Chandelier

Posted on March 29, 2016 by Kim Halloran-Fry

There was some thrifty DIY home improvement going on this last weekend. A couple weeks ago I was wandering through Hobby Lobby's deep discount aisle and found this fixture For less than $20. We have been talking about putting something over the table but were hesitant to do anything too permanent since the room is originally a family room and our table is not centered in the space. Still I hoped for a piece that would work and coincidentally also really truly dislike our family's advent wreath. When a facebook friend mentioned a four candle chandelier option I was determined to find such a thing, thinking that in December it could have colored candles and do double duty as a hanging wreath.

Thank you kindly, Hobby Lobby.

Autumn in the Dining Room

Posted on September 20, 2015 by Kim Halloran-Fry

I can rarely get my um, stuff, together to do a proper Pinterest worthy tute. We were happy enough with the new centerpiece to at least share though. It's so simple you can sort of figure it out.

One thing I miss terribly about Europe is fresh flowers. They do have them here but they cost so much more to have on the table regularly. Since we really prefer natural, when I saw the bunches of wheat at Walmart I grabbed two ($4 each) thinking I would figure something out. This is what I figured out.

Grab the two bunches into one big bunch and wrap with a rubber band. Then shove an empty can inside to beef it up and stabilize. Give a slight twist. Wrap tightly with leftover Christmas ribbon because it matches the $1 gold charger you bought ten years ago and haven't used. Ok, maybe this isn't a universally applicable tute. ; ) But you get the idea. So for $8 we have a nice natural centerpiece for fall.

If you were here and looking left you'd see the fireplace wall. It was a major selling point for us. Major. I love this brick wall. Currently it holds my copper collection.

Copper was a fixture of British kitchens. I was gifted with some vintage pieces at our going away party. Goodwill locally netted the teapot, sugar, and creamer at the far end.

The pullback below. The china cabinet is dressed in blue in this house. (staging shelves is not my strong suit) Top right is the delft plate I stuffed in my suitcase when I came back from the Netherlands as a student. The dining chairs are still covered in nasty old green upholstery. It's on the list of home improvement projects. Til then, cropped out. Voila. : D

The vintage pictures to the left have hung someplace in my house since I found them in my Grams attic and finally persuaded her to let me have it. She found it in her century old farmhouse attic when they moved in in the 60's. We don't know who they are but when I suggested replacing them with our own old family portraits everyone freaked out. Actually it's rather wonderful now to honor whomever they are. They are family after all these years.

The quilt rack was a gift from my late Grampa when he was on a woodworking kick in retirement. It needs a quilt. Or some linen. Still thinking on that.

Lisa’s retreat

Posted on July 3, 2015 by Kim Halloran-Fry

It was flukey, this little detour. My friend Lisa and I have a knack for never being in the same place at the same time, yet we move in similar enough circles that the rest of our families have been. We have seen some of her clan at various camps. My husband and son even had brunch at her Las Vegas home not too far back when traveling through. Despite the fact both of us lived in Colorado for many overlapping years we were both so busy with homesteading and homeschooling and general child corraling that our paths only crossed online.

That changed this month when she arrived back to her new heartland homestead (after marrying off a daughter in Denver) just as we were coincidentally passing right by. Other women might have begged off but Lisa messaged me en route and urged us to stop on the way. The difference between a 49 year old husband and a 29 or even 39 year old husband? "Sure! Why not," says the 49 year old man. Yes, gone are the hurry hurry, stick to the schedule days. We have every bit as much to do as we ever had but perhaps enough perspective now to know we really want to make the time.

We were greeted out front by Penny, the Wonder Dog, who was a modern-day Nana of Peter Pan fame.

and strolled past the napping kitties…

to the place I had come to see….

Lisa is blessed with a bevy of ingenious and industrious offspring who had the vision and determination to refashion the old summer kitchen on the property into a mom's retreat, a writer's haven. It is cute as can be and screams Lisa from the minute you approach the door.

They had paid $75 to have a local electrician shore up the wiring. Then came the brilliant part for me. They found a local fence builder who happened to keep a large stash of old pickets. They repurposed them for pennies a piece to panel the interior.

Is this awesome or what?

There are whimsical Lisa touches everywhere you look. Just a feast for the eyes. She is all set up with coffee, wood stove, and enough reading to keep her out of trouble a good long time. Are you jelly? I am. : )

…and here we are finally, as we loaded up for the next adventure. I'm so happy to have been able to steal away an hour with this wonderfully witty fabulous redhead.

Setting the table – spring

Posted on April 7, 2015 by Kim Halloran-Fry

The home we are renting is furnished and actually furnished quite nicely. Most people would find this to be a great convenience and it really is. Except….it means there has been little opportunity for me as a diehard hunter/gatherer decorator. Since Christmas life has been transient and on the go. By Easter I was itching to make SOMEthing, to carve a tiny bit of personal creative space. The table seemed promising, so one girl and I ran out to see what we could make on a small time and resource and space budget. This is what we came up with.

Though I love bright clean color in other spaces it seems that at home I am drawn to earthy, subtle tones, much like the woods and trails we frequent and much like the old faded treasures we have collected. Probably no surprise we kept walking past the bold candy colored decorations right on towards the garden department, picking up bits of natural materials as we went.

We came home and smoothed out a $5 roll of burlap then topped that with an oblong grapevine wreath. Into that we stuffed some spanish moss. We tucked in a couple plaster birds and speckled eggs. It worked great for Easter dinner and will be perfect for some weeks to come.

Because we are all about simple, especially this month, we made an Easter dessert that fit right in. We picked up storebought vanilla cupcakes from the bakery and topped them with malted eggs. Cheating? Maybe. It all came together in minutes which meant more time on the trail – where my kids run back to show me more of same. (tiny nest dead center) Do you see a theme coming together here?