seeing as how i'm looking to do 2 kid/baby rooms on a budget, i'm really excited about this website i just came across! i'm looking for both the nursery and k and b's rooms to flow with the rest of our house...which means no baby look and nothing too matchy. i want a fresh, vintage look for both rooms, using pieces that can grow with them (or that i can use in other rooms of our house if they decide they want a new spin on their rooms when they're older with more of an opinion). anyway, that means the bulk of our investment will be on pieces such as pretty fabrics and light fixtures; not accessories. so i'm thinking for me, or any of you who love vintage (for a nursery or not), this is the perfect solution...
http://indiefixx.com/Feed_your_soul/downloads.html
it's a free art project, put together by a girl looking for an antidote to the depressing state of our economy. when asked "why are you doing this?", she says:
"Well, I love art and I know you do too. I also know that when people start to tighten up the purse strings they tend not spend money on things that aren’t necessary for survival, things like books, magazines and art. But, art is important for your soul. It helps rejuvenate, it’s thought-provoking, offers inspiration and can generally brighten an otherwise dreary day among other things. In addition to helping brighten your day and put a little spring in your step, I want to help promote some of my favorite artists."
rest assured you'll be seeing the result of her hard work in the majority of my upstairs rooms!
Showing posts with label home. Show all posts
Showing posts with label home. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Monday, August 16, 2010
10 random happenings
1. nevermind on the clock idea from my last post. it didn't work very well. shortly after we tried out our new plan, i slept one morning until 8:30, which NEVER happens. if i don't set an alarm to get up and have some alone time before k and b get up, they're my alarm clocks, so i usually see early mornings. i felt bad that they had probably been awake for 2 hours so i jumped out of bed and called upstairs for them to come down. they asked me why morning took so long to get here and i told them that they could have gotten up an hour ago, but missed 7:30. "well mom," blakely said. "when mommies and daddies put clocks in their little kids' rooms, their little kids don't know how to read them." oh, i see. thanks for the parenting tip, b. guess we'll try that again in another year or 2.
2. we have more house projects going on than we know what to do with. i think i can most definitely say i'm officially nesting. we are in the process of:
- re-doing our backyard (which i think we can safely say is on hold right now. we started the project, then found out we were pregnant, so it's on hold for the sake of the inside for now. i'll post pictures of its hideousness later).
- wallpapering our half bath. i'll post pictures when we're done.
- doing the nursery (the ideas are all in place thanks to my very talented friend kelly, who also deserves props for designing our half bath and k and b's room...now we've just got to buy all of the stuff, paint, hang new light fixtures, and get everything in place.)
- re-doing kennedy and blakely's room. you might remember that this (along with wallpapering the half bath and re-doing our backyard) was on my new years' list. we still haven't done anything to it, and we don't want to do the nursery before their room and them wonder why this new baby who is invading their life gets a prettier room than they do. so now we have to paint their walls, re-finish their beds and nightstand, hang a new light fixture, and get everything up on the walls BEFORE we do all of the above mentioned work on the nursery.
3. did i mention we have approximately 14 more saturdays before our baby is here and all of the above projects (with the exception of the back yard) have to be done?! and many of those will involve georgia football so we won't want to be working? and we're not rich so we need to get creative to fit it all in the budget? ahhhhh!
4. i have started christmas shopping. our goal is to have all of our gifts bought and wrapped by november. we will probably have a scheduled c-section mid- to late-november, so if it's not done by then, chances are someone else will have to play santa this year.
5. i'm 24 weeks pregnant and starting to freak out about pre-eclampsia again. i'm not having any signs, but i know my chances of developing it again are higher since i had it last pregnancy, so i'm stuffing my face with protein every chance i get. and it's miserable. i hate eating when i'm pregnant, and could most definitely live off of fruit. i feel full all of the time already, so eating is only out of necessity right now. i wish it could be that way all of the time. why is it when i'm supposed to gain weight i hate to eat, but when it's time to lose the baby weight i'll have to work out 2 hours a day to off-set my love relationship with food?
6. we had family pictures taken again this weekend, and blakely proved her decision to be good starting when she was 4. she was an angel and posed for every picture. k was a bit of a pill, but you know one has to be off.
7. brett and i will celebrate 7 years of marriage this coming sunday.
8. k and b start school in a few weeks, and i think i'm ready. i had fun with them this summer and didn't think i would be, but i think summer's been long enough.
9. school aside, i'm just SOOOOOOO ready for summer to be over!!! i've been going through the starbucks drive-thru and ordering hot chocolate so i could pretend like it's fall. the first few sips make me happy every time and take my mind on a little retreat to the mountains. i can't wait for the weather change and football and comfort food and pumpkins and pretty leaves.
