DIY HOUSEWARMING GIFT

Back in October my best friend and her husband bought their first house together. I was beyond thrilled for them because I how exciting that is! I wanted to do something special for them and searched high and low on Pinterest for a housewarming gift. Do I get them a frame or a cute decor piece? Or do I get them a nice candle or order something personalized on Etsy? None of those sparked any interest with me so I ultimately decided to make them a housewarming basket with a few small things for their first couple of days in their new home!

I bought a 5 gallon Home Depot bucket and then started looking for things to fill it! I thought back to when we moved in our new home, what did we need? Most of our belongings were still packed away and we were working during the day and coming home every night and unpacking all while trying to cook, do laundry and clean. That's a lot to handle at one time, so I wanted to fill it with things that would help. So here is what we got to fill their bucket with:

- Water bottles

- Grocery sacks

- Clorox wipes

- Mr. Clean magic erasers

- Paper towels

- Plastic cups

- Paper plates

- Plastic cutlery

- Wooden stirrers (for when they painted)

- Candle

I put water bottles in the bottom of the bucket and then loaded the bucket with tons of left over grocery sacks. They can have the water bottles for on the go and they can use the grocery sacks as a small trash bag for a few small things, when needed. This also helped fill the bucket since it's so deep. We chose the Home Depot bucket so that they can reuse it again for any outside/garage needs in the future. All of the items in the bucket are items we used the first couple of weeks after we moved into our house. So I hoped that they would be items that they could use to help lighten the craziness of moving/unpacking! Of course, everyone needs a candle and I knew her favorite was vanilla, so that was a fun treat to add in there. Candles always make a house feel homey.

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DIY HOUSEWARMING GIFT

SEASONAL LABELS

Last week I shared my packing labels with y'all and this week I am going to share the seasonal labels I created. I made these to help me with organizing and labeling my storage totes in our house. I like to be able to find something rather quickly than having to search hours for it. I have all of our seasonal decorations in a guest bedroom closet in these storage totes, and having these labels visible on the appropriate box helps locating which box I need to get to easily.

Free printable here.

Free Printable here.

Free printable here. 

Free printable here.

Free printable here.

Free printable here.

Free printable here. 

You can click on the picture and save it or you can click on the link and it will take you to my Dropbox, and you'll be able to save it there and then print!

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SEASONAL LABELS

PACKING LABELS

When we started packing up our apartment I knew I needing to keep everything organized to help with the move and unpacking at our house, so I made some packing labels! They were very helpful and it was so much easier on us and the movers. The movers just saw the labels and knew which room to take that box to. Not only were they helpful for the move but some are still being used. I have kept some of the labels on the boxes, and the others that aren't needed anymore I just threw away. They came off easily and didn't leave a mess, easy and smooth!

We bought these totes and these totes right after Christmas when they were on sale. We knew we would end up using them after the move to store decorations and other things so we jumped on the sale. These labels helped us so much (and still are) that I wanted to share them with you! Whether you are moving or just need to organize, I hope these help!

I just cut them in strips and they fit perfectly under packaging tape. I also color coded them. The pink are for the downstairs and the blue is for the upstairs. This worked for our house, but they may not apply to your home- color wise.

Free printable here.

Free printable here.

Free printable here.

Free printable here.

Free printable here.

Free printable here.

Free printable here.

Free printable here.

Free printable here. 

That's all the labels for different rooms in our house. I am working on making some for our seasonal decorations that I'll be sharing soon. You can click on the picture and save it or you can click on the link and it will take you to my Dropbox, and you'll be able to save it there and then print!

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PACKING LABELS

MOVING WEEKEND

Our movers showed up around 9:30 Saturday morning. We had all the storage totes and small pieces of furniture (end tables and console tables) ready for them to take in the living room and all that was left was the big furniture. FIVE hours later we had all of our furniture delivered to our house and in their respective rooms. We weren't planning on it taking five hours, but there wasn't really anything we could do about it. Matthew and I both felt like it was still worth it in the end!

Matthew's dad snapped this picture of us while the movers were unloading something inside really quickly lol.

In a way to try and help things move along Matthew and I unloaded a few of the smaller things

Once some of the furniture started coming in we got really excited to see stuff in the house, finally.

At the time we were still trying to decide how we wanted to position everything so we just told them to put it down and we would decide later.

After the movers and our family was gone we decided to run to Home Depot and get a few things.

The day ended with this perfect sunset. We seriously could not get over the weather we had Saturday...all weekend actually! It was unusually warm for the end of January and felt like Spring. We were LOVING it!!

