My name is Tarah and its great to meet you!

Storage Organization – long overdue cleaning out in our attic space

Doing some major storage organization and a big clean out. I know a lot of people would be thrilled to have extra storage space in any capacity. Fortunately for us we’ve got plenty! But I do find that the more storage space we have the more things we store and the less things we purge and deal with like we actually SHOULD… I am convinced that the more space humans have the more crap they immediately start acquiring to fill said space… Read More »

Table Centerpieces doubling as Wedding Favor Gift Baskets

Table Centerpieces that doubled as DIY gift baskets / wedding favors. Many of you know that Lodi and I got married on June 11th. It was an outdoor wedding with kind of a casual theme and only about 20 of us on a beautiful paddle boat. It was just wonderful and I’m so glad we chose to have a small wedding and then a big shindig later in the year for the reception. It took so much stress off and really let us focus on each other, the whole day and spending time with the people we love the most. For the ceremony we wanted to dress up the tables on the boat and racked our brains for months looking for ideas. Read More »

Bathroom Shelf, New Corbels and Decor!

The bathroom shelf above our tub was one of those projects that I just immediately loved and wondered why the heck I hadn’t put a shelf there sooner. However, something has ALWAYS bugged me about it. So, when I planned to tackle this space and the adjoining closet I knew it would be the right opportunity to fix it. I took the shelf down first to repaint the rooms and then got to work. Read More »

Sleeping Aids – How to actually Sleep Well in the SAME Room Together

Sleeping aids. Lodi and I are not exactly polar opposites when it comes to our needs in our sleep environments but we’re pretty darned close! I am a light and very cranky sleeper (DO NOT WAKE ME UP) though I wake up at the littlest of noises etc. Lodi on the other hand could sleep through a bomb going off. We both have night terrors and nightmares. Me for my entire life… Lodi after returning from his last tour in Iraq. Its not that I’m not a morning person I’m just not a “waking up” person. It takes me a solid hour in the morning with coffee before my brain is capable of any kind of actual functioning. And then there’s Lodi who, as far as I can tell, is functioning at practically 100% the minute he wakes. Read More »

Book Shelf in the Master Bedroom above the Headboard

We’ve been working on our master bedroom for weeks now and finally have wound down to what might have been the one project I was looking forward to the most. A book shelf above our headboard! Long before the rest of my ideas for this space came together I was hoping to add a shelf here all the way back in 2019. But, like with everything, other projects needed to come first.

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Outdoor builds – Revisiting our most popular and personal favorites

I think its a common theme for any DIYer with absolutely no experience to run into projects that just turn out SO much better than we expected. That’s been true of me a few times here at Grandma’s house. I generally go into things I’ve never done before on a wing and a prayer just hoping they turn out all right. Outdoor builds for us have been one of my most surprising with how well some of them turned out and many, even years later, we’re still using and appreciating all summer long! Read More »

Storage Bench Makeover for my closet – before and after!

Of the four storage benches that we own that my grandparents’ made this one absolutely has had the roughest history. It lived in my child hood entryway for many years and suffered quite a bit from teething puppies gnawing on it. From there it moved to our horse barn where it provided a lovely home for mice and chipmunks as well as storing horse tack and the like. Move ahead a couple more decades and it came with me here to Grandma’s house where it lived in the barn (still full of horse tack), then in the wood shed and then, finally, in the old well house for several years up until right now. Read More »

Basement Refrigerator Makeover – Before and After!

Lodi did a refrigerator makeover a couple of weeks ago and I can’t wait to show you the before and after! Our basement refrigerator is a solid 30 years old (at least) I grew up with this refrigerator and remember poignantly the awesome day when my mom got a brand new one and this one was retired to “beer refrigerator” status. When she moved she asked me if I wanted it and I immediately jumped on the opportunity. Our basement has been slowly coming along but, not long ago, this was a totally unfinished space I often used for painting and staining if it was cold outside. Read More »

Cork board and Key Caddy Makeover!