10. kennedy and blakely started gymnastics. i'll post pictures when i upload them. they're obsessed with learning it all and i'm obsessed with watching them. call it sad if you want to, but it's the highlight of my week.
hopefully i'll get some pictures posted of all of our random happenings soon!
2. we have more house projects going on than we know what to do with. i think i can most definitely say i'm officially nesting. we are in the process of:
- re-doing our backyard (which i think we can safely say is on hold right now. we started the project, then found out we were pregnant, so it's on hold for the sake of the inside for now. i'll post pictures of its hideousness later).
- wallpapering our half bath. i'll post pictures when we're done.
- doing the nursery (the ideas are all in place thanks to my very talented friend kelly, who also deserves props for designing our half bath and k and b's room...now we've just got to buy all of the stuff, paint, hang new light fixtures, and get everything in place.)
- re-doing kennedy and blakely's room. you might remember that this (along with wallpapering the half bath and re-doing our backyard) was on my new years' list. we still haven't done anything to it, and we don't want to do the nursery before their room and them wonder why this new baby who is invading their life gets a prettier room than they do. so now we have to paint their walls, re-finish their beds and nightstand, hang a new light fixture, and get everything up on the walls BEFORE we do all of the above mentioned work on the nursery.
3. did i mention we have approximately 14 more saturdays before our baby is here and all of the above projects (with the exception of the back yard) have to be done?! and many of those will involve georgia football so we won't want to be working? and we're not rich so we need to get creative to fit it all in the budget? ahhhhh!
4. i have started christmas shopping. our goal is to have all of our gifts bought and wrapped by november. we will probably have a scheduled c-section mid- to late-november, so if it's not done by then, chances are someone else will have to play santa this year.
5. i'm 24 weeks pregnant and starting to freak out about pre-eclampsia again. i'm not having any signs, but i know my chances of developing it again are higher since i had it last pregnancy, so i'm stuffing my face with protein every chance i get. and it's miserable. i hate eating when i'm pregnant, and could most definitely live off of fruit. i feel full all of the time already, so eating is only out of necessity right now. i wish it could be that way all of the time. why is it when i'm supposed to gain weight i hate to eat, but when it's time to lose the baby weight i'll have to work out 2 hours a day to off-set my love relationship with food?
6. we had family pictures taken again this weekend, and blakely proved her decision to be good starting when she was 4. she was an angel and posed for every picture. k was a bit of a pill, but you know one has to be off.
7. brett and i will celebrate 7 years of marriage this coming sunday.
8. k and b start school in a few weeks, and i think i'm ready. i had fun with them this summer and didn't think i would be, but i think summer's been long enough.
9. school aside, i'm just SOOOOOOO ready for summer to be over!!! i've been going through the starbucks drive-thru and ordering hot chocolate so i could pretend like it's fall. the first few sips make me happy every time and take my mind on a little retreat to the mountains. i can't wait for the weather change and football and comfort food and pumpkins and pretty leaves.
10. kennedy and blakely started gymnastics. i'll post pictures when i upload them. they're obsessed with learning it all and i'm obsessed with watching them. call it sad if you want to, but it's the highlight of my week.
hopefully i'll get some pictures posted of all of our random happenings soon!
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
forgot this...
thanks to all of you who pointed out that i forgot to post the link to the blog where i got the printables...
http://vintageprintable.com/wordpress/
http://vintageprintable.com/wordpress/
low budget gallery
i like to re-decorate. often. our budget, and his friend brett, does not like for me to re-decorate often. thus, i'm always looking for ways to keep our house's look fresh without breaking the bank. here's my latest project...
*michael's frames $3.75 each...not the nicest frames, but they do the job and aren't too bad. plus, they come matted so you save that expense as well. they are normally $10, but they put them on sale often for $5, then they'll send out a coupon for 25% off your total frame purchase, thus bringing the final cost to $3.75 each.
the pictures are from one of my very favorite finds (thanks to some random blog i stumbled across...can't even remember which one it was, but i saw it and so did my friend tyler, then she re-found it and sent it to me.). anyway, the layout of the site is pretty hideous, but it's content is great. there are TONS of vintage printables that you can turn into your own cheap artwork. i went with vintage birds and nests and printed them on linen paper, using the rough side to make them look even older. with the paper and frame, each of my pictures came to just $4....that's $32 to fill an entire wall with artwork, which is pretty unheard of. i printed one for my guest bedroom as well, and will be finding some more for k and b's new room.
the wall still may need more on it, so if any of my readers who are talented decorators want to shoot some advice my way it's always welcomed. decorating is not my strong suit, so i'm definitely not offended by suggestions. here's the whole room...
