Upright and Caffeinated

For everything in life that keeps you on your feet! I share simple DIY projects and crafts, home decor ideas and helpful tips as well as easy recipes for week-night meals.

DIY Farmhouse Barn Door Gate

I love adding farmhouse flare to my home.  It is a style that I am drawn to because of the simplicity and clean look.  One of my favorite farmhouse touches is the sliding barn door like this one.  Although I can’t replace any doors in my house, I did have a need to put up a gate.  I found this inspirational picture on Pinterest and decided to make my own farmhouse-inspired barn door gate.   We have a little recessed space next to our fireplace that has glass shelves for audio and ... View Post

Roasted Pork Tenderloin: A Simple Weekday Dinner

Roasted Pork Tenderloin is one of my favorite things to make for dinner.  My husband loves pork in any form and my kids love this roasted pork tenderloin recipe.  I make this about 2 or 3 times a month because it is simple and such a huge hit in our house.  This is a great roasted pork tenderloin recipe that is simple enough for a busy weekday dinner.   What you need: Pork tenderloin (they typically come two per package and I always cook them both for feeding a family of ... View Post

Beach Theme Baby Nursery: Surf-Inspired

Want some inspiration to create a relaxing beach theme baby nursery?  See how we created a simple, relaxing, surf-inspired beach theme baby nursery. My husband and I love the beach.  We take vacations to the beach, we talk about retiring close to a beach and we even got married on the beach!  It seemed natural for us to have a beach theme baby nursery, but not just any beach theme; a surf-inspired nursery.  Create A Beach Theme Baby Nursery We didn’t find out the gender of our ... View Post

Black and White Gallery Wall

Create and Black and White Gallery Wall I have been in love with the concept of a gallery wall for years, but never thought I could successfully execute a gallery wall in my own house.  We have huge vaulted ceilings in our living room and I have wanted to fill the wall behind our couch with pictures and wall hangings that reflect our style.  I finally got the courage to put together a gallery wall- but not just any gallery wall.  I chose to create a black and white gallery wall with accents of ... View Post

Day Out With Thomas: 6 Tips For A Successful Day

Six Tips for a Successful Day Out with Thomas Our family recently took a trip to Lancaster, PA to spend a Day Out with Thomas (and Percy)!  My boys are 3 ½ and 1 ½  and our oldest absolutely loves Thomas (like most toddlers).  We had a great Day Out with Thomas and I hope you do as well, so here are my Six Tips for a Successful Day Out with Thomas.   1)      Bring your own water, snacks or lunch. Under the main tent, they had food for sale and some tables to sit and eat, but ... View Post

IKEA Hack- Farmhouse Window Mirror

I have  an awesome IKEA hack to share with you guys today.   A few months ago I bought a MINDE mirror from IKEA.  The MINDE is the basic $9.99 full size mirror without a frame.  I bought it thinking: hey, I’ll DIY this frame sometime soon. What You Need : DAP Rapid Fuse Wood Adhesive IKEA MINDE Mirror Half Round TrimClamps Circular Saw Paint How to: IKEA Hack- Farmhouse Window Mirror I began this project by painting all of the pieces of half round. I used Annie Sloan’s Pure ... View Post