Seasonal Simplicity Holiday Home Tour 2017

Today, I’m teaming up with some blog friends to share a “Seasonal Simplicity” holiday home tour blog hop hosted by House by Hoff and The Happy Housie. If you’re new here, then welcome! I’m Erin, and I am a maker, lover of decorating, and boy mom living in the Atlanta suburbs. I share my projects here on the blog, and I also co-host a podcast called North South Makers which you can find on iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play. You can find the entire lineup of this holiday home tour at the end of this post. I’m so happy our theme is “simplicity,” because our holiday decor is definitely simple this year. Between having a destructive toddler who’s constantly on a rampage, to just having a rough year personally, I’ve found it hard to get into holiday decorating mode. We didn’t put up our third tree (which let’s face it, is excessive anyway but we usually enjoy it), and we didn’t display most of our decor. “Simplicity” describes our holiday home well. (This post contains affiliate links.)

I went with a colorful theme for our main tree in the “mom cave” (living room/office) again this year. (The kids always decorate their own tree in the family room.) I love these colorful ball ornaments, and I really love the fact that they are shatterproof, which is a must this year with a wild 3 year-old in the house.

I propped an ombré blue wreath up on top of my card catalog near the tree.

I love the fun pop of color and the modern style of this wreath. Sometimes I just like to stray from the “traditional” holiday color scheme and go bold instead. (P.S. Read the story behind the card catalog and how I restored it here.)

I always pick up fresh garland at Trader Joe’s and add some battery-powered LED lights for our banister.

I also love to set up a little vignette on our entryway table. Glittery ball ornaments make great filler for any vase or bowl. I propped another wreath up here (this time a dried boxwood). Notice a pattern here? Too lazy to hang the wreaths. But propping them up works well too for table vignettes like this.

This adorable little copper reindeer was a gift from Lucent Lightshop last year, which is a brand I’ve worked with and love.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Be sure to check out the rest of the lineup below!

Monday

The Happy Housie / House by Hoff / at HOME with the barkers / Paint Me Pink / Cherished Bliss

Tuesday

Maison de Pax / House of Wood / Tidy Mom / The Turquoise Home / Rain on a Tin Roof

Wednesday

Jamie Costiglio / Robb Restyle / Bless’er House / Two Twenty One / Place of My Taste

Thursday

Town & Country Living / A Burst of Beautiful / Deeply Southern Home / My Fabuless Life

Friday

Erin Spain / Refresh Restyle / Nina Hendrick / The Wicker House

Making Home Base / Sincerely Sara D. / Just a Girl and Her Blog

You Might Also Like:

• Christmas Home Tour 2016
• Project Gallery

You can also connect with me here:

Thanks for visiting!

-Erin

The post Seasonal Simplicity Holiday Home Tour 2017 appeared first on Erin Spain.

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DIY_Express

Build a Backyard Privacy Fence

Our yard is small but mighty. Our indoor/outdoor space works well for us but recently our neighbor decided to cut down some bushes that were on his property but acted as a natural barrier between our homes. After the bushes were removed we could clearly see his kitchen and dining room windows and of course they could see right into our backyard.  We did have some bamboo screens but they were worn out and falling down and not providing any privacy at all. We had no warning but fortunately the neighbor was just doing this to prepare the house for a new tenant so there was no one living in it, but we knew that could change quickly.

We considered a few options to regain some privacy between our homes. The first was extending the brick wall between our homes with a wood fence similar to what we had done in another section of our yard. The issue here is that the brick wall was shorter on this side so we’d have to build a much taller wood fence. This would take a lot more time and money and we needed this done fast.

The second option was to buy some pre-made wood fences and place them on risers up against the brick wall. Although the fences are pre-made we’d still have to build out a frame for them and they would be very heavy.

The next option was installing corrugated steel panels along the wall. Using furring strips we could attach the steel panels to the brick and be done with it! Usually the most simple option is the best so this is what we chose to do.

Thanks to Lowe’s we found all of the tools and materials we needed and after a quick trip to pick up supplies we were ready to get started.

Tools & Materials

8 corrugated steel panels (4×8)
20′ furring strips
Tapcon concrete screws
Corrugated steel screws
Carbide-tipped masonry drill bit
Hammer drill and driver

Step-by-Step

The first step is to attach the furring strips to the wall using Tapcon concrete screws. We pre-drilled the holes using a masonry bit that was included in the Tapcon screw kit.

The next step is lining up the steel panels against the wall and making sure they are even across the top. We overlap at least one ridge and then drill the steel screws through the panels and into the furring strips. We recommend using two furring strips for this process to ensure maximum hold.

Big thanks to Duluth Trading Company for letting me try out their new DuluthFlex Ultimate Fire Hose Cargo Pants.

The last step was sitting back and enjoying our new private yard.

The steel panels gave our yard an industrial chic look and made us feel like we were in a coffee house in Austin (not a bad thing). It’s full private and the panels have since weathered a few Santa Ana wind storms with no problem. An added bonus they served as an earthquake warning as we heard the panels shaking against each other last week during a little tremor we had. It was freaky to see and hear them move when there was no wind in the air.

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DIY_Express

The Best Trucks and Rigs at Overland Expo

Overland Expo West is a three-day off-road extravaganza. Over 10,000 attendees converge near Flagstaff, Arizona to celebrate heading off into the unknown. Whether you are traveling by 4-wheel drive truck or dual sport motorcycle, or any other type of motorized vehicle, you’ll find enthusiasts who share the same passion for adventure that you do. 

We traveled to Overland Expo in our 1989 FJ62 and camped in the new Yakima Skyrise rooftop tent. It worked out great for three nights and we loved how easy it was to deploy and comfortable it was to sleep in. We stayed powered up all weekend with our Ecoflow River portable power station and our Milwaukee Tool lights.

Overland Expo – Education

There are over 200 classes offered that can teach newbies as well as experienced drivers how to navigate a trip as well as how to identify the most technical and sound line. Land Rover, BMW, and BF Goodrich were there in full-force and were offering test drives in an off-road track for anyone who was interested. 

Overland Expo is about the Trucks

The big show at Overland Expo are the trucks and rigs of all types. From vintage Land Rovers, Jeeps, and FJ40 Land Cruisers to new full-size trucks including the new Titan XD Project Basecamp and the Ram Power Wagon. They are all loaded up with everything you need to survive and thrive away from civilization for days, weeks, or even months. The $500,00 Earth Roamers and decked out Sportsmobiles and Sprinter vans are always fun to see and our favorite Land Rover Defender 110s are beautiful. We can’t wait for the next Overland Expo and we’d love to take a run at Overland Expo East in Asheville, NC later this summer.

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