My So-Called Home

Tips To Make Your Small Bathroom Feel Bigger

2013-06-18T10:31:00.000-04:00

The full bathroom on our main floor is where Dan and I get ready every day. It's not a big room and although it's not tiny, it definitely is on the small side. Here is a shot of our bathroom from when we toured the house for the first time:

The previous owner's did this room quite a disservice by overloading it with too many things. The over-the-bowl cabinet, while seeming like a good idea for more storage, actually makes the room feel smaller and the visual clutter just adds to that feeling. The dark bath mat, oversized trashcan, and washcloths hanging on the shower curtain all add up to making the room feel much smaller than it really is.

Now that the house is ours, here are four things that we did to help make this small bathroom seem a bit bigger:

1. Hang the shower curtain as high as you can. If I were to truly implement this rule I would go out and buy an oversized shower curtain and hang it all the way up at the ceiling but since I love this curtain and have had it for seven years, I'm sticking with a good thing.

2. Don't close your shower curtain all the way. If your bathroom is like mine with the shower at the back don't feel like you need to close it off when guests are over. By leaving your curtain open just a bit, you make the eye go all the way back to the far wall which in turn makes your room feel bigger. This rule of course doesn't apply if your shower is off to the side or you have sliding doors...

3. Take up your bath mat. This is something I've only recently started doing and I must say it does make a difference! Again, when you walk in the room and your eye can see all the floor at once it makes the room feel more spacious. We simply put the mat down when we shower and then pick it back up when we're done. And yes, I did steal the bath mat from our basement bathroom-- I like seeing it every day!

4. Clear off your counters. Obviously our counter is as tiny as can be but you'd be surprised how much we can fit on it when getting ready in the morning! Do yourself a favor and clear off your counter every time you finish getting ready and keep it clear all day. The only thing allowed is your soap dispenser.

Baking Cabinet {Revisited}

2013-06-17T08:00:00.000-04:00

Lately I've been doing quite a bit more baking than I ever have before thanks to being home from work for the past six weeks. Every morning with my Nespresso latte (read about our coffee bar here) I like to have some sort of baked good, whether it be a scone, muffin, or some other treat. This has been the main cause of my need to organize our baking cabinet until it's just right. I know I only just organized this cabinet a couple weeks ago but I've already made a few changes to improve both the form and function of the space. I'm still loving my new cork board on the door but the shelves needed just a little tweaking. Like they say...you're never "done." But thanks to a recent stock up of baking goods and a trip to the Dollar Tree I am loving this cabinet even more!

Just as a reminder, this is what we started with:

I picked up three of these medium sized air-tight canning jars at the Dollar Tree and used two of them to hold our brown sugar (the other is in the back right). I love their size and the fact that they're air tight so I don't have to worry about it going hard before I get a chance to use it all. I also stocked up on powdered sugar and stored it in two large glass jars I already had on hand (the second is in the back left). A little washi tape as labels and we were good to go!

The top shelf only changed a bit when I replaced my hot chocolate box with this white box, labeled of course.

To make room for my baking items on the middle shelf I had to move my Pyrex measuring cups down to the lower shelf, which in turn prompted the relocation of a couple of my teas. They simply moved into a bin above the microwave, the next cabinet over, and I just kept the most recently used teas where they were. I'm not much of a tea drinker myself so it's mostly for guests. And the white mug in front holds Stevia packets, also for guests.

All organized and labeled...now I'm off to bake something.

Adding Bathroom Storage

2013-06-14T11:19:00.003-04:00

It's amazing how much longer a painting project takes with a 6 week old, let me tell you. After getting Evey down for her morning nap I have about 1 1/2-2 hours to get changed into painting clothes, get my paint and brushes ready, paint, and then clean everything up and change back into clean clothes before she wakes up. So a project that would normally take me two days now takes a week or more. My project this time is a $10 Craiglist bathroom vanity/cabinet I'm currently painting and planning to use in our main floor bath for some much needed extra storage.

While I did organize the cabinet underneath our sink, the truth is that my hair blower, flat iron, and makeup bag were out so when I need to put them away they just get stacked on top of everything else. Plus with the addition of a couple baby items we just need more storage.

So while I plug away at my cabinet project, check out these great ideas for pretty bathroom storage:

I plan to use some clear glass jars on my cabinet for pretty open storage.

I've Pinned about 5 of these same over-the-door shelf ideas and I think it's about time I add one to our bathroom!

Chalkboard memo board inside of an organized cabinet...just darling!

To see more of my bathroom pins check out my Pinterest boards.

DIY Infant Activity Binder

2013-06-13T17:22:00.000-04:00

Since I am going to be heading back to work part time in just a few short weeks, baby girl is going to be hanging out with some family and friends while I'm gone. To ensure everyone's on the same page while attempting to put Evey on somewhat of a schedule I decided to make a daily activities binder. For the next couple weeks I will be tracking on paper her daily activities so I can get a better grasp on the schedule she's slowly falling into and can then pass that information along to whoever is watching her that day.

I picked up a simple 1/2" white binder from Staples and used some scrapbooking paper to add a little fun. The bookplate is from the Martha Stewart line and I simply printed out Evey's name and stuck it inside.

The first page when you open it up is a photo of my sweet little lady tucked into a plastic sleeve. It's only there because really, I just never get tired of seeing that cute little one-day-old face.

A second plastic sleeve holds Evey's Schedule, or at least what I can gather thus far. She's been pretty consistent with her wake-up times and first nap but then depending on what we're doing that day her naps and feedings can differ. Her general schedule so far is that she eats about every 3 hours and naps between each feeding.

The rest of the binder contains plenty of daily sheets to track the date and time she woke up as well as her eating and sleeping because those are the most important in maintaining a schedule. I don't bother to track diapers because she's never had a problem "going." For her feedings I simply keep track of what times she ate but when she's with someone else I would like to know how many ounces she eats. I keep track of the side(s) I nurse from and how long on my phone. Here's a better shot of what the daily sheet looks like:

Of course as things change I can update her schedule and adjust her feeding/nap times and print out a new sheet to keep everyone in the loop. I'm dreading the return to work but I know in the future I may look forward to those few hours alone and Evey will have fun hanging out with her cousins and friends. I'm sure we will both need time to adjust to the new routine...

