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some of my favorite posts

my ‘new’ very old curiosity cabinet

by Kaylah Stroup
antique curiosity cabinet

I scored my dream curiosity cabinet.

I do not use Facebook marketplace regularly. I mean, I browse it A LOT but I’m not huge on meeting up with strangers. Buuuut when I find a dream piece I make exceptions. By “exceptions” I mean that I nicely ask my husband to pretty please call them and come with me to pick it up.

This piece that looked great on it’s listing was ten times better in person. When I walked into the room full of boxes this dude had and spotted the cabinet in the center of the room, I couldn’t shove my money in his hand fast enough. No, dude, you don’t have to hype it to me. I know that I neeeeed it.

I spent the ride back from picking it up sweating bullets. The piece weighs next to nothing which means that glass is thiiiin. I was convinced we’d hit a pot hole and it’d just explode into a thousand tiny pieces. It just felt too good to be true.

She made it home in one piece though! Stunning curved glass, nice and wide, just around one hundred years old! I literally can’t imagine a piece more perfect for my oddities in this house.

If you recall, when we bought the house the previous owner left behind an Ikea cabinet that I really liked. I immediately knew it’d hold my oddities. You can get a peek of that here. The more time I spent in this house though, the more I felt like Ikea furniture was not a great fit. When I re-did our living room, the Ikea cabinet full of oddities got moved into Jeff’s office ‘temporarily’ (meaning it would stay there nearly a year while I tried to figure out what my plan was.)

Please don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against Ikea but I do feel like my one hundred and fifty year old house needs at least some time appropriate furniture. I will never be a restoration purist. My house will most likely always have a mix of new and old furniture. I think you should do whatever floats your boat. I will tell you one thing though, this cabinet? MADE FOR THIS HOUSE. Made for my weird crap! The age, the condition, the piece in general? PERFECTION.

oil portrait painting collection + antique curiosity cabinet
antique curiosity cabinet
oddities, jar full of dentures, anatomical models
antique curiosity cabinet

I am just tickled pink over this. I rearranged the paintings on the wall and went through all my boxes still left in the attic to find the perfect pieces to display inside the cabinet.

You know what else is rad? It still has the key to lock the cabinet. To be honest, I didn’t realize it was a key. I excitedly showed my dad my excellent new score and he said “Ah, you’re lucky it still has the key!” Confused I responded “Nah, that’s just the knob.” He pulled it out of the lock, I screamed!

Like many folks, I have always thought old keys were neat-o. I’ve owned quite a few but none that actually went to something! That was just the icing on the cake to this purchase.

Maybe I should be giving FB marketplace more of try! xo

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one of the best things about spring…

by Kaylah Stroup
spring pepper with vocal sac inflated

Spring peppers! Pseudacris crucifer.

Without a doubt, one of my favorites sounds ever is the spring peeper. Their chirping call marks the beginning of spring. This is what home sounds like to me.

Spring peepers breed in early spring, typically March and April here in Ohio. Males call from the water and surrounding vegetation to attract females. Their call is a series of high-pitched peeping sounds. Check out the video at the end of this post to hear them!

Their call can reach over 90 decibels which considering that noise above 70 dB may start to damage your hearing over a prolonged period of time is pretty dang wild. It can even be heard up to two miles away. Somehow I got lucky enough to have them basically right outside my bedroom window. I promise that is not sarcasm. It’s the best noise to fall asleep to!

Although I’ve lived near peepers my whole life, last year was the first time I ever actually saw them in my action. Even when calling, they can be incredibly difficult to spot.

After seeing them last year though, it’s now become my spring mission to hunt them down and photograph them in action. It’s incredible to watch them up close!

Shot with a Canon 7D mark ii and a Canon 100mm f/2.8 macro lens.


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metal detecting finds pt1

by Kaylah Stroup

I originally wrote this post in the fall of 2021 and it’s been sitting in my drafts since. I still think these are some really rad finds, and I’d love to actually start this series now that I’m blogging again. So, here’s we go!

Jeff and I have been back to metal detecting our yard like mad again! We were super into it when we first moved in but it’s easy to forget about when there are so many other house tasks to tackle. Last week, he randomly suggested we get back at it and wouldn’t you know it, we’re hooked all over again.

The past two or three times out we’ve found some neat things. I even made a cute little reel with some of the finds. There’s always lots of trash, mostly nails and pop cans. Even the trash is fun to find though. You’ll have to remind me I said that after five pop cans in a row. There’s just something very exciting about unearthing something that’s been hidden underground for who knows how long.

After our last evening spent metal detecting I realized I needed to start a blog series to highlight some of the cool stuff. So, what was so neat that it inspired me to start a series? This ring!

