Hannah Morrison

Mommy Monday: Playroom

Happy Monday, y’all! AND welcome to Mommy Mondays.

Here’s what I have discovered over the last year of blogging and being a new mommy… A whole lot of you are moms or mommies-to-be… and a whole lot of you aren’t. As you can imagine, trying to create content that is relevant  to everybody while also remaining an open book about my day in and day out (that is often obviously going to be centered around motherhood) has presented a weird combination of emotions trying to create content and write posts that make all of you happy.

So, here’s my solution: Mommy Mondays. This is where you will find all my mommy hacks, Knox updates, and -in short- all things baby. Of course, you’ll see Knox in my regular posts on Thursdays, too, from time to time, but Mondays are when mommy-focused posts will go up (if I have one that week!)

I hope this helps you guys! I know it will help me categorize my posts for you and make sure I am hitting all bases of my life on here. I like the “lifestyle” blog title and not “fashion blogger” or “mommy blogger,” per se. I don’t like being put into a category, so I hope this will help me remain an overall balanced blog for all things and all people in every stage of life.

Anyways, today’s post is all things PLAYROOM! We bought our first home two summers ago, and it’s been a slow crawl making things happen around here that I want done because a. time b. budget liiiife. Also we’ve discovered we both loathe entirely (use your best Jim Carrey Grinch voice) painting. So I have a list of about 20 things I want done in the house, from painting to new furniture to restoring old pieces, that I just cross off little by little. One of those things is turning the guest room into a more functional playroom/guest room for us. The guest room is necessary, because my parents come about once a month to spend time with Knoxy. But, other than that, the room is literally not even looked at right now other than when they’re in town. It feels like unused space that we could really use.

Currently we have my office functioning as a playroom/office/Presley’s room when we are out. So… a PlOfficeRoom? It’s working for now, but is definitely not long term. Believe it or not… I have big plans for my office space that don’t include a teepee. 😉  The reason I want a playroom, separate from his nursery, is to have a well-organized space for his toys and imagination to run wild. His nursery is a sweet space perfect for simple play, reading, and sleep. We have a rocker in there, and the room really is so small that there just isn’t much space more for anything else. I want the playroom to be a space he can throw things around and have his teepee out at all times (he freaking loves that thing… and so does Presley), and eventually a play house, etc. His bedroom just doesn’t have that space. I have began purchasing some items for our guest room to functional playroom makeover, and I wanted to share the entire end goal for any of you who may find yourself in a similar situation!

My goal with this room is colorful and fun, but also keeping in mind that if we grow our family while in this home this room will become Knoxy’s and the nursery will stay the nursery. I have picked out a CHEAP daybed that we can buy a trundle attachment for. This would be like having two twin beds in our guest room, but it shows as a sofa basically. It’s far more functional for us than a room which is 90% filled with a queen size iron bed.

The walls are currently a greigey-tan like the rest of the house (bleh, barf- I can’t wait until we paint the whole house, fingers crossed.) But, they will be painted Alabaster by Sherwin Williams with an accent wall of wallpaper.

Wallpaper Options from Shop B Darling:

Amos | Shepherd | Porter

Fun Rug Options:

Here | Here | Here | Here |

Cool Indoor Playset: Here

 

Finding “Me Time”

Alright, so a couple weeks ago I decided it was TIME. Time to make every appointment I have said I would make for the last two months and actually go to them. DUN-DUN-DUN (insert dramatic music here.) I called it “Self-Care Week,” and it. was. so. good. I cannot tell y’all enough, just like it’s so important to find time with your spouse (sans kids!!!!), how vital it is to find some “you time.”

I don’t care if you’re a mom, a wife, single, no kids, a roommate, living at home… whatever! You need YOU TIME. This is a daily need and then also, on a bigger scale, at least a monthly thing. Have a large chunk of time set aside to be alone, y’all.

I keep referencing this in things I write lately, because it’s just such an important realization: Jesus got away from crowds to be alone. And, I guarantee you it was to re-coop and become a better-equipped self for all the CRAZIES out there. 😉 Okay, Jesus definitely wouldn’t say it that way… But, human Hannah definitely does. I need to get away and re-coop, without Knox or Paul, to be a better mom and wife. Then, of course, as a couple we have to get away without Knox on a regular basis.

