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link roundup / 47

I found an example of a sliding “barn” door that I think I’d like in our bedroom! (see above photo)

This scarf is so pretty, and now I have to try my hand at making it.

Even though I’m grateful to have been pregnant, I still don’t love my stretch marks.

I really can’t get enough of people sharing their capsule wardrobes.

There is a lot I like about this apartment tour. All of the warm neutrals, textures, plants, and books.

At work lately I’ve been listening to the Hymns for Hipsters playlist on Spotify and really enjoying it.

I loved this article about the difference between small talk and social rituals (hint: it’s your mindset). At work I have to make conversation all the time, and I’m always grateful that there is something to connect over, even if it is as simple as the weather!

My brothers, who are way cooler and funnier than I am, started a podcast called Media Timeout. You’ll hear them talk sports and pop culture. Give them a listen, or recommend to your male counterparts. :)

Have a wonderful weekend!

February 26, 2016
welcome to my inner monologue

I recently saw this picture of a drawing of what’s on one mom’s mind and thought YES. So this morning as I got ready for work I literally recorded my thoughts on the voice app in my phone, and transcribed them for you. I could have kept going and going but I had to cut myself off somewhere. Welcome to the madness:

Should I join a yoga studio? Do the kids watch too much TV? Should I have another baby? Should we get bunk beds for the kids? Should we get them from IKEA? When should we buy them? Should I wait until after my Lent spending freeze? Or wait until Meredith’s 5th birthday? How will I get them to sleep in their own beds all night? I’m definitely going to paint the living room white. Should I do that now and a little bit at a time? Or should I wait until after I finish decorating my room and the kids’ room? How do you paint wood paneling? I need to look that up.

Should I blog today? How am I going to find time to write? Gosh I wish the kids would go to bed on their own so I could have time with David afterwards, or time to write, or whatever. Ooh, I really need to finish Bel Canto by this weekend. It’s so good. I picture the opera singer as Sharleen Joynt from The Bachelor. I wish I could watch The Bachelor with David again.

If I’m going to have a baby, then this is a good year to do it. I’m already 34 and I wouldn’t be high risk yet. Should it be our last baby? Should we even have one? I have two siblings, David has two siblings. Three seems like a good number, but then there’s a middle child. It’s going to be a scheduled C-section. She could fix my scar.

What are we going to have for dinner tonight? Oh yeah, we still have a lot of leftovers. Good. Hmm I’m almost out of my tinted moisturizer. Maybe I should have a Facebook Beautycounter party and get some more through that. I really need to trim my nails. I’m so glad we got the cats, the kids love them. Meredith is so cute with Ziggy. Even though the litter is really annoying. I really want a Litter Robot. But I also really want a new couch and chair for the living room. But I also really want to pay off our debt as fast as we can. If we have another baby that means more daycare costs. But Meredith IS going to kindergarten next year, so that will save us some. I wonder when kindergarten registration is? If I have another baby, what hospital would I deliver at?

Ooh, yoga is today, can’t forget my clothes. Today is the last yoga class with my favorite teacher. I wonder if it would be worth the money to join a studio? Or maybe I should figure out a different way to exercise. I’ve got to get back in shape. How am I going to do that, plus work and read and craft and blog? I wish I could put more effort into that stuff. Maybe I should try the 21 day fix. I need to make a plan.

I’ve GOT to get to work on time, I need all the hours I can get. Gosh mornings are hard, and they used to be my favorite. I wonder how busy work is going to be today? Are we going to be able to get an IV in that guy? He’s a really hard stick. Tomorrow I’m probably going to have to audit charts again. At least I hope they have work for me. I wish I could afford to work part-time. There’s so much creatively and at home that I want to do. What am I thinking, wanting to have another baby?

It’s exhausting to be me. Can anyone relate??

February 24, 2016
the top 3 reasons i love my apple watch

For my birthday, David got me an Apple watch.

Up until a couple of weeks before that, I hadn’t given them a second thought. Actually, if I thought about them at all it might have been along the lines of, “those are silly.” But then I saw someone at work wearing one, and it looked nice. So I did some research, and decided it would be a neat thing to have.

I’ve only had it for a couple of weeks so I’m sure I’m not even using it to its full potential, but so far, it’s pretty great. I wanted to share the reasons I love it so far, in case you’re interested!

