Design on a Budget

Like I said in my updates post yesterday, we found out a few weeks ago that we are having a baby boy! I couldn't be more excited about this, although I always pictured myself only raising girls. I thought that finding out I was actually carrying a boy might disappoint me. Much to my surprise, I was immediately "OK" with this news, and soon I was downright excited! I really can't explain my feelings toward this news other than excitement and anticipation. Scott seems excited too, with one exception. His only reservation is that having a baby of the opposite sex from our first means one thing: shopping! If we were having another girl, we would be set! Elliott would get an upgrade to a new and improved big girl room, and baby #2 would slide on in to the already prepped nursery. Since baby #2 is in fact a boy, it means that things are taking a little more planning and some creativity :)

We are on a budget, but at the same time, home decor and baby stuff in general is just so fun to buy! Lucky for Scott, I've always been a bargain shopper......I don't know if it's the thrill of the hunt (or just years of having to be frugal with our money), but I love a good deal! In fact, I probably never buy anything that isn't on clearance (other than food, but only if it's a necessity and there isn't a cheaper option available). Clothes, furniture, and other home goods just make me feel so good when I can tell you how much I saved in comparison to how much I spent!

So, like I said, adding another little one to our family is taking some creativity and bargain shopping. Let's start with the big stuff. Furniture. We have a crib (Elliott's current toddler bed), and an armoire for the nursery, plus a nice glider rocking chair. Essentially, this could all be used for the new baby, leaving us to furnish a room for Ellie with a bed (twin size) and at least a dresser (maybe a nightstand if we found a good deal).

Thanks to Craigslist (and my awesome parents who found us this steal), we got a 5 piece bedroom set, which needed just a little bit of TLC, for just $100! This set included a nightstand, dresser, dresser with shelving unit, headboard, and bed frame! The only work that we ended up doing to these pieces was a fresh coat of spray paint (thanks mom!) and some new drawer pulls. Easy Peasy! And, since we have a small house with even smaller bedrooms, there are more than enough pieces of furniture to go around now......maybe even too much! These pieces will be split between both Elliott and Liam's bedrooms:

We found Ellie's mattress and boxspring at a local mattress discount store.......$200 isn't exactly a steal in my opinion, but the set is brand new, and should last her some time. We really weren't keen on a used mattress of any sort.

Both rooms will be getting a fresh coat of paint. And once again, there's no real way around paint prices, at least not that I know of! We simply bought two cans of paint + primer in one, at a local hardware store. It didn't break the bank, and fresh paint will more than liven up both rooms!

Finally, I've been slowly shopping around for decor pieces, curtains, rugs, and other accents to give both kids a space that looks nice, feels comforting, and makes all of us happy. Things like this aren't exactly necessities, so this is where I really try to pinch pennies and find bargains. I end up picking up a clock at Ross when I see a good deal, or a few smaller items at Hobby Lobby when I'm there.......before I know it my $5 and $10 purchases have furnished a whole room! So, while there's too many little details I've picked up over the last few months to share each steal of a deal with you, here's my latest haul. I walked into Fred Meyer looking for a few storage baskets for toys in the living room, and walked out with those and much more! They were having such great sales, and there were clearance shelves and racks in every department! Here's what I snagged:

The storage baskets are for the living room, to contain toy explosions. The blue containers and light fixture (such great deals!!!) are for Liam's room. We're going with dark blue, brown, and a loose sports/football theme for his room, but I'll get into more of that in a later post. The blanket, curtains, and coat rack are for Elliott's room. We're just throwing together LOTS of fun, bright colors for her new big girl room......can't wait to share when it's all put together!. And finally, the baby boy clothes and the Barbie might have been impulse buys.......but they were still on sale! Ha!

So there's just a little bit of what's been occupying my mind and budget lately. I love a good deal, but I'm also anxious to finish a project once I start one! The hardest part is moving slowly as we gather everything that we need for these two rooms, but I know that the end results will be worth is! The rooms should be painted this weekend, and I can't wait to start pulling it all together after that!

Wordless Wednesday: Our Bedroom

I know that I've shared glimpses of our bedroom makeover here and there for the past couple of weeks, but I wanted to give you all the grand tour.

We recently did a complete overhaul on our bedroom, and I am in love with the way it turned out!

It was actually a little unexpected, and with next to no budget for "redecorating", we had to go with what we had. 

