#mapfirsthouse: All the Small Things

September 2, 2014 Pamela Stephens

If you didn’t burst out into a Blink 182 song when you read that title, you need a little fun in your life.

Now that Matthew and I are actually living in our new home, I figured it was time for an update. We made a ton of progress the first weekend with squaring away furniture and unpacking boxes and such. Unfortunately, most of the progress was the small, not-so-fun-and-exciting things. You know, those things that have to be done but aren’t exactly glamorous. Here’s a list of some of the small things we’ve been working on lately:

1. Cabinet knobs and hinges: We had to replace most of the cabinet hardware. There were 7 different knobs in the kitchen alone! I’m still looking for the perfect knobs for some rooms.

2. Door knobs: We replaced all of the exterior and interior knobs in the house. While it’s a relatively easy update, it can certainly cost more than you might think. If you only have one or two to replace, you could always consider spray painting them. Since we replaced all of the knobs, we decide to go ahead and buy new ones. It cost us over $300 though, so be sure to budget accordingly!

3. Kitchen plumbing: We had to replace the plumbing under the sink and install a water valve for the refrigerator. Like I said, we’ve been working on the not-so-glamorous projects.

4. Hanging blinds: We kept the blinds that came with the house, but we had them taken down and cleaned. When the painters re-installed the brackets, they weren’t quite in the right spots, so Matthew had to go back and move them all. What we thought would be a quick and easy project ended up taking much longer.

5. Installing new toilets: We weren’t originally planning to replace both toilets, but as our renovation progressed, we ended up needing to. My video of the soft-close lid cracks me up a little bit.

6. Closet rods and shelving: I totally underestimated how much it would cost to add shelves and new rods to most of our closets. It also took quite a bit more time than I expected. Again, these are simple updates when making a home your own, but you want to be sure to plan accordingly.

7. Mopping and other cleaning: The amount of mopping that I’ve done in this house is simply mind-boggling (especially when I HATE to mop). I have never seen so much lingering dust in my entire life. I spent pretty much an entire day mopping, over and over again, and I still don’t feel like they’re clean. (By the way, I still stand by my statement that this is the best mop in the world. Hands down!)

8. Hauling off garbage: Matthew spent one morning hauling all of the leftover materials to the dump. We had molding, scrap pieces of Sheetrock and wood…you name it. I think he underestimated the amount of trash we’d accumulated so far. We had 0.4 TONS of stuff to drop off at the landfill…that’s almost 1,000 pounds!

9. Laundry repairs: We had to install new shut off valves for the washer because one of them had a slow leak. This was another one of those items that we weren’t planning to do. We also added a new dryer vent because the other one wasn’t sealing off properly. I can’t wait to show off my new dryer vent….said no one ever.

10. Cable outlets: We had to install new cable outlets because we are planning to put our TV and router in different places from where the previous owners had them. You should ask Matthew how much he enjoyed hanging out in our attic mid-August in Louisiana. Doesn’t that sound fun??

11. New shower heads: This one is something that you’re likely to not think about until you’re living in a new home. The shower heads in our new house looked fine. However, after taking our first showers, we quickly realized the current shower heads didn’t provide enough pressure. It took FOREVER to get the shampoo out of my hair! I absolutely love the new waterfall shower head that Matthew got at TP Outdoors.

(By the way, if you’re local, you can order things from the True Value website and have them shipped to either the Monroe or West Monroe stores for free! We also got our door knobs (and practically every other supply) from there. This is a super easy and convenient way to shop local!)

This list is just a few of the things we’ve been working on since moving in. It’s important to keep these sorts of things in mind when you’re renovating because they’ll not only cost money, but they’ll also take up a lot of your time. I must say that I’m very thankful for such a handy husband. He’s done all of these projects himself and done a fantastic job…with my supervision of course. J

Now that we’re through with most of the small/boring things, we can move on to the fun parts! Like looking for new rugs. And hanging things on my freshly painted walls. I’m getting excited just thinking about it! I’m pinning quite a bit of inspiration on Pinterest lately. If you’re up for seeing all of my crazy ideas, go follow me!

One of Those Days

August 25, 2014 Pamela Stephens

In one of my first training classes at Keller Williams, the instructor talked about how she handled “bad days.” Our entire livelihood as realtors revolves around interacting with people. Calling people. Talking to people. Visiting with people. You see where this is going, right?