The Basement Laundry Room: Before

2013-06-07T08:00:00.000-04:00

The most recent room in our home to come under my scrutinizing eye is our basement laundry room. Ever since we moved in I've been wanting to spruce the place up a bit and make it as least basement-like as I could. While I am incredibly grateful to have a washer and dryer in our home, I do wish it were upstairs and not in the unfinished half of our basement. C'est la vie. Since Evey's arrival I seem to be down there pretty much every day so it was time to spruce things up.

Before, the room was a mess. I painted it Indian River when I first found out I was pregnant and was happy to get one more paint job out of the way before the baby was born. Turns out Indian River looks totally disgusting on cinderblock walls in a low-light basement and not lovely like it does in our bathroom.

Yikes. I suppose the former homeowner thought it best to paint the window casings yellow to match the yellow painted concrete sink off to the left. And the yellow spray foam insulation on the ceiling was just a happy accident? Unfortunately it looks as if I actually attempted to make my yellow vintage cart fit in while I assure you, I wasn't. Just coincidence.

Now this room is never going to be great or even finished so I just need to spruce it up as easily and frugally as possible to make it less creepy. First order of business was to clear everything out so all the overflow baby items got moved into our storage area (located to the left of our laundry room) and the fabric on the washer was put away as well. There are only two small windows in this room and the window above the dryer is basically useless. It's located under our back porch so almost no light comes through and it also doesn't help that the first window pane was removed to accommodate the vent hose. The second window in the room does let in a decent amount of light but it was covered by super-stuck-on contact paper. After scraping and scraping we now have a window that actually lets in light!

As you can see from that photo I went ahead and painted the walls and window frames bright white (Behr's Swiss Coffee). For the W/D wall I also painted over all the pipes to help them blend in as best I could.

As you can see from this {old} photo the concrete double sink is painted yellow and the stained basin is pretty much beyond help. While I had my paint out I painted just the top rim of the sink and I think it covers up just enough of the stains. The skirt is not permanently attached, rather I was just seeing how it would look with a little fabric I had on hand. I like the idea of a skirt, but I don't know how I feel about the houndstooth.

From this angle you can see that I sprayed the foam insulation on the ceiling with some dark brown spray paint and it practically disappeared!

The floors had been painted who knows how long ago but have since chipped and peeled pretty badly which makes me wonder if painting them again would be a wise choice. They're also quite uneven in spots so any type of vinyl tile wouldn't stick so maybe paint is my only option. And an area rug for sure. And my green laundry basket is standing out like a sore thumb. I think a white one is in order. And hopefully some wall storage. And now I'm rambling...

How about you guys...do you have a basement laundry room?

Psst: I've Pinned a bunch of laundry room ideas for basements...check them out here!

Nursery: Now It's Really Finished

2013-05-29T10:31:00.003-04:00

While the nursery is definitely "done," or at least as done as I had planned, there was still a little something missing. Remember my final mood board for the room?

The silver ottoman wound up staying down in our living room since I use it there much more often but when Evey's sleeping in her crib at night I'll probably move it back upstairs. The one other item that I had planned on using but never got around to buying was the Ikea Lappljung Ruta pillow. At 39 weeks pregnant my husband wasn't okay with my traveling to Ikea by myself to buy a pillow so I just chalked it up to running out of time. Then my wonderful mother surprised me with a little gift this past week...

As a faithful reader of this here blog she knew I had my eye on it and when I didn't get it for myself she went and got it for me. Thanks Mom, you're the best!

Now the room really feels done and I love how it brings in more black to tie in with the other elements like her chevron blanket, our light fixtures, and the frame on her book ledges.

The second addition to her room was also a gift. A friend of ours typed up this awesome print for Evey detailing all of her birth stats and I used a little washi tape to hang it up in her closet. Thanks Erica!

If a room can ever be "done" this is as good as it gets.

Organized Kitchen Cabinet Tour

2013-05-28T13:47:00.001-04:00

Hey yo! For all my American friends, I hope you all had a lovely Memorial Day weekend and were able to enjoy the beautiful weather. For everyone else...happy Tuesday!

Well guys, I finally did it. I finally got around to organizing every single one of our kitchen cabinets and man does it feel good. Not one door was left unopened and every shelf and drawer has been wiped down and organized. Let's go on a little tour shall we:

First stop on the tour, our fridge wall:

1. The top left cabinet next to our fridge holds all of our mixing bowls as well as supplies, such as napkins, paper plates and cups, plasticware, vases, and drink holders. The plastic spoons and forks are stored in tin cans I made cute with a little scrapbook paper.

2. The middle left drawer is still looking good after organizing it last year to store our most often used tools for easy access. Everything else is stored in our basement.

3. The bottom left cabinet contains two pull-out drawers.

The top drawer holds our plastic storage containers. A little while ago I went through them and matched everything up with its corresponding lid. Anything without a match went in the trash and now the drawer is easy to maintain.

This bottom drawer used to be a mess with no real purpose. I used to keep leftover jars here as well as random dishes and other items I didn't know what to do with. Now that Evey's here though I knew I wanted it to be a place to keep all of her items so one day she can have access to these drawers without worrying about anything getting broken and I don't have to child-proof the doors.

4. Above our fridge is that elusive over-the-fridge cabinet that nobody can reach. It's here that we keep our wine glasses and liquor which are used rarely. I don't drink and my husband is more of a beer guy so these things are rarely accessed, perfect for this location.

5. Moving over to the right side, the top cabinets are what we refer to as our pantry and hold the majority of our dry goods. I cleaned this cabinet out last summer and things have stayed nice and neat.

6. Our junk drawer is also holding strong ever since I cleaned it out a few months ago.

7. The bottom right cabinet also has the same two pull-out drawers as the left side.

The top drawer holds our potatoes and onions as well as extra flour and sugar. The white dishes, truthfully, had no other place to go.

The bottom drawer holds our cereal as well as extra bulk food items in the back as need be. The same idea of "kid-safe" applies to these cabinets as well, except for those white dishes of course. I'm sure I can find a better spot for them before Evey's crawling.

Next up is our sink wall:

8. The top right drawer holds all of our sponges, dishwashing gloves, and even a toothbrush, the best cleaning tool there is. I also keep Evey's washcloths in here since she gets bathed in the sink.

9. The bottom cabinet got cleaned out and organized just last month and holds bath supplies on the top shelf and all the rest of our cleaning supplies on the bottom.

