Category: lifestyle

Shared Boy/Girl Nursery | Preciously Paired

Shared Boy/Girl Nursery on a Small Budget

Today is officially my due date, and still no baby. Now that the date has come and almost gone I’m not quite sure what to do with myself! With no date to look forward too or end in sight, it’s just a big waiting game now. But the good news is that both me and the baby are healthy and feeling good. I actually feel really good and energetic, so I thought I’d put this extra time to good use; starting first with the shared nursery reveal that I’ve been promising for weeks!

Currently my husband is in the middle of graduate school, so needless to say we are still living the “poor college student” life. While we live in a small apartment and on a very meager income, I never let that stop me from making my home a beautiful place where we can relax and enjoy being. And believe it or not, it doesn’t require a lot of money or time to do so. In fact, this whole nursery makeover only cost me a grand total of $180! This included both the kid’s bedding and most of the room decor (I already had all of the furniture pieces).

I’ll admit that putting together a cohesive space for baby boy and a toddler girl was rather difficult considering there were many limitations, but in the end it somehow just came together and I’m really in the love with it!
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Here is a little break down of everything in the room:

Crib – From Walmart which I already had from baby #1

Twin bed – A “hand-me-down” from when I was a girl

Dresser – Bought at a garage sale several years ago

Vintage Baby Quilts – Both baby quilts I made myself using this simple patter by Yoyomama Disigns. I made my daughter’s quilt several years ago when she was a baby and loved the design so much that I decided to make baby brother one as well!

Crib SheetTarget

Crib Skirt – Made by me using this simple tutorial by Oleander and Palm

Pom Pom Comforter – Made by me. I first fell in love with this pom pom comforter from PB Teen, but I didn’t have anywhere near $169 in my budget for it. However, I was able to make one up for nearly an eighth of the cost. I simple bought a down comforter from Target ($20) and sewed on some pom poms I made up myself.

Twin SheetsKohl’s (got on sale for $15!)

Quilted Pillow – Made by me using scraps from my daughter’s quilt and an old pillow I had on hand

Cloud Pillow – Made by me (tutorial coming soon)

Wooden Rocking Horse – Thrifted

Wire Book Baskets – Large one (Thrifted), 2 smaller ones (Walmart).  I gave each a coat of spray paint and then mounted them to the wall using cable hooks which I got from Home Depot.

Rug – Thrifted

Alphabet PrintFree printable from Mr. Printables (I got the frame from Goodwill and spray painted it with some leftover paint I had from the wire baskets)

Sweet Dreams PrintFree printable from This Little Street

Hopefully my next post with include a sweet new baby, but for now I hope you enjoyed a view of this cute nursery! Can’t wait till our little guy can enjoy it too!

 

XOXO,

Sara


Monthly Photo Challenge | Preciously Paired

My Monthly Photo Challenge of 2014

Happy New Year everyone! We are happy to be back with some new changes and goals for our blog and business. Perhaps we’ll even decide to fill you in a little bit on what some of those things are in the near future! Stay tuned!

We spent the holidays doing lots of custom illustrated portraits and Christmas cards which we loved being able to do! Thank you so much to those who have supported us and our creative work! It has been SO crazy how far we’ve come since joining up together last year. We also got to spend the holidays together…like for 2+ weeks! It was fabulous and crazy as usual and I didn’t even take one picture! I actually hosted Christmas at my house for my family. For about 5 days we had anywhere from 11-15 people at our house at any given time. Like I said, crazy! But, I wouldn’t have had it any other way. I know we won’t always be able to get together so easily and for such a long amount of time so I took deep breathes and enjoyed the time we all had together.

Although the holidays were fun I’m excited to get back into a routine, get my house back together and start this year fresh with some new resolutions. I decided to be more realistic on myself this year and I made only 2 resolutions, one of which is to become a basketball fan and even more namely a BYU basketball fan. I’m sure that seems like a very strange resolutions but if you knew me and then my husband you would totally understand. Aside from my resolutions I’m starting this 8 week challenge of eating good and exercising. After not consistently exercising for almost 3 years it’s going to be an interesting start. Wish me luck!

