Showing posts with label mcapril. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mcapril. Show all posts

Powder Room Remodel


Hi Everyone! 

Quarantine, yes we are still in quarantine, got me again. I decided to remodel my powder room. Power rooms don't get enough love. I mean, its not like tons of people are visiting but when guest come over the powder room is one of the most used rooms in your home. I decided to spruce mine up a bit, and by a bit I mean a lot. All credit goes to Anna Mae Grooves. Her entire home is lovely! She is lovely too! I've been loving her content lately. I saw her powder room remodel and had to do mine too. 



Lets jump right in! 
Here is what my powder room looked like before. I liked the shelves, so I knew I wanted to keep those. But the oval mirror and light fixture had to go. 



I went with my go to, Target for the shelves and mirror. I purchased the light fixture from Shadesoflight.com This was my first time using that site and they have a ton of inventory and decent prices. 


I used thumbtack for the shelf and light fixture install. I have used thumbtack a lot and I have never had an problem with the handymen or the app itself. 


I knew I wanted to do something to the walls but I didn't want to be bothered with paint. Initially, I picked out 2 different peel and stick wall paper patterns from amazon. They have some good options. I also saw several that I loved on Chasingpaper.com . Then I stumbled upon Anna Maes' Instagram page and fell in love with wall decal concept. I searched Urbanwalls site and was blown away! They have some amazing decals and peel and stick wall paper on their site. I am also obsessed with their Instagram and pinterest page. 

Cons to using the decals:
1. The decals on urban walls site are kinda pricey. I waited until they had a sale and was able to get a coupon code from their online chat as well. 
2. Their shipping is also kinda slow. I know....first world problems. They are made to order so mine took about a week and 2 days to arrive. 
3. When your decals arrive they come in long sheets. You have to cut each image out of the sheet. I found this time consuming and quite tedious. Take your time though. The cut out does not have to be super concise but you don't want to cut any of the decals either. 



Pro tip: Because all of a sudden I am a pro right? lol place your decals on the wall before putting your fixtures back up. I'll tell you why, just keep reading.



I used painters tape to stick the decals in spots to get an idea of how it would look before committing to sticking them down. 



To adhere the decal I used paint smoothing tool, I have no idea what it is called, but it worked well. The Urbanwalls instructions recommended a credit card for smoothing. Had to ask my husband to help since I'm so short. 


Next, I knew that the faucet, towel holder and tissue holder would have to be swapped out. Initially I purchased a gold faucet and tissue holder you see above from amazon. It ended up being the completely wrong color of gold. It was hideous and did not match the brassy gold mirror frame or light fixture. I ended up retuning it at Kohl's (they are an amazon hub so you can return your items there if you have on close to you). 

I went with a dark brass colored faucet, towel holder and tissue holder. I also switched out the light switch and outlet for brass colored set I found at Home Depot.

Somebody was supervising my every move. 

See how the decals are coming out from under the fixtures. This is key. It makes the decals look more like wall paper when you apply them before your fixtures. 

I did the same thing here. I love how it looks. 


Here is the final product! I really like how it turned out. I may swap the shelves out for some darker colored wood shelves I already have. I think it may make the dark brass fixture pop more. What do you think? Have you tried peel an stick wall paper or decals before? I love this because its less permenant. A little heat from a blow dryer and they peel right off! So cool!




Stay well,
ALW




Langston's Quarantine Birthday Bash

Welcome back y'all,

We celebrated Langston's birthday Saturday and had so much fun! I planned my sons 2nd birthday about a month and half ago. He loves cars so it was a easy decision to go with a race car theme. Of course, no friends or extended family came due to the Rona but lil man still had a blast. 

First things first, when planning a kiddos party refer to pinterest! I am obsessed with pinterest, I have been for years. The color scheme was simple, traditional car themed party colors. This made it really easy for me to use items I already had in my arts and crafts kit. And yes, I have a huge arts and crafts bin. I made the invitation on a website called Canva. I have used it several times to make invitations and borders for websites and flyers. I love the website, it is user friendly and fun for me.



