OUR MANOR HISTORICAL BUILDING RENOVATION PROJECT
Welcome to Our Manor Historical Building Renovation Project. This 118-year-old building on Main Street is becoming our forever home. We’re bringing back its old-world charm with European-inspired details and simple, practical updates. Every step honors the past while making space for modern, cozy living. Here, we share our process—restoring original features, tackling DIY projects, and creating a home full of heart. If you love historic homes and slow renovation stories, you’ll feel right at home here.
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Our Manor on Main
Small Space, Big Dreams: Homesteading, DIY, and creating a cozy life.
I made bread yesterday, a new recipe actually, and it turned out so good!![]()
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It wasn’t perfect by any of those “sourdough standards” you see online. The crumb wasn’t all airy and picture-perfect, and it definitely wouldn’t win any scoring contests. But here’s the thing. It tastes amazing. It’s soft. It holds up perfectly for sandwiches. And honestly, it might be one of the best loaves I’ve ever made.![]()
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And it got me thinking about how many people get really overwhelmed by bread making, especially sourdough. It feels like there are so many rules. The perfect crumb, the perfect shape, the perfect scoring. And if it doesn’t look like that, people think they failed.![]()
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But I don’t think that’s how bread was ever meant to be.![]()
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People weren’t baking bread generations ago thinking about Instagram crumbs or perfect scoring lines. They were making food for their families. Something to put on the table. Something nourishing. Something that worked.![]()
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And I think somewhere along the way we forgot that.![]()
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This loaf I made is not “perfect,” but it is exactly what I want in a sandwich bread. It’s soft, it’s sturdy, it’s baked through, and it tastes amazing. I actually prefer a tighter crumb for sandwiches because I don’t want everything falling through holes when I add mustard or mayonnaise.![]()
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So if you are thinking about starting bread, or you’ve been intimidated by sourdough, I just want to encourage you.![]()
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Start anyway.![]()
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It does not have to be perfect. It just has to be bread.![]()
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If it’s edible, baked through, and feeds your people, that is something to be proud of.![]()
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And honestly, that feels a lot closer to what bread was always meant to be. 💕
There was a tiny little face looking up at me while I was filling the bird feeders yesterday… and just like that, we had a new little friend for the afternoon 🤍![]()
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We think he’s a fledgling from the birds that nested in our old block wall this spring. He followed us around the yard, hung out with the girls, and acted like he’d always belonged here.![]()
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We named him Birdnard… not Bernard… Birdnard.![]()
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Just one of those simple, sweet moments that makes all the work down at the building feel worth it.
Little by little, this place is starting to feel like home.![]()
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It’s definitely not finished yet. There’s always something we’re working on. But then there are moments like this that make me stop and realize how far it’s come.![]()
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The plants are finally starting to bloom, and we’ve got a few birds that show up every day like they live here too. It’s simple, but I love it.![]()
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Somehow in the middle of all the projects and mess, it’s turned into a really peaceful little corner of the world.![]()
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I like it here. 💕
I went down to our building yesterday and just spent some time out there.![]()
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I didn’t have anywhere I needed to be, so I just sat for a bit, watered the flowers, watched the chickens, and messed with a few things around the coop.![]()
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I turned that lantern into a bird feeder (the birds already found it), hung a little piece on the coop, and finally brought down the old coop door from our first setup at my mom’s. I’m using it as a trellis now for a clematis that’s starting to grow.![]()
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Nothing big, but it felt really peaceful being there.![]()
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Every time I go, it just feels like home.![]()
And I always end up a little sad when I have to leave.![]()
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We’re still in town for now, so all my plants are lined up outside the garage doing their best 😅 but getting to go down there and work on things a little at a time… I don’t know, it just means a lot to me.