Sunday we went to church and then made another stop at Lowe's for more things!

 My family came over that afternoon and helped with some things around the house and to drop off my new car! Since I am doing an employee lease through my dad's work then they had another car ready for me since mine was wrecked. I got a new Altima!!  So far I am loving it.

About an hour after dinner I started feeling bad and about an hour later I got really sick. I can't remember the last time I threw up, but I definitely made up for it all night and into Monday morning. I didn't go to work yesterday since I was so sick so I stayed home and mostly slept all day long since I was up so much the previous night. By yesterday afternoon I was feeling much better and was able to eat spaghetti. I ate a small amount and waited to see if I was going to get sick but never did so I ate a little bit more and was fine- thank goodness!! I am guessing it was food poisoning from dinner, we had Arby's. So it looks like we won't be going to Arby's anytime soon lol.

We still have a lot of unpacking to do, but we're just taking it one day at a time! We have to turn out apartment keys in this Friday, and thankfully we only have a few small things left over there that we'll get this week. I'm going to be completely honest and say that it felt like we were staying the night in someone else's house on our first night at the house lol. And the second night I was sick so last night was our third night and it was much better. I can't wait to have everything unpacked and in it's new place! We still don't have internet or cable, and they said they wouldn't be able to come out until this Saturday to fix it for us. I didn't realize how much we use internet until we don't have it!!

And because I love giving things a hashtag, you can follow along with any house related posts with the hashtag of #TheCoatsHome

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MOVING WEEKEND

Friday Letters

This week has been one for the books! So much going on each day and each night I just want to sit down and watch a good movie, or sit down for the entire time of a movie and do nothing, either would be fine lol.

Last weekend we went to Cookeville and brought TWO full car loads of my stuff and this weekend we are doing the same. This time we are calling in for some help from our families and their trucks :) My lease is up tomorrow, so everything's gotta go! I'm a bit emotional about letting my little apartment go (I know, I'm crazy). This was my first place I had all to myself. I didn't have to ask before I decorated or moved anything around, I didn't have to make sure it was 100% spotless every single moment, it was my hiding place when I needed some alone time, and it was just mine. Now of course I love having my forever roommate and our new apartment but I'll always love my little ole Cookeville apartment :) 

Dear August, I really can't even believe you are here. Part of me wants to sob that July, our wedding month, is officially over and the other part wants to jump for joy because we started this month as a married couple. July was such a sweet, sweet month. 

Dear weekend, HEEEEEY, just a few more hours until we meet again ;) Dear feet, so sorry I've tortured you all week with different heels and wedges but they are so cute and look good with my outfits! Dear work, you.have.been.crazy. Dear Nashville home, I am so ready to have everything unpacked, in it's place, organized, and cleaned! I promise this time next week everything will be done! Dear routine, I can't wait to have you back. I live for routine and a schedule and not having one has been killing me! Dear weather, please hold off on the rain and heat this weekend as we are moving my stuff and taking it down a flight of stairs and then up three other flights of stairs (Can someone say GETTIN' MY WORKOUT IN?!?!) Dear wedding photographer, our sweet Heather, we are so excited to see our pictures and I know you did an amazing job on them. Also, can't wait to see you soon to make my bridals!! Dear HGTV, you have been playing in the background as I unpack and fold clothes every night this week. Thanks for making me want to do beach house flips now!! Dear meal planning, this is the first week we have been able to actually meal plan, and I think I like our little system we did. I think it's definitely going to work for us! Can't wait to share with y'all soon!! For now here is one of the meals we had, and no that's not chili and no that's not sour cream. I made Cheeseburger Shepard's Pie! I tried two new meals this week. We are going to tweak this one a little more to our liking, but the skinny enchiladas were a hit! 

Dear Matthew, my sweet, sweet husband, THANK YOU for all that you do for us! You have put our two console tables and bathroom cabinet together this week even though you were exhausted from work (THEY LOOK SO GOOD!!!!!!!!!). You helped out with dinner, cleaning, and unpacking all my stuff from my Cookeville apartment, and even made me the best strawberry icee. You are THE best and I am so excited to spend this whole weekend with you (we get to do that like every weekend now because we are MARRIED and live TOGETHER!!!!!!!). I promise as soon as we have a free weekend it will be all about YOU.

I failed on posting about our honeymoon, the pictures are all still on my camera lol, they haven't even made it to the computer. Soon y'all soon.

Happy Weekend!!!! :) 

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Friday Letters

Exactly 1 year ago today

I started my new job..   I drove up to Cookeville Sunday night with my car full of clothes, and pretty much the rest of my room from back home. I unloaded my car and stayed my first night at my new apartment. I think I only got a few hours of sleep because I was nervous and obviously in a new place. I woke up super early to get ready for work. I still didn't know how to get around Cookeville then so I typed in the address of my new job on my GPS and tried to follow it the best I could, I still got lost but made it to work on time.

    I started my first day of training and then trained for 8 weeks. It was rough going from 20-25 hours a week to working a full 40 hours.  I think last summer I went to bed every night between 9:00-9:30. It took me some time to adjust but I finally got the hang of it. I built friendships at work while learning something completely new. Matthew had started an internship with an accounting firm back home but drove up every Wednesday night to go to church with me so I didn't have to go by myself. My first few weeks up here in Cookeville I went back and forth from being homesick to loving Cookeville. I struggled a lot at first with thinking about if I did the right thing, moving up to Cookeville or if I would fail and not be able to support myself and it be a mistake. I worked so hard and took on extra hours the year before to move to Cookeville but I wasn't sure at first if I would be successful or not. I mean, it was the first time I had ever moved out and had only my income to support myself.   Matthew drove up to Cookeville on my first day of work and surprised me with flowers and took me to dinner at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants, El Tap. You can read about that here. 8 weeks flew by and summer was coming to an end, I completed my 8 weeks of training, which you can read here.

  Moving out for some people is no big deal and for some people it is a big deal. For me, it was a big deal. I honestly had planned on living at home until I got married, find a house, and live in Murfreesboro for the rest of my life. Looking back now all I can do is laugh because my life is anything but that and I want anything but that. Matthew and I have both come to the decision that we would rather not end up settling down in Murfreesboro after we get married. We love our hometown but we realize there are more job opportunities other places. We are very open to moving to wherever our jobs take us in the future. However, we would like to settle down closer to Murfreesboro when we decide to start having children (Chattanooga, Brentwood, Mount Juliet, etc.) so that our children can have a close relationship with their grandparents. So now you can see why moving over an hour away was a big deal for me. There are still some days where I can't believe I actually did it. Matthew and I had talked about it for so long and planned out things we would do once I moved up here, and you know what? I am loving it.   Over this past year I have fallen in love with Cookeville. It's going to break my heart to leave in a year or so but Lord willing, I will love our new town just as much if not more. I have learned so much this past year with living on my own, in a new town and supporting myself. I have become apart of a campus ministry that I love, made friendships with people that I know will last the rest of my life and I have grown as a person. I will forever be grateful for my decision to make this big step a year ago.

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Exactly 1 year ago today

Friday letters

Dear Friday, you came quickly, but I promise I'm not complaining! Dear apartment D, it's been fun but last night was my last night there. I am moving on to my own apartment this weekend!!!!! Dear Matthew, I am so proud of you work working so hard this week on you summer class, I know it's not anywhere near fun or a "summer" for you but it will be worth it and you are going to DOMINATE that first test in TWELVE days!!!! Also thank you for moving my stuff into my new apartment while I am away this weekend, and thank you for my new toaster!! It matches my crock pot perfectly!! you are THE best! 

  Dear rain, please go away, ya girl needs some vitamin D in her life and I don't want to drive four hours tonight in the rain. Dear new apartment, I AM SO EXCITED TO FINALLY MOVE IN, have I mentioned that already? Dear packing, you have made me realize I am a hoarder, not as in I could be on the T.V. show but I do keep useless stuff because I might want to make a craft out of it later. Not anymore!

(this isn't even all of it, there are more boxes in my room) Dear little old lady at Food Lion, thank you for giving me a car load of boxes fo free so that I could pack up my apartment! You even brought them outside and help me load them in my car in the pouring down rain, you kindness was appreciated more than you know.

  Dear crazy Tennessee weather, WHAT THE HECK?! 49 degrees on my way to work this morning was definitely not what I expected in the middle of MAY!!    HAPPY FRIDAY!! 

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Friday letters

5 moving tips that will keep you stress F-R-E-E!

If you have been reading along then you know that I recently moved into my 1st apartment. I have lived in the same house since the day I came home from the hospital so obviously over the years I have collected junk and just put it in my room and this girl had no idea where to even start with the packing considering I have only packed long enough for a week in the past.  So I just dived right in, well that's a lie I looked on Pinterest to find the best tips for moving and keeping things organized. Here are some pictures of the packing and cleaning out my room process....fair warning it's a scary sight!!

A completely unorganized mess and if you know me then you know that I was about to lose my mind from all the mess. So I am going to share some of my moving tips with you.... TIP #1  -clean out your closet or room a couple of weeks before you have to start packing. If you haven't worn it in the past 6 months, donate it or sell it!!!! You are not going to want to deal with that when you are trying to pack up everything. TIP #2  -Label everything and I mean EVERYTHING. From your q-tips to your pj's label it. It will help you when it comes time to unpack everything and will save a lot on time!!!! TIP #3 -Do you have suitcases, duffle bags, carry on bags, plastic containers, or laundry bins? Pack you clothes that can be folded in those!!!! I cannot stress that enough! Fit as much as possible, even if you have to sit on it and get someone to help you zip it (thank you sista for helpin me out!) Why would you want to go buy boxes to move stuff when you can just pack it in you Vera Bradley bag?

I ended up packing up 2 Vera Bradley bags, 1 suitcase, 1 tote from Marshall's (that big blue one up there) full of t-shirts,shorts,yoga pants, shoes, and my unmentionables ;) It saved on money & time of going and buying them or asking different stores if they had any extra boxes I could have. TIP #4 -All of my shirts, dresses and dress pants that I left them hanging and just got a huge black trash bag and wrapped around them and then lifted them up off the rack and laid them flat in my back seat of my car. Sadly I didn't take a picture of that but here is the picture from Pinterest that gave me the idea

y'all this actually works and saved a lot of time from having to take the shirts off the hanger, fold them so they won't wrinkle and then pack up all the hangers....genius!

TIP  #5

If you have the chance to go ahead to your new apartment/dorm/house then go ahead and take some stuff and unload it and organize everything that you can. That way you don't have to take EVERYTHING at once and spend ALL day unpacking organizing. If you do a little bit at a time it's definitely less stressful and you aren't rushed to get everything done before it's time for you to leave that night or time to go to bed.

Do you really want to go to sleep with you room still a mess and unorganized? Didn't think so.

Some of these tips I did and some of them I wish I would have, so take it from me friends! Hope you all are having a wonderful week so far!!!!

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5 moving tips that will keep you stress F-R-E-E!

"BABE I CAN'T EVEN BELIEVE THIS RIGHT NOW!!!!"

The exact words out of my mouth when I walked into my new room at my apartment. Y'all...I still can't even believe it!!!! Let me back up and start from the beginning though. Tuesday I had my interview with Averitt. After my interview I told Matthew I wanted us to ride over to my apartment and look around my room (I am already planning how to decorate it) A little bit of our conversation on the way over there Me:  I have to find a chest of drawers soon, because I really need one for my room Matthew: Yeah, I know I will look for one this week Me: In the picture I saw my bed is like up leaning up against the wall, I wanna put it down and see what it's going to look like Matthew: Okay, we can do that **Matthew had already told me he wanted to get my furniture for my room and paint it and I had tried talking him out of it because I was afraid it would be too expensive but he wasn't changing his mind.** We get to the apartment and I was just walking around looking at the kitchen and stuff and I go to open my door and this is what I saw

"BABE I CAN'T EVEN BELIEVE THIS RIGHT NOW" I honestly don't think I have ever been that surprised in my life...I immediately was running around trying to look at everything and of course asking about a million questions a minute trying to figure out how he did it all. That sneaky sneaky boyfriend of mine.... Sunday he and his family got the stuff and painted ALLLLL day last Monday (I thought it was kinda strange he didn't invite me over for their Memorial Day cookout) and on Monday night they drove up to Cookeville and set everything up for me.

Melt. My. Heart.

His parents picked out and bought the bed set for me and it matches everything perfectly and I  L-O-V-E it soooooo much!!!!! Matthew had picked out the colors himself (proud/impressed girlfriend over here) and they all worked their tails off getting everything finished in time for me to see it Tuesday after my interview. The T.V. stand he bought wooden knobs and painted them brown and put them on this and the chest of drawers

In love with my desk...isn't it just the cutest thing you ever did see?!

My chest of drawers

and on each side of the bed are two night stands he painted brown

 Still completely in shock!!

The bed set is absolutely B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L and fits me perfectly

I probably spent an hour just walking around and looking at it all and trying to figure everything out

here is a panorama view  Y'all Matthew is just THE sweetest guy I know and seeing him all excited to show me everything was probably the cutest thing ever, I STILL can't believe he did all that and was able to keep it a secret.  Hands down the best surprise from him so far.  A HUGE thank you times a million to my amazing boyfriend and his parents and big bro for helping him and doing all this for me!! I can't wait to move in and get to use it all!!!!

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"BABE I CAN'T EVEN BELIEVE THIS RIGHT NOW!!!!"