Our completed yard, a patch of green goes from the sidewalk to a rock edge pathway, past it features warm, decomposed granite and a variety of cacti. Text overlay reads "Our 1954 Home Front Yard"

Our 1954 Home: Front Yard

May 5, 2021, 2 Comments

Patrick and I aim to do one or two big house projects each year, and we were on the verge of rebuilding the wall between the living room and office, with a list of contractors to call for estimates and then the pandemic hit. While construction is of course an essential business, it wasn’t like…

Myself, wearing a turquoise sleeveless top and pink peddle pushers, seated at a white metal table. A small cacti sits in a turquoise planter in the middle of the table, a plate with pink and white cookies sits nearby. The table is white with matching white chairs with orange cushions. In the background is the covered part of the patio with various chairs and plants. Text overlay reads "Our 1954 Home Patio Revamp"

Our 1954 Home: Patio Revamp

April 7, 2021, 5 Comments

Earlier I mentioned that Patrick and I were revamping our patio, and today I’m excited to share what it looks like, along with some other changes to our backyard! When we moved in our backyard featured lots of mature plants, but no grass. After planting grass we realized there was a portion of our backyard…

Myself, standing in our backyard, wearing a pink and white gingham peasant top, blue shorts, gold gardening gloves, holding a pink garden hose that is curled up with a handle.

Behold! Garden Glory!

March 24, 2021, 3 Comments

Over the last few weeks Patrick and I have been working on revamping our backyard a bit, including having fresh concrete poured to expand our patio. Then, scrolling through Instagram one day I received one of those oh so delightful sponsored ads. Usually I get clothing companies and jewelry, but this was for garden gear…

Sitting on a blanket in front of my orange tree, wearing a white sweater, with two orange brooches, and a skirt featuring various California landmarks, while reading.

California Dreamin’ is Becomin’ a Reality

February 10, 2021, 5 Comments

Since moving to California I had dreamed of having my very own orange tree. I imagined the joy of stepping outside, plucking an orange off the tree for fresh orange juice in the morning or for an afternoon snack. When we moved into our house a little over three years ago I hemmed and hawed…

Looking into our kitchen from the dining room. Cream and pink tile counter sits atop cream cabinets with copper hardware. Upper cabinets, also cream, sit against green walls. Text overlay reads "Our 1954 Home Kitchen"

Our 1954 Home: Kitchen

September 9, 2020, 13 Comments

You’ve seen the kitchen here and there on the blog, in the background of various posts and in my Cooking with Vincent series, but today we are finally giving it a proper post all its own because we recently did a (partial) kitchen redo! Our kitchen is directly behind our fireplace, which sits in the…

Two orange and black sofas sit in an L shape. A painting above one sofa features a modern desert landscape. A pillow on one sofa reads "California" and features oranges on it. Pillows on the other sofa are abstract modern designs of maroon and teal. A square, step table sits between the two sofas. Text overlay reads "Our 1954 Home Living & Dining Rooms"

Our 1954 Home: Living Room & Dining Room

April 16, 2020, 12 Comments

It’s been awhile since I’ve shared a look at our home, and it’s for a variety of reasons. We only have so much money that we can put towards home improvements each year, and I was waiting on two very specific things before sharing our living room, and while everything isn’t exactly how I would…

A covered patio stretches out from a butter yellow house, on the patio are various ceramic and fiberglass planters, along with two black butterfly style chairs. Green grass surrounds the patio, large agave plants are clustered in the corner.

Our 1954 Home: Backyard

November 29, 2018, 12 Comments

We’ve been in our home a little over a year now, and, with some minor exceptions, we just now finished up our backyard, and I am happy to finally share it on the blog! From the get-go, many people were interested in what our backyard looked like, but I kept it hidden for the most…

Our 1954 Home: Laundry Room

September 18, 2018, 7 Comments

Having a vintage wardrobe means laundry is vital to its lifespan. While I do a good deal of hand-washing, I still use a washer for some items. This meant that the location of the laundry hook-ups was vital in selecting a home. Growing up I had laundry in the garage, with direct access from the…

Walking through the nursery, which is located along lengthy power lines that extend over the plants and into the distance.

A Visit to the Nursery

August 9, 2018, 1 Comment

When we bought our house, and it’s hard to believe we are nearing one year of home ownership, we had an almost barren backyard. Aside from some large bushes, a guava tree, and a large cluster of agaves, we had no grass, and a bunch of empty beds along the edge of the house. We…

Atomic Ranch Blog Feature

May 3, 2018, 2 Comments

Recently our journey to find our first home was the subject of a two part feature on Atomic Ranch magazine’s blog! Oh, and remember when I wrote that our apartment was featured in Vintage Holiday? Well, both Vintage Holiday and Atomic Ranch are owned by the same company, and Atomic Ranch‘s blog featured the same…