I made a trip to Target for some organizational items: shoe-rack, small set of plastic drawers, etc. My mom also pitched in and scrounged up my old, old dresser from her spare bedroom. This dresser has been around for forever and I kind of forgot how cool it is! It is in desperate need of some new stain and has a few wobbly drawers, but we were in desperate need of a place to stash our clothes......so we quickly became best friends (and a fresh coat of stain will make it's appearance this spring, I promise). 

 We snagged our end-tables from our living room set and we are using them as night stands. I actually really like the way they look in our room....sorry to anyone that was looking for a place to set their drink in our living room ;)

I have a list of items that I'd love to order from Target and Ikea to finish the room off (like, um, a headboard. And a bookshelf), but for now I'm in love with our new room! It feels so light and airy and just......fresh! In case you don't remember what our room looked like before, here's a little glimpse:

Yeah, it was crowded and a little overwhelming. Now our bedroom is a clean, welcoming place. I think Elliott would agree.

Linking up with And Then, She Snapped, Jenni From the Blog, and Naptime Momtog.

Project 366 Rewind: Days 29-35

This week's theme for Project 366 Rewind was "weary". Boy, am I weary these days! 

I've got this major urge to re-organize, re-decorate, toss stuff our, and just clean and make my home feel more cozy. I've been working pretty hard at all of it, and I've grown weary. 

Tonight my feet actually hurt, and I realized that it's because I haven't sat down all day! I have literally been on my feet all day long. I've accomplished SO much though, and it feels good! 

This week my photos represent all of the changes going on around our home: de-cluttered and organized closet, my husband's medals finally on display where they belong, and a happy kiddo.....I attribute her happiness to my own happiness. I feel so much more relaxed when my house is clean and in order, and I definitely think that Elliott can sense when I'm happy!

What about you....has the spring cleaning bug hit you yet?
It took my mom pointing it out to me to realize that's what all the fuss was about at my house.
I just have the urge to de-clutter and clean ALL THE THINGS.
 And while I might be growing weary, at least I'll have a clean house to show for all of my hard work!

10 Minute DIY

Do you have ten minutes? Good! I have a project for you!

This particular project is something that I've had in mind for quite a while now.

Posts like this one and that one inspired me further.

They made it look so simple, so I decided to go for it!

This easy DIY photo display took me all of about ten minutes (and $0) to round up all of my supplies and get to hanging pictures!

You will need:

Hammer

Nails

Ribbon

Clothespins or cute clips

I happened to have all of these lying around my house. Maybe you do, too!

If not, I can't imagine your supplies costing anything close to a fortune.

I used two different kinds of ribbon. The top layer is thin, but it matches the pattern in my kitchen/office perfectly. I layered a thicker, sheer black ribbon underneath. I didn't measure or use a level (although I probably should have.....I'm just lazy!), so I just eye-balled it and started nailing the ribbon to the wall. Make sure that it's snug.....most types of ribbon will stretch ever-so-slightly, and once you start hanging pictures on it, it won't appear to be so tight.

I love how easy and quick (and cheap) this project was!

But most of all, I love how it spiced up my workspace, and lets me display many pictures all at once!

If you make your own version of this picture display, I'd LOVE to see it!!

A Day in the Life

I decided it would be fun to capture just a typical day in my life through photos.

These aren't the greatest pictures, and there's so much more that happens in a day than what I'm showing you here, but you get the idea.

Plus, I'm a firm believer that life is in the details. It's the little things in life that mean the most.......and those are the things that I want to remember for always.

I want to remember what Ellie looks like when she first wakes up in the morning, and what we ate for dinner or what our bedtime rituals were like.

So, I spent an entire day capturing these little, insignifigant details.

And while I was a little uneasy toting my nice camera with me all day, I'm so glad that I did!

I will probably do this every once in a while, just for the sake of memories.

So, here is a day in the life:

 6:30 am: my alarm goes off. I shower quickly, and when I'm finished.......the monitor is lit up with red dots - Ellie is awake!

 7:30 am: Ellie snuggles in our bed while I finish drying my hair and get dressed for work. She eats a little snack and watches Olivia or Franklin on TV

 8:30 am: while Ellie eats breakfast at the table, I scurry around the kitchen getting dinner ready in the crockpot and throwing together lunches for us both to take with us for the day.

