1 down, 7 to go

It's with great excitement that I share out first officially finished & remodeled room! This room had some interesting features... a light switch hidden behind wallpaper that lead to nowhere, the one plug in the room was wired with a piece of lamp cord, and behind the drywall... crumbling plaster and lathe with no insulation.

But, my husband worked hard and persevered for over a year on nights and weekends so we could create a beautiful and warm space for our little boy to call this own.

1 room down, 7 to go.

DURING

Plaster and Lathe was hauled out one 5 gallon bucket at a time

New wiring & insulation done; drywall going up

Drywall almost complete

Spring arrives and the new window goes in!

Custom mixing the wall color because I'm crazy like that

almost there!

Ready for baby boy to move in!

Fini.

Fini.

It's a happy day when there are no longer mushrooms around the sink

It's so nice to finally be able to post a final before and after shot of work on our house. There are so many projects and it seems that we spend a lot of efforts just putting bandaids on to get by.

I present to you... the new bathroom sink! It's no secret that the previous owners made lets say, interesting choices. This is a classic example. They surrounded the sink with unfinished wood. Genius, right? When we moved in, it was growing mushrooms. I sealed, primed and painted it, but no luck. Nature prevailed and the mushrooms would return time and time again.

Now the clean freak in me looks at our new sink and feels a great sense of calm. All is right with the world.

The Kreiser family is growing!

On Aug 22, 2015 we welcome the newest addition to the Kreiser homestead... our baby boy William J Smith Kreiser. I can't wait to watch you grow and thrive along with our farm.

We're making it official.

Our wedding will be Aug 9, 2014 at Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore (Glen Haven) with our reception overlooking Lake Michigan at a private camp in Northport. But the night before our wedding, our farm was the setting for our wedding rehearsal and ice cream social.

As we prepared for our big day, we were surrounded by our most dear loved ones.
Our farm never felt more like home.

Thanks to my sister, Candice, for the photos!

New life. Finally.

Winter is our time to get some fun projects done.


If you remember what my pantry looked like before we gutted it, then you remember the gorgeous wood on the walls that had to come down.

Well, that wood has found new life as a coffee table, & we love it.

I love trees but dead ones, not so much.

We finally came to our senses and decided that the 3 extremely large dead cottonwoods in front of the house needed to go. We weren't in danger of them coming down on the house but were very afraid of them coming down in the road.

On a side note: 3 years ago I saw the hydraulic log splitter my Dad built from scratch covered in dust in my Grandpa's garage,  so I asked my Dad if I could have it. I knew it would come in handy some day.

Let there be floor!

Our poor pantry room has been stripped down and turned inside out over the last year. Remember the cinder blocks supporting the floor joists? (See post from

Sunday, June 16, 2013)

 Well, we are proud to say that it now has a proper floor!

On the left side of the photo: Our future master bedroom, full of construction rubble & missing walls
On the right side of the photo: The temporary wall between the pantry and the kitchen

What the!?!

Ever seen a cecropia silkworm? Me neither, until I spotted one making it's way up our maple tree today. Wild.

and then there's this.

As we go through the house room by room, we'll be removing all the plaster and lathe. Looks like the dining room thinks we aren't moving fast enough and decided to have it come crashing down on it's own.

Since we can't gut the dining room until we're done with the pantry and master bedroom, our plan is screw masonite to ceiling to hold the plaster up until D Day comes for this room. Hopefully it holds, fingers crossed.

Mr. Rainbow

Agreed, Mr. Rainbow. I feel the same way about this place.

I guess that's one way to do it.

I'll admit it. There's a small part of me that will miss wondering, "How has the floor in the pantry stayed up so long?" But, it must go & it's gone!

On a side note, the pile of rubble you see in the background is where our master bedroom will live someday.

Nothing is sweeter than a place to rest.

My new favorite spot ever. Much love to my sister, Cheryle, & her talented husband, Matt, for the glorious handmade hammock! It will live in joy under my apple trees for years to come. xo

Give me juicy autumnal fruit ripe and red from the orchard

~

Give me the splendid silent sun with all his beams full-dazzling, 

Give me juicy autumnal fruit ripe and red from the orchard, 

Give me a field where the unmow'd grass grows.

Walt Whitman, Poet 

~

The newest addition to our farm, two peach trees & two asian pear trees. I think they will compliment the grapevines quite nicely. Now, to get those Wizard of Oz lookin' apple trees under control...

I love old stuff. I love it even more when it just turns up on my doorstep.

Jason says my style can easily be defined as "old stuff." His Dad knows this about me too. I'm always tinkering with or revamping things around the farm to give them new life. The other thing they know about me is that if you turn up at my house, you're probably going to get a meal cooked for you.

So when he spotted this "old" gas stove in a hay barn, he asked if we had any use for it. Of course, I quickly said yes.  It needs some lovin' but my plan for this gorgeous old thing...  make it the gas range component in my outdoor kitchen. I'm also building a charcoal grill out of "old" chimney bricks (we have 3 chimney's coming down) to be the main hoorah of the outdoor cooking space.

Super stoked.

Hibernation no more

Spring wildlife is in full effect at Three Acre Farm!

Yesterday I heard the sweet chirp of Chickadee's nesting in the birdhouse on our kitchen porch & caught sight of a Bald Eagle chilling in our tree. This morning, I spotted a spirited fox running across the yard!

It's becoming increasingly clear why Shanti has been going banana's & waking us up at Sunrise everyday!

I get mesmerized by the darndest things

With the cold weather not giving us a break, we aren't getting a whole heck of a lot done in terms of renovation. Our farm has grown so quiet this Winter.

But, it's a peace & serenity that draws me to the country life. When all the natural world is asleep, we find these extra moments of pause to sit in awe of the beauty all around us & reconnect.

Baby, it's cold outside.

We had a Jan thaw over the last couple of days. But today, it's cold and our world is once again covered with a sheet of ice. Cold days like today make me want to bake. Cleaning out the fridge makes me want to use things up so they don't go to waste.

To warm our insides & help get rid of items that have spent too long in the fridge, it's time to make an

Applesauce Buckwheat Spice Cake (gluten-free) 

withOrange Scented Cream Cheese Frosting

View Recipe Here 
Photos to follow

Frost & Sunshine.

all images copyright of tavla studio

tavlastudio.com

I'm salvaging, again.

Random block of wood in my barn ---> new yoga prop

Digging up the past

In hopes of finding out more regarding the history of our farm, I paid a visit to the Wexford Country Deeds office today. Looks like I have a lot of books to go through! I'll let you know what I find!