I'm so late to the game this week with Friday Favorites and I wasn't going to do this post, but....
we started our master bath remodel FINALLY! We are so excited to tear out the ugliness and make some progress in there.

Our contractors were great and have been working in some really cold temperatures. One day the "high" was 17. So ready for spring! Obviously, there is still a lot of work to do but we can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

As we were "iced" in for an entire week, I wanted to make the kids some cookies and I decided to make some that I could eat as well. I ended up making these from Juli's site, PaleOMG. I'm trying not to eat a lot of sugar, but sometimes you've GOT to. I needed these this week. We've had people in and out working on the bathroom and haven't really been able to get out. School was cancelled from Tuesday through Friday so needless to say, it was a long week.

Anyway, just thought I'd share. The recipe calls for a specific kind of almond butter, which I didn't have; I just used what I had and the dough was really oily but I still think they turned out pretty good.

I ordered this book on my kindle this week and read it pretty quickly. It's not my usual genre, but it got a lot of good reviews so I thought why not? We were stuck in the house and I have a nasty headcold and so haven't felt like doing much of anything.

This was so good and a really fast read. I won't say too much in case you haven't read it, but it really made me think. The main character hits her head and loses the last 10 years of her life--she doesn't even remember her children.  I've already ordered The Husband's Secret and I hope it's just as good. Not sure when I think I'll have time to read it though.


This made me laugh because it's so true!

Although I'm so not a fan of winter and this time of the year, it is fun to get a little bit of snow especially when you have children. They spent most of Tuesday sledding on the inch of ice we got.

Monday night when the snow first started

Here's to a return to our normal routine next week!
As always, linking up to Andrea, Erika, and Narci

Frozen

Almost as soon as we started the bathroom remodel, we had to put the brakes on. When you live in the south, everything stops when winter weather appears. Our contractors came out Monday and did a lot of demo. The bathroom went from this

to this, which is a vast improvement already!!

But we had some ice/sleet/snow that hit Monday night and left about an inch or so of frozen mess so we didn't accomplish anything Tuesday except for this

this 

and this

Today is another snow day and so there's no school and I'm more like this


But, hopefully today's the last day of being cooped up. The plows have been out on our street and there may be some progress made on the master bath as we just got word the electrician is supposed to come out later today.

I've had some time to look around online at bathroom lighting and so far I like these sconces from Shades of Light the best, but I'm not going to order just yet til we figure out if it will work with the medicine cabinets we've ordered.

The high temp for tomorrow is 17....I don't remember the last time it was that cold here! How do you northerners do it? Praying for spring!!

Randomness

I was so pumped because we were supposed to start demo on the master bath at the end of last week, but then this happened:

At 4 a.m. Thursday morning, poor Lily got sick and it went all the way through lunchtime. I felt so bad for her as she was really sick. I kept waiting for the rest of us to fall, but so far so good. We told the contractors to just wait til today (Monday) because we knew we truly thought we'd need both bathrooms this past weekend. Luckily, Lily was much better after 24 hrs. Also, can anyone explain why most kids start puking in the middle of the night? It's so strange that when my kids get sick, it's typically in the dark of night.

Valentine's Day was really low-key around here. Rob typically works on Saturdays so the girls and I took it easy Saturday morning and then went to the mall at the girls' request and they played for a bit at the play area. I hate those places because of all the kids in one small area, but they really wanted to get out of the house.

excited about their Snack ees or whatever those cups are called

sweet Lily asked me to be her Valentine, even though later she told me she didn't love me and only loves Katie

These three are all obsessed with the video game Little Big Planet lately.

Today is absolutely freezing and we are awaiting some sleet/snow/ice/mix of it all but it's DEMO DAY!

Trying to stay out of their way, but I did run in to snap a couple of pics. Goodbye 80's pink wallpaper and Andre the Giant bathtub, you will not be missed.

Rug Obsessed

I'm not sure why, but I love area rugs. I guess you can think of them as jewelry for your home. A rug can really set the tone of the room by the size, color, and texture of it. Since we've been in the little ranch house (almost 6 years now), I've gone through several rugs. I have had a hard time figuring out the look (neutral or bold?) and exactly what size to buy.
When we moved in, we had an 8'10" rug that we bought new from Pottery Barn soon after we got married. That was my first experience shopping for a "grown-up" rug. I wish I could go back in time and tell myself that a pinkish-salmon color rug would severely limit my ability to coordinate a room. It worked well in our first home, but once we moved into our current home, it was blending into the floor too much and really wasn't big enough.

too dark for the space, as were my walls!

So then I found a rug on Craigslist that was lighter and I really loved it. However, it was an 8'10" so why did I buy it? Because a good rug on Craigslist goes fast. Stupid, stupid. Affordable large area rugs are really expensive and I convinced myself the reason I didn't like our previous rug was largely due to it not being a neutral. So, I bought the rug.

neutral, good quality but still not the right size

You might be able to see in the above photo that we had recently bought two leather chairs and an ottoman (another Craigslist find) but all of our furniture wouldn't fit on that rug. Some people are okay with floating a rug in the middle of furniture but it's not my preference. So after awhile, I resigned myself to the fact that we needed a bigger rug. I always turn to Craigslist first, but rugs larger than 8'10" are few and far between. Rugs USA and Overstock.com are great options in that can't beat their selection and prices, especially if you wait for Rugs USA to run one of their sales. Anyway, I can't remember where I ordered the next rug from but it was either Overstock or Rugs USA.

