Category: Current House

Gimme a Giveaway Winner: Primele & Gifts

Published on by Our Humble AbodeLeave a comment

Raise your hand if you’re excited for the weekend.  I know I am.  Not that we have anything fun planned, but it’s always nice to spend time together.  Oh, and we all love when Ben makes us home-made waffles.

I’m sure the winner of a custom Primele stamp, Sarah Frantz, will have a great weekend, too.

This summer has been busy for us, with many visitors.  First, Handy Sammy’s family spent a night with us, then my sisters and their boyfriends stayed for a week.  After that, Handy Sammy’s family spent another night with us before going home.  Ben’s brother came back for a few weeks from Africa with his wife and her family.  He also brought Ben and I fun African gifts.  For Ben, J bought a set of hand carved Ebony monkeys.

Because each is hand carved, there are small differences, but the details are beautiful.

Three monkeys link together, hooking to the other’s tail.

The way the monkeys link reminds me of the Barrel of Monkeys.

For me, J chose two Ebony bowls, a wooden spoon, and a small lidded jar.

The larger of the two bowls has elephants carved around the edge.  J said he watched the guy hand carve these.  How amazing is that?!

And this lidded jar is adorable.  I don’t know what I’m going to use it for, but I like looking at it on the shelf.

On the return trip, my mom rode in the car with me and the boys.  She spent two nights at our house.  The day she left, Ben’s aunt spent a night with us.  Two days after that, my grandma and grandpa visited.  She brought along a cute little set of bone china Lily of the Valley cream and sugar bowls.

Of course we love hosting guests, but the presents are pretty darn great, too.  Thank you so much J and Grandma!

Finding Our Center

Published on by Our Humble Abode42 Comments

While the boys and I relaxed, played, ate, and shopped, Ben was still working his butt off at/on our house.  In fact, he finished the shingling on the house roof, with only the pool roof left.  While he was up there, he started determining the placement of the Sky Tube.  If you’re not familiar with a Sky Tube, it’s a small, round sky light, similarly installed like a vent.  Ben installed one in the windowless main bathroom at our first house and we loved how much brighter it made the room.

The main bathroom in the Mountain house is windowless, and very dark.  As fate would have it, Ben was looking at Craigslist for insulation and found a 14 inch wide, brand spanking new in the box Sky Tube.

But, let’s go back to our recent Sky Tube conversation.  First, take a look at the bathroom as it now stands.

Before leaving for Minnesota, Ben and I discussed the placement of the Sky Tube.  I thought centering it on the 8 foot by 8 foot room would spread the light around the best, like this:

He agreed and that was settled, right?  Wrong.  While away, Ben installed the roof part of the Sky Tube, and decided he preferred it centered on the bath tub, like it was at our first house, which would look like this:

And like this from the door:

Either placement is fine with what Ben has already done on the roof.  The flexible duct work can move to either place.  I see where he’s coming from, because when centered on the room, the Sky Tube doesn’t look centered on anything. With the shower curtain closed, the shower is slightly darker than I’d like.  And it would be nice to have the additional natural light in there, so maybe centering it over the shower is the best placement?

Really, the placement is only a few feet apart, so it’s not the biggest deal.  But I’m wondering, which do you prefer?  Centered on the room? Or over the bath tub?

Other than a small hole to mark the location for Ben to find in the attic, we haven’t done anything in the bathroom for it yet.

So that’s the latest debate.  What have you been debating over recently?  Which rug to buy?  Where to hang something?  Let’s share so everyone can vent and feel better.

Good Goods

Published on by Our Humble Abode9 Comments

I’ll be honest, when I’m back in Minnesota, I like to visit with friends and family.  But I also like to do the things we can’t do in Montana.  Namely, shopping at Ikea and Home Goods.  My sister had to make an Ikea trip, so the boys and I tagged along.  I set a mission for myself to only buy things I needed or already planned to get.  The list included bath towels, chairs for the boys, organizational items, and possibly curtains.  Surprisingly, I stuck (mostly) to the list.  I bought two of these bath towels, but I wish I had gotten two more after hanging each on a hook.

I’m very pleased with the color, and the loop on top is a nice feature, and for $4.99 each, I’m happy.  Just wish I got two more to look a little more full.  Oh, I got antsy and hung the thank you business card that came with my Primele stamp, too.

