Hi friends! I am pretty darn excited about this one.  The hubby and I (well mostly the hubby- a tad bit I) worked on making this little laundry nook more useful with storage, and cosmetically pleasing!  With a smaller home I feel every square inch counts ya know??

Nothing was wrong with the before.   Of course I was mostly craving a refresher after five years!

At first we were just going to paint the walls (well I was going to, be he took over because I’m a terrible painter 🤫).  Which lead to taking down the shelves, which led to me asking about cabinets.  I have always wanted a linen closet so to speak, and a place up and safe from kids for cleaning products.

And then I got a quote.

You would not believe what the quote came in for just these TWO cabinets. 1,000$ kid you not. I puked.

And then I told the hubby.  He said no wayyyyy were going to pay someone 1,000 for just TWO cabinets.

So then we pondered, and pondered, and pondered some more.

And then one day he said those famous last words- “I’ll build them.” HE committed to spending time make ME (I mean us…) cabinets!!!!!! EKK!!!

He had never build cabinets, nor did he know where to begin, but he did it. And if you ask me my thoughts, I couldn’t be happier! He wanted to use up wood we already had, and he found left over bead board from the home years ago.  I love his creative touch with the bead board fronts, and inset doors, all the heart eyes!

To keep down on the noise while washing or drying we could hang curtains to muffle the sound.  It also works to quickly hide a bit of the washer and drier, and accumulations that come from a laundry room!  The curtains are hung with pipe he spray painted black, and the curtains I have had for years from Pottery Barn called tie up shades!

The natural basket is from a little shop I adore called The Dharma Door USA. There baskets are hand made by artisans at a fair trade! I love its texture, and how easy it is to carry a full basket of laundry one handed with baby in the other.   You can find this basket here.

The other basket shown here is from Steele Canvas.  I love this family owned company located in Massachusettes and the quality of their baskets and trucks is impeccable.

The light is from Schoolhouse. We needed something narrow for the doors to open, and without limiting cabinet space.  With all that being said, I landed on  this light!  If you follow me on Instagram, you know I had a very hard time picking which finish to pick, but I opted for the all time classic- black.

The paint is the same paint I used for our kitchen.  After two years I am still so love with the color! Plus, to be completely honest, I don’t think there is a better quality paint out there than Farrow & Ball.  And trust me- I’ve done a LOT of painting.

Cabinet hardware is mostly from Cabinet Parts online.  I wish picking out hardware wasn’t so hard! But let me tell you, that was SO hard!  I went with oil rubbed bronze.  I am head over heels currently for brass, but when it comes to things we will be keeping forevverrrrrr, I tend to stick with black or close to black because I do feel that never goes out of style. Lets hope I’m not wrong on that……!

Well, thats it for now! Let me know if you have any questions friends! And as always- thank you for stopping by!

You know, I have no idea why I wasted so much time and money on play dough from the store. You know- making those “quick” trips because we were out and the kids were begging.  Just to waste money and time :(.  And ya know- more plastic waste with all those yellow plastic tubs! Ugh!

Learn from me- save some time and save some money!

This is so easy it will blow you mind. Seriously.

• 2 cups all-purpose flour.
• 3/4 cup salt.
• 4 teaspoons cream of tartar.
• 2 cups lukewarm water.
• 2 Tablespoons of oil (I used coconut oil, but vegetable works too)
• Tupperware to fit 🙂

Mix together all dry ingredients.  Put mixed ingredients in sauce pan.  Slowly add warm water and oil while heating on a medium heat.  Stir continuously.  If you are making one color you may add a touch of food coloring at this time.

Continue stirring until dough forms a ball and becomes thicker. This took a few minutes.

Next place dough ball onto wax paper to cool, and let the kids play! Mine played with this on and off for hours! I kept it in a glass Tupperware container and they easily could get it out and put it away for me 🙂

My boys chose green!

I hope this helps some of you mamma’s our there! I’d love you to tag me in your creations!

Hey guys! I am going to whip this out quick and easy for you all!  I have been using this DIY laundry detergent for gosh- over a year and a half now I believe?  And I have only had to make it three times! Oh, my, gosh.

I made the switch after my eldest son broke out in full body hives from an allergic reaction to a detergent I had used.   I found this on Pinterest and have been in love ever since!  Not only does it save you lots, and lots or money- but it has less dyes and chemicals than most larger brand detergents- and decreases plastic waste! I’d call that a win!

What you need-

One box of Borax- four pound 12 ounces

Three bars Felt-Naptha soap

One box Arm & Hammer Baking soda- Four pound box.  I will add the last time I only found 3.5 pounds.  They just changed packaging to plastic and decreased the quantity :(.

One box arm and hammer super washing soda- 3lbs 7 ounces

Oxy Clean- 4lbs.  You can buy one large- 3 lbs and one small 1 lb.

