Five Things on a Friday – 5/2/25

Happy Friday, friends! Our weather has been all over the place this week, and we’ve had some beautiful summer-like days mixed in there. Things are starting to cool off a bit, but I don’t think anything can stop the May flowers at this point. Grab a cozy beverage, and I’ll catch you up on everything around here.

Easter weekend was a good one for us this year. We ended up having some beautiful weather over the holiday, so we got quite a bit of work done outside in between visiting with family, Easter egg hunts, and (of course) soccer games. Chris and Jack were over in Michigan from dawn ’til dusk for three(!) soccer games on Saturday while Kennedy and I went on a little girls’ shopping adventure with the aunts and cousins to a new vintage clothing shop in town and our favorite local used bookstore, which was just the type of low-key adventure we all needed. Even though we’d already had a big family dinner on Good Friday, I cooked a turkey dinner on Easter Sunday, too, for just the four of us at home, and it was fun to set the table and be a little bit fancy. Easter is always a very hit-or-miss holiday in our family, and we can’t always manage to get everyone together with kids’ sports commitments and busy school schedules, but I feel like we really had a proper holiday this year.

Our backyard fix-up project is well underway, and I’m getting so excited for the transformation. We’ve been doing a little bit of work on this project since fall, but now things are really happening. So far, Chris has rebuilt the deck and added a railing. The biggest change came, as usual, when we started to paint the deck with the same crisp white paint that we used for the porches on the front and the side of the house. The old deck was always just wood, so now that we have all those beautiful white railings, it feels so much more like it fits with the rest of the house. The last step of the process will be to add our new pergola and then we can start landscaping around the deck and filling our planters. After living with our ho-hum backyard for the last 14 years, I can’t wait to see our beautiful new space come to life.

I had the chance to visit the most magical little home shop recently while we were on a work trip to Waterloo. I’ve been following Linen & Lore on Instagram for a few months, so I knew their shop was beautiful, but it was even more special and inspiring in person. I could happily spend hours just searching for treasures and taking notes on all the inspiring styling ideas tucked into every cozy nook of the shop. The neat thing about this particular retailer is that they sell the most beautiful mix of new items along with vintage and antique pieces, so it’s really the best of both worlds. And they have an online shop as well with shipping available across Canada. If you’re in the Waterloo area, or you’re just looking for an inspiring online browse, definitely visit Linen & Lore or linenandlorehome.com.

I’ve been getting up a little extra early to do some baking lately, and it’s been the best addition to my morning. I love having freshly-baked treats in the house, whether they’re super healthy for me, or a little more traditional and indulgent for everyone else. Getting my baking done first thing in the morning has been such an easy and satisfying addition to my routine, and I find it to be such a relaxing start to the day. I can watch the sunrise, tidy up a little bit while the oven works its magic, and I still have time for a full regular morning afterward. Obviously, this isn’t the morning ritual for everyone, but I’m definitely more of a morning person than a night owl, so late-night baking just doesn’t work for me. But it’s been so fun to suddenly have this extra time to experiment and try new recipes without having to worry about how much time it takes out of my day.

A summer at home. Are you busy making big plans for this summer? This is usually the time of year when we’d be doing that as well, but when we realized that Jack will be doing a ton of soccer this summer, we thought maybe this is a good year to spend the summer at home, at least when we aren’t away for games, tournaments, tryouts, and training. I’m looking forward to a little more time in the garden, and I might even be scheming for a little kitchen refresh. I’m thinking fresh paint, a little extra millwork, new floors, and a few special touches here and there. Our kitchen is old, but incredibly well-built with local custom cabinetry, so it still has great bones. I actually prefer our old cabinetry to most of the new styles that people are installing these days, so I don’t see any logic in replacing it. For the final details, I’m thinking high-quality gold-tone hardware, a beautiful brass faucet, maybe some cafe curtains, and a rug under the table or possibly a runner in front of the sink. I would love to find a spot for this brass hanging bar, but I’m not sure that I really have the wall space for that. And that’s really all our kitchen needs. When we photograph all these beautifully built custom kitchens, I always hope that they’ll be kitchens for a lifetime, not some kind of passing trend to be ripped out in ten years. With our kitchen, at least, I can make sure that’s true.

NEWS AND FINDS

-I came across these engravable rings and I thought they’d be the perfect gift for Mother’s Day, Christmas, a special birthday, or just for yourself. So pretty and meaningful.

-I don’t think I’ll ever get over our new toile curtains from Curtarra in Kennedy’s room upstairs. They just make the space feel so cozy and complete. If you’ve been looking to add custom curtains to a room in your home too, they’ve just upgraded my discount code. Use CH12 for 16% off your order!

-I found the perfect practical-yet-cute sandals, and I’m excited to wear them all summer long. I love that they’re waterproof, so they’ll be perfect for the beach or dewy early-morning soccer fields, but they’re stylish enough to wear around town with any outfit throughout the season. Oh, and they were affordable too! I ordered them as soon as I saw them. Maybe the perfect sandal?

-We have laminate floors that we installed quite a few years ago in the main floor of our home, and I’ve always gotten questions about them throughout the decade or so we’ve had them. They’re the perfect color that’s not-too-light and not-too-dark and they really show nothing. They went out of stock for a while, but I was so happy to see recently that this color and style is back in stock! They’re super affordable, but durable and so beautiful. Highly recommend!

-I came across this all-weather outdoor storage bench, and I thought it was such a great solution. Extra seating and extra storage for toys, cushions, and games all in one tidy, classically-styled package. Outdoor storage is always such a big issue for us and I think this could be great for porches, decks and patios.

-I found the sweetest little birdbaths at Wayfair recently, and I think I want to add one to our back deck once that project is done in a few weeks. This cute little metal birdbath has the most special details, and I love this copper birdbath that attaches to a railing. I think it would really add so much charm to our old backyard as it develops a patina over the years.

-As our back deck project is starting to come together, I’m allowing myself to dream a bit about what kinds of details I might like to add. There are really so many possibilities. 🙂 Although we always had a dining table and chairs back there before we rebuilt the deck, I’m starting to think that a few all-weather Adirondack chairs like the ones we have on the front porch might make more sense for the way we use the space and would look so beautiful with the large planters we’re adding back there.

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