::Our Nest:: Linen Closet Makeover

Happy Monday friends! I had a great weekend so I was less than thrilled to see Monday roll around but such is life.

This weekend was full of family and fun! Saturday morning was pretty mellow. I took the girls to Henley's swim lesson while hubs did some work around the house. Afterwards I had a bug to get our linen closet organized.

I have been looking through Pinterest for organization tips and came across some great closets with baskets so I headed to Target to see what they had. At first with the girls but quickly ran home to drop them off to free up some cart space. From Target's Threshold line, I got four of these bins and one large one  for the bottom which has blankets and our Christmas tree skirt and Advent calendar in it.

 Our closet is in a small little hallway so pretty tough to get a picture straight on.

It's so much more organized now. These bins are filled to the top so I don't have a lot of extra room to spare but I'm really happy with the end result and I got the opportunity to purge some unneeded items (like curtains from our old condo).

We've been in this house for 2.5 years now and it's really starting to take on our personality. While I was on maternity leave with Macie I was finally able to order some canvases for the living room.

I also did a gallery wall last month. I got all of the frames from AC Moore and the wooden signs from Etsy (here and here). Having pictures of my family up on the walls gives the room such a homey feel!

I have a few more projects in the cooker---my closet shelving, wall decorations on a few blank walls, and laundry room redo are at the top of our list. I love planning for these and can't wait to share!!

Happy Monday

Mere :-)

::Life:: Updates Henley, Etsy, and House

Can I just say “sigh”?! I haven’t posted anything in a while but for good reason---it has been crazy!! I thought it best to just do one giant update post to bring everyone up to speed!


First (of course) Henley! I’m sure you recall from our last few monthly update posts that she has been sick here and there; well we have officially tested her immune system lately. But what’s even more exciting is the Mom and Dad have also been tested (and failed!) in the immunity arena. Here is what the last two months have looked like in the G House:


June 17th: Henley gets a cold and we go to the doctor, out of day care for two days

June 23rd: Mama catches the cold just like the doctor predicted

July 1st: Mama’s not getting better but getting worse, go to the Dr. and bronchitis it is, out of work 3 days

July 2nd: Dad gets a terrible stomach bug and is laid up in bed, out of work 3 days

July25th: Day care calls for us to come get her---pink eye! Mom takes her to the dr.

July 26th: Can’t go to daycare, dad takes off. Aunt Allies watches Henley while Dad goes to the Dr’s, he’s been getting fevers all week, diagnosed as virus

July 29th: Back at daycare for 2 hours before they call with thrush! It is Dad’s turn for the Pediatrician.

July 30th: Attempt to go back to day care but she’s miserable and getting a cold Mom takes a half day and grandma takes the last half

July 31st: Grandma Patricia flies in and keeps her the rest of the week to give time for the thrush and the cold to heal!

Aug 3rd: Mom gets a fever and is sick---looks like a virus

Aug 4th: Back in daycare for a full day!

As you can see that we have been exhausted and have been going to the doctor way too much, especially for someone with a high deductible insurance plan. But it’s looking up. We’ve had a great week and we hear the immune system starts getting stronger and stronger so hopefully we will start seeing less and less of this.


Secondly is sleep! Since she’s been sick off and on and also learning separation anxiety, sleep is suffering. She is no longer putting herself back to sleep and it’s taking us way longer to get her to sleep than before. We’ve been discussing a plan and it looks like Ferber may be coming into play. I’ve been against Cry it Out Methods in the past but after talking to many, many people with kids, I haven’t found one person that didn’t use Cry it Out to sleep train their little ones. I’m thinking that we should definitely do it on a weekend so maybe this weekend?? We will see! All I know is that everyone needs sleep!


Third is my Etsy Shop—It is going so well! I have had at least 4-5 orders a week totaling 33 orders. With being sick though it has been challenging at times getting these out but I’m so grateful it’s going well! I’ve made enough to buy my first “investment” for the business and was able to get an Embroidery Machine. I have spent zero time figuring it out yet but I’m excited for the possibilities!


Lastly is the house! The house is 99% complete, just waiting on the pool. Last Friday we walked through the house with the Superintendent on the job and just made sure we didn’t have anything major for them to fix and noted little things here and there for them to correct. The pool should be finished in the next 2-3 weeks, and then we will just need a screen enclosure for the pool and site work. We are looking to close the 2nd week of September. I cannot wait---the hubs and I have been looking at furniture and planning everything. It’s getting so exciting!


Well I think that’s a pretty good base line for us to start chatting again. Hope you have a great Thursday! The week is almost over!

Mere :-)

::Our Nest:: Signed, Sealed, & Not Yet Delivered

Ted and I always knew we wanted a house eventually but graduating in 2006 in the worst real estate market in the country really limited our options. We have rented for the last seven years in a place that we really have loved (for the most part---not considering the ridiculous condo association rules or trekking 22 flights of stairs due to a fire alarm) but it's time to move on. Our current lease expires in September and we have been recently looking at existing home sales locally trying to decide the location we liked the best and the size and age of homes that we could comfortably afford.

About a week ago, Ted discovered some newer communities that are being built out with new homes----long story short---we signed the contract on a new home today and we couldn't be more excited! Details--on Tuesday, Henley and I met Ted for lunch and took a drive through one of the communities. There are a bunch of vacant lots with quite a few new homes being built. We stopped by the model home to speak to a salesman and saw that this area is perfect for what we are looking for. The houses have all kinds of great amenities included (granite countertops, paver driveways, stone facade, blinds, and crown molding) and are at prices that are far better than existing home we have seen. 

On Thursday we sent in for pre-approval and after much discussing and debating we decided to take the plunge and we signed the papers for construction today! The home should be finished in late August which is perfect for our lease timing.

Here is the home we decided on:

I have already been a pinning fool with home decorating and furnishing ideas. I can't wait to have a place of our own---somewhere Henley can run around outside, a place where cute little trick-or-treaters come and visit, a place for Fitz to run and exercise, and a place to call our own.

I'm excited to share with you all our journey of becoming homeowners---let's all hope and pray these next five months flies by!!

Mere :-)