10. Our under-the-sink cabinet isn't anything to write home about but it is relatively organized and does its job containing our recycling, dishwasher detergent, and other random items. I'd like to eventually give this cabinet a little more love and attention one day.

And last but not least, the stove wall:

11. Starting at the top left cabinet you'll see our newly organized baking cabinet. I'm loving this thing.

12. Below the baking cabinet is our utensil drawer that just recently got a little more colorful with the addition of some adorable baby spoons.

13. The bottom left cabinet is right next to our stove and holds all of our cooking oils and vinegars as well as a few cookbooks and our blender/food processor. The jars that used to be in the other cabinet next to the fridge got relocated to this cabinet, a much better spot.

14. We have one more of those hard to reach cabinets above the microwave and in it we keep our extra coffee makers (since we only use our Nespresso now) as well as coffee filters and a cake stand.

15. To the right of our stove is our cooking cabinet and it holds all of our spices as well as dry pasta and cooking sauces.

16. Below the spice cabinet is our plastic bag/wax paper/tin foil drawer. We also keep our birthday candles in this drawer for easy access.

17. All of our pots and pans fit nicely in this cabinet since we don't have too many. Two non-stick and two stainless steel pans are all we use as well as two smaller pots and one big pot for soups/pasta/etc. Below the pot is our roasting pan with a sifter tucked on the side.

18. We're almost there! The top right cabinet on this side holds all of our cups, dishes, and bowls. I recently added the white wire rack to maximize space for our mugs and it worked out perfectly. I can fit them all in so much better and there's no more stacking and fearing that they'll fall when you open the door! The top shelf hold rarely used items like Christmas mugs and serving dishes.

19. The last drawer on the tour holds all of our utensils as well as pot holders, trivets, and grill tools. When organizing this drawer I pulled out the smaller utensils (like peeler, ice cream scoop, and bottle opener) to allow more room in the two dividers and put them in a small plastic container. A few unused items got tossed and I was even able to gift my mother in law with a brand new pizza cutter since we had two.

20. And finally, the bottom right cabinet holds the rest of our baking and cooking supplies like cookie sheets, cutting boards, rice cooker, crock pot, and large serving dishes.

And there ya have it! A place for everything and everything in its place.

Functional File Storage

2013-05-24T10:40:00.000-04:00

Files. Everyone's got em and everyone hates to store em. Or maybe that's just me? Blame it on my incessant need to purge anything that doesn't have a purposeful function but I despise keeping papers around that don't serve an immediate need. And saving them for years? Just about kills me. But in truth those important papers do need to be kept and therefore need to be stored in a functional way. Before, we kept most of our files in this file box (from Target) in the office next to our computer desk. Basically it was as out of the way as possible so I didn't need to see it all the time.

Problem was, it was too out of the way and papers tended to pile up elsewhere because I was too lazy to bring them over to the file box and put them away properly. I needed a better solution. I needed something close to the entry of our house (where the papers come in) so I could quickly file them away instead of letting them pile up.

This desk sits in between our living and dining rooms, across from our front door. The green bin is where we put our mail/bills until they need tending to and also the location of the stashed papers that need to be filed. It just made sense to keep the files here so I went ahead and cleared out the few random items from one of the ottomans (a pair of pillow covers, our Just Moved announcements I never sent, and a hair clip...random I told ya).

Then it was just a matter of moving over the most important/most often accessed files from the box to the ottoman and leaving the long-term paperwork in the file box. Sidenote: Our very important paperwork like birth certificates, marriage certificates, passports, etc. are stored in a separate place altogether.

Obviously since file folders are square and I was putting them into a round ottoman I needed a way to keep them propped up so a few heavy hardcover books did just the trick.

Now those most often used files are right by the front door and hopefully I won't dread putting the papers away like I did before. Then when these files fill up I suppose we'll need to transfer them some place else. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it...

Organized Baking Cabinet

2013-05-22T10:39:00.000-04:00

I am so happy to finally have tackled this project because it has literally been on my To Do list for months and months. I have Pinterest to thank for that and if I didn't just have a baby three weeks ago I might have been able to tackle this in time for the Pinterest Challenge. Oh well. The point is that I did it! With a three week old! Woot.

Before, our baking cabinet was a sad state with everything kinda thrown in all willy nilly. I could never find my measuring cups and spoons because they were lost amongst the chaos and I had about five mostly empty boxes of tea bags taking up way too much space. To top it all off I couldn't even fit my hand mixer in the cabinet and had to keep it in a different cabinet all together. Finally I had enough!

To start I used a couple Command strips to attach some cork board (found at Staples) to the inside of the cabinet door. I had to cut the third piece to fit on top but this cork was easy enough to cut with a pair of strong scissors.

After adding the cork I was able to hang all my measuring cups and spoons! Life changing! Gone are the days of searching and now everything is right there easy to find, use, and put back.

I used black baker's twine to hang each one from a brass thumbtack. A little striped washi tape (four pack found at the Goodwill, originally from Target!) divides the space and adds some fun.

With those items out of the way I organized the rest of the cabinet and used some more washi tape for labeling.

Yay! My mixer fits now!

Ten trillion times better.

Oh and Evey supervised.

Psst: I updated the cabinet once again a couple weeks later.
Read all about it here!

Living Room Updates

2013-05-20T08:00:00.000-04:00

Hey hey hey, look who's blogging. First off, thank you so much for all the well wishes and congrats on our sweet little Evey girl (pronounced Eve-ee in case you're wondering). She is just the most amazing baby and we are so in love. These past couple weeks have been spent kissing and squeezing and staring at the wonderful little person we created and the time has been sweet. Challenging...sleepless...but sweet nonetheless. We are incredibly blessed that she has inherited my family's tendency to sleep through just about anything and she has been giving me four hour stretches at night which have been a lifesaver. During the day she naps a ton also so I've been able to grab a nap here and there which I most definitely appreciate.

Now all that being said, in these past couple weeks I've realized how much I miss blogging and hope to be able to post here and there as time allows for me to get things done around the house and then take photos and write a post. There's no guarantee things will be consistent but I will do my best. There are still tons of tasks I have floating around in my head and all the down time I've been having nursing the little one has lead to tons more Pinterest browsing than I've ever done before! So yeah, I got plans.

