Park Bench Restoration

I have always had a thing for park benches.

Maybe it's because they are made out of two of my favorite material:

wood and cast iron.

What's not to love about that?

Don't you just want to sit down and read a good book?

I do.

I was blessed to receive this bench.

It needed some TLC, as the wood was very dry and worn out and the cast iron showed some rust.

I used only 1 product to restore this 

Farmhouse Kitchen Island DIY

When we moved south, we had to sell and give away a lot of furniture. 

We could not move everything with us.

So, naturally, a few days after the move, I was already looking to buy some furniture pieces for our home.

I needed to find a wooden table or desk to be used as a kitchen island.

I know I had plenty of inspirational pictures on my Pinterest board.

I luckily found this table for only $15...and it was only a couple of miles from us.

Price and location were a plus, if you know the feeling of moving to a totally different area and not knowing were everything is.

I soon got to work to clean and sand it down.

I liked the patina, but you know...germs and

Fixer Upper Kitchen

Don't we all love a fixer upper kitchen?

Or fixer upper anything?

I surely do.

When we moved to South Florida,

we had to look for a fixer upper house.

That's what we could afford.

before

before

It seems a challenge for some people to look past what they see.

before

Not everyone has a vision of what could be.

Fortunately for me, 

I am a visionary at heart.

Always have and always will.

We lived in the house for about 5 months before we started the gut job.

During those months, I ripped up the floor and replaced it with the laminate 

(here what I used).

I changed out knobs and pulls and also replaced the appliances. 

In addition to that we went ahead and added new cabinets (that you see in the background in the following picture) in what was going to be the new kitchen expansion. 

demolition

demolition

I knew what I wanted to do with this kitchen, 

and I had most of the material priced, 

picked out (and even bought) 

before we ever 

The Dining Room

When we bought our home,

 there were two living areas, 

one was the formal living room, 

and the other was called the family room.

That said, there was only a dining area, a very small breakfast nook area...

and a really small enclosed kitchen.

Having an interior design background,

I decided that we needed to change up the floor plan a bit. 

So the plan of action was to remove the kitchen wall, expanding the kitchen to the

Laminate Floor

As I promised, I am starting to share our remodeling journey.

The day we signed the papers and got the key of our new home,

we immediately went over and started to remove the old carpet.

after

before (listing photo)

I had exactly 4 days before our container arrived, to remove ALL the carpet in the home and replace it with new flooring.

I had to get the floor done before we could move our furniture in.

before (listing photo)

after

To say that this was a stressful process is an

Florida Life

You know the saying "when life gives you lemons, 

make lemonade"...

well, lots of lemonade over here lately.

For the last 6 months we have been enjoying our new 

South Florida life.

That's right.

In November we sold our Nashville home 

and moved 1000 miles south and migrated to warmer weather.

We ended up buying a home down here that needed a major, MAJOR facelift.

I have done floors, lighting, electrical, plumbing, bathrooms and finishing up the kitchen.

I am beyond exhausted.

I will be sharing soon all that I was able to do.

For now, 

here a sneak peak of our home.

Stay Frugal,

Daniela

How to repair hardwood floor. A Beginners' guide.

Oh the joys to be a homeowner! 

Ever tackled a project you thought you could possibly: 

A- not be able to finish 

B- turned out not so good 

C- all of the above. 

Well, I have done plenty of both, but somehow, most of the times, the end results have been quite surprising.
Or at least decent.

Lately I have been in fixing mode. 

Yes, fixing is a verb in the south ya'll.

We have been in this house for over 11 years. When we ripped the carpet, 

we uncovered the linoleum floor. 

And when we removed the linoleum floor we uncovered the hardwood...

Chairs Rehab

Today I will share my chairs rehab story.

It kind of happen when I was not looking to replace our dining chairs.

But you know the moment you see something and you think 

"I like that!".

And the moment you realize that something is not expensive and sometime even free?

I know.

My usual reaction is

"SCORE!!"

So back to the chairs...I'll spare you the pictures of the completely before.

But this is the picture of the back of one seat.

Dry Creek Bed Landscape

This project was a way to control the flow of rainwater across our front landscape. 

Here my 4 easy steps to follow when installing a dry creek bed.

Dig a Trench

I started out by clearing the grass and digging the shape of the creek bed. You can use spray paint to mark out the shape of your creek bed, making it look as natural as possible. 

We already had a couple of  large boulders that surfaced when we had our water line replaced years ago, 

so I used them as a focal point.

Set Large Boulders

Most of you won't have boulders already in place, so find rocks and boulders of different sizes. 

For a more natural look, instead of lining the sides of the creek bed with rocks, try to create clusters of different size boulders along the river's edge for a more natural look.

