Planning our Annual Summer Party

(This is a sponsored post for the new Zazzle Moblie App, all opinions are one hundred percent my own.)

Summer is finally, FINALLY here and that means Jesse and I have started planning our annual backyard party. Jesse (with help from a few amazing friends and family) built a brand spankin' new thousand square foot deck last year and we are so excited to invite everyone over to enjoy it. Tonight, while Jesse and B were playing in the yard, I used the new Zazzle Mobile App to search for some fun party invitations. The new app allows you to search, customize and order while you are on the go. Super handy for a workin' mama like myself! You can download the app here.

These are my favorite invite options for our party, although number three won't work because we don't have a pool, haha.  But I love the vintage style.

Simple and bright, this invite can be found here 

A little vintage, a little country, this invite can be found here (I think this one is the winner!)

This invite can be found here if you have a pool, you lucky duck!

I can't wait to get invitations ordered and start planning decorations! Will you be throwing any parties this summer? 

How we Make our Small Bathroom Work + First Aid Box

We live in the Midwest, where yards are big and new subdivisions with huge homes are everywhere. But we have an older house and our bathroom is about twenty seven square feet. Full disclosure: We have an unfinished bathroom in the basement but we only use it for, um, emergencies. Sometimes having a small bathroom is a little frustrating, but I don't get too down about it. The couple who built this house and lived here for forty years raised five girls with this bathroom. Five. It's all about perspective!
Since our bathroom is so small, I thought I'd share a few tips on how we make it work.
Remove closet door(s). We have a linen closet in our bathroom, which is great but the closet door and bathroom door kept bumping into each other. Our solution was to take the door off and replace the painted plywood shelving with butcher block. This solves the issue of the doors bumping into each other, opens up the room a little and provides a few inches of counter space.

Edit Supplies. I regularly go through our baskets and drawers and toss anything that is past it's prime. Items that aren't every day essentials get stored elsewhere. For example, extra toilet paper (there is one back-up in the basket) Qtips and cotton balls are stored in the pantry. Medicine bottles, like cold remedies and ibuprofen, are stored in the kitchen. If an item won't fit into one of the baskets or drawers, I evaluate whether or not it needs to be in the bathroom, or if something else can go to make room.


Form AND Function. Since we don't have extra space for decorative objects, I use baskets, jars and vintage milk glass to corral necessities and provide a little style at the same time. Another way I combined form and function was by swapping B's plastic step stool with one that was a little more eye catching. My favorite form/function object so far is this upcycled metal first aid box!

I love this vintage inspired first aid box from CB2, but I thought I could make something similar for less. I found this old metal box at the Goodwill and gave it some spray paint love.
The box required about ten minutes of scrubbing, then I let it air dry before priming. After the primer was dry, I gave the box three coats of white spray paint, with a light sanding in between layers. The red cross is a vinyl sticker from Amazon.

OK, on to my last two tips...
Reign in Kid Clutter. Behind the shower curtain (sorry, no pic), bath toys are contained in one mesh basket. We hang B's potty seat over the bathtub water faucet so it's out of the way, but he can easily reach it.

Consider Humidity. This is something we struggle with, in fact I need to re-paint the walls because of it (more on that in a separate post). A couple of things that seem to work are squeegeeing the shower walls and running the fan for at least thirty minutes after bathing. I also bought a couple of Turkish bath towels, which are fantastic. They are super soft but they are thin so they dry fast and therefore resist mildew better than plush towels. Oh, and that kitschy paint by numbers on the wall? It was eight bucks at an antiques store and already slightly water damaged, so I'm not worried about it getting ruined. :)
These are just a few ways we make our small bathroom work. Do you have a small bathroom? how do you maximize the space? I'd love the hear about your solutions or clever things you've seen in the comments!

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This post is linked up with:
Liz Marie Blog 5.15.14
Remodelaholics Anonymous 5.16.14
Link Party Palooza 5.16.14

Dining Room Part 4 + Lampshade DIY

As weekends go, this one was pretty fantastic!  Jesse and I celebrated our five year anniversary, I finished DIY-ing this fun light fixture for over the dining table and we found the estate sale Holy Grail, on Saturday morning! That deserves a whole separate blog post! Now, more about working on the dining space. 

I've been checking the Habitat Re-Store once a week for about a month hoping to find a light fixture for over the dining table. I got lucky on Wednesday when I stopped in over lunch and found this little number. Also, side note, I think this purchase, which followed this one and this one, officially puts me in a "lighting" phase!

There was absolutely nothing wrong with the light, it's a current style and quite nice looking. I'd say it was a bargain at twenty five bucks.  But of course I needed snazz it up a little, so I used about ten sticks of hot glue to wrap the shade in yarn!

I'm not sure why, but it's pretty much impossible to get a clear picture of those stripes using my camera. I suspect I need a better lens. I also need to learn how to use my camera properly. It's on the list!

After Jesse showed me how to install a light fixture, I really wanted to try this one while he talked me through it. Unfortunately, when I removed the old light, the wires coming from the ceiling were a mess and required replacing. We'll also need to do something about that drywall damage around the hole. 

As I understand it, the repair is simple. The sticky part is deciding whether to paint the entire ceiling so it matches or use a medallion to cover the mis-matched area. I need a little time to think about it, plus Jesse has a paid side project he's working on right now, so this will have to take a backseat for a week or so.

It took me a while to decide on a rug, but I finally landed on this one from Momeni. I'm glad I took my time deciding, I think it's perfect!

Overall, the dining space is looking really sharp! It gives me warm fuzzies when I compare it to this before picture! The only items left on my list are some kind of low and long centerpiece. Succulents would look great, but that corner doesn't get enough light for anything to grow. I'd also like one or two pieces of art for the wall; a modern abstract or maybe a charcoal sketch would be good. I'm  keeping an eye on the One Kings Lane vintage art sales for something I love within my price range.

Lastly, I need to give a shout out to these amazing flowers that Jesse sent to my office for our five year anniversary. They are the same mix of flowers used in our wedding. So thoughtful!
I met the florist at the front door and when I came around the corner to my office, everyone started clapping...just to embarrass me and make me blush, they're nice like that ;)

This post is linked up with:
The Inspiration Exchange 5.6.14
Remodelaholics Anonymous 5.9.14
Tatertots and Jello 5.9.14
The Creative Collection 5.9.14
Liz Marie Blog 5.15.14