Can it be mid-August already? Am I seeing school buses again? This must be the fastest year ever as it feels like I am in fast forward mode ALL the time. As you read this, I am at our mountain cabin, inspiring to relax. My visions of dinner outside and cooler temps will hopefully come true. Welcome again to another Saturday Meanderings, where we chat about all good and wonderful things.

Curious Results

My friends, Rick and Janie sent me a picture of their homemade tomato sauce. Hmmm. Rick, with 40 lbs. of tomatoes made 16 jars (pint) of sauce =32 cups of sauce. I, with 60 lbs. of tomatoes made 20 jars (pint) of sauce =40 cups of sauce. Wondering why my yield is less…Guessing that I probably reduced my sauce down more (but that much more?) could be the reason.

We’ve agreed to get together and do a taste test because if I can get the same flavor and consistency and more yield, I will note that for next year’s sauce making project. If you missed the post on the 4 Ingredient Tomato Sauce, you can see it here.

Look at these cute vintage holiday tea towels! Hester & Cook has a great selection this year. I am not sure how I will use them, but perhaps as a gift wrap for some fresh baked goodies? I just love the nostalgic vibe-it reminds me of my childhood. Natural 100% cotton and priced at $16.00 each. They measure 19″ wide by 33 1/2″ long. You can find them here.

Easy Summer Dessert

Trader Joe’s frozen pie crust is a staple in my freezer. With the abundance of fresh fruit like cherries and peaches, you can make this easy dessert with just a few ingredients.

Occasionally, when I unroll the TJ pie crust, it breaks apart. But since they package it between two large sheets of plastic wrap, I just take a rolling pin and do a few swipes over the plastic. The crust comes together nicely and then it is ready to use.

Pile the fruit in the middle with the suggested ingredients, curl up the edges of the pie crust, brush with a bit of egg wash and you are ready to bake.

Your friends and family will be impressed with your galette and they never need to know how easy peasy it is. I have made this recipe with cherries, peaches, apricots and apples. For the peach galette, here is the recipe from Serious Eats. And this yummy Rustic Cherry galette recipe is from She Wears Many Hats.

DIY-Vintage Bottle Labels

With fall and Halloween right around the corner, my friend, Rachel from The Ponds Farmhouse has a great tutorial about making these labels for your fall decor. Aren’t they amazing? See it here.

Kitchen Love

I love looking at pictures of kitchens. Often I dream about designing a new kitchen (not that I don’t enjoy mine) and what elements to include. The Scout Guide just posted a fabulous article about creating a timeless kitchen. There is some really great information. See it here. Also, as an FYI, The Scout Guide has publications in individual cities and you can own a franchise too. Check it out here.

Home Renovation

In 2004, I developed a home renovation/restoration business called Picket Fences, Inc. While pregnant with my third child and running errands, I had an ah-ha moment, pulled over to the side of the road, and quickly wrote down the beginnings of what would be a business plan for my company, Picket Fences. I love breathing new life into older properties and after many years in corporate America, this new adventure was right up my alley. Long before Fixer Upper or other HGTV shows became popular, I had a few home remodels under my belt.

The goal at that time was to buy one house per year in our mature neighborhood, improve it, sell it and make enough money to pay for the children’s tuition and one great family trip. It actually fulfilled my creative nature and allowed a flexible schedule while raising 3 children.

However, everyone started getting on the bandwagon and it became more and more difficult to find homes, at a reasonable price, and make a profit while maintaining my reputation and high standards. At first there was little to no competition. And then investment companies would pay more for properties, do really inferior work and “flipping” became the norm.

Here is an article from Apartment Therapy about 3 former house flippers who reveal why they quit flipping houses. If you think this is the occupation for you, please read this because it is filled with the realities of home flipping. It is not as glamorous as it seems. You can read it here.

To see the Before and After pictures of the restoration of a 1922 Jeffersonian home I did, click here.

