Blog - at home with Ashley

The Cheapest Way to Build a Fence

Ever since I was little, I dreamed of a white picket fence in front of my house. Growing up, my best friend had one and I thought it was so cute. They just have a way of making a house look special. Then we bought our home, and I knew it’d be perfect here. Especially after we finished painting the exterior! So I started brainstorming the cheapest way to build a fence.

See, right now we have a field fence out front. We have a SUPER busy street in front of our house so it is essential to have a fence for the safety of our dogs and son. It was the first thing we put up when we moved in, but I’d like a more permanent solution with a functional gate.

Once the house was painted, I priced out a picket fence. To buy everything for as cheap as possible from a hardware store, it came out to $400 for a 32′ fence. Ugh, that was too expensive for me. See, we’re saving up for a BIG project in January (it’s top secret what it is for now) so we’re trying to save our pennies.

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Fireplace Makeover

I’ve been planning my Christmas decor for this year, so I looked at my pictures from last year. And ugh, I hated how the stockings looked hanging from the wood burning stove. It made me think- why do I still own this fireplace? We never use it (we’ve lived here a year and a half and used it once). It leaks water when it rains and lets bugs into the house. And it’s ugly.

I’m just not a wood burning stove fan. The ambiance isn’t that great since you can’t see or hear the fire with the door closed and the fan on. Plus it gets hot and when Don was younger we didn’t feel great about having it going since Don might touch it. Also, Utah has lots of pollution with no burn days most of the winter. The only good thing is that it is great for warming up our house if the power goes out.

My husband and I have been meaning to do it, so I finally got rid of it! I listed the fireplace for sale on Facebook Marketplace and THAT day someone came and bought it for $90! I was thrilled! The very next day, I went shopping at an antique store and found a really cute fireplace. But I figured I could find something else somewhere else and kept looking.

But the more I thought about that fireplace, the more I thought about it and shopped around, the more I figured it was perfect! It was the right size and price (only $79). The shape was beautiful, but I didn’t like the finish. Nothing a fireplace makeover couldn’t resolve!

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Pastel Thanksgiving Ideas + Free Download Placemat!

Last year I decorated for Christmas the day after Halloween and it ended up felling WAY too early for me! The truth is though, you should decorate for a holiday whenever it makes sense for you. The point of decor is to emphasize what makes you happy. So if that means you have a Christmas tree up in October because it makes you smile, do it!

I’m not ready for a tree just yet, so let’s do some Thanksgiving table ideas! I don’t go crazy on decorating for Thanksgiving (my shelves in the kitchen have a few items), but I think all emphasize should be on having a beautiful table for the big meal! Here’s some pastel Thanksgiving ideas plus a free downloadable placemat! [Read more…]

My Favorite Courses on Skillshare

Hey friends! I’ve been starting on a few exciting projects at my house. Like my fireplace makeover and possibly doing a picket fence! There’s nothing that gets me more jazzed up than new things to makeover at my house! Since those aren’t quite ready to share more on, I want to share my favorite courses on Skillshare with you today.

The last time I did the promotion for the free classes, I got a request to share my favorites. Well, I totally dropped the ball then, but figured that I have a second chance now!

Note, Skillshare pays me every few months to advertise with a few Instagram stories where I give away 2 months free access to courses. BUT after getting lots of questions on what courses I like most from them, I wanted to write this post in the hopes that it can be helpful. So this blog post isn’t part of a paid promotion, just me trying to share what I love so you can take advantage of those free classes ;).

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How to Paint a House Exterior

Special thanks to Home Depot for sponsoring this post. All opinions are my own.

Our house is cute, but the exterior is a bit of a jumble! It’s light gray on the front, the back is dark gray, and the porch is delightful. Lol! The porch is white because we redid it last year. We’ve been wanting to paint the rest of our house white for ages and finally completed it this weekend. There’s nothing like the looming winter weather to speed things up! Here’s my tips on how to paint a house exterior.

This is the before photo. Not too shabby, but definitely not what I wanted. The shutters are small and unimpressive. I don’t like the dark trim and the peak needs a fun accent.

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TMNT Boys Budget Themed Room

I had the most fun experience this week and I’m so excited to share it with you! I got to redesign a little boys room on a tight budget. With a theme. The install happened in a few hours and then we got to reveal it to the boys that day! I packed some fun ideas in this space so I thought I’d show some before and after pictures and a tutorial from this TMNT boys budget themed room.

All after images in this post are by Elizabeth Ashdown Photogaphy.

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The Cutest Record Players Under $100

With switching our office to a guest room last week, I had an extra sofa that I needed to find room for. The living room made the most sense so I wanted to share how it’s looking with our leather sofa.

I actually really like it! There’s WAY more seating which feels super comfy. For now, I think the coffee table will be ok, but in the long run it needs to be bigger to work fo both sofas.

We still use the leather sofa most since it faces the TV, but the pink sofa is the BEST to sleep on (which might come in handy for naps this winter). I’d love to hear your thoughts on this change in the comments. Do you like the sofa in here?

It’s getting pretty cold here. Actually, we’ve gotten snow already! Help! But one plus side of cooler weather is being inside together. And I love turning on our record player and listening to music. If you’re looking for one as a gift or for yourself, here are the cutest record players under $100.

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Organization Tips and Affordable Organizing Bins

It’s almost the holidays, which is the busiest time of year. Currently, I’m getting as organized as possible before things get extra crazy! So if you want to join me, read on for some organization tips and affordable organizing bins.

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Guest room Transformation

Since we moved in, our office has been a tricky spot to decorate. The room is shaped weird and it’s just where junk tends to pile up. I’ve been trying to get my life organized and while I have, I realized that I never work at my desk and it just holds stuff. Then we have family coming to town for the holidays- pretty much it all boiled down to switching out the desk and sofa for a bed and a guest room transformation!

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How To keep a Dining Room Rug Clean

Whenever I show a picture of my kitchen with my dining table, I always get questions about it- how do you keep that rug clean? Is it even practical to have a table under where you eat? Yes! To me it is! I love the look, but I also know how to keep the rug clean. If you’re wanting a rug under your table, but don’t want it to look dirty, here’s how to keep a dining room rug clean.

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