Home Improvements and Other Things

My dad came to visit last week to help out with some things around the house. He used to work in construction so he has an enormous collection of tools. Jordan also took a day off work to help out, which was awesome because I ended up not being much help.

My dad replaced a faucet in the downstairs bathroom. It ended up taking him over 4 hours to do.

We installed a chair rail in the nursery. It looks nice and will look even better once we get the room painted.



When we moved into our house it was covered in wainscoting and excessive trim. We ripped a lot of it out because the owners did a bad job installing it. After we removed the wainscoting in the staircase we were left with gaps between the stairs and the wall. All we needed was to install quarter round and it would be fixed. However, we didn't have a nail gun or the saw needed to complete the task ourselves. My dad and Jordan were able to get it finished in a few hours. It looks SO much better. No longer will I feel embarrassed of my staircase!!!

We also celebrated my dad's birthday.


Jordan and I have been talking a lot about the upcoming baby and how we can prepare for it. I have more of a mindset of getting things ready around the house. He is more financially focused. I've been able to work around the house and fulfill my nesting instinct. In an effort to fulfill his craving to save money we've been able to make some cutbacks:

Cancel our premium cable: $40/month
Cancel our gym membership: $35/month
Payed off student loans: $55/month
Cancel un-needed option on our gas bill: $7/month
Total savings: $1,644/year!!!

Now, I'll admit that I have a bit of a shopping habit. I spend a mostly on craft things and things for the house. So, in effort to try and bank even more money before the baby, I'm proud to announce

FEBRUARY SPENDING FREEZE!!!!

Rules:
1) Absolutely no money on crafts. I have to use what I have and finish projects I've started
2) No extras for the house. My trips to Home Goods will have to stop. The clearance "must haves" will have to stay on the shelves.
---Exception: I can buy things for the nursery
3) No new clothes!!!
---Exception: I can buy secondhand. I wonder if Goodwill has a maternity section...
4) I can only spend money on needed items: food, toiletries, dog food, etc.

This is really going to be a HUGE challenge for me. We'll see how I do. I'm interested in how our bank account will reflect my progress.