We’ve been in our new house for a week and I’m still having a hard time believing that we own it. I am so in love with this place, you guys.
Our apartment was small, dark, cramped and made us all stabby. Justin and I moved in there when I was pregnant with Maddie (nearly 4 years ago… WHAT.) and we quickly outgrew the tiny space with the accumulation of baby stuff. Then I decided I liked to make random crafty crap all the time, but there was no place to do it OR store all my stuff. Add another baby and all his baby debris, Maddie’s birthday presents, Christmas presents and I swear I’m having heart palpitations just thinking about how awful it was. To be honest, we were all getting stressed out and depressed in there and were in desperate need of AIR and ROOM and LIGHT.
Now we have all of those things and I can’t help but happy dance every time I walk through the front door. :) :) :)
Things are coming together around here, but Maddie’s room is the closest to being done. I haven’t painted the walls an adorable color or created any fancy wall murals or a built in reading nook (thank you Pinterest, for setting the bar extremely high), but at least she’s unpacked and decorated.
Here are a few photos…
Tiny beds make me gigglesnort. It’s like it belongs to a tiny person! Who’s tiny! You know what I mean. And I love that she has reindeer slippers.
What do you guys think I should do in the big space above her bed?
My dear friend Alyssa gave me the print of the little girl and the deer last year for my birthday and I’ve been waiting to find the perfect place for it. The shelf was thrifted and I gave it a new coat of paint. On it, there is a little cross-stitched “M” which is kind of hard to see, a squirrel figurine and a framed page from an old Little Red Riding Hood book. I made the kite to hold her hair bows the other night in – literally – 5 minutes with some cardboard and vintage fabric.
Her nightstand drawers hold her many books (the child LOVES to read) and a few of her favorite things sit on top. OBVIOUSLY, the picture of her daddy and I made the cut. This nightstand was actually mine from when I was a little girl, hence the sticker residue and nail polish drips. It’s getting a makeover soon.
The big green “M” was a gift from my sister in law and the mushroom nightlight is from Target. The manners and other story books were all gifts from her auntie Steph, auntie Anna or my Grammy. I made the deer thingy in the frame, and it’s just a few flocked stickers on a cut up paper bag.
Hey look, a wreath! An owl! Some pinwheels! And gumballs! Speaking of, DON’T EVER PUT A GUMBALL MACHINE IN A 3 YEAR OLD’S ROOM. Bad call on my part. I had to hide her money jar after I found her with 4 pieces of gum in her mouth.
Also, hiiiiii. I’m squinting in the reflection of the Red Riding Hood print. Awk.
Maddie’s dresser has a bunch of random stuff, including boxes that hold her hair bows and clips, a cupcake jar that holds her jewelry, Mary Poppins that used to be mine when I was her age and a rock. I have no idea where she found it or why she insists on keeping it because it looks like a turd.
You guys don’t get to see the other side of the room because it has all her toys and miscellaneous stuff I just threw to the side to take these pictures. Honesty: You’re welcome!
I’m SO sorry for being nearly a week late on this, guys. Let’s just get right down to business and take a look at the awesome projects we all completed!
Here’s mine:
A wonky doormat! I kind of love it, though it weighs about 80lbs (or the amount of exactly 3 Posh Spices).
I’m the one who hassled you all to finish up your Pinterest projects by January 15th so we could have a big celebration and then didn’t follow through because I haven’t had internet since Thursday and I’ve been busy MOVING INTO A HOUSE and cleaning and unpacking and losing my mind (but more on that later), but I mostly just wanted to say I’m so sorry for being Flaky McFlakypants, let you know that I’ll have a roundup of all the awesome projects you completed and show you mine and now I’ll end this super long run on sentence with a big fat I LOVE YOU.
OKAY. IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN TLC’S NEWEST DEMENTED WEIRDNESS DOCUMENTARY ENTITLED, EXTREME CHEAPSKATES, YOU HAVE TO DO IT NOW. CAPS NECESSARY.
A friend of mine was telling me about this show and how much I would love it/hate it/barf when I watched it, so I set that thing to record and finally got around to watching the horrors last night. Have you seen it? DID YOU GAG? I mean, I gagged, at least 45 times during the goat head segment alone. Okay, I’ll stop being all vague and explain.
The episode highlighted 5 or so people who are extremely consumed with the idea of saving money. I’m not ragging on them for trying to be frugal, it’s just the lengths they go to save VERY little are just… I don’t even know. Watch this clip about a lady who doesn’t buy toilet paper for her family. Keep an eye out for the STAINS.
You saw the stains, right? gaggfaklsdjf;alksdfjgag
There’s also a guy who goes dumpster diving for funsies and collects a bunch of random crap to give his wife for their anniversary. Like, he actually presented the gifts to her while they were out to dinner in a ceremonious fashion, right before he asked the other dining patrons if he could have their leftover food. Classy fella, that one. What exactly would you do if your husband gave you an old tea kettle with mysterious dumpster stains on it? I was asked this same question, and I can honestly say I would first beat him over the head with said kettle, then promptly drown myself in the moldy dumpster water it contained. There’s… there’s just no point.
So after Justin and I watched the show, we were so inspired by all the people who could think outside of the box that we started coming up with our own winning money saving ideas. It’s our new thing now, and our goal is to make our ideas as gross as possible. I’ll be washing dishes and Justin will come in and be all, “I have another good one. Clean all your old hair out of the drains, dry it out, then use it to stuff pillows for the couch!” And I’ll be like, “Why don’t we rinse out that bag the hotdogs came in and I can carry my makeup in it!”
Today I was hanging out with my brother and he came up with some pretty inventive ones too.
Old grapefruit peel as a key catcher on your entry table.
Old shoe becomes the perfect charging station! (Notice the cord running through the hole? I die.)
Soda can vase... a frugal gift for that special someone.
Don't throw away that toothpaste tube! Cut off the end and you have a glasses case. (Thanks for the high fashion model pose, bro.)
It’s all about upcycling, people. Now go find that show and watch it.
A 25 year old mother to the strongest-willed toddler in the universe. Wife to the handsomest geek. Reader of teenage romance novels. Lover of all things Anthropologie. Just gave birth to baby #2 and happy to tell you all about my nutso new life as a stay at home mom.
