Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Eclectic Nursery on a Budget

The Hippie Homestead Baby is due any day now! I cannot tell you how many times people have told us, "Having a baby is SO expensive. You have no idea how much all the stuff costs." To be honest, no, we don't. But seeing as I'm *planning* (stress that word since yes, our plans can always change) on breastfeeding and cloth diapering, hopefully our financial costs will be lower than average. All the STUFF babies "need" (read: what you're expected to have on hand for them here in America) costs so much. I wanted to write this post about furnishing the nursery to be a help and encouragement to pregnant women and their partners to show that you CAN put together a beautiful nursery on a budget. (What To Expect says to set aside $3000 just for the nursery!) So without further ado, here are the main items (with their prices and where I got them) that went into putting together the Hippie Homestead Nursery.

Crib—$70, Miracle Mart
Crib mattress—$35, Ikea
Crib Mobile—Free from church nursery (they were getting new ones)
Dresser—$75, SOS thrift store
Changing mat—$12, Switcharoos consignment
Shelves above Dresser—$28, wood/paint from Home Depot, made by Jake
Hot Air Balloon Mobile—$5, made by me
Closet organization wall unit—$178, Ikea
Closet wall hook—free from a church friend
Curtains—$21, one cost $1 at Restore, found matching one at Target for $20
Curtain rod—$38—Home Depot
Vintage Diaper Pail—Free from my cousin
Swing—Free from a church friend
Vintage Toy chest—$15, Antique Mall of Marietta
Glider/ottoman—$45, Here We Grow Again consignment
Lamp—Free from a friend
Lampshade—$16, Ikea
Table—$5, yard sale
Toy bookshelves—Free, by the dumpster
Paint and wood to redo the Toy Bookshelves—$28
Activity Tower—$7, Miracle Mart
Baskets—$20, Hobby Lobby
Rock n Play (not pictured)—$15, Goodwill
Pack n Play (not pictured)—$15, Salvation Army

Total Cost—$628

*All the art is either made by me, given to us, or collected by us in years past.
(Original art by me, Emily Warner, Ethan Mongin, Jeremiah Langner, Stacey Bradley, Cory Godbey, Michelle Radford, Kirsten Hansen, Kevin Isgett, and Jon Andrews)




















Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Ice on the Homestead

It's been a long time since I did a post (which I noticed when my good friend Elizabeth (http://www.ecollinswriter.com) wrote a post that mentioned me and included a link to this blog. So I guess I could say she made inspired me to write this. I will tell you, Instagram has been my nemesis to blogging. Why would I bother to keep up with a blog about our little homestead when I can just instantly post a good-looking photo or photo collage to social media? Even as I sit here snuggled in my warm bed, happily typing away, my husband looked over and said, "A blog post?? What is this magic?" So...... here's a post. Mostly just pictures. Because who doesn't want to see how gorgeous our property is when it's iced over? And this is much better than just uploading a facebook album. Now, time for a hot beverage....

Our Winter Wonderland


The road in front of our house. ICE.

Our driveway. Also ICE.






See, no footprints. ICE.