Tag: Country

My Retirement Reality

Published on by byjoellaLeave a comment

We passed thru the 2019 holiday season, and then got hit by 2020. (20/20: What I hoped represented “Perfect Vision.”)

Perfect Vision?

Amid all the 2020 confusion, I was preparing to retire. People asked, me are you sure you want to retire? Um, YES!!! We house shopped all over AZ (literally) for the perfect retirement area. We ended up purchasing a 1986 home in the White Mountains of Arizona, 5 hours from where we lived. Before I retired, we moved our household belongings into the new house over the weekends. Once our old house was empty, we sold it and briefly lived in our RV until I retired; then we moved into what we considered our rural, retirement retreat.

Our goal was to downsize and start a small, home based business built on Rustic Country Market Living, but we couldn’t find a smaller house. Instead we ended up with 1300 more SF, including a HUGE pantry (like a 3rd car garage). We thought we’d turn some of the extra space into a B&B, but instead, my mother moved in with us in 2021.

Things started to morph…

Our house has a chicken coup, so we got a few chickens. Later we found out we have predators in our area, so we had to take defensive measures. We added gutters and rain barrels to recycle water for our garden, fruit trees, grapevines, herbs and lavender.

We knew there were things that needed to be repaired in our “new” used retirement home, but what we didn’t anticipate was the amount of hidden deferred maintenance it had. Yes, we had a house inspection which turned out useless for us. No, we didn’t get a “home warranty.” The house has turned into a major fixer upper, tapping deeply into our retirement savings and absorbing our time.

A new look for an old house.
Continue reading “My Retirement Reality” →

Decorating on a Budget

Published on by byjoellaLeave a comment

I gotta confess, I’m an HGTV junkie. Several of the shows inspire me to want to redecorate my home over and over again. I can watch the same show again and again, and see something I never noticed before.

Let’s face it, we live in an immediate world, and most of us want what we want now.

There are so many times I’ve wanted a new look in my home, but my budget wouldn’t allow much. That’s when I start looking at what I already have and thinking about what I can do to change it for a fraction of the cost of buying something new.

Simply putting a new pillow cover on an old pillow can add a new splash of color, and with the advent of online shopping, the sky’s the limit on selection!

I was tired of these old, throw pillows. Instead of buying new ones, I bought new pillow covers at a fraction of the cost of new pillows.
Our living room has a cabin theme, so the new pillow covers fit right in. Even my husband likes them.

My next pillow upgrade? Our RV! I love to add my own touches to the RV’s factory decor.

Inspiring Home Life,

THE RELENTLESS REDECORATOR

I Love East Coast Antiques & Crafts…

Published on by byjoellaLeave a comment

I absolutely love to visit historical places on the east coast. I love the antiques. I love the crafts. I love old brick, old rock walls, old glass, and old wood. I love getting inspired by different colors and textures. I leave these places with a desire to create things! Here’s a few inspirational photos I took during some of my past visits to the east coast. Maybe they will inspire you too!

The Relentless Redecorator

 

Replace or Update?

Published on by byjoellaLeave a comment

Sometimes you just gotta do what you envision you wanna do.

Before…

I had wanted to change the look of our old, country dining room table, chairs and hutch instead of buying new furniture. I was tired of the dated look. I envisioned that the table, chairs and hutch could use some new color. Our current house has a lot of stainless steel and gray accents which inspired my new color choice.

I bought some charcoal gray chalk paint to update the set for a fraction of the price of buying a new dining set. I decided not to distress the chalk paint because the old white paint already had a natural aged look, and I loved how the charcoal looked next to the old white paint.

I decided the old, wood knobs on the hutch had to go, so I visited one of my favorite stores, Hobby Lobby. I found some antiqued silver/glass knobs to add to the hutch. The new look took our old dining set to a whole new level.

I love it!

Inspiring home life,

The Relentless Redecorator