The major DIY project for this party was a balloon arch. They are inexpensive, cute, festive, and they  make the perfect backdrop. Langston loves balloons. I purchased everything for the arch on amazon., back when prime was up and running like a well oiled machine. Then I went to Youtube and did some research. After taking some mental notes and saving some videos for future reference, I swindled my husband into helping me.


I purchased a ballon arch kit similar to this one on Amazon. I gathered up all my balloons and got to work. First I blew up about 40 ballons in various sizes. 
Using an electric ballon pump was so clutch! I highly recommend this one!
My husband blew up the ballons and I tied them! It was a good lil system.

This little tool was so great! I was getting frustrated with tying the balloons. Then I did a quick search on youtube on how a ballon tie and it worked like a charm. It allowed us to blow up the balloons and tie them very fast!


After that we followed this youtube tutorial and began building our arch. There are tons of tutorials online you can follow. 


We found that initially that skipping a hole on the strip, then going back and filling it in was the easiest approach. 
I know party planners that charge $120 to $150 for ballon arches. So doing this yourself is a pretty significant way to save. It was not hard to do, somewhat tedious, but not hard at all. I will definitely be doing this again in the future. I think it came out awesome for our first attempt. 

We wrapped his gifts and used some black sticky felt letters on the outside of the gifts. I was able to use a coupon and print the Canva invitation through the Walgreens photo app, then put it in a black frame we already had. We ordered some pizzas from Mod Pizza, made a salad, and popped some fresh popcorn (which is Langston's favorite snack) and set up two round tables. All of the accessories I ordered from Oriental Trading and Amazon. 

Black felt sticky letters are from Michaels! A must have for a arts and crafts kit. 



We used a checkered plastic table cloth from Amazon for a back drop.  We just pinned it up over the window with two thumbtacks. 

I ordered Langston's cake over a month and a half ago. It is from a small black, woman owned business and I did not want to cancel on her due to the pandemic restrictions. I plan on sharing the cake with my co-workers.

Cake topper is from Amazon. 

My tights and my husband's hat were both purchased from  Amazon.

I reuse this white bow for every holiday and birthday! Just throw some double sided tape on the back and boom! Like new every time lol
Even though no other family or friends could attend this year, Langston still had a ball at his birthday bash. We saved some money and I learned how to make a balloon arch. I know he may not remember his 2nd birthday party but I will gladly remind him every chance I get.

Langston's costume is from, you guessed it, Amazon! The hat has #1 on it so we just turned it around backwards. He wears 2T clothes but the pants did run big on him.



I hope this helps someone! 

Love,
ALW

6 Weeks Postpartum: 1 Month Update

Hi Everyone!

Time flies! I can't believe we have a six week old! Wow! Sleep deprivation are the two words that first come to mind when I think about the past six weeks but its getting easier every day. Our baby boy is thriving! Every week we notice him hitting another growth milestone. Its amazing to watch your child grow! To say that its been all rainbows and butterflies would be a lie but we wouldn't change a single thing in this journey thus far.

Baby Gains
Langston has grown so much. He was born tiny at 5 lbs. At his one month pediatrician appt he was 8 lbs and 14 oz! Our little milk monster. We were so happy! He has double chin and fat little cheeks now! Adorable! He also grew two inches in length since his birthday. He is developing great! He is very alert too! His neck and spine are really strong.  At 4 weeks he was lifting his neck on this own. During tummy time he lifts his neck and turns his head from side to side with ease! Now he loves when you talk to him. I have even been able to get him to smile at me! It literally melts my heart! He's on his way to being active and fat! Yay! I love fat babies!

Here he is 6 weeks and 4 days old. We were leaving his urologist appointment yesterday morning with a perfect bill of health! 


This was Langston on his birthday!


2 weeks old

3 weeks old


5 weeks old



Nursing
I'm typing this while he is asleep in his swing. "Sleep when the baby sleeps," they say. Like you don't have other things to do besides sleep. There's laundry, there's the making of dinner if you want to eat, there's your bathing, the list goes on. I have always been the type to cherish my sleep before I became a mom. Surprisingly, I've adapted pretty well to not sleeping as long or as soundly as I used to.  The first three weeks were really hard for me. Langston was exclusively breastfeed then. He would wake up every 2 hours to nurse. Mama was tired! We didn't introduce him to a bottle until week three. This was a specific instruction we followed from our lactation nurse. She recommended this to ensure that his latch was perfect and that he was accustomed to my breast. His dad started off feeding him once a day with the bottle. Each day we would change the nipple to allow him to get comfortable eating from different bottles. He adapted really well. God must have heard my prayer. Now he gladly takes breast milk from the bottle or from me. Some nights, when I am exhausted, his dad will take him out of our room and feed him with a bottle while I sleep. Score!

