Home Tours - Show us your Laundry Rooms

I redid my laundry area a little over a year ago and I am just re-posting my original post to share with y'all over at Kelly's Korner.  Enjoy!

Okay, okay, so technically it's a laundry closet but room just sounds nicer. I can't wait to have a laundry room someday...but you get what you get and you don't throw a fit, right?
Anyway, I was really excited to do some no cost decorating and prove to Sean that you don't have to spend any money to improve things and make them prettier. I knew that I would have to start small so I took one look at my laundry closet and definitely saw that it needed a re-do. It was dusty and full of boxes and junk. NOT very pretty hence the reason for no before pictures...too embarrassing! In order to do this I basically went around my house and found a bunch of things that I already had and that were looking to be repurposed. Here's what I found:

• the 3 glass jars
• the washboard
• the clothespins
• the white wicker thing?
• the picture frame
• the wreath
• the tin bucket
• an old canvas
• some leftover burlap from anther project

Quite a bit of stuff, right? And I know that you're asking yourself, "Who has a washboard just lying around?!" Umm...Me. I swear.

After that I knew that I wanted to add some type of "laundry art" that I could just print off. This lead me to The Graphics Fairy. Holy cow! I was instantly obsessed with all the images she has! You'll be lucky to find something that she doesn't have. If you need instant art for your home definitely take a look! There I found the cute laundry brushes that I put into the small frame. Cute and free? I'll take it!
Later on I had an idea to cover an old canvas with burlap and hang a picture from it. I found the blue Laundry print off of Sprik Space. She recreated a print that I have always loved from Ballard Designs and I got it for free! SCORE! She has tons of different colors too which makes it even better! Check out her other cute free printables too!
So after I got all of this stuff together I knew that the space needed more. It was just lacking. In comes the $$. Dang it! Oh well. I had seen on a couple of blogs some really cool bottles and I knew just the place I could find them! Sunflower Market! They have tons of different yummy sparkling lemonades and they are around $3 a piece. I of course needed 3 so there went $10. We drank up and then the Mr. helped take off the labels.
The room was almost complete. It needed something special. It needed a SIGN. If you have been in my house you know that I really like SIGN's. I can't help it. They make me happy. So off Hattie and I went to SIGN Heaven (Hobby Lobby) and we found the perfect one! And guess what?! It was the last one left and 50% off! BOOYA! $3.75 for that little beauty and the room err...I mean closet was D-O-N-E.
Here she is in all her glory! Haha!



So no, I did not succeed in NO cost decorating but in our house if it's $20 or less it's considered nothing (because when can you EVER find anything that is less than $20 these days?! Seriously.) So there :)

You can see the rest of our home tours here:

Living Room
Dining Room
Master Bedroom
Girls' Room
Girls' Bathroom

Linking up here: Kelly's Korner

Two Months Old (still playing catch-up)

Holden you are two months old!  I cannot believe it!  What are you up to at two months?  Let me tell you!

Weight: 10.25 pounds (30.63%)

Length: 22.75 inches (75.28%)

Head: 15.5 inches (68.77%)

• You went to Cafe Rio for the first time!  I'm sure it won't be your last, ha! :)
• You took your first trip up to Alpine to visit Grandpa and Grandma Pack
• You wore your first 3 month outfit.  And it fit.  And momma cried.  Time to start putting away the newborn clothes
• You smiled your beautiful smile for the first time when momma was changing you.  It was to die for cute!
• You saw and felt snow for the first time today
• You had your first Easter egg hunt at Grandma Soo Soo's and slept the entire time.
• You celebrated your first Easter!  You got a basket from the Easter bunny full of goodies including your first bunny
• You went and visited your Great Grandma Much today and she nibbled on you from head to toe
• You were an angel for your first sitter, Grandma Soo Soo
• You had your two month appointment and got your ears pierced the same day!  You hated the shots but the ear piercing hardly phased you and you only cried for maybe 10 seconds.
• You met your sweet cousin Evalyn for the first time when she was visiting from California
• Daddy graduated and you went to his graduation ceremony and party
• You are rolling from tummy to back all the time and lifting your head so well!  You are a strong girl!

Lifesavers: Baby Products - Take 2

I am behind on 115,763 blog posts--or at least it feels that way--and because I am so behind I don't feel like I'll ever get caught up.  So today I am just going to blog about something easy peasy: my favorite baby products.  I did this blog post after I had Hattie and I still use and recommend all of those things too.  These are just some new faves I've found with baby number two :)

These are in no particular order other than how they pop into my head, ha!

Product #1 Swaddle Me Blanket

So two of my sisters-in-law used these with their babies and recommended I try them with Holden.  Let me tell you, if you want some good rest during the night, buy one of these!  Holden L.O.V.E.S this thing and she has slept like a champ (we are talking 6-8 hours here!) since she came home from the hospital.  It keeps her warm and cozy all night and prevents her from having the startle reflex that wakes so many babes up.  It is awesome!

