1 – PAX BERGSBO This wardrobe is typically found in bedrooms acting as a freestanding closet. The Underdog is seriously lacking closet space so we purchased two of these to use in the mudroom for extra storage.

2 – Kashmir white granite We’re having the same company that installed the {Absolute Black} granite in our previous house install this granite along the perimeter of the Underdog’s kitchen. We considered butcher block, concrete and other solid surfaces for the perimeter but kept coming back to granite as we liked it so much in our last house. It’s a light gray granite with bits of black, garnet and gold mixed in.

3 – Walnut butcher block The kitchen island is getting topped with a walnut slab. We want the island to feel more like a table and gathering place than a food prep area so we like the idea of a wood top. To save money, we bought an unfinished slab that we’ll finish and install ourselves.

4 – Vigo stainless steel faucet We never regret spending a little extra money on a high quality kitchen faucet since it’s something we use many, many times on a daily basis. It makes the mundane feel less so.

5 – Kraus undermount single bowl sink Ditto – what I just said about the kitchen faucet. In addition, I like an extra deep, single bowl for washing up large pots, pans and the crockpot…things we use frequently.

6 – Liberty hook with porcelain knobs The master bathroom will be the only functioning bathroom we’ll have when we move into the Underdog so it needs a few finishing touches to make it work. We don’t have the wall space for a traditional towel bar so I picked up two of these hooks to hang our bath towels on.

7 – AKURUM LIDINGÖ Two of these cabinets in the 18″ x 39″ size are going in the laundry nook above the washer and dryer. I love the look of open shelving in a laundry area but we need some closed storage. I plan on pairing the cabinets with an open shelf or two as a compromise.

8 – Alexandria towel ring This towel ring is for the master bathroom. It has a touch of porcelain and should tie in nicely with the hooks in #6.

A few other items we’ve purchased in anticipation of moving that are worth mentioning {but not worth showing a picture of} are:

*Levolor room darkening shades for all the bedroom windows. I had them cut in-store to fit within the window frames. I’ll be adding other treatments to the windows in the future and these will remain to block out light.

*Shower caddy for the master bathroom…self-explanatory.

*Over-the-tank toilet paper holder for the master bathroom. It holds four rolls and, after I tried it out, I discovered it’s too big for our teeny bathroom. It won’t fit between the toilet and tub. I’m exchanging it for something else.

I think that’s it. I still haven’t nailed down lighting fixtures for the master or boys’ bedrooms. We might have lone lightbulbs in place until I make up my mind. Not the end of the world. I’d rather wait than hastily buy something that I don’t like later.

Alright gotta run, baby’s crying.

images: Polyvore collage by Dana Miller, linked within

I’ve breastfed all three of my kiddos – some longer than others – so you would think I’d be a pro at it by now. Not so. I’ve yet to master the discreet task of breastfeeding in public. With two older, busy kiddos around this time, I often find myself needing to nurse Mabrey in public but I don’t always feel completely comfortable doing it. It’s not that I’m overly modest. In fact, quite the opposite is true. At home, I’m free to nurse whenever, wherever and however I like. But I have a hard time keeping myself covered up in public.

In the past, I’ve always used a baby blanket or burp cloth to cover myself and my baby. All the nursing covers I’d seen looked like big thick bibs that surely made onlookers wonder, “Hey, is that woman getting ready to eat a rack of ribs or does she have her boobs out under there feeding a baby?” Either way, they weren’t thoughts I necessarily wanted strangers thinking about me.

But my opinion on nursing covers changed several weeks ago when a H*T reader/owner of Pretty Well Covered was kind enough to send me one of the nursing covers she sells. She wasn’t asking for anything in return, just thought I would like it. And she was right!

The cover is light, thin, transparent and pretty {!} – nothing like any of the other nursing covers I’ve seen. It’s great for summer or warmer climates as you don’t have to worry about you or your baby overheating. And I love that it offers privacy but still allows you to see your baby without lifting the cover up, exposing yourself.

It’s even pretty enough to be worn when not nursing. What?! You heard read me right. I layer it over a supportive nursing tank for an easy, breezy assemble and I’m good to go. I’m ready to nurse in public at any moment. No searching through the diaper bag for the cover.

Even though Bec didn’t ask for anything in return, I loved the nursing cover so much that I asked her if she’d like to offer one up as a giveaway for H*T readers. She happily agreed! See entry details below.

PRIZE: one Pretty Well Covered breastfeeding coverlet {H*T readers can also score free shipping on their orders until May 31st, 2012. Simply use the code HOUSETWEAKING at checkout. Be sure to choose your appropriate size by referring to the international sizing chart!}

RULES: You must be 18 years old to enter and have a shipping address within the U.S., Canada, U.K., New Zealand or Australia. No P.O. boxes please. One entry per email address.

