Aliya
Hi! my name is Aliya and I'm so glad you stopped by today! Truly you have no idea how much it means to me. I live in Ohio with my husband and 3 little girls. I believe that once we start opening our doors, that hearts will start to open around us as well. You can head over to the About Aliya page to get my whole story.
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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…
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Empty 1800s Farmhouse Tour | We’re Going on An Adventure
You read that right! I’m taking you on an old 1800s farmhouse tour because we bought a little farm and I can’t wait to tell you all about it! Hey guys! It’s been forever since I’ve shared here at Open Doors Open Hearts. I’ve missed this little spot where I can share and I’ve missed you guys so much. But I’m finally back and I can’t wait to share today’s post with you! I was able to create a video to go along with this 1800s farmhouse tour blog post and you can watch it by clicking the link below. I always try to make sure that both the blog…
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The Best Simple & Natural Fall Decor Ideas for Living Room
Today I’m excited to share how to create a cozy Fall home by bringing the beauty of autumn indoors with simple and cheap natural fall decor. I’m so excited about the Fall decor in our living room this year. But not because of how pretty I find it. I’m excited because of the intentionality that I used when I decided how to decorate our living room for fall. But before we get into our living room specifics I thought I’d answer a few questions about adding natural autumn decorations to your home. How do you decorate for fall naturally? Now with all these ideas I will admit there are two…
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Thrifty Fall Dining Room Ideas | Simplistic & Beautiful
Today I’m excited to share some thrifty fall dining room decor ideas; from a simple table centerpiece to simple fall accessories on a budget. How do you decorate for fall neutral colors? The best way to get that “understated” style of Fall decor is to find earthy and neutral colors. For thrifty fall accessories, you don’t necessarily want to go with the bright whites, for your neutrals though. Lean more toward soft and earthy colors to create simple neutral Fall decor. A few examples from nature that are easy to come by are: If you are looking to buy something: If you prefer to watch the YouTube videos you can…
