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Staying Home Sawyer

Real Life Living on a Real Life Budget

DIY, Holidays!

Hocus Pocus

10.27.2015

Halloween Trick or Treat Decorations

Let me paint you a little picture. It’s 6:00AM, Monday morning, the week of Halloween. There’s a slight chill outside, as if Halloween is just setting in. Fog can be seen maneuvering it’s way around your front yard. Your alarm goes off, you struggle to get out of bed. After all, it is Monday morning. You make your way to the end of the bed where you have your work outfit already laid out, and attempt to get dressed in the dark. Your husband is sleeping quietly in bed, and you wouldn’t want to wake him from his peaceful slumber, so you keep the lights off. When that proves to be a challenge, you take whats left of your outfit into the bathroom where you close the door and turn on the light. And then it happens.

Halloween Trick or Treat Decorations Black and White

You sit down to use the amenities in the bathroom, while simultaneously picking up your shirt. You almost have your arms inside, when BAM! A big black spider flies off your shirt onto the floor. You’re mid-flow. You can’t get up to kill said spider, so you have to watch the massive beast crawl around on the floor, towards your tiny toes.  You pick up your feet and start to have a panic attack. After all, that spider could eat your cat, it’s that big. You must save yourself. You struggle to complete the task at hand, while trying to find something to kill the bear-like sized spider. You can literally see it getting larger by the second. At this point, you’re scared that when you kill it you’ll be covered in spider-guts. This is going to be ugly.

Halloween Trick or Treat Decorations BannerWhen you finally get your bearings, and that little sucker is flushed down the toilet, you can finally take a breath. You open the door to the bedroom where your husband assumes you have literally just flushed your own head down the toilet from all the commotion. You try to explain to him that when a spider is the size of your fist, there is little you can do to prevent a hysterical meltdown.

Halloween Trick or Treat Decorations - DIY Candle

It is Monday after all. And Halloween week. The only spiders I like crawling in my house are big, green, and glittery thank you very much. And even those are questionable. I think I owe the Halloween Gods a little appreciation, because apparently they’re spiting me with real spiders. So in honor of them, I shall add a few more green glittery spiders to my house. Hopefully that will ward off the real ones for a while.

Halloween Trick or Treat Decorations Sparkly SpiderI put together this little corner of our living room with black and white decorations with a little green flair. If you’d like to print your own Trick or Treat banner, you can find it here. I used a sequined ribbon to turn a simple white pillar candle into my added flair, and printed this Halloween Subway Art here.

Halloween Trick or Treat Decorations DIY

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Lifestyle

Gossip Girl is Over.

10.26.2015

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(The most “Gossip Girl” finale-like photo I have)

Gossip Girl is over. For me. For the rest of the world, it’s been over for three years. I’m late getting on the train, I know.

But I’m going to admit something that will definitely give you the power to judge me. I’m fine with it, I’ve come to peace with it. I just finished watching the entire series. And I’m sad. I can’t believe it’s over. My life is changed forever. I almost shed a tear. Or a million tears. It was quite possibly the best finale I’ve ever seen from a show. I am tempted to start it over and watch it from the beginning. Again. I was going to move on…you know…to another show, like Gilmore Girls or One Tree Hill. But I just can’t move on quite yet. I need some time to process these feelings. I need time to grieve. I need a glass of wine. Stat.

In the meantime, I guess life will keep moving on. While Serena and Dan will remain forever at their wedding and Blair and Chuck will stare longingly into each other’s eyes for the rest of time, I will have to continue trekking away doing my mindless activities. Life is just not fair.

Because I’ve been so busy lately (not watching Gossip Girl), I haven’t been writing much. So now that can all change. Hopefully I’ll be around a lot more this week, I do have plenty of Halloween DIY’s to show you. Including my pretty amazing costume. Can you guess what it will be?!

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DIY, Holidays!

Dollar Tree Fall Table Arrangement

10.22.2015

Dollar Tree Fall Table Arrangement

Once you get on the Fall train, you just can’t get off until after the new year. You make stops in Thanksgiving town, Elf on the Shelf town, Christmas town, and then you’re right on your way to New Years Eve town. Until January, you just can’t catch a break. But at least I’ll have a lot of stamps in my holiday train passport. Since I had to trade in my real passport when I got married (and subsequently lost all my stamps). It was a sad, sad day. The day that my husband suddenly became a more well-traveled man than me, and you better believe he doesn’t let me forget it. This is the same husband that didn’t even own a passport until he met me.

Letting that go (taking a deep breath)….and back onto the Fall train. I love decorating, but I don’t like decorating with a high budget. I mean, I probably would like decorating with a high budget…but until I win the lottery, I don’t see myself getting experience in expensive taste.

Dollar Tree Fall Table Arrangement

So I did what any other middle-class, budget-attentive woman would do. I went to the Dollar Tree and splurged on six items. It was a very serious commitment. I had a little spray paint at home, but if you don’t, you’ll need a can of cream color spray paint (which Wal-Mart sells for about $1).

I bought three small ceramic pumpkins, one string of fall leaves, and two medium-sized orange pumpkins (which I then promptly painted cream – because seriously, they were very ugly pre-paint job). String the leaves around the pumpkins, and you’re done. It may not look like anything high-end, but it’s cheap, easy, and festive. The best part is that you don’t have to splurge on another six items at DT for Thanksgiving. This arrangement can carry you right on through Thanksgiving. You’re welcome.