Since welcoming Evey our lives haven't been turned upside down as much as I anticipated but our living room has had a couple updates. Check it out- I hung some art!

I spend about 50% of my day in that sofa now so after looking at the blank space above the lamp for long enough I decided to finally hang a couple frames I had sitting around. The top frame is my thrifted ostrich print (relocated from the guest room/office) and the bottom frame is a Ribba filled with the mushrooms print that used to be in our kitchen. Yeah it's random but they were free and I like how they fill the space.

Here's an updated look at the whole room:

The dolce chair got replaced by Evey's swing so it now sits under the window which works out just fine for us. I'm definitely getting my money's worth out of that ottoman and use it all the time now to prop my feet up while nursing.

This side of the room usually looks like this with her car seat by the door and a burp cloth/swaddling blanket draped over the sofa's arm. It's the newest trend in throw blankets I tell ya.

The console usually looks like this with a basket of diapers, a pack of wipes, her portable changing pad, and a little bin with a few changes of clothes just sitting on top ready for use. When you're changing diapers 10+ times a day there's no use in putting it all away every time. Since her nursery is upstairs I don't bother going up to her room to change her every time so the portable changing pad definitely comes in handy. Then when guests come over or I just want the room to feel put together everything fits nicely into the cabinet on the right.

So that's life right now and doing something small like hanging two picture frames makes me feel accomplished. Here's hoping I can continue to tackle that To Do list!

Why, Hello

2013-05-06T20:59:00.003-04:00

We'd like you to meet somebody...

Our little lady graced us with her presence at 9 in the evening on Wednesday May 1 and we have fallen head over heels over our precious little sweetie, hence the lack of posting this past week. I'm sure you understand, but I still wanted to breech the subject and share with you guys a little note I typed up right before she was born.

Hey guys,

I just wanted to take a sec and say thank you for following along with me in this blogging journey! This whole thing has been a really fun outlet for me to share what we've done in our home and even share a little of what's gone on in our lives. I've loved "meeting" you all and getting to know you as homeowners and design-lovers like myself. As I'm sure you know, we are expecting our baby girl at any moment and I want to honestly tell you that I have no idea what life is going to be like once she arrives. I know in theory what it requires to take care of a newborn but until I've been through the trenches I can only imagine how crazy our lives will become in the next few weeks and months. I have no idea if she will be colic-y or a good sleeper or a good eater. I have no idea how my body will recover and how I will deal with the lack of sleep. All I know is that our lives will be forever changed and we're excited to see how that new chapter of our lives will unfold as we take things one day at a time.

Now all that being said, I also have no idea what will become of this blog. Will I crave this outlet when my days are filled with nothing but poop and boobs? Will I fall hard into the mommy role and have no desire whatsoever to be painting and caulking? I don't know! What I do know is that I don't want this blog, so aptly titled "My So-Called Home," to become a baby blog where all I can talk about is swaddling techniques and latch issues. If I cannot blog about our home, I don't want to blog at all. If I can't share with you the projects we're doing because we simply aren't doing any, I don't want to fill the void with all things baby. Now that's not to say that showing you guys how our home has evolved since welcoming our baby is not blog-worthy because I still think that it is. And the occasional kid-related post is not going to completely throw off this blog's dynamic. I just don't want it to be all about baby, ya get what I'm saying?

Honestly though, I love our home and I love working on making it a place we love to be in that makes sense for our family and is a lovely place to come home to and raise our little girl. No home is ever "done" and ours is certainly far from it, if it ever were to be attained. I definitely have lists of things I still want to tackle but I just don't know how quickly we will be able to get back into those projects.

Now I'm not saying I'm going to stop blogging. What I'm saying is a big fat "I don't know." I don't know how long it will take for me to get into the mommy groove, I don't know if I will have the desire to do projects right away, and I don't know if it's worth writing blog content if it is not about our home. What I do know is that I will certainly be keeping up with you guys and checking in on what you're doing because I love it! I love seeing people love on their homes and doing projects and saving money like a boss. I don't think that love will ever go away. But as for my blog, I will just have to take things one day at a time. I hope to be able to get back to regularly scheduled blog posting but we will simply have to play it by ear and I just thought I'd give you guys a heads up before I drop off the face of the blogosphere.

Much love,
Hilary

Nursery: Artwork {Free Printables!}

2013-05-02T08:00:00.000-04:00

To add a little bit of a personal touch to baby girl's room I tried my hand at making a couple pieces of artwork and decided to share them with you all. Playing around with and finding new fonts is now one of my most favorite things to do and I think I just may make more of these to use all over the house! I only had room for two of these in the nursery but will probably wind up switching things around as she gets older and I feel the itch to change her room up already. For now, enjoy!

If you do wind up using these in your own home, please let me know/send me a link so I can see them in your space!

To see baby girl's nursery check out the full reveal here.

Nursery: The Reveal {Plus Video Tour!}

2013-05-01T08:00:00.001-04:00

At 39 weeks, 4 days, I can finally say the nursery is done and share with you the room that has brought us much joy over the past couple months. Filling this room with lovely little baby things will be nothing compared to filling it with our special little lady and we can't wait to meet her. But enough with the sap, let's get to the room. At 12' x 5 1/2' the room is certainly tiny but I think we did a pretty good job with bringing in only the essentials and being smart with concealed storage. The photos speak for themselves and there's a lot of em so without further ado...

I decided not to register for a matching crib bedding set but fell in love with this discontinued Pottery Barn design and was thrilled to be able to find it on eBay. We only have one sheet that matches the bumper and all of our other sheets are simply complimentary colors and patterns.

I decided to forego the hanging baskets on the closet wall for now because I couldn't find exactly what I was looking for and didn't want to settle for just anything.

The hanging clothes discretely conceal the hidden storage behind!

And just for fun, let's take a look back at how this room looked shortly after we moved in and now:

And if you want to check things out a little more in depth here is the video tour of her nursery!

As for that To-Do list? There's just one more item to check off!

