Sarah H.'s Profile

I'm curious about budget, too (for reno, not decor). Very lovely home you have made!

(Oh, I am a freelance designer, and was a designer well before having kids. I feel very fortunate that I could bend this career to fit the above for a few years! But it's true, many WAH-parents can't set own hours...)

A nice addition to all the fine approaches above, using one wire and one nail: put either little rubber feet or that blue tacky putty at the bottom corners on the back of the frame so that you can position your piece and it won't slide/shift afterwards.

Really love the garden with all its nooks and details - really seems to have evolved in an organic and unstudied way!

Sorry for the multi posts, but one more thing: we have two couches, one w/light colored canvas slipcovers and one w/dark nubby textured microfiber. You really can't see the scratches on the microfiber, whereas the slipcovered one looks terrible.

Learn to love the scratched furniture look :) One of my cats actually scratches the couch when inside, and hangs on the window screens when outside, to get our attention and let us know he wants in/out. *sigh* We keep trying to retrain him, but he has his own training regiment he's sticking to, and we're obviously his subjects. We have never had luck training our cats. Dogs, yes. Cats, no.

Some things that do actually work for us, in between the couch getting shredded so my cat can say "outside, please":
- diagonal scratching post with liberal catnip thrown in
- map out where they like to lay down, and then position attractive throws on those spots
baskets of blankets or socks for lounging
- covered litter box, turned toward wall and under ikea side table, hardly noticeable
- scoopable pine litter, better for air quality AND cat health (they won't breathe/ingest clay particulates, which used to make one of my cats vomit like crazy)
- if you have a dog and a dog bed, the cats will take over...if not, consider getting a dog and dog bed, it gives the cats a sense of place and hierarchy which they enjoy ;)
- DEFINITELY get one of the pet vacuums--i got a dyson 6 years ago and it has lasted, whereas the other vacs that preceded it each invariably lasted a year and then choked to death on pet hair
- ummmm...enjoy the imperfectly perfect home full of love your pets contribute to!

I have a love/hate relationship with my fixer-upper that has lost value, but I'll focus on the love: Since buying in 2005, this house has seen us marry, have children, welcome new friends and pets. We have laughed over silly jokes, cried over losing loved ones, hosted guests for wedding and births and funerals. We have run through the sprinklers, fed deer with our annual failure of a garden, blew bubbles, wrote on the patio with chalk, assembled cribs and bunk beds and bookshelves and desks. We have thrown birthday and holiday parties, camped in the yard, camped in the living room, painted pictures. We have worked until well after midnight, watched favorite movies, danced in the living room. I could go on- but you get the point. I hope your houses are also your HOMES. It takes the sting out of it being a 'bad investment'.

I've thought of doing this, but don't think my little old house is strong enough. Retrofitting would likely be out of the budget. But <3 #10: I want the green roof AND the goats on top!

Homeowners obviously love and HAVE FUN in their home - the most important thing! I also like the spaces for pursuing creative endeavors. Always great to see creative people LIVING instead of styling their lives <3 Continue to enjoy the evolution and the path, Tolly and Ross!

Mmmmm...made my own paneer once for palak paneer, really easy. Why didn't it occur to me that fresh mozz could be this easy? Thanks so much for posting this! Will be making *soon*.