I’m LESS connected to my phone.

This was the number one reason I decided to ask for the Apple watch. If you don’t know, it is basically an extension of your phone. You would think that having it on your wrist would make you even more attached, but I find the opposite to be true. You know how when you get a text, you open your phone to read it and then ten minutes later you realize you’re still scrolling Instagram? Well, now when I get a text I can glance at my watch to see what it is without being tempted by all the other apps. I can respond to it on the watch (with a quick text reply or emoji that I can choose, or with an audio that can also dictate to text), or I can dismiss it.

Also, I like to be able to set my phone down in the house and not have to worry about missing an important call or text. Or when I’m out doing errands, I can just leave it in my purse instead of holding it or keeping it in my back pocket (which is a terrible idea anyway because it almost falls out of there every time I go to the bathroom).

A lot of apps ARE accessible on the watch, but they have more limited function so I don’t spend time on them there. For example, I like to get Instagram notifications so I can see what my favorite people post right away, and I can like their photos, but commenting is harder and you can only see the last five or so photos in your feed.

Helpful information at a glance

There are a lot of different choices for the watch face, but I like the modular one pictured above which gives me extra info. Besides the time and date, I love just looking at it to see what the weather is like, and a quick tap gives the forecast. I never gave much thought to the exact time of sunrise and sunset before, but I’m finding it surprisingly helpful! Especially when we are planning our evening, I know just how much time we have to go for a walk or to the park before it will get dark.

You can also choose which apps to have show up when you swipe the home screen. So far other than the standard info, I have my to-do list and calendar connected. Plus, the Commit app gives me a notification on my watch at the time I specify (it’s what I’m using to track my daily tasks like taking vitamins). So handy and helpful.

Reminders to move

The Apple watch has a pretty cool activity app. Although I still wear my Fitbit Flex (mostly because I have to for work to get discounted insurance, and I like the social aspect) it doesn’t give me any reminders (although they do have some models that do). The Apple watch activity app gives you three goals: to stand once an hour for 12 hours, to get 30 minutes of exercise (which includes walking), and to hit your calorie burn goal (you choose the difficulty). It gives you gentle reminders when you’ve been sitting for too long, or when you’re close to hitting a goal. It also has a heart rate monitor that is really accurate: I compared it while using an oxygen saturation monitor at work and they were within 1-2 beats.

So, while the Apple watch is definitely a luxury, it’s one that I’m glad I have. I recommend it as a gift idea, or if you have a mobile plan that lets you pay in installments with no interest. (We have T-Mobile and chose this option; it’s only $14 a month.) It’s so fun and convenient.

Let me know what you think, or if you have any questions!

February 22, 2016
five on friday

Hi friends! I’ve had a busy week at work and home so instead of compiling links I decided I’d just pop in and share a few personal things with you before we head into the weekend.

one

I have noticed lately that my patience with the kids has really improved. If you don’t know, my kids have been historically pretty intense with some strong tantrums. I want to report that they have definitely decreased in frequency, and when they do happen I rarely lose my cool anymore. I’m not saying that I’ve figured things out; I would guess that if the tantrums were happening every day again that I would struggle. But right now parenthood feels good.

two

For the last couple of months I’ve been doing pretty well making small changes to my fitness & diet. I’m feeling ready to be even more active, though. I just found out that the yoga class I attend at my work gym is being cancelled, which is super sad because it’s one of the only exercises I really enjoy. So now I’m seriously considering joining a studio! I would also like to get back to running short distances. Or maybe I should try doing videos at home again? They don’t usually work for me (I slack off or just don’t do them) but I want to find something sustainable that I enjoy.

three

The Crafter’s Box has been one of my favorite new things this year. February’s craft was making marbled clay planters and I discovered that clay is definitely NOT my craft. But it was so fun to play with! Can’t wait to share my finished product with you eventually. In other crafting updates, my mom and I set up a standing monthly craft date for a Sunday afternoon. She is working on a giant crocheted blanket for me, and I want to practice my knitting.

four

I’m only a little over a week into my spending freeze but already it has been so freeing! Sure there are still some things I want to buy, but this is really giving me the chance to think about some intentional future purchases. I’m decluttering my closet and my home even more so that I know what I will actually wear, use, and love. For example, a couple of weeks ago I purchased multiple pairs of jeans but ended up returning almost all of them. I really feel like I have a good idea of the style and fit that I’m going for, and I have my eye on a couple of brands that seem promising.

five

The weather has been absolutely GORGEOUS here lately and we have been taking all the walks we can. I only wish it wasn’t still getting dark so early!

