The $150 ORC: Week 3

If you've landed here through Calling It Home's One Room Challenge linkup, welcome!  My name is Laura, and I live in Greenville, SC.  I'm a wife, a mother of a precious 10 month old boy, and a small business owner.  I'm so excited to complete my second one room challenge (check out my first here).  I'm working on giving our guest room a facelift on- get this- a $150 budget.  No fancy collabs, no interior designers, no $700 light fixtures, no frills.  Just consignment finds, DIY projects, and a whole lot of elbow grease. 

It's week three of the One Room Challenge, and things are finally starting to come together.  Furniture is moved around (most likely in its final position), ceiling fan installed, and new outlets and plates are installed. Last week I shared a peek at the Rast bedside tables that I chalk painted a milky blue color.  Those tables now have lamps on them (swapped out w/ the ones from our foyer) and I'm starting to brainstorm what will be going on the wall behind them.

I had originally planned for an old window to be hanging above the bed, but I changed my mind on that this week.  I love the look of a dahlia wreath, and I found a DIY tutorial for this one on Pinterest, and put it together in less than two hours.  I love how it turned out! The whole thing cost me about 50 cents to put together, the only thing I had to purchase was the old book.   Other than that it called for a piece of cardboard, glue gun, and a paper cutter.  The window will now most likely go above the dresser on the adjacent wall.

I'm able to use the bedding that's always been in the room.  It's a beautiful grey quilt with white pom pom trim that I got during the Nordstrom sale.  I love how oversized the quilt is (I ordered a king for a queen bed), and that pom pom detail is my favorite.  I've started the process of working with my girlfriend Elizabeth of Wheaton Whaley Designs for some pillows for the bed, too!  Everything in here is so neutral right now, so I can't wait to add a bit of color with some fun pillows.

Quick side note: I help her with a lot of the photos for her Etsy site, so you may recognize the bed and bedding in her listings, it's the very guest room I'm redoing!

These lamps are from Hobby Lobby, and are still available in the store.  They go 50% off pretty frequently, which I think brings the price down to $30 per lamp.  We've had them in our foyer for about a year, and I get compliments on them all the time. 

To be honest, I've hit a little bit of a rut with this room.  I'm afraid that it's turning out to be way too rustic.   I do love rustic accents, but it's more my taste to incorporate a few rustic details with some bright feminine touches.  As of now this room has none of that, so I'm trying to figure out what I can do to liven it up a bit.

For starters I don't love the color of gold that the drawer pulls are on the bedside tables.  (Well, I don't love the pulls in general, but it's probably too late to switch them out completely.)  So I'm going to try to hit them with a coat of a brighter shinier paint and hope that makes a difference.  I've ordered this liquid gold gilding, and I hope that I like the color of it better than what's currently on the pulls.  I'm also thinking that using bright fun throw pillows can add something to the space.   These Kate Spade dalmatian print pillows aren't necesarrily bright, but they are fun, and I'm thinking about pairing two of these with a brighter fabric for the pillow situation.

This photo was taken from Wheaton Whaley's site, I don't have these in my possession yet. 

I've had this gold sunburst mirror forever, and was considering selling it because it's been sitting under the guest bed for almost two years.  Now that I'm working on including more bright gold in the room, I'm considering using it on one of the walls.  I just propped it up for a quick photo, but I actually like how it looks layered on the window. We shall see!

Here's a quick estimation of what I've spent so far:

• IKEA Rast bedside tables: $70
• Curtains: FREE
• Chalk Paint for tables: $3.50
• Two additional bin pulls: $7.00 (already owned the other 4)
• Old Window: FREE
• New white outlets, switches, and covers: $8.00
• Old book for wreath: $.50
• Liquid Gold Gilding: $5.00
• Lamps- FREE (repurposed from another room in our house)
• Bedding- FREE (using what we already had in there) 

TOTAL SPENT: $94.00


Here's what I still need to do:

• Hang curtains and blinds
• Buy curtain rods
• Figure out where the old window will hang
• Art/photos hung above the bedside tables
• Throw pillows on the bed

Things are definitely starting to shape up, and I already feel better about it all after writing this post.  Funny how that happens.  Sometimes you just need to put to all out there! Let's hope Week 4 is a productive one. 

