As you know, we've been making more of an effort to up our curb appeal now that we live in an actual neighborhood, rather than the absolute middle of nowhere. Not that our neighbors have expectations, but we just don't want to be THAT SHAGGY HOUSE on the street. Ya know? This post is sponsored by STIHL. Thank you for supporting the fabulous brands that make Reality Daydream possible! We ... [ Read More ]
Edging a Sidewalk – Stihl FC56C-E
Now that we don't live on an acreage and have a more manageable amount of space to maintain, Nick is taking a huge interest in keeping our curb appeal... well, appealing. I've been doing my part in the flower gardens, but today we're going to talk about the lawn. We've been fertilizing and watering our lawn, but I haven't been ready to give Nick the green light on weed-killers... because our ... [ Read More ]
Spring Cleaning and Filling Exterior Holes
A few years ago, I was having a moment where I loved climbing flowering plants. I rallied Nick to help me install a lattice by the flowerbed and plant some morning glories. Now several years have passed, and I've never been able to keep my morning glories alive long enough for them to actually climb. And that lattice has gotten old and worn looking over the years. *This post is sponsored by ... [ Read More ]
Edging and mulching your flowerbed
I may have a green thumb for my indoor plants, but when it comes to my flower garden? Yikes. There are some pretty flowers that come up each year in this garden, but for the most part, it’s just a mass of weeds. And if I’m being honest, it’s not because I don’t have a green thumb for outdoor plants… it’s because I’ve always PRIORITIZED OTHER THINGS in the spring and summer. However! ... [ Read More ]
Patio Refresh + Video!
I’ve shared the story how we found / purchased our house, and 8 years later, it’s hard to believe it used to look like this: After a couple years of living here, Nick and I started talking about how nice it would be to have a nice outdoor space for entertaining and just hanging out. We dreamed up a rounded patio with a corresponding rounded pergola, because we like to be complicated and ... [ Read More ]
Grandpa’s Chippy Tailgate Bench
Mornin’ buddies! Today we have a fun tutorial for all you buildy-types. But you know I can’t jump into it without sharing a bit of back story to set the scene. My mom grew up on a farm here in Iowa, and my grandmother still lives there (at age 97). So you can imagine there’s nearly 100 years worth of ‘old stuff’ hanging out in the out buildings. Old implement, coffee cans from 1920, barbed ... [ Read More ]
Tips and Tricks on Staining a Pergola!
*This post was sponsored by Wagner. Thank you for supporting the partners that make Reality Daydream possible! This post contains affiliate links* When we bought our house 7 years ago, there wasn’t much in the way of landscaping… let alone a deck or patio area. It took us a few years to make it a priority, but we finally built our rounded pergola and installed the patio. Enjoy this short ... [ Read More ]
Rounded Wooden Doormat Tutorial
My tutorial for our Half Circle Wooden Doormat has been very popular since I posted it almost 2 years ago. I love it when people email us their versions of our project… makes my DIY-lovin’ heart happy. I even noticed that one of my blogging friends from Shades of Blue Interiors knocked one out recently. So awesome! Since making my first version, I’ve learned a few things about this project and ... [ Read More ]
Porch Happenings and Front Door Paint
I’ve done a lot of cute things to our porchy area to make it more inviting… after all, it is the only door that gets used. We built the planter boxes, affixed that vintage mailbox as a little planter, crafted the Kilim house number art, the… and painted the door orange. This post contains affiliate links. See our Disclosure for all the deets! With all the color that’s going on, I like to slap ... [ Read More ]
Stenciled Cinder Block Planter
We're honored to collaborate with EcoScraps on this post, and were compensated for our time. All opinions and project ideas belong to us! I love the idea of using Cinder Blocks as planters, and have seen some really cute ones out there. As you know I’ve been making an effort to ‘freshen up’ our front porch (that we never use, but is very visible from the road), so I thought it would be fun to add ... [ Read More ]