DIY on a Budget

When we bought this house in September of 2011, there was a laundry list of things I wanted to change: anything from painting a wall in the bedroom to putting in granite counter tops in the kitchen and bathrooms. I think as a homeowner, the "honey do" list never ends. I'm always thinking up something new to change, and Joe just thinks that I'm draining our bank account. This is our home--this is the place we're supposed to feel warm and cozy--and as the wife, its my job to make it that. 

Some things are big projects that we have to save and plan for (I'd like to knock a tiny wall down in our kitchen to open it up a little more.. we'll see if that ever happens), but some things can be done on a whim in just a few hours. Take our downstairs bathroom, for instance. This bathroom was ugly. Bright yellow painted on all of the walls, flat black paint that was chipping off of the cabinets, and an 80's light and mirror. This bathroom was screaming for a remodel. Last summer was a 'get up and do it' type of summer for me--we were doing house projects every weekend. This was one of the projects that we did, and it was SO cheap but made such a huge difference. You don't always have to spend a fortune to spruce spaces up! 

Before: Bright yellow, ugly light and mirror.
(we had already painted the cabinets and put
hardware on them before I took the picture)

After: soft grey walls, nice light fixture, and
a pretty accent mirror. Huge difference--
seems way more tranquil.

First, we went out and bought some paint. Okay--Joe went out and bought some paint. I told him that I wanted a simple grey--not too light, not too dark--and I think he nailed it. I'm obsessed with this color. I wish he would let me paint my entire house with it--so far I've painted my entire bedroom this shade (putting the room together is still a work in progress--that'll be a post for later), I've painted the wall along my stairs this shade, and I've painted a wall in my front living room this shade. Joe thinks I'm going overboard; I think that its nice when houses are painted one color with an accent color here and there (whereas my house is painted about 8 or 9 different colors and it kinda drives me nuts). This paint color is called "Elephant Skin" and its by Behr Ultra bought at Home Depot, for anyone that's interested.

Once we had the paint, we just needed to pick up a few cosmetic changes--a light fixture and a mirror--and we'd be all set. We bought the light fixture at Home Depot for around $40 I believe.. and we bought the mirror at Hobby Lobby on sale for around $30 I think. Overall, we transformed this bathroom on around a $100 budget. So easy.

Joe took down the ugly light and the huge mirror, and I spent the day painting the bathroom (I'm kinda OCD when it comes to painting; I always tell Joe that I'll just do it because I'm worried he'll leave bare spots or something.. I know, I'm weird). I still have that mirror sitting in my downstairs closet and I'm determined to use it for something else since we were able to take it down without breaking it. What that is, I have no idea. Anyways--once the paint dried, Joe put up the new lights fixture and we figured out where we wanted the mirror positioned. In a matter of hours and not a lot of money, we were able to completely change the look of the downstairs bathroom. (Like I said in the picture caption, we had already painted the cabinets with a high-gloss black paint and installed hardware on them. Because they were previously painted, we figured we'd just paint over them instead of refinishing them like we did our kitchen and master bathroom).

These are 3D butterflies that you can buy at Target for $20. It's a little push pin that you stick into the wall that has a buffer in between the wall and the pin so that it sticks out, then you clip the butterfly on. You can turn and position the butterfly however you want to; and if you don't like the placement, its extremely easy to move it. There are different versions of this; white twigs, metal flowers, etc. I love these things. This is on the wall above the toilet.

Now all that's left is getting some granite in there, and we'll be set! Granite doesn't cost that much, honestly, but its something we'll have to plan for and obviously cant do on a whim.

Pumpkin Bread!

Today is an extremely exciting day. Why, you ask? Because autumn decorations are out at Hobby Lobby. Yes--you heard right--the (fake) pumpkins, faux maize, and cinnamon candles are out. I love absolutely everything about Fall--the colors, the warm feeling you get inside, the crafts, the decorations, and the food. There's nothing better than some warm, feel-good food on a crisp Autumn night. To celebrate this exciting day, I'm going to share my favorite pumpkin bread recipe that I got from Joe's aunt Karen. I've passed this recipe on to my mom (who makes mini-pumpkin loaves for everyone and then passes the recipe on to them). This pumpkin loaf, in my opinion, could not get any better--its perfect. The strudel topping to it complements it perfectly and gives a subtle crunch (for lack of a better word). 

Ingredients:
-2 cups of pumpkin (1 lb. can)
-1 cup of oil

-3 cups of sugar
-4 eggs
-1/2 cup of water

-3 1/2 cups of flour
-2 tsp. of cinnamon
-1/2 tsp. of ginger

-1 tsp. of cloves

-1 1/2 tsp of salt (I usually leave this out, but I'm sure it tastes as delicious with it)
-2 tsp. of baking soda
-1 cup of chopped walnuts (optional)

Topping:
Mix 1/4 cup of brown sugar and 1/4 cup of sugar and sprinkle on top of loaves just before baking.

