Pool and Backyard Remodel

We've owned our home for about 11 years and had no idea how old the existing pool was. There were definitely signs of deterioration, but we tried to hold out on remodeling for as long as possible because we knew it would be a huge project. Instead of just resurfacing and/or re-tiling, we decided it was time to attack all aspects. Our yard was in need of love because we had a trampoline that killed all the grass underneath it and various other spots in the yard that had trouble growing grass. Lastly, the patio near our back door was sort of a pebble style, which wasn't comfortable underneath bare feet. Like I said - big project! Here are the cringe-worthy before pictures:

After we finally decided which company to use, our remodel list was created. It included: removing a retaining wall, removing two trees, skim-coating the patio, removing landscaping, adding turf and new landscaping, replacing plaster, coping, tile, stone, and decking, replacing the diving board, filling in the unused hot tub and making a tanning ledge with bubbler, installing a pool light, and adding a hidden auto-filler. Whew! Making all the selections and staying on top of the project was time-consuming, and the price tag was not for the faint of heart either. But, all in all, I'm so happy we finally took the plunge and turned our backyard space into something to be proud of. Enjoy the after pics! 

 

Ask For a Discount

This is your friendly reminder not to pay the full cost of medical bills without negotiating first. I got this explanation of benefits recently for Dutch's visit to the ER when he broke his arm. For the emergency services, the amount billed was INCREASED by a "negative plan discount" to the tune of nearly $600. Whaaaaa? After talking to insurance and the medical provider, the conclusion is that the actual cost of those services is less than the contractual amount agreed upon by provider and insurance for those services, so they are requiring me to pay the higher amount, even though that's not what it actually cost for the services. I implored both parties to use common sense, to no avail. These types of organizations stick to their scripts and can't sway from mandatory processes, even when they make no sense. So, my backup plan was to tell them I needed a "pay now" discount or they wouldn't be seeing any funds. The manager said, "I can offer you 20% off, as that's our standard discount." Sold. Most providers have the option to offer a discount, so definitely ask for it when you receive a large medical bill. I could've saved myself 10 minutes of arguing if I just asked for the discount right off the bat, but whatever, they deserve to hear me bitch.

Same is true for collection agencies. I recently helped a friend clear up an old utilities account and I had her tell them she wouldn't be able to pay off the amount for a long time as-is, but if they offered her a discount, she could pay it off right then. They were more than happy to. You've got nothing to lose by trying!

Big Savings on our Electricity Bills

I'm in a Facebook group for my neighborhood and earlier this year someone asked for recommendations on which electric company to use. I glanced at the responses because I knew our contract was coming up for renewal with TXU. One neighbor mentioned having success with Energy Ogre. I had never heard of that company before, but the respondent said they had saved significantly after switching. Normally I don't place a lot of stock in things I read online, but this was a neighbor I actually knew in real life, and a couple other neighbors piled on and mentioned similar savings. I was definitely intrigued. From what I gathered, you sign up and pay a subscription fee and Energy Ogre analyzes your electricity usage from the past year. They take that info and review all the plans available to you and figure out which one will be the most affordable, based on your historical usage. So, your electricity service will come from someone else, but Energy Ogre is responsible for making sure you're on the best plan possible. I was skeptical at first, because I thought I had done a good job of reviewing plans through sites like whitefence.com on my own in the past. Did I really need to pay someone $10/month to do that for me?

Our electricity bills go sky high in the summer. We have a 4,200 square foot house, an inefficient setup for our two zones, a less than stellar-ly insulated addition, a husband who is perpetually hot, two adults who work from home, and we have a pool. There is A LOT of usage going on in our house. I figured it was worth a shot to see what this company could do for us. When our contract with TXU ran out, I signed up with Energy Ogre. Based on our prior usage, they found a plan with Reliant that they believed would save us money. We made the switch and held our breaths.

I wanted to let a few months go by before seeing if it was worth it and before sharing the scoop with my friends. I don't like making recommendations unless I can personally attest to them first. Well, this is my official endorsement. The results have far exceeded our expectations. Here are our bills from last year versus this year for the summer months:

June 2015 - $343.99                            June 2016 - $179.18
July 2015 - $450.86                             July 2016 - $217.34
August 2015 - $484.92                        August 2016 - $216.30
September 2015 - $405.14                 September 2016 - $218.43
Total: $1,684.91                                  Total: $831.25

I'm in shock. I can't believe that our bills have been cut in half. It was absolutely worth the money to use this service. It's not going to work in an area where one electric company has a monopoly, or if you haven't lived in your current residence long enough. But, if you live in a deregulated city and have been in your place for at least a year, I totally recommend giving this website a shot if you think your bills are too high.