HOW TO ENTER: Leave a comment on this post proclaiming “COVER ME!”

DEADLINE: Enter before Thursday, May 17th at 9:00 p.m. EST. One random winner will be announced Friday, May 18th.

WHILE YOU’RE AT IT: Since we’re talking mom stuff today… How did you spend Mother’s Day? I’ll go first. Mine was great. The boys made my morning with homemade gifts. Layne’s was a book called ‘Why I Love My Mom’ and included pics of me with ginormous breasts…goes right along with the whole breastfeeding giveaway today! Everett drew me a picture of the two of us ‘shakin’ our booties.’ After breakfast, a shower, and some housekeeping, HH kicked me out of the house alone while he watched all 3 kids for a few hours. I felt bad leaving him. He wasn’t feeling well. Both of the boys have colds. And Mabrey is still hit-and-miss with a bottle. But I did venture out on my own and was surprised at how quickly I could get in and out of the car without kids and a pumpkin seat. I didn’t do anything extravagant but I tried to take my time and enjoy the quiet. I bought a few things for the Underdog’s master bathroom since we’ll be needing to use it in just two weeks. I had a quiet lunch by myself and scarfed my food down in record time. I’m not use to having time to eat! Finally, I stopped by the library and borrowed the movie ‘Hugo’ and the book ‘The Elle Decor Home.’ Then I headed back to our apartment where everyone was alive and well. HH promptly hugged me and said, “I don’t know how you do it.” We had takeout from our favorite sandwich and wrap place. We all ate together in the living room {something we never do!} and watched ‘Hugo’ while we devoured dinner. It was the perfect day. I had some me time and some family time.

Like Pretty Well Covered on Facebook. Thanks, Bec!

images: Dana Miller for House*Tweaking

The travertine tile in the mudroom / dining room / laundry nook is down and done. {Thank you, Handy Hubby!} I can’t believe how much bigger the space feels with a light-colored floor! I’d post ‘during’ pics but I didn’t take any. That’s what a newborn and two other kiddos will do to you – keep you away from any renovation sites!

Once the grout cured and the tile was sealed, HH quickly moved onto the next mudroom project…one I’ve kept a secret until now. Can you say horizontal plank wainscoting? If you can, try saying it three times fast.

From the family room, there’s a clear view into the adjoining mudroom / dining room. The idea was to create some sort of wainscoting about the same height as the mantel in the family room to keep things feeling cohesive. My first thought was to DIY a traditional wainscoting using trim and molding. Something along the lines of this. But the more I turned the idea over and over in my head, the more it felt, well, traditional.

Then I found this image {the one at the top of the page} and knew that horizontal planks were the way to go.

So HH has been busy installing those.

We left the laundry nook’s back wall bare since you wouldn’t see the planks anyway. They would have been hidden behind the washer and dryer. I have big plans for that little nook.

You can see how the planks mimic the mantel’s lines from the family room.

The 4″ tongue-and-groove plank paneling HH used came from Menard’s. That’s it above. Ideally, I would have preferred a 6″ plank {like the ones we used for the ceiling in the great room}, but the 4″ packs were on sale BOGO {buy one, get one free!!}. We couldn’t resist a good deal. It cost us $160 to get enough for the mudroom. That’s pretty amazing seeing as how the planks add a much needed architectural detail to the space.

I should mention that the planks are pretty thin so using them on a wall, like we did, works great. But I wouldn’t recommend them for a ceiling or other feature that doesn’t have a solid, continuous support for the planks to rest on. Things could get a little wavy.

Of course, we’re painting the planks white to match the tongue-and-groove ceiling in the great room. No natural pine left untouched at the Underdog!

HH is using the same primer and paint that he used on the vaulted ceiling.

All of these images are showing two coats of primer – no paint yet. The paint will be the same as the trim…Benjamin Moore White Dove in semi-gloss.

At the top HH added a 1″ x 2″ and quarter round.

HH dead-ended the planks into the back of the mantel wall. Notice how the planks start a few inches down from the mantel’s height.

That’s because we were trying to avoid planking {not the Lying Down Game} around the light switches. We thought that would look strange. This way the plank wainscoting runs along nicely just below the switch plates.

See how the horizontal line of the mantel is now continued into and around the mudroom / dining room? For consistency, we’ll also install tongue-and-groove planks over the bump-out above the mantel…and paint them white. {Right now, it’s where you can read ‘no foam’ spray painted in orange.} That won’t happen until after we move in since we’ll need to hang our flatscreen above the mantel first.