So, when you have one of those funky days where you don’t feel on your game, working to generate new business is really a waste of time. This particular instructor said that when she notices that she’s slipped into a bit of a funk, she leaves the office and goes to watch a funny movie at the theater by herself. I’ve held on to this random comment for a while now, because we all know that when those sort of days come our way, we don’t actually accomplish anything. I, however, have always forced myself to “push through” and continue working…even if all I want to do is to go home and put on pajamas. Her approach, however, seemed so much more productive. Rather than wallowing and not accomplishing anything all day, she does something to bring her mood back up so she creates at least a few productive hours. Genius!

So, I had one of those days a while back. The morning started out ok but the day went south pretty quickly. In addition to being extremely tired, I was having trouble focusing or wrapping my head around things. Everything started to annoy me…I spilled my entire drink in the parking lot at work, and then I emptied a big box of band aids on the floor. I decide today was the perfect day to give my friend’s method a shot.

I didn’t go to a movie, but I did leave my office and run a few errands I had been putting off. There’s no better time to go get those necessities from Sam’s like the day you don’t feel like being at the office. Rather than using a movie as a pick-me-up, I choose to do a little shopping! I had some Bucks Back to use at Old Navy, so I took a bit to roam around and search for something to perk me up. Then, I ran by Hobby Lobby and grabbed some new paints for a project I’d been dreaming up. What better way to motivate yourself than to plan out projects that you’ve been looking forward to?

Of course, during this afternoon extravaganza, I still worked (My phone rings constantly.), but I was much more productive running errands than I would have been sitting in my office, wallowing in my weird mood. So, next time you find yourself slipping into a little funk, take an hour or so to do something you enjoy…something that is guaranteed to brighten your mood. Then, see if you’re able to come back to your task with a fresh outlook after taking a little breather. More than likely, you’ll have a productive rest of the day rather than wasting an entire day unsuccessfully pulling yourself from a funk.

Let me know if this strategy works for you! I think I’m a new believer. What sort of things do you do to motivate yourself or turn a bad day around? I’m always open to new suggestions!

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28 vs 22

August 21, 2014 Pamela Stephens

Last week, I was laying in bed, reading through blog posts on my bloglovin’ reader. I had just read Elise’s post about things she’d tell her 22 year old self, when I realized that one of my blog posts that was supposed to post the following week, actually posted that day. Before we continue, here a few things that you need to know in order for this story to make sense.

1. I noticed that the post had gone live because it showed up in my reader. I haven’t shared the details yet or promoted it, but you can use bloglovin’ to keep up with my blog posts. If you use it (or if you’d like an easy way to keep up with your favorite blogs), please follow me there!

2. Even though it may appear easy, blogging is actually quite a bit of work. It takes several hours just to make one post happen. For the past couple of months, my assistant (who is fabulous by the way) has been helping me make sure my posts actually happen. I write the content, take photos, plan out the links/format, and then she sets up the post on WordPress and schedules it to publish. Most of the time, getting the post ready to share with the world takes much longer than the actually writing. Having Taylor’s help with this, has been a tremendous help in making sure I post regularly.

When I saw that the post had gone live before I meant for it to, I cringed. After all, the post wasn’t finished. Before this discovery, I had spent a little time thinking about my 22 year old self. My 22 year old self would have panicked. I would have immediately called Taylor and had her take the post down. I would have told her to be more careful and I would have made sure that never happened again. Not only would my 22 year old self have reacted this way, I think my 26 year old self would have too.

My 28 year old self emailed Taylor to let her know the post went live accidentally and what we could do to watch for that sort of thing next time. I ended the email with, “Btw…this isn’t a big deal and I’m totally not upset about it. Just wanted to point it out for next time. Love you!”

After hitting send, I realized that my 28 year old response to this little issue was much different than my 22 year old response would have been. I certainly want us to pay close attention to details like this, but I knew this wasn’t a tragic event. The post would be just fine without adding the extra photos I was waiting on.

As I thought about the significance of this small event, I realized that we are constantly changing and growing into the type of people we want to become. I feel like the past two years have been simply monumental in my personal growth, a fact that I’ve really struggled to put into words. This short, little email in itself shows one of the larger changes I’ve experienced personally. While I still pay very close attention to detail, I understand that the details aren’t always that important. I also have to give people room for error. There’s not a perfect person in this world and those imperfections are often what makes life so fantastic.