Well, that wraps up another Saturday Meanderings. Thanks for joining me!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Welcome to the Room by Room series where I feature one room of our historic home in detail. Whether you call it a foyer, entryway or front hall, this is the area where you enter our home after you step through the front door. We are so blessed that this space is a good size ~ 12 feet by 16 feet.

The Front Door

I do believe this door is original to our home which is nearly 110 years old. This 6 raised panel solid wood door is a generous 4 feet wide and has the original brass hardware and ball tip final hinges. Just a quick note that the topiary cypress trees are faux and can be found here.

On either side of the door are side lights with 6 mullioned sections, which allows the eastern or morning sun into the front hall.

The Staircase

Once you cross the front door threshold, you are directly across from the staircase. The front entry acts as the center of a wheel with spokes leading to the several different areas of the house. The staircase leads to the second story and bedroom quarters. The mahogany handrail is worn smooth by many trips up and down the stairs over the past 10 decades. Memories are embedded in that railing and often, when my hand glides down it in the morning, I think of all the other people who have touched it during their lifetimes.

The Living Room

Once inside the front hall, and on your left, the wide opening to the living room gives you a glimpse of many original features, like the coffered ceiling. To read more about our living room, click here.

The Dining Room

Off to the right, opposite the living room, is the entrance into the dining room. During the home’s restoration, we discovered original pocket doors hidden in the walls. What a find!

The Powder Room

Adjacent to the staircase are two 5 panel doors~one leading to the small powder room; the other to the hall closet.

Before the restoration, this powder room was hardly functional. I recall a toilet seat with a celestial horoscope design on it and a full size vanity. It was impossible to sit without bumping your knees against the sink. However, we did keep the original push button toilet which allows for a nice hearty flush.

Since this room is so small, a tiny Kallista sink and custom scaled-down vanity is designed for the space.

Hall Closet

The other door is the hall coat closet (funny as we rarely wear coats here in Phoenix) that serves as a storage closet for many of my linens.

To see more fun storage tips and information on this closet, like a pulley system for lampshades, click on my post about this odd-sized closet here.

Hidden Storage

Another very unique feature in the front hall is the hidden space under the staircase. Not only is there a large area to store all my pillows and table leaves, but there is easy access to the powder room plumbing. On a rope and pulley system, the raised panel slides down below the floor.

To see more about this unusual yet clever space, click here.

Hall Table

The burl wood hall table with the mirror below is something I always refer to as a petticoat table. According to the Clermont State Historical Site, the reason behind referring to this as a petticoat table a myth. According the story, these mirrors are called “petticoat mirrors” and are installed to allow ladies to check to make sure that their petticoats were not showing beneath their skirts. Often located in hallways, where a woman would be entering or leaving a house, it seems sensible.

However, this is called a pier table. The purpose of the mirrors is decorative. Reflecting light around a room on highly-polished surfaces, including mirrors, glass, crystal pendants on chandeliers, or fine wood surfaces, was a way of demonstrating wealth. 

Regardless whether it is a petticoat or pier table, I have never seen another one like it and I have no idea how old it is.

Other Unique Features

Our home did not have any central air conditioning, but we did utilize the existing heating vents to retrofit the house with a modern heating and cooling system. The beautiful heating grates had been painted over in dated shades of pastel blue and pink. In order to bring them back to their original beauty, we found a resource to brass plate them.

The hardwood floor is original Canadian beech and is so solid and sturdy.

There are some interesting architectural details only found in the front hall. Angular corbels and trim detail delineates the transition from the hall and staircase unique.

Much to our dismay, the previous owners took all the original light fixtures. Selecting the right scale and style is a bit challenging, but this one works. The crystals tie into the much more elegant chandelier in the adjacent dining room. I cannot recall the resource for this.

Hard to believe that I did this cross stitch over 43 years ago…yikes. It hangs in our front hall, where we strive to open our doors to joy and love.

In the center of the front hall is a carved antique small drop leaf table. Typically I like to have fresh flowers and candles on this table. Our house rule is that the first 3 rooms (living room, dining room and front hall) of the house remain clean at all times. The rest of the house is fair game!