Speaking of moving in…doesn’t the Underdog look move-in ready?? NOT! We’ve got so much to do! I’ve been purging things at the apartment so I can start packing and moving some of our smaller things next week. I plan on taking a carload every day when I drive over to get Layne off the bus in the afternoons. I’m thinking of it as my postpartum workout.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the beautiful women out there who are busy raising kids, have raised kids and/or are preparing to raise kids! It’s a wild ride.

Click here to see who won this week’s Home Depot giveaway!

images: Dana Miller for House*Tweaking

I know smoothies have been around for a while but I just started making them at home a few months ago. It all started when I was put on bed rest and got bored. I was interested in incorporating more fresh fruit and veggies into my diet but it needed to be easy. I was on bed rest after all.

Being home with Everett all day long made me realize that he could definitely use more fresh produce in his daily diet too. The kid will eat apples, bananas, strawberries and sometimes carrots but that’s it. He’s picky. Layne, on the other hand, will eat nearly any raw fruit or veggie that I put in front of him. They’re brothers but, boy, they are polar opposites.

The search was on for an easy smoothie recipe that didn’t include added sugar in the form of yogurt or juice…because that would defeat the purpose. It didn’t take me long to find rawsmoothierecipes.com. The site is full of raw smoothie recipes that don’t call for an ounce of juice or a teaspoonful of yogurt. It’s just fruit, veggies, water and maybe a tablespoon or two of flaxseed. And each recipe is reviewed by real people so you can get a feel for what it might taste like before deciding to try it. So I set to work following the recipes and making smoothies daily for Everett and me. We both loved them!

Now that I’ve been making raw smoothies for a few months, I’ve stopped following any certain recipe {although I still check out the website for different fruit & veggie combinations} and just mix together whatever I’ve got on hand. I’ve discovered there’s a simple no-fail equation for raw smoothies and that’s what I want to share with you today.

Raise your hand if you hate finding a great recipe only to realize that you don’t have 75% of the ingredients and trying the recipe will require a trip to the grocery store? My hand is waaaaay high in the air here. Picture me stretching my arm and waving it about like an excited schoolgirl who knows the answer to the teacher’s question. I don’t enjoy grocery shopping. Before I leave the house, I pysch myself up and put on my warrior face. A normal trip to the grocery store usually involves one or more of the following:

*kids who want to push their own shopping carts but don’t want to watch where they’re going or follow the grocery list {i.e. my heels take a beating from the line of kiddie carts behind me and we somehow end up with a bunch of stuff that wasn’t on our list –  and don’t even get me started on checking out…everyone wants to unload their cart’s items onto the conveyor belt themselves one. thing. at. a. time. Ugh.}

*stopping to try every single food sample and all I can think about are the hoards of germs that are surely covering them

*someone has to go potty when we’re in the dairy section at the back of the store and the restrooms are at the front…after I repeatedly asked if anyone needed to go potty before we started shopping

*backtracking to find an item on my list because the store has been reconfigured to make things ‘easier’

*forgetting something on my list because I’m trying not to lose a kid

*one of my kids pointing at an obese shopper and loudly exclaiming, “Look Mom! That guy’s fat. He must be buying junk!”

*choosing the slowest checkout lane…you know the one with the guy who realizes he left his wallet in the car after all his groceries are rung up and bagged…and all my groceries are on the belt waiting to be rung up next…giving my kids time to notice the gum, candy and other junk for sale in the checkout lane OR another variation of this is the crazy stubborn coupon lady who wants to speak to the store manager because her coupon to save 80¢ on a bag of salad isn’t redeemable for the bag of shredded cabbage she picked up…by god, lady, I will gladly pay you 80¢ to finish checking out so I can get outta here!

*a complete kiddie meltdown because I said no to the checkout lane junk

*my groceries getting bagged into plastic bags even though I gave the cashier my Envirosax bags to use

*a crying, hungry newborn

*looks of disapproval from other shoppers – why, yes, it would have been easier to leave my kids at home BUT my husband is at work/renovating our house that we don’t live in yet so I’m gonna take all these kids and groceries back to our two-bedroom apartment located ON THE THIRD FLOOR of the apartment building which does not have an elevator!!

*44 million trips up and down three flights of stairs to get everyone and everything unloaded

So, yeah, grocery shopping is an eventful experience to say the least.

But, wait, we’re talking about smoothies. Right. Carry on.

Here’s the gist.

Fill a blender two-thirds to three-fourths full of fruit. I slice larger fruit into pieces to fit it into the blender easily. {I always include at least one banana for a thicker concoction and to balance out tart fruit.} Here, I’m using banana, strawberries, frozen blueberries, kiwi and a mix of radicchio and spinach.