Now that we’re semi caught up without me writing a complete saga of the last couple of months of my life we can move onto what this post is actually about. Last year I saw this post on Pinterest where someone took a picture of their kids once a month for a year. Since we just moved into our house at the beginning of last year I thought it would be a fun way to not only see my girls growth throughout the year but to see the progression of the seasons in our first, very own yard as well. Surprisingly I stuck too it with the help of my husband and bribes that involved candy. I only missed one month…July was a busy month! I’m so glad I decided to do this and love see our first year in our house in review.

Year in Review 2014


{Tour Through Blogland} Stripes and Polka Dots

{Tour Through Blogland} The Twins Behind the Blog

We’ve been invited by the lovely and talented Amber Tsyl from the Restless Arrow to participant in the Tour Through Blogland series.. It’s been so fun reading some of our favorite blogger’s stories and meeting new bloggers through the process. Amber is one of those bloggers that we’ve loved getting to know more! Her and her little family are simply the cutest, and her home is gorgeous! Seriously go check it out!

Just look at her beautiful kitchen… built from scratch and on a budget!

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As for us, we are thrill to be part of this series as it gives you (our readers) a glance at who we are, what we’re all about, why we blog, and what big ideas we’re working on next!

Why do we write and create what we do?

This blog was originally started when we moved over 800 miles away from each other and we wanted to have something to keep us close. Blogging was a way to share our projects and experiences with each other as well as with others. We came to realize that we want to let other mothers, women, wives and whoever else know that we’re just another couple of women out there going through the same struggles and experiences. We also decided that while we’re going through the ups and downs of life, there were things we could do to make it beautiful and inspiring!

How does our writing/creative process work?
Writing doesn’t seem to come easy for either one of us. In fact, we often call each other asking for help gathering our thoughts/feelings to make a post into something that others would want to read and could relate to. I guess you could say a lot of our creative process comes from each other, and the countless hours we talk on the phone each week. We push each other to step outside of our comfort zones, take some risks and try new things! The other part comes from our own life experiences, and also from things that have inspired us. We both live life with our eyes open to find inspiring and beautiful things that we then try to recreate and make it our own.
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How does our work differ from others in its genre?

Honestly, we’re not really even sure what our genre is quite yet! Since we started our blog less than a year ago we’ve blogged about a number of things (mostly pertaining to diy projects and sewing) and now we have a shop selling skirts! What really sets our blog apart is our unique partnership. If you can’t tell from our picture in the top right hand corner of our blog, we’re twins. When we’re together the sky is the limit. We push and inspire each other to try our best and give each other courage to try things we’ve never done before. I guess that is why we’ve tried our hand at so many different things.

Sewing Room | Stripes and Polka Dots

What are we working on?

As many of you know, we just opened our shop selling our first line of Colorblock Party skirts… eek! Since opening our shop just 3 weeks ago, that is where much of our attention and energy has been spent when it comes to our blog. Besides our Colorblock Party skirts, we have many  more plans for growing and expanding our shop, some of which are in the works right now! While our shop is still quite new, it has helped us realize where our true passion lies. We love designing, creating, and sharing fun and useful ideas, and pushing ourselves and our talents by trying new things– our shop really allows us to do that. Because of this, we’ve decided to switch gears with our blog and focus more on our shop at the present time. There is no doubt that we love blogging and plan on continuing it, but it is now taking a “behind-the-scenes” role.

colorblock party skirts

On the blog we will share our personal journeys as mother, wives, homemakers, and now shop owners. But don’t worry, you can still expect to see awesome diy projects and easy sewing tutorials as these are very much apart of our daily lives. Also be sure to keep an eye on our shop as there will be some new additions very soon!


Cookie Kit Wedding Gift

Creating a Personalized Wedding Gift

I survived day 1 of potty training! Granted I had my husband helping me, but for me this is a big deal! For those of you who are just tuning in, I started potty training my 2 year old yesterday. I’ve been putting it off for months and finally decided to just do it. At this point in  the training it is going smoother than I previously imagined, but I realize it is still early in the process.

The hardest part about this whole process is coming to terms with the fact that my baby is no longer a baby– she’s a “big girl” now (as we’ve reminded her about a million times since starting potty training). Each milestone in my daughter’s life has been exciting, yet frightening as I wonder where the time has gone. People weren’t kidding when they say kids “grow up too fast”.