Directions:

-Combine pumpkin, oil, eggs, water, and sugar in a large bowl until well mixed.

-In another bowl, mix together flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, baking soda and salt.

-Add flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and stir until mixed. If desired, add optional nuts and stir.

-Pour into two greased 9x5 loaf pans** (sprinkle optional topping on top if desired) and bake at 350* for 1 hour and 20 minutes--or until a toothpick comes out clean after inserting it in to the center of the loaf.

**If you'd prefer, you can bake them as cupcakes for about 20-25 minutes or as 6 small loaves for about 1 hour.

...You'd better believe that as soon as the Christmas decorations are fully out at Hobby Lobby (by the end of July--they have some out now, but I'll hold off), I'll have a Christmassy recipe to share. I understand that its June--I don't think you guys fully understand my holiday obsession. This blog is gonna get crazy over the holidays with tons of craft, decorating, and recipe ideas. Brace yourselves ;)

A must-have gift for kids!

Okay--I'm really excited about this one. As you probably read yesterday, my sister and I did a lot of shopping at the Del Mar Fair on Tuesday. We came across these "fish tank bears" and instantly fell in love--these would be the perfect gifts for Maverick and Madison (or any young child, for that matter!). These are such a cute idea and I think they're adorable. The kids haven't gotten them yet--Rachel bought them for their Christmas presents (no--its never too early to start Christmas shopping ;)), so I cant tell you how they liked them--but I know that they are going to be so excited Christmas morning when they open these up.

These will be in Toys R Us worldwide this coming October--so keep a look out--but you can easily buy them online (or if you live local, drop by the Del Mar Fair and buy one--they're offering buy one-get one free).

So what are they? They're teddy bears with fish bowls in their bellies. You can choose which bear/animal you want, they come with LED nightlights to put in it, you can choose which color rocks you want, you get a package of bows (if its a girl, they velcro to the ear; if its a boy it velcros to the neck for a bow tie), you get a fish tank net, and a little tree to decorate your fish bowl with. The bear/animal you choose comes with a voice recorder that records up to 10 seconds of audio--the perfect amount of time to say "good night! I love you!" or whatever you want to say. The fish bowl itself is plastic--so there's no risk of breaking it, and the bear can easily be taken off of the bowl for cleaning. The bear comes with a hole in its mouth that leads down to the fish bowl--so to feed your fish, you just put the fish food in the bear's mouth--a perfect task for your kids to help out with. 

We bought this white bear for Madison :)

We bought this brown bear for Maverick :)

These are all of the different animals you can choose from

Here's how easy it is to assemble / disassemble 

These are the different options for the fish tank rocks and the bows

Like I said earlier, we got the white bear for Madison and got pink rocks and the cheetah and polka dot pink bows to accompany it. For Maverick, we got him the light brown bear with green rocks (his favorite color) and the red/green/blue/orange bow ties for his bear. We'll go out and buy some fish the day before we give these to them so that when they open them up, they can use them right away.

Dont want to get your kid a fish? Use it as a piggy bank.. or a candy bowl.. or just a night light. This thing has so many different uses--and its adorable. Obviously its not a fish tank to sit on your kitchen counter--we fully intend on these sitting in the kids rooms.

...adorable, right?! I'm obsessed with these--and I know the kids will be too. If you want to buy one and you aren't in the San Diego area, stop by their website and pick one out--you wont regret it ;)

"If you buy now, I'll toss this in for free." SOLD.

Yesterday my sister and I went to the Del Mar Fair--somewhere I hadn't been in about 9 years. I didn't know how much shopping there was there! When I think of the fair, I think about food and rides (although I don't trust those rides and therefore never go on them). The theme of the fair this year was "Game On!" and it was actually pretty cute. They had life-sized versions of all of our favorite games--monopoly, twister, connect four, etc., and it was pretty fun walking around and seeing everything. 

I thought it was a pretty sweet car ;)

I couldn't believe the amount of food this place had--I thought that as soon as I walked through the gates I'd be stuffing my face with food until we left. Thankfully I had some self control (and spent all of my money shopping) so that didn't happen. The scale thanked me this morning ;) 

The first thing I ate as soon as we got there was a chocolate swirl waffle cone ice cream--and it was delicious!

