we are officially a one-car family. it's a little scary, but we wanted the equity out of our current cars to pay off debt without sinking ourselves with a scary new monthly payment.

mission accomplished. we have a new volkswagen tiguan, an extra 6 digits in the bank and the task of learning how to share a car. chris has a really bad habit of leaving loose change laying around everywhere. litterally - all over the car, the house, other people's houses. i think if we added up all the discarded change he would have accumulated in the past 30 years we could retire. or should i say - he could retire. i've already "retired".

i do; however, own a little shop on etsy.com. i started it on a whim just to see if i could make a little extra cash, but it has become a full-blown side business. i mostly sell digital art and burp cloths. i've had seven orders this week which reminds me.... i really need to get sewing.

as for monday's pizza night. a-mazing. homemade crust - not as hard as it sounds. i think everyone reading this should pick one of their favorite dishes and google a home-made recipe and make it tonight. we seriously need to rediscover the art of cooking. speaking of food - Claire is starting solids this week. claire is our 4-month old. i think friday night will be the big reveal of.....green beans. pretty lame if you ask me. i think your first food ever should be something amazing like steak or cheesecake or a cake pop. our pediatrician has assured me that's not how it works....... so green beans it is! as long as she doesn't eat them in the new car.

lately i've been using this website called plantoeat.com. it is awesome! it takes a little while to set up, but once you get your recipes plugged in, you can plan your meals for the week and it compiles your grocery list for you. love love love. right now i'm making birthday cake pops (thanks Britt) like the ones at Starbucks (minus the $2.50). hope they turn out yummy!

the mantle is going well, we have our first coat of paint on and it's already looking fly (yes, fly...deal with it).

...i've been thinking a lot about god today. i think this is the first time in my life that i've truly known the meaning and the power of rest. god has been immeasurably good to our family. he continues to bless us beyond what we ask for and in ways we don't even know how to ask. crazy right?

stay tuned. i'm making an emeril lagasse pizza recipe tonight. never made a pizza crust before and i'm making it for the first time for my in-laws. what was I thinking? :) if the recipe rocks like i know it's going to i'll post it for everyone. or if you sign up for plantoeat.com i can send it to you there! have a great day everyone. and if you have any tips for homemade pizza hit me up.

-lauren

so. we're getting ready to move into our first house! all 5 of us (2 dogs included). i know our pups abby and archie will love having a yard and chris and i will love having a house of our very own. claire is only 4 months old...and lets be honest - she won't know the diff. we are T-35 days to moving and we have a lot to do.

yesterday i bought a faux mantle off of craigslist for $30 and i spent the last hour of daylight today trying to strip the 900 layers of paint off that came with it. i got through about 3. this half-way finished project is chillin in my driveway where i hope no one steals it tonight. somebody say a prayer. :)

Getting Started

lauren...
my situation: a career-minded 24 year-old turned mother of 1 (claire) and housewife of 1 (chris)
my ambition: to be passionate. to love people. to ultimately redefine growing up.

this blog is a little bit of everything. i'm hoping to inspire myself as much if not more than anyone who might read along. i have a lot to say and mistakes to make, but i'm a risk-taker and i'm puttin my chips on the table.