Thank you for joining me today for another episode of Room by Room. Have a happy Wednesday! Today I am picking up 60 lbs. of Roma tomatoes~you know what I’ll be doing this weekend!

Like every first impression, the entrance to your home says alot about you. Is it welcoming? Warm? Impressive? Easy to find? Often we take the entries of our homes for granted, because we are in and out of them frequently. So it’s time to step back and ask yourself the question, how can I create an impressive entrance?

Front Entry Update

Sometimes your entry needs a major facelift. This photo is our house prior to the extensive restoration. It is the only picture I found of the front door that shows the bare light bulb on the front porch. And back then, there were security bars on all the windows and doors.

With new house paint, removal of the security door and bars, new front door paint color, new light fixtures we transform the scary front of our home into something much more welcoming. Adding plants and a bench do add to the notion that we actually want you to enter the house and stay awhile.

To read a detailed version of the restoration of the front of our home, click here.

I must be attracted to home with security doors as the same appears at the 1922 home I restored in downtown Phoenix. Even with missing light fixtures and significant deterioration, this is still an impressive entry. Plus the front door does have wonderful opening sidelights for ventilation.

After all the white aluminum siding was removed, we found the original clapboard in good condition. The columns need significant work as does the under roof of the terrace.

Front Door Color

Sometimes a simple can of paint can really change up the look of your front door. Previously painted white, the double front doors look fabulous in this color red. For a more in-depth review of the historic Willetta restoration, click here.

Numbers

Here is the before and after of a remodel I did on a small ranch house. In addition to changing the front door, the house siding and removing the brick planter, note the old house numbers.

Here is the after with lots of changes. But the personal touch I love on this house is the custom made gold plated number 32. Made by an artisan in Connecticut, this is a unique look in Phoenix.

In lieu of a screen door, the shuttered door allows in light and ventilation to a rather dark entrance.

A Front Walkway

This is one of my first “for sale” remodels. There is a lot wrong with the entrance to this house. It needs a new door as the hollow core closet one makes no sense. The mixture of brick and stone confuse me. But because the house is so flat and linear, it desperately needs a welcoming walkway.

With a winding path of tumbled pavers, your eye goes directly to the front door (sorry for the quality of this old photo). The solar lights enhance the path at night.

Front Entry Decor

Each season I change up the decor on my front porch. A new wreath, pillows, a throw, new plants~anything to freshen it up for that time of year. To see more about this front porch re-do, click here.

Adding Pretty Elements

It doesn’t take much to freshen up your front entry. Recently, I painted the exterior fixtures and mailbox to our guest cottage. A simple project like this produces big results. To learn more about painting both these items, click here.

Know Your Home’s Architecture

In a small gated community here in town, I found this sweet patio home. However, the entrance does not fit with the style of the house. Between the dated French provincial front doors and the alpine-like peaked roof, I felt like yodeling every time I entered. The light fixture is 1980s. Structurally it looks wonky.

The wooden spindles and beams are removed. Columns are added and receive a coat of stucco. New fascia board gives the roof some beef.

With a new front door with sidelights, an appropriate scaled light fixtures and new paint the front door becomes the focal point in this entrance.

Here are some pretty entry pictures I did find on the internet. I just love all the window panes around this door.

In each photo, your eye is drawn to the front door…which is exactly what you want to achieve.

I hope this inspires you to spruce up the entrances of your home! Happy Wednesday!

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This post shared with Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday #648

If you recall, we recently had a major leak from the upstairs bathroom tub/shower and into our living room below. The bathroom is out of commission as a result. In order to find the problem, the plumber does damage the floor. To see that post, click here.

My very reliable tile guy, Rick, said he could patch it but it would look like a patch job. And the floor is over 20 years old. Instead, we decide to pull off the old tile and add a new floor. The subfloor around the leak damage also needs replacing too.

Selecting the Tile

Fortunately, we do have a Floor and Decor in town. Floor & Decor is a leading specialty retailer of hard surface flooring, offering a large selection of tile, wood, stone, and flooring accessories at everyday low prices. A big box store, I can touch and feel the product before buying it. And they let you return leftover tile!

