In the beginning there was a house...

My house to be more precise.  My name is Erin.  I am a Stay-At-Home-Mom and a military wife, and my house has become a (seemingly never ending) project.

As a military family, we move around a lot.  When my husband and I were first married, we moved to his first duty station with only the items that could fit in our Ford Escape. We spend the next few years accumulating second-hand furniture, and trying to make our first rental feel more like a home. Lots of odds and ends were accumulated and our little two bedroom house felt cozy enough, but after our move to Alaska last year, we learned that what works in one house doesn't necessarily work in the next. And that is how this whole ordeal got started.

There are/were a few problems with our newest home.
1. We had a baby (!), which changed the way our home functions.
2. Our Alaska house is almost double the size of our last home, so we really don't have enough stuff to fill it.
3. Almost every piece of furniture we own is second-hand, so nothing matches! It's really difficult to make a room look cohesive and put together when everything in it is an accident.

And here we are.  I've been debating for a while whether or not to document my redecorating adventures, but I decided to go for it.  (Heck, what else am I going to do after the baby's gone to sleep and I'm waiting for paint to dry.) I am NOT an expert! But I do have a passion for DIY and crafting and the more projects I take on the more products and techniques I become comfortable with.

One last important piece of information about this project is that I am working with a very small renovation budget.  I would love to be able to just run to the store and purchase all new furniture, but realistically, that's just not possible for us.  I decided to put my career on hold for a few years when my son was first born, and while I absolutely love this precious time I get to spend with my little, our budget for "extras" is tight as single income family.  It's very important to me that all of my renovations add value to the pieces I'm refinishing! If any of these items need to be sold before our next move, I'd love to at least break even with my renovation costs.

So, there you have it. Thanks for reading! I hope you come back for more!

P.S. I'm totally open to suggestions if there is anything specific you'd like me to write about.