Better Late Than Never

Today we mulched. 
Which seems kind of silly considering the theme of my last post was how soon Fall is approaching.

However, we sort of did this on purpose. We're having around fifty people over in a month or so to celebrate my mother-in-law's birthday, so we wanted things to look presentable for that. We bought a bunch of colorful perennials for the bed near our garden, and planted a row of mums out front. The mulch makes even our existing plants look better. It was a long day spreading four yards, but it's a good feeling to see the pay-off of all our hard work.

Here's a shot of some of the new perennials, which are to the right of the deck.

In this picture you can see that we mulched around the new flowers, then added top soil and grass seed {the blue specks} 

It's been pretty hot and dry lately, so I'll have to focus on watering a bunch back here so it grows and the plants don't turn into burnt crisps.

Here are the existing host plants and hydrangea with new mulch surrounding.

The hydrangea blooms dried up, so I pruned them. I read that if you cut where the bloom was, the next year there will be two from that spot. So the bush will grow and blooms will increase. Hopefully that is the case! I also read you can put coffee grounds around the base of each plant to keep the soil acidic & help retain moisture.

Thanks for stopping by OE!

Tomorrow we'll move things inside to finish quarter round in the kitchen. What are your plans?

Happy Weekend!

Fall is Just Around the Corner

Hard to believe there are only 30 more days of summer. Between cookouts, ballgames, ice cream runs, weekend trips & family vacations, it's definitely been a season jam-packed with fun. We've been able to conquer a decent amount of tasks on our To-Do List plus take time to enjoy our favorite aspect of warm sunny weather: recreation, rest, & relaxation {when we aren't at work, that is!} Although we have no children, when I heard it was time for kids to go back to school I thought to myself, "can't believe it's that time already!" Fall is just around the corner.

Zipping through the Smokies on our summer vacation to Asheville, NC

Fall brings a lot to look forward to…bonfires, football, Halloween, changing leaves, boots, pumpkin flavored everything, and then Thanksgiving. It's nice to see how nature takes on a different look out in our yard. Andrew always loves Fall best because of football {of course} and he secretly also loves mums & sedum, two plants that stick around to look awesome while everything else withers away in preparation for snow. This Fall will be especially great because we'll be celebrating his 30th birthday in October. We both set aside a week off work to mark the occasion with a special trip for just the two of us. Can't wait!

From a decorating standpoint, I'm also getting excited to get Old Elm all decked out for the season. 

Here are some of the seasonal things I like most:

From the top // a great little spread + banner from Pottery Barn // Jack O'Lantern shades from Ballard Designs // Did you know you can bleach pinecones?! Click here for the must try tutorial // I don't know about you guys, but I never miss The Great Pumpkin! // And finally, two fun party ideas- candy in vintage glass canisters & squash bowling for your fall yard party fun!

What are your favorite Fall traditions & home decor items?

Farmhouse Table

Here are a few photos of my latest project: 

refinishing an antique farmhouse table in 5 steps

(1) Here is the table as I bought it… a little rough & dry on top

(2) Using 220 grit paper, I lightly sanded the top surface + edges with the hand sander

(3) After wiping the dust off, I used an old cotton t-shirt to apply stain

(4) Here is a "during" photo - stain on the right, no stain on the left

(5) After the stain dried, I finished the project by applying 1 coat of polyurethane

Nook Look Book

Hey neighbors, welcome to Old Elm! This week I have a string of days off, so I am working on refinishing the top of a great farmhouse table. Andrew & I went to a few antique places recently, and we found this gem of a steal at the last place we stopped {Victory!} It's going to fit in really well with my plan for the kitchen...

As you know, we've been slowly but surely working on renovating our kitchen. Most of the big stuff is out of the way. And until we scrounge up enough courage to fork over the cash for new countertops…I've been dreaming of a breakfast nook. Here are a few of my favorite pins on the subject:

I love the idea of a cozy little laid-back spot where we'll enjoy weekend breakfasts with our kids someday. I've been devising a way for us to insert one into our kitchen. The area near the sliding glass door to our deck is the spot I have to work with. Previously, we had a little round table + chairs there that Andrew's grandma loaned us when we got the house. After considerable researching {Pinterest has a TON of ideas} we decided to build our nook from 2 kitchen cabinets I picked up at Lowe's for $99/each. It will be a straight bench that will match the rest of our kitchen & have the added bonus of storage! I plan on putting some of my larger weird items there…like the griddle, my cake/pie/casserole carriers. Because those things are so great and handy while you're using them...but when you aren't? #storageproblems

So back to the table… Here is what it looks like sitting in my garage:

Today I lightly sanded the top to remove some imperfections {not all, they give it good character!} then added some light stain.

I used the color "light walnut" by Varathane. It was hanging out in our basement, leftover from another project. Woo! I did 1 coat.

When the stain dries I plan on finishing up with a few coats of satin polyurethane to keep it durable and protect the finish.

I look forward to posting a finished photo of our very own breakfast nook someday!

Office Reveal

This room is dedicated to our "outdoorsy" side // Decorated with maps, globes & knick knacks from our travels, we keep Andrew's fishing poles and fly tying supplies in here along with our books & laptops. If you stopped by Old Elm and found us in the office, you'd probably see Andrew sitting at the desk paying bills and me curled up on the arm chair in the corner chatting with him.

"Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished" - Lao Tzu

Dining Room Reveal

This room is dedicated to gathering around the table // When Andrew first moved in, all I could talk about is how the dining room needed wooden floors and white board & batten. Fast forward 3 years and my dream is finally a reality. He thinks it's pretty neat, too. If you stopped by our house in the evening, you'd find us in here eating dinner or fixing ourselves some mixed drinks. We've also been known to host the occasional game night with friends in here.

"The fondest memories are made gathered around a table" - Anonymous

Back with a Long Post

After a 2 month hiatus {whoops} here I am! Do I find it easier to fit blogging into my schedule during the colder months when there is less to do outside? Maybe. Or maybe the fact that we have so many projects going on simultaneously is what has me tied up. That being said, lately we've been busy with some finishing touches around this place...

• As covered in another post, we finished the flooring installation & we started nailing in the quarter round - we decided to spend a little extra on the round that matches our Pergo and so far we are very pleased with that choice. Our first "completed" room is the office. It's so great to see it all put back together. Pictures to be posted very soon!

• In the kitchen, we decided to put up real wood for the toe kick under the cabinets {rather than rubber kick that was previously there}. It's hard to post a picture of this, but just trust me, it looks better this way than it did! Check it out:

• So far summer has been waaaaay RAINY, but we were able to stain the deck in-between downpours. We used Flood brand in cedar. It's cheap, durable, and I love it. Below you can see the deck before stain in the left photo, after stain in the right photo:

• We planted flowers, but haven't mulched. Not really sure when that will get done, but I'm not extra worried about it. Who knows, maybe we'll get a really spectacular indian summer this year and it will be done by then {fingers crossed!} So here we see one of the urns from the front stoop, my little potted English ivy, the veggie garden - we added cattle fencing to the corner for taller plants to climb, and one of the larger planters with pine/coleus/ivy/& a flower I can't recall that are on the back patio:

PS: Today the dining room board & batten is being installed, tomorrow I can paint it white & then that room will be finished! So. Excited. Can't wait to share with you guys!