ENTRY BATHROOM REVEAL

We have been in our home now two years and four months and this is the first room I would consider done. I still have a few big and small things on the punch list but that being said, we've gotten it to a really great place and I'm really happy with it. This bathroom is off our entry and is also considered the kids' bath since there are no bathrooms upstairs (🤯 crazy, I know). I wanted to create a beautiful space that functioned for both adults and our kids. 

BEFORE

It's hard to imagine it even looking like this now. Everything was builder basic and honestly too small for the space but it did offer a great blank canvas. We sold the vanity/faucet on Facebook marketplace and that went towards purchasing new items for the space.

AFTER

I love this old door so much. My friends Lindsay and Brandon were cleaning out their old farmhouse and barns with things they weren't using and this door was one of them. We frosted the glass so it would be functional and provide privacy in the bathroom. This is the second antique door we have added in our home and they add so much character!

I use a tray to corral all the items I want up on the vanity top as well as protect the wood from soap (you can see how I make our toxin free lavender hand soap here) and water. These faux carnations are only $.99 at Ikea and they're great quality especially considering the price. It's the perfect bright touch for spring.

This antique medicine cabinet was a Christmas gift from my parents. I love the warmth it adds to the space and how it coordinates with the vanity and door. It's the perfect storage for the boys' soaps, lotions, oils, and medicines.

I took these photos of the boys in the wash tub last summer and I'm probably always going to have them in one of our bathrooms. They're little faces are so precious and it was the perfect addition to this bathroom! The Jesus + Germs print is an oldie from my shop but I loved how it fits a bathroom fit for kids and adults.

PUNCH LIST

As I said, I consider this room "done" but there are a bunch of items left on our to do list. I guess by "done" I really mean it's done enough that I don't feel a nagging sense to change something/everything when I'm in it!😂 Anyway, below are some things I hope we'll do some time in the future but I'm not in a hurry to do any of them really. Don't tell my husband.😉

• Caulk all cracks/seams and touch up paint
• Turn outlet right side up (why someone ever put it in upside down is beyond me)
• Apply a matte polycrylic* to vanity
• Get step stool from Ikea (if it ever comes back in stock!)
• Install bead board on door wall
• Install black wall mount shower rod/rings
• Upgrade trash can and toilet brush holder
• Possibly add vanity lighting using puck light trick
• Stencil or wallpaper above bead board
• Sand and clean up door a bit more
• New floor vent cover
• New black or white (I haven't decided which) hexagon tile

I've tried to include sources to everything below but if there's something I missed and you're interested just let me know. And tell me, if this were your bathroom would you add vanity lighting above the mirror? It would be for aesthetic reasons only as we have great recessed lighting in here. I'd love to hear some other opinions!

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Vanity: Found at an antique store for $100 | Bathroom Sign: Blume Home | Mirror: Target | Brass Hooks: Amazon* | Black Frames: Target | Shower Curtain: Target | Rugs: Home Goods | Faux Carnations: Ikea | Wash Your Hands Sign: Target | Polka Dot Hand Towels: Target | Hamper: Target | Toilet Paper Basket: Thrifted

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HOMEMAKINGISH

Since today is Leap Day I thought it'd be the perfect time to share my new project. I have been blogging here since 2009 and this space has evolved over time and the time has come yet again for some change. Nearly a decade ago, in May 2010, I was two weeks away from graduating with my bachelors from The Ohio State University and I decided to revive and rename my blog Road Called Life. I find it interesting that though my circumstances are much different, a decade later I find myself having similar feelings. Here's an excerpt from the post sharing why I chose the name RCL.

It just seems perfect for my life in this moment! Big changes are happening, like I'M GRADUATING in about 2 weeks! I'm guessing I'm going to feel sort of lost for awhile until I discover what my role in life will now be.

If you know me at all or follow me on Instagram, it's no secret the transition from small business owner to stay at home mom has been a bit of a challenge. I am so thankful I get to be the one home with the boys but I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel a little bit lost. Taking care of the boys and our home is my main priority but housework isn't exactly something I'm passionate about. Since closing my shop I have really missed the creative outlet it gave me. I don't have the energy or desire to take time away from my family to make my business work in my current season but I do need a hobby and that's where my new project comes in.

Homemakingish is my new space to share all things homemaking, motherhood, ditching toxins, home renovations - basically whatever I feel like talking about. I want our home to be a place of peace and rest for our family and while I know how to make our home beautiful, I struggle with keeping it tidy and organized. I'm not what you would call a Suzy Homemaker. I want to find JOY in homemaking and change my attitude about things that need done around the house everyday. I hope to share my journey through it all and connect with others just trying to make every day magic happen for their families.