When I don’t, I lose it. I am short-tempered, angry, feisty, and don’t want to be touched. That’s not fun for anybody to be around, and I hate when I get to that point.

Most weeks, “me time” looks like a stroll at the grocery store with a coffee in hand alone. Or, it can look like getting my hair or nails done. Or, it could simply be getting to go back to my room with a glass of wine to read while Paul plays with Knox.

Alright, so I say all that to set up my extravagant “self-care” week. My “me time” doesn’t look this fantastic, but I wish it did. 😉

  • I got my eyebrows shaped and tinted with my girl Carrie after MONTHS of saying, “I gotta make an appointment.” No joke, I think I went from May to January without seeing her. Big news: Carrie is branching off from Southern Chic Wax to start her own company and I am so excited for her!! Start following her new journey, here. You can start booking appointments TOMORROW, Feb. 1st!
  • I scheduled my next hair appointment and dentist appointment (praises!). Sounds silly, but it’s really important to me haha. As far as hair goes, my bestie Bethany is the most incredible colorist, and if you’re local she is coming back from maternity leave in the early spring!
  • I went to TruDerm, which I documented on my Instagram, for my first experience with microdermabrasion. I loved it! It was painless, like a deep cleaning for my pores basically. The spa itself was gorgeous, everybody was so nice, and -honestly- here’s what I was most impressed with. Having never been to a clinical spa before, I was expecting a bunch of women with noticeable fillers. Just being really honest. But much to my surprise, from the person behind the desk who greeted me to the woman who did my facial (and everybody in between that I passed)… nobody had “too much” botox. I know that could sound a little judge-y… and I don’t mean it to. But as somebody who values natural beauty but also believes botox is a-okay and you should do whatever floats your boat… I just was really pleased to see an entire clinical spa with beautiful women everywhere with amazing skin and, for those who had it, well-done botox! It was the first thing I told Paul when I came home. I would 3000000% trust TruDerm with fillers on myself or people I know after having seen every single person in their spa and not thinking once “Aw man, they did too much.” I know that seriously could be taken wrong, so please don’t turn it into something. But, TruDerm has my absolute, hands down utmost respect for their work!
  • After 3 years of saying I want to… I finally went to see my first counselor. I KNOW! When I told some people this they asked, “Oh no! Why?” Which it totally understandable! A lot of people go to a counselor in crisis, and I am team ‘See A Counselor’ ALL THE WAY. For me, though, I just know there’s things I need to work through emotionally and spiritually from experiences in my life that I haven’t really dealt with before, and I am excited to finally do so. Some of the best, most admirable leaders I know see a counselor once a month just for the heck of it, and I honor that. I figure if they do, I should too. Already, I feel freedom from getting to talk about things with all walls down and no fear of saying something “I shouldn’t.” Anyways, go see a counselor! I dare you- it just might be the best thing you’ve ever done!
  • I spent a ton of time cleaning out my closet- tossing things I love but didn’t wear this past year in its rightful season (that’s my rule for purging!). I sold a bunch over on @shopthecakescloset, and donated the rest. It felt good to make some money on the side to put into my business and to buy some new jeans I desperately needed.
  • I did no alcohol for 3 weeks and no cake or ice cream. SAY WHAT? It’s true. My church does a fast twice a year, and our 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting is always how we begin the year. I decided no glass of red wine like I so love at the end of every day, and no cake or ice cream. I don’t know how we made it with no cake or ice cream… but we made it y’all! Paul and I chose to fill our evenings with intentional reading instead of TV most nights during this time as well, which was so refreshing. I am currently reading It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way, Lysa Terk’s new book… and well, let’s just say I was weeping 10 pages in. Every evening felt like space set aside for “me time” when I got in bed to read.
  • I painted my nails- yeah. I painted them. I have had paint-less nails for at least 9+ months…
  • Another huge deal for me is our gym! We chose our gym because with our membership comes up to 3 hours of childcare a day when we come to workout. So our gym membership is a little pricey… but I also credit it to half of my sanity, haha. Working out makes me a better self, and getting alone time does. And, my kid is getting to play with other boys and girls his age we wouldn’t otherwise know. It’s just all such a win! Worth every extra penny. For the new year, I decided to commit to myself going to at least three CLASSES a week in order to challenge myself physically and to meet people. It’s been so. much. better. for. me. I am just not the type of person who can push themselves in a solo workout. I will just scroll my phone while I lackadaisically use the elliptical for 45 minutes. But now, I feel sweaty and accomplished after a workout again, and I love it!