The tile we selected I am now seeing everywhere I go. Not realizing its popularity, the timelessness of it is perfect for our bathroom. We try to make selections that are classic and appropriate for our 110 year old house.

Here is an older photo of the bathroom, taken when I painted our daughter’s bedroom black and white. See that post here. Notice the tile on the floor was installed in a rather crooked fashion. Overall this is a poor installation job.

The new marble tile goes quite well with the existing Carrera marble countertop.

Demolition

Rick tears out the existing tile~which is a messy job. Being a second floor bathroom, it takes lots of trips up and down the stairs to dump the debris.

Naturally, all the fixtures need to be removed first~the tub, faucets and toilet. Fortunately there is space in the nearby bedroom.

Installation

The original Hardy board backer on the floor is in great shape. And only the section near the tub’s drain pipe needs repair.

Here is the finished floor. While the tub is out, it is a good opportunity to scrub down the baseboard!

Since this floor is marble, we will more than likely add a penetrating sealant for protection.

The total cost of this unexpected leak is:

Plumber: $895.00

Cost of tile: $500.00

Tile Installation: $700.00

Now this is a good reason to have a Rainy Day fund! Thankfully, there is resolution to the problem and we are happy with the results.

Happy Wednesday!

This back staircase renovation is finally finished. What a bear. Truly, this project took so many twists and turns and over a year to complete. Thanks for visiting today to see the good, the bad and the ugly of the back staircase renovation. To see the original post back in August 2019, click here.

Deteriorated Rug

This all started when the quality of the sisal rug runner was deteriorating. With an active family, the life span of sisal on steps is about 8 years. This is the second installation of the same runner and quite frankly, even though I love the look, I am tired of replacing it every 8 years.

For some reason, Cooper loves laying on the top landing. With determination, he used his paws to release the rug from its glue and then folds it up underneath him. Go figure.

As you can see, it is quite the mess.

Rug Removal

The first task is removal of this rug only to reveal 2 layers of gross glue and hundreds of carpet staples underneath. Between the dust and fibers, it is a dirty job. However, the rug did hide several problems and imperfections, that are revealed for the first time.

Unforeseen Problems

Cracked stair treads, jury-rigged risers, some odd looking leveling material~all extremely unsightly. The walls adjacent to the stairs are plaster and the area where the wall meets the step is full of holes.

The original stairs have layers of old paint and stain. We did consider sanding them down to bare wood to stain them, but it appears some of the treads may be different woods. They would never take the stain evenly.

What Can be Done?

Since I believe in fixing problems, not hiding them, we realize we need a contractor to repair all of this. It took weeks to find someone (anyone) who wants to work on this. We finally get one bid and it is over $5,000. Sigh.

So the project sat for a few months while we debate what to do. I really do not want to glue down another rug. And the thought of seeing another carpet staple was unimaginable. Finally, determination is born out of frustration.

I will learn to plaster. How hard can it be? Like frosting a cake, so I think. The recommendation from the hardware store is to use Fixall. This spackling compound is a dry powder mixed with water. It works fine, however, I didn’t realize that when it dries, it really DRIES, hard and immovable. Very difficult to sand down but for the most part, my initial application is somewhat smooth. I only find out later that the better material would have been MH Ready Patch (and easier to sand down).

We remove the creepy glue with a heat gun; sand down the stairs; reinforce the broken treads with a hardwood overlay; replace the broken risers and sand down the weird leveling compound.

New Solutions?

Initially, our plan is to paint the stairs and then add a carpet runner. However, when I posted about that in July, a trusted friend questioned my choice in stair runner. This gave me pause. The last thing I want to do is add another runner that will need replacing in a few years.

Bad Lighting

We change plans again and the decision is made to just paint the treads and see where that leads us. While working for months in this space, I realize the lighting is just horrible. There is only one can light in the ceiling that is 16 feet high.

I call our electrician and ask if I can easily put a pendant light in place of a can light. He gives me the thumbs up and I purchase this one from Wayfair. We are scheduled to have the light put in by a professional and he cancels due to a last minute conflict.

