Baking, Building and Raising Babies We are tackling life one DIY at a time while balancing a family, a budget and a hectic daily life.
This Chicken Corn Chowder is one of those recipes that comes together so well, I halfway expected a committee to show up at my front door and award me a “Homemaker Badge” or at least a special apron. I am a HUGE fan of creamy chowder soups but my Husband can’t do super rich dairy laden dishes. This was a recipe born out of Cold Sunday Desperation.
We’ve all been going a little stir crazy around here and the normal tricks I keep up my sleeve for my toddler were all missing the mark, today. There’s nothing like a yummy 30 minute distraction when you’re looking for a pick me up… especially one full of chocolate!
The holidays are upon us and while we dig our Artificial Trees out of our storage units, attics or basements, many of us find the tree damaged and not up to the task of holding our ornaments or lighting up our home. Before you go to toss that tree, though, here are some GREAT DIY Upcycles you could try!
Feature walls are everywhere right now and it is a trend I am HERE for! I love that you can go as bold or as subtle as you want and can totally reinvent a space without any major structural changes. When we first started designing a room makeover for our toddler, I thought a Feature Wall would be a great way to make his space special for him. His ever growing Sports Memorabilia Collection led me to the idea of doing Diamonds on his wall as a understated nod to his Baseball Collection.
Being a maker means I’m always holding onto things. Good looking coffee cans? I’ll repurpose them in the shop. Toilet paper rolls? I’ll turn those puppies into binoculars before you can even bat an eye. We go through a LOT of oatmeal in this house between cookies, granola bars, and breakfasts, and those containers get used for a lot of storage. If you double them up, they also happen to be the perfect shape and height for a decorative vase of dried Pampas Grass.
Halloween and costumes have never been my favorite. However, seeing the holiday through the eyes of my Two Year Old has been pretty fun this year. When we started asking him at the beginning of the month what he’d like to be for Halloween, he hesitated exactly 2 seconds before explaining he wanted to be a Yellow Monster. Where this conviction and idea came from, I’ve yet to discover, but, he had a clear vision in mind for a Yellow Monster Costume, and I was thrilled to help bring his vision to life.
I’m not a Halloween person. The last time I dressed up for Halloween was the weekend I met my husband 8 years ago. I love Autumn and October, but, Halloween has never been my jam. Having a two year old, however, overrides my aversions to costumes and spooky themes. This kiddo is digging all the Festivities and Decorations surrounding All Hallow’s Eve. This Ghost Garland craft was one that ticked the boxes on my list (cute, yarn, simple) and was a fun way to celebrate the upcoming Holiday with the kiddo.
The need for organization to help a household run smoothly is paramount. The need for organization in a household where there are people working from home, schooling from home, and still trying to RUN a home is critical. Piles begin accumulating and before you know it, a bill or important school paper gets lost in the mix. Introducing a mail organizer was a huge help for our household, and making it a cute rustic piece didn’t hurt!
The front door of our house has been visited by more delivery drivers this year than I care to admit. We primarily use the back patio doors when we come and go, so, I don’t often think about the decor or functionality of the front stoop. For the past few years, we’ve had a simple TV Tray sitting next to the door for drivers to leave food and pick up their tip, and the poor tray has taken a beating.
I love fall and Autumn Decor. As soon as the temperature goes below 75°, I’m ready to deck out the house in pumpkins, leaves and scarecrows. One very special thing about our house, is it’s red front door. When my husband and I first started dating, and fantasizing about our future, we envisioned a cozy house, with lots of pillows and blankets, children, a garden, and a red front door.