Making a List and Checking it Twice

I always head into the gift giving season with the best intentions of staying organized: Receipts in this envelope, Kids' gifts in this box, hidden in this room, Lists updated...That all lasts for roughly a week. Then poof,  it's all a hot mess. I'm left scrambling at the last second trying to pull things together and I hate scrambling. Hate. My anxiety levels are high enough on their own.

I started this last year and I'm proud to report it was really effective. I'm using the spreadsheet I created last year (loooove my spreadhseets) to keep track of not only how much I'm spending, but who I'm buying for and what I'm buying.

Check it:

The Editable Version

I'm keeping track of everything. As soon as I buy something (online or otherwise), I write it down. Boom, done. 

Happy Holiday Gift Giving and Happy Organizing ;-)

<3 dani

Washing Machine for Halloween

My sweet boy loves to do laundry (please Lord let that continue), so when I asked him what he wanted to be for Halloween, he obviously said "a washing ah-chine."

Ask and you shall receive my main man.

It was super easy to make.

98% of my shopping is done online, so I have surplus of boxes. I'm a crafter, so I have about 8,029 cans of spray paint. The other "stuff" like the knob and the plastic plates were a buck each at the dollar store. The costume, in total, was $2.00.

My little buttercup was not fond of her Giraffe costume, but she rocked a ballerina costume the day after Halloween.

Halloween is the best.

Living Room Update

Over the summer I found the perfect sofa, but making my perfect sofa work in my living room has been quite a long process, and just shy of remodeling, this is the biggest transformation this room could have.

Here's what I've created so far, but there's so much more to go.

On to the drawn out process.

After having Little Dude, I found myself spending a lot of time on the couch: breastfeeding, napping, eating. Everything happened on the couch. Turns out couches from discount furniture stores aren't exactly meant to live through 6 years of serious wear and tear. So, while sitting on my discount sofa I,  more often than not, ended up needing help pulling myself out of the couch's black hole of a seat. Furniture shopping here I come!

The search for a new sofa isn't easy. In fact, buying a car was easier than choosing a sofa, wth? So, when I finally found the couch I wanted, I realized I'd have to change everything about my living room's current decor. Totally worthy sacrifice for my sofa.

 

Here's what the fabric looks like in real-life.

First thing to go was wall color. There is such a thing as too much beige and I was crossing that line.

From this:

To this:

 

Which really looks like this.

I settled on this color after trying two others...yup two living room paintings

Next, the coffee table. A toddler and coffee table corners can only end badly. Not to mention our huge, gorgeous, thrift store table just didn't fit anymore. Padded corner ottoman here we come.

 Then, everything else was fair game. Take a peek...

The Hubs insisted we have a chair for this little spot near the fireplace...I wasn't sold on the idea thinking it might be too cramped, but this adorable, armless number fits perfectly. 

Cute little window cove.  Little Dude loves to play back here.

After several configurations and and many holes in the wall, I settle on this. I cut flowers with my silhouette (I cannot wait to share with you how friggin' awesome that machine is) on card stock and hung those in the  places that frames just didn't work.

The view from the dining room.

It's really come together. Now I'm waiting for: the perfect rug. That will help break up the beige a bit more; a couple more frames to hang near the lamp; someone to paint my trim white; and, a slimmer end table. Phew, looove.

Oh, and THIS is what it looked like before. Big Change, right?

 

And before I go, I apologize for the rough-around-the-edges photos. Little Dude snatched my camera from the cabinet and I've yet to find it. Hmm..

EDIT** I bought a new camera. It's amazing. So, most of the pictures you see (with the exception of the blurry ones) are from the new camera. Yippie!!

<3 dani

First Birthday Bash, kind of...

My Little Dude turned one. Ah, what a milestone, what a moment, what a memory...what a time to be sick!

I had all these wonderful plans. Everything was going to fall into place the night before (because anyone who has a little one running around knows that a little thing called preparation no longer exists) and then BAM out of nowhere, I get a wicked cold, and by wicked I mean two steps away from death kinda cold.

My original plan included a pool party at The Four Seasons, then hanging out and snacking in a banquet room. Baby hotel party, mmhmm, yes please! The theme was Fish, because Little Dude adores swimming, and all the little snacks were going to be pool/fish related. I was going to take cute little photos and give step-by-step tutorials...umm, nope DID NOT HAPPEN.