Install Plastic or Weed Fabric

I used doubled clear plastic sheet overlapping it for complete coverage, and roof shingles at the base of our home foundation.

The shingles were placed partially against the foundation wall, to create a semi curve and help the water run off into the creek bed.

At this point I also planted a mix of tall grass and mulch.

Cardboard is an inexpensive (and free) material to use instead of weed fabric.

Make sure you wet the cardboard well before topping with mulch.

Fill with River Rocks

I used a mix of small rocks that I found for free and 3 bags of river rocks I bought years ago for a different project that never happened. 

p.s. call rocks landscaping businesses. 

They sell the nice natural stones for landscaping, but some of them will have a free pile of rocks that they can't use.

That's where I got all the landscaping rocks around our house.

Stay Frugal,

Daniela

13 more days to receive 15% off 

on your entire order from my

Etsy Shop (here) ,

when you use HOLIDAYS2016 at checkout.

Code expires on December 1st.

Most items and gift combos sell for $5-$20

Mascarpone Cream Dessert

Who does not like a super simple, fast and delicate dessert that will make you and your guests wanting more?

I am sure many of you had the Italian dessert known as Tiramisu'.

Well, this dessert is mascarpone cream without the coffee taste and the carbs (from the ladyfingers).

Given that Tiramisu' is my favorite dessert ever,

and given that I literally run on coffee and carbs,

I have to say that this mascarpone cream is pretty good too.

When I was in high school,

I worked for a little bit in the kitchen of a restaurant called 

L'Antico Giardino,

just outside Ferrara's city limits,

in Italy.

Every time I go back to Italy to see my family, 

I make sure I stop by to hug the owner

Signora Maurizia.

Such a sweet lady.

...end of rabbit trail...

At this restaurant they have this dessert,

and it was there where I had it the first time.

So, let's make it

Evolution of the Garage

Slowly but surely.

The idea started with turning our garage into living space + laundry room.

(our washer and dryer were already down there).

It has been a year since we started this process...

yes, we are taking our sweet time.

Right now we have a mess, but the concrete walls have finally drywall on it.

We had already done electrical and connected heat and air to this room.

The next couple of weeks will be finishing the walls, with second mudding, priming and paiting...

and floors???

Then the fun part of actually putting the room together.

When I say the next couple of weeks...

it does not really mean exactly that. 

It will probably take me longer...

much longer.

Remember when I said we are taking our sweet time?

don't worry. This has since been covered with plastic until further notice :)

But this is the mess in that room right now, 

so I am going to do my best to get this room in presentable conditions ASAP.

Here is the slow process in fast motion.

First of all I applied 2 coats

Cleaning a Wooden Deck (naturally and easily)

Do you have a wooden deck that is covered with green gunk?

Algae, mold, will grow on decks that are in the shade.

Our deck has been in need of some cleaning...

but I am happy to report that our deck is looking like new again.

I spent just a little over $1 to clean the entire deck.

I am not a fan of chemical cleaners, 

not inside nor outside the home.

So my quest for cleaning the deck came down to 

Pesto the Easy Way

When I start harvesting our basil,

it's a sign that Summer is here

(almost...the last few days we had much cooler temperatures)

I love basil.

 and yes...you can grow basil in pots.

Caprese salad.

Pesto requires few ingredients,

but make sure 

Decor Updates on a Dime (or less)

Most times the decor in our home is very simple...

original window frame from our Italian farm house, built by my great grandfather

but ALL the times, the decor is very inexpensive. 

books wrapped in brown paper and cotton twine
and
vinegar stain aged clothes pins (in 3 minutes, project HERE)

Most time free and/or handmade.

free pallet frame I built (HERE)

I haven't been able to keep up with the blog the last several months.

But that does not means that I haven't been doing things.

Beside working on the house, 

the garage transformation into a rec room (remember that?),

getting the 2 veggie garden areas prepared for Spring planting,

homeschooling the children,

feeding family and friends (my parents came from Italy to visit us pretty much the entire month of March)

...

I am also currently at week 13 (of 16 weeks) of my Spring Marathon Training.

This year I am doing an advance training plan,

which means I have ran about 550 miles in the last 3 months.

That has meant running 6 days a week (averaging 35 to 55 miles weekly),

early, early morning runs and early bedtime.

The blog has taken the backseat BIG time.

Here are some updated pictures of the kitchen and sunroom.

vintage olive jars and ceramic garlic/onions keeper

Most of the things were very inexpensive finds,

Italian farm family decor,

and things that I built myself.

wine glasses' rack (project HERE)

Needless to say,

It has been a BUSY year so far.

Looking forward to get back to "normal" life after my 26.2 miles race at the end of April.

...or maybe this has now become my new normal.

And I am ok with that.

Stay Frugal,

Daniela