I’ve had this little pine cork board my grandparents’ made for many years now. It comes with the added perk of also being a key caddy so, of course, we put it right by our front door. It really comes in handy! However, it doesn’t exactly mesh with the look we have going throughout our entryway. Varnished knotty pine in that gold color is really not our style so its been on my list for awhile now to give it a little makeover! Read More »

Adding Tufted Upholstery to an old Coffee Table

Adding a tufted top and a new paint job to an old coffee table. I’ve been working on the refresh of my living room for awhile now. It started when I decided I hated my sofa and was ready for a new one! That worked out perfect because I really needed my old sofa to complete my seating area out in my garage. Following my old sofa to the garage was my coffee table and one of my end tables too! That left my living room pretty barren: the perfect time to do a makeover! Read More »

Three Legged Stool Makeover: Paint and stain combo with dipped legs

Teaming up with Chas in our DIY blog hop this month with projects for our bathrooms! (Make sure and check out all of the bathroom projects following this post and feel free to join in!) This little stool has a fun story behind it. My Grandparents’ were wood workers and made and sold lots of these along with many other pieces of furniture. One of my neighbors is an avid follower of my blog and felt she simply had to return it to me so this milking stool came home after being gone for over 30 years! Read More »

Lace Doily Upcycling on my Radio Stand Kitchen Island

Lace doily upcycling across the front of my kitchen island that I made out of my great grandpa’s radio stand. This piece remains one of my ALL TIME favorite transformations that I’ve created. Some projects just work! It was like this old radio stand had been waiting 100 years to be made into a kitchen island. It looks great from the front and the shelves in the back house all my recipe books too. During my recent kitchen remodel I did some surgery on it to work even better for me. Read More »

How to Prepare Your Home For a Natural Disaster

We live far enough north in the United states where a legitimate natural disaster is actually kind of rare. However, even here, it does happen and even this summer we saw 90 mile an hour straight line winds which is pretty serious! I never thought we would be in line for a wild fire either but just a few years ago we had pass by within just a couple of miles of our house. One thing I’ve always done is keep nothing on our computers or phones but have all of our pictures and important documents out on cloud servers instead. Besides that our passports, birth certificates etc. we keep in a safe so if some terrible did happen, we ‘re prepared! Read More »

July 2022 Summer Blooms, Bounty and Dreams

July 2022 here in Minnesota was just perfect. I can’t describe it any other way honestly it is the weather example of why we’re willing to put up with -40 degree temps in the winter. Ideally though, of course, we do kind of hope to be able to hop out of here to skip the worst of the winter months someday but that’s a long time off! Meanwhile I feel like this summer is really trying to make up for last year’s summer though we did have a cold, late spring. Minnesota is forgiven in my book though as July and June 2022 were absolutely gorgeous. Read More »

June 2022 – OMG where do I even start!? We got married!

June 2022 will forever remain for me the month that is a blur I think lol. Everything happened so fast that after we got back from our honeymoon I told Lodi that our wedding felt like it happened yesterday but also a year ago! What an amazing trip! Starting all the way back in early June (what feels like a LONG time ago lol) our weather finally made a lovely turn toward summer and, guess what? We got our squirrel back already! He was delivered in his own squirrel box and, no kidding, he remembered us 🙂 Read More »

May 2022 – a little room mate for a couple days…

May 2022 – Lodi and I don’t go out a lot. (We’re frugal people and happily stay in most of the time.) So, the fact that we went out on a TUESDAY (a work night of all things!), was practically unheard of. There was a very good (heartbreaking) reason we went out that night though… That day, 17 years before, Lodi had lost his best friend when they were in the army (in action) together. We always go to a local VFW post and toast to his friend’s honor. Because of this we didn’t get home until nearly 8:30 that night… If we had not gone out we never would have known about the little guy on our front porch, looking for help. Read More »

April 2022 – Some Seriously Horrible Weather

I really wish I had anything good to say about April 2022 here in northern Minnesota lol. I said in late March (when we had a lovely warm up) that mother nature could throw anything at me and I wouldn’t mind at that point because we were so close to spring… I WAS SO VERY WRONG. We got nearly two feet of snow over the first couple of weeks of April. I got my car stuck in our yard… TWICE (that has NEVER Happened) we had snow on the ground for nearly six months this year… Read More »

March 2022 – Spring Hit us like a Freight Train!