 9:00 am: Aaannnd, we're off!! Driving to the babysitter's house, we sing and dance to our favorite tunes. Our current fave?! Caspar Babypants (and I don't see that changing anytime soon):

 9:55 am: In the parking lot at work is where I normally put on my make-up. It sounds silly, I know. But in my car, after the tot has been dropped off for the day, is usually the easiest time to finish getting dolled up for the day.

 11:30 am: Today was a potluck day at work. We have these ALL the time, and I really don't mind ;) Cheddar Brocolli soup and artichoke dip hit the spot for a mid-morning snack!

 2:00 pm: An afternoon Starbuck's run is usually in order......today is my day to go pick it up. Drinks are bought, shared, and IOU's are always accepted.

 3:30 pm: I turn around in my chair and check the status of my favorite tree outside my window at work. Sometimes, you just need to open the window and take a hit of fresh air to keep plugging on with the work day.

 7:00 pm: Picked up the tot from my mom's house and it's home at last! Crock pot nights are the best because dinner is literally waiting for me when I get home! Tonight's menu? Beef Stew and hard rolls. Mmmmm comfort food.

 7:30 pm: Ellie eats dinner with my mom before I pick her up to go home, but she gets a "second dinner" with us! Sometimes she eats it, sometimes she doesn't.

 8:00 pm: Bathtime is complete, and now there's just enough time for a little coloring before bed. Seriously, this girl loves to color!

 8:30 pm: Some nights Scott is home for dinner, and other nights he gets home late. But he is almost always home in time for bedtime, and tooth-brushing is his deal. I was only allowed in to get a picture of my two monkeys.

 And, it's lights out for Ellie!

 9:00 pm: Bedtime for baby equals work time for momma! One load of diapers, ready to wash!

 9:30 pm: Time to craft and fill some etsy orders while I catch up on my favorite trashy TV shows. On tonight's roster: Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and Sister Wives.

11:00 pm: I finish off the night with some computer time: blogging, photo editing, answering e-mails, and updating my etsy shop.

Seriously, i'm exhausted. But? I love, love, love this crazy busy life!

I always wish for more hours in a day. More hours to play with Ellie, more hours to snuggle with Scott, more hours to be a good daughter, friend, sister, co-worker. More hours to be a successful blogger, photographer, crafter.

My life is FULL but I wouldn't have it any other way!

A Whole Lotta Bakin' Going On

Okay, is that post title cheesy enough for ya?!

Hehe! Well, it's my first post after spending an entire weekend working on this blog "behind the scenes". Thanks for sticking around! I'm happy with a much simpler, fresh layout, and while I'm no pro at html and all that jazz, I think I did ok!

So, this was a post I had wanted to write last week, but, well.....time just got away from me!

I did post last week about apple picking, which was so much fun and ended with 30 pounds of yummy apples just begging to be cut up, cored, peeled and used.
Somehow, some way.
So, a lot of baking ensued in an attempt to use up the apples before they went bad
(and some other non-apple baking happened because I had a couple potlucks at work).

First up, apple sauce!
I heard from a friend that you can make apple sauce in a crockpot, and since I'm recently obsessed with my crockpot, this was the first thing I wanted to try.
You guys?! This applesauce was SO good!!
I don't eat store bought applesauce. It's just not something I've ever enjoyed.
But this applesauce is definitely something I crave now!

I really just looked at a few different recipes and decided to just wing it.
Here's what I did:

10-15 apples (our apples were pretty small. just use enough to pretty much fill up yer crockpot.)

(peel and core the apples, then toss in the crockpot in large chunks, adding lemon juice sparingly as you go)

1 cup sugar

1tablespoon cinnamon

splash of vanilla

1/2 cup water

I mixed all of my dry ingredients and poured them over the apples, then I added my wet ingredients.
I gave it all a good stir to coat all of the apple pieces, and let it cook on low for about 8 hours.

I went to stir the apples at the very end, and Scott started to ask if we needed the blender to blend our applesauce. In case you've never made applesauce, the answer to that question is a big fat NO! Seriously, the apples just fell apart and mushed all together to just the right consistency!
Our applesauce was sweet and cinnamon-ey, but if you like yours different then just adjust those ingredients to your liking ;)

Ellie refused to eat it at first, but once she finally gave it a try, it was love at first bite! Mmm Mmmm! I think this will be one of our new favorite treats (and traditions!)