Fill the blender the rest of the way with greens. {This can be romaine, spinach, kale, etc.}

Pour three-fourths cup of filtered water over everything. {I use water from our Pur water pitcher. Our apartment’s water is gross so we always have a pitcher full of water in the fridge.}

Add a tablespoon or two of flaxseed. {I use Bob’s Red Mill organic flaxseed meal found in the natural food section of my local grocery store.}

Pulsate then blend for 1 minute. Use a spatula to push down any food stuck to the sides of the blender.

Continue to blend for 2 more minutes.

The result is a bubbly, frothy concoction.

I gulp my down out of a glass.

Everett likes to slurp his with a straw…in his football jersey complete with shoulder pads.

Thumbs up, Mom. He drank two large smoothies yesterday. I’m not lying. He really likes them. And Mabrey?

The sound of the blender puts her into a trance. She is completely chillaxed.

A few notes on raw smoothies:

*I bought a Ninja on sale several months ago after our neighbors recommended it to us. {They also gave me an awesome salsa recipe to make with it that I should share sometime.} It was pricey but it’s so much better than any other blender I’ve ever used. The way it turns solid fruit and leafy vegetables into a frothy liquid is great for smoothies. In the past, I’ve not liked smoothies because of their gritty texture. Clean-up isn’t that bad if I remember to rinse out the blender after each use.

*Blending for a solid 2-3 minutes is essential to putting the ‘smooth’ in your smoothie.

*Frozen fruit works. I like to buy frozen blueberries because they’re cheaper and keep longer.

*One blenderful = 3 large smoothies.

*Once blended, smoothies can be kept in the fridge for up to 12 hours. You can blend them the night before for breakfast in the morning if you want.

*Check your teeth after drinking a raw smoothie. It never fails – I always end up with bits of spinach stuck in between my teeth.

*Smoothies are a great way to use up overripe fruit. Waste not, want not.

*To save money, buy ingredients based on what’s in season or on sale locally. Check out manager specials at your grocery store. Typically, these items are about to expire but you can use ‘em up quickly in your smoothies.

*Get creative. I’ve tried mango, grapefruit and pineapple in place of more common fruit. These aren’t exotic fruits by any means but they are a nice alternative to strawberries.

I know I could probably make my smoothies healthier with less fruit and more veggies but I’m happy to do this for now. Btw, have you seen this documentary on juicing? It’s an eye-opener that I’d highly recommend, especially if you’re dealing with a chronic health problem like diabetes, hyperlipidemia {high cholesterol}, insomnia or even migraines. Pretty amazing. {That’s another reason I don’t like being a pharmacist. I feel like our society in general deals with health issues by reaching for pills way too often. Just sayin’.}

That’s my smoothie post, folks. How disappointed are you? I told you it wasn’t anything spectacular. If anything, it was cathartic to vent about my grocery shopping experiences.

Do you smoothie or juice? Any other tips for people who are looking to get more raw produce into their diet? Can you relate to my grocery shopping horror stories?

FYI – I was not compensated in any way to mention the website, products and documentary linked to above. Just sharing good stuff!

images: Dana Miller for House*Tweaking

After posting progress pics of the kitchen a few weeks ago, some questions popped up. First, there was concern that the hood appeared to be too high.

Handy Hubby installed the exhaust hood according to the directions which advised placing the hood 30″ – 36″ above the cooktop.

Ours is 31″ from the cooktop so we’re actually on the lower end of the recommended range. There are several reasons as to why the hood may seem higher in pictures. First off, the height of the ceiling where the hood’s chimney dead-ends is 9′. That’s because we opened up the original 8′ ceiling and vaulted it. Where the sloped ceiling meets the wall is 9′. That extra foot of headroom might be extending the height of the hood visually.

Another reason the hood may look so disconnected from the stovetop is because there’s nothing but empty space separating them at the moment. The control dials on the range are located at the front, just above the oven door, so there’s no control panel on the back that sticks up. It makes for a clean line horizontally but might be why the hood feels oh-so-far-away. Ideally, I’d like to add a backsplash {not sure what type of material} and/or a shelf above the stove. Both of them would help to bridge the stove-to-hood gap. Upper cabinets placed on either side of the hood could also give the hood a cozier height visually but they aren’t in our kitchen plans.

One other thing…many of the newer exhaust hoods are efficient enough that they can be placed further from the cooktop than older models.

HH and I didn’t really notice the hood feeling too high. HH likes the fact that he can stand at the stove and easily see the burners without dipping his head under the hood. Hopefully, our plans to add a backsplash/shelving above the stove will keep the open space from feeling like a tundra.

There were also some questions regarding the fridge. Many of you wanted to know our reasoning for choosing a side-by-side model. We chose the side-by-side for several reasons:

1) We had one at our previous house and liked it.