Sources:

Wall Color: Benjamin Moore Pale Oak
Flooring: Vinyl wood planks from Lowe's
Window: local company
Crib: Jenny Lind
Bedding: Pottery Barn Baby Balloons (discontinued, found on eBay)
Shell Rocker: Amazon, Baxton Studio
Curtains + Crib Skirt: HomeGoods/DIY'ed
Blinds: Home Depot
Jelly Jar Sconce: Home Depot
Ceiling Fixture + Medallion: Home Depot
Area Rug: Target
Chevron Baby Blanket: Target
Toy Basket: HomeGoods
Art: homemade
Mobile: homemade
Dresser: thrifted
Changing Pad: Babies R Us
Book Ledges: DIY'ed
Blue Basket: Dollar Tree
Garbage Pail: Bed Bath & Beyond

To read about all the stages of the nursery's transformation check out these handy links:

Nursery: Beginnings + A Mood Board
Nursery: This 'n That
Nursery: Walls + Floor
Nursery: Curtains
Nursery: Closet Beginnings
Nursery: Closet Door Complete
Nursery: Dollar Store Finds
Nursery: Ten Dollar Ledges

*Psst! The room got a couple more additions after Evey arrived... see them here!

Nursery: Crib Skirt + Mobile

2013-04-30T08:00:00.000-04:00

Well friends the nursery is finished and I'm so excited to give you the full reveal this week! But before I do that, I wanted to highlight a few of the projects that helped make the room feel complete.

The first project was to make a crib skirt out of my leftover curtain fabric and I must say it was even easier than I thought. I followed the YHL crib skirt tutorial to the T and it came out just the way I wanted. Since the fabric was a curtain panel, I only needed to hem two of my sides on each piece so I measured my lengths only 1" longer to allow for the hem. Since our crib is against the wall, I only made three panels (one for the front, one for the left, one for the right) and it only took me about an hour.

All three panels are simply held on by velcro so if it gets spit up on or covered in cat hair I can simply remove the panel and throw it in the wash. TIP: When using the velcro be sure to put the grippy side on the crib itself and the softer velcro on the skirt so it doesn't get ruined in the wash!

Now the skirt not only makes the crib look nice and finished but I can use the space underneath to store extra diapers and wipes, a necessity in our small nursery.

I only made my skirt one length since I used up all my velcro but when baby girl gets bigger and the mattress needs to be lowered I can simply attach new pieces of velcro at a lower level and it will look just as seamless and hit the floor at just the right length.

The second project I can now cross of my list is her mobile. I hemmed and hawed and Googled a lot when trying to decide what to do/buy/make for her mobile since the one I wanted was $75 which I simply could not justify. Then I had my baby shower and my sister in law made these adorable paper air balloons using a Silhouette machine and they were perfect! I went out and bought my own paper to fit with the nursery's color scheme and I think they turned out so cute, and not to mention cheap!

I decided to hang them above the changing table using simple tape and fishing line so they really look like they're just floating in the air. And here's her view when lying down:

I'm so excited to have these things crossed off the list and I'm anxious to cross that last item off so very soon!

~~Hang clothing rods in closet~~

~~Buy plastic bins for closet storage~~

~~Make and install crawl-space door~~

Buy and install baskets/bins on closet wall

~~Build/buy three shelves for storage/book wall~~

~~Make curtains and hang curtain rod~~

~~Make mobile~~

~~Possibly make crib skirt?~~

~~Hang art + accessorize~~

~~Bring in crib, rocker, changing pad (all coming after my shower)~~

Bring in baby!

Our $3 Diaper Bag

2013-04-29T08:00:00.000-04:00

Seeing as this is my last full week before my due date (May 5), this blog will be full of all thing's baby-related. If that's not your thing or you have no interest in baby-related topics, feel free to tune me out this week. As much as I'd love to be working on house projects and DIY decor, my mind is 100% in baby mode and the thought that I could go into labor at any second is literally all I can think about. So I'm just forewarning you...and if you're expecting or have babies of your own, enjoy!

When I registered for my baby supplies, one thing I purposefully left off my registry was a diaper bag. As practical as they may be, I just kind of dreaded the idea of toting around a big bulky wipeable bag with Winnie the Pooh all over it. And if you like Pooh bear, that's awesome, but I just wanted something a little more subtle that didn't scream "Watch out, I'm a mom on the go!" Yes babies need quite a bit of stuff but I wanted something that I could continue to use once she outgrows the diaper bag stage. On our most recent trip to one of our favorite thrift stores I found this guy and thought he'd be perfect for the job. This thrift store is more like a giant warehouse of insanity with teeny rows of junk packed to the brim so pretty much nothing has a pricetag on it and you kinda have to hold your breath when you get to the counter and hear what they want for it. Imagine my surprise though when I got to the counter and the lady said, "three bucks." Sold and sold!

When I got it home I soaked it right away in piping hot water with some laundry detergent and then ran it in the washer and let it air dry and it is good as new. If you can't tell right away, it is clearly meant to be a camera bag. It is nice thick canvas with leather piping and has this awesome section inside that is meant to hold camera lenses.

What makes it so perfect for a diaper bag is just that: it has all these convenient little compartments all around the bag that are so perfect for bibs and pacifiers and lotions and whatever else you need to have with you!

The bag is just the right size to hold a couple changes of clothes and a few blankets and burp cloths without me feeling like I'm bringing her entire room with me everywhere I go. I am really a minimalist when it comes to "stuff" so I kind of welcome the challenge of bringing only what I need and not a million "maybe she'll need this" things. You can see the lens compartment inside on the right and behind it our portable changing pad fit perfectly and holds diapers and wipes for convenient changing on the go.

I have the Skip Hop Pronto changing station

In the lens holder I stuffed a couple bottles and a few lotions and potions and everything is perfectly compartmentalized and easy to organize. And what's best of all is that it is 100% gender neutral so not only can I use it again with future kiddos, my husband doesn't have to be embarrassed to carry it around since it's not covered in rainbows and butterflies. Best three bucks I ever spent.

My Organized Car

2013-04-23T08:00:00.000-04:00

I've always been one to keep my car clean. I never leave anything in it that doesn't belong and like to keep it wiped down and vacuumed as best I can because I spend a good amount of time driving here and there so it may as well be enjoyable. My nesting instinct to clean everything has not subsided and most recently I organized my car's trunk a bit to accommodate the stroller that will soon be stored in it so I decided I might give you guys a tour.

