This recipe is one of my go-to's in the summer. It is fresh and fairly easy. You will definitely want to Pin this and add it to your recipe folder! I adapted this recipe years ago from a similar Martha Stewart recipe. Shred…
It's Summer Vacation here in my area. If you follow me on Instagram @ElevenGables, you would see that my family endured a violent stomach virus this last week of school. Everyone was back to school in time for the last day! I even gat…
It's Summer Vacation here in my area. If you follow me on Instagram @ElevenGables, you would see that my family endured a violent stomach virus this last week of school. Everyone was back to school in time for the last day! I even gathered myself and made an appearance at the parties. It was an absolute army crawl to the finish line, but we made it! Hooray!
The boys are actually really excited to have a schedule. They immediately went to their rooms and tidied them. Then they begged me to check them and grade them on who's was the best! I was stunned to see my four year old put away all of his clean laundry (a full basket)!! It wasn't folded, but it made it to the appropriate drawers. Bonus! We celebrated with a picnic lunch at the Pond!
(ignore the cupola sitting on my porch... It was damaged in a hailstorm and that is where it sits until it reaches the top of my to-do list. Also no lanterns, but the electrician should be installing all light fixtures this Tuesday)
So, with today being our first day of summer, the boys and I sat down to write out some fun activities they would like to do these next couple of months.
This is the list so far....
We also discussed having a schedule this summer (I am very unstructured, so I need this as much as they do). They helped me come up with the times and activities for their days.
This is a rough draft of what the schedule will be.
We are going to try it out and make adjustments as needed.
You will notice on Instagram that I am considering homeschooling as an option, (sick boy on the porch--no furniture yet)
so I thought this summer was a perfect time to see if I could get my act together.The boys are actually really excited to have a schedule. They immediately went to their rooms and tidied them. Then they begged me to check them and grade them on who's was the best! I was stunned to see my four year old put away all of his clean laundry (a full basket)!! It wasn't folded, but it made it to the appropriate drawers. Bonus! We celebrated with a picnic lunch at the Pond!
My heart is full. I am looking forward to many days of summer!! (check on me in August!)
I know this post has nothing to do with my house or remodel, but I just wanted to give you a little glimpse behind the scenes.
If you insist on seeing what went on with Eleven Gables, the house, today...
We have GUTTERS!! (I'll do a post soon about the tennis ball size hail that hit our home at the tail end of our kitchen remodel)
Just in time for a nice little rain!
Happy Summer, sweet followers!
Don't you hate it when your favorite candle burns to the end leaving precious remnants of fragrance behind? No? Then stop right here and go buy yourself another candle! Yes? Then this post is for you! To be fair, I used to throw o…
Don't you hate it when your favorite candle burns to the end leaving precious remnants of fragrance behind? No? Then stop right here and go buy yourself another candle! Yes? Then this post is for you! To be fair, I used to throw out candles all the time until I thought about using my warmer! Why hadn't that ever dawned on me?! That is why I am writing this post to share with YOU now!
I am at the end of my favorite candle and have a quarter inch left of wax!
This is so frustrating. Enter my wax warmer.
Simply scoop out some of the wax from the candle container
And put it in the wax warmer. I use two to three tablespoons.
Still have enough left to last a few more times!!
Plug in the warmer (never leave the warmer on unattended) and enjoy your fragrance for many more hours!!
On a side note, I think I need to find a prettier warmer :) Any suggestions?
What do you do when you are left with extra wax in your candle?
Leave me a comment or question! I love to hear from my readers! Follow my blog and I'll follow you right back!
xo,
Emily
Today, I am going to share a little of the beginnings of my formal half bath remodel. The previous owner of my home picked Victorian decor for the interior. Which means lots of cherry woodwork. We redid/repainted the kitchen &a…
Today, I am going to share a little of the beginnings of my formal half bath remodel. The previous owner of my home picked Victorian decor for the interior. Which means lots of cherry woodwork. We redid/repainted the kitchen & keeping room woodwork, but opted to keep the cherry woodwork (for now) throughout the rest of the house.
This is my front half bath... It is dark, dark, dark. I have always loved the tulip sink by Kohler, but the cabinet is so ugly and the dark, red/burgundy wallpaper is even darker in person. There is a nice, large window in this bathroom, but for privacy, needs a pretty good size curtain on it.
(I have to apologize for the grainy cell phone photos. I am rather new to this blogging adventure and didn't realize iphone pictures turn out so terrible in blog land) I'm sorry, I will do better next time!
I purchased the mirror back in college from Bombay Company (do they still exist?)... I love the creamy finish with gold guilding.
The cabinet is just plain worn out. I have been searching for an antique cabinet with a marble top for years (still searching), but have yet to find something that suits this spot. Our family really doesn't use this half bath, so the priority level has been pretty low. It is a mishmash of leftover decor from my "shabby chic" days.
Recently, while home bound with contractors all over the house, I decided to paint the cabinet and see where it took me. I purchased Annie Sloan pure white and old ochre. (French Linen is a color i used for another project... As seen on my Instagram account @ElevenGables) I also purchased the clear and dark waxes. I had some gilding wax leftover from the same IG project. I thought I'd use the gilding wax to try to match the finish of the mirror.
This is a sample I painted to see if I could get a similar look. It matches perfectly! Oh the joy! This paint really is magical!
First, I painted three coats of Annie Sloan pure white to the cabinet. I should have sanded more at first and in between coats because the stain was super flakey. Annie Sloan Paint is pretty thick going on. I knew I wanted a piece that looked like it had been around a hundred years or more with lots of thick paint.
Next, I painted a watered down coat of Old Ochre.
It is getting there, but not quite as covered as I would like. I sanded this coat a tiny bit, then painted one last coat of Old Ochre.
I couldn't believe how well the color matched the mirror!! Almost done..
I put a coat of wax on the piece, polished it then applied another coat of wax.
I tried using the dark wax with a tiny paintbrush, but quickly realized this wasn't the look I was wanting. A little more clear wax and the dark wax came right off! That garbage bag of my husband's old t-shirts sure was coming in handy.
Next, I used the gilding wax with a tiny paintbrush to apply highlights to the piece. I used my finger to rub it in, then I used another t-shirt with a tiny bit of clear wax to remove a little bit of the gold wax. It gave it a perfectly worn look. Zooming in here so you can see the detail of the gold, but it's pretty blurry.
Put on your sunglasses... this red is blinding!
It turned out better than I ever expected. I am now on the hunt for some gorgeous wallpaper. I can't wait to show you the finished bathroom!!
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