Our First Trip to Maine Won't be our Last

I distinctly remember a paper that I had to write about where I might see myself living in 10 years for my very first creative writing class in college. I chose the Maine coast, even though I had never actually been there. Fast forward 25 years and I finally visited Maine. Not sure why it took me this long to get there. Pulling up to the Nubble Lighthouse, in the photos above and below, was a surreal experience - like a photograph coming to reality right before my eyes.

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Painted Kitchen Island

I'm excited to share a little project we have been working on the past few weeks. We decided to give our kitchen island a new life with a coat of paint and some new trim.

Years ago when I first started blogging, Farrow & Ball sent me a paint deck that I have browsed through time and time again. Their paint is pricy, but there is something about their colors that keeps bringing me back to them. Since then, they also opened a retail store in our area and I have been looking for just the right project to try out their paint. I lamented about the color for weeks earlier this summer and finally narrowed it down to Card Room Green and Oval Room Blue. I knew I wanted something that was blue-green and could work in all seasons with my decor.

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Summer Family Room

Today, I thought I would share of few pictures of our summer family room. You know, just in time for the end of summer. I always come back to an outdoors/mountains theme in here because that is what reflects what we enjoy doing during the summer. Our DIY wooden flag always feels right over the mantel at this time of year.

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Thank You and an "Old School" Blog Post of This And That

Hello friends and thank you so much for the comments and e-mails from my most recent posts. I have to say that there have been times when I have felt like this blogging thing had run its course for me. It is hard to keep up with all of those polished and shiny images seemingly everywhere on social media and easy to think my home (and life!) isn't quite up to sharing. But then you all reach out to me in a way that makes me remember that it is all about the community. Not about perfect homes or people. But about real people who share the love of home and family (and dogs too!). Thank you for that. I needed the reminder.

I'm not really sure why it took me by surprise as the stress of Billy's retirement was mounting for weeks (months, really), but his actual retirement day and the days since hit us hard. We were humbled by the kindness of many of his co-workers and the time they took to let him know that he mattered to them.

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Our Split-Level Summer Kitchen

The small-ish kitchen in our split level home was very ordinary when we moved in, but I am so glad I made the decision to add the triple windows over the farmhouse sink when we DIY-ed this kitchen 10 years ago. I have had so much fun styling these windows through the seasons and years! I think the summertime is my favorite time at the sink.

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