Our New Adventure & Apartment Thrift Scores

My dropping off the face of the internet was a bit abrupt, but I cannot bring myself to apologize for it considering all the awesome adventures in real life I've been having with Sailor as we explore our new home. I can, however, try and make it up to you who read this blog with some scenic photos and a peek at our apartment. 

As you may have gathered, we moved Out West. It is quite astounding to my silly Midwestern, flatlander brain to wake up every morning an see MOUNTAINS OUT MY WINDOW. Those of you who live in the mountains may scoff at my amazement, but I cannot help it. If you have lived in Illinois or Wisconsin for any amount of time, you understand the meaning of flat. You can see for miles in each direction. Here the only way I can achieve that is to drive up a mountain. Like, an actual mountain. With snow and stuff at the top. Like....MOUNTAIN.

 Sorry, I'm not sorry for being a tourist. Haha.

My yarn looks so cute all rainbow-ed out on the shelf. I sometimes leave the closet door opened so I can admire it when I walk by. Hahahaaaa.

Since you listened so well to my brief rant about mountains and elevation and my general amusement with geography, here's a little look at our cozy abode.

We moved out here via airplane with four 20"x20" boxes,  one large suitcase, and two carry-ons. Most of my family thought we were absolutely nuts doing this, but can I tell you, it was such a relaxing move. No insane unpacking once we got here! No moving truck to unload!! Just opening the boxes and setting stuff on shelves.

So. Liberating.

I mean, yes, we didn't have a fully equipped kitchen on Day 1. And yeah, we are still missing major pieces of furniture. But being able to just take the essentials on this move really made me realize how much excess stuff we have in our storage unit back in the Midwest. How little it takes to get by and still be comfortable. Quite enjoyable, I think.

So, since we didn't bring any furniture with us (besides the boxes themselves, which have proven to be highly versatile as dining tables, end tables, night stands, and tv stands thus far) we've been hunting around for good deals every chance we get.

Our first priority was a bed, which we bought new the first day. Next, we scored two kitchen chairs for $6/each at the thrift shop. A week later, we got a somewhat matching table for $30 and a very heavy, very boxy TV for $15. Sailor brought his Xbox along, so we've been able to watch some movies on our "ancient" television.

Side note: that table barely fit in our car, even with the legs off. We are convinced that things look smaller in the store. There must be a perception filter or something weird like that. 

As you may notice, we don't have a couch yet. Since we got a nice TV stand thingy (for $15!! YES!!) and have moved the TV from its bedroom perch on a box to it's new position in the living room, I've been getting a bit creative with sitting options. Above is a demonstration of my use of a pool floaty and a crib pad (from the adorable bedding set my mother-in-law sent us for the baby) to make a base on which I pile all the pillows and blankets to make a sort of poof nest. My sister and I used to "make nests" when we were kids, and it seems that the skills are still proving to be useful. 

Our TV and our TV stand. Note the tractors displayed on the top shelf.

 As much as Sailor tries to make me wait a bit until we get the couch before going completely nuts with decorating and "floofing" the apartment, I could not resist these little candle holders. They are just too cute, right? And for $2/each, I didn't break the bank. You cannot deny the nesting instinct!! It's strong!!

There is so much to do and so much to explore out here, it's easy to neglect furnishing the apartment for a while. Maybe in a week or so I'll have more progress pictures to show as far as the apartment goes, but for now, I am just so content with relaxing, meeting new friends, and rambling around this uncharted territory.

We Need to Talk.

We need to talk. We really do.

No, you aren't in trouble. We need to talk is scary. Don't those words just make your stomach churn? Like some adult authority figure has discovered the fact that you did the thing.... The thing you were under no circumstances supposed to do? Yeah. I probably should have said, "Hey, can we chat?" Chat is nice. Chat is friendly. Chat means they didn't find out about the plate you broke.

So let's chat.

I've been gone a while. Well, I've been gone for....a few weeks? Heh. Yeah.

In my absence, my real life has been changing more rapidly than you can say "wireless access point." I've been thinking a lot about my life in general and my choices and how I spend my time and blah blah blah adult chores. I've come to two realizations:

1. I'm having a baby in 4.5 months.
2. No matter how clever you are at planning, if it's not God's will, it's ain't gonna happen.



While obvious, these two things alone have driven me to inspect various areas of my personal life with a new lens. I won't bore you with a weird tale of self discovery or emotional breakdowns, but I will fill you in on how my view on my blog has changed.

One of my long-distance crafty buddies had mentioned to me a week or so ago via la texting that she could tell I was super busy, since I hadn't updated my blog in so long. It suddenly struck me that I was busy, but not that busy. I mean, I was busy before and I still managed to churn out several blog posts a week. I then, staring blankly at her text, began to think about why I hadn't been posing things on my blog? Really, why hadn't I?! Things have happened! I've been crafty! I could share stuff!

So....why not post?

Every time I logged on to blogger to start a post, I felt drained. I know, I'm pregnant. Tired is my day to day life. This tired was more a mental tired than anything. Doing a blog post meant making sure I update Facebook and Google+ and put all the fancy tag words in it and posting it to link parties and Pinterest and watching page views and numbers climb and drop and and and -sigh- nope, I'd rather watch Netflix. And knit. Or scrub toilets. Anything but blog.