You can view progress from previous weeks through the links below. 

The $150 ORC: Week 1

The $150 ORC: Week 2

The $150 ORC: Week 2

How is ORC Week 2 already here?  I remember having the exact same feeling the last time I did a One Room Challenge.  Just as you round out Week 1, pinning like crazy and dreaming about what you want to do to the room, Week 2 enters forcing you to act on all of those ideas that have been bouncing around in your head.  Time to put your money where your mouth is.

I kicked off Week 2 with a vengeance, putting together the Ikea Rasts I'll be using for bedside tables and starting to get them chalk painted.  I really liked the color of paint that I chose in the container, but once it was on the tables and dry, it was way too bright.   I mixed the remaining paint that I had with some other off-white chalk paint I had laying around, and gave them one more coat with the much lighter shade.  They're now the perfect shade of milky blue that I was going for.   I had four of these bin pulls leftover from the first ORC that I did.  I never used them, but I waited too late to return them to Amazon.   So I hit them with a coat of gold spray paint, and installed them on the drawer fronts.  I also ordered two more because I needed a total of six.  Bedside tables done.  BAM.

This Sunday, painted the entire room all by myself, with no tape I might add.   I never want to do that again, but once I started, I just didn't want to stop until I was finished.   I used my trusty Purdy paint brush, which helps to edge without needing tape.  Cuts the prep time down to nothing, which is why I was able to knock it out in a single afternoon.  I chose to use Sherwin Williams Mega Greige for the room, because I had enough left over from painting our dining room a few weeks ago.  It's a tad bit darker that I would have chosen, but I just was determined to use what I had.  It turned out that I had exactly enough paint for the room, like to the point where I was scraping the inside of the can with the brush to touch up some last spots on the wall.  Thank goodness I had enough!

Sherwin Williams Mega Greige

I also picked up new white outlets, switches, and plates for the room.  Since our house was built in the early 90's all of the outlets were that terrible dated ivory color.  Switching these out makes the biggest difference, and for less than $8.00 it didn't break my budget.  You can definitely spend more money on the plates, my personal favorite are these mirrored ones, but since this room won't be used on a daily basis and we're on a tight budget the inexpensive plastic ones are still a major upgrade.

And don't let the electrical work of switching out the outlets intimidate you.  I've changed out almost every outlet and switch in our house now, and as long as you have the right tools its a piece of cake.  You can view this Youtube video for a tutorial on how to do it.  If you've ever paid an electrician to do this, your jaw might hit the floor when you realize how simple it is.

Caroline, the master writer behind Amanda Louise Interiors blog, and a virtual friend that I still have yet to meet IRL, hooked me up with some sheers that she no longer needed.  They're IKEA Matilda sheer curtains, and they're perfect for the big bay window. Major bonus because I budgeted $10 for curtains, which I can now use for something else!  Once we get our blinds in and installed, I'll be putting those up in the windows.

Here's a quick estimation of what I've spent so far:

• IKEA Rast bedside tables: $70
• Chalk Paint for tables: $3.50
• Two additional bin pulls: $7.00
• New white outlets, switches, and covers: $8.00

TOTAL SPENT: $88.50


Here's what I still need to do:

• Rearrange furniture in the room, possibly put my vanity in the bay window, possibly get rid of it
• Hang curtains
• Figure out a lamp situation
• Install ceiling fan, let's hope it still works after sitting into our attic for 2 years
• Hang old window over bed, I picked this up off someone who was about to throw them away
• Find something cheap to hang over the dresser, possibly a DIY project
• Find a wreath to hang on the window over the bed, contemplating a DIY cotton wreath

Stay tuned for next week with (hopefully) some exciting progress pictures! 

