Mini Bathroom Makeover

Posted by Erin on May 24, 2013 • Comments { 0 }

We have friends coming to visit from out of town tomorrow, so naturally, five days ago, I made the impulse decision to make over our guest bathroom before they arrived. It wasn’t the best timing, since I had work travel and all kinds of other stress this week, but once I started the painting process I had to keep going, so here we are, several exhausting days later, with a redone room! Clearly, my guest room makeover inspired me to keep going with these small affordable projects to help make our home more livable and also more appealing to future buyers.

This is our guest/kids bathroom. J and his sister painted it seven years ago (I was pregnant and got a pass) and honestly, I’ve always hated the green wall color. The room also had the standard piece of glass mirror over the sink (slightly too wide, just to make matters worse), a gash in the wall where the door knob hit it, and an unpainted section that a new light fixture left exposed. It was a mess, and didn’t coordinate with any other rooms in our house.

Because I’m saving money (and also because I did this without any advance planning whatsoever) I used paint we had leftover from the kids’ room that I mixed 50/50 with white. It’s a little bluer than I had envisioned, but overall, I’m thrilled with the new room. What a difference a new mirror, a coat of paint and a few accessories can make! Including painting supplies, the changes cost me about $250.

Here’s the bathroom before…

bathroom before

bathroom before 2

bathroom before 3

And after!

bathroom after 8

bathroom after 5

bathroom after 2

bathroom after 3

bathroom after 4

bathroom after 7

Sources:

Shower curtain, towels, rug, toothbrush holder, personalized hand towels (they had those initials in the store): West Elm

Vase, Target; cotton ball holder, Anthropologie (already had both)

Wall art: Matte Stephens (already had in another room), small art by Gabe in Target frames (I thought it would make him happy to see his “pieces” displayed on the wall)

New vanity knobs (used to be gold and I hated them) and vanity mirror: Lowes

Paint color: Shiny Nickel mixed with white

Funny story…J and I are both so incredibly disorganized that we had no idea which paint can in our garage was from which room. Since we’ve painted four rooms various shades of blue and grey and they all looked the same, we ended up identifying which room each belonged to by digging through old blog posts to see if I had mentioned the paint colors when I fixed up a room! Ha!

Hope you all have wonderful long weekends. I may drop in to share a summer music mix, but otherwise, I’ll be off enjoying pool and beach time with friends and family. See you back here soon.

Home and Garden

Money Makeover

Posted by Erin on May 22, 2013 • Comments { 10 }

shoes over bills

shoes over bills 2

shoes over bills 3

I saw these illustrations of shoes and more basic needs of the same cost by artist Hannah K. Lee on Sho & Tell blog and boy, did they hit home. I often think of that episode of “Sex and the City” when Carrie realizes she has spent the equivalent  of a house down payment on her collection of designer shoes. Shoes have never been my weakness, but somehow I find myself in my thirties with not a whole lot to show for my years, financially speaking.

I remembered someone recommending Dave Ramsey’s financial books, so I checked Total Money Makeover out from the library. The other night, I sat on the couch with my husband, reading case studies and advice aloud. I quickly realized that a.) we need to get our act together, and b.) it isn’t going to be any fun at all!

Ramsey’s advice is pretty simple: make a budget, use cash in envelopes when you start so once you’ve spent your allotted amount in a category, you’re done, pay down your debt first, and then allocate 15% of your income to retirement savings. He warns the reader that “the change will be painful, but the result will be worth it.” I started to think through those places where my money goes: Target impulse clothing buys, regular beauty treatments, cable TV, Friday dinners out at trendy new restaurants, babysitters, Sephora, Madewell… I could go on, but the point is, to cut these frivolities out is definitely possible but sounds pretty awful. But I’ve hit the age where financial security is ultimately much more satisfying, so here we go. We’re going to start budgeting and ease into it. I am sure I’ll be adding to my “Pinning, Not Buying” Pinterest board regularly since all of those pretty things I think I “need” won’t be a part of our new budget!

Do you have any financial advice? Book or website recommendations? I’m not in love with Dave Ramsey’s religious bent but his words seem pretty sound. I’m already dreading this financial diet, so I’ll need your support!