Home

I bought a cool shirt for my German friend, Kim, last month, but I didn't want to post about it until she had received it!  When she was here visiting, we saw a shirt in a souvenir store that had a Texas flag on it, with the word HOME in bold letters, written across it.  We tried to buy it for her, but they only had kid sizes. She was pretty bummed.  After she returned to Germany, I started searching the internets for that same shirt in adult sizes.  I found one, but didn't get around to purchasing it yet.  As fate would have it, I went to Dutch's My Gym class and a girl was wearing this shirt:

Perfect!!  It was way cuter than the one we had seen in the souvenir store, so I found out where the girl bought it.  Check out The Home T.  They offer shirts with your state's outline, with "home" written inside of it. I bought one for Kim, and one for myself!  She was pretty happy:

I think the shirt is such a cute idea for friends or family who have moved away from a state they love, or who really think of a certain state as their second home.  Not gonna lie, some of the states' shirts really make me laugh, though.  Like, seriously, check out Wyoming's shirt.  Who knows what that is referring to??  That's gotta be confusing.  Lol.  I almost pulled the trigger on this shirt too, but refrained:

They've got another cute one where you can get your state outline with just "y'all" written inside.  Check it out!  Great gift ideas...for someone else or simply for yourself!

Our Own Style

Don't get me wrong, we love our new house, but there are various aspects of it that don't mesh with our personal style.  Luckily a lot of it can be easily fixed, so we're knocking those items out one by one.  First up was the interesting blue toilet in the powder room.  It was running constantly, so we knew it needed new guts.  Instead of replacing them, we decided to just go ahead and buy a whole new toilet.  I know that doesn't sound frugal, but when you take a look at this beauty, I think you can see why we made the decision we did.

Yeahhhhh, that's just not going to work for us.  Luckily, toilets are pretty affordable, and we purchased a new one and got it installed by Home Depot.  It's a dual flush one, so we're feeling fancy.

Don't worry, that wallpaper is on the replacement list too.  Next up were the outlet and switch covers that were antique brass.  I replaced about 10 of them, because they were (luckily) only in a couple of rooms.  The crazy thing is that they probably cost the previous homeowner about $12 each.  Yowza!

Other cool stuff we've purchased lately has been for the backyard.  We're pretty excited about spending a lot of time by the pool this summer, so we knew we needed some outdoor furniture.  

I call that large chaise lounge the Queen's Lounger!  Haha.  That one came from Sears, the tan and red ones came from Garden Ridge (we bought 2 of each color) and the striped pillows came from Pottery Barn.

There are tons of other new things I'll be posting about in the coming weeks including tile in the entryway, wood in the game room, paint in lots of rooms, bedding, towels, mirrors, and rugs.  Okay, I just got a little overwhelmed by typing all that out!  It's a lot of work making this house our own, but it's going to be fun having a "custom" house at the end of it.  

Baby Shower Gifts

Apologies for the lack of blog posts - I have been going and going from morning to night every day for the past couple of weeks.  I wish I could say it's about to slow down, but I seriously doubt it!  Maybe I'll get a chance to catch up on a couple of posts when I'm laid up after my second spinal injection tomorrow.  We'll see.  But anyways, I wanted to give a shout out to my friend, Sara, who runs Cute Sewn In.  I ordered a few personalized items from her for my bff Jenn, who is due next month.

 
Jenn's son will be named Parx, and she is doing blues, oranges, and greens in his room.  I got to pick out the colors, lettering, and fabrics for the burp cloths from Sara's galleries, and then she brought them to life!  I also ordered an adorable onesie with an embroidered tie.  She has TONS of items you can get personalized, for kids of all ages, so check out her website!  She has very reasonable prices.  Happy shopping!

Cute Baby Stuff

I recently ordered a few things from Zulily for Dutch, and I wanted to share them here because they're pretty cute.  First, what kid doesn't need an adorable tie?  Okay, he technically doesn't need a tie, but what kid doesn't look adorable in a tie?  I hope we have a happy occasion in the coming year so that he gets the chance to wear this:

Snuggle Luv Gray Chevron Tie

I also got him some personalized plates, not really because he's ready to start using them, but because I thought they were pretty awesome, and he'll use them some day in the future!