Thompson is 10 Months

My best boy is 10 months old.  My how time flies.  

Thompson now weighs about 20 lbs, has two teeth on the bottom, and the top two are just starting to emerge.  He's wearing size 12 month clothing, size three diapers during the day and size fours at night with a Sposie pad for extra absorbency.  He's pulling up on everything, and has even stood unassisted for a few seconds a time or two.  Each time he does, he squeals and looks so proud of himself.  It's adorable. 

It's really difficult to read books to him while in the nursery glider.  He wiggles and squirms until he's halfway off the chair.  I read to him, hanging on to one limb, the rest of his body dangling off the chair.  I usually just give up halfway into the book.  We've now started to read books to him after mealtimes while he's still in his highchair, and it's worked great.  I've been reading this book to him each day, and he loves it.   Every time I bring the book out his hands go up in the air and he gives me the biggest smile.  I think he just really likes to chew on it, but I like telling myself I'm raising a baby genius.   Think I'll be putting this book in his easter basket so we can get a little more variety.

I broke down this month and purchased a play yard for our den. I hesitated on this for a while because they're not cheap, and I felt weird at first about essentially caging our child in something.  He's so fast and in to everything when we're playing in the den.  It was hard for me to get up and run to the restroom or put a load of clothes in the washer without having to dash back into the room and pull him away from the dog toys or our brick hearth.  We've loaded the play yard with his toys and books, and its big enough for me to get in and play with him too.  This thing has been a game changer, it allows me to get things done around the house, while he safely plays with his toys.

Meal times are getting easier and easier.  He's trying new things and is fully transitioned to a sippy cup.  Last week I wrote a post about what he's currently eating.  (You can see it here if you're interested.)  I've also noticed as he's eating more and more solid foods, he's becoming much less reliant on his bottles.  He'll still take a 7 oz bottle in the morning, sippy cups with 2-4 ounces at snack and meal times, but doesn't really want much formula before bedtime. He used to take a full 8 ounces, but these days I usually offer him a 6 oz bottle and he'll take anywhere from 2-6 ounces.  If he doesn't take a lot of formula, I get concerned that he'll wake up hungry, but he's still sleeping until 7 am every morning.

I just can't believe how close we're getting to his first birthday.  In less than two months I will have a ONE year old.  It just seems too crazy to even type that.

See previous month updates for Thompson below. 

One Month | Two Months | Three Months | Four Months | Five Months | Six Months | Seven Months | Eight Months | Nine Months

Weekend Recap + Weekly Meal Planning

This weekend was jam packed and so much fun.   Friday night we took it easy and got takeout from a sports bar down the street.  We knew that Saturday was going to be a big day, so we didn't want to overdo it.   Saturday morning we woke up and headed to Clemson for the Spring Game.  It's been years since I've been to a Spring Game, we always seem to be out of town when this weekend comes along.

Thompson was too young last year to bring into a game, but we decided this would be the perfect opportunity to bring him to Death Valley.  All three of us had a blast, but I quickly realized just how much work it is to have a baby in a game.  I was constantly reapplying sun screen to his face, terrified he'd get a burn.  And in a pinch, I changed his diaper on the floor of the stadium bathroom.  Not my proudest mom moment, but you do what you gotta do.  It was the perfect introduction to Clemson football, and T and I agreed we won't be bringing him to a real game for several years.  

Saturday night we went to a wedding shower for one of my college girlfriends.  I can't believe I didn't snap a single photo while I was there, but I think my girlfriends and I were all just to busy chatting and catching up with one another.

Sunday was Masters Sunday, so like most other guys T wanted to spend his afternoon on the couch in front of the TV.  I put him on Daddy duty while he watched the tournament,  and I knocked out repainting our guest room.  I'm doing a little redo of the room as part of the One Room Challenge.  You can read about my plan for the room here.

