Saturday Stuff

Well hi and happy Saturday!  I hope you all are having a great weekend!  So I've been thinking recently that I need a space on the blog were I can fill you in on any and all randomness in my life.  A place for a brain dump if you will.  And so, Saturday Stuff has been born!  Anything I'm loving, curious about, fun things we've tried, all that goodness- you'll be able to find it here!

First up, my new favorite lunch!  I've been trying to eat a bit more healthily, and get loads of veggies in my diet.  This veggie wrap consists of hummus, red bell pepper, tomato, dill pickles and bib lettuce, and it is scrumptious!  Definitely something that you can customize to your personal veggie preferences :)  And on the side, some fruit!  When I can get a super sweet red grapefruit, I am all about it!!

This week, I was looking for something fun and easy to do with the kiddos one afternoon, and came across an awesome recipe for playdoh!  2 cups cornstarch to 1 cup hair conditioner or lotion, plus your food coloring of choice, and that's it!  It smells amazing, and makes a really silky smooth playdoh.  The kids spent a solid two hours playing with it, and it kept great in a little glass mason jar.

Have any of you tried Stitch Fix?  I've heard a bit about it, and seen a handful of bloggers review it, but I haven't taken the plunge yet.  Mainly because the individual clothing pieces seemed to be a little bit out of my price range.  But, I feel like now my wardrobe is made up of really great staples that I love, and I'd be willing to splurge a little bit on a handful of special pieces to round out my wardrobe :)  If you've tried it, let me know what you think!

That's it for today, enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Bathroom Nook Update!

Well hello and happy Monday!  I hope you had a great weekend :)  Ours was spent catching up with friends and spending quality time as a family, and it was exactly what I needed!  Over the weekend, I managed to finish one little detail in our bathroom nook so I could call it good for now.  So, here we are with the reveal!

Well, not quite yet.  First I should probably show you what it looked like before:

Yikes right?!  One of the first things we did when we moved in (and I'm talking within a week or two) was upgrade the toilet.  All three bathrooms had teeny tiny toilets that liked to rock and bang whenever you sat on them.  Which was not awesome.  So our main potty was in need of an upgrade, immediately. Since we were going to have the toilet out, and I already knew I didn't like the avocado green and tan walls, Dano had me pick out a paint color so we could paint behind the toilet properly.  You know, without leaving an upainted square spot behind the toilet.  That no one would ever see.  But somebody is a perfectionist, and wantedthatwallcompletelypainteddarnit!  (that perfectionist is NOT me by the way).  Anyway, I picked out a moody gray, we painted enough to put the toilet in, installed said toilet, and that is where the updated ended.  For 2.5 years, this tiny little nook sat in all its tri colored glory.  But at least the toilet was so.much.better.  We got a Kohler Elliston, and its pretty much perfection in a porcelain throne.  Clean, modern lines, not so big it overwhelms our small space, but not so small you get stuck to the seat.  We like it so much that we put one in the downstairs bath too!

So while the space functioned just fine, I knew we could make it better.  The shower is fairly small,  but having the curtain rod positioned right at the top edge of the shower insert really made it feel closed off.  My plan for this space was to hang a curved shower curtain rod much closer to the ceiling, helping the shower feel much more open, finish painting, add a shelf for a little practical storage, and artwork to dress it up a bit.  Here's what we ended up with:

The big white shower curtain against those dark walls feels much brighter and cleaner.  And having that shower curtain up high really makes the space feel larger!


The shelf I just made from some scrap wood in the garage, stained Ebony, and hung with two L brackets.  Super simple, but it adds a little storage and beautification.  And that mirror.  Ohmygoodness makes me so happy!  I originally wanted to hang some simple prints in here, but when Target came out with this at Christmas time,  I knew I needed it in my life.  So I waited for it to go on sale, and picked this bad boy up for $10!  Having a mirror in here to help bounce around light is fantastic.  And its shaped like a star.  What more do you need?!


This space is so awkward to photograph,  but I'm so happy with how it turned out!  I finally got around to hemming the shower curtain, which I accidentally purchased like a foot too long.  And now its a bright, fresh space with no more guacamole on the walls!

Hey! Hi! How are you?

Friends!!!  It has been a minute.  Or maybe more like a year or so.  But who's counting?!  Well, I was chugging along here on my little blog, but then life got hectic, and I felt like my content was a little meh.  So I took a break.  And one month turned into one year so fast!  But I'm feeling more and more here recently that I miss this space, and you guys, and the creative outlet, and just all of it.  Soooooo I'm back!

Now, I've been itching to get back here.  But I was trying out this new thing called patience, and trying to sort out exactly what I wanted this space to be.  Was it going to be more family related stuff?  Strictly DIY?  Would I have a strict '3 posts a week' schedule?  Then I tried giving the blog a little facelift, and that didn't go quite as planned.  And I realized I was dragging my heels rather than getting back to what I love.  Which is just writing.  And being creative.  And just talking and sharing and over sharing with you people!