It’s just costume jewelry. We didn’t actually find a solid gold ring in our yard. At least not yet. Fingers crossed. But wow! The feeling of finding this? INCREDIBLE.

It was a great signal on the metal detector but I was already ready to be done. I think we both presumed it’d be a coin which is always great. When you’re hangry though? Meh, coin smoin. I was ready to head inside and get some food in my belly. The second Jeff flipped over the dirt plug I screamed, we met eyes and I yelped “Stop! I have to get my phone!” I was no longer weak with hunger. I darted into the house to grab my phone and camera. I recorded him removing it from the dirt and then took about nine billion photos of the ring.

Of course, it’d be way cooler if it were real gold. We certainly wouldn’t sell it but it’d be neat to know that it was worth something. At the risk of sounding super cheesy though, I think it might be worth just as much to us even though it is fake. We had metal detected a handful of times before moving to this house but it definitely became kind of like a date night activity here. I love wandering around the yard with Jeff looking for treasures. We find lots of trash but all of it feels like we’re discovering more about our home and its past.

another find from the day – an axe head.

Above – All the finds from the day. Mostly junk, as you can see but every piece of junk is one less signal which means if there is anything actually cool, it’ll just be easier to spot next time!

Our equipment – metal detector ▴ pinpointer

I highly recommend both! The metal detector is a great brand and this is a solid model. Easy enough for beginners to start with but good enough for enthusiasts as well! Personally, I think a pinpointer is a must. It and the metal detector go hand in hand. You’re going to have a much better time looking for treasures if you have the pinpointer’s help!

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custom book embosser review

by Kaylah Stroup

I recently thrifted a book that had a custom embossed design on one of the pages. Immediately after spotting it I KNEW I needed one of my own. I wasn’t sure if it would be something I’d have to save for or not. I just knew that I needed one.

I did a quick bit of research, realized they were totally affordable and filed the thought away as ‘Christmas gift idea for Jeff!’ I ended up buying him both a custom stamp* and a custom embosser because I couldn’t decide which I thought was more cute.

*The custom stamp was from RuskinSketch on etsy. Highly recommend them if you want to go the stamp route!

When the embosser arrived, I gave it a test run just to make sure it wasn’t a dud. I felt like for the price, it might very well be too good to be true. I ended up buying one for myself the same day though.

custom ex libris embosser

LOOK HOW CUTE!

I ordered my custom book embosser here from Pickled Stamps. They’re customizable. Don’t just look at the few pictures in the listing either. Once you hit “customize now” over where you’d press add to cart, you get the full run down on all your different options!

It’s super easy to use. Just pick a page, squeeze the embosser and gently smooth with your hand.

100+ books later and I’m still as charmed as I was by the first one. It just feels so fancy! If you’re a book lover or you know a book lover – this is a must have! xo

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throughout the years // dining room

by Kaylah Stroup

One of my favorite things to do with the very few old photos I have of my home is take updated photos of the same view. It’s something I plan to do for years and years to come so that I can watch as things change, and document how those views look throughout the years. I normally just share those over on instagram but we’re starting a new series here! This way they’ll be easier to find, I can write more about each photo and so that photos are larger.

First up – this view of my dining room!

2010

This is the dining room in 2010. The house was listed for sale but never sold. I’m not sure why it didn’t sell. Perhaps the listing price was too high? I don’t know! It seems bonkers that no one would snatch it up though. After being on the market for a year, it was taken down and the house was abandoned.

sometime between 2011-2016

Someone reached out on Youtube a while back and sent me photos of the house they took while it was abandoned! He sent me a ton of photos. Every few months I go through them and find some new detail I hadn’t noticed before. It’s really fun. Love being able to see the full view of this mural that you can only see a peek of in the previous photo. (Thanks again for the photos, Dave!)

2020

Ten years later. This was easily one of the nicest rooms in the house when we bought it. The whole house has potential, obviously, but this was the room where that potential reeeeally shined. I loved the wall color, the portière, the furniture! Ugh, it’s all just so good.

When the previous owner offered to let us keep the dining room furniture I was just kind of like “yeah, that’d be cool, thanks” but now I can’t imagine a more perfect furniture set for the room. This feels like a bold statement but I don’t foresee this furniture set ever leaving this room. When I die and haunt this house, I will not allow the next owners to move these piece out.

2023

An actual dream! I still can’t believe this is my house. It’s so much more than I could ever have imagined.

We kept the blue the previous owner chose for the room, although it got a fresh coat and a nice tight cut in job! I’m not really a blue gal but there’s absolutely no color that could fit this room better. It’s so moody!