I'm almost too embarrassed to show you what I ordered after contemplating for a long time. There really weren't a ton of "big" rug options. Not sure how I thought this was a neutral. I think I thought it would break up all the dark furniture. This is a pitfall of buying something like this online.

Needless to say, this bold rug didn't last long enough for me to even take a better picture. While the size worked, it gave everyone motion sickness. Also, it was hand-hooked which is not the best idea with children and a dog. I promptly sent this one back. My husband is a saint. He just shakes his head at me and I help him roll them up to be shipped back.

On to the next rug...I've lost count at this point. I vowed I was not giving up, so back to one of the online sites. Again, it's hard to find a large area rug that is reasonable.  I finally settled on  Moroccan Trellis Rug which is really pretty, but it does make a big statement. I think the reason I felt safe going with this rug is that I had seen this style of rug on several bloggers' sites.

not the best pic, but all I could find that didn't have children running around

Rob liked this one and I did too for the most part. It was a little bigger than a 9'x12" and felt cozy.  I will say that it was hard to vaccuum as the white lines were actually raised and it shed a lot.  In the back of my mind, I was still wishing I could have just found a neutral rug (like the second one in this post) in a bigger size. I never planned to sell this one (well, maybe if the right one showed up); after about 8 months I saw one on Craigslist and bought it. Yes, I'm crazy.

Although this rug is a 9'x12", it's not as big as the previous one but it works and all of our furniture fits on it. I'm sure I'm crazy for having a light-colored rug with kids and a dog but I just love it.


So, what about you all? Do you have commitment issues with anything decor-related? I think it's all just a process about finding what feels right and fits your home the best and that can be tricky on a budget. Guess what? I got an email from Rugs USA and they are having a 75% sale right now. Somebody buy a rug and then send me a picture of it when you get it. I'm not even going to "just look"!

The Greatest Show on Earth

Not much going on this past week, but we did surprise the girls with their very first trip to the circus on Wednesday night. They were very excited and it was a great show, although Katie was disappointed that no one walked along a tightrope. They enjoyed wildly overpriced treats and stayed up way too late for a school night but we had lots of fun! This was definitely the highlight of the week.  Hopefully, my last post wasn't too "Debbie Downer" but no one can accuse me of not keeping it real!

Lily, 4 years and Katie 7 years

$11 sno cone and creepy clown cup

Hope you all have a great weekend! I feel like I might be coming down with something which I do not have time for...our contractor hopes to start the master bath reno next week!!!!



Linking up with:
 Erika, Narci, and Andrea

Growing Pains

Disclaimer:  I am very thankful to have a home to live in. I also realize there are many more important things going on in the world, but I just feel like I need to vent sometimes and this is my outlet. 

I'm always trying to make the most of the space we have here, but it's been a real challenge lately. I must admit, I'm feeling quite claustrophobic especially this time of the year. In a smaller home, you really do have to stay on top of your things and purge often or you can be overwhelmed by all of the stuff. Unfortunately, that's where I'm finding myself now which is driving me crazy. How do hoarders do it?
Admittedly, it isn't ideal to squeeze 4 people into 2 bedrooms and 1 and a half bathrooms (we're working on the bathroom issue right now).  Rob is using the 3rd bedroom as his work office which he's done for several years now. We're at the point where we are all having growing pains though. The girls are sharing a room and while they do okay sharing, it's just the sheer volume of clothes and toys plus beds and furniture in one space that is just not working. When you don't have a playroom it ALL has to go in one room. In reality, their stuff is in their room, the family room and overflowing into Rob's office. Weekday afternoons and evenings are crazy around here, as I've got Katie at the kitchen table trying to do homework while I'm making dinner and trying to keep both girls quiet so that Rob can answer emails and make phone calls. It's just a big fat mess right now. Take a look:

Rob's poor office with the girls' stuff overflowing out of the closet

see the rubbermaid bin? I had that packed with yardsale toys, but the girls got into it and started playing with it all again but then never cleaned any of it up. Constant battle.

the girls' closet which I have to go in several times a week and clean up

trying to cram a trampoline, easel, baby doll accessories and books in one space

finally, this lovely area in our master bedroom where I've begun piling things for a yard sale

I hate clutter and so this has been really draining on me. Rob has been looking to possibly buy a commercial space to move the business to, but it's a complicated task not to mention expensive! I'll be honest...sometimes I think it would just be easier to update our master bath (and kitchen) and put the house on the market with the hopes of finding something bigger in this location. However, Rob loves the location and the lot we're on. I've always felt like we'd be perfect for the HGTV show Love it or List it!

I'm trying to get everything that we don't need organized for a yard sale, which scares and stresses me out. I'm not even going to attempt to price each item individually. Typically, I donate and/or just give items away but I have so much that this time I think the yard sale makes sense. Wish me luck. Anyone have any advice in this area?

Meanwhile, the entryway still looks like this

further adding to the stress. After, ahem, several paint samples I have decided on a new course. But, that's another post.