Lima Bean Kids giraffe and mustache personalized plates

Working on my Fitness

It's been a while since I've talked about my fitness, but the arrival of my custom Nikes seemed like a good time to give an update!

Yeah, one of them says 'Dutch' and the other says 'Vanweezy.'  I'm a proud mama, so I figured it was apropos!  I love that Nike lets you design your shoes from top to bottom.  I, of course, chose orange for the base color since it's the national color of Holland and one of my favorite colors.  I kept it simple with most of the rest of the customizable areas and just went with dark gray.  They're a little pricey, and take 3-4 weeks to arrive, but I totally love them!  Meezy agreed and designed himself a pair as well.

Okay, back to the fitness.  While I was pregnant, I gained 45 pounds.  That was definitely not my plan, and I didn't go out of control with the eating, but it just happened.  I felt pretty overwhelmed when I came home from the hospital after giving birth and had only lost 10 of those pounds.  I freaking had a 10 pound baby, so how was that little amount of weight loss possible?!?  Things got much better after a couple more days, and I was down about 25 pounds.  That was all just due to the birth, since I wasn't allowed to do any kind of exercising.  I told myself I'd be gung-ho about working out once I got cleared at the 6-week mark.  Pfffft.  I was still exhausted and had very little free time at that point.  It took a couple more weeks before I really started doing anything.

So, where am I today?  It's been 4.5 months since I gave birth, and I am officially back to my pre-pregnancy weight.  Those extra 45 pounds are gone, and I hope to never see them again (well, maybe 35 of them with my next pregnancy).  I'm thrilled I've shed the pounds, but in no way does that mean I'm in shape!  I still get pretty winded when running even short distances, and I'm fluffy around the edges.  My ideal weight would be about 20 pounds lighter than this, but I would settle for just tightening up my stomach and thighs.  This past week, I went to boot camp two days, ran with my sister one day, and ran on the treadmill one day.  Not bad.  My flag football season starts next week, so there's one guaranteed day of exercise.  I hope to at least get two boot camps in each week as well.  I'm sure if I changed my diet I'd have an easier time dropping a few more pounds, but I'm just not quite ready to take that plunge yet.  This mama enjoys her chips and queso!    

Itzbeen

Whew!  It's been about a week since I've felt like I had a free minute to blog.  There's not much sleep happening at our house, but that doesn't mean we don't love our new addition to pieces!  Here's a few pics from the past week so you can get your cute baby fix before I move on to the real reason for this post!

As I mentioned before, sleep is sparse with a newborn.  That leads to memory loss and confusion on a daily basis!  I heard about the itzbeen timer from my friend, Kari, and I knew I had to have it before Dutch arrived. 

When you're in the hospital, nurses come in and ask you constantly how many diapers the baby has had, how long ago you started nursing and how long it lasted, and how often you're going to the bathroom yourself.  It's so hard to remember the answer to those questions because you can't even keep the days and nights straight, or have any concept of the passage of time.  This timer is a lifesaver for so many reasons!  The buttons on the side represent diaper changes, feedings, sleep, and then an extra one for whatever you choose to use it for.  The slider on the bottom helps you remember which side you last nursed on, and then it also comes with a nightlight.  Whenever you change a diaper, you hit the diaper button and it restarts the timer.  That way you can glance over at any time and see how long it's been since the last changing.  Same with the other buttons.  It's very helpful to know how long the baby fed, and also how long it's been since you last fed him.  For the extra button, I used it in the hospital to help remind myself to get up and use the bathroom (you tend to forget to take care of yourself when a new baby enters the equation!), and at home I used it to keep track of how long it had been since I last took a pain pill.  You don't want to mess up when it comes to taking medication, so it's very useful!  Once I get past the first couple of weeks, I know the timer will become less useful, but I also feel like if I only end up using it for 2 weeks, it will still have been worth it!     