So, what do you do for “you time?” I am telling you, it’s a vital part of your schedule. And if you don’t set aside time for you… do it and you’ll see why it is. Love you guys!

xoxo,

Han

“Me Investments”

The Easiest Way to Sell Your Home!

This post is sponsored by Offerpad. Although paid for to help inform my readers about their services, every opinion is my own and I truly do believe this is an incredible business to work with. #ad

Okay, let me begin this post by saying Paul and I are NOT, I repeat, NOT in the market for a new home. We freaking love our home, which if you have been around here a while, you know is our first home that we bought two summers ago! You can read more about the journey that found us this cutie little home here, but -long story short- this home is an answered prayer.

With our home buying process, we got incredibly lucky. Things sort of fell into our lap with the home we bought, and we also were on a “leave when we want to” basis with our apartment, because I was pregnant and the guy below us smoked weed so much it literally made our entire apartment smell all hours of the day. For obvious reasons, we couldn’t stay. It was a terrible situation, but it all panned out perfectly to place us into our first home.

We recognize that buying our first home with our first offer in less than 24 hours of placing it, getting to leave our apartment whenever we wanted, and moving in just a couple weeks was unheard of. But, because of that, it seriously has made me think about how, when the time comes in the future to sell as our family grows, how complicated the buying/selling process really is! Like, what the heck are we supposed to do if the perfect home pops up on the market… but we haven’t sold our current home yet? And we certainly can’t afford two mortgages, because… that’s crazy. So what the heck would we do? There are so many factors to buying and selling a home that make me so nervous! It’s like all the stars need to miraculously align in order to make it actually work.

That is until I heard about Offerpad.

You guys, Offerpad seriously answers all of my biggest fears about the home selling process! When their company reached out to me about potentially sharing with you guys about what they do, I was so impressed by them that I truly felt like, “If this is answering all of my biggest fears about selling a home in the future… I know it will for others!” I really believe in the things I share about on my blog, and this is no exception. #adulting is REAL and selling a home is probably going to be a reality for majority of us at some point in our lives. This makes it easier.

They buy your home with CASH and absolutely are the answer to no double mortgage. You for real just input your address and information about your home, here,  and then I received an offer to my email for my home in less than 24 hours. If I accepted the offer, I would have the cash sent to me and I have the choice to move immediately or can even request up to 60 days to move out! Isn’t that amazing?!

Only Con: I have to be honest, our home is worth about $40k more than what they offered. However, this would truly be the answer for us if something happened and we had to move immediately. Or if we were simply upside right (meaning we owe less than we were offered) on payments and didn’t want to deal with the chaotic gamble of selling.

Click here to learn about Offerpad’s pricing details including how the price for your home is determined

Offerpad is MOST DEFINITELY For:

People who need to move all of a sudden.

People who want to avoid the uncertainty of waiting for an offer.

People who want to avoid the traditional hassles like last minute buyer cancellations.

People with kids or who work from home that cannot leave regularly in order to show their home to potential sellers.

People who have pets that can’t be in the house during a showing.

Offerpad is an entirely new concept I have never heard of, and it really made me feel a sense of peace knowing this existed for our future. It’s almost silly how easy it was… ha. I did the offer with Knox and Presley around, and could have clicked “accept” and my home would be sold. It’s pretty mind blowing!