For more consistent personal updates, follow me on Instagram where you can find me most days! I’m also randomly active on Snapchat; you can find me at kapachinoblog. And I’m pretty proud of my Pinterest boards, if I may say so. ;)

February 19, 2016
master bedroom plan (& before photos)
There are a ton of things I love about our 1983 home, and several that I’d rather change. Some of them we can do eventually (larger cosmetic projects like replacing laminate flooring & new backsplash in the kitchen) and some of them we’re stuck with (mostly small windows without a ton of natural light).

Regardless, I am viewing it as our forever home because we have no plans to go anywhere. Every room is in various stages of being decluttered, furnished, and decorated. Although I wish it would be “done” now, the reality of time and budget is that it’s going to take awhile to get there. I do want to make forward progress though, so while I KonMari all of our belongings I’m also focusing on fully decorating and setting up one room at a time.

This year I chose the master bedroom (not including the bathroom because it’s seriously stuck in the 80’s and it’s going to need a LOT of help). Let me show you its current state, which is a decent blank slate but far from feeling complete. I didn’t do anything to the room before taking these photos (that will be obvious, but I still wanted to let you know)!

Master bedroom before

This is what you see upon entry. We painted the walls and ceiling white a couple years ago, and the carpet is pretty new. Straight ahead is the entrance to the bathroom. It doesn’t have a door, so we make do with a curtain. It’s really annoying because the cats play with it and the tension rod falls down a lot. I’m not sure what to do instead, though.

Looking to the left where the dresser and window are. Sorry for the terrible lighting, but I had to close the blinds and turn on artificial light to get this to show up. I still like the curtains and the dresser is staying. It’s not the best thing ever but it was free and it’s functional! I’d like to change out the knobs and restyle the top. The basket and mirror situation on the right is temporary and need to be changed.

Here is a portion of the top of the dresser. I made this black burlap table runner and I loved it, but it’s very faded now and the cats have torn up the edges. I’m not sure what to do to cover the top of the dresser now; it’s in pretty bad shape under there.

There is a small built-in bookshelf right as you enter the room. This needs to be decluttered, organized, and styled.

Here is the far wall. These three lonely frames were going to be the start of a gallery wall, but that’s not happening. I have a different idea for this space. Also, I’d like to replace the old ceiling fan.

The main event: the bed! I love our bed and we just got new white sheets. The bedding needs some help, as do the nightstands and the wall. I also want a bench for the foot.

My nightstand. I love this little table; my dad and I painted it together. It really needs some touch-ups and new knobs, and I need to clean off the top of it. I also want to redo the cord situation. There is an old baby monitor that’s not even plugged in hanging out down there.

Here’s David’s side which is pretty sad. We don’t even really use that ugly clock so it can go. We basically just pile kids’ books on this TV tray.

And this is the last wall, which doesn’t need much done to it. I’m a fan of that print and little mirror, and I love that basket which I use for dirty linens.

To-do list:
- New bedding
- A second nightstand
- Bench for the foot of the bed
- Headboard?
- Decorate the walls
- Change out ceiling fan
- New knobs for all the drawers
- Restyle the top of the dresser
- Deal with the built-in bookshelf
- Change the curtain to the bathroom situation?
DIY Ideas:

Hanging plants in front of the window.

A macrame wall hanging as a headboard. (Photo by Amy Bartlam. Design by Veneer Designs.)

Framed engineer prints of the kids on the wall.

Giant crocheted blanket. My mom is already working on this for me, but with different colors!

I’m on a spending freeze during Lent, so I’m going to try to take this time to completely declutter the bedroom. You can see there isn’t much there, but it will probably still take longer than I expect. And I’m going to price some of the things we need to buy, and make a plan for the DIY stuff. I’d love to hear any ideas you have! Thanks for following along as we build a happy home. :)
February 15, 2016