I managed to get the entire room painted Sunday afternoon, and by the time 5:00 rolled around I was exhausted.  The three of us spent the rest of the day lounging on the couch, and T and I treated ourselves to some margaritas.  I was in no mood to cook, so we pulled some chili from the freezer, and had that for a quick dinner.  Hope y'all had a great weekend!

And here's what's on the menu for this week: 

Sunday: Leftover chili from the freezer
Monday: Eggroll Bowls with Asian Cucumber Salad
Tuesday: Leftovers
Wednesday: Baked Chicken Tacos and roasted zucchini
Thursday: Leftovers

The $150 ORC

If you follow any blog, you've probably heard of Calling It Home's One Room Challenge, and you may be aware that their spring challenge starts today. I participated in my first (and only) challenge about a year and a half ago when we redecorated our 90's blue striped bathroom.  I loved the challenge,  it provided a timeline for us, so the room was completed much quicker than if we were doing it on our own.  You can see the before and after shots of our bathroom here.

About two days ago, admittedly after a glass or two of liquid courage, I decided that I wanted to do this challenge again.  A pretty last minute decision, considering most bloggers have been planning this challenge for months, putting together mood boards, and reaching out to companies for collaborations.  Not me.  I just decided on a whim that it's high time to give our guest room a face lift, and here's the kicker, on a $150 budget.  

Going off on a little tangent here, but T and I have been loosely following Dave Ramsey's 7 Baby Steps for several years now, yet we still have student loans and car payments that we're having to put money towards each month.   I love the idea of finally being debt free, but I've had a really hard time making the sacrifices I need to to really shovel money towards our debts each month.  A few weeks ago, I decided it was time to go balls to the wall with it, to knock out our debt and hopefully do so by my 30th birthday.   Fingers crossed. (And more on this later, this deserves a post all on it's own)

So when the thought of doing a ORC entered my mind, I knew I'd have to get creative.   T and I both agreed that we could put $150 net into this room, that's it.  I say $150 net, because I am giving myself the ability to consign anything within the room, and use that money towards the space as well.   And while I'm giving myself that option, I also think it would be pretty freaking awesome to only spend $150 on the space, regardless of the money I make selling things in there.

Here are some before pictures I quickly snapped of the room.  (So quickly I didn't even bother to straighten the bedding before I took them) There's nothing too terrible about the room, no heinous wallpaper, no burgundy accent wall.   But, it's just that, nothing, completely vanilla.  We kept the walls the fleshy pink that they were when we moved in, and then I just dumped some furniture from our old house in there and stuck a light close to the bed.  That's it.   I did manage to get the previous owner's glow in the dark stars off the ceiling and the dream catcher removed from the ceiling vent before I snapped these photos.

And here's the general plan for the room...

• Paint the walls in SW Mega Greige.  We have enough left over from painting our dining room, so I won't have to come out of pocket for the paint.  COST: $0
• Two new bedside tables.  I'll either be finding some used ones to redo, or purchasing two Rasts from IKEA.  COST: Approx $70
• Two lamps for bedside tables.  Hoping to repurpose two lamps I already own. COST: $0
• Hang old windows above the bed.  I'm picking these up from someone tomorrow who was about to throw them away. COST: $0
• Rearrange some furniture and hang artwork above the dresser. COST: $50
• Install new blinds in the room (these have already been custom ordered, so I'm not including them in the budget, they were about $200 if you're curious) and hang some kind of sheers or drapes. COST: $10
• Change out the ceiling fan.  I've had a new one in our attic waiting to switch out, I just need to finally do it.  COST: I'm calling it $0 because I've had it for 2 years just sitting around. 
• Use my remaining $20 for any other decor for the room

I'll be using a lot of things that I already own, repurposing, consigning, possibly dumpster diving, bartering, and up-cycling to make this happen, and I'm pretty freaking excited about it.  While I won't be able to provide convenient shopable links at the bottom of each post for you to be able to buy the exact same things I have, I will be showing you how just a little bit of craftiness and elbow grease can make a pretty big (I hope) impact in a room.  So I hope you'll follow along with me as I either successfully complete the cheapest ORC ever or fail miserably.

