We signed the papers

and the deed was recorded, so its official; the house is ours. Here's a sneak peek at the breakfast area. A little rough, eh?

We can't start working on the house though, because we are still painting the condo to put it on the market. Thankfully, the condo in good condition and only requires sprucing up. Home Depot measured yesterday for the new carpet, we are tiling the bathroom floor today, and next week we start on the new laminate flooring.

My Blogging Philosophy

For several years I had a homestyle blog. This was before flipper shows, Pinterest, and Instagram. Visiting other bloggers was a pleasant experience; seeing their latest projects, listening to their thoughts, enjoying their photography, commenting, making friends.

While I was sailing, I made a blog to document our trip. I didn't have good Internet in all those foreign places, so I didn't surf other blogs like I did when I had a homestyle blog. I didn't realize what was happening to blogland. I was out of the loop, so to speak.

Since we've been back, I've been checking out other blogs, and frankly, I'm sad about the direction they've taken. The ads are so distracting that you can hardly follow the posts! And lots of bloggers get their posts sponsored by tool manufacturers, appliance companies, paint suppliers, and furniture companies. I'm probably in the minority, but I don't like that at all.

Another thing I've noticed is homeowners duplicating the style of those remodeling shows down to the smallest detail. So everywhere I look, I see all white kitchens, barn doors, "feel-good sayings", bowl sinks, Mason jars, copper accessories, glass backsplash tiles, and farmhouse sinks.

I guess I've never followed the trends; my last house was an English style cottage with black iron hardware, limestone floor tiles, built-in cabinetry, lots of pictures, books, and old family things, all partnered with a background of rich colors and dark traditional furniture.

Now we are back on terra firma and I'm making another homestyle blog. And I'll tell you this right now:

My blog will never have ads. My posts will never be sponsored. My blog will not look like other blogs because I will not follow the latest trends. I will not buy loads of stuff from Hobby Lobby or Home Goods. I will reuse and repurpose things I already have, or find unique treasures at garage sales or thrift stores. I will use natural plant materials for seasonal decorating. I will continue to avoid buying cheap, plastic junk from China because as a sailor, I saw WAY too much plastic floating in our beautiful oceans, and the less we all buy the better. 

 

What you will find on my blog is a true story of how two retired folks refurbished a rundown house. I'll show you how we repurposed the existing spaces to accommodate our needs, how we replaced doors and windows to be more energy efficient, how we refinished existing wood floors, repaired the holes in the roof, painted, decorated, and modernized this 1947 house. You'll see our personalities reflected in our décor, lots of old family things, and photos and mementos from our travels. I will share sources and paint colors and suppliers when applicable. And there will undoubtedly be posts about food!

I hope I haven't run you off before I've even started, but if you're interested, you are certainly welcome to follow along, ask questions, and share ideas as we navigate our way through this new adventure.