Leona Lane

LUCY'S ROOM UPDATE

It's been over a year since I shared photos of Lucy's room. I photographed it in detail in August 2013 when I was still pregnant. Recently we have made some big changes, so I thought I would share a few photos today. We had it pretty well organized and kept it the same for a long time. Just recently I felt like I needed more space in her room, since she is getting big and running around. 

The biggest change we made was removing the big craft table from the center of the room. I find that I'm not doing as much scrapbooking anymore, and even when I do, I tend to grab a few things and craft on my dining room table. The best time to do a project is when Lucy is sleeping, so it really doesn't work to share a baby room and craft room! I kept my Expedit pretty much the same, just baby proofed it a bit by moving certain things up higher. It isn't as pretty now because it is full of stuff, but it is working for now.

Another big change is that we moved the changing table out of the center of the room and in front of the Expedit just a bit. This is definitely not a long term solution, and doesn't exactly look amazing. I found that there were not a whole lot of options since the heater vent runs accross one side, and we have a closet on the other. Now that the changing table is in view, I used a crib sheet to form a make shift curtain which covers up the not-so-pretty supplies we have stored there.

I have really loved using these baskets as storage for Lucy's diapers and clothing. One of them holds all of her supplies for diapering, such as lotions, wipes and diaper creme. The others hold her onesies/T-shirts and her PJs.

We still keep Matt's bike as well as a lot of non-baby supplies in her room. For now, we have a crib mattress that kind of blocks the bike and keeps Lucy out of the closet. We were gifted this nice mattress for our second baby, so it's just kind of hanging out right now. It's nice to use the mattress as a safe barrier, and it also doubles as a place to line up some of her toys. 

I love having Lucy's stuffed animals and several toys in her bedroom. Not only does this get them out of the living room, but it gives my girl a new place to play. Already she is loving running back and forth between the living room and her play-room. Since her room is mostly baby-proof, I can leave her there for a few minutes while I am doing chores or other things. It's awesome! For so long, her room has only been used for changing and sleeping. Now it's an actual room that she can play in!

Thanks for taking a look! These photos aren't perfect because I had a little girl following me around and playing with all her toys as I photographed. They are very "real life" and that's pretty much the best it gets around here.

7 TIPS FOR SHOPPING AT IKEA

Let's start with a disclaimer... this is not a about 50 ways to hack a Lack table, or any other kind of Ikea furniture for that matter.

When we lived in Spokane, I hardly ever went to Ikea, partly because it was hundreds of miles away. But when moved back to Seattle, and were to trying to find stuff for our new rental, I turned there for some basics. I hear a lot of Ikea bashing in the design and home decor arena, and while I certainly wouldn't recommend furnishing your entire place by going to Ikea, I think they have some great stuff and wouldn't count them out, especially for those of us on a budget. 

Here's a few tips on how to get things from Ikea that you will be happy with. 

1 | Have an idea of what you want, don't go to browse. Think about what you need because going to IKEA is a trip, it's not something you do just spur of the moment. At least I don't. 

2 | I find it's a great place to get staples. I've gotten two down blankets there that I love, as well as duvet covers, cheap white curtains and basic storage containers.

3 | Look through the catalog or at source lists for inspirational pictures when you can find them. When I was looking for a new desk, I was surprised to find out that the desk in my very favorite office inspiration picture was from Ikea! I also found the piece I'm using as a TV stand in an inspirational picture, and then realized it was from Ikea. 

4 | Look for pieces that will compliment not compete with your unique decor pieces - that favorite couch or designer rug, etc. whatever it was you finally splurged on.

5 | Touch the displays, does a piece look flimsy? Does it move the way it's supposed to? Was the display piece put together properly or is it just poor quality? When I went last week, I had seen this little greenhouse online that looked really cute but in person I could tell it was very flimsy, so I decided to pass.

6 | Continuity is good, I try to buy things with repetition in mind. Especially simple, small items - those tend to look better grouped together. For this reason, I tend to buy the white storage pieces at Ikea (no matter how cute the other colors are) because they will always have white. 

7 | And perhaps most importantly - don't buy the cheapest stuff. As they say, you get what you pay for. 

And Bonus Tip | I love picking up house plants there, they seem extra hard to kill. If they can survive at Ikea, they should be able to make it at my house! 

RECIPE | GARLIC HERBED CROUTONS

I hate it when a loaf of bread goes stale - especially a particularly good loaf that I was really looking forward to eating. Seriously, what's better than a really good piece of bread with butter?