Weekend Recap + This Week's Menu

Happy Monday!  Popping in for a short weekend recap and sharing our menu for this coming week.  The weather was perfect this weekend, and we had some great time out on our porch.  We picked up a cheap baby pool from Walmart for Thompson, for $7.88, this gem is worth its weight in gold.

We had dinner at home both nights, Friday night we treated ourselves to sushi from our favorite takeout place, Sushi Masa, and Saturday we went simple with Publix chicken tenders and a quick green bean salad that I made.

Here's what's on the menu for this week:

Monday- Taco Salads
Tuesday- Leftover Taco Salads
Wednesday- Pizza Chicken (chicken breasts topped with marinara, pepperoni, and cheese and baked)  w/ Italian Roasted Garlic and Parmesan Potatoes, and a salad
Thursday- Prosciutto and Artichoke Stuffed Shells


We're getting a little off our no carb dinners this week, because I'm trying to use a few things we already have in our pantry.  Next week I plan to be back on the low/no carb train.


Hope y'all have a great week!

Feeding A 10 Month Old

Once Thompson reached about 8 months, I started introducing a few finger foods for him to eat at snack times and meal times.   At first it was really fun getting him to try new foods, but after a few weeks, I quickly got discouraged.   I felt so bad feeding him the same 5 foods over and over and over.  I wanted to give him variety, but I just couldn't think of any new foods that would be safe enough to eat, nutritious, and filling.  He's just reached 10 months, and I think I finally have a pretty good handle on finger foods for baby.  For lunch and dinner, I will typically first give him a fruit/veggie pouch, and then give him more finger foods.  The pouch should give him the nutrients that he needs, and then the finger foods can give him the calories and carbs to fill him up.  I mentioned in a previous post that I really like these Pouch Toppers.  The toppers allow Thompson to feed himself the pouch, but if he squeezes it too hard it won't come squirting out everywhere.  I also have just transitioned to the Munhckin 360 Trainer Cups, and love them.   It only took me a day to get Thompson transitioned to these cups.  They're great for preventing spills, and easy to clean.

Here are some of my current favorite ideas.

Morning Snacks: 
-Cheerios (regular or honey nut- check with your pediatrician first, but ours said honey nut are okay because the honey is cooked)
-cut up grapes
-berries (cut up to small bite size, he likes strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries)
-wheat toast (You can give this in bite sized pieces, or in long thin strips so that they can hold it, just depends on what your baby does best with. I also only use wheat bread, don't want him getting used to white)

Lunch Foods: 
- peanut butter toast- (once again, check with your pediatrician first, ours said it was okay to introduce PB after 6 months)
-quesadilla (small flour tortilla, with shredded cheese microwaved for about 20 seconds and cut up into bite-sized pieces,  you can even add finely chopped spinach in)
-scrambled egg (I usually cook this well in coconut oil and sometimes add a little cheese, some doctors recommend only giving babies the egg yolk, but our doc gave us the go ahead on the whole egg)
- hard boiled egg (cut up into small pieces)

Afternoon Snacks: 
-canned corn (I give right out of the can, I usually buy the no salt added)
-canned green beans (you can give them right out of the can, I usually buy the no salt added)
-chopped ripe tomatoes
-chopped ripe avocado
-canned mandarin oranges (give these in small amounts because the citrus can cause diaper rash)
-cucumber (remove the rind, can be given in bite-sized pieces or in thin sticks)

Dinner Foods:
-pasta with butter or marinara (I like 100% whole wheat rotini)
-cheese quesadilla
-cheese (either shredded cheese, or a semi soft cheese cut up into bite-sized pieces)
-black beans (these need to be cooked, not right out of the can)
-cooked zucchini or squash (cut up into bite-sized pieces)
-cooked carrots (cut up into bite sized pieces, make sure you cook these until they're very soft)
-scrambled egg


If you have any other ideas, I'm all ears!  Always looking to introduce more to his diet.