In March 2022, all in just a few days, our temperature went from a record breaking -25 to almost 50! And, in true Minnesota fashion, we all went from complaining about the insane cold to freaking out and complaining that our basements are gonna flood lol. You just can’t please us. Regardless though the warm up was much much much appreciated. I don’t know how many posts I saw on Facebook mentioning how much better people FEEL just seeing warmer temps. Read More »

Master Bedroom Tour – Our Second Floor Oasis

Master bedroom tour, the final completion of the entire redesign of our second floor bedroom. Woah guys how many months has it been? I started on our second floor last winter and am so so thrilled to show you guys the final completion of the bedroom portion. (I’m just finishing up the closet and bathroom too.) There was nothing wrong with our old master bedroom it really just wasn’t US and we were both ready for a change. Read More »

Basement Bathroom Reveal – Pallet Walls, Barn wood and Black Floors!

Basement Bathroom Reveal, adding a touch of girl to this little space because it was starting to feel like a man cave and not in a good way… I am not a girly girl by any means (as I’m sure you’re all aware at this point…) but even I can attest a balance between masculine and feminine in a space is a real must. Outside of this bathroom our living room feels like just the coolest underground speak easy and I totally love it. But with Lodi’s wood furniture and black leather couches no matter what I do it will always feel at least a little like a bachelor pad. Read More »

Basement Living Room Reveal – Speak Easy Theater and Chill Space

Basement living room reveal. So it all started back in 2014 when I purchased and began the renovation of my Grandparents’ 100 year old farmhouse. I was single and the basement had a separate entrance so I immediately tackled it with the intention of putting in a rental suite. It was a ton of money and work that all went for nothing a couple of years later when my husband (now ex) decided that renters were a NO. I used this unfinished space (what a total waste) as my workshop for awhile until I threw him out in 2017. So, I emptied the space to, once again, try to move forward with the rental idea. A lot of life happened in the years since but, finally, all of my time and money down here is no longer for nothing! Read More »

Lodi’s Room Reveal Complete with New Light Fixtures!

Lodi’s Room Reveal complete with New Light Fixtures! Starting at the beginning… When I renovated this home back in 2014-2015 I designed this as a wide hallway which included a huge closet made specifically to house a 6 foot chest freezer. At the end of the hall I put our “back door” which included a doggie door in it – which was a great straight shot out of the house for my big dog at the time. In 2018 I got rid of the chest freezer and I was playing around with making this wasted area into a reading nook / day bed / dog bed area and putting up some kind of gate so I could lock dogs back here whenever I needed to… Read More »

The Back Hall Reveal Before and After

Besides a random peak here and there from reveals and projects of other parts of the house this is the very first time I’ve ever posted about our back hall! This hall, Lodi’s room, our Guest Bedroom, and even a bit of the workshop, used to be a wide open screened in porch. (Sorry for the before pics but they’re the best I have. Hopefully the before and after floor plan as well as the renovation pics help somewhat.) I designed this back hall during the renovation to be a “T” each wing going to a bedroom and, before we made Lodi’s room, to a hall and big closet and back door which was just wasted space until we started work on all of it. Read More »

The Current State of the Garage and What’s Next!

To get the garage to its current state feels like a huge accomplishment for me! To recap I started in the early spring of 2019. First I had to clean the whole place out, get everything off the walls and then haul yet another pile of crap to the dump. Then I ran power, insulated, covered the walls, installed the doors, put EVERYTHING back where it belongs, made a path and enclosed my stock tank complete with a barn door on top of it! Read More »

To Grandma’s House we go! (Wednesday Link Party #307)

Welcome to the To Grandma’s House We Go Link Party #307. Wow, pretty sure this happens every year but, I can’t believe its already August! Where does the summer time go? We’ve had some pretty glorious weather all through July and are now getting down to planning the details of our reception out here in early September. And, of course, just beginning to think about preparing for winter (eek!) Now, on to the Party! Read More »

To Grandma’s House we go! (Wednesday Link Party #306)