Once you have the ingredients, you will need a very large container or a 5lb pale to mix it all.

Now its time to get to work! Grate the 3 bars of fees-naptha bars into a bowl and mix all ingredients together. BOOM. That’s it!

Use 2-3 table spoons per load.

Commonly asked questions-

Can you use this in a HE washer- YES! Ours is energy efficient and with less water I did notice once the dry detergent did not mix in the wash. But it was my fault.  The hubbies clothes were extra dirty!  But that does not mean use extra detergent to get them clean.  I have learned to use a concentrated cleaner and spot clean those tough stains before throwing them in the washer 🙂

Does this work for hard water- yes! We have hard water! But for white I usually add something to make those whites whiter.

Is it good for sensitive skin? Yup!

Total cost- less than 15$.

Hey you guys! So sorry I have been really lacking on the blogging these days!  But by popular demand, I have for you a coupon code to Roolee!

If you haven’t heard of Roolee, they are a family run business in Utah, and I have been head over heels since I found them!

They sent me over a few items to show you all, and offered a unique coupon code just for my followers! Pretty cool right?!

First off I have to share with you my new favorite skirt of all time! This mustard color high waisted beauty is a classic that I will certainly be wearing year round!

Next, I would love to share these hoop earrings.  I am not much of an accessory gal, but I think these have changed my thoughts on that.. LOVE!

For the shoes, sure, its mid-winter with a foot of snow outside, but a girl can dream for longer days and summer nights can’t she?!

Now for your coupon code!! Use WFH15 for 15% your entire order! I hoped this quick try on helped some of you, and happy shopping you guys!

Hi friends! I felt a little worried to write a post on something I too am just learning, but after much debate, I am finally ready to talk.

I’ve spent too many years buying food that sounded good that day without much thought for the next.  I’ve further wasted too much food, time, and money with careless and haste decisions.  I know meal planning can feel a bit daunting, but I can not begin to tell you how meal planning saves time, money, and energy.

So where in the world do you begin? Well, I started by finding recipes I knew we all love. These came from my Grandma, cook books, patients at work etc. etc.   We all love a good recipe am I right?  Instead of dreaming about those recipes you will soon forget, do something about it.  Get a recipe book or container, write them down, and keep them handy.

If you’re tech savvy and love digital everything as well.  I recommend starting a Pinterest board called dinner ideas, meal planner, whatevverrrr.  Pinterest is fantastic for finding dinners that soot your family and you :).

Lastly, I take these recipes and group like meals together.  Lets say one night you are having Mexican for dinner, use a similar but different recipe for the next night! That way you aren’t dreading left overs, but you can take that seasoned chicken and put half ready to rock for the next night in the fridge! Oh, and that sour cream, salsa, guacamole can be used right on up too! Less waste, less time, and stretching your money further.  Who doesn’t love that?!

Next, here comes the timely part. Making a list. Ughhhh.  Daunting.  But this will make that dreaded grocery trip shorter.  Decreases frustrations.  And the only way to make this meal planning work.

I thought I would try to add a few go to dinners on here to get your wheels turning, so here I go:

A goal for me for 2019 was to eat more veggies. Yup. Big goal here for a family who loves their meat and potatoes am I right?  So yesterday after breakfast I whipped out our crockpot and began.

I sautéed chicken breasts on a cast iron skillet (cast iron is my favorite for so) with a tad of olive oil, garlic, celery, onion, mushroom.

Next I grabbed all the veggies we had (which a lot now that I am meal planning!) You can adjust this list however you and your family like, but I started with corn on the cob.  Drizzle oil over the ears and rub it around all sides with your hand to just barely coat the cob.  Place in bottom on crock pot.  Next I added carrots, sweet potatoes cubed, broccoli, cauliflower, and a cup of barley for a grain.  Add the chicken and everything in the pan you sautéed.  Cover with chicken broth.  I used 32 oz chicken broth and added a tad left over beef broth I had in the fridge.  This will vary greatly depending on how much you are making, but I filled our crockpot knowing I would be using every last drop in tomorrows meal 🙂

Cook on low for 8 hours, or on high for four for veggies to be tender.  If the carrots are still hard make sure they are emerged in broth and keep cooking.  No one likes crunchy carrots, believe me, they won’t ever want to eat them again.

BOOM! Dinner is complete!

Now, the next days dish might be my favorite of the two.  The next day I cut the left over veggies in tiny pieces and threw them back in the pan with the left over broth and chicken.  Re-heat everything in a sauce pan.  Then all I did was add cheese!  I used about a quarter block of cheddar and a specialty cheese from trader joes that is a mix of parmesan and aged cheddar.  YUM!  Now the key is to get last nights dinner to a boil and then put on simmer mixing the cheese in.  If you scorch the cheese it will clump up and bubble. Trust me, I learned the hard way..