While most of my party plans played out, it certainly didn't end up as 'perfect' as I wanted it. And if it weren't for my bestie Grace, I would have canceled the whole deal. Thank goodness Little Dude won't remember it.

I was so sick that even my pictures turned out pretty awful. I'm going way outside of my comfort zone even posting these. But hey, ima keep it real up in here.

 

 

Grace made the gorgeous cake. Word to the wise, do not try to create a personalized cake  out of homemade carrot cake. If Grace wasn't so patient, this cake wouldn't have happened. I gave up after ten minutes (could have been the fever getting the best of me, hmm) but Grace kept at it and it turned out beautiful.

Blurry, I couldn't even hold my phone steady enough to get a decent picture. eek!

Here's the breakdown of our cute little snackies. This is where I planned on taking tons of photos and explaining everything -- I barely made it to the hotel to decorate. Photos were about the last thing on my mind, right there next to eating and staying awake -- I also bought gold fish bowls and put (edible) goldfish in them on each table.

Little Dude realizing he had an entire pool to himself.

Not so much the "bash" I had planned up, but Little Dude had a grand time, a wee bit overwhelming, but fun nonetheless. Here's hoping next year I stay healthy and have better photos to show you.

<3 dani

Gift Giving Organization

I always head into the gift giving season with the best intentions of staying organized: Receipts in this envelope, Little Dude's gifts in this box, Lists updated...That all lasts for roughly a week. Then poof, as if I'd never attempted organization at all, it's all a hot mess. And I find myself scrambling at the last second trying to pull things together.

This year, I'm proud to report, is turning out differently. I created a spreadsheet (loooove my spreadhseets) to keep track of not only how much I'm spending, but who I'm buying for and what I'm buying.

Check it:

 

The PDF Version

The Editable Version

Last year, because I was super pregnant during prime holiday shopping time, I did nearly all of my shopping online. I didn't keep good track of things and with shipping times, I forgot about tons of stuff that I ordered and inevitably over/under bought for some people -- oopsie poopsie. 

Using this, I've managed to keep track of everything. As soon as I buy something (online or otherwise), I write it down. Boom, done. 

Happy Holiday Gift Giving and Happy Organizing ;-)

<3 dani

Weekly Cleaning Schedule

The Hubs and I pride ourselves on how tidy we mange to keep our house. Before Little Dude, we had our cleaning schedule on lock. Saturday morning, bright and early, we'd bust out the entire house. Top to bottom, deep clean etc. Then throughout the week, we'd just pick things up as we went along.

But now, you ask?! Oh my how things change with a ten month old running around.

The house has remained pretty tidy, but I regularly have an internal meltdown thinking about how much I have to do.

Pinterest to the rescue!

I started searching for weekly cleaning schedules and came up with a few viable options. Including THIS one that I pretty much straight-up stole.
** disclaimer: the original is waaay cuter than mine. **

Here is my version:

There are certain things that get done every single week, so those things I permanently added. There are also things that get done each day, come hell or high water, like the dishes and wiping the counters. Those things I didn't add to the chart, seemed redundant.

I did leave room on the top for things that I'm pulling from THIS calendar each week (do yourself a solid and check out that link).

So, here's to trying to clear the stress of staying on top of my cleaning habits. Try it.

<3 dani

Keepin' Those Baby Legs Warm

Even before I got pregnant, I so badly wanted a pair of baby leg warmers. But first I had to get me some baby legs. Well, I have the baby legs now, but sadly Little Dude is not a fan...especially when the leg warmers are clearly for a Little Dudette.

Luckily for me though, my besties in California just had a Little Dudette.

Here's how I made these adorable little things.

Start with a pair of long socks. The length is dependent on how long the baby leg is that you're trying to cover. I prefer they scrunch up a bit, so I bought knee high, tweenager sized socks. 

Then you just cut 'em up.

Turn the right sides together of the foot portion that you cut out and sew on one side only.

Then flip her right side out again. 

Now, fold her in half. This is going to be your ankle cuff.

Stick the long portion of the sock inside the cuff, then sew around (the only difficult part of this whole project). 

Flip the cuff down and boom.

And my super compliant model, Little Dude, is less than thrilled...okay, so he doesn't look pissed, but trust me!

Try it. I did three pairs while Little Dude took his afternoon nap.

<3 dani