friday fav: kitchen goods under $50

Hi everyone! 

And happy FriYAY!

We've been baking all. the. time. around here so I figured it'd be perfect to theme my "Friday Fav" around the kitchen! 

We've literally made TWELVE loaves of pumpkin bread so far.. 

TWELVE!

And we haven't like given any away- we've eaten them all.

But pumpkin bread is kinda my family's specialty, and the only thing I can really bake and not mess up.

So even though I kinda suck I still love aprons, and pans, and cake stands, and mixers and all the cute-sy stuff that makes up a cute-sy kitchen.

So I hunted down some awesome sales and posted them all above!

There's a second page, so make sure and scroll through with the arrow on the right!

Hope you find something scrumptious!

And have a spooky {and safe} Halloween weekend!

xoxo

residency, stitches and mamahood.

Good morning!

Hope your hump day's going well!

I just wanted to pop in and say hi as well as give a little personal update and share what I've been up to lately!

Zak's schedule has been AMAZING so we're soaking up all this time we have together and really cherishing our family days.

Having him home is EVERYTHING.

We were talking today and said that we totally think one day we'll look back at this year {because I look at life in year chunks} and say this time is/was the "good ole days."

I thank the Lord every day for all that we have, especially this time with each other.

I kinda don't want him to ever graduate and just do his fourth year over and over again.

He can just be a student forever right?

Speaking of being a student..

WE MATCH FOR RESIDENCY IN DECEMBER!!!!!!

{And yes I said "we" because at this point, it's a everyone getting into this dang program lol}.

He'll be a pediatrician, and I'm so so so so proud of all his hard work-

It's been a long {and sweet} road coming and I can't believe graduation is kinda almost here.

We'll most likely end up in either San Diego, Washington D.C. or Virginia!

Eeeek!

So exciting.

And nerve wracking.

I'll obvi keep you posted on how things turn out!

 

You guys.

Liam started saying "mama!!!!!"

MY HEART IS BURSTING!!!

His little voice is the sweetest thing in the entire world and he'll just babble it all day long and makes me the happiest person ever. 

Like mamahood is the best.

These little humans are the greatest joys in life.

William Dean thank you making my life brighter and better than ever before!

I've kinda been on the mend the last couple weeks-

lets just say mamahood is the best, but it can also be a dozy on your body.

You always hear, "having a baby changes your body,"

and it totally does!

But for the better!

I'm more stronger and in better shape now, after having Liam, than I've ever been.

And with that strength, comes lots of challenges.

Like mastitis aka a clogged milk duct aka the worst pain ever.

And milk blisters on places you don't want milk blisters while nursing.

Oh and stitches too.

In places you don't want stitches.

And not just after having a baby, but you can still need stitches oh lets say eight months later........!!!!!!

Yeah so the last three weeks have been challenging to say the least.

But I'm feeling better, back at the gym again and hopefully these problems NEVER COME BACK.

Anywho, at least when your not feeling well or in pain you can eat all the ice cream and take-out you want and not feel guilty.

Or maybe that's just me?

So it was worth it.

Zak and I have really made it a point to cook together more often and it's been way fun experimenting in the kitchen!

I love cooking together, lighting some candles, sitting down at the actual dinner table and chatting over our day.

It's so cozy and homey.

I tell yah little things that that make me the happiest.

Like last night we had cheeseburger stuffed green peppers!

First time ever stuffing green peppers, and they turned out pretty good.

We try and eat pretty healthy, so I've been on the hunt for some high protein meals that don't end up costing a billion dollars for all the ingredients.

I've pinned a bunch on my "yummy" board on Pinterest if you wanna check them out here!

Another favorite of mine has been the "skinny chicken spaghetti squash," 

you totally should make it!

If you're on Pinterest, you should follow my account for more healthy meals!

I test them out before pinning, because we all know there are some major Pinterest fails out there!

Let me be your genuine pig.

Along with cooking, I've been listening to more podcasts lately-

why am I now just discovering these?!

They're kinda amazing.

I'm so late to the podcast game, I know.

But like from politics to parenting and gotta throw in some good mystery stories-

there's literally a podcast for everything.

Do you have any good ones you like?!

Please comment and let me know!

The NPR politics one is a go to since yah know the election is so soon {so scary!!!} and there's some good motherhood ones I like as well.

And while we're on the subject of entertainment Zak and I have also been gearing up for our favorite..

OSCAR SEASON!

We went to the movies for the first time in FOREVER last weekend and it was pure amazingness.

We also had Smash Burger and Cold Stone so it was kinda the best date ever.

PS why did we just find out about Smash Burger.

Best. Chicken. Burger. Ever. 

And the sweet potato fries?!!?!

Delish.

Okay anywho.

Movie season is upon us and were are SO pumped to binge watch a million movies over the next few months.

Woot woot.

There's soooo many good ones coming out!

And good ones that are already out!

We watched Columbia the other night-

{a true story with Emma Watson}

and it was crazy!

We also watched The Invitation {a scary one} for Halloween and it was nuts.

Both on Netflix and both great ones to watch!

They might be rated R however- so check out before tuning in.

If you have any good Netflix recs, help a sista out and send em my way.