Welcome to the To Grandma’s House We Go Link Party #306. Well we sure have seen some lovely weather so far this summer and our garden is just coming into its own and starting to produce beautifully! We had a fun weekend of visiting family and a festival so I’m very glad I took Monday off from my day job so I could get some things done around here. Including finally getting all of our invites sent our for our reception in September! Did I tell you guys yet that Lodi rented a bouncy castle for all the kiddos for the event? Pretty excited lol I’m definitely going to have to climb in there at some point. Now, on to the Party! Read More »

To Grandma’s House we go! (Wednesday Link Party #305)

Welcome to the To Grandma’s House We Go Link Party #305. We’ve had some pretty glorious weather recently and are coming into my favorite part of the summer. Out of the garden we’ve enjoyed fresh salad for weeks now and already enjoyed our first harvest of radishes. And we just harvested our first beats, carrots and sweet peas! Our cucumbers and pepper plants sadly didn’t do great this year but I still have hope for them and just have to keep reminding myself that due to such a cold spring I planted three weeks later than usual. How is your summer going? Now, on to the Party! Read More »

To Grandma’s House we go! (Wednesday Link Party #304)

Welcome to the To Grandma’s House We Go Link Party #304. Wow we’ve been having some serious storms this summer so far! Lost a couple trees that meant poor Lodi has basically been spending all his extra time on yard clean up. We’ll be having one heck of a bonfire with the downed branches this coming weekend. Meanwhile I’ve been finally starting to work on house projects again. Finding my motivation has not been easy but I’m relieved to finally get back in the swing of things! Now, on to the Party! Read More »

To Grandma’s House we go! (Wednesday Link Party #303)

Welcome to the To Grandma’s House We Go Link Party #303. Hmmm I’m trying to decide if my lack of motivation is due to the gorgeous weather or that I simply just have not entirely recovered yet from our wedding and honeymoon yet. I mentioned it to my day job boss and she said, “Tarah you just went through one of the biggest, most stressful days of your life, give yourself a break!” LOL But its been three weeks and I need to get back to work on the house! Hope you all had a wonderful holiday – you certainly brought some incredible food this hop all of my features ended up being recipes! Now, on to the Party! Read More »

To Grandma’s House we go! (Wednesday Link Party #302)

Welcome to the To Grandma’s House We Go Link Party #302. So I’ve lived here for nearly 7 years now and the enormous trees we have all over our farm and close to our home have always been a source of happy for me. That is until this year anyway! We’ve already lost three trees! So far we’ve been incredibly lucky though. The pine that fell on our garage did minimal damage despite literally landing over the entire roof. And this weekend we lost a huge oak that fell down in what can only be described as miraculously away from the house and between two other oaks without causing any damage… Now I’m looking at our trees with a certain amount of dread… lol hopefully our weather will calm down a bit! Now, on to the Party! Read More »

OMG Pumpkins everywhere! Hometalk Fall Decor Inspiration board

Hometalk Fall Decor Inspiration board! Summer is absolutely my favorite time of the year – you will NEVER hear me complaining about the heat lol But I honestly think that’s a fact simply because fall and spring are such short seasons here in northern MN. Fall for us could truly last all of three weeks like our spring did this year! And that’s just depressing lol because that means we’re settling into at least four months of some serious cold and snow. Read More »

Hometalk’s Outdoor Projects I Can’t Wait to Build! Do it Yourself!

Inspiration Board of the Outdoor projects on Hometalk that I’ve been drooling over! I received a comment on my outdoor bench saying, “You’re SO crafty, that’s amazing!” And I admittedly got a bit offended, eventually I just laughed about it but I’m not sure how I can build a wrap around bench for my deck and still be called “crafty”. I could’t help but think that if I was a guy she certainly wouldn’t have looked at that bench and called him crafty! I am a builder at heart and I spend most of my time building things in my head or drooling over outdoor projects like these: Read More »

Let’s build some swings! Pinterest Do It Yourself Inspiration Board!