As a little background, I drive a '98 Subaru Forester that is completely paid off (we bought it cash four years ago) and I love it. The trunk is very spacious and the back seats fold down which has come in handy many many times for Craigslist purchases and roadside finds. This car was the Sport edition back in its day so it comes standard with all wheel drive and heated seat warmers, and to top it all off we bought it with a remote start already installed which is absolutely priceless in the winter. Not having a car payment is also something I (and our budget) thoroughly enjoy and I hope to drive this trusty little wagon for as long as I can.

Starting with the trunk, I used a dollar store collapsible bin to organize an extra blanket and my new shopping cart cover. Next to the bin are two more blankets, a fleece version and one that Dan got at work that folds up and zips itself into a portable bag. These blankets aren't precious so they can come in handy for all different messy situations.

Two of my reusable Ikea bags get stored in one of the trunk's side compartments and the other houses a first aid kit ("borrowed" from Dan's Toyota).

You can't see it but I also store our ice scraper behind the blankets and I'm very thankful I can put it away for the season! To keep things looking nice and neat, the whole trunk gets covered by this roller shade and everything is concealed when the trunk door is closed.

Moving on to the back seat, the newest change is the addition of baby girl's car seat which is actually not strapped in just yet. We were simply storing it in the car so we could get it out of the house but pretty soon we'll need to set it up for actual use!

Next to the car seat is this little Thirty-One tote that my friend gave me and I plan to keep in the car to hold extra diapers and wipes as well as a the dollar store poop bags I bought recently and a few toys and books to keep the little one entertained without having to store and carry it all in my diaper bag.

In the back pocket of each seat is an umbrella, so one for me and one for someone else.

Moving up into my center console I have a few essentials close at hand like my phone charger, tire pressure gauge, flashlight, pen, and wheel lock key.

In my dashboard I have this handy little compartment where I store my registration and insurance cards for easy access. In one of my vents I always keep an air freshener (I prefer these to the dangly rearview mirror ones that are always way too strong) and my favorite is the Refresh brand in vanilla.

In my driver's side door compartment I keep my remote start manuals, although truthfully I've never looked at them a day in my life.

Above my rearview mirror I keep an extra pair of sunglasses in the sunglass compartment just in case I lose the pair in my purse or accidentally leave them in the house. And last but not least I like to keep my glove box as simple as possible so the only things in there are a plastic bag full of napkins, a packet of tissues, a plastic cup filled with spoons for snacks on the go, and lastly my phone adaptor for playing music through my car's radio.

So there ya have it, my organized little wagon all ready for trips to the pediatrician and the park.

And maybe a few garage sales :)

Nursery: Ten Dollar Ledges

2013-04-18T08:00:00.000-04:00

That Ana White is a true to her word, and thanks to her super easy-to-follow instructions Dan and I built three ledges for the nursery that came out to $30 even. We even made a little change in our final product and still came in right on budget. For Ana's ledges she recommends using a piece of 1x2 for the ledge's lip but we decided to go for a more rounded look by using pieces of quarter round.

To hang them we just drilled straight through the back of the ledge and right into the stud. My original plan was to have the top shelf a little deeper than the bottom two but when buying the materials I changed my mind to have them all the same depth and I'm so glad I did.

We decided to reinforce the bottom ledge since it would be the most likely to get grabbed when baby girl gets older and decides she wants to practice climbing. That shelf is secured from the back and also the bottom straight into the stud so it is as sturdy as can be.

I'm still playing around with the top shelf's arrangement so just ignore my lackluster attempt at styling. And here's a little reference point for ya: the door from our room is on the left and her closet is on the right. I still have to take final pictures of that space before I can show you her very own walk-in closet. Lucky girl.

Nursery: Dollar Store Finds

2013-04-17T08:00:00.000-04:00

As I mentioned last week, I've had a crush on the dollar store lately and have been so excited by all the awesome things I've found that can be used all over my home, not just for organizing sinks and cabinets. The latest room to benefit from my $1 scores has been the nursery.

1. Fabric drawer organizers. These things are awesome my friends. At most other stores these collapsible bins would run you anywhere from $6-12 bucks each but there's no reason to spend that much! When I first showed them to you they looked like this:

They come all folded up but they're a cinch to put together. I bought two and they are now all filled up with teeny little socks and hats and shoes and look like this in the nursery's dresser/changing table:

They were the perfect size to fit two side by side and they hold a ton of stuff! Now all those little items are nice and organized and easy to find.

3. Plastic drawer organizers. These things are just as awesome and easy to assemble and work perfectly holding all of baby girl's clothes in her drawers and help to keep things organized by month.

3. Plastic totes and bins. I know I've already expressed my love for dollar store bins but I'm saying it again: they have such a great selection! Since the nursery is very neutral, save for the orange ikat curtains, I was able to pull any color I wanted as an accent and this little aqua basket is perfect to keep in the closet to hold clothes as they are outgrown.

I also picked up these two big white bins that are perfect for holding swaddling blankets, burp cloths, and sleep sacks in one of the dresser drawers and even left enough room in between for a couple extra sheets.

4. Non-slip shelf liner. Since we are using a dresser as a changing table, I needed a way to keep the changing pad from slipping off the top. Obviously I would never take my hand off the baby when changing her nor would I ever walk away but I still wanted a way to make the pad a little less slippery for when she gets older and wiggly.

This shelf liner worked like a charm and I simply cut off a piece the size I needed and laid it underneath. Now the pad stays in place while still being completely removable.

So there ya have it, four great finds from the dollar store that helped put the finishing touches on the nursery. And speaking of finishing touches I only have a few more items to check off the list and then it will be done-zo. Seeing as I'm 37 1/2 weeks (yikes) it's about time.

No Cabinet Left Behind

2013-04-12T08:00:00.000-04:00

No cabinet in this house is safe from my incessant need to purge and organize everything and one more fell victim last night. Our kitchen cabinet closest to the sink got a mini makeover last night and it's just one more off the list. Before, this cabinet held all of our cleaning supplies.

Since our oversized, extra deep kitchen sink will also serve as baby girl's bath very soon I wanted a place to put her bath mat, shampoo, and a few bath toys in close proximity. Truthfully it was high time the cabinet got cleared out because we rarely used half the stuff anyways. The first thing to leave the cabinet was our dishwasher pods. The box was small, but getting rid of it meant one less thing in the cabinet. The easiest solution was to move the pods to the two small white containers I already had above the dishwasher on my plate rack.

Now I just need to remind Dan that they're in there!

