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The Best Homemade Unsweetened Applesauce with Apple Cider
I recently discovered the one ingredient that has improved my unsweetened applesauce and I’ll never go back to the old recipe. As I’m typing this post I can already hear the old Aliya being so mad at me. When I first started making homemade food from scratch, I got so annoyed when people didn’t use exact measurements. Like when I started making sourdough sandwich bread and people would say something about the way the dough is supposed to “feel”. I was like, “Well what about for those of us that don’t know?” haha! I can say, it hasn’t taken me very long to go from needing exact measurements of everything…
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How to Install Beadboard Backsplash in the Kitchen | Cottage Charm
Today I’m excited to show you the progress in our European cottage style kitchen upgrade and most specifically how to install beadboard backsplash to add charm. We have been hard at work turning out kitchen into the European cottage style kitchen that we envisioned when we first moved in. It’s not be the fasted project we’ve ever tackled. But it has been worth it! We’re not done yet, but we’re getting so close and I wanted to share a post that shows our progress. Watch YouTube Video Here Can beadboard be used as a kitchen backsplash? Yes, it can. But if you want beadboard backsplash behind your oven you need…
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7 Simple DIY Fall Decor Ideas with Beautiful Cottage Style
I haven’t started decorating for Fall yet, but I have been looking for inspiration and wanted to share these simple DIY Fall decor ideas that add cottage style. Since it’s still a little early for Fall decor, I thought it was a good idea to share some DIY projects for Fall decor. This way you couple a couple weeks to gather materials and complete the projects. This way you don’t have to stress out about getting them done “in time” for your Fall home decorating. Watch Video Here How can I decorate for fall with no money? This is the best part about simple DIY Fall decor. They are so…
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Beautiful European Country Living Room | Simple Decor Ideas
I’m so excited to finally share our new European country living room and some of the ideas I used to give this room character and charm. If I’m being candid our living room has been quite neglected for almost the entire time we’ve been here. I added this mantel, rug, coffee table, and couches and called it good enough. Not because I was so busy doing other things. I was busy resting and getting our home settled; not decorated. But now that I’ve started decorating it I can feel the difference in the room. Watch the YouTube Video Here I told my husband last night that by changing just a…
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How to Make Soft Sourdough Sandwich Bread + 3 Helpful Tips
With a soft texture and buttery flavor, it’s no wonder my family loves this sourdough sandwich bread so much. But my homemade bread wasn’t always this good. When I first started replacing all of our store-bought bread products with homemade sourdough options I was a little nervous. I saw the traditional sourdough loaves and although they look beautiful and taste amazing, they are not a soft sandwich loaf that we were used to. Then I found a recipe for a soft sandwich loaf from Lisa from Farmhouse on Boone and I was so excited! But as with anything new, I didn’t get it right the first time. My first many…
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A Beautiful Day of Ordinary Homemaking | Romanticizing the Everyday
Most of my days are unremarkable. But even so, I get so excited about a day of ordinary homemaking full of caring for my family in a million little ways. “I have found that there is romance in housework: and charm in it; and whimsy and humor without end. I have found that the housewife works hard, of course–but likes it.” Songs of a Housewife: Poems by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (1896-1953) You can watch the ordinary homemaking day here Ordinary Homemaking Routine The Day Starts Before Coffee Before we moved here I would start the day with hot tea, coffee, or that dandy blend coffee. First things first, right? Well…
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Thrifty Cottage Style Kitchen Ideas | 10 Beautiful & Easy DIYs
Today I’m excited to share some of the thrifty cottage style kitchen ideas I’m thinking about as we start to plan the kitchen makeover for our new house. There are some affiliate links below, which means I get a small percentage of the sale at no extra cost to you. I won’t put anything on this page that I haven’t verified and/or personally used.For my full disclosure statement click here We are finally getting ready to start the kitchen makeover. But, that doesn’t mean that I am just now coming up with a plan. If you know my husband and I then you know we have been making plans and changing them for…
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Simple & Functional Ways to Decorate a Hanging Pot Rack
Today I want to share 10 easy ways to decorate a hanging pot rack that will add modern cottage style to your kitchen. If you’ve been following me for a little while it’s no surprise that when we moved to our new house I insisted on having a hanging pot rack. When we made the DIY pot rack at the old house it had to stay because we had it screwed to the wall. I’m not sure how other states work, but in Ohio if it’s attached to the wall during the showing then it stays. Now could I have made a stink about it and tried to bring it…
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9 Ways to Add Simple European Cottage Charm | Dining Room
I’m excited to share a few elements in our dining room that give it that simple living and European cottage charm. See how we enhanced what was already here! Simple European Cottage Charm in Our Dining Room Before I get into all the details of the European cottage charm to our dining room I want to state that most of these ideas can be used when decorating other rooms in your house. While I have all these elements in our dining room, I have them in other rooms in our house as well. So just because I’m talking about my dining room, don’t get stuck thinking these elements are just…
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Motivation for Homemaking | How to Keep Homemaking Simple
The changing and slowing of the seasons are evidence that God knew our souls needed rest, which is where I find my motivation for homemaking. You can watch the video that goes along with this post HERE. Before we dive into this I have to be completely honest with you. This has been a very difficult post to share. I’ve typed it and then deleted it multiple times. But I keep feeling like I need to share it because I don’t think I’m the only person who battles with this. So at the expense of being overly transparent, I’m going to share what I’ve learned. ***I also want to share…