About Me

Sunday Suppers

Posted by Erin on May 20, 2013 • Comments { 1 }

DSC_0148

DSC_0149

Last night at dinner, I glanced around me at my husband’s entire family, gathered as we do most Sunday nights: parents, two brothers, one sister and her boyfriend, four kids, one small Yorkie. I felt a wave of nostalgia hit me, as if I was already looking back at this time from years down the road. I knew, without a doubt, that we would remember these Sunday dinners as some of the happiest times we spent together.

It’s not that these meals are perfect. More often than not, a child is in tears, a few more are refusing salad or vegetables, the dog is pawing at our legs, someone was out too late the previous night and is grouchy and tired. But that doesn’t matter at all. The wine flows and the conversation is lively, full of laughter, gossip, and discussion of politics, TV, movies, friends and our children.

Just the act of gathering, of showing up, when we’re busy with work and life and social events is what makes these nights so special. If I’m ever wondering if it’s worth it to give up our own little family’s Sunday evening for the larger, noisier dinner, I think about that old therapy exercise. Will this matter in 5 minutes? In 5 days? 5 years? The answer is yes. I think it will matter in 5 years, when our kids have strong relationships with their cousins and grandparents, when the foundation for a loving family has been established, bit by bit, meal after meal. I didn’t grow up with extended family close by, and I see my own cousins even more infrequently now, so I cherish these ties.

Do you have any special family traditions? What do you do to keep family connections strong?

Relationships

Photo Project: 20/52

Posted by Erin on May 19, 2013 • Comments { 0 }

A photo of each of my children, once a week for one year.

norah hammock may

gabe art may

I feel like I’m cheating by using Instagram shots, but these were by far my favorite photos of the kids this week.

Norah: She was sick much of the week and recovered just in time to go to a friend’s party. After being home alone with me for days, eating nothing but toast and bananas and watching “My Little Pony” episodes, she could hardly contain her glee at being reunited with other kids, eating cupcakes and romping through the garden.

Gabe: The tiny artist drew us this depiction of our house, with the key feature being “our driveway.” He’s always content to entertain himself at gatherings, drawing, wandering and occasionally joining other kids at play. He rocked those shades all weekend like a proper little hipster.

My favorite photo by another blogger this week was this shot from One Claire Day. The sweetness of a baby needing soothing and comfort gets me every time.

You can find all of my 52 Week posts here.

Photo a Week Project

Something to Read, Something to Drink

Posted by Erin on May 17, 2013 • Comments { 4 }

cucumber rosemary gin cocktail

I had another post planned for today, but due to the topsy-turvy world that is parenting, I spent much of the middle of the night caring for a very sick girl and I am completely exhausted this morning. Tending to a little patient forces me to slow down, to drop everything and just stay home, clad in pajamas, sipping endless cups of coffee, which, honestly, is a welcome respite from our typical chaotic schedule. I’m not sure what the weekend has in store, now that plans are on hold pending Norah’s health, but if I end up quarantined at home, I can think of much worse things than sipping these gin cocktails while I dig into a new book. (This one is up next, which a friend described to me as “If Hitchcock met Rules of Civility.”)

Here are a few things I loved reading online this week:

* Karina’s post on “what you do best,” inspired by Lean In. Post to come on this, since it was on my mind all week. (I even asked J what he thought I did best, which was eye-opening in the very best way.)

* A delicious spring salad and wise words on family dinner that I agree with completely.

* Love this dreamy post from Melissa. Books often find me, too.

* 21 incredibly smart rules of entertaining, including the fact that you can never go wrong by serving ice cream sandwiches or Nutella!

* She tried Gwyneth’s diet so you don’t have to. Hilarious (though if you have the cash, it doesn’t sound so bad)!

* Thoughts on mom-judgment and jealousy that really hit home.

Hope you all have wonderful, restful weekends. And if you have a hankering for a cocktail, this one is really easy and incredibly delicious. I made it Monday and loved it so much, it made two more appearances. (This has been a tough week, what can I say?!)

Gin Rosemary Cocktail

adapted from In Style magazine, serves 2

2 1/2 ounces of Gin

2 ounces rosemary simple syrup (boil equal parts sugar and water with a few sprigs of rosemary until sugar is dissolved; let cool and steep for at least 30 minutes)

juice of 1 large lemon or 2 small

1/2 small English cucumber, sliced thin

ice

Take half the cucumber slices and muddle them in the bottom of a cocktail shaker. Add in rest of ingredients and shake well. Pour into glasses filled with remaining cucumber slices and ice. Top with cold club soda. Enjoy!

Books, Entertainment, Food and Drink