The look for less

I've had my eye on these hand towels at Anthropologie for a while now, so when I saw ones that looked very similar at World Market for half the price, I jumped on them. WM also has 20% off bath towels right now, and I had a 10% off coupon on top of that! What a steal!

Baby Gear I Still Use

When you're expecting a baby, people give you lots of advice about must have things that made their lives easier. A pregnant friend and I were talking about baby essentials a while back, and she told me that some of her other friends had told her a wipe warmer was an absolute must-have. I almost spit out my drink. Seriously? But it made me realize that everyone has their own idea of what they need to feel comfortable taking care of their baby! Lots of things that are "essentials" are only essentials for a few short months, so I encouraged my friend to just borrow those, or spend the least amount of money she could on them (like a baby swing).

My daughter is almost 19 months old, but there are a few things we still use day in and day out around here that have been around since the very beginning. These are our true "essentials".
1. Our video monitor. There have been so many times that I would have gone in and woken up our daughter when she was really just tossing and turning if I hadn't been able to actually see her on the monitor. And waking her up when she isn't really ready to be awake is the kiss of death.
2. Burp cloths. They used to wipe up spit-up and drool, now they wipe up everything from water to lunch. We have a drawer full of them, and go through the drawer once a week.
3. This bath pad was recommended to us by a nurse during the baby care class we went to when I was pregnant. It was so cheap, but our daughter still sits on it while we dry her off after her bath. When she was little, it protected her from banging her head on the counter and now, it helps us keep a grip on her while she tries to wiggle away.
4. This drying rack used to hold bottles, but now holds sippy cups and plastic containers for snacks and her lunch.

There's so much advice out there for things you have to have for a baby, but a lot of it I only used for a few months. I consider these things the true workhorses of our baby gear!

Project De-brown: Painting a Side Table

In an attempt to "de-brownify" our den, which currently houses a dark brown couch, coffee table, bookshelves, piano, tv console, and wood floors, I decided to paint the side table that sits next to our couch. I'm really pleased with the results: I used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Paris Grey (this paint is super great because you don't need to primer and you only need one coat.) Now I'm wanting to paint everything else in the room too!

Blue Velvet

Last weekend I picked up a chair that I had been eying for quite a while at World Market. I tested it out in the store, and thought it was really comfortable for the price, and I absolutely loved the color. About the same time I found the chair, I read that furniture oftentimes goes on sale in January to make room for the new stock, so I patiently waited a few months, and then checked after the holidays were over! And lo and behold, World Market was having a big sale on their furniture. I also had a 10% off coupon from signing up for their rewards program. It pays to wait!

Mommy Things: Pretty Printables

In doing a little research on activities to do with my little girl, I came across this fantastic resource for free printables that I wanted to share. Mr. Printables has tons of free downloads that feature clean, simple designs that you can use for teaching, parties, and holidays. I've printed out the color flash cards and the ladybug number flash cards and will be incorporating them into our learning routine. You could also print out a few of their Christmas coloring pages and bind them together for a last minute free stocking stuffer for your little one. Enjoy!

Shopping the Sales: Christmas Stockings

I looked everywhere for Christmas stockings last year for my daughter's first Christmas, but wasn't able to find anything that I liked for the price I wanted to pay. I knew I wanted matching stockings for the three of us, and I wanted them monogrammed. So this year, I started the hunt early. Yesterday, I got the holiday Lands' End catalog in the mail, and it included a code for 25% off any order plus free shipping. And when you order 3 stockings or more, they take $3 off each stocking. And monogramming is free! So I just picked up three monogrammed needlepoint stockings for $18 a piece with free shipping, which I think is a fantastic price for the quality of stockings we're getting. My husband's family had stockings like this growing up, so it's nice to carry on the tradition. I finally found stockings I like for the price I wanted to pay!

Surprise Find

I've been stalking this pillow for over a year, and had made up my mind just to buy it at full price since we're refreshing our master bedroom a bit and I thought the color would be perfect. So when I pushed my cart around the corner of the aisle at Target, and spotted my beloved pillow on sale for 50% off, my heart jumped! How sad is that? What can I say? I love a bargain!

See how cute the pillow looks here.

Five under $5.00

So sticking to a budget is sometimes a drag, which is why I like to reward myself sometimes with little things just for the heck of it, not necessarily because I need something. We actually budget a set amount of money each month (called Blow Money in our spreadsheet) for both my husband and I to buy just these sorts of extras. Each Wednesday, I'll be posting five items under $5 – things I've either already purchased or that I have my eye on!

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5

Budget Playroom

1. Easel [$15] 2. Tubtrugs [$15 each] 3. Fabrics [$9 a yard] 

4. Artwork [$19] 5. Rug [$80] 6. Play table and chairs [$20]

 
Our little girl has recently started walking, and therefore, getting into everything around the house.  The other day she came around the corner grinning from ear to ear with a pair of scissors. I don't even know where she possibly could have found them! So we're talking about turning our guest room which we rarely use into a playroom. We're starting from scratch, so I need to do this on a budget. Here are some things I've found.