(Now, don’t you dare add pre shredded cheese. You’ll kill it.  Did you know pre-packaged shredded cheese is covered with wood pulp also known as cellulose?!  Yuck.  No thank you.  Thats another topic for another day.  And just one more way to eat healthier and save money buying real blocks of cheese you just shred yourself :))

I hope these tips help some of you! I’ve been wanting to work on this for some time, and am so happy to finally get my thoughts out, but first I had to make these changes for us 🙂

Hi again! I can’t believe I am actually blogging again, but I have had so many things on my mind I needed to start writing them down. Finally!

I mentioned on my social media how I am working on meal planning, grocery shopping, and of course budgeting.  This all started when a kind follower messaged me asking “how do I make grocery shopping for a family of four, with only 100$ a week. Including snacks and drinks?”  Well, I had to say right then and there, if you want to eat healthy for a family on a budget, first things first, you have to think about what you are spending your hard earned money on?

My first thought, to be honest is, to say those first two things mentioned are a luxury.  And if you want to budget you have to make some sacrifices.  Snacks and drinks are not a need.  They are a want.  I chose to not buy drinks this last year, and we don’t even miss it anymore!  From bottled water (oh my, you poor environment I am sooo sorry for years past!), canned sparkling water, soda, juice, juiced boxes oh my!  But that has saved us SO much money, and is much better for our health and the environment!  Kids do not need juice.  It is mostly sugar and if you aren’t carefully most of the time it is concentrate with fructose corn syrup.  I struggled with my boys drinking juice instead of eating a meal.  It left them feeling fuller with a sugar high.  I felt I was chasing their highs and lows of the day without stability with mood swings and temper tantrums.

If you think this is all too drastic for you and your family, consider buying in bulk?  Not exactly pre-made drinks in bulk, but maybe a concentrate or mix you can buy that can make 100 drinks and use a reusable bottle!

Now onto the snacks. Most of the time, the easiest thing to sacrifice over quality of food is convenience.  From single wrapped snack items, to drinks, to paper products.  If you take the extra time to make your snacks or buy in bulk and place in to go containers, not only are you eating better, helping the environment, but also saving money!   Of course its a learning curve, and sure it take a extra minutes during an already busy day.  But if your choice is to go hungry or pack a snack, for me packing a snack wins.

Another reason for all this, was my boys would scream at me for snacks! I could be making dinner with minutes to spare before the meal was ready, all the while having two little boys thinking the world is ending begging for a snack.  Well, when I decided not to buy those snacks, I thought the screaming would last for days.  But you know what? Once I showed them their snacks were gone, they stopped begging for them knowing if they do not exist they will not be getting anything.   Eliminating the competition of pretty pre packaged snacks with super heroes on them, I can get the kids to chose between more mommy approved snacks.  Now our snacks between meals include- grapes, apples, crackers and cheese, almonds etc etc.  No more fruit snacks, chips, and all the other stuff processed snacks can come in.  The kids eat better at meals where I make sure we eat a more balanced diet with protein to fight the highs and lows of growing boys.

Lastly, here we go. We were such a paper plate family.  I swear my hubby would be so disappointed when we were out! And I get it, who wants to do dishes… everrrrr.  But the more affordable paper plates have a wax coating and are there for not recyclable.  So sad!!

Again, with this topic of helping the environment… think about all your plastic and paper products you use every single day.  I no longer buy plastic bags (we use Tupperware!) And for snacks in the car, or on the go, I put food in Tupperware for the car.  I do not think this is more work and I am no longer stopping at the gas station just to clean trash out of the car! And, best of all, you’ll save moneyyyyyy.

I hope these tips inspire you all. I have so many more ideas on how to save, but for now this is a start!  I hope whether you are saving money or just want to help this planet, something here sparks your mind.  No one is perfect, and there are so many ways to improve our all busy lives. But we can all start small, and do this together ❤

This post was made in partnership with Rove Concepts.

Hey friends!  Thank you for being here! I am so excited to be able to show you the perfect table for our home and family!  If you follow me on Instagram, you know I have been struggling for some time with having a functional, yet comfortable table for the four of us! Not only is the dining room part of the center of the home, but its a place we gather as a family, with friends, for crafts, games, etc. etc.  To me, being comfortable at the table as we gather together is key.

This leads to me with working with Rove Concepts to make these dreams come true.  I’ve struggled with a rectangle table for some time, as so many friends and family kept telling me we needed round.  But for some reason every time I thought of a round table, I thought round was so outdated!

And then I saw this.

This table is called the Tulip Table Round Marble.  We opted for the 52 in and couldn’t be more happy.  I forget how much room you get with a round.  There is plenty of room in the center for dinner to pass, and certainly more elbow room than sitting in a row with a long table.  I also love not having four corners from a table sticking out in the hall for kids to run there heads into!

