Home Is Where The Heart Is. (Home Tour)

Hello from the land of corn .. Iowa!

I've been here in my family's new home for about a week now and must admit that it's not as bad as I expected! As always, it's been wonderful spending time with my family but it has also been great exploring their new home.

It has been so nice being out in the peace and quite of the country and take some time away from the city. We have 5 acres up here or pure wooded beauty. Everyday we see little deers, beavers and my mom's favorite bats. Ick.

Weirdly enough one of my favorite things about being home is "our" cat. We are watching my cousins cat while they find a new home for him due to not being able to have him in their rental home. The thing is, I hate cats, always have. There has only been one cat that I have adored in my life and that was my ex-boyfriends cat Lily. (R.I.P Lily). But there is something about this grumpy, stuck up, psychotic cat named Corner that I cant get over. I follow it around the house just trying to pet him. I am turning into an old cat lady. Don't be surprised if there are random pictures of the cat throughout this post.

Anyways, I wanted to share photos of our new house! Keep in mind they just moved in three weeks ago so we are missing some furniture and appliances and have some putting together to do as well. I must say the house is absolutely gorgeous and I'm totally in love!


We live on some land, like I said, and it is mostly wooded area that is unfortunately covered in poison oak and ivy. We have to wear boots and long sleeves and pants when trekking through to prevent any reactions to the oak/ivy. My family plans to clear most of it out eventually.

Here's a half picture of the outside:) 

Entry way:) 

From the entry way there is a spiral staircase down into our unfinished basement. I was SOOO excited to have a spiral staircase; I've always wanted one!

The front living room is going to be shabby-chic and mostly just a sitting room. We have just some makeshift furniture in there now, but I know its going to be adorable when its done!

It has a perfect view. 

Jack and Chloe's rooms are just down the hall. 

Their cute Paris bathroom:)

Just across the hall is my parents room and bathroom. 

This bathtub is heavenly. It has jetttttssss.

Back down the hall is the dream kitchen! 

(Still waiting on chairs!)

(and a fridge!)

Our main living room is connected right to the kitchen and its still in the process of being decorated:)

Right off the living room is my parents office which has a loft (a.k.a. the cats room) right above it! So cool!

The laundry room is even pretty..

And lastly, my favorite spot, the back patio. 

The view:)

I dont know about you guys, but I'm in love. Im so happy that my family has such a beautiful home to live in and I cant wait to be back and visit. 

Until Next Time, 

Jasmine 

Birthday Girl

I am officially 20 as of yesterday! Out of those teen years and well on my way into adulthood! I think its scaring my parents into thinking that they are getting old, which is scaring them even more into being hip.

I am super exhausted from the weekends festivities and being sick, ( I hate that I had to be sick on my birthday!), so I'm gonna keep it short and sweet!

Friday night I took on the task of making my own cake. The task couldn't have been that hard right? Well the Red Velvet cake didn't turn out, even though the recipe had rave reviews, but the icing was to die for. I chose a design I saw on Pinterest, of course, and add a little flare with a pink ombre!

I think it turned out super cute!

Saturday morning I woke up super early, not by choice but my body had other plans. I got ready and took myself on a shopping spree at Target. Spend wasy too much money but got some super cute new clothes! I went garage saling next and then got to Skype with the bestie@!

Later in the day I headed over to City Park and spend the day volunteering at the Chron's and Colitis Take Steps 5k fundraiser. Even though I am not connected to foundation I had an amazing time serving others on a day that should be about me! I think I am gonna serve on my birthday every year! 

At the end of the night we went over to a friends house and hung out for the rest of the night:) But there is a lack of pictures...

My birthday was amazing all in all and thank you to all who made it possible through your words or actions! 

This morning I hopped on a plane to my new home in Iowa. But more is to come on that tomorrow. 

Until Next Time,

Jasmine

P.S. Dont ever take NyQuil before typing a blog post. You might end up asleep on the keyboardsknfoghsodrgrahn... 

Garage Sale Queens

I've been going to garage sales for years and years. My mother is a master at garage sales and past down the knack for finding steals. Here in Denver there are like a billion garage sales every weekend  and if I ever have cash in my wallet (which is never the case), I stop and usually buy something.

Well today, I happened to have a little too much cash in my wallet and it was burning a hole, I tell you! So Katie Clark (one of my new rooommiiies) and I ventured out into the unknown,( ok, thats a lie cause we know Denver pretty well between the two of us), in search of some hardcore garage sales to feed our addictions.

Here's what the trunk looked like.

I realize this looks like a bunch of crap, but I assure you its all useful.. I think..

We ended up going to about 15 garage sales, maybe even more. We were those people driving really slow to see the address on the itty-bitty signs people put out. We both probably spent too much money, I know I did, but it was so worth the treasures we found. As they always say, " One man's trash is another man's treasure." 