I am all about anything easy and stress-free, and that’s exactly what Offerpad does for its clients! You should just give it a shot and see if they are interested in purchasing your home.  It’s so good knowing this platform is readily available for us to use at a moment’s notice.

xoxo,

Han

Items from Knox’s nursery and my slippers (the best slippers ever!):

My sweatshirt is from Landry Kate!

A Week of Meals

Alright, so today’s post was between my new robo vac (don’t worry I will still be reviewing it!) and a week of meals. I let YOU guys vote for what you wanted, and majority rules- You want a week of meals!

You may remember, I shared our entire Costco haul a while back and basically all of those items are what made up this week of meals. I have a few new faves at Costco that are part of this week, but overall it’s the same things! Now listen. Don’t be too impressed with me… I don’t meal plan all of my meals every week, though I have every intention to ha. Mondays I go to the grocery store, and get my same list pretty much every week. But, having that set grocery list that I know has a wide variety of options as well as a fully stocked spice cabinet makes it really easy to do just about anything I want when dinner time rolls around. I often will go to Pinterest for inspiration, and then run wild with it. I use recipes as a “guide” more than anything. 😉

A Week of Meals

Breakfast:

2 eggs every morning + half an avocado with chili powder OR 2×2 inch oat protein bar

Lunch Options:

  1. Left overs from night before
  2. Veggie Burger Patty (Costco) + half an avocado + spinach & balsamic vinaigrette
  3. 2 Veggie Cakes (Costco) + Kale Turkey Patty (Costco)

Dinner:

Monday, Chicken Soup: 2 cans black beans, 2 cans Rotel and Green Chilis, 1 can corn, 4 chicken breast, 2 tomato sauce, chicken broth, chopped peppers, 1 c. green chili tomatillo salsa (combine all ingredients into one pot and simmer until chicken is fully cooked- shred chicken and serve!)

Tuesday, Cauli Bowl: Adielle Pineapple and Bacon Sausage (cook and slice), riced cauliflower with 1 tbsp. ricotta cheese and 1 tbsp. butter, fresh garlic, roasted asparagus + peppers

Wednesday, Southwest Ragu: Chickpea Bananza Pasta + one can corn, one can Rotel, 2 bell peppers chopped, salt and pepper, ground turkey (basically like Chili on pasta)

Thursday, Simple Night: Baked chicken breast, green beans with brown sugar, veggie cakes

Friday, Baked Potato: Roasted sweet potato (poke holes on top, place in oven at 425 with oil), top with leftover southwest ragu

Saturday, Simple Night 2: Chicken and diced sweet potato (same pan- 425), brown sugar and bacon brussel sprouts (in pan- chop bacon and sautee, add in brussel sprouts and 1 tbsp. brown sugar when bacon is about half way done)

Sunday, Free for all or Go Out

Chocolate Oat Protein Bar Recipe

Happy Tuesday, friends! I am so excited to share this recipe with you today. It’s perfect for a grab and go breakfast on your way to the gym or for an afternoon snack. It’s low calorie and packed full of protein and fiber! In the evenings, to cure a sweet tooth, I even will eat one heated up with peanut butter on top + a tbsp of chocolate chips.

I shared on Instagram and my devos that I am making myself go to a class 3 times a week at our gym to make me step out of my comfort zone, and I have had such a blast. I have done cycling, barre, and pilates so far! And, making it to classes in the morning is easier when I have a protein bar to grab and go out the door with Knoxy on my hip. Forcing myself to step into a room full of people I don’t know is at the top of my least favorite things to do (hello introvert!). But I have truly been pushed physically -I do SO much better in my workouts with a trainer and class setting- and I have met great people. Whether big or small, challenge yourself today!

Chocolate Oat Protein Bar

2 cups uncooked rolled oats (I use GF Bob’s Red Mill)

1 egg

1 1/4 cups almond milk

5 spoon fulls of protein powder (I use this one!)

3 tbsp. maple syrup

1/2 chopped pecans

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tbsp. peanut butter (optional)

Preheat oven to 350

Mix all ingredients together and pour into a greased 9×9 pan

Bake for 35-40 minutes

Do something that stretches you today, friends!

xoxo,

Han

My bag: Fawn Design

LET’S GET SOCIAL