Cookie Kit Wedding Gift

Moving on from my mommy saga; my friend is getting married! I just love weddings! It’s such a happy and exciting time! But with weddings, always comes a certain dilemma; what to give as a wedding present? Personally I’m not a “grab a card and throw in some money” kind of girl. If you are that kind of present giver, personally (as a receiver) I love those gifts, but I also love something that has a little thought and time put into it as well.

Cookie Kit Wedding Gift
Cookie Kit Wedding Gift

Creating a gift basket is a great way to personalize a wedding gift while keeping it fun and purposeful at the same time. Here I’ve made a couple’s cookie kit complete with personalized “Mr.” and “Mrs” mugs, a personalized cookie recipe plate, homemade coasters, and some useful baking supplies. You can easily customize this gift for any couple by using their favorite cookie/dessert recipe. The possibilities really are endless!

Cookie Kit Wedding Gift

Cookie Kit Wedding Gift

Linked to: http://www.mygirlishwhims.com/2014/08/your-whims-wednesday-176-and-features.htmlhttp://www.lambertslately.com/2014/08/create-it-thursday-68-plus-features.html#morehttp://www.vmg206.com/2014/08/brag-about-it-vmg206.html


Why Thank You Notes Will Never Go Out of Style (and How to Write Your Own)

Hi everyone! Today on the blog we’d like to introduce our guest writer, the lovely Mary Kermer. Since we only post about three times a week we don’t normally have too many guest bloggers on our site but we simply loved Mary’s article on writing thank you notes. I personally believe that showing thanks and gratitude towards those I love and those who help me remind me of the abundant amount of blessing I have in my life. It also humbles me as I know my life would never be what it is without those who love, support, and help me along.  

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By: Mary Kremer

As a child, I was always slightly annoyed at the seemingly endless amount of thank you notes my mom made me write. It felt like I had to write one for every occasion. And though she tried hard to instill in me the value of a handwritten thank you note, it wasn’t until I grew older that I really began to appreciate their importance. And I’m not alone. Here are some unique reasons the handwritten note will never go out of style, as well as some tips to help you create a meaningful one of your own.

A Handwritten Note…

Makes You Feel Better

Literally. Writing thank you notes is good for your health. Recent scientific finds have linked gratitude to increased optimism. So, while sitting down to write that thank you note may take time, it also decreases your stress in the long run.

Helps You Develop a Support System

People like being appreciated. Expressing your gratitude regularly helps build relationships, which in turn helps create a better support system. Close relationships and a strong support system are key to decreasing stress and also to preventing depression.

Is More Meaningful

There’s just something about a handwritten note. It means more than an email or text message. Maybe it’s having a physical reminder of gratitude that makes a note more effective, but it also must be knowing that a person had to take the time and effort to gather the materials and write down their feelings. Taking the extra time and effort to express your feelings really makes your message come through.

Helps You Stand Out

Interviewing for a job soon? Hoping to make a good impression on your boss or professor? A handwritten note of thanks will help you stand out. Creating professional relationships is an important part of every career. Develop a polished and professional image by sending handwritten notes to express appreciation for a referral, letter of reference, interview, or any other professional relationship. It will help you stand out in the long run.

To Create One…

Pick Your Materials Carefully

The materials you pick say a lot about how much you value what you’ve received. A nice, heavy or textured paper with an embossed message on the front says a lot. Always use a nice pen, one with dark ink that flows evenly. My mom would never let us use blue ink or a bad pen, simply because it takes away from the aesthetics and therefore the message.

It might be worth it to invest in your own personalized stationery. Many printing companies will let you design your own thank you notes. To learn more about the printing process and materials available, click here.

Start with a Personal Address

This step might seem obvious, but you’d be surprised at how often people leave it out. Start with a simple address to the person you’re writing (Dear…). If it’s a personal letter, use first names. If you’re writing to a professor or creating a professional thank you note, use their correct title or start with Ms./Mr. This sort of greeting isn’t impersonal, it’s respectful.

There, that’s half the battle.

Be Specific

If you’re expressing thanks for a gift, be specific! A standard thank you note you sent out to everyone after your wedding may make your life easier, but it’s not much more meaningful than a group text or email. Mention the gift or favor you received specifically and mention what you’re planning to do with the gift or how you’re using it. The trick here is to not overdo it. If you didn’t love the gift, express thanks for the intention behind it.