I think the moral of this seemingly pointless story is to realize (and celebrate) how ever-changing life is. As each day passes, we have the opportunity to grow into better and better versions of ourselves. With each new experience, we learn something new. We should take that knowledge and use it to become the best we can be. Even at the young age of 28, I can see how very much I’ve grown already. I love the person I am today compared to who I was at 22, and I’m certain that I’ll love 38 even more than 28. One of these days I’ll be able to wrap my head around some of the life-changing realizations I’ve had lately. For now, I’ll just celebrate this one small example.

If you’d like some more inspirational reading, I had also just read this post that mentions not waiting for perfection. It seems like my Bloglovin’ feed was preparing me for that night’s discovery!

On another note, I’d like to say thank you to everyone who follows along here. Sometimes this place is filled with adventures from my life and decorating ideas. Other times it’s more of ramblings about the things swirling in my head. Either way, it means the world to me that you come and read. I love you all!

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On a Beautiful Life

August 18, 2014 Pamela Stephens

The past year I’ve thought a lot about living a beautiful life. That sounds so incredibly vague…what does that even mean?? I’ve read posts here and there that reference a beautiful life, and I’ve spent quite a bit of time thinking about what that means.

I’m starting to realize that what a beautiful life means for me is surrounding myself with things that I love, things that inspire me and make me happy. This sounds so simple, but it’s actually a lot more challenging than it seems. I am a very thrifty person. I don’t like spending lots of money of frivolous things and most of the time will only make purchases if something is on sale. (I do make exceptions for things that I absolutely love.) I’m known for being great at making things work or making the most of what I have. In turn, I tend to use things that I already have rather than buying new versions that I may like better. After all, if it works just fine, why would you replace it??

When I envision living a beautiful life, I think about having a few specific non-important items that I think are beautiful. As a matter of fact, I think of simple things like a pretty ironing board cover, fun towels, beautiful coffee mugs, and the softest and prettiest throw blankets.

Reality is that I’ve kept the same, not-so-pretty and definitely not my style ironing board cover because nothing was wrong with it. However, I swoon over the pretty ones every time I walk by them at Target. I often find patterned towels that I love, but I registered for solid khaki ones when we got married because they would match almost anything if I changed the bathroom decor. I haven’t purchased any of the beautiful coffee mugs that I’ve ran across, because the promotional ones (you know, the ones with logos that your insurance agent gave you) I have in the cabinet work just fine. I also never buy those furry and fabulously soft throw blankets that match my decor because I have 10 blankets that will still keep me warm…I just have to keep them tucked away when someone comes over.

When I sit and think about it, it’s crazy to think that not buying new versions of these things are what’s standing between me and what I’d consider a beautiful life. Reality is that I could replace all of these things for $50-75 and my mental image of a beautiful life would have manifested itself. Sometimes you have to really stop and think about things like this. You may be stuck on something that would only cost you $5 or $10 to fix. Sometimes, a $20 purchase can really make a huge difference in your life. After spending months of thinking about it, I finally realized that a new ironing board cover and coffee mugs were what I needed to feel like I was surrounding myself with beautiful things. That’s so simple! Of course, I’m not saying that I have a terrible life because I drink my hot chocolate from a North Monroe Baptist Church mug. However, as I’ve spent so much time thinking about what a beautiful life means to me, I’ve decided that beauty is found the little things for me. It means surrounding myself with only things that I love…not just things that I already have. It means buying a $5 coffee mug because I love it, rather than continue to use one that I don’t love. It means making cloth napkins like these and using them for daily life instead of a paper towel just because I can throw them away. (Her post talks about making average things feel more extravagant which really echoes what I’m saying here.)

Since coming to this conclusion, I’ve decided to make it my mission to replace the bland items in my life with things that I love. Since we don’t have a “for fabulous things” budget, this will be something I do over time. (By the way, since I’ve made this decision, I haven’t found a single coffee cup that I like. Go figure.) This mission doesn’t have to be something that costs a ton of money. You can buy little things here and there that are only a few dollars each. In turn, you end up surrounding yourself with things you love. To me, that’s what a beautiful life is all about.