So that's what I'm going to do! And I'd love your feedback about what you'd like to see!  More DIY? More life updates?  Oh, and we've made a few changes around the house over the last year, would you like me  to go back and show you those updates?  It's going to be a bit of a mish mosh around here, but I'm looking forward to just seeing where this thing goes!!

7 months!

Hey all!  Man life has just been chugging along at full speed around here!  And while we've been doing plenty of projects, I just haven't felt inspired to write.  Nor have I had the time!  But, I love having something to look back on.  A kind of catalog of the progress of our lives.  Especially since it's all moving by too fast!  I mean, kids are back in school already, it's September, and I think there's only something like 16 Saturdays until Christmas!!  Anyone else hyperventilating a little?!  Can I also just say though that fall is my absolute FAVORITE time of the year!  The anticipation of the holidays, the crafts, the food, everything!  Love!  And this year I'm not super pregnant and stressing over the purchasing of a home.  Or packing and moving.  So I'm going to dig in and really squeeze out every ounce of awesome that this time of year has to offer :)

But first things first!  Smu (aka smiley Smu, aka p unit, aka Persephone) is seven months old!  Holy bananas batman!!

I am absolutely loving this age!  She is so energetic and sweet.  She's rolling ev.er.y.where.  Like under the couch, under the bed, into the kitchen.  She's a trip!  And she's so fast too.  I walk out of the room for two minutes, and she's mad because she's rolled her hiney under the couch.

She's still not sleeping in her crib.  Which is 100% my fault.  But I tried it one day, and the whole thing was miserable.  And then we've spent the past three weeks going through teething and a cold, so I didn't force the issue.  Besides, I love waking up to her cute face in the morning!  Especially since dano is off to work so early every day :)

Speaking of teething, this little monkey has her first two chompers!  I haven't managed to get a picture, but her two front bottom teeth are in.  And I've gotta say, she's been really good about the whole thing.  No drool, not very whiny, still mostly her happy little self!

Her baby stage is passing so quickly, and I'm just trying to stop and enjoy it as much as possible.  She's pushing up on her hands and knees now, so crawling is just around the corner!  As she grows, Gage is getting braver with her too.  She adores him, and loves to watch and play with him.  But she also picks up and chews on anything that crosses her path.  And Gage is not a fan of that.  I'm constantly telling him not to take toys from the baby.  It also drives me bonkers when she's happily playing, and he'll go across the room and take something from her because it's his.  Thank goodness she's still too little to care, and just grabs something else to chomp on.  But I'm dreading the time when he takes something and she shrieks.  Maybe he'll be into sharing by then?

Persephone is so expressive and fun!  I spend whole afternoons tickling her, and shrieking back and forth with her.  She babbles like crazy!  And she's just started saying 'ma ma ma'.  So I'm basically convinced mama is her first word :)

Peabody is 21 lbs of healthy, chubby goodness!  I love every roll and dimple :). Slow down baby, don't grow too fast!  Speaking of growing too fast, can I stop and shed a tear for the fact that Gage is going to be three in less than a month?!  Three!!  Well, I'm off to find a tissue. And some ice cream.  And go kiss my babies for the tenth time today.  Hope you have a great week!

Laundry Room Reveal!

Hey guys!  Guess what? We finished the laundry room!!  Like six weeks ago 😳 it's been an awesome change, and I'm sooo glad we updated this space!! 

Part of the reason it took me awhile to get this post up is the fact that this room gets used.  Like a lot.  Most days I do at least one load of laundry.  Plus, we come into the house this way about 90% of the time.  So it can get a little cray with all the piles of laundry and whatnot :). I wanted to take pictures of a tidy room for you guys!

So onto the details!  The cabinets are the ones we reused from the man cave.  They provide more than enough storage, and keep all our cleaning products and irons hidden!

The little shelf between them was originally purchased for P's room.  We ended up liking the look of just one shelf in her space, so this guy got a little trim and was put up here!  I use that basket to hold dirty clothes that I don't feel like taking upstairs, just to bring back down here.  If I change the kiddos out of their jammies downstairs in the morning, I have a spot for said jammies :)

The picture is an oldie from ikea, and I've had the candle holders forever too.  Just some little things to pretty up the space!

I picked up the geometric blue rug at Homegoods, and I love it!  It's pretty and sturdy, and really ties everything together!  There are even hooks hiding behind the door to hold the diaper bag :)

Compared to the ugly wire shelves, fleshy pink walls and plethora of holes and bolts, this space is a breath of fresh air!  I love all the light blue and white, it helps me actually enjoy using our laundry room!  Now if I could just teach the washer and dryer to sort, fold and put away the clothes, that would be magical :D

What projects have you finished lately?  Have a great weekend!

5 months!

