Adventures in Wainscoting

You guys, it blows my mind that its the last week of August!

We've been in crunch mode trying to rid the last few rooms of angry tan walls and progressively work on picture frame wainscoting in our dining room. I'm really hoping to get it all done so we can focus on more fun things this Fall!

But of course my mom bod thought it was high time I finally picked up one of the four thousand viruses Rowan brings back from daycare, which left me in bed all day Saturday.

By 4 PM I finally decided to shower. I was a hot mess but thankfully my husband held down the fort.

We finally got to work on attaching the trim Sunday night, but the couch and Night Of finale were calling our names so this is what we've got! I can't wait to show you the finished product!

"Before"

Thankfully we borrowed a friend's miter saw, brad nailer and compressor. (Soon he's definitely going to tell us to take a hike and buy our own shit). But they are major time savers in this project and obviously we need as much of that as we can get working only during nap times and after bedtime.

Right now all forty thousand pieces of trim have been cut and we started attaching it with glue before going back over it with the nailer.

It looks a little rough, but don't worry... all of those gaps will be filled with caulk and a nice coat of paint will spruce it right up!

I think it already makes the room look more finished even though that is clearly not the case. And to think we were quoted over a thousand bucks for this project from a pro!

Who knew the hardest part would be picking a paint color for the top half?!

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Friday Favorites

Happy Friday, friends!

I've missed this little space! Life has been a bit crazy, as evidenced here and here, but I think we may be coming out of the fog of my toddler's two week stomach bug. Yes, you read that right... TWO WEEKS.

To be honest there's been a lot of online shopping, solo cookie cake eating, and wallowing on my part. A lot of "who the eff gets a stomach bug for two freaking weeks?!" thoughts.

But seeing as Rowan acts relatively healthy and happy despite the bug, there have also been so many sweet moments. I don't normally get this much time with him because of work, so its been fun despite the diaper situation. I've been teaching him how to say important words like "peaches," which currently sounds like "pee-pee" so we're still working on that one.

Anyway this has and always will be one of my favorite kinds of posts: Friday favorites! So I thought it was high time I got back to it and linked up with Christina again.


DIY...

We're making so much progress on our DIY wainscoting and I'm hoping to have the bulk of it done after this weekend! A friend of ours was a saint for letting us borrow his Miter Saw, it made the trim process so much easier, but now it has me scheming all of the other projects we could use it for!

WATCHING...

The Night Of (SO freaking good) and Stranger Things. Anyone else a fan?!

Honestly I'm a huge baby when it comes to creepy movies and I wasn't expecting to make it through the Stranger Things season. It reminded me of a sci-fi Goonies and aside from making my husband keep the lights on all over the house, I really liked it!

FAVE SNAPCHAT ACCOUNTS...

I can't get on board with another social media tool (sorry IG stories) so aside from following all of my mom/blogger friends on Snapchat, I've really enjoyed following along with Amber from Barefoot Blonde (Amberfillerup) and Liz from Sequins & Stripes (Lizadamsss). Super down to earth mamas with the sweetest families. I also like following Julia from Gal Meets Glam (galmeetsglam) to see all of her travels, girlfriend has seriously gone to some stunning places!

I'd love to hear some of your favorite accounts! And follow along with us at HomeSweetRuby to see glimpses of Charleston, our current DIY projects, and my toddler's ridiculous antics.

PRETTY STORAGE...

Does anyone else have an unhealthy obsession with storage bins?! Or is it just me? We have a bunch from Pehr Designs in Rowan's playroom and I love them so much, so I wanted to give y'all a heads up they are 30%  off all weekend! (Use code PENCILS) The bins fit in IKEA storage units and I also love the pints for things like blocks and Rowan's shape sorter pieces.

HELLO FRESH...

A few weeks ago we took advantage of a free week of meals from Hello Fresh (thanks Annie!) and I have to say they were really delicious! I'm not sure if we'd use them too often because my husband is the world's pickiest eater and there really aren't many leftovers for Rowan and lunch the next day... at least in our house. But the meals were healthy and really convenient for a busy work week!

If you haven't tried it yet, you can get $40 off your first delivery with the code 222525BXPL4L.

READING...

Also really loved this article I shared on Home Sweet Ruby's Facebook page this week! After a rough week of nonstop diapers and laundry, I just felt totally spent and needed to hear it.

Hope you all have a fun weekend! I promise the first part of my Charleston Visitor Guide series will go live next week!

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BANANAS

Bear with me while a freak out a little right now.

My husband comes home today and my week of solo parenting a crazed toddler who learned to climb on everything and poop every other hour is finally coming to an end. (TMI?)

You might be thinking I lost my mind, that solo parenting one toddler isn't that tough. But honestly I don't know how single parents and military families do it! I've been lucky if I get to finish my cold morning coffee.

Shit hasn't been entirely bananas though. Despite the increasing stress caused by a child suddenly climbing on tv stands, couches, and having Inspector Gadget-like arms that reach every single thing on our countertops, he's mostly been a joy to be around.

One of the highlights? He's starting to understand the concept of a "boo-boo" after skinning his knees outside under mom's watch. I say "starting to" because we're still working on manners, as you'll see in a minute...

I've gotten countless kisses on my knees (which apparently also have boo-boos) and he lovingly rested his Mickey Mouse balloon on my "boo-boos" on multiple occasions. Because balloons cure everything, right? And finally, as we were reading at bedtime he looks up at me with the sweetest face... studying me in silence...  and confidently says "boo-boo" while pointing to a zit on my forehead.

I think its safe to say confidence boosting isn't on his toddler resume, but I'll get him back in his teenage years.

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August Things

You guys how is it August already?!

Today I'm throwing it back old school blogger style... no affiliate links or taking 20 minutes to style a photo. I had to step away from all of that the past two weeks and it felt so good to be more present with my sweet little family.

I'm not sure if its the 18-month age or just a much-needed break from teething, but Rowan has been a total sweetheart lately. We purposefully keep him up later so we can enjoy a few more minutes of playtime during a busy work week.

Once he is in bed, its off to clean up all five thousand things he lovingly moved from storage bins (which I'm pretty sure we can never have enough of) to the middle of the floor.

Then, if we're lucky, my husband and I manage to make dinner and eat it by 9 PM.

Trust me, this is in no way a complaint. We're in the stage of life that we hoped and prayed for... It's glorious and exhausting all at once. I love it.

I feel like we're in a sweet spot right now. So much so that we're even contemplating getting our hands on a fixer upper and moving again. Could be fun, could be totally crazy. 

So what's on the agenda for August?

Charleston series: I'm so excited to launch a series on Charleston next week! I've had so so many emails from readers and friends who are visiting. I figure its time to put my recommendations in a few posts! If you're planning a trip and have specific questions you want info on, ask away in the comments!

DIY picture frame wainscoting in our dining room. So far we've figured out our measurements and purchased the trim, but I feel like we may be on track to finish this in about a month if we only work during nap time. Woof. I'll be sure to share all of the good, bad, and ugly as this project moves forward!

Eating a cookie cake the size of my face: All in honor of my husband's birthday, of course. 

Counting down the days until cooler temps head our way: Because holy humidity. 

I'll be back tomorrow with a return of my Friday favorites, stay tuned!

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