No TV for Baby Z

Until this week, it never struck me that Baby Z has never watched TV.

Why doesn't she watch TV?

Really, I don't know. Since we don't have cable television, I guess that's a root of the reason. But at the same time, she has so much fun exploring, playing, trying new things and getting into trouble, that we've never thought to turn on the TV for her

What do you think? Do toddlers benefit from watching TV?

Baby Z at the park.

Give Green!

One simple, fun thing to do when giving a gift is to opt for a reusable tote in place of a standard gift bag.

1. They come in a wide variety of cute colors and patterns!
2. They cost the same (or less!) than regular gift bags.
3. They are more durable than regular gift bags.
4. Your gift recipient can reuse the bag for grocery shopping, farmer's markets, giving another gift, library books, an overnight bag to grandmas, etc.

Check out Dollar Tree's selection. Each bag is $1 each:

Here are some other fun options:

$2.59 for two bags from Amazon.

$3.99 from World Market.

$7.99 for 2 bags from ecomom.com.

Market bags, 4 for $17 at Direct From Mexico

We're moving!

Sorry for the silence lately!

We've been so busy. I recently took a new job, which is 65 miles from our home. With lots of prayer, we made the decision to sell our home. After just 32 days on the market, we accepted an offer. In a whirlwind of cleaning, packing and rental shopping, blogging has slipped. So here's a little treat for you!

Here's a before and after tour of our home. The before photos were either from the original listing when we purchased, or right after we closed on the house.

Kitchen, before:

Kitchen, After:

Bathroom, before:

Bathroom, after:

Living area, before:

Living area, after:

Master, before:

 Master, after:

Nursery, before:

Nursery, after:

Office, before:

Office, after:

Sun room, before:

Sun room, after:

Exterior, before:

Exterior, after:

I guess in three years, we did a fair amount of work on the house. We are so sad to leave, and this house holds a lot of memories for us. But at the same time, we are excited to jump into new waters and we pray that this house can bless another family for many years to come.

Laundry Room Makeover

Let's face the facts: Our basement is not pretty.

Our laundry area looked like a dungeon where clothing begged and pleaded not to be left alone. Doing laundry is bad enough for most folks (I secretly enjoy it), but to have to do it down there is like being in a horror film.

The before:

This is pretty embarrassing. Sorry, Mom.

After cleaning out empty bottles, scrubbing the sink, hosing down the walls (I must have killed at least 20 spiders), sewing a sink skirt and a curtain and a minor bit of painting, the place looks one hundred times better.

The cabinet on the far wall is actually from our original kitchen. I painted it and sewed a curtain using the same material that I used on the bookcase-turned-bar in our living room.

Sink skirt is sewed from three yards of muslin and held by a dowel and two over-the-door hooks.

The plant had been broken out of the pot, so I snagged this little lady for $4 from Marshall's!

Because making things cute is fun.

Cost breakdown:
3 yards of muslin from Joann = $6
1 dowel from Home Depot = $1
2 over-the-door hooks from Target = $3
1 Plant from Marshall's = $4
2 glass jars from Marshall's= $10
1 rug from Marshall's = $10
-----------------------------
Total Spent = $34

This area will never be glamorous, but I certainly think it looks much better, and less like a torture chamber.

Restoring the garden

Looks can be deceiving since you can't see the HUNDREDS of bulbs still under that mulch. It's a little embarrassing, but our front flowerbed got completely neglected this spring. Yes, we were those neighbors.

Do you see Big Brown Dog in the window?

I was desperate to tidy this up, so J and I ordered flowers and grasses from Burgess. We ordered a TON of plants. Silly us, we were expecting a pallet of plants to be delivered. You can imagine my shock when we received a plastic bag in the mail containing tiny bags of roots, tubers and bulbs.

This is not a bag of drugs, I swear.

Seeing as how the above package of plants wouldn't fill in the flowerbed, we took a day trip to Woldhuis Farms. It was gorgeous there! It'd be a lovely place to tailgate if you brought a picnic lunch. Even Baby Z had a good time!

J fought the rain and was able to dig up the front flowerbed and expand it. We used newspaper instead of landscaping fabric to save on the total cost. We did add the Burgess flowers in here as well, but they are harder to see.

Use newspaper instead of landscaping fabric.

The final product is lovely. The plants are still small, but they are all perennials that should do excellent in this area and mature into a lovely cottage garden.

 

$80 Burgess plants
$75 Woldhuis Farms plants (there are more plants not pictured that will go into another flowerbed)
$25 Mulch
-------
$180 garden restoration


Do you have a favorite gardening tip for a newbie?