After those were moved I organized the top shelf of the cabinet to hold all the bathing necessities, like her lady bug bath sponge, a bin full of J&J shampoos and lotion and a cute little set of bath squirtees.

Then I grabbed this black mesh bin (removed from the bathroom cabinet when it met its organizing match) and repurposed it for some of our monthly used cleaning products.

It then got slid to the back next to a giant bottle of Pine-Sol I use for our floors.

Then last but not least, the box of garbage bags and our almost daily used spray cleaners are front and center and easiest to access since they're used all the time.

All the random products that I use maybe once a year got relocated to the basement storage room and the Method stainless steel cleaner got the boot... anyone ever used it? I don't think it works very well at all and I have better luck cleaning my stainless with glass cleaner! To each their own I suppose.

Happy weekend everyone!

The Dollar Score

2013-04-11T08:00:00.000-04:00

I have a newfound love for the dollar store lately and it is all because of a few YouTube girls I've recently discovered who vlog about organizing your home with products that only cost a buck. For me, the nesting instinct has definitely kicked in full force and I'm working hard to organize each and every drawer, closet, nook, and cranny of this house. When I needed a few organizational bins and baskets, I headed to my trusty Dollar Tree and was not disappointed. Not only did I find some great tools for organizing, a few other things caught my eye and came home with me.

1. Plastic bins. These things are absolutely perfect for corralling all sorts of items in literally every room of your home. I already showed you guys on Monday how I used a few under our bathroom sink to keep things neat and orderly. These bins come in all different sizes and colors and even in multi-packs, like the smaller bins pictured which were four for one dollar. Since I used two under the bathroom sink I went ahead and cleaned out the drawer next to my kitchen sink and used the other two small bins to organize sponges.

2. Eraser sponges. Yup, these guys are a 100% knock-off of the Magic Eraser but I decided to give them a shot and I'm happy to report they work just as well! They come two in a pack for only a dollar so I think that's a great deal. You can see above that I took them out of their packaging and organized them in my kitchen drawer with the other sponges. This way, if it is still damp from use it doesn't damage the wooden drawer.

3. Gardening gloves. Spring has definitely arrived in New Jersey (it was near 80 on Tuesday!) and there are a ton of projects I'm eager to work on. Whether or not those things will get tackled before the babe arrives is questionable but at least I now have a pair of cute gloves to save my hands when the time comes to pull weeds and clear branches.

4. Garbage bags. Everyone knows the dollar store carries your typical everyday garbage bags but maybe you don't know they have the most delicious smelling vanilla-scented garbage bags! Seriously, these smell like sugar cookies and I bought a pack of 50 to use in the nursery's garbage can, where they fit perfectly. The little pink rolls are actually dog waste bags that came in black and pink, the pink being the "Flower Scent." These will work perfectly for diaper changes on the go and I can stow them in my diaper bag and in the car.

5. Birthday candles. I don't know about you, but we have a big family and it is always someone's birthday so $1 for 80 candles seemed like a pretty great deal! After I brought these home I put them in the drawer with my 20 pack of candles that still had their tag on from a party store, $1.29. Now I am well stocked for much less.

6. Canvas bins. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the great selection of collapsable canvas bins at the Dollar Tree! Each bin came in three sizes and at least three different patterns. To buy these anywhere else you'd spend probably $8-10 bucks easy and these were just $1. I picked up two of each of these bins and know they will definitely come in handy when organizing the nursery drawers as well as extra toy storage.

7. File folder. Technically this was not from the Dollar Tree, but rather from the dollar spot at Target. However, I have seen the same things at the dollar store but usually just a simpler pattern or solid color. These are great though and have about six slots inside with stickers to label each tab. I bought mine to hold all the papers and documents I need to bring to/bring home from the hospital and it actually matches the smaller version I already have and use for coupons!

8. Drinking glasses. On my most recent trip to the Dollar Tree I stumbled upon these adorable juice glasses and quickly threw four in my cart. They are a great size and weight which is perfect since we seem to have broken all but one of our tall glasses that we registered for over six years ago. It was time for a few replacements and with as much water as I'm drinking these days it's just fun to have something cute to drink out of.

So there ya have it, eight awesome scores from the dollar store. Have you seen their great selection lately?

P.S. Some of the YouTube channels I've been loving are Do It On a Dime, Malitose79, and debtisdum. Check em out!

Freshening Up the Bedroom

2013-04-10T08:00:00.000-04:00

Since I am going to be spending a lot of time upstairs in the upcoming months, both in the nursery and in our bedroom, I wanted to go ahead and kind of freshen things up by de-cluttering and making a few small changes.

The first change was to swap our our bedding from the blue and white Ikea duvet to this "Jordan" duvet from Pottery Barn I bought about three years ago off eBay. I usually put this one on for the fall and save the Ikea one for the summer but I never made the swap this fall and I wanted a chance to enjoy it! So what if the colors are a little warm for summer, I love it and I'm happy to put it to good use. The large Euro pillows I've had for years now as well and they usually live on our daybed in the office/guest room. However, since I'll be doing a lot of sitting up in bed, I wanted a little extra cushion against our headboard and these guys were f-r-e-e.

The next change was to clear off and organize our side tables. Mine wasn't so bad. I simply cleared off the three glasses of water (yes three) and added in a clear plastic tray. Truthfully, it's not a tray at all but rather a plastic 90's-era picture frame that will work perfectly in the near future when I need to set down anything that may be wet, like a dirty burp cloth or a leaky bottle. For now though it holds the two books I'm reading (my Bible and The Best Birth- ever read it?) as well as a photo of Dan from our honeymoon and a bowl for jewelry/hair ties/headbands/etc.

Dan's needed a little more help, mainly clearing off the excess of books he accumulates over time.

I simply paired things down to the couple most often read (his Bible and a Spurgeon devotional) and moved the rest to his dresser so they're still close by.

I still can't believe we only have a little more than three weeks to go and there's still so much to get done! I'm happy with the progress we've made but I still can't believe how fast the time has gone and now we only have three weeks left to tie up all the loose ends. I'm still working away in the nursery and hope to have a reveal for you sometime before baby girl's arrival!

