Carrie Waller

Thankfully, the concept of wearing a mask out in public has grown to feel “normal” and almost like second nature, but it also feels a good bit surreal, too. I always wear a KN95 mask when I have to go out these days, but I like to layer a nice patterned fabric face mask over top of the surgical-grade one to (hopefully!) make me seem a little friendlier and less serious. The good news is that when things eventually go back to normal (they will, right?!), you can use your DIY face mask peg rail to hold just about anything in your entry Hop through to Hunker here to read my full tutorial, including linked supply list and tips for getting those two arched ends juuuuuuuust right using a simple ramekin dish and jigsaw.

We’re experiencing sort of a mixed bag here in Virginia (bouncing from cloudy 52-degree days, to sunny 65-degree afternoons), but the hope of consistent warm weather has gotten me outside despite the lingering winter chill. If you’re planning to get outside this weekend to work on sprucing up your yard, like we are, keep scrolling for a weekend link roundup featuring landscaping inspiration and curb appeal updates to make My favorite update is that we repainted our front door a robin’s egg blue color called “Halcyon Green.” 3. I used this large light gray pot from Lowe’s and a blue ceramic one to “plant” our two faux evergreens in, and I think they’d fool just about anybody.

What feels like a long, long time ago, I purchased a vintage seascape line drawing from a local antique store. I’ve worked with the team before to custom frame one of my dad’s old license plates for his birthday, and I’ve also shown how you can use the Framebridge mail-in service to frame old recipe cards as gifts. Their custom framers followed my directions perfectly, and it’s exactly how I wanted it to look two years ago when I picked it out at the antique store. All this to say that if you happen to spot a beautiful art piece at a thrift or antique store, but the frame isn’t to your taste, don’t give up on the art!

We found a different spot for the trash can so that it wasn’t stinking up the carport area, and we tore out all of the overgrown vegetation at the back of the carport to allow for more natural light. Here’s what we did: replaced the overhead light fixture (and upgraded to a 2-bulb light for added brightness), painted the storm door a fun new color, added a bench for seating and closed storage, I made a DIY house numbers planter, installed a wall-mounted sconce, and I also tiled around the slate stoop. The old orange color, in case you liked that best, is called “Peppery,” and the new greenish gray is called “Illusive Green,” both from Sherwin Williams. The short story is that I screwed a small wooden box from the craft store to a wooden board (also from the craft store), and then I painted it black, sealed it with a clear spray sealant, added house numbers to the front of the board, and filled the box with faux succulents and rocks.