Basement Bathroom Makeover

We knew that this bathroom needed a refresh, but we also knew we didn’t want to spend a small fortune changing the floor, vanity and shower stall. We set a budget of $300 knowing that it would be mostly cosmetic, with new paint, wallpaper and a light fixture.

I feel like we did pretty well, until Ryan decided to change out the vent fan and add a new can light above the shower, adding an additional $300 to the project, replacing GFCI’s and switches. But we are both extremely happy with the end result, and feel it was worth it to have a quieter fan and more light.

Paint colors by Sherwin Williams
Vanity : Iron Ore
Walls: Pure White
Cove: Rosy Outlook

If you want links, be sure to check out my Amazon Storefront button, linked at the top of this post! And as always, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to comment or message me directly!

Hello, it’s me…

I grew up in the age of live journal, chat rooms, AIM & MySpace… so sharing my thoughts on a public platform like a blog seemed like second nature to me. As my photography blog has since been shutdown, and I only started writing on this blog back in 2015… I felt it fitting to re-introduce myself, because I have changed quite a bit in the past 10 years.

hi. Welcome to my neglected corner of the internet. I had all the best intentions to share life happenings, house projects, favorite recipes, Amazon essentials and more here. I quickly learned that I’m terrible with consistency and struggle with imposter syndrome, so I’m convinced that this space will just be a huge waste of time, seeing as people don’t spend much time on blogs anymore. It went from instagram, to Pinterest, to YouTube, to now TikTok… and I feel like my brain and attention span have left me in the process. I can now see why our parents give up learning the new technologies because Lordy does it change quickly!

The past week, I’ve wasted the better part of the day trying to figure out how to use TikTok and actually grow on that app. What content I need to be making and sharing, and how I need to be engaging with other creators. It truly makes me want to lie down and take a huge nap, and question if this is even something I want to try to figure out. But in the process, I realized that so much of who I am and what I love isn’t being showcased on any social platform (not that it needs to be), but I have always found so much comfort in encouraging others and making people feel at home or at the very least, that they are normal & seen. When we are truly ourselves, we can bring a unique perspective, instead of regurgitating what we think people want to hear, or acting the same way as popular influencers do, thinking that it will get us likes and views.

I’m just me. Insignificant to the world, but absolutely everything to three tiny humans, and a wonderful man who married me. I feel like this little life we live is pretty great, and I’m so grateful for every day I get to spend with them. And if it’s interesting to you, I’m always happy to share what’s working for us, and also what’s not. I’m a fairly open book when it comes to our life, but I will never pretend to be an expert at anything, because I feel like there’s always room for improvement or ways I can make it better. The only thing you must know, you will never change my views on Faith or politics. Not to say I’m not open for discussion, but I’m set on both. Thanks.

So, a little about me. Elevator edition? I’m a sorta crunchy Catholic SAHM of three. Happily Married to the man of my dreams. Sourdough making, Raw milk drinking, meat loving, occasional mural painting, homeschooling artist, who loves to share baked goods with neighbors, paint my home in fun bright colors, have loud dance parties with my kids and sing loudly in the car. If I’m not in the kitchen, you’ll find me at my desk drawing with my kids, or working out with Peloton. Cliche? Maybe. But I want to be able to enjoy adventures with kids and husband for years to come and not complain about my body hurting.

That’s me. In a very small nutshell. As I say in here, almost every year, I really hope to start sharing more. Using this blog more and maybe actually treating this more like a job than a hobby. (Maybe I would actually make a little money in the process too).

The End of One Season, Means the Start of a New

Five years ago, this sleep deprived family of five decided to start a new nightly summer routine of going for walks around our neighborhood. Having a fresh squishy newborn meant that the older two were feeling a little pent up in the house, while this mama figured out life with three babies. We would walk, let Jonathan ride his bike and Verona was quite content riding in the stroller. It wasn’t perfect, a little over a mile, but the fresh air always felt wonderful and the golden light never disappointed. We started mid July of that year, and continued until October; weather permitting.

This routine, would help keep us sane the next summer during the pandemic, and even into 2021. It felt as if we found a little slice of heaven right there in Midland. Slightly chaotic, yet peaceful, uninterrupted family time. “Family Selfies” became the norm, they learned that their photo loving mama was going to want to stop and take a “Quick family selfie” if the light was just right. I couldn’t have loved it more. Then we moved.

October 2021: The walk was nice, but I quickly realized, walking three cul de sacs tends to get pretty repetitive. With how our neighborhood is set up, if you want to venture out past that, it turns into a whole new kind of task, and a lot longer of a walk. Which isn’t as quiet and calm with three kids. So we scraped it. Just like that, my favorite post dinner routine was over and traded in for new activities. Mini sticks hockey in the basement, family mario kart races, exploring book series as a family before bedtime. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t like we were lacking in ideas to do with the kids, I just enjoyed the fresh air. That season of walks with little kids in strollers was gone so fast, I didn’t have a second to realize what had ended. In the blur of moving, unpacking and getting situated in our new home and new life in Ohio, I felt like a whole precious season had been stolen from me. I didn’t know how to process it. So I did what I usually do, I pushed that out of my mind and moved on with life, because being a SAHM of three and homeschooling, with a husband who travels a lot for work, believe it or not, is a lot of work.

I threw myself into every house project I could think of, painted almost every room, made this house feel like our home, and tried to ignore the ache in my soul for our old nightly routine of quiet walks.

Spring 2024: After years of training wheels, and fears of falling, we finally mastered the two wheel bikes (x3). All three kids learned within a few weeks of each other how to ride a two wheel bike, and just like that our nightly walks were (kinda) back on the table. The only problem was that, Ryan and I couldn’t walk fast enough, so the kids were getting annoyed with us for asking them to slow down. Until one night. LIGHTBULB MOMENT: Ryan pulled our bikes down from the garage ceiling, filled the tires and it was like suddenly a whole new neighborhood was opened up to us.

We were riding 4-6 miles a night, exploring the local high school, and off-road bike trails, etc. One night, as the sun was starting to go down behind the trees and the light was flickering through the trees, I felt my breath catch in my chest. I felt it. That ache in my soul that had been missing our old nightly routine, and I realized we found it. It wasn’t the same as before, but it was new and improved for this new season of life. Full. Family. Bike. Rides. My heart was exploding with excitement.

We can mourn the loss of old ways, and yet still rejoice in the new beginnings, God is kind of awesome that way. What’s the verse? Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.

We faced new fears, we learned new skills, we skinned some knees and bruised some egos (mostly mine), but was able to find something new to cherish that got us outside and burning off energy.

Sourdough Painting… my attempt

I do not claim to be the master or inventor of painting on sourdough, because I was definitely inspired by other people on how to do this. And if you are on this blog post, you most likely saw my little video of me trying my hand at this fun trend.

Here are the links for the two products I used:

Click on the photo of each object and it will take you to the link! Hope that helps, let me know if you have any questions!