So,  lets get to the shopping. They had stuff EVERYWHERE! I expected there to be lots of stuffed animals and things of that nature (I mean, it is a fair), but I wasn't prepared for the amount of shopping that we would be doing. Something you may not know about me: I'm a HUGE infomercial believer--I would buy it all if I could (however, I've only ever bought one thing off of an infomercial--the Grout Bully--and it turned out to be complete junk. I'll never buy anything from TV again; I'll only get it if they sell it in stores). Basically, the Del Mar Fair is just a plethora of infomercials--and I was sold on all of them. Everything they had was so cool! "Buy now and I'll toss this, this, and this in for free." Boom, sold. It's a good thing I didn't bring any credit cards with me to the fair, because guaranteed they would have been maxed out and I would have come home with a "roll your own sushi maker," a crap ton of toys and clothes for the kids, a massage chair, and possibly a jacuzzi. Most of it, I'll admit, I can live without. This stuff, however, was a purchase I was really excited about. Its an all-natural cleaning product that actually works really well. 

It's called 'Touch of Purple' and it cleans almost everything--except there's no chemicals in it. The lady cleaned my ring, my sunglasses, and my cell phone screen and they all turned out flawless. My ring hasn't been so sparkly in a long time, my sunglasses are staying clean even if I accidentally graze the lens with my finger, and my cell phone stays clean even after talking on it for a while (when before it would have makeup on it). This stuff is cool. I get it that the bottle looks cheesy, but if it works then I don't care how its packaged. This stuff is streak-free and repels fingerprints (I just cleaned my big sliding door window where the kids are constantly getting it dirty, and so far its staying clean. We were told to put a little bit of this in our window washing compartment in our cars and it'll keep the haze off of the windows. Touch of Purple repels dust--so that instead of dusting once a week, you dust about once a month (we'll see how that goes).

All in all, I'm pretty excited about this. I'm hoping it turns out to be everything I want it to be--I'd hate to be duped by a second "infomercial" and lose all faith in these products! I checked it out and you can buy this stuff on their website (www.touchofpurple.com) --or you can head down to the fair and buy some from them and 1) not pay shipping and 2) talk them down on the price and/or get some free stuff tossed in. The best part about this stuff, in my opinion, is that since its all natural, if one of my kids ever accidentally gets into it, it'll send them straight to the bathroom and NOT the hospital. Even though all of my cleaning products are locked up, this still gives me peace of mind.

Not gonna lie, I'm actually pretty excited to clean today ;)

Dealing with the baby blues

Having a baby for the first time is a huge change in your life. Having a second baby is an ever bigger change. The second you become pregnant, you'll never be the same. I read somewhere a while ago that even after you've delivered the baby, a tiny amount of their DNA remains inside of you forever. That's kinda cool to think about; because of Maverick and Madison, I have a tiny amount of Joe's DNA in me. That's insane. I never checked snopes.com so I don't know the validity of this, but lets just go ahead and say that its true ;).  

With your body changing so much after having a baby, its extremely common to go through a phase called the "baby blues" --yet its rarely talked about. After having Maverick I was completely fine (minus all of the itching from the allergic reaction to the morphine); I went home from the hospital and didn't take a single pain pill. I thought that because I was fine with my first pregnancy, I'd be fine with my second--and that just wasn't the case. You may have read about my baby blues in my Parenting: Not As Easy As It May Seem post, but I didn't share my tips on how to get through them.

Its crazy to me the amount of women that go through this, yet its almost taboo to talk about it. When I was going through it, I was honestly embarrassed. It was embarrassing--this was my second child, I knew what to do, and I should have been fine. I think I blamed myself for a lot of it even though I had no control over it. Transitioning from one to two kids was hard, but doing it while dealing with the baby blues made it even worse. I felt trapped in my house (it probably didn't help that we lived in our 850 sq ft condo at the time). All I knew was that I needed to get out of the baby blues fast--I was so tired of crying, having anxiety attacks, having no appetite, and feeling overwhelmed. I started trying to figure out where the root of the problem was, and from there I was able to work my way out of it. Here are a few tips that helped me tremendously:

1. Get out of the house. Go anywhere--the park, to a friend's house, to a restaurant--anywhere. I felt trapped inside the walls of my house, and it helped to get out of there.

2. Try to get a good night's sleep. Ask your husband to take over the nighttime feedings as much as he can; if you're breastfeeding, have your husband go get the baby and bring them to you so that you can stay in bed. Getting a good night's sleep is key. I remember at one point, a few days after I had Madison, we packed up the kids and drove over to my parents house that night. I had been hysterically crying all day and just needed to get out. I hadn't slept in about 3 days and was just exhausted. My parents took both kids upstairs and I was somehow talked into taking a Tylenol PM and drinking a small glass of wine. It was enough to take the edge off and I quickly fell asleep. Getting a good night's rest will help you feel refreshed and not bogged down so that you can take on the day.

3. Try to plan a small getaway for the near future. I felt like I was a robot--doing the same thing, every day, over and over. All of the days morphed into one and it felt hopeless. I told Joe that I needed something to look forward to, so we booked a mini kid-less Vegas vacation for a few weeks from then. That helped tremendously. Having something to look forward to and count down to made the days go by quicker, and it helped me to focus on the fact that the days weren't morphed into one; every morning I'd wake up and it would be a new day.