It is so fun to have a space like this and not have to worry about what I'm posting and if people will like or read it. Of course I hope to help or inspire someone along the way but this is truly a hobby and a passion project. I can't promise I'll post every week but I do want to make time for myself to do something I love. I have always loved blogging and making graphics and social media and this will give me the creative outlet I've been missing. I'm so excited to take my blog in this new direction and I have so many ideas swirling around in my head. I can't wait to share more with you!

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PHOTO STORAGE SYSTEMS AND FAMILY YEARBOOKS

Last week I shared on my Instagram stories about my photo storage system and how I like to make family yearbooks. I have never gotten so many messages from people than when discussing this topic. I have lots of room for improvement in this area but many of the messages were from women who felt just like I did - stuck and overwhelmed with what to do with all those photos in my camera roll.

I like to display our wedding album (printed at Artifact Uprising - amazing quality but much more expensive) and the previous yearbook on a shelf in our living room where we can easily look at it.

For years, even back in college before I was taking photos on my cell phone, I took lots of photos. My only system was to upload them on to my MacBook and create albums for each event. I started quite a few photo books back then but was always overwhelmed with what pictures to choose and never quite got around to finishing one. Quite a few years later my mom started making photo books and being a mom now myself, seeing all those photos printed was all it took for me to get started.

I decided just to start with the year we were in even though I had thousands of photos from years prior. It was too overwhelming for me to try and organize all the photos I had from year's past and start organizing photos from the current year. Every now and then I sit down and work on an older photo book but my main goal is to stay on top of the current year's photos.



I feel like this next paragraph goes without saying but it seems we always need a disclaimer when writing for the internet. I am not an expert. I don't do this perfectly. But having a system set up makes it more likely I will succeed than not. It may seem elaborate to some, but photos are important to me and it's also important that they're somewhat organized. Our photos aren't in perfect order but I do print them in the books from January to December. This is what works for me and I hope it can help someone else.

DAILY/WEEKLY

This is probably the hardest step for me but if I can stay on top of doing these things it makes the whole process simpler. I don't know about you but I take a lot of photos of the same thing each day. Because my boys are on the move I snap multiple (live) photos of the same scene so I can hopefully capture one gem. At the end of the day I try and go through the photos and delete any that are blurry or duplicates. Sometimes I'm able to snap 4 or 5 (or even more) where I love how I've captured my boys and it's really hard for me to delete them even if the shot may not be good enough to make the photo book. I do my best to narrow them down and then choose 1 or 2 that I will edit for the photo book. Every year I end up having way too many photos (2018's book contained 650 photos) so I'm trying to get better about narrowing down and only picking the best of the best. Do I really need 20 pictures of bath time from the year? (The answer is yes but I said I'm working on it.😂)

• Delete any duplicates or blurry photos
• Narrow down similar scenes to 1-3 photos each
• Select and edit one photo for the yearly photo book

MONTHLY

On the 1st of each following month (February 1st for January photos) I schedule out in my planner to work on the photo book. I upload my photos to my computer (we also use Amazon photos as a second back up and to sync our photos) and this helps keep things less cluttered on my iPhone as well. The idea is that since I've already narrowed down and edited the best photos from the month it will be super easy to layout the pages for January. And it does make it super easy and quick to do but truthfully for 2019 I only stuck to this entire process for two months.🙈 It made everything so much harder and I ended up missing the extra pages sale. I'm going to have to wait around for them to run another and I'm kicking myself for not staying on top of it.

YEARLY

If I have kept up with everything, at the end of the year my photo book is ready to go. Shutterfly always has a "free extra pages" sale at the end of January. I always wait for this sale to order our year book because it cuts down costs like crazy. My 2018 book originally cost $162.10 and after the extra pages coupon paired with the sale they were (and almost always are) having on the book itself, I only paid $48.35 (that's with tax and shipping included). While I'm always anxious and excited to get my book this sale is worth holding out for!

There are all kinds of photo book styles to choose from but I always select the "modern white". I pack my pages full of pictures and don't have room for any embellishments. This also helps me get our books done quicker. I'd be too picky and would take too long trying to set up the perfect page so for me, the simpler the better.

There are all different sizes but I'll share the selections and upgrades I choose for our books.

• 10 x 10, hard photo book, matte finish
• Modern White, standard, layflat pages
• Memorabilia Pocket (I have never added this upgrade before and I always think I'm going to glue an envelope in the back for random printed photos - like Santa photos - but I never do so I think for 2019 I'm going to pay the extra $1.79 to get the pocket included.)

I hope this motivates you to start working on your 2020 photo book today! January is over so go ahead and take care of those photos in the next couple of days. If you have any questions about how I store our photos or print our books just let me know! I'm happy to help any way I can.

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