How to update an older home on a small budget

~ jen ~ Leave a comment

Our first (town) home in Utah we bought  while it was being built so  we were able to pick the interior features – floors, carpet, colors, cabinets, counter tops, tile, etc. We loved that home, however we love to travel and see new places and wanted a home just a little bigger with a backyard for our kids and dog.

Our home here is Austin was built in the 90s and has a few updates like the floors, kitchen and master bathroom. Moving is fun but also usually more expensive than you anticipate. For example, the previous owners had cat door on the door between the garage and the interior of the home, which isn’t a big deal for us but the inspection said it’s actually a fire hazard so one more thing to update! Here are a few things we’ve found to update an older home on a very small budget:

  • paint – a fresh coat of paint can go a LONG way! We re-painted almost every room in the house and the garage (which was yellow and blue, looked like IKEA ha, ha). We used the Behr brand paint from Home Depot.
  • cabinet hardware – we added drawer pulls from Amazon that weren’t too expensive (other good options were from Home Depot and Anthropologie)
  • new window treatments – I love natural light so we just replaced the brown curtains with white ones (from Target)
  • update outlet and light switch plate covers – we like these white ones from Amazon to replace the previous brown and/or metal ones

Updates we want to do in the future:

  • replace older light fixtures
  • new exterior doors
  • matching doorknobs – why did the previous owner have so many mismatching doorknobs?! We’ll never know ha, ha…
  • epoxy the garage – we have this epoxy kit from Amazon but have to finish clearing out the garage before using it.

Other ideas for updating an older home:

  • new light fixtures
  • add a large mirror – the reflective light can often brighten a space or make it appear larger
  • update faucets
  • re-paint cabinets
  • replace floors or old carpet (I love wood, laminate and tile that looks like wood)
  • update counter tops (I love granite and marble)

Our home has been a labor of love, but we appreciate it and the new city we live in!

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New Zealand travel fantasy: Hunt for the Wilderpeople

~ jen ~ Leave a comment

hunt-for-the-wilderpeople-hunt-for-the-wilderpeopl31

We saw Hunt for the Wilderpeople last week at the Alamo Drafthouse – the movie is an adventure comedy drama and made me smile, laugh and cry! But most of all, it made me really want to visit New Zealand! New Zealand has been on my travel list for a while (I mean basically with like every other country in the world, ha, ha) and I loved the gorgeous scenery in the movie.

Here are some more amazing images I found while daydreaming about going to New Zealand.

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new zealand

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(click image for link)

p.s. – the director, Taika Waititi, also directed another movie I love “What We Do In The Shadows”, a horror comedy and vampire documentary. I know it sounds weird but I’d recommend it!

Get to know me

~ jen ~ Leave a comment

Thought I’d introduce myself a little more with this random questionnaire post about me! Thanks for following along 🙂

  1. What was favorite subject in school?:  History, English, Anatomy
  2. What is your favorite drink?: Water! I rarely drink anything else and never soda.
  3. What is your favorite food?:  Tacos, pizza and breakfast foods (like French toast)
  4. What is the last thing you bought?: Clogs (from Lucy and Lyla I found through Groopdealz)
  5. Do you have any pets?: Yes, a Welsh Corgi named Bruce.
  6. Favorite Holiday?: Christmas
  7. Are you married?: Yes, just celebrated our 10 year anniversary!
  8. Have you ever been out of the country, if so how many times?: 10 times – Mexico, Guatemala,  China, Scotland, England, Ireland, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Paraguay
  9. Do you speak any other language?: Spanish, I learned it when I lived in Guatemala as a missionary for the LDS church.
  10. How many siblings do you have?: 2 sisters and a brother
  11. What are your favorite shops?: H&M, Old Navy, Anthropologie, Nordstrom
  12. How tall are you?: 5’3″
  13. Can you cook?:  I didn’t grow up cooking but I’ve learned a lot and can cook pretty well.
  14. If you won the lottery, what would you do with the winnings?: pay bills, landscape our backyard, travel the world
  15. One of your current goals?: Finish cleaning, organizing and painting our house, reviving the grass in our backyard

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Motherhood Around the World series summary

~ jen ~ Leave a comment

One of my favorite blogs I’ve been reading for years started another segment of their series “Motherhood Around the World” where they interview American moms living abroad and discuss surprising and unique aspects of raising kids in various cultures. It’s been so fascinating to read about different parenting styles, giving birth in a country one didn’t grow up in,  and of course seeing the beautiful landscapes around the world.

In Sweden (and other countries), babies will often nap outside tucked in their strollers – that’s one huge difference than in the US! Child Protective Service would be called before anyone could think twice! 😉  Some countries like Germany have paid maternity leave up to 12 months!

Some of the countries featured that I found particularly interesting were: Iceland, Thailand, Kenya, and Mexico. While I’ve lived abroad twice (in Guatemala and Scotland), both were before we had kids and would’ve been very different experiences. We’ve always been open to moving abroad with our kids and this series has given me an interesting and real insight to what it might be like.

Check out the amazing outdoor community pool in Iceland:

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this cute family in Thailand:

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or read the series here on A Cup of Jo!

Protein bites: easy, healthy, high energy snack

~ jen ~ 4 Comments

After working out, I get extremely hungry and this is my favorite protein-filled, quick snack that can be prepared beforehand.  I like this recipe because it’s SO simple, requires little prep time, no cooking time and you can add in sweets (like chocolate chips) or salty (almonds, nuts, etc). In addition to protein, it has flaxseed which has shown evidence of reducing heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes. Flaxseed also comes as ‘ground flaxseed‘ if you prefer it less seedy. I usually double or triple the recipe because we go through them so fast!

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FullSizeRender_5 Ingredients 

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Mix then chill

Roll and enjoy!

Protein Bites (1)

easy, no bake-protein-filled