2) We have friends who have a French door/bottom freezer drawer and they hate it. We usually like/dislike the same things so we figured we wouldn’t like it either.

3) We like having the water and ice dispenser on the outside of the door so our kids can fill their cups on their own.

4) We don’t have a need for storing large platters {i.e. we’re not caterers or bakers} in the fridge, so the narrower fridge space is just fine with us.

5) We wanted a counter-depth fridge and IKEA only offers them in side-by-side models. {We purchased our entire kitchen from IKEA during one of their 20% off sales…if you buy three kitchen appliances, you get 20% off your entire kitchen order. We bought our fridge, dishwasher, range and hood from IKEA.}

The side-by-side should serve us {and HH’s Yuengling!} well. I totally understand that some people prefer other types of fridges though.

What about you? What’s above your stove?…a microwave?…a patterned backsplash?…a custom hood? Are you like us and prefer a side-by-side fridge? Or are you a French door fridge lover?

FYI – We’re making progress in the mudroom/dining room/laundry nook! Catch a sneak peek two images up and in the image below.

images: Dana Miller for House*Tweaking

Congrats to Isaac who – thanks to his mom – can’t leave for work in the morning without first making his bed. {There’s hope for my boys yet!!} Let’s hear it for a male H*T reader. HH says hi, Isaac.

Mother’s Day is less than a week away. Yikes! Thankfully, The Home Depot offers gift cards that make gift-giving fast and easy, and are the perfect last-minute gift…so Mom doesn’t have to know that you waited until the last minute.

Mom can use her gift card to suit her fancy – whether it’s creating a dream garden, outdoor living space or flower bed. Or maybe Mom has plans to update a room indoors. Whatever the case may be for the woman who nurtured you, The Home Depot has her covered.

Make gift-giving personal with gift cards available in many different designs or customize one to your liking with a photo and message. The Home Depot eGift Cards are an eco-friendly choice and can even be personalized with a video…a no-brainer gift for Moms who live out of town!

This week The Home Depot is giving H*T readers the chance to score a free gift card! See entry details below.

PRIZE: one $100 gift card to The Home Depot

RULES: You must be at least 18 years old to enter and have a U.S. shipping address. No P.O. boxes please. One entry per email address.

HOW TO ENTER: Leave a comment on this post proclaiming “MORE DOING!”

DEADLINE: Enter before Thursday, May 10th at 9:00 p.m. EST. One winner will be chosen via random.org and announced on Friday, May 11th.

WHILE YOU’RE AT IT: In honor of Mother’s Day, share a physical trait, hobby, talent…heck, even a recipe!…your Mom passed down to you that you’re thankful for. I’ll go first. I’m thankful my mom encouraged creativity in my siblings and me as children. Growing up, we had a kiln in our house. My mom would help us paint and fire ceramics. She also made many of our clothes and costumes. She taught me to sew. She tried to teach me crochet but I never caught on as I was left-handed and she was teaching me right-handed. She opened my eyes to the world of all things handmade. {I blame her for my love of etsy!} My mom suffers from schizophrenia now and it affects her ability to make good decisions and decipher ‘real’ from ‘unreal.’ We don’t have the best relationship, so whenever I think back to my childhood, I’m thankful for the creative time with her.

The Home Depot partnered with bloggers such as me to help promote their gift cards. As part of this promotion, I received a gift card to share with my readers. They did not tell me what to say about the product. The Home Depot believes that consumers and bloggers are free to form their own opinions and share them in their own words. The Home Depot’s policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC guidelines and social media engagement recommendations.The winner of this giveaway will be randomly chosen and gift card fulfillment will be handled by a third party.

Like The Home Depot on Facebook and follow them on Twitter!

images: The Home Depot

The fifth, pink laundry pile still catches me off guard.

Everett, a.k.a. Spiderman, enjoys playing in my childhood clubhouse. My dad built it himself 20+ years ago.

Since having Mabrey, I’ve gotten behind on my ‘homework.’ I could easily flip through the pages, scan the pictures, and toss ‘em but I actually read every word so it takes me a while. In case you’re wondering, I subscribe to Better Homes & Gardens, House Beautiful, and Elle Decor.

My poor kids need new socks and they’re {the socks, not the kids} the last thing on my to-do list. Luckily, Layne and Everett don’t seem to notice the holes.

I was a little worried about how Everett would adjust to becoming a big brother after Mabrey was born. He’d been the baby of the family for four years. HH and I have been pleasantly surprised by Everett’s love for his new baby sister. He plays the role of big brother well.

