lost&found

today's lost&found is 

featuring the completed 

ellie

to remind you, she was an outdated 

red with cheap gold knobs. and adorned with stickers. 

but now, she is classy & simple.

she is an aqua color with adorable 

anthropologie mother-of-pearl knobs.

her drawers are a simple grey & ready to hold your treasures.

you can purchase her or other items like 

her through my etsy store.

i love transformation.

the poor man's gard[en]

this past weekend, 

my husband and i (but mostly my husband) 

worked on the third phase of 

the poor man's gard[en].

he did a great job. i simply replanted some herbs & flowers. 

and repositioned the pots.

he dug up the grass on the side of our garage, 

cut & placed wooden planks to create a planter box & prepared the soil.

isn't he amazing?! i love him. and i love our garden.

i want to show you a simple before picture so you can

see the progress.

about $5 was spent on some of the climbing plants...

we found them in the discount section of our

local hardware store.

we are gradually moving along in our gardening.

i repositioned the herbs because they

were getting too much afternoon sun.

oh, and we received two tomato plants from a dear 

friend. his dad started the plants from seed & 

then shared them with us. 

last month, for my birthday, my sweet friends

bought me 'the herb book' and i love it. 

it tells you about various types of herbs, 

where to plant them, how to plant them,

how to care for them, 

and all of their uses such as cooking, 

aromatherapy, essential oils & rubs, 

skin care, & health care.

it is seriously the best book to have if you are 

wanting to or growing your own herbs. 

you can purchase the complete

 book by jennie harding here.

the next few phases of the poor man's gard[en]

will hopefully include cleaning up the side of the house, 

setting up a compost area, putting up fences to hide

the hideous trash cans, 

building my craft/gardening shed (yes, it is going to happen)

& working on the front yard. i cannot wait.

hopefully august weather won't be too bad...

but if it is, i will cry out 

for fall to arrive sooner.

i hope you are enjoying your week. 

i have some exciting posts coming up. stay tuned.

                       .jessnicole.

[free]day

today is [free]day.

i say this every time but it is because i really mean it. 

these are my favorite days.

today's piece was not exactly free but uber cheap (you'll see why). 

and, my wonderful husband actually found it.

here it is. she is. her name is nelle.

if you are a reader, or if you went to high school, 

you would know this piece is named after nelle harper lee. 

please say you know that name.

in case you don't know that name, 

or in case you are an avid reader and appreciate art and beauty,

you should know 

 the 50th anniversary of the first publishing

 of to kill a mockingbird is july 11th (this sunday).

lee's novel changed the world. and this country. 

and definitely challenged mind's of the south. 

i love how lee saw life. 

i love the simplicity in which she communicated.

to kill a mockingbird is said to be the second book, next to the bible, 

that has and continues to make a difference

(according to the library of congress).

so, in honor of nelle harper lee's astounding piece of art 

and to making a difference

i am naming this [free]day 

nelle 

tonight jonathan and i are going to continue re-reading the 

novel together, out loud. 

and, please, if you have not read it, 

get yourself a copy. 

it will change your life. 

oh, and if you didn't like it 

when you read it in high school, give it a second chance. 

your mind has grown tremendously. i assure you. 

enjoy your weekend of life & reading.

                    .jessnicole. 

lost & found

this week's lost & found 

features my very own 

kitchen.

my husband and i moved in almost 9 months ago (time flies!) and 

have gradually been improving the interior of the home. of course, since

we don't own the home, we're limited to what we can do and how much we can invest into improving it. but, we find ways. believe me. 

here is a photo of our very lost kitchen

and here is our kitchen, now found

we spent roughly $60 improving the small things. 

grey paint for the walls (a gallon of grey was $5 in the sale area of the paint section at our local hardware store), chicken wire for the white cabinets, and knobs for the main cabinets. the floor is obviously not completed, but we found free italian tile on craigslist. once i can get my father-in-law over here we'll lay the tile. in total, i would not expect us to spend more than $100 on improvements.

 my husband built the white wooden cabinets 

(from scraps that was once a wooden fence) 

and fastened the chicken wire. on his own. 

he is amazing & he doesn't charge me for his labor. perfect.

here are some more photos of our lovely kitchen. i am very proud. 

(& look for the chalkboard i painted onto the wall. it's my favorite part)

 

do you have any home improvements that you have been working on? 

i would love to hear.

i hope you are enjoying your thursday. 

the weekend is almost here!

                                 .jessnicole.

gorgeous interior glory & accessories

all i have to say is wow.

these vases are amazing.

i want them.

made out of casting spools of yarn.

via mara skujeniece

and this. 

if we owned the home we live in & did not have to answer to

my landlords (aka my parents), i would paint a wall with chalkboard paint. amen.

via anthropologie july catalogue

and when we have children, i want to build a bed 

out of upcycled wooden pallets. 

that looks something like this

via design*sponge

i love being inspired. since the last two days have not allowed for much creativity, i will live vicariously.

hopefully tomorrow i will get some time to paint & 

at least finish ellie.

enjoy your evening sweet friends.

                              .jessnicole.

[free]day

today is another [free]day!

i love these days.

here is a recent find of mine.

his name is stevie. for obvious reasons.

isn't he cute? 

definitely going to be a fun project.

 i've got some ideas brewing. 

my husband and i are on to helping my dad move into 

his house today and tomorrow. 

there are going be some great before and after photos.

i hope you all have a great weekend.

                         .jessnicole.

lost & found

it is thursday!

well, because i was out with the nasty flu all last weekend, i did not get the chance to finish last week's 'lost & found'. So, this week i wanted to share with you a piece i worked on a few months ago. unfortunately, i do not have a 'lost' picture. but just imagine, spray painted bright red with the nastiest knobs. and some ridiculous stickers. 

her name is ellie. 

now i just need to find knobs. 

what color knobs would 

you like to see on this 

'lost & found'?

stay tuned for tomorrow's [free]day.

                  .jessnicole.

ellie will be available to purchase from my etsy store when she is completed. i'll keep you posted.