What does a beautiful life mean to you? It can certainly be different than mine, so please share anyway! I’ve spent quite a bit of time thinking about this, so I’d love to hear your thoughts.

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#maptennessee – Gatlinburg

August 14, 2014 Pamela Stephens

After spending the night in Stone Mountain, Georgia, Matthew and I headed on to Gatlinburg, Tennessee to spend a few days relaxing before going on to Nashville. We stayed in a fabulous cabin with an AMAZING view!! Waking up to those mountains was certainly a great way to start our days.

We didn’t do too much of the touristy-type stuff in Gatlinburg, but we did walk around downtown a bit. We ate at the Smoky Mountain Brewery, which was a fun place. We also ate at the Melting Pot fondue restaurant (not a local joint, but also not a place that we have back home). I will say this about the Melting Pot….even if you don’t get a full meal there, you absolutely must stop in and try the creme brûlée dessert fondue. They give you a tray full of yummy items to dip in the chocolate…bananas, strawberries, cheesecake, crusted marshmallows…you name it. It was simply fantastic and possibly the best dessert I’ve ever had. (As I’m typing this, my mouth is watering.)

In Gatlinburg, we also hiked to the top of a mountain. That would be part of the Great Smokey Mountains, y’all! We hiked a 7 mile round-trip trail to the very top of Brushy Mountain. For the record, hiking 7 miles on a mountain is nothing at all like seven miles on flat ground. Towards the end we were both pretty worn out, but it was so worth it. I think this might be one of the coolest things I’ve done so far. There was a waterfall about half way up where everyone stopped to take pictures. We encountered quite a few people (probably 40 or so) on the way to the waterfall, but once we passed the waterfall we didn’t see half as many people. Actually, we only saw around 10-12 others once we passed the waterfall. That should have been my first clue that it was a tough hike! Nonetheless, we did it and it felt pretty amazing.

We spent the next morning recuperating from the hike before walking around downtown for a bit. After leaving Gatlinburg, we stopped at an outlet mall in Pigeon Forge (shopping – yay!). Then we were in route to Nashville!

Having these few days to relax and take things easy was just what we needed. Even the strenuous hike was relaxing because we were unplugged and soaked up some nature, which is my absolutely favorite. I will forever remember our little cabin and the fun memories we made in Gatlinburg. Are there any other fun towns you’d recommend in Tennessee?? I’d love to hear about other places we could visit next time!

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Farewell First Home

August 7, 2014 Pamela Stephens

Only July 31 we moved out of our very first house together…our sweet little rent house. In preparing to move and talking so much about the new house, I realized that I never shared a tour of our rental. I shared bits and pieces here and there, but I never shared any full room tours.

Check the archives for our antique mirror gallery wall, bathroom makeover, and living room sneak peek.

In thinking back on it, I didn’t share any tours because I never felt like things were “finished.” I had ideas for making things even better, so I’d wait to share the space until all of those little projects were done. Well, a lot of those projects never happened. I’d be too busy or it wouldn’t turn out like I hoped, so I never shared the spaces.

I’ve recently stumbled upon this blog, and her mantra is that things don’t have to be perfect to be beautiful. This approach really struck a cord with me because I’ve waited on perfection to share my home on the blog or invite people over. However, perfection isn’t really my goal, and I don’t actually ever want to feel “finished.” Instead, I hope to make things beautiful (per mine and Matthew’s standards), not perfect. My goal with the new house is not to wait until everything is perfect and finished and instead celebrate the beauty in imperfections and progress along the way.

Since I never shared a full home tour in the rent house, I’ll share a few highlights today. In these pictures, you’ll see what one version on my living room looked like. My favorite piece of furniture is that white piece that held the TV…absolutely love it! The gun rack hanging over the entry table was my Dad’s. I loved using it for something other than it’s intended purpose. I think it may end up going in my closet room in the new house.

In looking back on these photos, I regret not sharing our space simply because things weren’t finished. I can’t wait to decorate the new house and will definitely make a better effort to embrace the in-progress stages. I may need your help reminding me that “it doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful.”

By the way, that leopard rug doesn’t have a home in the new house. It’s up for grabs if anyone needs it! It’s great at hiding puzzles. 🙂

3 Comments Home - Our First House #mapfirsthouse - 2014 - gallery wall - home decor - husband and wife

Our Two Year Anniversary

August 7, 2014 Pamela Stephens

Matthew and I celebrated our two year wedding anniversary last week. I’d love to tell you that we celebrated with a romantic getaway for two to an exotic island. Sorry, it’s not that glamorous. Instead, we spent our second anniversary MOVING.