Organizing the Bathroom Sink

2013-04-08T08:00:00.000-04:00

One area of our home that's been bugging me every single day is the disorganization going on underneath our bathroom sink. This is our main bathroom where Dan and I both get ready every morning (luckily he's done by the time I wake up) so it needs to work hard. Before, everything was kind of thrown in haphazardly and it was a cluttered mess:

It's obviously nothing fancy down there-- the back of the vanity is open and exposes the green sheetrock behind and our pipes really cut into the available storage space. The bottom of the vanity was pretty scuffed up from the previous owners so I simply laid down a cute Target placemat to keep things nice and wipe-able. After removing every item, I did just that and wiped out the months of dust, makeup powder, and hair clipper clippings.

With any small space, your best option is to go vertical so that's just what I did with this cheap-o Walmart 5-tier storage bin. All of my items fit perfectly and the shelf itself juuuust barely fit under the pipe on the left. Can you see that little lip it barely cleared? It was meant to be.

Above the shelf I have this little magnetic strip to keep bobby pins in one place and easy to get to, rather than at the bottom of some bin. It's actually just a magnetic business card turned around and taped to the side of the cabinet. Easy peasy.

I picked up a 4 pack of these blue containers at the Dollar Tree, for $1 of course, and used one of them to hold all of Dan's main supplies. My thrift store lipstick holder also holds our nail clippers and a couple pairs of my earrings.

Behind the bin I stashed our bathroom cleaner and some rarely used peroxide.

All our other items like hair spray, gel, and mouthwash are in the bigger bin in the back and the small guy in the front is the new home for Dan's hair clippers. Now it'll be much easier to empty out any stray clippings from one small bin rather than taking everything out to wipe down the whole cabinet. So there ya go, a quick, easy, and cheap storage makeover that cost less than 10 bucks and took about 15 minutes. Now I won't want to pull my hair out every time I open that cabinet door.

Nursery: Closet Door Complete

2013-04-05T08:00:00.001-04:00

The door to the nursery crawl space is complete! What used to be an open cut-out closed off by a piece of cardboard held up by an air conditioner box is now a functional storage space with a door made from a scrap piece of plywood and a few slide latches. Nothing fancy but definitely functional.

Before:

After!

This project definitely fulfilled my goal of closing off the crawl space with a removable door while making the whole thing disappear as best as possible. I went ahead and painted the latches the same color as the walls and door (BM's Pale Oak) so they are virtually undetectable.

I added a simple handle to the front for easier remov-ability although I really never plan to use the crawl space. After adding a little trim across the top to hide the slight gap between the door and the opening, I decided to put back the baseboard molding that I had to cut away to make room for the door. By attaching it right to the door itself it looks almost seamless with the other trim and again helps to make the door disappear.

Now here's the space with the curtain rods back up and two new plastic bins I picked up this week that will eventually hold even more out of season clothes/extra diapers/etc...

This shot shows you how much space there is between the curtain rod and the bins-- plenty of room for storage! I just may get some more bins if necessary.

I still want to hang some sort of baskets/wire bins on this wall but I'm not having much luck finding something that won't stick out into the space too much. I did have luck finding a cute little garbage can though. This one is by Simple Human and I picked it up at Bed Bath & Beyond, with a 20% off coupon of course.

It's pretty small but I plan to change the garbage bag every day anyways so it works just fine. Plus I'm sure there will be plenty of diaper changing going on downstairs during the day so those will just go right into our regular trash can. So that's it for our crawl space door project. Two more things off the list!

~~Hang clothing rods in closet~~

~~Buy plastic bins for closet storage~~

~~Make and install crawl-space door~~

Buy and install baskets/bins on closet wall

Build/buy three shelves for storage/book wall

~~Make curtains and hang curtain rod~~

Make mobile

Possibly make crib skirt?

Hang art + accessorize

Bring in crib, rocker, changing pad (all coming after my shower)

Bring in baby!

Spring Has Sprung

2013-04-04T08:00:00.000-04:00

Spring has officially sprung in our humble abode, thanks to a fantastic post-Easter daffodil sale ($2 each, can't beat that!) that helped kick my butt into gear. I'm sad to say that we still had a few wintery items lingering around but now they are all gone and I even managed a little Spring organization. Watch out. The first area to get into the spring of things was our entryway (notice the crown molding! aw yeah).

My garage sale birdie keeps watch over a ceramic Goodwill dish filled with stones collected this past summer. The $2 daffodils sit in Ikea planters from many moons ago. I purposely chose two plants of differing heights because I thought it'd add a little interest.

Moving on, our other entryway console of sorts (it's actually a Parsons desk from Walmart) got a little lovin. This desk is my arch nemesis when it comes to organization since it's where our mail lands as well as cell phones, keys, iPad, random books, etc... It quickly gets chaotic and every couple of months I need to seriously purge. I did clean out and organize the front drawer a few months ago (read about that here) and so far so good.

Half-off Easter jelly beans sit in thrifted dishes and my faux-tastic Ikea plant looks dapper in a woven basket from I have no idea where.

The green bin is from the Target dollar spot and holds a lot of mail. This is both good and bad. I'll keep you posted on how quickly this nice organized space stays as such.

Projects In Progress

2013-04-03T08:00:00.000-04:00

Hey guys! Sorry about the radio silence lately. Things have been pretty busy here lately what with family visits, Easter, and all the projects we've been frantically working on to finish before the baby comes. Here's a quick recap of the main projects that have been keeping me from the blog:

1. Finishing the crown molding in the living/dining room.

This has been on our To-Do list ever since we finished the "built-ins" back in August! We only crowned the bookshelves and never finished the rest of the room, but I vowed it would be done before May. Well, here we are four weeks away and the crown needed to be done! As you can see above, we are by no means experts at this process and there will be plenty of caulk and painting in my future...

2. Door for the nursery crawl space.

We've had this huge piece of plywood in our basement for months and decided to turn it into something functional for the nursery closet. Like I've mentioned before, the crawl space doesn't need to be completely accessible so this "door" will simply be held in place by a few slide latches so the space is completely sealed off but not entirely gone (more photos to come in case you're completely confused).

3. Ledges for the nursery.

We loosely followed Ana White's tutorial for her $10 ledges and the main difference with ours is that I used a bit of shoe molding as the ledge's lip for a softer edge.

These were fairly easy to build, once we had all the right supplies, and after a little gluing, clamping, and screwing, they're ready to be sanded and painted.

So that's it folks! Stay tuned to see the finished products :)