Noom

He calls it his noom. New + Room = Noom. Makes sense. It still needs work..including a few pictures and a new light fixture.



Our friend Erin got us the map for FREE!






The chicken wire frame came from a consignment sale for 7 bucks. I think it will be a cool way to show his art work, birthday invites, pictures, and memories. We still need to refinish the nightstand...real wood and 12 bucks from same consignment sale.

Comforter-Overstock
Sheets-Target
Bed-in the family
All other stuff-thrift store











We found the lockers in Will's family's basement. The chest of drawers are from Pop's childhood. Will calls them chester drawers. Everything else is from the thrift store!







I copied Ashley Ann Photography on her roller shades and happy tape idea. And the rug. And the colors. I love her ideas.

He is so proud of his new space. He runs in everyday screaming, "Noom, noom, noom." Sweet boy.

Thrift Store Finds

I love thrift stores. It is exciting to rummage through tons of "junk" for little treasures. The past couple of weeks I have found several items that focus on the world. I love maps and globes, so I am pretty pumped about these finds.


A Latin map of our honeymoon location:





A vintage puzzle of the US:



Framed Latin Map of the World:



Globe:





Huge floor map:



Too bad the last one is missing Tennessee. I am excited about Hudson learning about the US through the huge floor map. I plan to hang the vintage one up in his toddler room. The rest of the goods will find resting spots around our house!

DIY and other home projects

Please excuse my picture taking ability. I think you either have this talent or you don't. Or you learn it.

Will bought this piano bench for 5 bucks. He sanded it before taking the picture. It was shiny and ugly. Afterwards, he painted it white and antiqued it a bit. Now, we are using it as an end table/ coffee table/ toy holder. It could even be a toddler desk. Not bad for a 5.

I also added some pictures and sweet notes from Will into our empty frame wall. I don't know if I will keep it this way, but we are trying it out.

We also finally replaced our lunchroom industrial light. It now lives in the garage.



This little 16 dollar number has taken its place.



It isn't much, but that huge light has been a thorn in my side for sometime. Our new one goes well with our other kitchen light fixtures. I also don't have migraines from standing under it. Nor do I need SPF 50.

If you have the same problem, Will says this is a rather simple project. I love that he knows how to do this stuff!

We have also added more stuff to our white framed stairway. I got this idea from the young house love blog. I love it. It really pops.



This is my favorite. It is from Katie Daisy. Really warms my heart.

I will be sad when my handyman goes back to work. He is currently at Lowe's purchasing wood for my little reading nook. Pinterest has made me discontent. Projects will forever be endless.

call it what it is

Note: If you aren't the main grocery shopper in your family, skip to the end of this post. It will save you 5 minutes of your life.

Extreme couponing....more like extreme obsession/addiction. I'm not talking to the average coupon queen. I'm talking to that lady who spends 20 plus hours a week preparing for a grocery trip. Don't tell me it's free! You simply got paid for working! There is no reason I should own 1,000 tubes of toothpaste or buy 55 jars of mustard just because it is free!

Ok, that was my soapbox for couponing. That being said, I love to coupon. I spend around 1 hour every week preparing for my grocery trip. I try to match up in store savings with store coupons, competitor coupons, and manufacturer's coupon. If it isn't on sale and I need it, I search for a coupon. Publix doubles my manufacturer's coupons up to 50 cents, so I can actually get most things cheaper at Publix even if it isn't on sale.

I also won't snag a deal simply because it is cheap. If it is bad for my family, it isn't worth buying. I try to limit our processed food intake, so even if it is cheap, I usually go with fresh produce, veggies, and fruit. I do however jump on Gushers when they are BOGO with coupons. They made my hubby's day!

For example, here is my typical coupon adventure. This week at Publix I got sweet potatoes, 2 jars of pasta sauce, 2 fresh vegetables, red potatoes, 3 fresh fruits, coffee creamer, feta cheese, hummus, pasta, canned veggies, pita bread, sour cream, lettuce, frozen veggies, 2 bags of shredded cheese, sliced cheese, dip, organic yogurt, yoplus yogurt, 2 boxes of granola bars, eggs, 2 cartons of milk, butter, and cereal. I spent $42.94 and saved $38.16. I was happy. I got only what we needed, and I got it cheap. I did have to make a trip to Walmart for a few things, but thankfully, we were pretty stocked up on meat this week!

Saving money is fun! I love to see those prices drop. However, if you see me hoarding bottles of shampoo under my son's crib, please gather my closest friends for an intervention.

Disclaimer--If you are that kind of couponer, I am in no place to say you are crazy. Just don't neglect your family in order to stock up for the rare event that we face a zombie crisis.

We recently had Hudson's one year pictures. Our photographer is wonderful! If you live in the Birmingham area, look her up! She is talented and very reasonably priced!

Here is her website:
www.laurarowephotography.com

Frugal Living

Some of our friends might say we are cheap, but we like to call it frugal. We thought we should share 20 ways we save money:

1)I'm a coupon lady. I will say it is tough to coupon and eat healthy, but there are so many items to save on that don't compromise your eating habits...diapers, cleaning supplies, toiletries, and lots of foods and snacks. I try to buy items on sale. I look for a manufacturer's coupon on those items, and either a competitor or store coupon to go with it. My goal is usually to save exactly what I spend or close to it. I always check out www.southernsavers.com. She does the work for me!

2)I play the CVS freebie game. If you take advantage of extra bucks, you walk out of the store with stuff for free! Again, check out www.southernsavers.com.

3)I buy meat when it is about to expire and freeze it.

4)We use a budgeting system through Microsoft Money and plan for the month. Having money allotted for nearly everything gives us both freedom and restraint.

5)We don't shop for clothes at the mall. There are so many other options: consignment, thrift stores, yard sales, and of course Target, Old Navy, TJ Max, and Ross!

6)Most baby items can be borrowed or bought at yard sales and thrift stores. We have been taking advantage of this lately.

7)We don't go to the "real" movies. Well, we may go on a special occasion, but rarely. We go to the Carmike $1 theater. Can't beat it! It isn't the Rave, but you feel like you are watching a movie in 1985...kinda fun!

8)This is a no brainer...we drink water when we go out to eat.

9)We read books from the library or buy them at the Salvation Army for $1. If it is a must have, we just check online.

10)Instead of cable, we are exploring our options with Netflix and Hulu.

11)There are tons of really cheap date nights offered locally. A few we have taken advantage of include: a visit to the planetarium for a special show, watching the manger scene in a cave, wine, beer, and coffee tastings, art festivals, movies on the quad, etc...

12)There are so many freebies out there! You can sign up for free samples of diapers, formula, toiltries, snacks,etc. If it is your birthday, you can sign up for coupons for free dinners and other fun stuff! We had free Jason's Deli for my past birthday.

13)We eat out once a week.

14)We check out sites like Groupon and Living Social for deals.

15)If we purchase online, we always search for a free shipping code and a percentage off the total code.

16)I serve breakfast for dinner or meatless entrees once a week.

17)I make and freeze my own baby food.

18)We don't wash our clothes just because we wore them. We wait until they are dirty.

19)We buy printer ink and other random necessities off Ebay.

20)We feel like this last one is supposed to be awesome. We are actually doing these off the top of our heads and are having a hard time coming up with this one. So, our final advice is live simply. There are many things that we just don't "have" to have. Our world is constantly making us feel like we "need" so much stuff, but we have seen that the simpler we live, the more peaceful life becomes.