Big House? Small House? Less {stuff} is More.

One of my biggest challenges in our new (to us) rental is finding the space and the means to keep things tidy and organized in a much smaller space.  I am on a mission.  Who wants to live life in a mess?  I am here to tell you that life is beautiful and that no matter the size of your place you can clean up the dust, tuck things away in pretty baskets and throw open the windows to let a fresh breeze into your day.

When we were packing our house to make this move, we parted with so much stuff.  Including a lot of clothes and furniture.  We donated box after box to Goodwill.  We had a big garage sale and sold things on Craigslist.  What didn't sell and was left on moving day, Mr. Marvelous marketed to the movers themselves. 

Sir, would you like this in the truck?
That depends, would you pay me $75 for it?

The movers made two trips to our house that weekend-the Saturday trip to move us and the Sunday trip to pick up the furniture they bought from us.

It is hard for me to believe how much stuff is still left after such a big purge since we are now in a much smaller space.  It has been a major life lesson. 

I have promised myself that I am never going to buy an article of clothing again that isn't great quality and timeless.  I remind myself of this at least once a week when I'm walking through target and see cute little polyblend tops for $25 that will wear well twice and then pill in the wash and take up room in the back of a closet in which there is no room, literally, for error. (Does everyone else's husband have a collection of some 50+ tee shirts to document every major or minor life experience post-middle school?  Women save photos, men save tee shirts with holes and grease stains and memories woven into the fabric.)  So yes, I have vowed to buy a whole lot less and only things that are good quality and timeless-not just clothing wise but home decor and all around. 

Hopefully, what is left in our house now is stuff that we really love and really want to have around to look at and use regularly.  I was ruthless in getting to this point, I addressed everything from kitchen towels to my underware drawer.  Now I get to open up the drawer to either one and think "ahhh, pretty."  Even if I have to do twice as much laundry because I have half the quantity.  It's better this way.  At least in our house.

It's a new chapter in my life and I want to stand on the roof top of my much smaller home and proclaim it to the heavens:  Less is More!! 

Especially when it is organized and tucked away in pretty little baskets . . .

Images via here.

Resources for Homemade Baby Food

source

Hi friends!

I had several requests to share recipes and resources for homemade baby food, so here goes! My go-to website for recipes (and probably the most popular site out there on homemade baby food) is Wholesome Baby Food. There is a wealth of information on their site as to when it is advisable to start baby on solids, what foods to introduce when, how to prepare them, etc. Of course, consult your pediatrician and use your mommy instincts.

Wholesome Baby Food also has a good amount of information on baby-led weaning if you prefer to skip purees altogether and start with tiny bits of finger foods.

I was given this book, below, as a shower gift and it is so fun. Lots of good basic information on nutrition for baby as well as recipes for different age groups.

While there are plenty of ways to cook baby food, I have thus far been cooking a food (say apples or peaches or zucchini) with a bit of water until soft and then pureeing in my food processor and pouring into jars which then go into the freezer. If you want to add a cute fabric accent to your jars just cut a square of your favorite fabric a few inches larger than the diameter of the top of your lid and place the fabric between the metal lid and the ring. As an easy inexpensive alternative, you can pour your purees into ice cub trays, freeze, and then pop the frozen little servings into freezer bags as well.

There are fun baby gadgets you can buy to prepare baby food like the Beaba. So far I have had a great time just using the stove top method, but steaming, which the Beaba does, rather than boiling, is supposed to keep more nutrients in the food. As an aside, the stuff in the grocery store is boiled to such a high temp that it is safe on the shelf for up to two years.

The jars we used to store the baby food my friend and I made the other day were everyday ball jars (size extra small). Just hit up the canning section of your grocery store. We put the jars in the freezer to store the baby food. We did not can the food. Canning baby food is not recommended because of the increased risk of botulism, as explained here.

I hope this helps some of the other mommies out there. I am not an expert on this subject at all and am learning as I go! If you have a great baby food tip or recipe, etc., please leave it in a comment so we all can benefit. Thanks ahead of time! Have to run and serve Wynn some sweet potatoes now :)

Until later,

Homemade Baby Food

It is hard to believe that Wynn turned 6 months old this month, and the time came to introduce him to solid food. I would have been happy to exclusively nurse him for a full year I think. Nevertheless, what is more fun than getting together with one of your best girlfriends, her darling baby, and making a bunch of homemade baby food from organic farmers market fare? Don't forget the little glass jars and designer fabric lids. :)

"You crown the year with your bounty, and your carts overflow with abundance." Psalm 65:11

Vindication.

The picture above is saved on my computer's hard drive under the file name, "vindication."

I didn't name the photo; the name came, I assume, from its original source. I don't know where I saved it from. If it is yours or you know the source, I would love to know the story behind the name. I like to think I know without really knowing . . .

I am married to a man's man. He doesn't have the first clue when it comes to interior design. I prefer him that way. More often than not, any design idea I have and share is met with a side eye. I have learned and we now both joke, that the more against one of my design ideas he is at the outset, the better the final result will be. You really can't blame the man considering I come up with some odd ideas like contact papering the kitchen. We are at the point in our marriage where I can say "I think I am going to do X Y and Z in the living room!!!!" He will then respond, "that sounds ridiculous and awful so go for it!!!" (I'm paraphrasing.)