One concern I had with a marble top was weight.  I was so worried if you leaned on the table it would rock or worse yet, fall! But I will tell you that fear was long gone after assembled and the husband put that worry to the test.  Thank you Rove for making such a remarkable table!

Oh, and we tried a round before that I found in the barn with four legs.  But you know what?  It seemed like someone was always stuck straddling the legs trying to eat! Again, one more reason we love this mid century modern table design.  Now, don’t tell the hubby I told you this.. but he rubbed his feet on the fleek base of the table while sitting there just after he installed it and “See! Can’t you tell I love it!”  HAHA!

Now on to the chairs.  These are the wishbone chairs.  In regards to comfort at the table as I mentioned before, you can’t overlook the importance of quality chairs!  The hubby and my father had an in depth conservation I wished I would have captured.  From the curvature of the back, to the curves in the arms, lets just say we are all impressed.  Plus they are so comfortable!

Well, thank you Rove Concepts, and thank you friends for stopping by! If you have any questions, as always please let me know.  Have a great day everyone!

Hi guys! I thought I would make things easy and write a little post on my favorite from Grove, and my favorite scents!

Mrs. Meyer’s is an easy favorite because its made with plant derived ingredients, essential oils, and no paragons, phthalates, glycol solvents, etc, etc :).

Alright- here we go, lets rank these beauties! For me, I prefer a subtile natural scent. With that in mind my number one was:

1. Rosemary! It is so natural smelling. Not overwhelming. Really, its juussttt right.

2. Basil.  What can I say, natural is always better 😉

3.  Lavendar.  I am a big time Lavendar loving girl.  And although this is amazing, I          thought it would be a touch more… lavendary?! Is that a word? Probably not…!

4. Lemon Verbena- Very lemonyyyy for sure

5.  Bluebell- Well, these one stumps me.  I think it smell very florally and a touch to potent for this gal.

6. Honeysuckle- this one I have ordered before and almost couldn’t use it! It is much to strong for me. Much.

7.  Again, very perfume like!

8.  Geranium- please, do not open this one…yikes! I heard someone say this is like their grandma’s perfume, and that I do agree! (But not my grandma because she’s more hip than me! Just Incase she reads this 🤫🤭).

And just a few quick mentions- I love these vitamins from Grove for myself and the kids! From prenatal vitamins, to probiotics, they have it all!  My son especially loves these chewable probiotics :).

I have switched to concentrate cleaners in glass bottles to not only reduce plastic waste, but because I love them! I think the cleaning power is amazing and for me the scents are just perrrrfectttttt.

A few of my favorites include- Tub and Tile cleaner in lavender & Thyme concentrate by grove, their all purpose Orange and Rosemary, Lavender & Thyme floor cleaner, and last but not least- the BEST glass cleaner- Lavendar & Thyme!

If you didn’t already know, Grove is offering a free offer with signing up! For all new customers, with a minimum of a 20$ purchase, you receive-

– Grove concentrates (3 PACK!!)

– Grove Glass Spray Bottle

– Grove Caddy

– Grove Walnut Scrubber Sponges

– 60 Day VIP trail 🙂

Happy 2019 friends!!

This year I want to start the years off fresh.  Every year, I make the goal of decreasing clutter and finding ways to spend less time running errands and spending precious time in stores rather than at home.

One thing I found that I often did, was purchase household items every time I was grocery shopping.  Either I thought they looked pretty, smelled good, or there some sale I couldn’t pass up (insert eye rolls here).  But I am happy to say that our grocery bill have gone down, and less time is spent shopping in stores without falling for silly store tactics and filling the home with stuff I don’t need!  I love that I can pick the products I would like when I NEED them without leaving the home, and with options I have fallen in love with 🙂

I know I talk about Grove Collaborative every few months, but it is because I love their choice of products, and ease with free delivery to the home.

This concentrated laundry soap is a grove exclusive and I am so impressed! Plus the scent is amazingggg.

This time I thought we would offer something a little different for signing up.

When you place your first order of $20, you get:

• A three pack or grove concentrates
• One grove glass spray bottle
• Grove caddy
• Grove walnut scrubbers

If you’re wondering what in the world you would want to spend 20$ on to get your first order in, let me list a few of my quick favorites!  The microfiber cloth,  vitamins for me and the kids, chap stick, etc. etc.!  I usually recommend the grove concentrate for almost everything in the home (especially to clean our greasy stove), so the best part is you get that FREE with signing up!

Click this link here to get the free offer!!

Also, when new customers spend over 39$, you get a free sink tray! I love mine!

If you’re already a Grove customer we haven’t forgotten about you!  You’ll get a free set of Grove walnut scrubbers here!

Okay, but if you’re wondering what is Grove Collaborative let me explain.  Grove Collaborative ships items you pick at same if not lower prices than you can find them in stores with FREE shipping!