If you recall from this post, when we found out we were pregnant with baby number four, we started a room shuffle. Everyone switched rooms and not one room is finished. The baby’s room is a pile of stuff, our room is awaiting some sort of clothing storage miracle, the boys have their mattresses on the floor and just this one gallery wall done, and Eleanor’s clothes are sitting in plastic tubs while we wait for a dresser.
Part of the reason everything is sitting in disarray is time and energy, but the biggest reason is money. We kind of had our “face the music moment” and after sitting down and going over our money, we found that over the last six months we have developed an awful habit of putting things on credit cards and not tracking our money. The truth of the matter is, we will soon be a family of six living on one income and if we want to stop going into debt, and eventually pay off our debt, we need to live very frugally.
This has been a struggle for me when it comes to blogging, because while I have a million ideas and projects I would love to complete around the house, those projects aren’t in the budget. Eleanor’s room has one corner that is semi-finished. I was lucky enough to receive the bedding from my friends at Martha Stewart. It is part of the Martha Stewart Whim collection at Macy’s.
The drapes are from World Market and the coordinating pillows were made from cloth napkins from World Market. They were part of Eleanor’s last room. The lamp and mirror were Goodwill finds that we already had. The mirror got a coat of paint and the lamp got a fresh lamp shade.
The bed is an antique bed that Ross and I bought when we were first married. We envisioned having a sweet little girl some day and we thought it would be perfect. It is a bit awkward, because it isn’t a standard size. Kind of wishing I had asked for full size bedding instead of twin size bedding from my friends at Martha.
The sewing machine is from my mother-in-law. She collects them and passed one down to each us girls. This piece has bounced around a bit, but I think we finally found the perfect home for it! The ottoman used to be in Quinn’s room. I pictured something a lot more feminine to create a super cute vanity feel, but it isn’t in the budget right now so we have to work with what we have.
One of the very first things I envisioned when we moved her room, and knew we would be using the sewing table as a nightstand/vanity, was a dress form. I found this one at Hobby Lobby and yes, I used a coupon. And yes, I bought that before we decided to be responsible with our money. I would love to find it an adorable tutu or apron to dress her up. Maybe I can find one at Goodwill for dirt cheap when they start putting out their Halloween stuff.
The picture frame is actually from my PopSugar MustHaveBox that I was lucky enough to receive as a blogging perk!
The flowers are from the yard and the bottle is from my grandma. She thought my crafty self would appreciate them, and she was right! The disco ball was for a party from Walmart’s party section. I want to say it runs around $10. The bowl holding the lip gloss was a gift from my secret sister at the SNAP conference.
The pink ottoman at the end of her bed was a Target find a way long time ago, on clearance of course. The “e” pillow was made by me as part of a blog campaign for Mod Podge. We are getting a hand-me-down dresser on the 25th, so Eleanor’s clothes can come out of tubs. I still have plans for something to hang above her bed, an area rug, bookshelf ledges, and lots more. For now, this is where we stand.
I certainly don’t want to come off as complaining, but this is my life now. Home decor/project posts will roll out a lot more slowly. It is a double edged sword, because I contribute MUCH needed income to our household from blogging. My student loan payment was able to go through this month, because my blog ad money with Martha arrived the day before–that is how much it is needed. The kids will get to play soccer because I get paid from Adthrive for my ads on the 15th and the cut off for sign up is the 17th. Since we swore off credit cards, it is even more needed. But creating income from blogging when there is no budget for projects is tricky. I truly believe that creativity shouldn’t have a price tag and it is attainable for everyone. This post was made purely from things laying around the house and rocks!
Even though we aren’t done and I envision a lot more for her room, it doesn’t mean that I don’t love and appreciate her room as it is. I really enjoy the process of creating a room. I think it is really important that no matter what your budget looks like or you home, that you enjoy it. You don’t want to spend your whole life wishing for something else. I realize this isn’t the blogging reveals you are use to, but this-is-what-I-got-right-now-and-all-my-budget-can-afford, is what I have. I’m looking forward to sharing these rooms as the evolve and it will be that much sweeter because they will be full of things we can actually afford!
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