Product #2 Gumdrop Paci's and Paci Clips

Yep, we call them paci's (as in short for pacifier) here at The Pack Clan :) Hattie took a paci for a little while and I knew that I wanted Holden to do the same.  When she was first born she really liked the green hospital one (you know, the massive green sucker fish type) so I knew that the Gumdrop paci's would be great for her.  They are similar to the green beauty's but are scaled down in size (so they can breathe, ha!), come in cute colors, and they even have yummy scented ones like vanilla! How cool is that?!  Yeah, get some!

When I had Hattie I was way more into fashion than function and there was no way I would EVER put a paci clip on those cute clothes of hers!  How embarrassing right?!  Well, I grew up a little and realized that I was dumb and function can be soooo nice!  Because Holden loves her paci so much we need it close by at all times.  In comes the paci clip.  It keeps her paci with her wherever she goes and helps prevent many of those unwanted meltdowns in Target.  Not to mention that it keeps her paci nice and clean because it's not falling on the ground every .05 seconds and its not stuck at the bottom of the diaper bag.  Whoever invented this $5 piece of goodness deserves 1,000 hugs!

Product #3  Fisher Price Rock N Play Sleeper

I received this as a gift from a friend at work and I was super excited about it from the start!  For one, I love that it is small and compact and can easily be put away when not in use; it literally folds in half!  We recently took it with us on a trip and it fit great in our trunk because it lays flat and we could put our luggage on top of it with no problem.  Holden has been sleeping in this since day one and always seems so snug.  I like that it keeps her propped up yet her head is secure in the little headrest.  I keep it right by my side of the bed and if she starts to stir I can just rock her back to sleep.  Yep, that's right, it even rocks!  It's like the modern day bassinet and it is wonderful!

Product #4: Pampers Swaddlers Newborn Diapers

With Hattie it was Huggies or bust.  But someone gave us a pack of these puppies for Holden and I was sold!  The newborn size has this miracle mesh liner that keeps all the mess in one place.  With how many gazillion diapers you change with a newborn it's no fun having to wash all their little stained clothes too.  Seriously I can't even tell you how impressed I was with these diapers and I wish that the mesh liner was in all Pampers diapers because it works so well.  Try these for yourself and I swear you won't be disappointed--it's all about the mesh and not the mess, ha!

Product #5: Kirkland Signature Baby Wipes

 

If you shop at Costco then you know, just like anything else that you buy there, these wipes are BIG!
I've tried all different wipes from the WalMart brand to Pampers and these are my all time favorite.  They aren't super thick so you can take a lot with you on the go in your little wipes case. But like I said, they are large in size so often times you can clean up baby's mess with only having to use one wipe, instead of 20 like some other wipes that are only the size of 1/2 a square of toilet paper.  They are also very soft and scent free so I have no problem wiping little noses or faces with them too. They also come in to-go packs with the pop-up lid thing so you can throw a pack in your car and wipe down your dash with them too--like I do, ha!

Product #6: Petunia Pickle Bottom Diaper Bag

If you have been on the fence about getting one of these bags, seriously, just get one.  I'm not even embarrassed to say that I have 6 of these bags (4 different types/styles) because they are the best around.  They come in the most beautiful patterns and lush fabrics and that's not even the best part. PPB has, without a doubt, mastered the art of the diaper bag.  Their bags are spacious, have pockets galore for all of your needs (and then some!), have a matching diaper pad and wipes case, and most styles even come with stroller clips and backpack straps for hands-free mobility!  I can fit absolutely everything that both the girls' and I need in these bags--diapers, wipes, blankets, outfits, nursing cover, burp rags, medicine, bows, wallet, phone, bottles, Kleenex, and a mini cosmetic bag.  I literally no longer carry a purse because these look so chic and it just doubles as a purse for me.  I can't say enough about them!  Now, I know they are a bit pricey, so here's the best part, they do an online outlet sale twice a year!  Woot! Woot!  Just go to their website and sign up for their email alerts so that you will be notified of the next sale! There.  Now you don't have any excuse not to get one. Or two. Or six, ha!

Home Tours - Show us your Bathrooms

Hi there!  Linking up with Kelly's Korner again today to show you the girls' shabby chic bathroom.  I recently changed some things up in here around the same time that I was updating the girls' bedroom.  I really like it because it matches the theme of their room perfectly so everything flows really nicely.  Enjoy!

This is the only "before" I really have:


After:









Considering this was a no cost update I am pretty happy with the end result. I am on the lookout for the perfect wreath/plate/mirror/something round that I can hang underneath the shelves above the toilet but haven't had any luck.  I also need to update the bath pictures of Hattie and add one of Holden.  Other than that I think this room is complete!

Linking up here: Kelly's Korner

Home Tours - Show us your Kids Rooms

Linking up with Kelly's Korner home tours again today.  Today's tour will be of the girls' room.  We live in a two-bedroom townhouse so our girls, Hattie and Holden, get to share a room!  I hope they will always want to share even when we have a bigger place, we will see :)  This is probably my favorite room in the house because I LOVE all things girly!  This space was a lot of fun for me to decorate for my two precious girls!

Linking up here: Kelly's Korner