September 2013

Gimme a Giveaway: Michelle Dwight Designs

Published on September 6, 2013September 27, 2013 by Our Humble Abode97 Comments

This giveaway is closed. Thanks for entering! See who won here.

Another Friday! Woot! Who’s ready for cooler fall weather? This girl, that’s for sure. Cozy up your home with some swag from Michelle Dwight, a fabulous shop with pillows, prints, coasters, and more.

Allow me to share some of my favorites. Every Day I’m Hustling Pillow Cover:

Hello Pillow Cover:

Triangle Pattern Cork Coasters:

You’re My Sweetheart Screen Print:

Too Legit To Quit Pillow Cover:

Here are all the details you’ll need to know for a chance to win:

The Goods: One $100 shop credit good for or toward anything in the Michelle Dwight shop.

To Enter: Leave a comment, which can (but doesn’t have to) include our Just for Fun question.

Just for Fun: What is your favorite quote? Something from a favorite movie? A 90’s song? Maybe an inside joke?

For additional entries:

1. Add Michelle Dwight Designs to your Etsy Favs and leave a second comment.

2. Like Michelle Dwight Designs on Facebook, leaving a separate comment.

3. Like Our Humble Abode on Facebook, and comment again for four entries to win.

Contest Closes: Thursday, September 26th, 2013.

Number of Winners: One lucky lady or lad.

Ships: US only, sorry international folks.

Other Info: We will select the winners using random.org and announce on Friday, September 27th. Good day, and may the good news be yours.

Blue Sage

Published on September 4, 2013September 4, 2013 by Our Humble Abode10 Comments

For longer than I liked, the walls of our room have been royal (borderline neon) blue. Very patchy and poorly painted to boot.

We thought we’d have time to replace all the house windows last summer, but that didn’t happen. This isn’t the year either. Knowing next year would be the earliest, I couldn’t stand looking at these walls any longer. While V was in school, Ev and I picked up two gallons of Restoration Hardware’s Blue Sage, color matched to Glidden Duo. I started painting right away. Seriously, I was on a mission to eradicate the bold blue. And her we are two coats later.

Ahh, that’s better. Though the color is more green than I expected. Or maybe that’s just in comparison to the blue before.

At any rate, I can handle this color. At least until we replace the windows.

Because then we’re probably going to pull off all the drywall to replace it. Heavy orange peel texture and two painted over wallpaper walls and terrible patches and too few outlets and different sized windows seems like that’s the best way to go.

Until then, our room is dark and soothing.

Maybe when we deal with the rest of this room I’ll choose a slightly more blue-green color.

What do you think of it?

Much better than this, no?

Oh paint, how I love thee. Such healing powers you’ve got. What have you painted recently?

Erosion Prevention

Published on September 2, 2013September 2, 2013 by Our Humble Abode8 Comments

We inherited a set of stone steps that abruptly end up the hill-side. Like the rest of the house, the stairs hadn’t been maintained.

Over the past year we’ve made many changes to the back ‘yard’, but the stairs stayed.

While waiting for our paint at Home Depot last week (spoiler-couldn’t handle our royal blue bedroom anymore), Ev wanted to push the cart and look at plants. Boy do we need plants, so we wandered around. Not many large shrubs this time of year, but the ground covers looked great. The hen and chick succulents especially.

I instantly thought of this fabulous succulent garden.

With the hope to recreate it, Ev helped me pick out our plants. A six-pack of hen and chick succulents, one stone crop, lemon thyme, pink mums, and Dianthus. All full sun, low maintenance plants to line the rock steps.

Also to prevent eroooodiiingggg from the stacked rock planter above. Oh, and because the Creeping Jenny I planted a few months ago aren’t doing so great. I grossly under estimated the exposure.

A few pink mums (only 88 cents each!) replace the dead greenery with the ground cover filling the cracks along the climb.

Aren’t the mums pretty?!

Fingers crossed the succulents and other ground covers will a) make it through the winter and b) fill in the dirt patches.

But I’d love to get a few more bright green succulents to brighten it all up. Any suggestions for full sun, deer resistant plants?

Don’t forget, we’re having a big end of summer sale in our shop. Buy one item, get a second of equal or lesser value free. We’ve also had a few requests for 50% off, so I’ve added the code ENDSUMMER50 to get 50% off everything in the shop until Monday, September 9th.