Category: DIYs & Projects

Our House on the Corner of the Street

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While in the midst of our house being in shambles & staying at my parents while we get new flooring installed, I’m feeling nostalgic &, to be quite honest, so overwhelmed with frustration that I am in dire need of a reminder to be humble & fill my heart with gratitude instead.

It’s so easy to get caught up in day-to-day emotions & goings-on that you forget exactly how far you’ve come & just how many blessings are going unnoticed because of where you currently stand in life.

But may I just say that whoever’s idea it was to get new flooring in the entire house 5 weeks before baby’s due date is the dumbest.. Oh, wait. That was me. I guess some of the blame could be pointed at Clint, but he’s too cute & has worked too dang hard the past week (& forever) to be mad at right now 🙂

Our Own Little Home

4.5 years ago, we bought our quaint little home on the corner. We loved the idea of making it our own & updating it over the years. The previous owners lived here for about a year & a half, & before that, it was a foreclosure. Let’s just say, there was a lot of “making it our own” that needed to be done. However, the new roof, siding & vinyl fence were definitely a plus.

I so wish that I had better photos of the house from when we first bought it. We were so anxious to get going on projects, that before photos weren’t really on our mind.

Let’s just reminisce for a moment…& when I say moment, I mean this entire post 😀

This was our home when we first moved in.

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The Great Baby Stock Up 2018

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Nesting is a crazy & very, very real phenomenon. It has helped calm my anxiety & brought me more comfort as we get closer & closer to baby’s due date…which is less than 7 weeks by the way! My word.. This pregnancy is flying by.

A huge part of my nesting is list-making. Endless pages in my notebook of handwritten lists. Checklists. Inventory lists. Wishlists. I wake up in the morning making a mental list of the things I need to get done during the day. I go to bed making a list for the following morning. It’s a never ending cycle &, to some, that might sound overwhelming, but for me, the organization of my days is keeping me sane & helping me feel accomplished.

We had some extra cash saved up & I had this thought, “wouldn’t it be nice to have the majority of our necessities on hand post-delivery?” &, of course, I proceeded to make a list.

Storage/Necessities

paper plates
paper towels
toilet paper
tissue boxes
flushable wipes
liquid laundry detergent
dry Tide (for those mustard baby poops that need a good soak!)
dryer sheets
dishwasher soap
dish soap
trash bags
gallon baggies
sandwich baggies
handsoap refills
bleach
lysol wipes
body soap
dog food
dog treats
bottled water
ibuprofen
excedrin

For Baby

several sizes & boxes of diapers
baby wipes!
baby wash
lotion
desitin
baby tylenol
gripe water
bottle nipples
money put away for formula, just in case

For Hayes

diapers

For Momma

dry shampoo (am i right?)
hairspray
shampoo
conditioner
sexy maxi pads
nursing pads
chapstick
lotion
drink mixes with electrolytes

For Daddy

deodorant
shampoo + conditioner
pomade

Food Storage

dry goods (pasta, spaghetti, rice, ramen, etc)
pasta sauce
grab-able snack packs
protein shakes
granola bars
canned goods (diced tomatoes, corn, green beans, mandarin oranges, pears, etc)

Believe it or not, this isn’t even everything I wanted to have on hand. Luckily, since this is our second go around, we have the majority of baby necessities. Clothes, furniture, wash cloths, towels, baby shampoo, bottles, etc.

We made our way to Costco & we filled an entire cart & flat. We were walking out & Clint turned to me & laughed. We had never walked out of Costco feeling judged (we were definitely feeling the burning gaze from other shoppers) for buying SO much, but man, did it feel awesome!! What a huge weight lifted off our shoulders

AND there were sales on Huggies, baggies, flushable wipes & skinny pop 😀

Thank goodness for Costco, right?!?

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Next up, freezer meals!!

A Woodland Nursery

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Throughout my pregnancy I went through several ideas for Hayes nursery. There were three things I ABSOLUTELY wanted:
1. Gray
2. Simple
3. Light
4. Storage

Gray because I wanted to keep it as neutral as possible. Our house is only 1,300 sq ft (500 of which we use for storage. Ugh..) Eventually more babies will need to share that room, & I’m not about to go repaint if our next babe is a girl. Especially after repainting every square foot of this house. No joke. That happened.

Simple because that is what my eye is drawn to. I love square, modern & crisp.

Light because the lack of natural light in my house is in the top oh-no-no’s list for when we hit the market for a new one. This room’s window is west facing, so it gets plenty of light & these drapes are heaven sent when little man is napping during the day.

The most important thing was storage. I wanted to revamp the closet to match my style, but I also wanted it to be practical. We stocked up during my pregnancy with diapers, wipes, clothes (clearly) & all of the baby necessities/accessories & the majority of them (beside the boatload of furniture that comes with a baby) fit in the closet. So far, it has been amazing. As Hayes grows out of his clothes, I break down the diaper boxes that we’ve used, turn them inside out & put the “too small” clothes in the boxes. We throw them back up on the shelf in his room & don’t have to use other precious storage space.

We were on a pretty limited budget, ya know, because…life. So, all of the items in here were crazy affordable.

Scroll through the photos & check out the text below them for where the decor was purchased.Beautiful Things Await You Woodland Themed Nursery Continue reading “A Woodland Nursery” →

Homemade Baby Food

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If you’ve ever taken a stroll down the baby food isle or have kiddos of your own, you know that baby food is crazy expensive. I was determined to save as much money as possible on food for Hayes. Especially since he has to be on soy formula, which can cost an arm & a leg! (Let alone his NICU bill… YIKES.)

Yes, making your own baby food is a little work, but so worth it.

I bought a bag of organic sweet potatoes for $7 at Costco, a butternut squash for less than $2 & two ice cube trays from Walmart for $1.50 each.

Here are the directions for some of the food I’ve made so far!

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DIY Nursery Closet Dividers

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You guys, I have a problem. I’m making lists for everything, I’m having dreams about cleaning, and I can’t stop organizing and reorganizing everything in sight. I need an intervention. How I Met Your Mother style 🙂

We finally got the baby’s closet put together (so much YAY!) and, for some reason, I was crazy excited to make these closet organizers. Except every DIY I found used a bunch of mod podge & scrapbooking paper. THANKS, but NO THANKS.

So here’s a DIY that doesn’t require printables, glue, wooden door hangers, or scrapbook paper.

Beautiful Things Await You - Closet Divider DIY

Continue reading “DIY Nursery Closet Dividers” →