I am so glad I was determined to breastfeed. Its been tough at times but knowing that he's getting a milk made precisely for him makes it worth it. Our bodies make milk specifically for what our child needs. You cannot get that from formula. Not to demean any moms that formula feed their babies, its just a scientific fact. 

It was really important to me start him on a bottle sooner than later to get him fully accustomed to it prior to me going back to work. I've heard horror stories of babies refusing bottles while mom was away. The thought of going back makes me sad but momma gotta make some money too. 


Body Changes
I have honestly felt amazing since giving birth naturally. The first two weeks I had some common issues with my breast. My left breast was engorged, radiating heat and really painful. I think I had a clogged milk duct. With the help of our lactation nurse and our doula it resolved itself.  Vaginally I have had no issues. I had purchased numbing creams, extra large pads, aloe, witch hazel, a sitting donut, hemorrhoid cream. I mean, you name it, I bought it. If you couldn't guess I'm the momma thats always over prepared. Well, I didn't use or need any of it! I am going to gladly return it all and get a refund. At my six week OBGYN appointment I had my pelvic exam and pap smear and I was cleared to workout again. This made me soooo happy. Since then I have done some form of exercise every single day. And believe it or not it has given me more energy and really lifted my spirits.

Here are my workouts this week thus far:
Monday: 30 min youtube work out which I shared on my Facebook page.

Tuesday: Gym workout at Club Fitness.
                1 mile on the treadmill at 5.6 speed
                15 min ab workout
                15 min butt workout
                15 min arm workout with 5 lb weights

Wednesday: Slow Flow Hot Vinyasa yoga with my mom at Yoga One.

I still eat a vegetarian plant based diet like I did when I was pregnant. I do have to remind myself to drink more water throughout the day. I will be tracking my journey to getting back 100% snatched on my Instagram page. I am so excited to workout again. I love working out!
The image on the left is from a year and 6 months ago. I was 108 lbs. The image on the right was taken on Tuesday at 118 lbs. Our bodies are amazing! If we take care of our bodies, they will take care of us! 
All in all, we are just winging it. We are new parents.We don't know and won't know everything there is to know about parenting. We don't pretend to either. Every other day we are on our apps or on google looking into things, reading articles and asking questions. As a mom,  I just follow his cues. My life revolves around when he eats, sleeps, pees and poops and I wouldn't have it any other way. I have just recently started to care for myself a little more again. I paint my nails. I take a nap. I workout.  I can't give him 100% if I don't care for myself as well.

Welp, I guess I'll end this post here. We are experiencing the 6 week growth spurt right now! Pray for us lol! Little man just woke up hungry per usual ttyl!

Love and light,
ALW

Pregnancy Diary: 1st Trimester

Hello hello!

If you haven't heard the news, my husband and I are pregnant with our first child! It's mostly me thats pregnant but it"s easier to say it that way I guess. If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook you already know that we're expecting a baby boy, in April 2018! I am just over the moon excited. I'll be doing a motherhood diary here along with my other foodie/heath nut post's per usual.

How it all started...

Well, I'll spare you the details but, in August before my cycle could show up late I knew something was up. I was feeling extremely bloated. Not a typical period bloat, a super duper bloated feeling. Three days before my cycle was to begin I started complaining to my sister about how I was feeling. She convinced me it was just indigestion, which is very common for me. I grabbed some dandelion root tea, drank 3 cups and didn't feel any lighter. Three days later...no red dot in sight. After work that Sunday my husband and I, decided I would take a pregnancy test. We pretty much knew it would be positive. Before I could even lift the test from between my legs to give it a good look it read pregnant. We cried and hugged, and I cried some more.



The symptoms...

