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1970 home renovation

DIY custom A/C surround reveal

Jeff and I noticed a stretch of stifling days in the forecast, so that gave us the push we needed to get the DIY custom A/C surround installed and finished this weekend.  I shared the progress we made on building the surround a couple of weeks ago HERE. Since I had all of the pieces painted and two of the panels of the A/C surround built, it was pretty quick and easy to install.  We had a general plan of how to attach the pieces for stability and longevity, but we knew we might make some adjustments along the way since this is the first one we’ve built and installed.  It’s all finished and I am so excited with how it turned out! As a reminder, here is how the store-bought one we’ve been using for a couple of years looked… THIS is the one we had.  It worked pretty

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All Things Home

what happened to my willow projects

If you were following along last summer, you might remember my obsession with weaving willow cloches and plant supports.  (You can find that post HERE.)  I went on a deep dive, sourcing willow branches locally and online, watching tutorials and reading articles, searching for inspiration, and then testing out what I learned.  It involved setting up a baby pool in my driveway to soak the willow and experimenting with several weaving styles and methods.  It was a thorough effort, and almost every plant got some woven addition.  Well, I am here to report that the winter months and the weather were not kind to my creations and beginning efforts at weaving.  Almost all of the cloches were in various states of disarray when I started cleaning up the patio pots and garden beds this spring.  I tried to salvage a few, but they all ended up in yard waste bags

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All Things Home

tell me you’re doing home renovations…

…without telling me you’re doing home renovations.  Just look in their garage or any other storage spaces.  They will likely be a jumble of materials and tools used for projects looking something like this… Yes, those are still boxes that have not been unpacked since our move into this house almost three years ago.  Yes, this space is embarrassing.  Yes, I watermarked the photos. When we first moved in, Jeff built some simple garage shelves to provide some storage.  Before that, we had the foresight to prime and paint the walls behind the built-in shelves so it wouldn’t be an issue later.  Aside from those early efforts and a few feeble attempts at getting this beast under control, it’s been a disaster since we moved in.  It’s just been in varying degrees of disaster.  Just when it’s less of a disaster, we undertake another project, and it becomes a disaster

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1970 home renovation

power washing the front walk

We have done so much work on the front of our house over the last couple of years.  After all of the painting, planting, and updates, there was one glaring thing that needed to be addressed.  This front walk desperately needed to be cleaned. We bought a power washer a few years ago, so we just needed to get it out and put it to use!  (The pressure washer we purchased is no longer available, but it’s similar to THIS ONE.  We paid much less for ours, though!)  I imagined doing this long sidewalk, along with the patio and pool deck, inch by inch, so I looked into power washer attachments that cover a larger area with less effort.  I ended up purchasing THIS 15″ surface cleaner attachment by Karcher.  Jeff was highly skeptical and really didn’t even want to get it out of the box.  He kept saying things

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1970 home renovation

DIY Custom A/C Screen

After having the lumber on our garage floor to season for a few months, we are finally building the DIY custom A/C surround.  I am joking about letting the wood season.  I bought the material without consulting my building partners, and we were not all on the same page regarding starting this project in the fall.  That meant we were stepping over it and tripping on it for a few months because I put the cart before the horse.  Now, the supplies are off the garage floor and we are making the plans (sketched on a now crumpled piece of paper) come to life.  You might be wondering about the A/C screen we already have… I bought it when we opened the pool a couple of years ago, and it does a pretty good job of hiding the A/C unit.  THIS is the one we have. Here’s the thing: when

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a slice of life

summer simmer pot recipe

A couple of weeks ago, there was an unfortunate accidental popcorn burning incident in our kitchen.  If you’re familiar with the smell of burnt popcorn, you know how unfortunate that can be.  Not only did it stink up the house, but it we had to clean out the entire cabinet that houses the microwave and clean everything the burnt popcorn smoke wafted through.  I even had to buy new air filters for our Dyson air purifier that we moved from the studio to the kitchen to help clear out the smoke.  The fortunate thing is that the weather was beautiful, so we opened all of the windows and let fresh air blow through the house for a couple of days.  There was still a tinge of the burnt smell lingering, though, so I decided to make a simmer pot.  I have always made simmer pots in the fall or winter

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All Things Home

opening the pool & back patio

Yesterday was the kind of day that I love.  The weather was just to my liking: overcast, dry, breezy, and warm enough to work outside, but not too hot.  And everyone in our family worked together to get things ticked off the to-do list.  Marshall power-washed the front walk, Calvin mowed, and Jeff and I worked together to trim hedges, weed, mulch, and tidy up the back yard.  Since the temperature is still to my liking today, I’m going to work on painting the back trim.  Since I don’t enjoy working on ladders, Jeff and I will work on the gables together, but I’ll take care of all the lower parts of the trim, priming, and painting them. For today, I am sharing the work I did last week to get the patio cleaned up and looking nice for pool season.  Here is how the pool and patio area look

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All Things Home

how to get rid of bishop’s weed | goutweed update

It’s time for the highly anticipated update on my war on bishop’s weed/goutweed!  I’m kidding, but I know some people are looking forward to an update and some advice on how to get rid of goutweed (or at least get it under control).  Before I get into the different methods I’ve tried and which have been most effective for me, I want to share a fresh perspective on this aggressive ground cover.  While searching online for advice and support can be a good thing, I’m not sure it’s always 100% helpful (except this blog post, of course!)  It’s sort of like Googling a surgery you’re about to have or an appliance you want to buy.  The majority of the stories, reviews, and advice you find will be negative, especially on open forums.  People who are upset about something have a more compelling reason to get online and share their misery

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I’m Marian, a painter, writer, and lover of all things creative. From art and antiques to home projects and everyday life, I share my journey in hopes of inspiring you to embrace your own creativity and make beauty in the spaces you live.

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May 20th, 2026 at 1pm EST

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