Can’t wait to continue this little throughout the years series and have a real excuse to take more replicate photos. xo

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living room update!

by Kaylah Stroup

This spring I was looking for some projects to keep my mind busy. I mean, the house is full of projects I still need to finish and tons I haven’t started yet but I needed something ‘easy’ to occupy my mind. I wanted a quick flip with great results to give me a boost! (This did not end up being a quick fix but it was definitely an excellent mental boost!)

Although the green on the walls in here was what inspired my whole ‘paint everything green!’ addiction, I realized that it was the wrong shade of green. (There are some shots of it at the bottom of this post.) It was more of a blue-based green. I didn’t realize that I was super picky about my undertones but I am definitely a yellowy green gal! So, that was the number one thing I wanted to change.

Then in true ‘if you give a mouse a cookie…’ fashion, I decided if I was going to do anything in this room, I ought to do everything else that was bothering me. I patched some decent sized cracks in the wall, re-finished the floor, and picked out new furniture!

The living room wasn’t terrible with what we had in it… but it wasn’t great. The blue couch I had been moving from apartment to apartment over the last decade no longer felt like me. Fast forward to this finished living room? It perfectly encapsulates my design style at the moment. I am OBSESSED with our living room.

Green couch in a green living room

PS. Peep the matching bandana Professor has to my leggings! Both are from Redbubble. You can use code ‘RBC-P22-thedaintysquid’ for 15% off your order.

sources + info!
couch is Sven in grass green
paint color is ‘Sweet Annie’ by Glidden
rug
snake lamp
hand chair
hand curtain tie backs

Of course, we can’t end an updated room post without a little peek back at some of the room’s previous looks! The first photo, with the red rug and curtains was the living room on inspection day. (I think all of this stuff, other than the tv and wall art, were all here when we took ownership of the house too.) The second photo is what it’s basically looked like the whole time we’ve lived here.


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wet specimen rose

by Kaylah Stroup

Inspired by my pal Mickey, I decided to make a wet specimen from a rose out of my garden. This isn’t my first foray into the world of wet specimens. (This post is from ages ago but *ahem* you can see another wet specimen I made.) This was my first time ever trying to preserve a flower in isopropyl alcohol though! My dad gifted me this rose bush last spring so it felt like the perfect ‘very special thing’ to experiment with preserving.

Press play to watch the video below to see how it turned out.

I certainly wasn’t expecting the color to drain that fast! It’s hauntingly beautiful, right?! I’m so excited to change out the alcohol in a few weeks for some fresh stuff. I’m already daydreaming about a shelf full of wet specimen treasures from my garden!

If you want to try making a wet specimen flower for yourself, all you need is 70% isopropyl alcohol, a glass jar with a lid, and flowers of your choice! Tag me @thedaintysquid if you post any photos of what you make! xoxo

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stroup mansion – hallway 2022

by Kaylah Stroup

shirt from Redbubble. PS. You can use code RBC-V22-thedaintysquid for 15% off your Redbubble order, good now til June 30th.

Just dropping in to share some current photos from my hallway from the last month. Every tiny project that happens around this house reminds me more and more how important it is to document the house at every stage. So, even though this space isn’t finished here it is!

snake lamp // bird leg table

giant mirror

Although the hallway got a fresh coat of paint when we moved in, the real renovations aren’t something even close to the top of the priority list. I kept thinking that I’d wait until I did the big stuff (namely the floor) before I worried about hanging anything on the wall or even decorating.

Jeff and I kind of had an ‘aha!’ moment recently though. We decided that we should add to our tiny collection of portraits of strangers and that all of those should fill our hallway. I bought a few more portraits from Etsy and couldn’t resist hanging them. I’m not one of those people that plans out a gallery wall before hanging it so I’ve just been adding pieces as they arrive. Each new piece has made my love for this space soar. Aaand that’s how this all started. After that I added some new plants, picked up a clearance rug and splurged on my dream mirror.

There are still renovations I want to do up here but I truly love this room exactly as it is today. Honestly, I’ve felt that way about this space since the first time I saw it. It just keeps getting better and better!

rainbows made with this.

Can’t end this post without a little flashback to what this space looked like in 2013 while it was abandoned! I can’t lie, that wallpaper is pretty rad. I’m almost glad it was gone before we moved in or else I’d have definitely been tempted to save it.

This post contains affiliate links.

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stroup mansion halloween 2021

by Kaylah Stroup

I knooow, It’s November already. Halloween is over, sadly. BUT I have to document this on the blog. I turned the sweet little rose garden in the front yard into a graveyard for October and I am OBSESSED. I truly can’t believe this is mine. Seeing this daily brought me so much joy. I even bought a set of solar-powered spotlights so people passing by at night could enjoy it too.

Looking forward to doing it even bigger and better next year. Fingers crossed I can get my hands on that stupid 12-foot skeleton. He’s what this place is really missin!

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