*michael's frames $3.75 each...not the nicest frames, but they do the job and aren't too bad. plus, they come matted so you save that expense as well. they are normally $10, but they put them on sale often for $5, then they'll send out a coupon for 25% off your total frame purchase, thus bringing the final cost to $3.75 each.
the pictures are from one of my very favorite finds (thanks to some random blog i stumbled across...can't even remember which one it was, but i saw it and so did my friend tyler, then she re-found it and sent it to me.). anyway, the layout of the site is pretty hideous, but it's content is great. there are TONS of vintage printables that you can turn into your own cheap artwork. i went with vintage birds and nests and printed them on linen paper, using the rough side to make them look even older. with the paper and frame, each of my pictures came to just $4....that's $32 to fill an entire wall with artwork, which is pretty unheard of. i printed one for my guest bedroom as well, and will be finding some more for k and b's new room.
the wall still may need more on it, so if any of my readers who are talented decorators want to shoot some advice my way it's always welcomed. decorating is not my strong suit, so i'm definitely not offended by suggestions. here's the whole room...
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
homemade: dishwashing detergent
here it is...
1/2 cup dr bronner's sals suds (you can order this from amazon, and i'm sure they probably have it at whole foods or another natural store, but i get mine at natural foods warehouse...definitely worth a trip if you live in the johns creek area because a big bottle is less than $7)
1/2 cup water
1 t lemon juice
3 drops tea tree oil
1/2 cup white vinegar
mix and use about a tablespoon per load. it has worked well for me, but i'm anal about dishes and wash food off completely before i put them in the dishwasher. let me know if you try it with stuck on food. i'd be interested to know if it still works the same as commercial detergent. also, i keep an olive oil bottle next to my sink and mix this recipe with more water, then use it for any dishes i handwash. i don't know if it will be drying to hands, but i guess i'll see soon enough.
1/2 cup dr bronner's sals suds (you can order this from amazon, and i'm sure they probably have it at whole foods or another natural store, but i get mine at natural foods warehouse...definitely worth a trip if you live in the johns creek area because a big bottle is less than $7)
1/2 cup water
1 t lemon juice
3 drops tea tree oil
1/2 cup white vinegar
mix and use about a tablespoon per load. it has worked well for me, but i'm anal about dishes and wash food off completely before i put them in the dishwasher. let me know if you try it with stuck on food. i'd be interested to know if it still works the same as commercial detergent. also, i keep an olive oil bottle next to my sink and mix this recipe with more water, then use it for any dishes i handwash. i don't know if it will be drying to hands, but i guess i'll see soon enough.
Monday, January 18, 2010
homemade: laundry detergent
this is the first of my homemade concoctions, and it's working pretty well. i use lavender castile soap and it leaves our clothes with a nice smell. i read somewhere to use vinegar for fabric softener, but i can smell really well...way too well for vinegar. as of now, i'm not using any fabric softener, but if anyone has a natural suggestion, please send it my way.
if you've never used castile soap, but want to start making your own products, stock up now! this stuff is great and can be used on anything. you can even brush your teeth with it (not that you would want to, but it's that safe). you can get it anywhere...whole foods, kroger, target, online, etc. i use dr. bronner's brand, and the bottle is a little weird (you'll understand when you read it), but the product is good.
this recipe comes from www.passionatehomemaking.com:
1 cup castile soap
2 cups water
1/3 cup salt
1 cup baking soda
mix the salt and baking soda with warm water until dissolved. add in castile soap and mix well. use 1/4-1/2 cup per load.
i keep mine in a carafe, along with my dishwashing detergent and vinegar. you can put it in in anything obviously, but i'm a sucker for packaging...i guess i feel like housework is more glamorous if my products are packaged well :) i've gotta run, but i'll try to get the dish detergent recipe up tomorrow.
if you've never used castile soap, but want to start making your own products, stock up now! this stuff is great and can be used on anything. you can even brush your teeth with it (not that you would want to, but it's that safe). you can get it anywhere...whole foods, kroger, target, online, etc. i use dr. bronner's brand, and the bottle is a little weird (you'll understand when you read it), but the product is good.
this recipe comes from www.passionatehomemaking.com:
1 cup castile soap
2 cups water
1/3 cup salt
1 cup baking soda
mix the salt and baking soda with warm water until dissolved. add in castile soap and mix well. use 1/4-1/2 cup per load.
i keep mine in a carafe, along with my dishwashing detergent and vinegar. you can put it in in anything obviously, but i'm a sucker for packaging...i guess i feel like housework is more glamorous if my products are packaged well :) i've gotta run, but i'll try to get the dish detergent recipe up tomorrow.