I took a break, because I was looking at blogging the wrong way. I was comparing myself to big-name bloggers who have bazillions of pageviews a day. The ones that companies beg to write reviews of their products. The ones whose projects show up on thousands of Pinterest boards instantly. The ones who make moolah off of their blog. I had started to idolize them. To study their habits, and their tips on the best way to be seen, develop a following, and create great content...while making money doing it.

This is my personal opinion. I am not hateful of the peeps who have mad blog-money-making skillz. That is great for them, for their families, and whatnot. I do not think that any blogger who reaps money from their blog is a sell out, or evil, or anything like that. For me, however, the blogs I love to read and the ones I follow most closely, are not the big-name mega blog queens. They are people who share interests with me. People who inspire me with their creative outpourings and silly tidbits on life. People who answer my comments and who I feel I can develop a real relationship with, albeit online.

It all dawned on me with that one text. Why was I writing a blog that I hoped would become a big blog, instead of focusing on being the type of writer that I would love to read? Why was I feeling angst about not having thousands of page views a day instead of relishing the people who did take the time to read my nerdiness? It was crazy, I tell you, crazy. And incredibly selfish. And it made me avoid writing on my own blog. Well, no more, I say!

I am not going to monetize this blog. Though the thought still delights me, it was kind of the reason I started to hate what I was doing. Again, I am not writing this to try and bash on people who write sponsored content. If you can make money off your blog, good for you! I don't hate you or think what you are doing is dumb. I just hate how I felt when I realized the reason I was avoiding my own blog was because I wasn't having fun writing it when the goal at the back of my mind was "more pageviews" and "someday making money off my blog."

So how is this new direction going to change things? Really, the biggest changes are going to be behind the scenes things. Mostly things that happen up in my brain. The result will be more frequent posts and more sassy commentary. And more belly pictures. Because I love my belly and I don't care who hates belly pictures. Sorry I'm not sorry?

16 weeks (aka 3.5 weeks ago)

So, three cheers for having a silly outlet for your crafty musings! Three cheers for being true to yourself! Three cheers for probably overthinking this entire thing, but not caring!

Has anyone else been feeling similar angst? It would be nice to know I'm not alone on this crazy train of thought.

Free Printables: I Love You More Than Yarn Valentines Card

I have decided to try and make free printables a monthly thing. After all, I am obsessed with them and I love finding fun ones, so why shouldn't I offer some too? This month's freebie is coming at you a little early, but there's a good reason for that which I will explain later.

Happy February!! The month of looovveee. I'm not a big fan of the commercialism surrounding any holiday, so the amount of stuff I already see in the stores for Valentine's Day makes me a little grumpy. But still. I find it to be a fun, light-hearted, happy day amid some of the coldest months of the year. And there is nothing bad about sharing a little lovin' with those you hold dear.

This printable is a spin-off of a valentine's day card I made for Sailor while we were dating. He got a little laugh out of it, and said, "Oh, gee, thaanks. I was really worried," very sarcastically. Little did he understand (after only having been with me for a year) the full compliment of the sentiment I had expressed. I think he is FULLY aware now of my yarn nerdiness, so perhaps this year the card will mean a little more.

Especially considering he has lived with me and my yarn stash for closing in on two years now.

Find the Download Here!!

It prints on a full sheet of paper, so if you want smaller cards, you will have to resize it. It would also be super cute printed on kraft paper or glittery cardstock! Alas, I do not have either of those right now and I am too lazy to do what I normally do in want of kraft paper: cut up a paper grocery bag. But it looks cute on white still.

You could even make banners out of the card!! Too cute right? I love holidays and coordination and cute things.

Speaking of cute things....

Dat Bunny. Check out Tara Lea Photography here!

My sister, the very clever photographer, took some stinkin' cute pictures of Arlo while we were visiting family at Christmas. This is one of my favorites! He was so intrigued by his gift from my parent's dog, Roxy. Spoiler alert: It was a sweater. How cuuuttee is thaattt??

On to the last bit of business before I close out this post: the reason why the free printable for February is a few weeks early. There are some big changes going on here at the Carrot Cottage. Boxes are everywhere I look, and the sound of packing tape cannot be escaped. You know what that means...

We are moving!

I can't give all the details now, but I wanted to post a bit of a disclaimer as to why my posts are going to be pretty sporadic throughout the next two weeks. By February, we should be all settled in to our brand new (albeit still temporary) home. This is not a forever move, but rather a nine month to a year long move. After this...we will begin the adventure of looking for a house to own.

!!!!!!!

I am so excited. Baby Z is on the way, moving is underway, and I am currently in the way. -flees to dodge couches and boxes being moved-

Hopefully I'll sneak in a few more posts before we go, but do not be surprised if I suddenly become silent. This also means that Last in Line Shop on Etsy will be closed in a week or so until we get all set up in the new place.

Happy -early- Valentine's Day! Can't wait to get back in the swing of posting and show your our new home!

-Carolyn
Linkin' up at these fine sites!