In between it all, we stopped by the Cherry Creek Farmers market and picked up a huge locally grown watermelon, carrots, and hummus fresh from Boulder! 

We got home at about 12:30 after being out since 9am and dumped everything on the table..

Here's the breakdown of my treasures today.. 

#1 Pottery Barn glass cake stand with dome $20 

 

I am honestly flabbergasted that I got this for $20. She was asking $25 and after a short haggle went to $20. She said she only used it twice and it is in perfect condition. When I got home I looked it up to see the real worth. The cake plate alone was $50 and the dome $30. Thats a 75% discount! What a steal! I'm even gonna make my own birthday cake for next week to put in it!

#2 Antique white shelf with hooks $4

While shopping today I was trying keep in mind the fact that I will be moving into my apartment in 2 months. I already have a shabby chic look going with the bedding and the white rod iron bed frame I bought off of Craigslist ( I'll talk about this later this summer!). I saw this and knew it was mine! I plan to re-paint, it's a little banged up. Originally marked for $5, got it for $4!

#3 Knick-Knacks for Apartment $5 ($1 ea) 

Grabbed each of these for a buck. Love the porcelain teapot, colorful old books (in perfect condition) and brass necklace holder! Will be perfect for my shabby-chic look! 

#4 Vintage kitchen tools $3 

I thought these were cute little items to hang in the apartment kitchen considering both Hailey and I are baking and pastry students. We will see how it works out! 

#5 Way too much Baking crap. $6

Apparently, when you get into the baking world, you become obsessed. Every single baking item I saw today I think I bought, exceptions for crappy lame stuff. You can never have too many Pyrex pie tins, sheet pans, and casserole dishes. 

I had a thought of displaying them on a bookshelf with all my cookbooks in the apartment too. Its so sad that all the little dishes have to be put away. Why cant you showcase your most prized possessions.  

#6 Plate Holder $1 

I dont have any pretty plates to hang in here, mostly because we have plastic plates from target, but I had a thought about hanging it and using it as a cookbook holder. Nice thing is it wouldn't have to sit on the counter and take up space. We'll see how it works out tho.. 

#7 Scrabble $1

I like this game. So I bought it. 

#8 Wall Art FREE!

Anyone who hangs out with me enough knows that I sing this song constantly. So when I saw this I started singing. Then the lady came up to me and said have it for free and I was like "Ok..!" 

Maybe for the bathroom? Dont know yet! 

I didn't want all my cool new items to sit in a box till I moved so I worked them into my room design now. I think it turned out pretty darn cute!

What do you think!? I love it!

What kind of deals have you guys found at garage sales, flea markets, or thrift stores? 

Happy Hunting!

Jasmine 

How to be "the best nanny ever"

Being a nanny is like being a part-time mom. I'm sure moms all over the world will disagree, but us nannies have a hard job! We have to feed, entertain, keep the siblings from choking the other one, and attempting to discipline without over stepping the boundries of mom and dad. Being a full time nanny of two 6th graders is even harder. Entertaining boys all day long is a task for a super nanny.

I have been planning for this summer for a month or so now. Maybe even more. The only way I was gonna keep my sanity while being with the boys for 30+ hours a week. I planned lessons, science projects, and art projects. I endlessly looked for fun field trips and activities to take them on and researched creative ideas on Pinterest.

I  also created a reward and consequence system to keep them from killing each other. They each have their own jar in which they can earn "Gems" for going above and beyond. They have a list of items they earn Gems for and a list of things they loose Gems for. In the end they can spend their Gems on treats. It's been working amazing well so week!

I also bought a big backpack and pulled together my "Nannypack"

I have overpacked it a little bit, but I swear I have used every single thing in the bag so far. Here's what I have.. 

First Aid Kit with the works

Phone charger, headphones, Iphone cord.

Huge Water bottle

Kindle and Magazines

Card Games in a case

Snacks- I keep a homemade trail mix in an old crystal light container

I also have sunscreen, hand sanitizer, and sunglasses for these super sunny Denver Days. 

The cards I keep in my bag have been a lifesaver when we run errands or even just sit at the house. I just pull them out for the boys to play and it keeps them entertained. 

I also keep a kit in the back of my car with a swim suit, towel, picnic blanket, socks, tennis shoes and a sweatshirt for the cools day. 

I created a control room space in the house with schedules, library cards and receipts, gem rules, and summer contracts that the boys signed. 

I also picked up the summer reading program for the boys so they can win some cool prizes through the summer. 

Everything I put together has been such a life saver. Laure and Gary (my bosses) have been super impressed by how well I've kept the boys occupied. The boys even told me I was the best nanny they have ever had. Warmed my heart. 

Even after ending the day with zero energy I wouldn't trade it for the world!

Until Next Time,

Jasmine