We did make sure to wrap up in time to have a nice dinner together though. (Somehow I managed to make it from moving attire to anniversary-date-night attire in a pretty short amount of time.) The traditional gift for a second anniversary is cotton. We decided to cheat a little and have dinner at a local restaurant, Cotton, instead of purchasing something. After all, the chance to sit and eat something other than delivery pizza on the floor (moving is tough on meal time), was way more valuable to us than anything we could have purchased.

Cheers to two years with this amazing man! You can read about our first anniversary here. I went back and read the story of how we met and our proposal. Such fun memories! You can also get some highlights from our first two years in the archives. Here’s to year number three! Something tells me that it’ll be full of house projects…

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Closet Room – Shoe Shelves

August 4, 2014 Pamela Stephens

Anyone who knows me, knows that I have quite the shoe collection.
My last count was over 150 pair, and that number has certainly grown since then. The problem with having so many shoes is how to store/display them.

If you read my last post about shoe storage you know that I found an awesome new strategy for storing my out of season shoes. While that set up is still working wonderfully, my in-season shoes weren’t as accessible as I’d like. During the spring and summer months, my old shoe shelves worked ok and everything fit on the shelves decently. However, there was simply no way to fit all of my winter shoes/boots on those shelves. (See my earlier post to see what shelves I was using.) Last year I used a second shelf for tall boots, but I didn’t like having to rearrange the room to bring in another shelf just for boots. Besides, we sold that old shelf in the garage sale. (What better way to force yourself to come up with a better solution that to sell your current method in a garage sale?!)

I am so very lucky to have a handy husband who agreed to build me some custom shoe shelves. By making the shelves go from door frame to door frame, we added room for more shoes. Plus, by spacing the shelves farther apart, I can fit all of my shoes there, including my tall boots. We used the Pinterest-popular molding trick for heels and even ran the molding above the doorways for more storage. (I use one of those grabber thingys to get those down.) The molding isn’t working quite right, but it’ll do until we can investigate other solutions.

I’m not offering a full tutorial here because these were your basic shelf design…except for better because my wonderful husband built them. Matthew purchased the wood and ready-made brackets from Home Depot. He cut and rounded the corners of the shelves so I wouldn’t break my hips from running in to them…it’s bound to happen. He attached the brackets, sanded the wood, and I painted them this cool teal color. I wanted the color to be a tad darker, but I wasn’t going to argue with the grumpy old paint man in Lowes. (By the way, if you or someone you know needs a Lowe’s coupon, let me know. I have discounts that I can email to my clients/friends.)

I had to fight to fit all of my winter shoes out, but my summer shoes fit pretty well. During my last closet organization spree I mentioned getting rid of extra lounge pants to make them fit in just one drawer. I had to do a similar thing with boots. While I wasn’t ready to part with any of them, I had to put a few pair back in their containers to have enough room for my favorites. If I couldn’t remember wearing them even once last year, I figure they’ll be fine to leave in the top of the closet. After all, I can get them down if I decide to actually wear them this year. The reality is, I only wear those black cowboy boots to country music concerts. They can hang out up top with a few other not-regularly-worn friends until it’s time to “go out with my boots on.” I did the same thing with some summer shoes that aren’t worn often. Shoe Wall

What do you think about the new shelves? Didn’t Matthew do a wonderful job?? I love getting to shop these shelves while getting dressed in the morning. It’s like having my own personal department store! I hated to have to take the shelves down when we moved last week, but I’m already working on ideas for the new house!

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New Floors + Tips on Changing Flooring

July 22, 2014 Pamela Stephens

Our new floors throughout the entire house are finally done! We’re getting closer everyday to finally being able to move into our new home. Having the popcorn ceilings scraped made a huge difference in the look of the house, and the new floors make it feel more like home.

Once the demolition of the old floors began, I began to struggle seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. It was definitely a construction zone in there! At times I felt like we took an ok home and made it into a disaster area. These pics show a little bit of the process. (There’s also a short video of the process here.) Once all of the old glue was buffed from the slab, I finally saw the finished product coming together. Now we have new floors, and they look fantastic!