In the curtain area, I added a set of Vivan curtains to the cart.  For the interim, I think we’ll hang these in the living room to block light while watching tv.  Once I figure out a plan for the living and dining room, I plan to put these in the guest bedroom.  Of course, I was near the fabric, so I got a yard of wide green stripe canvas-y material.

Then, in the planter department, I spotted cute metal floral buckets, on sale for 99 cents each.  I grabbed two to add inside the coral stripe box for feminine items.

V and E love to sit at their little table, a Lack table we’ve had for a while.  But for the past year, we’ve only had one little chair.  I saw the Latt table and chair set for $19.99 and decided the chairs would be great.  After a quick assembly, the boys have enjoyed their own space, perfect for coloring or snacking.

And that’s when I made an impulse purchase.  While waiting for my sister, we strolled into the As Is section and I spotted a 15 inch Foto pendant for ten bucks.

I haven’t decided if it will go in the boys bedroom or the hall, but I just couldn’t resist.

Just a few days before leaving, I got a chance to meet up with my pal Jen for some girl and shopping time.  Mostly, we talked and looked around.  However, I did find two things that came home with me.  How cute is this little ten-dollar mirror?  It’s double-sided, with a normal and close up mirror.

And it looks adorable on the bathroom shelf.

I’ve been on the hunt for a clothes hamper to fit in the bottom of the closet, but haven’t had luck because the closet is narrow.  When I saw this basket, I knew it wouldn’t work for clothes, but it sure would for holding toilet paper.  I really like keeping necessities in view so our guests don’t have to rummage through the bathroom to find what they’re looking for.  Though I’m not crazy about the color, its sturdy, the perfect size for the vanity, and cost $10.

At some point, I’ll paint the basket.  Maybe gray.  Or coral.  Even simple white.  We’ll see, but I’m always happy to have better storage.

How about you; are you good at sticking to your list?  Or do you make impulse purchases?  What’s your favorite home store to shop at?  I wish Montana had an Ikea or a Home Goods.

Gimme a Giveaway: Primele

Published on by Our Humble Abode225 Comments

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

Last week I shared a new, custom address stamp from Primele.  And now, one lucky winner will get to choose between two lovely stamp designs.

Drift, the design we chose:

And Archive:

And now, all the gory details on how to get in on the action.

The Goods: One custom rubber stamp from Primele.

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

Just for Fun: What do you collect?  Stamps?  Coins?  Animal figurines?

For additional entries: 

1.  Follow Primele’s Twitter feed @fawnsberg.

Contest Closes: Thursday, July 26th at 11:59 pm, central time.

Number of Winners: One!

Ships: Anywhere in the United States.

Other Info: We will select the winner using random.org and announce on Friday, July 27th.  Good luck!!

Our Humble Sponsors: July

Published on by Our Humble AbodeLeave a comment

As usual, I like to thank our wonderful, supportive sponsors when we share our Etsy favs. 

Vistaprint is a great, affordable place to get most things paper related.  Thank you cards?  They’ve got ’em, along with note cards, business cards, pens, and more. 

Continuing to share the love, we’ve got Scissors, Paper, Mouse. 

Remember a special occasion with He Asked and She Said Yes

If you’re feeling a little blue, this Life Gives You Lemons print should make you smirk.

Joseph Thompson Woodworks is a great place to find pretty, quality cutting boards and coasters. 

End grain boards are durable and the grain is beautiful.

Ditch boring cork and get a set of walnut coasters.

Sick of wondering, “What’s for dinner?”  Emeals to the rescue.  Emeals offers a variety of meal plans, low carb, gluten free, vegetarian, organic at many different stores, taking sales and coupons into consideration. 

Stop by to check out the plan options and you’ll always be prepared when dinner rolls around.

A new sponsor, Amy from Woodlawn Lane recently started blogging and selling cloth diapers. 

If you’re pregnant or know someone who is and you’re considering cloth diapers, stop by to see what’s available. 

S and S Babee is a small shop with hand sewn baby goodies. Jenna takes custom orders, so if you’re looking for something, give her a holler.

Last but not least, my blog bud Jen at IHeart Organizing is showing us some love.

Summer means more traveling.  Keep a travel checklist handy so you can’t forget anything and you’ll save time from making a list for each trip.

Jen offers many different designs, so stop in the shop and browse through the options.

Interested in advertising with Our Humble A{Bowe}d? Here’s some info to get you started.