March 2022 – Sister Hack

Week of Outfits

Emily here! I had my second baby this January. I have found it hard to dress my new mom body so I thought it would be a good exercise to take pictures of my outfits each day of the week. I saw this tip on Pinterest. It’s a way to see how things look on you and help curate a wardrobe that works for you. Here we go!

As a reminder I am home full time with my kids. We spend a lot of time outside and playing on the floor. I am also nursing my newborn. So comfort is key. I literally bought a 7 pack of black leggings from Amazon because that is what I wear most of the time. I’m just owning it! But I still want to feel semi put together. I think I look “best” in Thursday’s outfits. I actually left the house for a play date so I put on jeans. But wearing jeans everyday is rough. They dig into my belly and kind of put me in a bad mood. But my most comfortable outfit where I felt pretty put together was Friday. I got this sweatshirt from Amazon that I’m really happy with! I got it in two colors and might get the tank top version for summer. Also I never wear shoes in the house lol. But I usually pair things with my Birkenstocks or white Nike tennis shoes.

Second Year Gardening – Let’s Make a Plan!

Emily here! Last year was my first time with my very own garden (which I documented here, here, here, and here). 2 weeks ago I started thinking about the garden and what I wanted to do. I live in a Zone 6B.

Planting Locations: I knew I wanted to play more this summer and have more locations. I got a garden box to match the one I currently have (my 30th Birthday present!). I also added two window platers. I have a few random pots that I wanted to use as well.

What I Want to Plant: I got a lot of joy from the cosmos I planted last year and so I knew I wanted to plant a lot of flowers this year and only a few edible plants. I bought seeds for the following: Cosmos, Zinnias, Dahlias, Wildflower Mix, Marigolds, Green Leaf Lettuce, Carrots, Cucumber, Pumpkins, Watermelon (that was an impulse purchase lol). I still want to buy some lavender plants from Cascade Lavender (a lavender farm in my area) as well as a peony plant and carnation seeds. Below is a drawing on my plans so far.

Seed Starting: In my final post from my garden last year I said that I wasn’t going to start any seeds because I would have two kids on being a newborn. But I knew what I wanted to plant and based off last year I also knew what plants my stores carried which wasn’t what I wanted to plant. So I went for it and started my pumpkins, carrots (mistake), watermelon, lettuce (mistake), and cucumber. I planted everything on March 16. Which was probably too early. We shall see. Everything is doing very well so far. Also I need to direct sow the lettuce and carrots. But was experimenting this year. I’ll see which planting technique turns out best. Reminder you don’t have to be an expert at the start! It’s okay to be a beginner and make mistakes!

Stay tuned for part 2!

February Reads

Emily’s Pick
Be My Valentine By Debbie Macomber
Third month in a row for a Debbie Macomber book! I was looking for a festive Valentines read and she just so happened to have one. And only one. This book is actually two short stories that I really enjoyed. Fun light easy read to get you into the cheesy Valentine’s Day spirit.

Maddie’s Pick
The Mystery of Mrs. Christie by Marie Benedict
This was a very fun read about the real life mysterious disappearance of Agatha Christie for 11 days in 1926. I have read a few Agatha Christie novels but I have a whole new appreciation for her after reading this book which focuses life with her first husband and what could have resulted in her disappearance. Definitely recommend for a thought-provoking read about one of history’s most famous authors!

Maddie’s Home: Before and After

Maddie here! My hubz and I bought a foreclosure in February 2020 and have spent the past two years decorating and fixing it up. I thought it would be fun to compare the photos from the original listing to the same angle at our house now.

Here are my top tips for decorating a first home:
1. Your house is not on HGTV/you (most likely) do not live in a farm house. Fill your home with things you love and don’t worry about what is trendy. It has to work for you! Maybe you will hate my decorating- that’s fine because you don’t live at my house.
2. Spend some time in your house before making big purchases or decorating decisions. What we thought the vibe of our home would be changed completely after spending some time in it and I am glad we had we spent several months before making purchases.
3. Buy used/repurpose what you own. Turn on craigslist alerts or make people aware that you are in need of furniture. We ended up acquiring several key pieces from a co-worker of mine who was moving at a very reasonable rate. And a bonus with this is that your home won’t be filled with particle board items…
4. Be realistic with what you can DIY. We chose to tackle our basement redo by ourselves. It was challenging, but doable. However, with our custom stained glass window that replaced the yucky air conditioning unit in the living room, we ended up hiring someone who removed the AC unit and did a beautiful job with custom framing and installation. Know your limits. You are not Chip and Joanna- refer back to tip 1.
5. Practice gratitude/Don’t try to keep up with the Joneses. Someone will always have more money than you. By practicing gratitude for your home and the people/pets in it, you can be content with what you have.

Hair Hack Part Three. I Cut My Own Hair!

Emily here! Remember when Maddie and I ventured into the world of getting our haircut by beauty school trainees? Well this week I took my money saving hack one step further and cut my own hair. Yes sir. I did. I watched One YouTube video then cut my hair off during nap time. Now I’ll be honest. I didn’t cut my hair for the money saving hack. It was literally driving me nuts. I’m 2 months postpartum and wearing my hair up all the time. My pony tail was pulling on my hair. My kids were pulling on me and my hair. And I just said ya know what?! I can solve one of these issues. It usually takes me a month to get a hair appointment and I didn’t want to wait. So I just hacked away at my hair. Is it a bit uneven? Yeah. Do I know what the back of my hair looks like? Nope. Did I got a little shorter than I meant to? Yeeeaaaah. But everyone (my sister, husband, and mom) think it’s looks great. And bless my husband he is always very honest so I felt pretty confident when he was impressed with my new hair! I thought that I would make an appointment with a stylist to clean it up but honestly I probably won’t. Let’s be real. I feel like a new woman with the short hair and it’s just so much nicer. See below for before and after. And look at me I even put makeup on for the after.