Friday, January 15, 2010
the case for homemade
since i've been gradually making the switch to natural, organic, and homemade products, i often get the question "isn't it as cheap to buy the stuff after you've bought all of the ingredients to make your own?". the answer is yes and no.
to start with, i'm not making the switch to be cool. maybe it's becoming the thing to do in this economy, and maybe organic is what celebrities do and that makes it trendy, but honestly it's just what works for our family right now. as i've studied the affects of chemicals, pesticides, artificial elements we put in our bodies, etc., and compared that to the crazy rate of infertility, cancer, and other ailments our country is stricken with, i'm led to believe that all of this could have to do with what we are exposed to/put in our bodies. i'm not saying all this to say you should do it too, or that if you have an ailment it's because of any of these reasons. i'm not a doctor or scientist, and i don't know enough about any of this to be a credible source. this is simply my opinion, and again, what works for our family right now. i have free time since k and b are in school 2 mornings a week, and we are still on a budget. basically, i have more time than money right now. as most of you know, brett started his company a little over 2 years ago. as happens when you start a company, we went to no income and decided to live strictly on our savings to avoid having to take out a business loan. i've grown up pretty frugally, but this was a whole new (honestly fun) challenge. i got into the whole art of couponing and loved to see what i could get free at the grocery store each week (it was a game that i drove myself crazy with...and a lot of you as i talked about my deals :)). i was able to get tons of free and/or cheap stuff, but the thing i realized over time was that most of it was processed, packaged food, or conventional cleaning products. over the past year, i've tried to transition slowly to organic, but my goal continues to be sticking to my current food budget. i was already buying organic dairy, and some organic fruits and vegetables, but with the ridiculous price of organic meats, i stuck to conventional (and the oh-so-cheap tyson plant). this year, i am trying to transition to organic meats as well as more organic fruits and vegetables, thus my decision to go homemade with a lot of other things. pretty much everything i find myself making homemade has the same basic ingredients, so i'm able to buy organic ingredients in bulk, along with adding in organic meats, and stick with our budget. so the basic answer to what's cheaper is if you use coupons and buy conventional, there's a chance it's cheaper that way, but if you want to take your family to a more natural plan, it's most definitely cheaper to make your own stuff than buy natural/organic. not to mention, there's such a sense of satisfaction in the hard work you have to put into it. i feel like a 50's housewife and i kinda like it ;)
all that to say, i am a stay-at-home mom. since i bring no income in, i see it as part of my job to take care of our family and home while saving us money anyway i can. if i worked full time there's no way in the world i would be able to do all of this. and i still haven't found a way to do it perfectly. so if you read my blog and roll your eyes, remember that if there's a day i've made my family's bread, shampoo, deodorant, and laundry detergent, there's a good chance i've ignored my kids. give my family preservatives, spend $1000 a month on food, or ignore my kids. not really a good option there, huh? it's all about balance, and i'm still trying to figure it all out. if you read my blog long enough, you'll see that i get on kicks. i've always got a project or interest. if you listen to sandra mccracken's song i posted yesterday, you can think of me, because often these are just the kingdoms i'm building on earth, and i'm ever thankful to have a savior to offer me redemption when i turn things that should be good into idols. it might look like i'm doing good for my family, but sometimes it becomes something to fill my time or make me feel worthy of who knows what.
anyway, i'm really not trying to turn my blog into a food and health blog, even though that's the direction it seems to be going. i'm just trying to document the things i'm doing this year to work towards my goals, and this goes along with it (plus it's what i do for fun, so i naturally like to talk about it in hopes that other people like it too. you're thinking i need to find a hobby if i think this is fun, right?). if any of you tune in to hear stories and see pictures of k and b, i'll try to keep those coming too. have a good weekend!