4. Try and get a little 'you' time. Getting out of the house is a great way to disconnect, but getting some 'you' time will help you regroup and clear your mind. It doesn't have to be a whole day; just go out and get a pedicure (you'll get some time alone AND have pretty feet!). You'll definitely come home feeling refreshed.

...guaranteed you know someone who has gone through the baby blues and you just don't know it. No one ever wants to talk about it. Next time someone has a baby, ask them how they're doing instead of how the baby is doing. If they're comfortable enough, they might tell you whats really going on, and maybe you can help them out. Cook them a meal. Offer to babysit or tidy up the house for them. Anything. I'm sure they'll appreciate the gesture.

Luckily for me, the baby blues only lasted a few weeks. For some women it lasts way longer and turns into postpartum depression. Having a baby is no joke. It takes a toll on your health--both mentally and physically. However, it does get better. You just have to figure out how to get there. Sometimes it requires medicine, and sometimes it just takes using a few of these steps I listed to get there. I remember when I was going through it, as soon as I started feeling better, I knew that I wanted to help anyone that was going through the same thing. Constant anxiety attacks and crying for no reason is never fun--and if I could help just one person out then I'd be happy.

Pass this on to anyone you think may be going through a hard time transitioning to motherhood--they may need some words of encouragement. <3

Southwestern Black Bean Salad

With all of the summer barbecues coming up, its great to have lots of options for side dishes to bring. That's where I come in--I love eating, so I can try tons of recipes and tell you which ones are worth making and which ones you should pass on. This is another one of my Pinterest recipes--actually from the same website my zucchini lasagna came from (I'm thinking that I should take a look at this lady's website and go through her recipes--I've loved 2 of 2 so far!). This recipe is for a Southwestern Black Bean Salad--perfect for dipping chips in and using it as a salsa, or serving it as a side dish to compliment your barbecued chicken. This is such a delicious, light, and refreshing salad. Lets get started:

Picture courtesy of skinnytaste.com

Ingredients:
15.5 oz can black beans (rinsed and drained)
9 oz of cooked corn, fresh or frozen (thawed if frozen)
1 medium tomato, chopped
1/3 cup of red onion, chopped
1 scallion, chopped
1 1/2 - 2 limes, juice of
1 Tbsp of olive oil

2 Tbsp of fresh minced cilantro (or more to taste)
salt and pepper
1 medium Haas avocado (I used 3 in mine--just cause I love avocado)

Directions:
In large medium bowl, combine beans, tomato, onion, scallion, cilantro, and salt and pepper to taste. Squeeze fresh lime juice over everything and stir in olive oil. Chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Add avocado just before serving.

Boom, done. So easy, yet so delicious. Here's some nutritional facts (based on if you use 1 avocado instead of 3 like I used) :

Servings: 13  Serving size: 1/2 cup  Weight Watchers Points+: 2 points  

Calories: 79.5  Fat: 3.5 grams  Carbs: 12 grams  Fiber: 3 grams  Protein: 3 grams
Sugar: 1 gram  Sodium: 127 mg (without the salt)  Cholesterol: 0 mg

A Father's Day Tribute

Happy Father's Day to all you dads out there! I'm so lucky to have an amazing dad and a husband who is an amazing dad to our kids. 

My husband Joe works so hard so that I can stay home with the kids.. and I know at times I complain about how awful the kids were during the day and how I cant wait till they're in school so I can go back to work, but I still feel so blessed to be able to stay home and raise my kids. Its a 'grass is greener' type of scenario; I sometimes complain that I would love to actually go to work, yet I have friends who do go to work who would love the opportunity to stay at home with their kids. When it comes down to it, if I were given the chance to go back to work or stay with my kids, I would absolutely choose being a stay at home mom--and that wouldn't be possible without my amazing husband. I still think its insane what a wonderful life I have; I'm 24 years old, own a beautiful house, have 2 cars, two amazing kids, and enough money to provide us with everything we need plus some luxuries. I owe all of that to Joe. So this post is dedicated to you Joe--I love you more than I could ever express to you and appreciate everything you do for the kids and I. You are such an amazing dad and husband--Maverick, Madison and I all love you so much. You are our rock and we are so proud of everything you have accomplished. Happy Father's Day!

Right after Madison was born <3

...my sexy husband!

...they LOVE taking self pictures with daddy :)

Maverick as a newborn <3

a "special" Home Depot trip with daddy!

At the pumpkin patch!

Maverick really idolizes Joe, and I think its adorable. They're best friends :)

Mav having some fun on daddy's shoulders

...that time we took Maverick to Disneyland (Madison was in my belly!)

Madison loves cuddling with daddy!

...and one for my dad: the best grandpa in the entire world!