Holy moly

So, I've been MIA because our laptop has been down! I am not a fan of using my phone to write out a blog post, so I am a bit upset that I haven't been able to update in a month + !!!!! Well, baby Opal is due any day now, I wish she would come today!! That would be heavenly. 

Anyways! 

November was a good month. We had a couple blessings and were definitely thankful for everything that happened to us that month. We thought we were going to have to dish out almost $500 for car maintenance, all to find out from a very kind soul on base that we were lied to by a major name brand auto garage. So, we didn't have to spend a dime! So thankful for that! 

We also decided spur of the moment to cook a thanksgiving meal... On Thanksgiving DAY! I somehow managed to get a pretty big meal cooked for my husband and 2 of his coworkers! :) even at 38 weeks pregnant and very, very tired! 

And now it is December already! I am officially in my 40th week, and considered extremely full term! We have had a couple moments when we really let ourselves believe it was "the real deal" all to get sent home from L&D and for the contractions to fizzle. Prodromal labor is heartbreaking to a tired mama. 

So, now I am waiting for labor signs... And praying they be real. We have tried all the wacky "labor starters" and nothing has worked. I have given up on those.

Today I am going to run out to Best Buy and try to find a charging cord for our laptop, so that by the time Opal arrives I can update with photos and my birth story. Wish me luck!

My Craft Table & Art Room Makeover!

For the past year and a half I was dreaming of having my very own art studio. I grew up with my mother and grandmother having their own, full of sewing machines and craft supplies. Heck, my grandmother had one room for DOING the crafts, and another room that was just storage for all of the supplies.. Talk about a hoarder! (ha-ha!)

  Well, I was going to ask my husband for a craft table that was $300 online, but after searching Pinterest I decided I would just ask for a home made one. We built this table for around $90 total!! We found these bookshelves at Target for $21 each & we got this tabletop at Ikea for $45. I found my stool at the thrift store for $10 (what a steal!) ...thrifted some baskets, and I got a ton of jars at the dollar tree!

The boys putting it together. :-)

 

This room was our "storage room."

We didn't have much in it but bags and boxes of my art stuff, and baby items.

 

It feels a lot better having furniture in this room finally! I can't wait to save up some more spending money to not only expand my storage space, but to fill it up with more fun goodies!

For now, I will show you what I have done to organize a lot of the little things.

I found all of this stuff at the thrift store, and decided I was going to paint it.

I found those really cute jars (they look like mini candy jars) at the dollar tree.

I LOVE THESE JARS SO MUCH NOW!

We spray painted the tops with chalkboard paint and labeled them

with chalkboard paint - pens. They're so darn cute now!

I got this basket at the dollar tree, painted it pink and added a cheetah bow..

because cheetah everything is okay in my world.

I got this file organizer for a buck, and I found really cute organizer folders at Target (not pictured). But these Seventeen brand folders were on clearance for 75 cents at Michaels.  I plan to use the folders to hold some scrapbook stuff, and misc items. (Things like my random idea doodles, lists, and whatever else I can think of.)

This cute sewing basket was originally blue and had an old poodle on it.

(Well, I'm not a poodle kind of gal.)

So I ditched the poodle, and added a skull and crossbones to be more fitting!

Not much is in here at the moment! 

I still have some bags and boxes to empty, but this will hold as 

much of my sewing things as possible. For now, it has threads and random stuff.

This cute wooden tray now holds all of the jars I bought at the dollar tree. :-)

They hold pencils, scissors, rulers, markers, paint brushes, glue sticks, etc. 

I will need more soon.... ha-ha!

So here is the top of my table :) I can't wait to make it all messy with some projects!

And here is the side! I use memory boxes to hold things, and ignore the blue basket.

It is getting it's second coat of paint soon :) We ran out of paint... lol!

Celebrating our city being re-opened!

 Today we decided (very last minute) to go out and re-visit some of the open air memorials in our city to celebrate the end of the government shut down that lasted 16 days this October. One of our favorite things to do is pretend we are tourists and take tons of wacky photos throughout Washington, DC. We have lived here for just over a year and a half, while Dillon has been stationed at 8th & I Marine Barracks Washington, DC. He serves in the Marine Corps and works alongside some pretty great people.. including the Commandant of the Corps. (I will have to write a post later on sharing some of his rad moments here at 8th & I.)