Come Back to Your Relationship

Why are you thanking this person? Though it’s the gift you’re sending the card for, what you’re really giving thanks for is your relationship. Always come back to that. If you can, mention the next time you hope to see that person. Express your gratitude for the relationship. You don’t have to go over the top here. Just be honest.

Sign Off

After that, it’s as simple as signing your name after a “Regards” or “Yours Truly.” If you’re worried about what to say, start with a small card. It’ll be easier to fill up the space and a short note won’t look like too little. Then, send the card on its way.

Keep Writing

Writing is like any other skill. It takes time and practice to really develop it. If you’re worried your thank you notes fall short, just keep practicing. You can’t really go wrong with a heartfelt expression of gratitude. The recipient will appreciate it, and you’ll benefit from it as well. Just keep writing! It’ll never go out of style.

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 Now that you feel inspired to write a few thank you notes, we created a FREE PRINTABLE for you to get you started. Use them to adorn as card, as a gift tag, or as a postcard!  Click the link below to download and print these cute “Thank You” tags.

Thank You Notes by Stripes and Polka Dots

 


5 Tips to Stress-Free Family Pictures

I don’t know if you’ve noticed but regular family pictures have become a very popular thing. I can count on one hand how many times my family got pictures taken growing up. Now it seems like family pictures are a yearly event trend. Don’t get me wrong, I like the idea of having cute, regular family pictures just as much as the next gal but it can sometimes be an event that comes close to giving me an ulcer! From finding the right photographer that is affordable; figuring out what everyone will wear; convincing my husband that family pictures are as necessary as I think they are; to stressing over if my kids will be good so it’s not a waste of time and money– in the end it has left me most often dreading family pictures.
With some experience being both behind the camera taking the pictures and in front having my picture taken, I’ve learned a few tips that will make the process easier and more stress free while getting the most for your money.
1. Find a photographer that fits your style and charges a price that you are comfortable paying. If you look hard enough there is a photography out there that will fit within just about any price range. However, most often the more a photographer charges the better the quality you will get. If you’re wanting to get pictures done regularly maybe choose a more experienced photographer every couple of years and do cheaper/ less experienced photographers in between. (For example, this photo shoot of Sara’s family I did while I was in Oregon since I am be NO means a real photographer!) Also, I have learned that each photographer has their own style of taking and editing pictures. This will make a huge difference on whether you like your pictures or not so make sure you choose one you like.
2. Decide what’s going to look the best in your house. I often look to the color scheme and style of my house to draw inspiration for pictures and what we will wear. By doing this you can be assured that your family pictures will work great hanging up in your house.
3. If mamma’s happy everyone is happy! I read somewhere that the mother should dress herself first in something she loves and then dress everyone else to match. I couldn’t agree more! Let’s be honest, we’re the most self-conscious when it comes to having our pictures taken so if we’re wearing something we feel awesome in we’ll be happy and so will the rest of the family. 
4. Don’t stress your kids out by threatening them if they don’t smile. I once took pictures for a family where the mother was threatening her kids the whole time that they wouldn’t get ice cream after the shoot if they didn’t smile. I think this just stressed the kids out more. Treat pictures like a family outing. Perhaps even go early to the location to give the kids time to explore, have fun and get their wiggles out.
5. Have a game plan of how you are going to use your new family pictures. Don’t let the money you spend on getting your family pictures taken go to waste by letting them sit on your computer. Having an idea of what poses you want and where you will be hanging them will allow you to have an idea of what you want to get out of your photo session. For example, I prefer a traditional close up shot of the family to hang in a big frame in my living room.
*For those of you who are really confused. While you get to enjoy picture’s of Sara’s adorable family, it’s actually me, Hanna, writing the post. As for a little back story behind these photos Sara was brave enough to have me take some family pictures for her while I was out in Oregon last weekend. I haven’t done something like this for a while and again I am NO pro-photographer! We decided to drive around to find some open fields for pictures. Long story short, after tramping around in the fields for a few pictures Sara’s husband ended up having a major allergic reaction to it all (the fields, not the family photos) and ended up with red swollen eyes and legs deeming the end of family pictures. Luckily we were able to get some good shots before the outbreak… What men do to please their wife’s!

