Halloween or Die Trying!

Im a terrible blogger. Draw and quarter me if you must! But I couldnt not update this little dusty corner of the interweb (its a series of tubes!) this year's Halloween that was. After so many years of admiring the giant skeletons, we had to have them for oursevles. So for the first year there was no complicated backstory that only I really appreciated - we just went old school with it and pulled out every skelly we had.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Old Home Decor | DIY | Design (@brooklynlimestone)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Old Home Decor | DIY | Design (@brooklynlimestone)

It's been a big hit! The most popular question we have gotten so far is: Where are you going to store these things? Well thats a great question because they are absolutely huge and heavy and I have absolutely no idea. Anyone local want to volunteer a spot in their basement for these charming guys? All reasonable storage offers will be considered :

Jersey Shore condo to Beach Townhouse Update

Hello strangers!  Here I am to clear out the cobwebs of this dusty corner of the interwebs to bring you an update.  Last fall we moved out of our beach condo and moved down the road into a beach townhouse. (Im still very much living in Brooklyn and I will never leave NYC so no worries there!) It's not quite a proper "BEACH HOUSE" but getting ever so much closer to living my Nancy Meyers / Diane Keaton Something Has Got to Give dreams - at least on the weekends and in New Jersey.  Ok maybe it's more Snooki than Diane Keaton but let me have my fantansies!

While we always planned on making some (ok, a lot of) changes, we thought we could wait a year or two to tackle those.  It didn't take long to realize those plans were going out the window and certain things had to change immediately.  One thing lead to another, yada, yada, yada...and we were in full renovation mode.  

live footage of me after I realized we couldn't just live with it as is.

Thanks to covid and supply chain and lots of other little bitty things that add up, we have been working on the world's slowest renovation ever.  Thankfully we are ever so slowly getting toward the finish line of our original projects and I'm excited to share those with you.  

Now you are all caught up.  For those of you who follow me on instagram or tiktok you already know all this so thanks for reading.  For those of you are still blog only readers, I hope you still remember me.

We have finished 2 bathroom renovations and are almost done with the kitchen.  But those require a lot more backstory.  So let's close out today's post with a hyperlapse video of the Mr. & I in our pajamas making our patio into a small outdoor living room (while our indoor living room is torn to shreds!).

@brooklynlimestone Outdoor living room upgrade for this #smallspace balcony #coastalgrandmother #coastalstyle #outdoorliving #patiogoals ♬ son original - LOUIS RODRIGUEZ✨

Not going to lie. Im really pleased with how this turned out even with it being just a random collection of pieces I found at big box stores. It really takes this little patio from dead outdoor space to outdoor living space.

Absolutely free artwork for your Frame TV

If you know me, you know I'm a bit obsessed with my tv.  It's one of those framed ones that I pined for for years before finally treating myself. I don't know what took me so long. (Oh yea right. I'm cheap.)  It's just a regular tv when its on but allows you to leave digital artwork displayed when its off. It's a small difference but just looks so much better than the usual black mirror. 

The maker offers an artwork subscription service but it seemed a bit limited (also see cheap point above).  I quickly realized its pretty easy to load anything you want on there (albeit not the most intuitive setup) so I got to work to find artwork I enjoyed.  I like to change it up with the seasons and holidays. Much to my shock I've had a really hard time finding completely free artwork for the Samsung Frame TV.  There are lots of sellers on Etsy charging (which is totally fine and worth it if you are in a rush or don't want to change the artwork 200x a year!) but truly free, no strings attached?  Slim pickings!

So since I just went through the trouble to find some fun Valentine's Day artwork and set it up in the right dimensions for the Frame TV, I thought it would be worth sharing.  Just download these images to your phone and then use your tv's app to upload them to the artwork section. I think they look best without a matte but feel free to play around with it. You're welcome!

Extra points for anyone who notices my orchids are reblooming. Yes, they do come back!

Halloween 2021: Harry Potter Comes to Brooklyn

Look I blogged!  As lonely and neglected as I've allowed this blog to become I couldn't not share the Halloween decorations.  This year's theme is Harry Potter and was directly requested by Agatha.  How could I not oblige? My big plans of making a giant mandrake may have been scratched due to lack of time but we got our decorations up in plenty of time to enjoy the absolute best season to be in Brooklyn - autumn.

And of course we will be decked out as Harry Potter characters come Halloween. If you are looking for a super easy costume that is actually warm and comfy, I highly recommend this green velvet robe for the Professor McGonagall cosplay.  It's like wearing a bathrobe. I wish it was socially acceptable to wear it around town.

Favorite Amazon Home Decor finds

Just dropping in quickly today to share my favorite Amazon home decor finds in honor of prime day. All of these items I use (and reuse and reuse) in my own home so I can vouch for being super satisfied with them. I keep an updated list here: Brooklyn Limestone's favorite home decor items from Amazon

If you are on an organizing kick like I am lately, please check out my organizing favorites too. Happy Shopping!