Two memorials I wanted to revisit especially were the WWII & Vietnam Veterans. Coming from a long line of family members who have served in the US Navy, these two mean a lot! They've traced our family being men of the sea, all the way back to the viking days! But- most recently, my great grandfather served as a Navy Corpsman during WWII; & my grandpa was a mechanic during Vietnam. I have a cousin serving now, and even I had planned to enlist!

The Vietnam Veteran's wall is really special to my Papa, so we called him and got two of his war buddies names and found them for him! Both of his buddies were MIA.

 

 The Vietnam Veteran's Wall

Life in DC has definitely been something to remember for the both of us... and will most certainly be something we talk about and share for the rest of our lives. Last year we spent many months without a car and had to rely soly on public transit.. (WAY different than back home for either of us..) If you don't know what the public transit here is, here you go:

• Metro system: basically a subway system that can take you all over the DMV (DC, Maryland, &Virginia) area

• Capitol Bike Share: Rental bikes that are on a lot of corners. You just swipe your card and drop the bike off at any check point when you're done.

• Taxis: a bunch of smelly guys who drive you anywhere you're willing to pay to go... If you take a taxi here... GOOD LUCK. Most of these people shouldn't have licenses, don't use turn signals, drive 50 mph in a 25, and are crazy weird!

• Public Bus: The first (and only) time we rode a bus here we got lost for 6 hours and ended up somewhere far in Maryland looking for a furniture store. We never rode a bus again.

While using the metro we walked everywhere! For the first month I was in tons of pain from my feet and legs being shocked by the amount of walking I did. (This is coming from the girl who had a door to door job before moving across the US!!!!!) And by everywhere I mean everywhere. The grocery store was a mile away from where we lived, so I had to pull a cart (the kind you take to flea markets) all the way there & back. We finally got a car in September... that by November died and we had to suck it up and purchase a newer car. That's how we ended up with our cute Mazda 3. Nobody will ever be able to tell us that we didn't struggle! (ha-ha!)

We have experienced so many neat things while living here. My husband has met President Obama and has visited the White House.. He also worked the Inauguration! We try to go to as many events as possible, because were living where history is made! How thrilling is that? There is so much to do here, I definitely recommend to whoever is considering visiting the Capitol to do so! This year we went from living on Capitol Hill in a tiny one bedroom studio apartment, to a larger home 5 minutes away from the Nationals Stadium on an AFB. We found out we were pregnant only a couple weeks after moving! It excites me that my daughter will be able to tell people that she was born here. She will never have to worry that her life isn't interesting! I hope to bring her and (her future siblings) back one day and show them where mommy and daddy spent their first years of marriage.

 

The Reflection Pool 

 

 At the WWII Memorial

 (Obviously had to take a photo of the California wreath in honor of my great grandpa)

How to save money at the Commissary.

Hey y’all!   

(This is mostly going to pertain to military spouses, but you can get great tips on how to save at regular grocery stores and Target also.)

I always hear girls saying that saving and budgeting when it comes to grocery shopping for their family is hard.. Well, it doesn't need to be! I thought I would share the little things that I do to save and budget at least the tiniest bit! 

Now, I am NO extreme couponer, trust me! BUT- I’m sure if I put in the hours (which I plan to very soon) I can get my savings a whole lot bigger. 

(In no way am I being paid to advertise or promote these blogs or websites, I genuinely recommend them.)

Okay, so here is what I do the couple days before I head to the grocery store:

• I have a small agenda that I like to meal plan in. I use ideas from blogs, pinterest, and whatever my husband comes up with.

• Then, I head on over to www.commmissaries.com and I research the things that are on sale in MY store.

How do I do that?

1. On the right side, I click on: “What’s on Sale?”
2. Then, I login to see the promotional prices. I use my husband’s info for this; I’ve never really tried using my own.
3. You’ll next need to choose YOUR store, and you can choose what you’d like to see on sale. (I usually want to see everything)

Might seem crazy to go through the whole list but it is much easier to compare prices of things at the commissary vs. at Target or somewhere else… all online.

