I'm a wife, stay-at-home mom, crafter, and blogger living in rural New England. As seen in Martha Stewart Living, Food Network Magazine, and more! | Tutorials, DIY, crafts, parenting tips, recipes, money saving tips, product reviews, local product features, New England living, intentional living, and more! |
It's been a crazy week! Central NH got hit hard with Nor'easter Stella last Tuesday and we'd been without internet for almost a week. Overall we got very lucky at our house though - lost power (and most food in the fridge), got some loose siding on the house from the winds, and lost a few trees but all missed the house thankfully. So many people suffered major storm damage to their homes so overall we're very fortunate.
It's good to finally be back online and able to get back to work. If you're a local reader, I hope you fared well in the storm as well and have your power back!
{Pictured: the top of one of the trees currently laying in our yard}
So the reason I haven't been posting as often lately is we're expecting baby #2! ...and those early pregnancy symptoms have been kicking my butt the last few months (morning sickness? I think you mean all-night-and-most-of-the-day sickness). But I'm finally starting to feel a little better and am excited to get back at the blog and Etsy shop more regularly again.
Please let me know if you have any favorite New England-made baby brands - I would love to check them out and shop local when I can :)
(Fun Fact - the duck pull toy in the photo was mine when I was a baby!)
In our daughter's small bedroom, space is at a premium. We try hard to make the most of the space and keep the floor as open as possible to help the room feel a little bigger and give her more area to play. On one wall of her room, there is a very shallow nook I wasn't sure what to do with but wanted to make it an efficient use of space. After some thought, I decided building some custom book storage would be the perfect solution.
Materials:
1x3 boards
1x2 boards
screws
wood glue
spackle
level
painters tape
How-To:
1. Cut the wood the desired length of the rail shelf. You will need two 1x3 boards and one 1x2 board for each rail.
2. Line up the boards as shown below (the wide ones on the bottom and back, and the narrow one at the front). Pre-drill, then glue the edges, and secure with wood screws.
3. Once it's dried and secure, spackle the screw holes, let dry, and then apply 3 coats of paint (I used semi-gloss trim paint).
4. Next mark the location of the studs and the approximate spacing of the book rails. I could have easily put three rails in this space but I didn't want our toddler trying to climb it like a ladder, so I decided to only do two.
5. Center the book rails in the space and use a level to hang the book rails, pre-drilling and screwing the book rails into the wall studs.
6. Decorate and add your books! While these are pretty sturdy, I would recommend being mindful of the weight put on the rails - don't put too many books or large, heavy books on them, especially since your little one will be reaching up to pull books off and you don't want anything heavy to topple off.
And finally I decided to build a simple, sturdy narrow crate to hold our daughter's bigger, heavier books.
Other posts you might enjoy from Birch Landing Home:
Sometimes it can be really hard to decide on an affordable baby shower gift for a friend, relative, or co-worker. Maybe you waited too long and all their registry items in your price-point have already been purchased (darn!), or maybe you're like me and like to go rogue and buy fun and practical items that weren't on their registry in the first place. In any case, you can't go wrong with gift baskets - and what better way to to fill a gift basket than with affordable, practical items from a great brand like Nûby. | Thank you to Nûby for providing the products to review for this post. This post contains affiliate links |
I had a hard time narrowing down exactly what Nûby products to include in this gift basket, but after some thought I decided to choose a variety of items that would be useful throughout baby's first six months and beyond. In the past, I've also done gift baskets in a particular theme (all bath items, or all feeding items, etc), and those are always a really fun option as well!
Hot Safe Bath Duck
This bath duck you can use from day one with your little one. He is BPA-free and has a super-handy heat sensor on the bottom so you know if the water temp is safe for your baby. I love that this duck is something you'll be able to use at every bath for a long time - as a temperature safety feature and as a fun bath toy.
Nûby Natural Touch Bottle to Cup
If you've been following my blog for awhile, you know already that I am ALL about the baby products that grow with baby - if it's convertible, and you can get a lot of use out of it, that's the product I'm going to choose. This 3-stage, BPA-free cup is good from 3+ months and converts from a bottle with a slow-flow nipple to a no-spill sippy cup as your little one gets older. It even has detachable handles.
Look at Me Mirror Toy
This fun teether toy is BPA-free and recommended for babies 6+ months. It has multiple surfaces and textures to keep your little one occupied while they're teething, including cooling gel and a fun mirror to look at their reflection.
Easy Clean Bottle and Nipple Brush
This BPA-free bottle brush will come in handy from day one as well. It has a convenient suction base so it stands up on your counter and away from coming in contact with germs on the counter top. It also has a big bristly top for scrubbing inside bottles, and a handy nipple brush stored in the base to clean bottle and sippy cup nipples.
Teething Trends Pearl Beaded Necklace
And finally, it's always great to put something in that both mom and baby can use! This BPA-free, soft silicone necklace is fashion with a purpose - it makes a fun statement necklace for mom, but pulls double-duty as a wearable teether for your little one.
More affordable ideas to add to a baby shower gift basket:
thermometer
comb/brush set
package of wipes
nail clippers
rattle
diaper cream
pacifier
cute onesie
funny bib
board book
receiving blanket
baby bonnet
photo frame
- I received these items for review from Nûby but all opinions expressed are my own. Please see our Disclosure Policy for more information. -
These Nûby products can be found at various retailers including Babies 'R Us, Buy Baby Direct, Walmart, and Amazon.
Give Back Box, has started a new initiative that couldn't make it any easier to give back! Just put your unwanted items in a participating retailer's box (Amazon is a participating one), print out a free pre-paid label, and then it gets sent to your local Goodwill as a donation. You never even have to leave your house!
Start tackling those New Year's Resolutions - clean out your closet and give back to your community at the same time. It's win-win for everyone.
You can get more info and print your your label at
GiveBackBox.com
New Year means time for new Resolutions. Usually they boil down to a lot of the same things, and a big one for us is always saving more where we can. Every year everything gets more expensive - groceries, gas, clothes, healthcare, etc but our paychecks always seem to stay the same. I decided to compile some of my best blog posts on saving money and I hope it will help you jumpstart your savings too!
Just made good on our promise to donate a percentage of yearly profits to charity. In addition to the donation we made to Susan G. Komen, we also made donations to Amazima Ministries (who provides desperately needed medical care, food, and water alongside ministry work in Uganda) and Disabled American Veterans (which provides services and support for disabled and wounded veterans and their families).
Giving back more is something I want to continue and grow, and I'm looking forward to being able to do more in 2017.
Hope everyone has a healthy, happy Christmas with friends and family. I'll be taking a little break from the blog and social media this week to enjoy time with our family and hope you'll be doing the same - it's important to unplug every once and awhile :)
Thank you all so much for all the orders this season - it's been my busiest yet and I am so thankful to all of you! Thanks so much again and Happy New Year!