HH sold the boys’ platform beds via craigslist. I had picked out wooden bunk beds from IKEA for them but, when we got to the store, my decision was overridden. HH and the boys liked this metal version instead. It reminded me of an army bunk but came home with us anyway. I’ll make it work. P.S. – Yes, we were reprimanded by an employee for letting our kids get on the top bunk. That’s a no-no!

Mabrey is one month old! A friend of the family sent us a year’s worth of white onesies along with 1-12 month stickers to take her picture each month during her first year. For me, it’s a lot easier to slap the sticker on and snap a pic with my phone instead of photoshopping one on.

I hope you have a lovely weekend! I’ll be back next week to fill you in on all the recent Underdog undertakings.

Click here to see who won the Jessica’s Serenity giveaway!

images: all Dana Miller for House*Tweaking

Monday was the launch of H*T’s new design and I was hoping that my post on the evolution of H*T would help you better understand why I chose to change H*T’s look. To me, it was the natural next step and something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time. The first time I tweaked H*T, I wrote a post about my thoughts on blog changes:

“I know when other blogs I read do some sprucing up, at first I’m apprehensive just because I’ve gotten used to seeing the same home page day after day. You know, that whole ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it’ saying. I’m always leery that somehow changing the appearance of the blog may change the content. In most cases though, after a few posts my inclinations are proven wrong and I happily discover that the changes really are positive. So, I know change is hard but I hope you’ll stick with me and see what comes next. It’s still the same old me…a suburban mom and wife with 2 rowdy boys, a Handy Hubby, a creative side, and a passion for home decor, design and DIY. Oh, and I like chocolate no bake cookies…fresh and gooey straight from the pot…eaten with a spoon so I can’t gauge how many actual cookies I’ve consumed.”

My thoughts then are my thoughts now. {Except we’ve added a baby girl to those two rowdy boys.} I know it’s probably felt a little strange coming here this week and not finding the same header and background. It’s been strange for me too. It’s like getting a new haircut. At first, the change is striking but after a week it feels like it’s always been that way. Soon, it will feel familiar. I hope you’ll hang around until then.

You all probably know your way around a blog but I thought I’d point out a few of the changes and talk about them in more detail. Care to take the tour?

One big change is the header and it was probably the most difficult part of the redesign for me. I knew I wanted something simple and fresh with no frills. I played around with the idea of using a sketched house icon somewhere in the header but it felt too literal. I came up with an idea to switch out the asterisk in House*Tweaking for a sunburst and it felt more ‘me.’

Another thing I’d been thinking of changing for some time was House*Tweaking’s tagline. If you’ll remember, it was ‘…a blog designated to tweaking all things house and home.‘ There were a few problems with it. First, it wasn’t grammatically correct. You wouldn’t believe the number of emails I’ve received over the years from readers – some obviously quite upset – about my unproper improper tagline. A correct version would have been ‘…a blog dedicated to…’ or ‘...a blog designated for…’ The other issue with the old tagline was that it was redundant. Of course a blog called ‘house tweaking’ would be about tweaking your house – duh! It was the tagline I had quickly typed into Blogger a few years ago that fateful night I brought H*T to life and somehow it stuck.

The new tagline ‘…because home doesn’t happen overnight‘ better sums up my take on making a house a home. {And, from what I can tell, it’s okay grammatically. If not, I’m sure I’ll hear about it!} Whether you’re renovating a fixer-upper or making simple upgrades to builder finishes, making your house reflect your style takes time. It doesn’t happen overnight nor should it. It’s a process and an ever-changing journey because real life gets thrown into the mix. And that’s what this blog is all about.

I really needed to update H*T’s social media buttons. I think before I just had Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and RSS buttons. Now you can easily follow me on Pinterest and Instagram too. The mail button is a link to my contact page where you’ll find my email address…an email address that HH is pushing me to change. Hotmail is so 1998. I know, I know. But I have tons of different accounts set up with my email address that it would take me a full month just to switch everything over. I know some bloggers use one email account for bloggy purposes and another account for personal emails but I prefer to group it all together. Ah, maybe one day I’ll get around to switching things over to gmail or something but, for now, you can find me via hotmail.

Beneath the social media buttons are all the pages that used to be in the navigation bar. I updated each page, so if you get a chance to check them out you should. It’s not all the same old, same old. I plan on adding an Underdog house tour to the ‘see my house’ page once the house is tour-worthy.

You can now subscribe to H*T via email if you like. Just type in your email address in the ‘subscribe’ box and you’re good to go. This feature was added due to popular demand.

I also have links to credible mentions and my work elsewhere: Apartment Therapy house tour, Bob Vila Nation, and Houzz. I hope this section continues to grow.

Share buttons are located at the end of each post if you ever find a post to be particularly inspiring and want to tell the world about it.