Anyways, last Thursday, I was cooking up a storm - as in, the kitchen is still a disaster. I had hoarded all this squash earlier, so I decided it was time to cook up a batch of curried squash soup. Then while that was going I made a big batch of applesauce in the crock pot, but ended up with apples left over, so then I had to make an apple pie.   

Long story short, as I was starting to clean up the kitchen, I looked down at that beautiful sorry loaf and decided to try and save it. A friend of mine always brings the best salads to work and she says she makes her own dressing and croutons. Intrigued, I decided to try it. How hard could it be? After a quick google search it looked pretty easy.

INGREDIENTS
  1/2 Loaf of Stale Bread
  Roughly 4 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
  1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
  1/4 tsp Thyme
  1/4 tsp Oregano
  1/2 tsp Parsley
  Salt & Pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Cut up the loaf of bread into crouton sized pieces - hacking up the hard crust was definitely the toughest part. Place inside a bowl, sprinkle the olive oil and spices over the bread. (I suppose melted butter would taste fantastic too but I was fresh out...) Stir it all up until it appears evenly coated. If you have the skills to toss something in a bowl without throwing it all over the kitchen, by all means go for it. Taste one, if you think its needs a little more of something then add it!

Place the croutons on a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat (or) parchment paper and spread them out evenly. Pop in the oven for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, then set the oven to broil for five minutes, when the start looking golden brown, pull them out! 

Eat with some soup, a salad or just by themselves. I won't judge...

PS. If you're looking for more ways to use up old bread, try some baked french toast, it's pretty delicious, and since the bread soaks up the mixture all night, you'll never know it was stale to begin with. 

EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT!

Yes, it's true...I'm pregnant! This is Jenn here (thought that deserved clarifiying) and I'm 15 weeks pregnant with baby number two. This is pretty much common knowledge to family and friends and was announced on instagram a couple weeks ago. Still, I thought this news deserved a little blog post of its own. I've been waiting and waiting for the perfect time to take a few baby bump photos to post on the blog, but I decided not to wait anymore! There will never be the perfect time, especially since it's dark most of the time and 15 weeks is not the best time to take a bump photo! So this apple picture will have to do. I took it the otherday because I recieved a notification from an app on my phone that my baby is the size of an apple! It is 4 inches long. I will most likely get an ultrasound in mid-January that will let us know the gender of the baby. Woo hoo!

So how has it been going? I know you are all so excited to find out. Well truthfully, pregnancy and I are not the best of friends. We don't get along very well at all, in fact. The first trimester, especially, has been a bit of a doozy. I've been pretty sick so far, and judging from my last pregnancy with Lucy, I might just expect NINE LONG MONTHS of this. Hopefully not. I am trying hard to stay positive! In fact, I've been working on a blog post the past several months which just gives a few tips on surviving a hard pregnancy, specifially hyperemesis. Hopefully I will have that done soon!

In the meantime I am staying busy and distracted, taking care of our little girl Lucy who is 14 months and just the best cutest toddler on the planet. So long story short, life is good. We are surviving. 

LOCAL HOLIDAY ACTIVITIES | SEATTLE

Today I am compiling a list of a few holiday activities that we try to get to each December. This year with a little one, we may have to make a few changes to our holiday schedule (mostly getting out earlier in the evening) but we hope to check several of these events off our list!

Bellevue Garden d'Lights- This event costs $5, but there are usually several free evenings. The crowds are fewer on the nights that you pay and honestly I think the small fee is worth it! The Christmas lights here are pretty incredible. I took the photo above a couple of years ago. 

Sheraton Gingerbread Houses- This event is an absolute favorite. And it's free, although there are places available for donation. Each year several architecture firms in Seattle create AMAZING gingerbread houses and every year there is a different theme. I can't wait to go this year! I suggest going on a weeknight, because it can get CRAZY on Saturday or Sunday.

Candy Cane Lane- This is located in the Ravenna neighborhood of Seattle where all the houses decorate with Christmas lights. It is usually only lit up about a week or so before Christmas. The traffic is usually so terrible that we haven't gone the past couple of years, but I think it might be fun this year to take Lucy. I am curious how she will react to Christmas lights and she loves to ride in the car, so win-win.

Woodland Park Zoo Lights- I haven't gotten to see the Zoo lights yet! It is first on our list this year! I think that Lucy will love it. The cost is $9.75, but since we have a zoo pass, it will be $2 off.

Westlake Merry-Go-Round- This is another activity that we have yet to do! Now that I have a little one, this is definitely on our list. I think Lucy will get a kick out of the Carousel.

Please let me know in the comments if you know of any other holiday activities in the area! I would love to make this list even longer.