Dollar Tree Fall Table Arrangement

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DIY

diy wood slice coasters

10.20.2015

DIY Wood CoastersSince it’s officially been fall for almost a month now, I guess I should get on board. I will admit that I did try a PSL the other day (since they changed the recipe and all), and I have to be honest. I didn’t love it. I didn’t really even like it. I’m starting to wonder if I’m even American.

DIY Wood Slice Coasters

But, in honor of said season, I figured I’d put together a little fall craft. And I say that lightly, because I’m not entirely convinced that this is a fall craft. I figure wood slices aren’t really a summer thing…so we’ll go with fall. If it works, it works. Stop judging.

Being from the Midwest, I have a lot of family members that have cabins ‘up north.’ And if you didn’t read that as, “cabins up nort,” you’re clearly not from Wisconsin. More power to you. Seriously. The Yooper accent is a bit much, even for me. Every time I visit back home, I pick up a little of it. Especially when drinking. Okay mostly just when drinking.

DIY Wood Slice CoastersOne of my aunts is building a new cabin in the woods up north. I had seen wood projects around the block (or on Pinterest), and thought about making her some photo coasters as a little cabin-warming present. On wood, of course. I couldn’t find a tutorial online that was as easy as I like ’em to be, so I made up my own…

You can buy the wood slices at Michael’s, or you can cut them on your own. This would depend on how much of a lumberjack you are. Obviously, I bought mine. I know that may come as a shock to you, since I’m so outdoorsy – but I was short on time.

Print photos on regular printer paper. Trim your photos to fit each wood slice. Using a thin coat of Modge Podge on the bottom of each photo, stick it to the wood slice, being careful to push out any air pockets. Wait for that to dry, and then apply another thin coat to the top. After that is dry as well, you should apply at least another 2 layers to the top. You want to make sure it has a good seal, so the photos don’t bubble when wet. If you want to tie them together with the same tag (or one like it), you can find it here.

Overall, I think they turned out pretty neat. Since I’ll probably never see the cabin myself, at least I can know that she’s protecting her table surfaces with these coasters. Seriously, what’s more important than that?

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About Me

About Me

Hi Mamas! My name is Shauna, a 30-something (big emphasis on the 'something') new mama and wife living in Southern California. I've become a Stay At Home Mom to Sawyer, and I would do it forever if I could! I'm originally from Wisconsin and am a total Cheesehead! I'm here to share DIY's, travel tips, and baby stuff I'm sure!

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stayinghomesawyer

Do you ever just look at your spouse and think, I Do you ever just look at your spouse and think, I really nailed it? 

Why yes, I do. 🤣🤣🤣

#husbandgoals
One of my favorite things we get to give our girls One of my favorite things we get to give our girls is perspective. To see new places. To meet different people. To experience cultures outside of their own.

Not so they grow up thinking one place is “better” than another — but so they grow up curious, grateful, and grounded. And the more of the world we see, the more thankful I become for home, for the freedoms we have, and for the life we get to build together. 

Flag tees from @sweet_peas_and_sweeties - they’re selling fast so grab yours before they’re gone!
I might be the world’s worst “influencer,” because I might be the world’s worst “influencer,” because I’m here to tell you this: you do not need a whole new wardrobe for vacation.

Social media makes it feel like every trip requires new outfits, a new summer closet, a new date-night dress…but honestly? It doesn’t.

I’m willing to bet you already have plenty of great options hanging in your closet. And instead of spending a bunch of money on clothes you’ll probably only wear once, maybe it’s enough to just wear what you already love.
One day, instead of hearing little feet running th One day, instead of hearing little feet running through the house all day, I’ll be leaving voicemails hoping they call me back when they have time.

The sticky fingerprints will wash away, the car seats will come out, bedtime routines will end, and the house that once felt so loud will get quieter little by little.

It’s strange how the things that exhaust you in the moment become the very things you ache for later. 🤍
When did it become expected to spend hundreds of d When did it become expected to spend hundreds of dollars on Teacher Appreciation gifts? Don’t get me wrong, if it were in the budget you better believe it’s worth it. I am not advocating for giving them LESS, I’m just advocating for staying within your families budget. And maybe if we see more of these easy little inexpensive gifts, we can make it more acceptable to gift within budget. Because that’s what it’s all about. 

What’s that saying? It’s the thought that counts.
I’ve been seeing so many reels lately saying that I’ve been seeing so many reels lately saying that Mother’s Day is only for moms with small children. I couldn’t disagree more. To me, Mother’s Day is not just about me. It’s about the women who helped shape me, as a mother, a woman, a friend. It’s about my friends who help me be a better mother, even if they don’t have little kids themselves. It’s about my own mother, who is the biggest inspiration for me, to be a better mother myself. It’s about the many generations before me that allowed me to be a mother at all. It’s about every woman in my life that loves me and my girls as if they’re their own. That’s who I’ll be celebrating this Mother’s Day.
Listen. Shelling with my kids will always be so mu Listen. Shelling with my kids will always be so much fun. But I think we have enough of these oyster shells at this point. 🤣

What are your kids always finding for you?
There’s something rare about being fully known and There’s something rare about being fully known and still fully loved. No shrinking yourself. No editing your personality.
Just being met where you are. That kind of friendship changes you.
It’s just a little walk… It’s just a little walk…
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