i blinked & july disappeared.
it was a busy month full of canning tomatoes (soooo many tomatoes), filling farm orders, freezing corn, picking cucumbers & so much more.
while the month totally slipped by & i was unable to share our garden in july, i thought i would do a little recap & share some of the highlights.
in the garden – july 2016
so many cucumbers made into pickles this month. check out this basic recipe for quick pickling almost anything.
the first of the green beans! hip, hip hooray!
i am a basket hoarder. luke doesn’t complain, though. come july, every single basket is in use.
cantaloupe vines are spreading throughout the garden & we should have a few good ones by september! we planted late, but it will be nice to enjoy something new from the garden late into the summer.
we have yet to really see any squash bugs *knock on wood*, but one of our zucchini plants did bite the dust due to a vine borer this morning. quite a sad day, but we’re still harvesting plenty from the other plants.
our flower beds are doing so well this season! we are harvesting bouquets of flowers for throughout our home & other’s most days of the week. it’s truly my favorite part of our garden.
do you follow @floretflower on instagram? she is such an inspiration!
just another day in the garden harvesting this season’s bounty… grateful, thankful!
what is happening in your garden? please share!
love,
natalie
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p.s. do you live in or around the grand rapids, michigan area? i am collaborating with the wonderful found cottage & amazing megan modderman for a pickling workshop on the evening of august 13th! only 8 spots remain & registration ends thursday!
click here to register, friends! i’d love to meet you in person & hug your neck!
hi, sweet friends! today i thought i’d share some thoughts on a recent addition to our summer budget.
if you’ve followed along, you know that luke & i implement an adapted dave ramsey budget. we have done this since we were engaged & we are grateful for the discipline this practice has taught us.
this summer we decided to add a “summer fun” category to our budget. oftentimes during the summer months, we take advantage of the beautiful weather & a freer schedule with weekend outings & adventures.
this summer we wanted to make sure we had the freedom to say yes to those fun opportunities while also continuing to live within our means. we decided to implement a “summer fun” budget category & it has made such a difference!
we set aside $60 each month to spend on extras including picnic lunches, fun pool toys, movie theater tickets with our sweet nephew, camper supplies, canoe & boat rentals, farmers’ market treats & more.
it has been such a gift to plan for these little outings without later worrying what budget category we’ll pull from to cover the unplanned expense. it’s also allowed us to be more intentional about taking advantage of the beautiful summer months!
do you set aside money within your budget for summer months?
i’d love to read your thoughts on how you manage extra summer expenses within your family!
wishing you all a lovely start to your week & a bit of (budgeted) summer fun!
love,
natalie
one month ago, our 1997 13ft shadow cruiser camper lovingly named susie q joined our family! see the first blog post HERE.
we’ve slowly made small changes inside over the last few weeks to better fit our family & our own aesthetic. today i thought i’d share some before & in-progress photos!
BEFORE:
& NOW:
it’s amazing what a can of paint, some fabric & pops of color will do!
with the exception of the floor & carpet insulation around the top bunk, i painted every square inch of susie q. in total, it took me about 20 hours. i coated the laminate cabinets & faux wallpaper walls with this primer first. once it was dry, i painted two coats of white primer + paint all-in-one from the hardware store. it’s holding up very well & stains wipe off easily with a magic eraser!
i also painted the front of our mini fridge in chalkboard paint & love doodling cute quotes & phrases to the front!
my biggest splurge inside the camper was having the cushions professionally reupholstered. i was able to find a great coupon to joann’s fabric store for the gray linen blend fabric, which cost about $125 in the end. the trim fabric was found at hobby lobby for just a few bucks. it cost $200 to have the cushions reupholstered so i spent about $350 on this project.
it was well worth the expense, though! the new cushions zip off for easy cleaning & i love how much the new cushion colors brighten the space!
i was able to shop our home for most of our accessories & artwork. it’s so fun what you’ll find when you start shopping your closets & drawers!
above – i cut a piece of cork board to size for the side of our nightstand & added postcards, fun photos & more of places we love & adventures we’ve been on. we plan to add to the board as we travel to different places!
my sweet cousin gifted me the cute tea towel when she heard about our camper! i was able to find a cheap hook at walmart to hang it near our sink.
i also added fresh flowers & candles throughout our space. woven baskets & cute plastic plates are great for corralling like-items together.
i am always on the lookout for extra camper storage solutions. i found this great wire bin at walmart on sale for just $6. it hangs over the door of our closet for storing books, magazines, coloring books & color pencils.
most everything else came from inside our home. the mugs are from 1canoe2 & the globe print is from meg’s shop.
we still have a handful of changes to make, including curtains, but it’s always so nice to see a little progress & lots of hard work!
what do you think, friends?
love,
natalie