Being an Intentional Family

Majoring in Family Studies I was always going over research that had been done to see what keeps a family strong and close together. There were two main practices that often came up; one being traditions meaning things like those yearly family vacations or family traditions surrounding holidays. These are great things to be included in our family to make memories and have fun together, but the most important thing found in family research that keeps families strong and happy are everyday rituals or meaningful routines such as family mealtime, bedtime routines, working around the house together, or having a snack and visiting when the kids get home from school.

I’ve lately come to realize how truly important it is to make the everyday routines meaningful. I’ve also come to learn that rituals don’t just happen, rather I need to be intentional about going through the day’s routine and making it something my girls are going to treasure while helping us all grow closer together.

Having a husband who is gone for work just about every other week and sometimes two in a row we often find ourselves battling to find time to spend together and stay close. It got to the point where Eric was traveling a lot for work and was really busy and I had a lot of things going on myself. We seemed to just be tag teaming watching over the girls so we could get our things done while we let the demands of life sweep over our family. One day I realized how distant Eric and I were and how each day I found myself just going through the routines but not really making those simple moments meaningful. The issue wasn’t Eric’s job or necessarily some of the things I had going, it was that we were letting the demands of life be an excuse for not doing some of our family rituals and not taking the time to create meaning around things like our meals and bedtime.

Our main goal as a family is to create a place were everyone in it can feel safe, like they belong and to know that they can always have someone to turn to that love them no matter what. In order to achieve that goal Eric and I knew that we had to start working harder and try to be more intentional about the time we’re given together. Here are some of the things we came up with:

Communicate more throughout the day. Even though Eric is often hundreds of miles away we still are able to stay close by sending text throughout the day and I try to send a couple pictures of the girls and some of the things we are doing as well. Eric will sometimes sent a video in the morning telling the girls good morning. Then in the evenings we video chat before the girls go to bed while often singing some of Mia’s favorite songs together or saying a family prayer. I’ve had to put a lot of effort into this as I’m terrible at communicating through text or the phone, but it has made such a difference since starting.

Have at least one family meal together sitting around the table without any distractions. Eric and I both grew up doing this in our families and knew when we got married it was something we wanted to continue. We usually use dinner as our time to sit around the table together as a family and discuss our day, sometimes to teach our girls some new things and just laugh.

Turn off all our electronics at dinner and keep them off until at least the kids go to bed. For most families the few hours between the end of work and bedtime is the only time the entire family can be together. When Eric is home we wanted to try and use that time to give our full attention to the girls and do activities together.

Slow down at bedtime and use it as a chance to spend quality time with the girls. By the end of some days I am counting down the minutes to get the girl’s in their pj’s and stick them in their beds. However, as I’ve started to slow down I’ve been able to see small teaching opportunities or chances to giggle and laugh as they get ready for bed and as we snuggle close to read bedtimes stories. It’s also a great time to visit with your kids and let them open up to you about things that are on their mind.

Work together around the home. Now that we own a house, Saturdays seems to be filled with things we’re needing to do around it. When we can we try to do it all together not only to teach our girls how to clean, but to spend more time together. Most often it makes the work load more enjoyable and satisfying in the end.

I can’t say everyday exactly emulates what’s listed above. Creating those meaningful rituals around our everyday routines takes effort and thought, but the point is we are trying because we know what kind of family we want to be. Perhaps if more marriages and families took on a more “intentional” approach to creating meaningful rituals we would have less divorces and families that are distant and broken as any kind of relationship takes constant effort and nurturing.

I would love to hear some of things you do in your families to make everyday things more meaningful so please comment!

Linked To:
http://theblissfulbee.com/work-it-wednesday-no-46/
http://www.familyhomeandlife.com/2014/05/wow-us-wednesday-link-party.html
http://www.persialou.com/2014/05/the-makers-no-16.html
http://loulougirls.blogspot.com/2014/05/lou-lou-girls-fabulous-party-5.html
http://staceyembracingchange.com/2014/05/08/creative-inspirations-linky-party-83/
http://www.thepinjunkie.com/2014/05/friday-link-party-66.html
http://iputabirdonit.blogspot.com/2014/05/linkn-blogs-24-welcoming-new-co-host.html