Hello and happy Wednesday!  So, before another month passes and I miss someone's five month post, I figured I needed to pop in with an update :)

 This little girl is getting big too fast :).  She is so sweet, and smiley 90% of the time.  She wasn't too sure she wanted her picture taken though when I started her little photo shoot.

But she warmed up pretty quickly!  Her hair is getting so long, it actually flops in her eyes if I don't pin it back.  I'm not going to get it cut yet though, it's just too cute!  Plus this gives me an excuse to add to her bow stash, so there's that :)

Her new trick this month is rolling over.  And over.  And over!  She'll roll across the room if there's nothing in her way.  I caught her trying to pull her knees up under her yesterday and was like nooooooo!  Calm down little one, no crawling just yet :)

Fun facts:

Weight- 23lbs

Eating- just nursing for now.  But she's showing interest in our food!

Nicknames- countless!  Smiley Smu, Peabody, p-nut, miss mommy, the list goes on :)

Sleeping- still in our bed.  And she won't nap as long in the swing :-/ gotta get on this crib thing!

Clothes- size 12mos.  She's growing so fast that I'm constantly shopping for her.  Poor me ;P

Loves- peekaboo, grinning in the mirror, getting her diaper changed and whenever daddy smiles at her

Random- she plays with her hair when she's nursing and sleepy.  Oh and she likes to whack me while she nurses.  I call it 'the baby haymaker'.  Dano thinks it's hilarious :)

She's getting more interested in toys.  We have a little spinning gear thing, and she could sit and hit the button over and over.  Oh and she loves Gage's hot wheel cars.  Specifically chewing on them :). He doesn't mind.  Yet.

Her favorite activity though is getting in the bathtub with big brother.  He loves to make her laugh, and she giggles so hard when he splashes and jumps around!  Holding her upright is tricky though, slippery little wiggle :). She'll be sitting up on her own before long!

Ugh those cheeks!!  I sit around and smooch them all.day.long!  We juuuust finished her nursery, so the next adventure is to get her to actually sleep in her crib.  Fingers crossed it goes well!  Oh and of course, I'll be back with a post on her space soon :)

Paint all the things!

Hello friendlies!  How have you been?  Life's been busy.  Nothing crazy or exciting, but I feel like time is flying!  So I know I promised you a post on the playroom floor decision, and then life happened, and now it's been a month.  So let's get on that!

When it came to demoing the playroom, we knew the floor had to go.  Not only was it part horrible parquet, and part carpet squares, but the area under the raised seating was bare subfloor.  Originally we wanted to just have it carpeted.  But we got a quote on carpet and found out it was going to cost almost $500!  Eek!  We still want to get carpet one day. But knowing that this was going to primarily serve as a playroom, we wanted everything in here to be mess friendly.  And freaking out about every crumb or container of playdough that makes it's way in there doesn't work for my piece of mind.  So, for now, we decided to work with what we've got.  And what we've got is a concrete subfloor!  After searching the interwebz, we decided that painting the floor was the way to go.  Cheap, easy and low maintenance?  I'll take it!

Now for the process.  First, the floor needed to be cleaned.  All of the old carpet glue and overspray had to be scraped up.  We just doused the glue in lacquer thinner, let it sit with a trash bag on it, and after 10 min, it scraped right up!

There were also a few cracks and divots that needed to be filled in.  We just used wall filler, pressed it into the cracks, let it dry and sanded it down.

Then came paint!  We just got some bright white concrete paint from lowes.  I think it was about $24 for a gallon.  The cool thing about this stuff is you can have it tinted to match any color, so the possibilities are endless!

This is after the first coat.  It's crazy how quick and easy this was!  After spending over a month on the walls, we banged this out in a day!  

So easy a toddler can do it :)

Here it is after three coats!  A beautiful bright white.  And we still have a ton of paint left!

For added durability, we decided to add a protective topcoat.  I'd read that it makes the floors easier to clean.  Plus, it gives it a nice glossy sheen!

And you know I was dying to fill this space up and make it pretty :).  We brought the mattress in from the garage for seating.  I want to get a daybed eventually, so this can double as a guest room.  The bench under the window we've had for years, it's from ikea.  As are the curtains :). Eventually, we want to do built ins on either side of the window, with a window seat in between.

More ikea love!  These expedition bookshelves are awesome.  We used this as a tv console at our old house, but we have built ins in this living room!  So the book shelf is great storage now.  When we do the built ins in here, this will move up to either the office or P's room.  

Love these bright, fun curtains!  They were the color inspiration for this room :). I pulled the light teal blue color from the curtains for the walls, and plan to use the bright green and navy as accents in the room.

So there's the playroom for now!  It needs baseboards, lighting, a rug, some furniture.  Plus, I have some ideas for the walls and of course the built ins need to happen.  But for now, we finally have a functional, huge space for the kiddos to play in!  And no more plaster dust flying though the house!! Yay!

Hope you are having a fantastic week!