Clean it up

I don't know about you but I find it way too daunting to clean our entire house in one day.

And now that baby Charlie is here, I don't always have a few hours to get it done in one fell swoop.

So, the A-type in me created a manageable weekly cleaning schedule that helps keep our house clean enough.

So far, the schedule has been working. 

Would I advise eating off our floors?

Definitely not.

Do I freak out if I miss a day?

No. A little dirt and disorganization never hurt anyone.

And if all else fails, I can just put out this dish towel:

Have a great day :)
- Caitlin

Just add water

Warning: this is highly addictive!

I recently downloaded Waterlogue, an app that only costs a couple of bucks, and turns your iPhone pictures into watercolor works of art.

It's so easy to use.

 I just scrolled through my camera roll and chose a few pictures that I wanted to turn into watercolor.

Here they are...

An afternoon this weekend at the beach here in Connecticut:

Our springer Rosie shaking the water off and saluting the sun:

Charlie snuggled in our bed:

A vacation in Martha's Vineyard from a couple of years ago: 

A trip to Montauk last year:

Chris walking the beach with the dog last winter:

Our home when we moved in: 

My grandmother holding Charlie:

Since there are some blank frames and walls in our house that need filling, I'm thinking that I can just get some of these printed and I'll have art that I had a part in creating.

A quick thank you to Jen from City Farmhouse for sharing the art in our bedroom!

Check it out here.

Have a great Labor Day!
- Caitlin

Coffee table talk

Today I'm sharing a new look in our living room.

Not only did we change the furniture back from this arrangement but we also switched out our old coffee table that was a DIY project (you can read about it here) for this one that I recently purchased off of Craigslist.

It definitely gives a little bit of a new look to the room since the last coffee table was so white and light.

It was fun styling it using accessories that we already had...

...like this glass cloche and coral (both garage sale finds):

Want the look?
I've put together a source list of where you can find this coffee table and it's accessories (or look-alikes):

coffee table (now on sale!)
glass cloche
large white coral
Allegra Hicks coffee table book
Coastal Style coffee table book
The Collected Home coffee table book
candle pillars
vase
rustic white tray


Oh, one more thing...
If you're bored, check out our DIY bookshelves feature over at SheKnows.com!

I hope you enjoy the last official weekend of summer!
- Caitlin

The answer to my culinary prayers

I might like to decorate but it's no secret that I don't like to cook.

Recently though, the whole process has become a little bit more enjoyable when I decided to sign ourselves up for Blue Apron.

Basically, each week you are sent perfectly pre-portioned ingredients for three different recipes and very easy to follow step-by-step instructions (with pictures) on how to prepare each meal. You can tailor the menu you are sent by specifying any dietary restrictions (hello fellow pescatarians) and even opt out for the week if you don't like the upcoming menu.

Blue Apron

Here's why I like it:

1. It's affordable.
It comes out to about $10 a person per meal, which is probably equal to what I would spend by going out to the grocery store.

2. I don't have to think about what to cook or even go to the grocery store.
Now I don't consider myself a lazy person by any means but sometimes going grocery shopping and planning out a dinner menu is such a chore.

3. It's fast.
Each meal is designed to take about 35 minutes to prepare. Plus, having the ingredients perfectly portioned out makes for a quick preparation. There's no breaking out the measuring cups or tablespoons, which in turn also makes for an easier clean up.

4. It's healthy (enough).
All the recipes range from 500-700 calories, which is a plus for those working on losing the post-baby poundage.

I'll spare you my prepared Blue Apron meals' photos (I've yet to learn how to photograph food well) but you can check out their Instagram to see lots of pictures.

Happy cooking!
- Caitlin

Rocker report

Today I'm sharing an update on how our DIY chair-turned-rocker in the nursery is holding up since having Charlie.

We did this project in an effort to save some money as rockers can mean big bucks.

So, we took a regular Ikea chair that we already had and added a swivel rocker part.

You can read all about the DIY here.

So it's been about 3 months and I'm really happy we decided to do this project.

The chair is still rocking and swiveling the way it should. Plus it's comfy and helps lure Charlie to sleep.

By the way, how sweet is this pillow?

My friend's mom hand painted Charlie's name on it and it matches his nursery perfectly.

I sense a new project I want to try!

Thanks for reading!
- Caitlin

My project fail

You win some. You lose some.  Right?

Not every project I try out is a winner (my sister can vouch for my DIY sunburst twig mirror gone bad).

Well, I have another one to add to the list: 

the time I thought it was a good idea to subway tile the back wall of our laundry closet.

After subway tiling our kitchen, I figured this would be a piece of cake.

What I forgot to consider was the following:

a. The wall is at a 45 degree angle, making it difficult to lay the tiles especially at the bottom.

b. The wall is crooked, something you don't want when tiling.

c. Grouting is annoying. Grouting a hard to reach place is really annoying.

Chris, who thought it was a terrible idea from the beginning, documented my disaster.

Here's me squeezing my body into the small space to start the tiling.

This should have been a sign to quit while I was ahead.

I didn't stop though and continued to lay the sheets of tile.

It actually doesn't look too terrible in this picture but in person, they weren't straight, and with the wall being crooked, it was close to impossible to make them look straight. 

Once I surrendered to this being a really bad idea (I hadn't even started grouting which was sure to also be a disaster), we tried pulling the sheets of tile off the wall.
With that, came some of the dry wall.
Yep, you can imagine the expletives that were being tossed around at this point.

Just when I thought we would have to hire someone to come fix my mistake, Chris came up with idea to just plank the area like we did in our bedroom, thus masking any evidence of my big whoops.
He's so smart.

It was still a pain to plank but not nearly as terrible as trying to tile in there.

Our basket light is still up in the closet. 

To read about that, you can go here.

As for this little window in the closet, we are going to hang a cornice that matches the one in the hallway.

Lucky for us (not), this window also has an angle that we will have to work around. 

So I learned my lesson. I should listen to my husband more and leave the tiling for the kitchen.

Oh well!

- Caitlin

Friday Fashion Fix: cool in camo

Turns out camo isn't just for the military.

I love the print and think it's a great look for fall.

Here are some camo looks you can shop:

J. Crew

LOFT

Piperlime

J. Crew

TJ Maxx

Gap

Asos

Asos

LOFT

Have a great weekend!
- Caitlin