None of these features are anything ground-breaking in the blog world. I just thought that pointing them out and talking a little more about them would help you to get acquainted with the new look. I encourage you to click around and see what has changed.

Speaking of the new look, it would have never been possible without the help of a graphic/web designer. I’ve taught myself some HTML coding over the past few years – enough to get by. But I’m by no means capable of overhauling an entire site. I worked with Breanna ‘Bre’ of Breanna Rose Design to bring a fresh, modern look to H*T and I can’t say enough about her. She was a gem to work with and worth every penny.

If you ever find yourself in need of a site {re}design, I’d highly recommend her. The girl knows her stuff and has a keen eye. She’s opened my eyes to a few aesthetic issues concerning H*T that I need to improve upon. For example, keeping all my images the same size for cohesion. {That’s why if you look through some of the archives you’ll find small and/or off-centered pictures. Sure, I could go back and edit all those posts but then I wouldn’t have time to sleep, feed my kids, shower, or write posts.} From here on out, it’s something I’m going to be aware of. Probably not perfect at {as I just realized I cropped all those screen shots above to the margins instead of to actual text/images…oops!…I’m learning!}, but aware of nonetheless. Hopefully, it will enhance your reading experience. Thanks, Bre!

One other major blog change that isn’t visible is H*T’s new host. Previously, H*T was hosted on BlueHost. H*T’s traffic has increased so much over the past year that the site was bogged down. I was having problems just writing up posts because my server was down frequently. I’d heard good things about Liquid Web from other bloggers and decided to switch hosts. So far, it’s been a good fit and I can always upgrade within Liquid Web if necessary.

That’s it, I think. Was that enough change for you in one post? Too much? Not enough? Oh well, I can’t please everyone. Welcome to the-new-and-improved-but-kinda-the-same-old House*Tweaking!

images: 1-7) Dana Miller for House*Tweaking 8) Breanna Rose

As of May 31st we’ll no longer be apartment dwellers. I guess, technically, I should have titled this post ‘T minus 29 days.’ I’ve already filled two trash bags with clothes, toys, and other crap {the facetious not fecal kind} that we’ve accumulated over the past eight months that we don’t need. I’ll be dropping them off at Goodwill today. And so it begins…

image: Dana Miller for House*Tweaking

I created H*T over two years ago as an outlet for all the home-related ideas floating around in my head. I had so many of them that I was starting to drive myself and Handy Hubby crazy, jumping from one idea to the next. At that time, I thought there wasn’t anyone else in my life that was interested in hearing about paint colors, furniture arrangements, area rugs, throw pillows, and my future home improvement plans. With HH’s support, H*T was born.

H*T’s first home was on Blogger. Since this blogging thing was ‘just a hobby,’ Blogger was a practical choice. It was user-friendly and free. HH put together a simple header for me. It was a strip of burlap with ‘House*Tweaking’ in white across it. After just a few posts, I was hooked. I had found my passion {all things home} and rediscovered my love for writing.

Throughout my childhood and teenaged years, writing had come easily and naturally to me. I wrote short stories, poems, books, articles, essays, speeches, and songs. I wrote at home in my bedroom for fun and also welcomed any school assignment that involved writing. But once I started pharmacy college, I put writing on the back burner. I didn’t have time for it anymore. I mean, I wrote pages and pages of notes in class but there wasn’t any joy involved. I did take a general writing course as an elective. I loved it. I felt right at home in that class.

Looking back, I don’t think I recognized how much I enjoyed writing. And I can tell you right now, I never once considered pursuing a career that involved writing. Who in their right mind pursues a career that doesn’t promise a regular paycheck?! After all, I was excelling in my pharmacy classes {I don’t mean to toot my own horn but I actually graduated first in my class} so didn’t that mean it was what I should do? No. It actually meant I was stubborn and had a strict work ethic. And quitting {i.e. switching majors} wasn’t an option.

Fast forward 10+ years and I was stuck in a respectable, good-paying job in retail pharmacy. I detested it. {Oh, the stories I could share with you about outrageous questions that patients asked me! They would make you blush, maybe even snort your morning coffee out of your nostrils.} I was still stubborn so I kept chugging along. And, honestly, the money was hard to walk away from. I was able to work 2-4 days a week and bring home a pretty nice chunk o’ change. Not to mention, the short work week afforded me time with my young family.

Once I started H*T, I found myself coming home from an exhausting 12-hour shift at the pharmacy and plopping down in front of the computer to post my most recent home décor undertaking. I’d hit ‘publish’ and suddenly at one o’clock in the morning, I’d feel revitalized, inspired. HH noticed it too. So much so that for my birthday he bought me my own domain. To date, it’s been the best birthday gift I’ve ever received.

