home tour: kid's bathroom

this is probably my favorite room in the house, besides the master bedroom.  it's basically what i would have wanted for the master bathroom, but my husband insisted on it being tan. :/

i tried to finish it up before my sister and the kid's came for a visit.  i wanted it as close to finished as i could get it at least.

the kid's rooms are on the opposite side of the house from the master.  the bathroom is in-between the two bedrooms.

the vanity is so beautiful.  it has a blue grayish granite countertop, with specks of silver in it.  everyone that sees it loves it.

picked the bigger, gray tile for the floor.  wanted to add a pop of color, and chose these awesome rugs from target (where else!).

found these adorable mason jars from target in the dollar section.  (this is a better shot of the countertops.)

this sign is from kohl's.  it was in our last house in the guest bathroom, and i thought it was pretty fitting for a kid's bathroom.

target just recently got these signs in.  i think they look so cute in the space.  i have been loving anchors lately, and the bathroom has an ocean (or sea?) theme.

the shower curtain is from target too!  i wasn't too sure on it when i picked it out, but i've gotten a few compliments on it so it must look ok!

i put hooks next to the shower.  it made the most sense for hanging towels, because there wasn't really room for a towel bar.  i prefer hooks anyways!

i LOVE the tile in this shower!  it looks so good in the niche too!  

we decided on the pull down shower head to make it easier for washing the dogs.  when i said kid's, you knew i was talking about dogs right?!  JK.  it also works good for washing kids hair.

i love all the whales too!  #targetdoesitagain  (can you tell how much i love target yet?!)

things that still need to be done:

• trim around the mirror
• paint trim and doors
• hang closet door
• shorten blinds

no soda for a month!

well i made it!!

i went an entire month without drinking any soda!  go me!!

and i didn't even realize it had been a whole month until a few days later. :)

i had gotten my sister and Starla in on this too.  Starla said she only cheated a few times.  my sister had a rough start but once she got going, she stuck with it.  good job girls!!

i decided to have a soda over the weekend because we are having a rough couple of days around here.  happy to say that i didn't have another one since, and it wasn't quite as amazing as i thought it would be.

the only thing i can really say about it is that i like it better than booze.  i would rather sit down and have a glass of soda than a glass of wine... which i don't necessarily think is a bad thing.

i'm still going to try and limit myself to only one a week.  this way i will stay on track with my health.  my stomach still doesn't love it and there are no health benefits from drinking a soda so i just don't need it as part of my diet.

to Owen

to my buddy Owen...

i'm so sorry we had to say goodbye to you today.  i hope you will forgive us for the terrible thing we have done.

you didn't deserve what happened to you.  it wasn't your fault.  you're previous family must have done something to hurt you.  it was their fault and not yours.

i don't know why you snapped at us.  someone taught you that so i know you didn't mean it.  i'm sorry that had to happen.  i'm sorry for upsetting you.

we didn't want to have you "put down."  but we had no choice...

the hard part is that i am not God.  it's not really my choice.  and i will never forget that.

we will never forget you buddy.  you were only with us for three weeks but we were your family.

you were such a good boy.  you fit in with us right away.

you liked to play with your sisters.  you liked to cuddle with me or under the blankets.  you loved to go for walks.  you loved car rides.  you ruined any toy you could get your mouth on.  you liked to chase Lily.

there were some weird things you did too.  you growled when we picked you up.  you chased the reflection off of your collar.  all.  day.  long.  you ate garbage and toys.  you got upset easily...

but i was your momma and you knew it from the start.  you liked me more than anyone and i love you for loving me.  that's why i know you didn't mean what you did to me.

i tried to make your last day as great as i could.  i tried to give you as much love and treats as i could. we took you on a walk.  we pet you until the end.

i know you trusted us and i'm sorry we broke that.  i will never forget the way that you came over to me today and gave me a kiss on the cheek, like you were asking me to forgive you.  i do buddy, i really do.

i know how scared you were.  i was scared too.  i will never forget you looking at me until the end.  i wish i could have saved you.  i will wish it everyday for the rest of my life.

i will never forgive myself for what happened to you today, but i hope you can forgive me.  i'm so sorry buddy.  i'm sorry i couldn't have given you a better life from the start.  i love you and will miss you.  i hope you can be at peace now.

happy st. patty's day!

link

although i am not irish, one of my favorite meals is corned beef and cabbage.  i only eat it on st. patty's day so today is the day!

happy st. patty's day  :)

some new target finds

i've been keeping my eye out for a few new pieces of furniture and some different things to finish off rooms.  lately target has been where i have found everything.  

i am obsessed with target!  they have the cutest things and always at a great price.  

plus if you have a target debit/credit card, they give you 5% off your whole order.  better than the 10% discount i got at wal-mart when i worked there, because i hate shopping there, so i rarely used it.  

anyways....

first, i got some new bookcases for my office.  (i haven't done a whole post on my office yet, but will soon!)

originally i was going to get the really cheap bookcases that they sell and have Marky Mark put some trim on them and fancy them up to look like built-ins, but he has enough projects on the house.

instead i waited for these to go on sale and snatched them up.  they are originally $110 a piece, i got them for around $75 each.  such a good deal, and they ended up looking so good in the space.

i got white to match the whole feel of the office.  i have added more things to the bookcases since this pic, but would like to do some more styling to them.

