Do I look FAT in these Jeans?

Well, this is the blog equivalent - Can you critique my blog PLEASE?  In case you have not noticed, I don't REALLY know what I am doing.  I have a vision for this blog, but I do not know if I am transmitting it. 

These are parts of my message:

1. Simplifying our life, and keeping it that way.  
2. Living in a tiny home is a good thing, and doable.
3. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE decorating blogs.  I've saved a ton of money (and more importantly, space) by having discovered them.  I don't buy MAGAZINES anymore!  Well, with the exception of Cottages and Bungalows magazine.
4. Minkee Baby Gifts is a business we work from our home that helps us to accomplish our goals.  I cannot maintain two blogs, and it is closely tied to our objectives, so I am trying to marry them.

I want to know how to better tie all this together.  So,  although difficult and potentially embarrassing and uncomfortable, I really want to learn.

Please take a look around my blog, check out the layout, pages, buttons,  sidebar and gadgets. I would love for you to gently critique my blog. I’m hoping you will leave me some positive feedback about my blog. It would be great if you could give me constructive criticism but be sure to tell me what you like about my blog too! Do you like my pictures? Does my blog load quickly for you? How about the font?  All tips and tidbits welcome!

PS  I got this idea from My Re-Purposed Life

Beauty in the Attempt

This is a Blog Hop - you can join too!

Did I vent my dryer into my office?

At least it appeared so.........

I moved my computer over the weekend to begin painting the office,

the dust bunnies came ALIVE!

I started naming them.

So, this was the before:

 

First I took off the doors - they will be re-used in another project.  Then I started painting.  It was quite a mess, as the bedroom is 10 x 10, the whole house only 320 sq ft.  So I had to paint on top of everything.  It looked like Best Buy had been hit by a tornado.

Oh my......

Then it was finished.  All creamy white, so clean and pretty

I put the shelves back (we built these ourselves! - Can you tell?  Don't answer that)

 

The keyboard drawer was a salvaged piece of oak - and ode to the man in my life who likes OAK.  This is the only piece in the whole house, I guess he can have it.

 

And here it is, all organized and ready for the new season!

Now, Get to WORK, Debra!

How to squeeze a Guest Room into a small home.....

Sometimes in a tiny cottage you need a guest room.  Here is mine:

This is a tutorial on how to make a 'fold out' bed in a very small space for very little money.

Farm House Sink

I am SO resisting the urge to upgrade.  I have been showing such self control.  I wanted granite counter-tops, a tiny dishwasher, a new flat-screen TV.......

However, this is not compatible with my goals of simplification.  Money in, money out is not something I want to do.  Saving is a priority, as is working less.  I do not want to work more to have these things.  

That being said, I am ON THE HUNT!  In the last two mega houses that we build and lived in (WHAT was I thinking?)  I was fortunate enough to have found old, vintage, farmhouse sinks, like these:

What is so interesting, is I do not think these were actually 'farmhouse sinks', as we now call them.  In the '40's and '50's these were up-scale, brand new,  sinks for indoor plumbing of the fashionable modern kitchen.

I found the first one for $75.00, the second for $50.00.  The first one was in my brother-in-law's granite shop junk yard, out in the woods, actually.  Full of leaves.  I was salivating, my heart was pumping, palms sweaty, as I pulled her out of the muck.  Sweet little girl, I will rescue you!  SOMEONE (I HOPE I NEVER find out WHO) had exchanged her for new, shiny granite.  I shudder to think.....My dear brother-in-law still valued her, but had no where to put her.  She was mine.

Moving on, she now lives happily with her new owner.  The second girl was found when I answered an ad for two seven foot solid wood french doors.  These were beautiful, the set was mine for just $25.00.  As I was leaving, I noticed this grimy dirty faced little girl out of the corner of my eyes.  Could it be?  Was it?  No WAY!  YES!!!!!! We had found each other!  I picked her up for just $50.00.  Both were disgustingly dirty, but apparently the grime served as a protective coating.  Underneath the porcelain was in almost pristine condition.  There were a few nicks and scratches, but I felt so happy to give these old girls a 

home 

to be loved in.  

So, will I be so blessed as to find another?  Do any of you out there have one of these ladies?  Care to tell the story?