Now, if you haven’t already grabbed a Commissary Rewards card at your store, DO IT! It is the best thing ever!

(A tip I got from a cashier a couple weeks ago, is that if you’re having trouble with your card not applying the coupons at the register, have them scan it BEFORE anything else! For some reason I couldn’t get my card to work.)

*these photos are all from www.commissaries.com and are not mine.

You can download the Commissary app on your phone and link coupons to your card from anywhere! Which is convenient, because I was having to write down a list of all my coupons to take with me so that I didn’t forget what I had! (ha-ha)

This card is great. You can also get coupons from other places like SmartSource Online Coupons. 

I would download the app onto your phone and link coupons on the go. You can also link ANY grocery store rewards card to the smart source ones, and save with their coupons at a lot of places.

The best way to save is to meal plan AROUND what is on sale or what you have coupons for.

Even if you only add ONE thing that is on sale or can possibly get a coupon for to each meal, that is a savings! It definitely adds up!

AND DO NOT FORGET TO GRAB EVERY COUPON YOU SEE HANGING ONTO SHELVES AT YOUR STORE! SAVE THEM! THROW THEM INTO YOUR COUPON FOLDER!

 (In no way am I being paid to advertise or promote these blogs or websites, I genuinely recommend them.)

Okay, so some other places I watch for printable coupons and couponing advice are:

• www.militarywivessaving.com/
• www.mycouponlady.com

I recommend liking coupon websites on Facebook also, it is much easier to keep up with your favorite ones on your news feed.

Another great place to shop is Target! Why? Because not only do they have printable coupons online, but they have two apps you can use! You can use Target's mobile apps, and their Cartwheel app. (You will need a facebook account for Cartwheel.)

(In no way am I being paid to advertise or promote these blogs or websites, I genuinely recommend them.)

I will update this post if I can think of any other ways I save. And please feel free to comment with ways YOU save, I'd love to add more savings to my strategy! 

Little Miss Opal Faye..

Today makes 32 weeks down, and only a short 8 more left! I cannot believe how close we are to the finish line! And boy am I ready to get there and meet our little girl!

I feel so blessed to be having a child with the love of my life. My husband and I both have a great connection with children, so it excites us to be making our own from scratch! (ha-ha)

December can't get here any sooner! Thank goodness my summer and now fall has seemed to go by pretty quickly and has been full of fun events to make it do so. Time goes by fast when you've constantly got something to look forward to!

Right now I am just looking forward to the next couple of weeks. This week my husband and I are celebrating an anniversary so hopefully we have a good weekend. Then, of course Halloween is going to be upon us! (YAY!) In November, we have another OB appointment, a parenting class, the Marine Corps Ball, and then Thanksgiving!

This morning I woke up and had a lopsided belly, you can clearly see which side she was favoring! I can't believe she is about 3 1/2 lbs now. I mean, I have this HUGE belly that is in the way of just about EVERYTHING these days, but sometimes I cannot imagine having this little baby inside of it! Her pokes and jabs have gotten soooo much more pronounced because of how little amniotic fluid there is due to how much room she takes up. Some of them honestly hurt and are uncomfortable!

The newest thing that I've noticed is that she likes to stick a little foot out and leave it bulging out of my round belly. She loves to do this when someone (or puppy) lays down next to her. She snuggles up to the warmth. Sooooo cute!

We have just about everything we need except for a handful of very small things. Her nursery is coming along also! I would like to personalize it, and order some matching curtains/ bedding, but honestly those things can wait until she is going to be actually using her crib and nursery. Until then, those are on the back burner. But- I did finish the paintings that I spent the summer working on for her. (I will have to do a post later on about my art and things I've done.)

Our Babyshower Extravaganza!

 I have received a lot of compliments and questions about my baby shower and what inspired me to choose the theme I chose. Also, how and where I gathered everything from.. Well, here's some photos and information that I hope will help those who want to do a carnival theme party!

The inspiration was actually from Pinterest! At the time, we didn't know the sex of the baby, and wouldn't until 3 weeks before the party! So I needed a gender neutral theme that was my style.. I am definitely not the rubber ducky or outplayed shower themes kind of gal! I wanted to have FUN! Isn't that what a party is all about? So, I started searching all of the pinterest posts and fell in love with a circus/carnival theme!!