Replacement Purse

I mentioned previously that my dog, Riley, destroyed my beloved green Michael Kors purse a couple weeks ago.  He's lucky he's so darn cute because that's a pretty serious offense.  That purse was my favorite for pairing with brown-themed outfits, and there was definitely a void left after I could no longer use it.  I've searched around for a replacement and haven't been able to find the exact one in stores anymore, or even another green purse that suited my fancy.  While I was watch-shopping yesterday at Saks Off Fifth (they're having an awesome sale through Tuesday, btw), I wandered over to the purse section and came across this Kate Spade beauty:

 
It's the shade of green I like, and it makes me yearn for the spring and summer weather!  It was an amazingly good deal, so I snatched it up.  It's not as fancy as the one it's replacing, but it'll definitely work.  I couldn't resist taking a picture of it with the storage bag it came with because when I brought it home, Meezy said, "It comes with a bag to store your bag???"  Haha, boys. 

Can't Wait to Get Back in My Heels

I've seriously been missing wearing heels since I got pregnant.  I'm one of those people who actually feels more comfortable in heels than flats, and I got used to wearing them on a daily basis when I worked in an office.  Now that I'm working from home, and knocked up, my adorable pumps spend a lot of time on my shoe shelves.  I'm looking forward to being able to wear them again, and that feeling grew even stronger with a purchase I made this past weekend.  I went to the Gilt Warehouse Sale in downtown Dallas and stumbled upon a pair I just couldn't resist.  They're Emilio Pucci, and they were marked down by almost 80% from retail! 

I'm in love and can't wait to find the right occasion to wear them!

Audi R8 Private Drive Event

I used to own an Audi, so I'm on their email distribution list.  I received an invitation from them to attend a Private Drive Event for their R8 at the Joule Hotel in Downtown Dallas.  Their R8, if you don't know, is their supercar that starts at $115K and can get up to $200K depending on what options you got.  Obviously there's no way in heck we'd be able to buy one of these cars in our lifetime, but we figured it would still be fun to attend the event and get the chance to drive one!  The experience turned out to be even cooler than we expected it to be.  We arrived at the Joule and they offered us drinks and snacks and we sat through a 15 minute orientation about the car.  They told us what kinds of features it had, and then relayed how the drive event would go down.  There were 8 people driving in our session, and then each person was allowed a guest.  The driver and guest would be the only ones in the R8, and all 8 pairs of us went out on our drives at the same time.  A professional driver would be in a "lead" car at the front of the pack and another pro would be in a "chase" car in the back, just to make sure everyone was okay and that we all stayed in the same general vicinity.  They let us go on the highway for a while, and then on some winding roads.  In total, the driving time was about 40 minutes.  It was awesome!  We could've switched half-way through and I could've driven, but I was way too terrified to get behind the wheel of a car that expensive, so Meezy got double driving time. 

We were surprised at how they just set us all loose behind the wheel of these cars.  We weren't on some secluded track, away from other drivers and the elements.  We were right on I-35 in Dallas, amidst traffic at times, and even as it started raining.  They had put walkie-talkies in each car so the professional drivers could stay in contact with us and let us know where we'd be heading next.  Other than that, Meezy was pretty much free to drive how he wanted!  It was really cool.  I'm sure it looked a little odd to other drivers and people on the street to see 8 Audi R8s driving next to each other!  Here's some pics of the experience, and a couple videos for a little taste of what it was like to be a passenger.

Aren't we special?

It had our name on the dash

The one Meezy got to drive

A few of the other ones

Baby Dutch made an appearance

What? Pregnant chicks don't make good car models?

On the highway alongside another R8

It was an R-tronic drive

All the fancy gadgets

Yep, it's a V10

Not your normal view on I-35

This was the group of us leaving the Hotel.  The voice you hear is one of the professional drivers over the walkie-talkie:

And us getting on the highway.  Man, I love the sound of that engine!

Guilty Pleasures

I've become a tad bit obsessed with fabulous shoes and handbags.  I decided to branch out and get a Michael Kors bag instead of sticking to my usual brand, Coach.  I heard Neiman Marcus Last Call was having a 30% off sale, so I figured this was a good time to try something new.  I saw this bag and immediately fell in love with it:

  Michael Kors Gansevoort Shoulder Satchel, Green

I tend to stick with "boring" bags that are either black, white, or brown.  Since green is my favorite color, though, it didn't take much convincing me for me to step outside my comfort zone.  I'm definitely loving this purchase, and will probably consider Michael Kors in the future as well.  My favorite parts are the pockets on the ends that are perfect for items I use often and want to get to quickly (cell phone, keys, chapstick, etc). 

 Kam Half d'Orsay, Nude, L.A.M.B.