I had pretty severe first trimester symptoms. The common ones you read about. I was extremely nauseous, dizzy, shortness of breath, sleepy and had awful food aversions.  

Around week 7 or 8 I was on my last Invisalign tray. Every time I would go to put in my tray I would gag and throw up. I barely wore it, but thankfully my teeth were straight enough for me to be done with it! Praise God! I also had an extremely heightened sense of smell. This was terrible and only made me more and more nauseous. I had to change our shower soap, clean the fridge out, and make my husband take out the trash more. I know I got on his last nerve! It wasn't me it was the baby right?!

By week 8 I have very extreme food aversions. Every thing disgusted me. I really didn't want to eat. Since I was barely eating I lost 5 lbs. For some one as petite as I am, this was not a good look. I  dropped down to 108 lbs which is the lowest I weighted since college. The only things I would eat was coconut milk yogurt and a fruit smoothie. My husband would go out and get all my favorite stuff and I would take the smallest bite, and just push it away. 

The worst dizzy episode I experienced was around week 10. I got up for work at my normal time. I went to use the bathroom. As I sat on the toilet the whole room started to spin. I heard a loud piercing ringing sound in my ear. I woke up my husband and I said "babe I don't feel so good".  I was drenched in sweat and just collapsed on the bed by him. He offered to call my store and let them know I wouldn't be in but of course I refused to let him do that. I laid there for about 20 more minutes, drank huge gulps of cold water and then the ringing went away and I felt fine again. I was super late for work that day, but thankfully no one seemed to care very much. I was so terrified that morning. I had never experienced anything like that before and I never did again. Dizziness, yes, but not nearly that severe. 

New rituals...

Since that scary episode my husband decided I need a relaxing bubble bath once a week. I did not argue with that! He has done this faithfully me for me since that happened. I really really look forward to it. I'll come home from work and he will already have it ready for me. He's amazing!

I always make sure the water is not too hot so I don't boil our baby. I literally stay in here for like an hour sometimes. 

Since I found out I was pregnant I started rubbing this on my stomach and breast religiously every night after my shower. I want to prevent stretch marks at all cost! I love a good crop top! So its pretty easy to remember to do. 

I had acne scars on my face and back. I noticed towards the end of my first trimester that the acne scars on my back had darkened. Nooooo! I was so pissed about it too. I am careful with what skin care items I am using now so I try to go as natural as possible. I used a combination of these essential oils on my back scars every night too. 

My sister put me on to this concoction a while ago. I used the sweet almond oil as a carrier oil and I mix the essential oils in a the blue glass dropper in back. Its important to use glass and not plastic.



I am on my feet a lot at work. That, plus increased blood volume due to the bun in the oven is a recipe for varicose veins. I had already inherited a few from my mother so to keep them at bay. I dry brush and use a coffee scrub. I do this once or twice a week. It helps increase blood circulation and exfoliate the skin. It's time consuming but it seems to be working... I think... I hope lol.

Midway into the first trimester I had to switch to a new OBGYN. My initial doctor was retiring from delivery in 2018. I was bummed at first but I think it was a blessing in disguise. I absolutely love my new OB. She's amazing! My first visit I felt a sense of comfortability with her and the office staff. I did some blood work and started on a new prenatal vitamin. 

Only con with these vitamins is that they kind of taste like grass and they discolor your feces. But I mean, gluten, lactose and sugar free. I guess you can't have it all. I keep in my night stand and try to take them every night. 


Good reads...

These two books I have really really been enjoying. They help you track your babies developments along with your growth and bodily changes. They are packed with so much information!

The Natural Mama was gifted to me by one of my best friends. This is the better of the two books because it tracks every thing based on week. Mama Glow is a little more trendy and does not have the best flow. The perk with Latham's book is that it provides you with yoga guidance based on week which I really like. 
One thing I love about The Natural Mama is that it gives you positive affirmations each week! They are bomb too! 

Both books provide healthy, delicious recipes too!


How fly is she?!


All in all I am just so relieved and thankful to be done with the first trimester. It was hard! 
My journey continues and I'll be sure to keep you posted! 


Favorite Affirmation: My body is a vessel for the divine. My body is a miracle. 


With Love,

April W.