second, i got a front entryway bench.  this was really important because we had been noticing that anytime someone came over they had a heck of the time taking their shoes off.

originally i was just going to put a table here, but decided a bench made more sense.  we wanted a place for people to sit down or set their things down.  there is also additional storage in the bench.

it was $170, but i got it on sale for $110!

eventually i want to get a pillow. (i saw one at TJ's that said "happy home."  i passed cause i wasn't too sure on it but might go back for it)  and i was thinking of possibly putting a table next to the bench on either side.  i have been eyeing a really pretty silver one at, where else, target.

and we definitely need a new rug for there ASAP but i have been having a hard time finding any rugs I like.

i got these baskets for my office.  they look a little funny in the picture but they look really good in my office.

they says mail, stuff and magazines on them.  i actually needed a place for all of those things so this was perfect.

they were originally $20 and i got them for $16!


these are just a few of my recent buys from target lately.  i also ordered some bedside tables for the master that should be here next week!  excited to get those, especially cause Mark has always used a garden table as his bedside table.  he will finally have drawers!  and a place to put his things!  it will be awesome :)

laundry detergent

i have been making my own laundry detergent for about a year now.  it is amazing!  it's cheap and works great.  i've always had issues with getting hives from other soaps so i wanted to try making my own.  luckily it has never given me hives!

i used to make a laundry detergent that i found on pinterest.  it consisted of washing soda, borax, and bar soap.  after learning more from almost exactly, and going to ewg.org, i found out that borax isn't the greatest for you!  so i searched online for a different laundry detergent and this is what i made...

it takes one big box of baking soda, super washing soda, and 3 bars of dr. bronner's castile soap.

first i break up the bars and put it in the food processor to crumble it and then i mix everything together.  i store it in the big jar in the picture.  it makes a ton (will probably last 6 months)!  and you only have to use 1-2 tbsp for each load.  i have a coffee scope that i just keep in the jar.

i have HE front loaders and it works great!  i've been using the new formula for a few washes now and haven't had any issues.  i like this mixture even better than my last because the dr. bronner's in lavender smells amazing!

3 years...

it's crazy to think that 3 years ago we were on the beach in the Bahamas saying our vows.  

3 years ago seems so long ago, but at the same time, it feels like it was just yesterday.  time sure does fly when you're having fun!

this last year has been the most trying.  definitely the most difficult year as a couple, by far.  

building a house is not fun...at all.  luna passed away, which was hard on the both of us.  trying to bring a child into our family and deciding that fostering wasn't really for us.

i feel like if we could get through that, we can get through anything.

happy anniversary to us!  hope this is the best one yet.

Owen (foster)

Meet Owen!  (our foster)

this guy has been with us for a little over a week now.  he is fitting in really well around here!

the first day was pretty rough.  he came from a shelter in Wausau, which means that he was used to being kenneled.  it took him about a day or two to get used to being in a home again.

he had to learn to play nice with all the girls.  stella and him had a few scuffles but now they get along fine, and even sometimes play together.  him and Marley play together often.

he still was a bit humpy at first, but has since gotten over that.

Owen, Marley, and Stella excited that daddy is home!

he had been in the shelter since November!  the poor guy!!

he was surrendered to them by his previous family.  they said he was "aggressive" and they would be evicted if they didn't surrender him.  he growls, like dogs do.  he even growls at us sometimes.

he is NOT aggressive.

he growls when he is excited and wants to play.  he does it to act tough, but would never actually bite.  but then again, they bought him off of Craigslist, which shows how much they know about dogs...

he is 7, so he likes to snuggle and relax, but is also pretty energetic at times.  he is just like any other Boston.

his previous family said he didn't know commands.  he knows "sit," "outside," "drop" (which we taught him the second day he was here), and "come".

his previous family said he would have accidents in the house 50% of the time.  he has had TWO accidents in the house in the past 10 days, and it was completely my fault.  i was too distracted with taking care of Remi to remember to let him out to go potty.  and even sometimes now he will sit by the door to let me know he needs to go out!

he doesn't stray far, and we haven't had any trouble with him trying to run away when he is outside.


he isn't perfect though...

he doesn't like to be picked up.  he will growl at you when you do.

garbage is one of his favorite things.  he likes to knock it over, dig through it, and eat it.  ew.

he also ate a toy the other day.  luckily i was able to give him sometime to puke it up.

he doesn't like to give up a toy to you or another dog and will growl at you if you try.


hopefully we can find this guy his forever home.   he definitely deserves it!

home tour: 1/2 bath

we really wanted a half bathroom for when we have guests over.  when we lived in our split level, no one ever knew which bathroom to use because there was one upstairs and one downstairs and none on the main level.  most people would go up but that was our "master" bathroom, which wasn't ideal.

it's in the hallway, in-between the mudroom and office.  right off of the main living space.

anyways, there really isn't a great way to show the half bathroom.  this is the best i could do (terrible lighting and too small of a space)...

so glamorous right?!  it's a cream color.  the tile, which you can't really see in the pics looks almost like a linen.  just something different for a small room.  the light fixture is the same as in the master bathroom.

Things that still need to be done:

• paint trim and door
• seal granite (i know we should have done this when we first got it :/)
• caulk countertop
• rug
• art
• trim around mirror
• table for corner