What goes well with a beautiful handbag?  A killer pair of shoes!  Still taking advantage of the NM Last Call sale, I picked up these summer heels for a wedding in July.  I'm sure I'll be wearing them before then, because they're just too cute.  I usually think L.A.M.B. shoes (from Gwen Stefani) are a bit too crazy for me, but these were right up my alley.  It's gonna be a fashionably fabulous summer!

More Favorite Things

I feel like I'm starting to mimic Oprah's Favorite Things, except that I'm not going to buy each item for all my readers!  Last Christmas, my mother-in-law bought me this awesome cookware set from QVC:

It is the Temp-tations Floral Lace 11pc Oven to Table Set.  It comes in four colors, but green is my fave and that's one of the theme colors of my kitchen, so that's what I got.  These dishes are amazeballs because you can put them in the oven, the microwave, the fridge, and the dishwasher.  No transporting to other dishes is needed for any part of the process.  

They're also wonderful because they are very heavy-duty with a classy design, yet very affordable.  For under $50, you get 3 baking dishes with lids, 3 metal racks, 3 matching glass trivets, and 2 bowls with lids.  I love having a cohesive theme when setting out multiple dishes for a buffet spread.  They are great when hosting dinner parties or when bringing food to other people's get-togethers.  I have used these countless times since receiving them!  The only drawback I've seen is that these lids don't snap onto the dishes, just more so rest on top of them.  It's great for stacking them in the fridge, but not great at keeping things sealed.  My mother-in-law suggested putting foil over the dish and then putting the lid on top of that.  Even with this shortcoming, I still highly recommend them.  (I believe other designs from Temp-tations are available with better, snap-shut lids).  I have already found myself needing more than what comes in this set, so I ordered a couple of additional pieces:

  

These are the Floral Lace Oval Covered Bakers w/Racks.  Considering how substantial these pieces are, and that they come with lids, trivets, and racks, $40 is a great deal.  If you're looking for some new cookware, I suggest you go to QVC.com and search for Temp-tations.  I have been very impressed with mine!

My Favorite Travel Item

Last year I purchased some eBags packing cubes, and I have been in love with them ever since.  I bought a 3-pc set with one large, one medium, and one small bag. 

 

I figured they'd be helpful while traveling, but I had no idea I would end up liking them this much.  I usually have a few different categories of clothing that I take on trips.  There's my everyday clothes, my dressy clothes, my workout clothes, my undergarments, etc.  I can easily separate them in my suitcase by using a packing cube for each type, or combining two similar types into one.  You can fit a lot more items in one cube than you initially think.  Even though the material is lightweight and the top is mesh, I haven't had any problems with ripping, and the zippers are very durable, so no problems with jamming. I don't like unpacking all my clothes when I arrive at my destination, so I pretty much just dress out of the packing cubes each day.  I don't have to search around in my entire suitcase to do an inventory of what items are available to me for the needs of the particular day, I just pull out the relevant packing cube and look through it.  It makes it easy for me to see what my options are, and how many options I have left when thinking about the days left on a trip. 

I have a weird thing with not liking my clothes to touch the shoes that I have packed for a trip.  Keeping all my clothes in packing cubes eliminates this problem.  The cubes are also a great size, so they fit perfectly in my suitcase and stack well.  If you're an organization freak like I am, you get a big smile on your face when everything is in its place and looks good in the suitcase!

Lastly, the cubes can serve as a laundry bag and separator on your return trip.  I don't like my dirty clothes cavorting around with the clean ones on the trip home, because then I feel like I need to wash everything, even if I didn't wear it all.  Now, I separate the dirty and clean clothes into different packing cubes and that makes sorting super easy when I get home.  

I'm sure you think I'm crazy for raving about this simple product so much, but I promise if you get a set, you will love them too!  With all the traveling I'm doing this year, I see an additional purchase in my near future! 

Friendly Shout-out

Lately I've been super impressed with the ambition of my friend, Lauren.  She's an accountant by day, just like me, but she has recently started devoting more of her free time to design.  If you check out some of her work, you'll see why she's doing it - she's really, really good at it!  She's won a few awards already, and has been featured on a couple of different websites.  Her work is currently available for purchase on Indigo Prints and Minted, or you can work with her directly (lauren@palmpapers.com) for a personalized design.  She does birth announcements, wedding invitations, save the dates, holiday cards, shower invites, stationery, etc.  If you've got a big event coming up, please contact her!  You can follow her blog here. Check out a couple of her beautiful Palm Papers designs below, and then go place an order!