So I google how to switch out a can light to a pendant and we do it ourselves. In retrospect it is very challenging because of the height of the ceiling and not having a flat plane to put a ladder. My husband gets extra points for this difficult installation. Hanging on a 6′ long chain, the light is now lower and illuminates the space so much better.

We hire our favorite painter, John Cruz to paint the walls a high reflective white Sherwin Williams SuperPaint~what a difference this makes!

Now it Echoes?

In the past, the staircase displayed a gallery of the children’s artwork. But they are no longer children and as sad as it is, the artwork is taken down to paint the walls. Interestingly, once the sisal runner is gone and all the children’s artwork is removed, this space sounds hollow and echoes. I realize now the role the rug and art played in absorbing noise.

After the steps are properly sanded and cleaned and walls taped off, I paint the treads a dark navy blue and the risers a bright white (same as the wall color). The navy paint is a premium exterior latex enamel in semi-gloss.

Taping a Runner

The space looks so crisp and clean, but the navy edges against the plaster walls do not look are sharp as I would like. We live with this for a few weeks, but I am still longing for the look of a runner.

So I make the decision to turn the navy paint into the “runner”. By painting the outer edges of the steps and risers in white, I am also hoping that solves the step to wall transition. What a complete pain this is! The steps are varying widths and different angles. Making sure the runner is in the middle involved a lot more math than I am used to doing. Quite a nightmare.

More Problems

Of course it takes 2 coats of white paint to cover the navy and I hold my breath while I am doing it (as my husband isn’t quite enthralled yet). Naturally, nothing goes smoothly and while I am painting the white, our cat, Donovan decides it is time to run up the stairs!

I suppose this is a good excuse to do another coat of navy paint on the steps as I need to paint the risers navy as part of the visual runner.

When I finish the painting, I am happily walking down the steps with my supplies. And then the paint lid drops and navy paint sprays onto the freshly painted white edge. Arggg! Thankfully it wipes up easily. This project has really tested my mettle!

Finally….it is done.

So what do you think? I love how fresh and cheerful it looks. I MAY do a center stripe or add side stripes to the runner down the road. But right now, I feel like I need to leave it alone.

Once a dull and poorly lit space, the back staircase is bright and cheerful. To make the change even more impactful, I decide to use this space to hang my artwork. So I pull out some of my favorite ones and hang them.

As I continue to hang more art, the canvases will absorb the sound and reduce the echoes.

For right now, I decide to leave a few of the cat’s paw prints, just because it makes for a good story!

Here is a longer shot with my iPhone to give you an idea on how the back staircase renovation looks overall.

Before and After:

What a project! I am so grateful it is finished (for now). This staircase feels like my own personal art gallery with the white walls and better lighting. Since it took so long, it’s hard to imagine what it did look like before.

With many unexpected twists and turns, decisions and indecisions and multiple delays, this staircase renovation project was a challenging one. Fortunately it is located in a place in our house that is not highly visible. This project took about 1 year longer than I would have like take. Quite honestly, I am glad it is over.

Happy Tuesday!

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This post shared with Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday #625.

I recently purchased a new book, Simply Living Well by Julia Watkins. This hard cover book is a guide to creating a natural, low-waste home. The book is filled with great ideas and recipes on how to reduce what you consume and throw away. But it got me thinking about how we live. What are we currently doing that is living efficiently and reduce what we consume and what we throw away?

Composting

About 30% of our kitchen waste is recycled through composting. I have written about this before (see post here) and put every single peel, pit, skin, eggshell and other non-cooked fruits, vegetables and flowers into the composting garbage can. Grass clippings, tree branches and other brown material is also composted here on the property. This significantly reduces our waste that goes to the City’s landfill and dump.

All the luscious rich fertilized soil goes back into the yard~the garden, the orchard and all the bedding areas. Giving back to the land is very rewarding.

