So, since we’ve lived here in Milton, we’ve only had overnight guests once, and they were guys who couldn’t care less about where they slept or the condition of the house.Because of the lack of guests, the room intended to be the “guest room” quickly degenerated into this: This is the room in which we… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Home & Garden
This is why my husband vacuums
He does such a good job of it! If I’m vacuuming, I just move the vacuum around furniture in swirly ways. I’ll move chairs, but not much else. In open areas, I’ll do short little zigzaggy lines because I don’t want to walk backward and forward all the time. If he’s vacuuming, he moves every… Continue Reading
Milton, FL Living Room and Dining Room
So, it doesn’t look terribly different from the living room my apartment in Columbia, SC or our row house in Pensacola, FL BUT I have to show off our new green wall. Whoever decided on the paint colors for this house chose them FOR ME. The green in the living room is perfect, as is… Continue Reading
Light Up Your Abode
The days are getting longer, and your SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) or winter blues should be lifting now. But you can lift your spirits even faster with a few simple jobs around the house. Clean your windows to let the sun shine in unobstructed. When the man and I cleaned all of our windows, we… Continue Reading
The periodic table of cleaning
There are some cleaning tasks we always seem to keep up with, no matter how busy we get. Things like swishing the toilet or dusting a relatively clear flat surface only take a second, and because we notice they need to be done, we do them. When was the last time you thought about cleaning… Continue Reading
How to display your apron collection, or part of it anyway
Excuse my bread machine cord and the fact that the machine is sitting on a stool… this is what happens in a kitchen with no counter space. Anyway, I just clipped some of my favorite aprons up using clothespins. I’ll rotate some of my not-so-favorites with more-favorite aprons as I find them. You know how… Continue Reading
Bedroom in the new house
Little by little, I will photograph and post about our new house. In case you missed it… We moved to Pensacola August 1, but moved again to Milton October 1st-ish. So… new house. Ana had asked for a wide shot of how the things in the room fit together in my “Inspiration? Decorate!” post… I… Continue Reading
Autumn Placemats
Embroidery might be climbing the charts in my list of favorite crafts. I love the way it makes things look, and actually doing it is relaxing and methodical. So I recently decided to make some place mats for myself and my husband combining sewing, appliqué, and embroidery. I learned a fantastic applique technique that I… Continue Reading
How to Re-Cover an Ugly Office Chair
I’ve been wanting to re-cover my office chair for a while… to match my bulletin board. Then, this post from Design*Sponge reminded me recently, and I finally got off my butt to do it. However… I wish I had a chair like theirs, because the top part (the part your back leans on) on mine… Continue Reading
How to Carve a Pumpkin
I actually haven’t carved pumpkins this year yet. I’m going to wait a bit longer so that the pumpkins don’t rot before Halloween, BUT… I wrote up this tutorial last year, and I thought it would be helpful to some people who might be reading Joyful Abode this year. Before: The pumpkin awaits its transformation.… Continue Reading
Goodbye little row house.
We’re moving again. We’ve actually been moving all week. But this weekend will be the final haul. I updated the “About” page to reflect this new development. So goodbye little row house, or patio house, or whatever it is you like to be called. We’ve enjoyed our two months here. (ooh a sneak peak of… Continue Reading
Whirlpool Duet Sport – Ours!
We bought this Whirlpool Duet Sport washing machine and dryer set from Lowe’s. It was delivered to our new house yesterday, and soon we’ll be washing clothes, fabric, and towels with SUPER efficiency! I’m most excited about the quick drying time. Since the washer spins out so much of the water, it takes much less… Continue Reading
Hi! I'm Emily. I'm a Navy wife and stay at home mom of two beautiful children. I cook simple, delicious, grain-free recipes, do crafts, decorate my home on a budget, and keep a happy household. I tandem breastfeed, babywear, cloth diaper, practice elimination communication, homebirth, and co-sleep, but I'm not a hippie.
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