HH’s hope was that I’d look into turning my hobby into a career. In other words, he thought I should start making some money. It wasn’t that he was pressuring me to bring in more money. He genuinely thought I was good at what I was doing – turning our house into a home and writing about it – and encouraged me to profit from it. My thought? ‘Who makes a living doing what they love?’

You see, I had lived in the dreadful world of pharmacy for far too long. I’d met and worked with many, many pharmacists and 99.9% of them didn’t enjoy what they were doing. A pharmacy technician once asked my fellow pharmacist, ‘What keeps you coming back?’ His reply? ‘Looking at my paycheck every week.’ It was really difficult for me to grasp the whole ‘do what you love’ concept especially when I was getting paid well in my current profession.

But HH kept after me. I soon found myself in an online blogging class. Shortly thereafter, I paid someone $100 to revamp HH’s homemade header. I taught myself mediocre HTML coding – enough to get by. I even enrolled in the Sheffield School of Interior Design to learn more about the business side of interior design and hone my skills. I saved up enough cash to buy a DSLR camera. Then I started getting recognition in the field – something I wasn’t expecting or searching for at all. Only after Apartment Therapy featured our house tour did I start to think ‘hey, maybe this could work.’

Not being one to make big decisions on a whim, I kept doing what I was doing all the while pondering a career switch. I knew any change would have to happen gradually. I wasn’t going cold turkey. My plan was to continue working, blogging, tweaking and finish the design course. Maybe I’d take blogging and design more seriously after my kids were grown.

But then I had an idea. The only thing holding me to my current job was money. We were living in a house that we could definitely afford on two incomes but we could easily downsize to something more affordable and pay it off in a few years, leaving me with the option of switching career paths. It was an exciting idea but I felt very selfish even thinking of such a huge life change that was sure to affect our entire family. So I kept it a secret telling myself it couldn’t happen. Mama’s dream could wait.

But several months later, I couldn’t wait anymore. My day job was sucking the life right out of me. It was starting to eat away at my creativity, my family life, my spirit. At a loss, I told HH about my idea. Needless to say, at first he was against the idea. We had put a lot of work into our home. We had great neighbors. He didn’t want to move. Not to mention, the real estate market had hit rock bottom. I could totally understand. But I persisted. Eventually, HH saw how much it meant to me and agreed to list our house for sale by owner. That’s true love, people. It put a lot of weight on my shoulders because all I could think about was the whole thing flopping. It’d be all my fault.

But it turned out okay. We sold our house by owner and found a dilapidated house in a great neighborhood and school district. It’s location would cut HH’s commute in half. The house needed a lot of TLC but that just made our home-lovin’ hearts beat faster. Then…the game changer. We found out we were expecting a third child. Surprise! That totally wasn’t in the plan. Not by a long shot. Let me remind you we were downsizing. Holy $#!*

We had two choices: 1) stress to the max and let it consume our lives OR 2) roll with the punches and make it work. We chose the latter.

That’s not to say things have been easy. No siree bob. Over the past 8 months we’ve been renovating. Layne adjusted to a new school. HH got a promotion at work that entailed lots of traveling. My hours at work increased significantly and I had a baby after two months of modified bed rest. Everett became a big brother. My plan to pursue a different career was falling apart. Or was it?

Regardless of my desire to change career paths, HH and I decided early on in our surprise pregnancy that 2 parents working outside the home + 3 young kiddos = 1 big chaotic, unhappy family…at least in our case. We didn’t want to spend our days shuffling our kids around. Since HH had gotten a decent promotion and the monthly mortgage on our new/old house was ridiculously cheap {think less than most people’s monthly car payment}, it made sense for me to become a SAHM. We did some calculating and, even with the loss of income, we could still realistically pay off our house in 4-5 years. The decision was made.

Here I am. A full-time SAHM. And that dream of mine just won’t die quietly. I can’t let it. I need it. In the words of Randy Jackson, “she’s gotta have it!” So, I’m going to do the only things I know to do. I’m going to tweak the bejeezus out of our Underdog and write about it. I’m going to finish my interior design course. After that, who knows?

Through everything, I keep coming back to one life-altering question that was asked of me during my online blogging class…

Would you rather be scared or regretful?

My answer? I’d rather be scared now than regretful later. Am I scared? You bet I am. I don’t know why. It’s not like I’m being deployed to serve my country. I’m not battling cancer. No one’s holding a gun to my head. Fear associated with those situations is based on fact. It’s a rational fear. My fear is based on emotion. What if I flub up?

Which brings me to another good question.

What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?

What would you do?

images: 1&2) Dana Miller for House*Tweaking  3) Pinterest 4-6) Dana Miller for House*Tweaking