DIY: Bonfire Pit

Anyone who lives in Newfoundland knows that our beautiful weather is far and few between. While most of Canada is starting to enjoy the signs of spring, Newfoundland today is a whopping 1 degree outside and foggy. Depressing, I know. So while this post may be more summertime appropriate, I just needed to post something to remind me that the sun does exist and that hopefully my favourite summer pastime of sitting around a bonfire is just around the corner.

Last summer I was faced with a backyard that was a big blank canvas - no grass, no garden...just dirt. So when I was trying to figure out what to do with my backyard, I decided that incorporating a bonfire pit was a must.

I came across two pictures in particular that really inspired my vision for my bonfire pit...

Source: homedesigncollections.blogspot.com

Source: thisoldhouse.com

I told myself, "I can do that!" and started my research to figure out how. My effort to find step-by-step instructions was proving difficult, so I decided to just figure it out as I went along. Totallllly not something I normally do. If you know me at all, you know that I get anxiety if I don't read and follow exactly as an instruction manual tells you. Approaching this project blindly was a big step for me folks.

Anxiety and all behind me, I borrowed a truck from work one day, made my way over to my local lumber yard, picked up some 12 foot long pieces of wood, some corner brackets to screw them together and then got a whole lotta pea-gravel delivered from a local landscaping business.

Here's the mess I started with...

I spent an evening or two levelling the area and used some fine sand and my tamp to level beneath the wood pieces. I screwed them together using my corner brackets and then moved on to the pea gravel.

I had soooo much pea gravel to move, so my dad allowed me to borrow his tractor for the weekend to make the process much faster and a LOT less labour intensive. The child within me was dying at the fact that I would get to drive a real tractor. That's a picture of me in the tractor below -  I was pretty bad-ass I gotta say.

After working on the project for a week or so (and getting quite frustrated at times!), the bonfire pit was complete. I was soooo impressed with the outcome. It was pretty much exactly as I had envisioned!

What gardening or landscaping projects are you dreaming up for this summer? I'd love to hear about it! Share in the comments below!

~Emily Grace

Staging the Master Bedroom

First of all, thank you for joining me again! I've been MIA the last few months...I've been working on other big things in my life (planning a wedding, moving into a new place, starting a new coaching biz!), and put this blog on the back burner for a short while.

Nevertheless, I have been inspired to share with you how my bedroom transformation turned out (or former bedroom, I've since sold that house).

When we moved into our former house in November, 2013 it took me a YEAR to figure out how I wanted to decorate the master bedroom. It was like writers block (or interior design block I suppose?) except the block just wouldn't go away! Finally one day, I said enough is enough and I made a trip to my go-to decor store, HomeSense.

I wanted the bedroom to feel cozy and serene, with just a little touch of colour. I didn't want to go too dramatic in the bedroom - just nice and simple with the ability to change it up easily if I get bored with it. 

Remember how AWFUL it looked? Let me remind you...

Yep. It was that bad. Sooo... here's what happened. I went to HomeSense and went on a mad shopping spree. I literally bought everything and anything I thought might look nice in the bedroom!

So I returned home and went right at it! The room was a state as I was setting up my new found items as you can see...

Within just about a half an hour of setting everything up - VOILA.

I was amazed at how just a few key items can totally transform a room! Instantly it felt much more cozy and inviting.

Here's what I added:
- Rug from Costco
- Swapped out the bench at the end of the bed for the one I had in my porch
- Mirror I had in storage
- Lamps
- Lots of new pillows!
- Artwork
- Nightstands (more on that in another blogpost...they were an ikea "hack" project)
- Headboard (my FAVE purchase - it made a big difference in the look and feel of the space)

So if you're feeling "blah" with your bedroom right now, just know that a few key pieces added into the space can make a world of a difference! Go out and treat yourself :)

Have a wonderful day!

~Emily Grace