NewlyWoodwards

an unconventional home

Preserving pumpkins for long-term use

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Hop in your time machine, baby. We’re taking a little trip back in time to July. Because that was when our first pumpkins were ready to pick in the garden. In case you aren’t familiar with pumpkins (and in which case, we cannot be friends), pumpkins are FALL things. That means they are really necessary for FALL decorating. […]

Siding progress (and thoughts on engineered wood siding)

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Siding is still the name of the game here. And progress is steadily being made. It’s really not that it’s slow, per-say. It’s just a lot of work and a lot of ladders and a lot of steps and a lot of cutting. So it’s definitely taken longer than anticipated. I’ve had a few questions about […]

Bathroom update in modern mint (Behr Color Trends Giveaway)

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I was provided with product and/or compensation by BEHR to write this post but, as always, thoughts and opinions expressed are my own! Once, there was a girl who lived in a barn while building a house. (Technically, her husband was doing most of the building, but stay with me.) She spent days and days and days […]

Two favorite ways to freeze tomatoes

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I love tomatoes fresh from the garden, but there are only so many tomatoes that one person can reasonably eat without turning into a tomato herself. Trust me. I’m close to the point of no return, Violet-style (from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, clearly). And this year, I’ve been finding ways to make the most of […]

Outdoor progress at the house (front and back porches, soffits, trim and siding)

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It’s been almost a month since a legit house building update. Lest you think we’ve been making no progress, I’ll give you the low-down. We’ve actually been working on exterior projects with the goal of getting the outside finished before winter hits. Which could be tomorrow, because the Midwest is cray. Outdoor projects are not fast […]

Scrabble art from scrap wood

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Building a house has meant a LOT of scrap wood. Many of the smaller pieces get burned in our fire pit. But some of the larger scraps are just begging us to make something. So we have hung onto them. And that’s what led to our new scrabble tile outdoor art. Because the best words are the big words! I’ve […]