Well now that spring has FINALLY arrived, my dreaming has turned to swings! Let’s build some! These are some of my favorites I’ve found on Pinterest and stashed away for a later time because, seriously, who doesn’t want to swing away a beautiful summer day? Contrary to popular belief, I do NOT feel that swings are for kids in any way. Many of these are very grown up swings for us “adults” lol Read More »

Nooks and Getaway Places: Pinterest Inspiration Board

Nooks, crannies, special getaway places, some of my favorite escapes via Pinterest Inspiration board. It has been a very difficult few weeks here at Grandma’s House, tailing the end of a very, very hard year. I will tell you guys why and what’s been going on when I’m able to get my feet back under me again. To say the least though I have found myself on Pinterest, looking longingly at getaway places and nooks that promise quiet and PEACE. Read More »

Inspiration Board: Six more Summer Projects I can’t wait to build!

Six more summer projects I can’t wait to build for us outside and out on our deck! Some DIYs and things just have to wait for some nice weather not only for us to enjoy them but for us to build them as well. Currently I’m sitting here in late October and we have a winter storm warning 🙁 So, hears to dreaming about next summer and all the things to look forward to building. I posted earlier this year a few summer projects I just can’t wait to build but I’ve seen so many build projects on Pinterest I had to share a few more that I can’t wait to build next summer! Read More »

Inspiration Board: Gorgeous Bedrooms to swoon over!

I spend a certain amount of time on Pinterest gazing with my mouth open at some of the gorgeous bedrooms people have. As far as Inspiration Boards go I’ve published quite a few over the years but I think this one might take the cake. I am absolutely in awe of a few of these. Considering how much time we spend in our bedrooms (albeit it is with our eyes closed) I am a firm believer that they are a VERY important part of our homes. So, without further adieu here’s some gorgeous bedrooms via Pinterest!! Read More »

How to Design Your Backyard Into a Perfect Summer Hangout Spot

Getting the most of our outdoor space might be even more important to us here in north country because we’re stuck inside for six months out of year due to severe winter whether. Creating a great hangout spot in our backyard was (and will always be) a huge priority for us. Every year our backyard (and really our entire outdoor spaces) just keeps getting better and better. We absolutely adore our new lower pea gravel deck and spend a ton of time out there! Read More »

How To Make The Most of Your Windows

They’ve come a really long way with windows over the last hundred years. I still have a few of the original windows from this house stashed to use in future projects but few of them lasted uninstallation due to them being so brittle. Nowadays windows are very thick and much safer to handle. New windows are an awesome investment for a home that is always a sure bet. Read More »

Comprehensive Guide to Reducing Stress & Anxiety As a Professional

Stress and anxiety were at an all time high over the last few years and its really understandable. It was a rough one to put it lightly lol. I think we all learned in our own ways on how better to take one day at a time and to almost totally turn off the news. Not allowing outside factors, things we cannot change or control, to stress us out to the put of a break down. I don’t know how many times I told my dad to stop watching the news because I was worried about his heart! Read More »

Smart Ways To Lower The Cost Of Your Household Bills

I think everyone should at least be interested in lowering their bills if not already doing everything they can. I mean, seriously, who doesn’t want to save money? There’s a lot of jokes made about spending $125 and six weeks to finally harvest our first .25 vegetable from our garden (lol) however, a garden can actually do a lot to bring household bills down especially if you would already be buying produce for your household. I estimate with our garden Lodi and I save nearly $1,000 between pickles, frozen vegetables and the tons of fresh produce we eat all summer long! Read More »

6 Reasons to Consider Popcorn Ceiling Removal

Ah the dreaded popcorn ceilings. I once spent an ungodly amount of hours removing popcorn from all the ceilings in a home I used to own. Messy. Awful. Experience. It was worth it though in the end as it absolutely improved the look of the whole home. I’m sure it won’t surprise anyone whose dealt with them though that we don’t have a single ceiling in this home that’s sheet rock lol. We opted for beadboard ceiling throughout and I remain totally in love with them! Read More »

5 Tips for Better Indoor Air Quality

Indoor air quality is extremely important to our health. Many of us don’t even realize how much a home can cause allergies etc. Even cause us to sleep badly. We combat that by using either all natural cleaners or, almost exclusively just a combination of white vinegar and water for almost all of our cleaning needs. We also make our own dishwasher and laundry detergents which is huge for me as I have very sensitive skin. Plants also help keep the air in our home clean. Read More »