Next up was apple pie. I know a few people who absolutely love apple pie, so I figured it was a good thing to make (and then give away so we didn't have to eat it all!). Again, I eyeballed a couple different recipes and then just went for it! (I don't know what's gotten into me lately.....I've never ever been this comfortable in the kitchen!) I cheated and bought the pie crusts, but I didn't regret it one bit!

Here's what I did:

2 store bought pie crusts, lay on on bottom of pie plate

5-8 apples (I really have no idea, just fill up a big bowl), peeled, cored, and sliced

Sprinkle some lemon juice over the apples

Sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and nutmeg (I just threw in as much as I wanted, and mixed it with the apples until they looked good!)

Pour apple mixture into pie plate

Take "pats" of butter and add randomly to the top of your apple pile

Cover with second pie crust, and seal the edges

"Vent" the top pie crust with a knife (I tried to make a cute apple tree like my mom always does)

Sprinkle some milk on the top crust, and then sugar (this gives your crust a nice glaze)

Bake at 375 for about 45 minutes. Honestly, you'll be able to smell when it's done ;) And the crust should be nice and lightly golden. We let the pie sit for about 20 minutes, and then we dug in and enjoyed it warm! Yum!

And last but certainly not least, I made some Pinterest inspired pumpkin cupcakes to take to work.....and I'm so glad that I took them to work, otherwise I might have eaten them all myself!
I love these because not only are they delicious, but they are just too easy to make!

You'll need:

1 box of cake mix (You can use white, chocolate, or spice....I used spice cake mix this time)

1 can of pumpkin (I think 15 oz is the small can? Yeah, use that)

Mix your two ingredients together, and then bake in cupcake liners,
according to the directions on the box!

That's all!!
Now, I was a little worried that my cupcakes would be more like muffins, so I did add one egg and a splash of oil....but I've heard that it's really not even necessary!
These cupcakes were so moist, and had just the right amount of pumpkin flavor!
I bought some cream cheese frosting to go along with it.
Now you can certainly make your own, but I was all about the easy for this recipe.
I did, however, take that frosting and plop it in a ziploc bag......cut a little bit off of one corner, and then pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes!
That way you get a "homemade" look, with only half of the effort ;)

I'm so glad that I was able to get a little fall baking in last weekend. Because before I know it, I'll be whipping up my favorite Christmas goodies! Ah!

~Amanda

Long Weekends......

Apparently tomorrow is a holiday. Yeah, Columbus Day.
I didn't know it was anything other than a reason for kids to learn about Christopher Columbus in October. According to Government officials, though, it's a full-fledged holiday!
That means Scott has a nice long weekend. I'm not complaining ;)

We've enjoyed some awesome weather this weekend, and lots of time together as a family. I also had a little girl's night out with my friend Melissa, some apple picking with my good friend Christie and her son Jonas, and we event went to church this morning and had lunch with my family.
So I can't really say that I didn't accomplish anything this weekend, because lots of memories were made and fun was had. But, I do wish that I had gotten more done around the house.
My goal for Saturday was to stay home all day and scrub, scrub, scrub this house from top to bottom. Well, that didn't happen at all!
I got some laundry washed and some clutter cleaned up, but that's about it! It's so hard to spend my time "off" cleaning and scrubbing instead of playing with Elliott and Scott.  

I think what needs to happen is this:

1. A List. I accomplish so much more when I have a list.
(see? I'm moving this boring ol' blog post right along, with the help of a list)

2. A Kid-Free Day. As much as I hate to spend any more time away from Ellie than I already have to,
I think this is necessary. It's next to impossible to try and clean toilets and mop the floor with a little toy-chucking, crumb-dropping tornado following me around everywhere.
Maybe Scott and Ellie can have a daddy-daughter date soon, and leave me home alone to
clean up all of their our messes.
That might just be heavenly.

(It's sad when being left all alone to clean my trashed house is heavenly, huh? Oh well.
I wouldn't trade this life for anything, that's for sure!) 

Anyways, the fact that it's a long weekend means one thing: I still have one more day to make this weekend count! Tomorrow includes a playdate in the morning and a playdate/mommy date in the evening.......that leaves me one good afternoon (and nap time) to get some things done! I'm off to make my list and maybe even get a jump start on item #4: folding laundry.

Night!

(These pictures were taken last weekend when we were trying to take family photos. We got rained out. But, isn't Ellie's outfit just too cute?! I love it.)