Recycling

The City of Phoenix has a recycling program so we separate our garbage into separate bins for pick up once a week. Cardboard boxes, paper, plastic, glass and cans are separated from the trash. In our kitchen we have 3 garbage cans~one for composting, one for trash and the other for recyclables.

Gardening and Chickens

Growing our own fruits and vegetables reduces the number of trips to the grocery store and farmers market. With the exception of summer, the garden is producing the rest of the year. And again, the leftovers go to the chickens or the compost bin. Though we do support local business, having a back up food supply is satisfying.

Our chickens provide us with the most delicious eggs. All the shells are recycled in the compost bin too.

Preserving Food

Growing up in a family of 7, my mother never wasted a thing. For example, leftover stale bread was turned into bread pudding. As a result, it’s hard for me to throw good food away. I just made a big batch of mole chicken and after having it a few days in a row, I will freeze the rest in individual servings for another time. Same with the big pot of chili I just made.

Abundant harvests from the garden or orchard are canned and preserved for use during another season. From fruit preserves to tomato sauce, these are either canned or frozen.

Laundry

Line drying here in Phoenix, especially in the summer, is a quick and easy energy efficient task. Not only does the sun acts as a powerful disinfectant but also has natural bleaching powers. Plus nothing smells better than slipping under freshly washed sheets that are line dried! Even my children notice when their sheets have been washed and dried outside.

Coffee

I recall a time when daily and sometimes more, we would drive through Dutch Brothers and get our coffee. The staff knew us by name and their fun, upbeat vibe was a plus to our cup of Joe. Unfortunately, that coffee location closed, but I shudder to think of ALL those paper cups and plastic tops we used. Dutch Brothers had become a line item on the monthly budget.

Now we make our coffee here at home using my favorite Nespresso machine. The coffee pods get recycled through Nespresso recycling program. Not only have we saved a boat load of money, but we are no longer excessively using paper cups and plastic tops.

Paperwork

As I mentioned in a blog post about my kitchen, there is an industrial shredder placed next to the compost garbage container. See that post here. Daily, the excessive amounts of junk mail is shredded and added to the composting bin. A good use of unwanted junk mail (and all those political flyers!)

Manage our Utilities

About two years ago, I was asked to give a lecture to a group of 7th and 8th grade students about the recent utility (electric) increase that was imposed and how that rate hike affected our neighborhood. Of course, I didn’t even realize we had a rate hike. So in order to provide an intelligent presentation, I got to work and did a thorough evaluation.

What I discovered is that we were not on the most efficient or advantageous utility plan. Once I understood that, then we started paying attention to our electric usage. The first month, we saved so much money. Over time, we saved even more.

The moral to this story is 1) understand your utility usage; 2) investigate the best plan for you and your family; 3) by making reasonable changes you can reduce your usage and save a lot of money.

Now, during the warmer months (trust me, air-conditioning bills can be ridiculously expensive here), we monitor our large appliance and air conditioning usage from 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Water consumption

Water here in Arizona is a precious resource. Rates go way up in June, July and August. By using flood irrigation provided locally, we are able to deep water the orchard and yard at a low annual cost. The well that we re-instituted many years ago, handles additional yard watering (see that post here).

Shopping with Reusable Bags

My car is the keeper of many reusable shopping bags. However, since COVID, no store is using them. Seems unfortunate however, I understand the need to be extra careful now. Hopefully, this too will pass.

Room for Improvement

Like with most things in life, I can certainly improve and lessen my waste. We have too many things that need to be sorted, organized and donated. That is an ongoing project that I need to jump start again. My goal is to reduce the items in each room by 50%. Lofty goal, but maybe I will start this effort after the first of the year. To see where I put Marie Kondo’s organizational tips in place already, see that post here.

I’d love to live in a place that doesn’t require driving everywhere. Phoenix is more car-dependent than other cities, but during the cooler weather I do try to bike and walk more.

In addition, I need to assess my use of cleansers/detergents and investigate more eco-friendly cosmetics.

So what are you doing to lighten your footprint? Please share any ideas so we can all get better at this!

Happy Wednesday!

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This post shared with Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday #614