Home Tour: Entry

     My husband and I are now settling in our third home (and state!) in the last two years. I had previously decorated a bit here and there in our homes, but remained hesitant to really commit or invest too much with knowing that we would potentially move. This time we are here for at least the next several years which means my creative self gets to add all those lovely touches that I've been imagining for my home. I'm still working with white walls and a small budget. Nevertheless, I'm excited to tackle our little townhome one room at a time! These posts may be more for family who live states away and are interested in seeing our home, but perhaps there may be some ideas here and there that could be useful or interesting to others as well. :)

     First room completed is the entry. It's the first impression to our home and so I wanted to start there. The front door actually opens into this hallways and staircase which then brings you to the front door of the main living area. There's nothing too special about it, so I wanted to add some fun and function to this small space. 

      

Before decorating

Picture on left: Front door looking up towards door that enters main living area. 

Picture on right: Door at main living area looking down towards front door. 

After decorating

Picture on left: Front door looking up towards door that enters main living area. 

Picture on right: Door at main living area looking down towards front door. 

The Details

We added a bar with hooks (Ikea) to serve as our coat rack. The rack is also a handy place to keep our umbrellas. Below that is an idea that I implemented from my Pinterest boards (see links below for the sources of inspiration). The shoe trays were super simple to create. Just pour large rocks (Walmart) into the trays (Ikea)! Snowy or wet shoes can be left here before entering further to keep the floors from getting messy. 

     Along the side of the stairs is a little shelf feature in the wall. This space could be ignored or it could be used for fun seasonal decor. Currently, I'm loving the look of the leaf garlands (Hobby Lobby)! In just a week I'll switch it out for some Christmas garland with scented pine cones and cinnamon sticks. There's also a little hook on the door, which is great for a little door hanger. It's fun having the wreath outside and something a little more whimsical on the inside. I may have too much fun decorating for holidays and seasons in this little spot!

I then decided to add a welcoming quote or saying somewhere in the entryway. I found vinyl letters (Hobby Lobby) that said, "May all who enter as guests, leave as friends." I thought this conveyed the heart I hope my home to represent. It also is the saying that is hanging outside my Grandmom's door, and so seeing the saying also reminds me of her. 

My hubby has been amazing at patiently listening to my ideas through my creative excitement, and then wonderfully helps me put it all together! 

 

      So, so far that is our little home. I think the entry looks so much more inviting and cheerful now than it did before. Next, I'll focus on sprucing up our dining room! Wee! :)

Sources of Inspiration:
DIY River Rock Boot Trays
Pebble Boot Tray
Creative Solution for Messy Winter Boots 
DIY Rock Boot Tray

Looking for more ideas?
 

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Menu Plan: Fall (Nov. 11-17)

      It's finally our first full week in our home, and my hubby and I are ready to get back to cooking some real food! This week we chose our main meat to be a pork tenderloin, which we will prepare in a few different ways for three meals (that's only $7 of meat to cover three meals!). We're also trying several new recipes this week that incorporate ingredients I've never worked with before. Wish me luck on getting to that artichoke heart! haha. Once again, I'm drawing from a few of my favorite online recipe resources: Eating Well, Clean Eating, and Whole Foods Market. If you haven't taken a moment to explore these sites, then be sure to do so because they have some excellent ideas*.

      At the bottom of the post you'll find a copy of the menu planning sheet I use each week. I've seen lots of different menu planning pages online, but none that quite fit my needs. So, I created my own. Note- even though I include the days of the week on my sheet I rarely stick to it exactly. I move meals around throughout the week to accommodate the days' schedule. I plan by putting meals in specific places simply for me to make sure I've got all eating occasions covered and won't have to make multiple trips to the grocery. If this also fits you/your family, then there is a link below the image to download a copy. 

Breakfasts

-Oat Bran Banana Muffins (Adjusted baking time and temperature to be appropriate for muffins instead of a loaf)

-Eggs, leftover muffins, smoothie cubes (fresh smoothies/juice make in the summer and stored frozen)

-Oatmeal with strawberries (using strawberries put up in the freezer when they were in season)

-Whole wheat pancakes (I recommend only 1 Tbsp. of batter each) with blueberry syrup (blueberries picked in season and stored in freezer)

-Breakfast quinoa (or oatmeal again)

-Eggs, oranges, yogurt with granola

-Sausage and gravy biscuits (whole wheat with flaxseed meal biscuits- yum!), oranges

Lunches

-Shephard's Pie (using leftover roast meat we had stored in the freezer)

-Tortellini primavera

-Canned soup (using up the packaged foods we had to get while traveling so much. Homemade is so much better. hehe)

-Tilapia with avocado citrus salsa (replacing the blood orange for a regular orange)

-Okra and chickpea tagine (leftovers)

-Pork fried rice

Dinners

-Pork loin roast, butternut squash, collard greens

-Artichoke chicken with mushroom [+ grain] (1) we can't get kamut berries, so I'll be substituting another kind of grain 2) since this meal only calls for breast meat, I'll cut the thighs & legs off to be frozen for another meal and use the remaining body to make homemade stock for the freezer)

-Pork tacos with pico de gallo, black beans

-Okra and chickpea tagine (using okra we put up over the summer)

-Tortellini primavera (leftovers)

Weekly Menu Planning Sheet

*Note: Reviving Homemaking is not affiliated with Clean Eating, Whole Foods Market, or Eating Well and was not asked to include or recommend them or their recipes in this post. (I simply like what they have to offer!)

Linked up at: Thankful Homemaker, Growing Home, Time-Warp Wife, Women Living Well

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