to start with, i'm not making the switch to be cool. maybe it's becoming the thing to do in this economy, and maybe organic is what celebrities do and that makes it trendy, but honestly it's just what works for our family right now. as i've studied the affects of chemicals, pesticides, artificial elements we put in our bodies, etc., and compared that to the crazy rate of infertility, cancer, and other ailments our country is stricken with, i'm led to believe that all of this could have to do with what we are exposed to/put in our bodies. i'm not saying all this to say you should do it too, or that if you have an ailment it's because of any of these reasons. i'm not a doctor or scientist, and i don't know enough about any of this to be a credible source. this is simply my opinion, and again, what works for our family right now. i have free time since k and b are in school 2 mornings a week, and we are still on a budget. basically, i have more time than money right now. as most of you know, brett started his company a little over 2 years ago. as happens when you start a company, we went to no income and decided to live strictly on our savings to avoid having to take out a business loan. i've grown up pretty frugally, but this was a whole new (honestly fun) challenge. i got into the whole art of couponing and loved to see what i could get free at the grocery store each week (it was a game that i drove myself crazy with...and a lot of you as i talked about my deals :)). i was able to get tons of free and/or cheap stuff, but the thing i realized over time was that most of it was processed, packaged food, or conventional cleaning products. over the past year, i've tried to transition slowly to organic, but my goal continues to be sticking to my current food budget. i was already buying organic dairy, and some organic fruits and vegetables, but with the ridiculous price of organic meats, i stuck to conventional (and the oh-so-cheap tyson plant). this year, i am trying to transition to organic meats as well as more organic fruits and vegetables, thus my decision to go homemade with a lot of other things. pretty much everything i find myself making homemade has the same basic ingredients, so i'm able to buy organic ingredients in bulk, along with adding in organic meats, and stick with our budget. so the basic answer to what's cheaper is if you use coupons and buy conventional, there's a chance it's cheaper that way, but if you want to take your family to a more natural plan, it's most definitely cheaper to make your own stuff than buy natural/organic. not to mention, there's such a sense of satisfaction in the hard work you have to put into it. i feel like a 50's housewife and i kinda like it ;)
all that to say, i am a stay-at-home mom. since i bring no income in, i see it as part of my job to take care of our family and home while saving us money anyway i can. if i worked full time there's no way in the world i would be able to do all of this. and i still haven't found a way to do it perfectly. so if you read my blog and roll your eyes, remember that if there's a day i've made my family's bread, shampoo, deodorant, and laundry detergent, there's a good chance i've ignored my kids. give my family preservatives, spend $1000 a month on food, or ignore my kids. not really a good option there, huh? it's all about balance, and i'm still trying to figure it all out. if you read my blog long enough, you'll see that i get on kicks. i've always got a project or interest. if you listen to sandra mccracken's song i posted yesterday, you can think of me, because often these are just the kingdoms i'm building on earth, and i'm ever thankful to have a savior to offer me redemption when i turn things that should be good into idols. it might look like i'm doing good for my family, but sometimes it becomes something to fill my time or make me feel worthy of who knows what.
anyway, i'm really not trying to turn my blog into a food and health blog, even though that's the direction it seems to be going. i'm just trying to document the things i'm doing this year to work towards my goals, and this goes along with it (plus it's what i do for fun, so i naturally like to talk about it in hopes that other people like it too. you're thinking i need to find a hobby if i think this is fun, right?). if any of you tune in to hear stories and see pictures of k and b, i'll try to keep those coming too. have a good weekend!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
freak of nature
i'm totally embarrassed to write this post, but it's too intriguing not to share. so, i was digging around the bottom of my closet early this afternoon when i saw this...
kennedy and blakely are known, like cats, to bring random things into our house from outside, so i tried to pick it up to take it back to it's proper home. no luck. i moved my cowboy boots out of the way, thinking the pile of shoes was holding it in place, and i tugged again. when the thing still didn't budge, i followed it to the end...
and discovered...
the branch is growing INTO our house. i swear we're clean people and maintain our house. we're not the best landscapers in the neighborhood, and we're known to have quite a few weeds growing in our backyard, but a new tree growing in our house? i feel so violated. if i pull it, it's not like the roots can come out because it's stuck between the ground and concrete, so i'm assuming it will just grow back. does this mean there's a hole in my closet? this is the most confusing thing that has happened to our house in the 4 years we've lived here. it's like i want to call pest control, but they might think i'm a little crazy if i called them to kill a weed. any suggestions?
kennedy and blakely are known, like cats, to bring random things into our house from outside, so i tried to pick it up to take it back to it's proper home. no luck. i moved my cowboy boots out of the way, thinking the pile of shoes was holding it in place, and i tugged again. when the thing still didn't budge, i followed it to the end...
and discovered...
the branch is growing INTO our house. i swear we're clean people and maintain our house. we're not the best landscapers in the neighborhood, and we're known to have quite a few weeds growing in our backyard, but a new tree growing in our house? i feel so violated. if i pull it, it's not like the roots can come out because it's stuck between the ground and concrete, so i'm assuming it will just grow back. does this mean there's a hole in my closet? this is the most confusing thing that has happened to our house in the 4 years we've lived here. it's like i want to call pest control, but they might think i'm a little crazy if i called them to kill a weed. any suggestions?
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