I got a LOT of inspiration from Melissa at Buckets of Grace! She had so many posts with adorable photos from a party she hosted.

She had such a cute photo booth, so I hadddddd to have one! Here is mine:

My mom has a storage shed in her back yard, so I used that as my photo booth area. I ordered this curtain background from Oriental Trading.

My mom owns a horse so the hay stacks were just laying around on hand. We eventually placed a blanket on top so it was such so itchy on the tushy!

We had that wicker basket already and my mom decided to spray paint it red to match, and filled it up with games and props.

The other bucket was actually filled with old Halloween costumes and props my cousin lent to us for the kids who attended the party!

For the gift table, I included a guest book (that only a few people wrote in -boo!).. I also placed a photo of Opal's 1st ultrasound & one of my recently passed grandmother.

I made a card box myself. I wrapped an old box in metallic silver wrapping paper, then added strips of tickets.

You can order the same tickets from here, They come in several colors and styles.

My Sweets table!!

This was my favorite part! I found those popcorn bags at the dollar tree, and filled 'em up with popcorn from Costco.

The other bags, with the carnival characters are from here!

I found the glass vases and cupcake holders at the thrift store. I made them a whole bunch cuter with carnival tickets and ribbon.

I filled 'em up with licorice, gumballs, and other things.

The tables all had these cute skirts, I ordered several colors and this adorable red & white striped one.

I had two cupcake stands, one was made by my grandpa, and the Big Top, I ordered here!

I loved these clown noses, and so did everyone else. They were a hit!

I have to admit, my feet were way too swollen to do any of the baking.. So a big thank you to my mom and sisters who baked a LOT of cupcakes, cake pops and 2 cakes!

I found some carnival theme stuff at Michael's that were on clearance.. but you can order similar cupcake papers and toppers from Oriental Trading.

This was my prize table. I got a lot of stuff at Big Lots and the dollar tree. If you're lucky enough to have a 99 cent store near you, that's a great place to make small gift prizes!

I used this treat bag and topped it with these Carnival animal lollipops.

 Here are a list of some other things I ordered:

• Carnival character cutouts! (You can see these in the photos above on the fence post.)
• Carnival Rubber duckies! I numbered these randomly and had a matching game set up with a tub filled with water for the kids. This was their favorite activity!
• Gumballs! I filled up one of the thrifted vases with these.

Inside of these bags I put a "Carnival trail mix" that I found from Munchkin Munchies!

I made mine with:

• animal crackers
• fruit loops
• honey nut cheerios
• Sam's Club brand trail mix
• peppermint mini marshmallows.

stool makeover!

My husband and I have been really bored with the house lately and decided to start making small changes to things we already have, to make it feel like everything is fresh and new! Everyone has basic stuff that is covered with cheap fake leather from Target and Walmart, right? Well, we looked at the prices of cute upholstered furniture in funky prints... and then we ran the opposite direction at full speed! The prices these days are OUTRAGEOUS! So, I decided to do it myself!

 These are our cheap stools, we purchased over a year ago from Target, 

back when we lived in a one bedroom studio in Capitol Hill.

I had random fabric laying around my craft room and decided while my husband was at 

work I was going to take one of the stools apart and show him what I had in mind. 

He ended up liking the idea, (not the fabric) so when the weekend came along we ran to 

Walmart (Joann's is an hour drive away..) and we snagged some fabric for $2.50.

  

 I had my husband take the cushions off of the legs while we watched a movie. 

This is pretty much all he did. He was feeling a little lazy.

 

All I used for this easy project was:

• staple gun
• fabric scissors
• enough fabric to cover my cushion.
• screw driver
• small power drill (not pictured)

(Ignore my toes and pregnant belly!!!!)

I stapled the edges down (as neatly as possible for using the couch as a work space)

I reassembled the stools afterwards, and TA-DA!

 

This is such an easy project and only took me about 30 minutes.

OH, and only cost me $2.50!

If you're hating how boring or common your home looks, just start getting creative! 

You won't regret it!