We didn’t do the floors ourselves, so this is not a DIY post. If you’re at least somewhat handy, you could likely handle this project yourself. However, with the amount of things we were hoping to accomplish before moving in and the timeline in which we were wanting them done (We have to be out of the rent house July 31.), Matthew and I knew that we better get help.

Instead of a DIY post, this is more of a “what to look for when you’re hiring someone to do floors” post. We talked to several different flooring folks and learned a lot along the way. Here are a few things to consider when you’re talking flooring.

Flooring company vs. a person who does floors. You can probably save a tad of money by using an individual instead of a company. There’s certainly nothing wrong with that. However, be sure that the person is reputable and you’ve seen some of their work. (We heard tons of horror stories.) In the end, we chose a company because they provided a warranty for their work. That’s a pretty big deal if a few months from the installation you start having problems. The project could also be completed more quickly. Either way you go, do not pay for the entire project up front. A deposit (probably half) is usually required up front, but don’t pay the full balance until your project is complete. We used Custom Carpets in Monroe and were very pleased!
Cost. When you’re shopping around at Lowe’s it’s easy to look at the cost per piece, multiple that by the number you need, and think you have your total. Be careful not to forget the installation and demolition costs if you have old floors to remove. The demo/installation costs can often be more that the cost of the new flooring and you’ll quickly blow your budget if you’re not careful. (For the record, any floors that have been glued down will cost more to remove.)
Toilets. You’ll notice that you’re working with a reputable person/company if they bring up toilets. Most likely, your flooring person will remove the toilets to install the new floors. (If not, you should get a new person!) Since you’ll likely come home to a toilet sitting in your bathtub, you better have a plan for putting them back down!
Quarter round and other molding. Any quarter round molding will need to be pulled up to put down new floors. (If not, the flooring job will probably not look good.) Keep in mind that any broken pieces will need to be replaced and be sure to know if putting the quarter round back down is included in your quote or not.
Paint or floors first? There is much debate out there about which of these things should be done first. If you’re scraping your ceilings, DEFINITELY do that first. The amount of dust it creates is simply frightening. After scraping/painting the ceilings, we installed our floors. My main reason for this is that I didn’t want the demo of the old floors ruining a new paint job. Plus, I wanted the painters to be able to paint the quarter round after it had been put back down. (See above.) Otherwise, we’d have had to paint it twice.

All in all, I’m so very glad that we decided to change the flooring in our new home. For the cost, it made a huge difference in both the look and value of our home. If you’re thinking about changing your flooring, take some time to do a little research and consider the cost vs. the benefit of all of your options. Also, remember that it will very likely get worse before it gets better, but you’ll have pretty, new floors in the end!

See the before photos here and the first stage of renovations here.
Also, keep up with the #mapfirsthouse on Instagram!

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That day I took a bath at 4:00

July 17, 2014 Pamela Stephens

If you’ve never taken a random bubble bath at 4:00 in the afternoon, you should. I did, and it was fantastic.

Why share this on the blog, you ask? Let me tell you! This random afternoon bubble bath symbolized something far greater. I allowed myself to do something I wanted to do, just because I wanted to do it. I’ve alluded to my struggle with guilt in the past, and I’ve certainly gotten better with it. (There’s some discussion of it here). Today was another milestone because I had no reason to take a bath at 4:00 in the afternoon. However, I just wanted to, so I did. Then, I finished responding to the day’s emails from my bed in my bathrobe. It was simply amazing! (If you haven’t ever considered a career in real estate, we should talk. You can do things like this, and it’s wonderful!)

Back to the point. I write this post for two reasons.

If you struggle with self-guilt like I do, know that you can start to break that cycle. Do something fun just because you want to and then celebrate your accomplishment. You deserve it!
Even if you don’t deal with guilt, you deserve to do something for yourself today. It doesn’t matter what time of day it is….do something to celebrate your fabulousness. It doesn’t have to take long. It can even be as short as a few minutes. Nonetheless, doing something just for yourself, just because you want to can have a profound impact on your day. Both your mind and body will thank you.

Usually my challenges revolve around going out and doing something nice for other people. Today, I want you to do something nice for yourself! After all, you’re a spectacular person and you deserve it!

P.S. Don’t forget to try a bubble bath in the middle of the day. You can thank me later. 🙂

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