, along with a couple flocked trees. The mirror was purchased for $1 at a rummage sale and you can see how I transformed it, Here . I made all of my pillows from canvas drop cloths. I plan to have a blog out on how to make them, this month. My vintage ski “wreath” is another afternoon diy! Fun and budget friendly! Our family pup wanted to get cozy for this picture!

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Another view of our living room, if you just want to keep it simple, just add greenery, flocked trees and throw pillows. I often find myself craving simplicity this time of year as well.

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Thank you for joining us for our January Challenge! I hope you take the time to visit the other ladies and see how they have made their home feel cozy for winter!

❤️-Shae

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https://decorateandmorewithtip.com/?p=24989&preview=true

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https://olympicnest.com/blog/5-frugal-and-quick-winter-decor-ideas-cozy-diy-winter-decor
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http://www.patinaandpaint.com/diy-challenge

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http://www.thetaborhood.com/blog/warm-your-home-up-this-winter

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https://cdscountryliving.com/5-ways-to-warm-cozy-up-your-home-for-winter/

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https://clochesandlavender.com/

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https://www.blessingsbyme.com/?p=4678

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https://shadyoakandsassafras.com/?p=915

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https://jessicabsimmons.com/

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Painting Kitchen Cabinets

Painting Kitchen Cabinets

If you have noticed the cost of all new kitchen cabinets, renovating your kitchen can be one of the most expensive projects when renovating your home. When deciding to turn our kitchen into our dream, we knew we would be on a budget. I did not have a set budget in mind, but let’s just say my budget goes a little something like this…as cheap as possible. You can see the full kitchen renovation blog Here . I knew I wanted to keep the cabinets because they were made of real wood. I chose white kitchen cabinets with light distressing. I also wanted to paint the inside of my cabinets as well. When we moved into our home, 5 years ago, the cabinets were painted a latex white on the outside but not painted on the inside. Below is the before photo of our kitchen, the day we purchased our home!

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If you have followed along with me for awhile, you can see throughout my blog, my love for chalk paint. As durable and hardy that chalk paint is, I knew it would be a great choice for kitchen cabinets.

First things first, we removed all of our items from the inside of the cabinets.

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Next, we began removing all hardware, doors and drawers.

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I gave all of the cabinets a good wipe down with soap and water. Next, I mixed up my homemade chalk paint recipe. I always use Sherwin Williams brand paint. You can find that recipe here .  I painted the inside of all the cabinets with one coat then lightly sanded and wiped with a damp cloth.

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I repeated these steps until I had three coats of paint on the inside of all the cabinets.

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The next item of agenda was to paint the outside of all of the cabinets with two coats of paint, with light sanding in between and a wipe down with a dampened cloth.

I only needed two coats of paint on the outside of the cabinets because my cabinets were already painted white before I began painting.

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Next we painted the cabinet doors and drawers. We set up an assembly line in our garage. We used 2×4’s to lay the doors on to help make sure we didn’t get drips.

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If you do come back and found that you’ve gotten a few drips, you can sand it down and paint over that spot. It’s not a big deal but does make a little more work for you. After the first side of the cabinet doors were painted with two coats of paint, light sanding in between and wiped down, I waited 24 hours before flipping over the the second side of the cabinet doors. The second side received the same treatment as the first side.

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After finishing the cabinet doors, we moved on to the cabinet drawers. The inside of the drawers had never been painted, so they received three coats with light sanding in between and a good wipe down, after each coat. Next, we moved on to the outside of the cabinet drawers.

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They received two coats of paint with light sanding and a wipe down in between coats.

At this point, I felt like I could finally begin to see the light 🙌🏼 It took us about two weeks for myself, the hubs and our two adult daughters,  to all work on the cabinets! Much longer than I anticipated!

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Here came the fun part! I wanted to go ahead and place all of the cabinet doors and drawers back on, so I could precisely decide where I wanted to distress. I used my orbital sander to lightly sand on the inside of the cabinets. Then I used 120 grit to sand all the edges of the cabinet doors and drawers, where it would naturally wear. I don’t like super heavy distressing but I would say this is light to medium distressing.

Before (The day we purchased our home.)

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After (Current view with Christmas decor.)

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We are absolutely loving how our cabinets and entire kitchen has turned out!! We absolutely get so much JOY from our home DIY renovations. I hope you have enjoyed reading and we hope to inspire you!

❤️-Shae