It’s finally time to show you the end result of what started as a blank slate spotted with many green paint samples. We have been going about our home renovation one room at a time, so for the past few years this guest room just had a bed! I was so excited to work on a space from scratch as that usually isn’t the case. However, I started at 9 months pregnant making one too many trips to the paint store before admitting I would need some help with this one. We partnered with Modsy to help design this space, and was so happy to have a fresh perspective on it. Today we are sharing the before, during, and after photos that brought this space to life!
When we took a poll, by far the most requested gift guide genre was for the menfolk! The father in laws, husbands, brothers, etc. Gabe and I joined forces on this to bring you both practical and unique finds in the outdoors, travel, home, and hobby categories. So here you are! 30 gift ideas for the guys!
1. Piscifun Fishing Tackle Bag – The most versatile tackle bag I have ever come across, allowing it to be used as a handbag, chest bag, crossbody backpack, or shoulder sling bag. The extremely well thought out design has ample storage space and perfectly placed loops and fasteners for attaching tools and small gear. Available in two sizes.
2. The Coleman Micro Packer Lantern – A lightweight (roughly 7oz), compact (roughly 7in tall) backpacking and emergency lantern that is great for short camping trips and night time excursions.
3. The Stanley Classic Flask is an all stainless steel flask perfect for keeping a stiff drink on hand to warm up the insides on a cold rugged day in the great outdoors.
4. Arc’teryx Adahy Hooded Fleece Jacket – An amazing base layer jacket that provides excellent moisture wicking and flexibility when layering in cold weather, yet rugged and warm enough to wear on its own on a cool day.
5. Hults Bruk Tarnaby Hatchet – Swedish hand forged all purpose hatchet, great for packing, camping, and even light chopping. Being from Sweden, it is probably made by a descendent of the mighty Vikings!
6. The Kershaw Scallion Pocket Knife – Made in the USA with high carbon stainless steel. It holds a great edge and is very versatile. It is just about the perfect pocket knife.
7. The Lansky Blade Medic – A must have for any outdoorsman or frequent cutting tool user. Its compact well thought out design makes it easy to keep cutting edges (such as the amazing Kershaw knife above) sharp with minimal effort.
8. LifeStraw Go Water Bottle back – Uses a microbiological filter to remove the nasty stuff from water, meaning you can put river/pond/lake/stream water in the bottle and it makes it safe to drink.
9. Carhartt Acrylic Watch Hat – A rugged hat from a rugged company, and it keeps your head warm. ‘Nough said!
10. The Pendleton Camp Blanket – An extra large, super soft wool/cotton blend blanket that is nothing short of divine. On top of that the quality is second to none and comes with a lifetime guarantee.
11. The LifeStraw Personal Water Filter – A brilliant little device that should be in every outdoors man’s emergency kit. It allows you to drink water directly from nearly any source.
12. The Jomst Personal Charger – A dual function compact device that functions as a power bank for electronic devices as well as personal heater, providing up to 12 hours of warmth.
13. The Hiluckey waterproof battery pack and solar charger – Allows a smartphone to be charged up to 10 times before the power bank needs to be recharged! It’s ability to recharge through solar power makes it a valuable item in an emergency situation.
Considering the last few months have been a blur of recovering from a new baby, keeping up with school functions, costumes for Halloween, easing back into work, etc…Gabe and I have had approximately zero quality time. It’s easy to let months go by just trying to keep up with life, and not scheduling any time together outside of work or parenting. So we booked a last minute airbnb and headed for the mountains outside of Asheville.
Gabe grew up in the Milwaukee area, miles from where Brown Bag Apple Pie recipe originated. Today we wanted to share a family recipe with that we hope can bring some goodness to your holiday tables this year.
I love when Gabe and I get the chance to work on a project together. I knew in my head what I wanted the outcome to be, and thanks to some sketches, visuals, and lots of problem solving, Gabe make it come to life! Today he is share the DIY for these decorative wall panels he constructed and installed in our master bedroom. This is a fairly easy process that takes between one to two weekends depending on how you decide to try it! (More explanation on that in a moment.)
The key to this project is precision when making any cuts to ensure nice tight joints and lines…which is not hard if you have the patience:)
It squeezes my heart to write that Chiara is already 7 weeks old! I am so acutely more aware with each baby how fast this cherub phase flies by. This time around I did more reading on the first 40 days after having a baby, and made sure to prepare for the “fourth trimester.” Today I wanted to share some thoughts and resources on recovering from birth in a fast paced culture, and navigating being a self employed working mother of 6. It’s a lot to unpack, so this will most likely be a series we share in the next few months.
I would skip Halloween any day to get to Christmas, but we take this holiday as an excuse for laughter and building family memories. I didn’t think we could swing it this year, but when the kids asked what we were going to dress up as this year I couldn’t turn them down! They haven’t even seen the movies, but Veronica suggested Harry Potter. So a Hogwarts Halloween it was….