All jokes aside, I flip through my inspiration pictures all the time and I always smile at the all white kitchen that someone titled "vindication" and think of the side eye this home owner probably got from someone when she suggested painting those hardwood floors with white paint. Or doing an entire room without a spec of color. Clearly this kitchen is a jaw-dropper and someone ultimately was vindicated. Or so I like to think.

Cheers to that and back to my next eye-raising design project,

A Thank You and Kitchen Details

Thank you all so much for your awesome comments on my budget kitchen redo!!!!! It truly feels like a fairytale transformation . . . no magic wand required.

We LOVE it. I am so flattered that so many of you do too!!!

I had several questions as to the source of the ikat material I used for the skirting and it is a Robert Allen fabric which I bought by special order through JoAnn Fabrics (it's in what I refer to as the "hanger section"). I would link you to it online, but it isn't on JoAnn's website that I can find. :(

I did NOT anticipate that my kitchen post would have so many people eager to contact paper their own kitchens!!!! That said, if you attempt this project, PLEASE check the adhesive level of the paper you choose and its reaction to the cabinetry you try to stick it to-every paper and cabinet type and stain/paint/seal will be different. Just test ahead of time and then proceed with common sense so that you do not risk any damage to the existing cabinetry.

It is the first delicious fall day here in Indiana. After surviving one of the muggiest, hottest summers I can remember we are having our first day of overcast and nearly cool weather. I am off to my favorite antique store, which just happens to be a stone's throw from our new house, to do some shopping for the living room makeover. I am working on the living room, our bedroom and Wynn's nursery all at the same time right now so I am not sure which will be featured next . . . today's antiquing might decide that for me. Just waiting on the right inspiration to kick one of the projects to the forefront.

I think I will stop for an applesauce donut on the way. Celebrate that bikini season is finally over? Sounds fantastic to me!

Happy Saturday, friends!

And today, more than ever, God bless America.

{The Little Kitchen that Could!}

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

The kitchen transformation is complete!!!!

Remember this?

Here is the same space today!

Hallelujah.

My goals for this space were to open it up, make it brighter and breathe some whimsy into it by decorating with things we love.

I know what you are thinking- "she said she couldn't paint the cabinets!?" Well, I did NOT paint the cabinets. It was not an option. We are renting for a short time and the owners weren't interested in making any permanent changes to their kitchen.

Fair enough.

Stick with me.

The first thing I did to open up the space was move the refrigerator to a new spot. It was not a counter-depth fridge and it stuck so far out into what was already a very limited space, it was literally screaming out to me "get me outta here!" It was easily repositioned to the opposite wall. This made room for the bench we had as seating at the breakfast table at our old house.


This kitchen is clearly too small for an island and I wanted a spot for my husband and baby to sit and hang out and chat with me while we cook meals. The bench fit perfectly into the spot previously occupied by the fridge.


I also put the small white armoire in the kitchen-it was in our bathroom at the old house. It offers additional storage and is directly opposite the fridge now which just expanded the footprint of the kitchen nicely.


My original plan with the cabinets was to remove the upper cabinet doors and to skirt the lower cabinets. Removing the upper cabinets doors was very easy. Took about ten minutes, one screw driver, and removing a few dozen screws. Everything is carefully stored so that we can reaffix the doors in a snap when our lease is up. When the doors came down, however, the kitchen just looked worse. Not just small and dark but small, dark and cluttered (and with someone else's stuff!!)

I boxed and labeled and moved the homeowner's things to the finished basement. This made room for our things. Then I pared things down majorly. I only kept out the things that I need/use regularly and that are nice to look at-anything ugly got stashed in the lower cabinets that are covered or was sold at a garage sale prior to the big move.



Here is where things went white :) I started by putting white contact brand shelf paper down on the bottoms of those upper cabinets. The homeowners already had old white shelf paper down but it had seen better days (like 1972). The new shelf paper looked so nice and clean and crisp and was so easily removed after installing (I checked it carefully!!!!) that I . . . yes, I did . . . I covered every inch of those upper cabs in shelf paper. You can slipcover a sofa. Why not a kitchen? (or so I rationalized) It cost $10.00 in shelf liner (Target) and I used my quilting tools (rotary cutter and mat) to measure and cut the paper in the right size strips. It really did not take all that long. Probably because this kitchen is so tiny! I also broke up the work and did bits and pieces over a period of several weeks as we were busy moving things into the house.

This was not a perfect job by any means. I suppose you don't need to worry about things like a perfect finish when you are the girl who is contact papering her kitchen. (or so I rationalized!!! again!)

Before long I was able to move all of my pretty kitchen things into my newly white cabinets.

Here is another before and after of one area of cabinetry:

I also included family photos printed in sepia. I love being able to see these displayed during everyday meal prep, life, etc. It really took this kitchen from being a temporary rental into a space filled with our family.

love it.

I stuck with my idea to skirt the lower cabinets. This allowed me to leave the lower cabinet doors and drawers alone and cover them with a really beautiful ikat. I wish this fabric had photographed better, it is simply gorgeous in person and was the only (very minor and with a 50% off coupon) splurge I made in this room.

I also sewed a simple valance which I hung on a tension rod (didn't want to hang a real curtain rod that would require drilling into the wall). I helped to mask the tension rod look by using curtain ring clips.

So there you have it. A rental kitchen, transformed without any permanent changes to cause issues with our landlord, and done for less than $100. All of my goals were met in this project, most importantly,

it feels just like us!

It feels like home.