Please and thank you.

Zak's home again today.. 

WOOT WOOT!

So we are being responsible parents and baby proofing the heck outta our home.

Wish us luck!

And send any tips you got!

Hope you have a wonderful Wednesday!

PS, I love his little look in this pic.

xoxo

tip tuesday: halloween decor.

Happy almost Halloween everyone!

We've been pumpkin patching and pumpkin bread baking over here to prep for the 31st!

We love love love decorating for the holiday, so for "tip Tuesday" I wanted to share a few things that I do to turn our little apartment into a haunted mansion!

First, always decorate in jammies, it makes it cozier and comfier-

kidding.

We're just always in our pj's soooo don't judge the pics.  

While we were getting all of our decorations out of boxes we found these witch hats!

Obviously we put one on Liam and he wore it all afternoon, it was hilarious.

And insanely cute.

I posted a few videos on my Instagram stories of him even wearing it in his bouncer,

this kid cracks me up!

Okay so here are my tips when decorating for Halloween:

1. Use what you got! Before going on a spooky shopping trip, evaluate your home! You'd be surprised what little goodies can transform into ghoulish finds. Books, candle sticks, lace, votives, silver dishes, frames, etc can all work! These are the basics that help set the stage for real scary stuff. 

Always take the covers off your books, and then stack them up to make different levels. 

Take favorite photos and make them horrifying! 

We cut off Zak's head {that sounds so bad} in the picture above and blacked out my eyes to make it haunted. 

Then bundle up your candles!

Nothing seems spookier than a candle lit home!

I promise you'll have lots of Halloween decor lurking around if you just take a look!

^^ See how creepy that is!?

^^ and why do candle sticks also seem creepy!?

Or does my home decor just seem creepy in general?!

I always start to question my decor when I can make normal stuff into Halloween stuff so quickly lol...

2. When in doubt, spider web it out! These are super cheap and go such a long way! A lot of my big furniture pieces are blue and white {opposite of Halloween} so I drape almost everything in spider webs and it somehow makes it all look a little frightful!

You can snag webs at any home store, and I can usually get by with just one bag! 

It's a steal!

I put them all over our bookshelves, cabinets, coffee table- you name it, I spider web it!

3. Dollar Store! It's so tempting to go to big box stores and just fill your cart up with all the holiday treasures! But I'm telling you, the Dollar Store {or any variation} has the a lot of the exact same items for soooo much less. 

Some of my favorite pieces have come from the Dollar Tree. 

You can snag small stuff like pumpkin straws, kitty cat napkins, fake birds {pictured above}, silver votives, spider webs, black roses, cauldrons and the list goes on!

Seriously, before you go shopping, just swing by your local 99 Cent Store and see what they have!

You can load up on stuff that would cost you sooo much more at other stores.

It's one of Zak and I's musts. 

Also, another little tip-

just pick one or two rooms to decorate!

If you're having a murder mystery dinner, or haunted Halloween party where will your guests be?

The living room? Kitchen? Dinning room? Backyard?

Focus on those high traffic areas and go all out!

No one should be in your bedrooms, people don't notice hallways and really you just want a sparkling clean bathroom for guests- who cares if there's decor!

This will save you money, time and your sanity-

I promise.

^^ Those bat straws were dollar store finds!

Those are are three {or four} golden rules I stick by when decorating for Halloween!

Saves us money and gets us excited to transform our little old apartment into a spook-tacular home.

Oh and don't forget-

listening to Monster Mash, lighting fall candles and making some type of pumpkin treat is also a must while decorating!

Just sets the mood yah know!?

We make a full day of it and absolutely love it.

Ah I can't wait when we someday have a front yard lol and get decorate outside!!

#apartmentrentersforlife

#hopefullynot

Oh!

And if you wanna take a look at our past Halloween decor check out our Murder Mystery party here! It's my personal favorite!! 

Everything was sooo cute!!

I miss that apartment. 

And our Omaha friends!

Such good times.

Okay!

Anywho, I hope these simple tips help yah out!

Have a safe and scary Halloween weekend!

xoxo

friday fav: halloween home decor under $25

Hi everyone!

Each Friday I'll be posting "Friday Favorites,"

where I'll be posting all my great finds for the week! 

It can be from awesome deals, cute outfits, home decor and beyond.

I'm always on the hunt for some awesome online items-

so I thought I'd fill you in on those goodies as well!

So this week I'm sharing some Halloween home decor inspiration!

And guess what the best part is...

ALL of the 25 items are $25 or less!!!

There's a second page, so make sure and scroll through with the arrow on the right!

There are some good sales happening right now.

You don't wanna miss them!

Hope you enjoy-

and have a hauntingly festive weekend!

xoxo

pogo pass winner.

Hi loves!

Thanks so much for entering this fun giveaway!

We absolute LOVE our Pogo Pass, and wish we could give everyone a membership!

But since we can't {sad face} we can give yah an awesome discount code for 60% off!!!!

So it usually costs $100.00, but if you use the promo code "Newlyweddiaries" or click here you can get it for only $40.00.

You guys.

This is such a steal.

Like most of these places would cost about 40 bucks on their own-

but with this pass you can go to over 17 entertainment venues multiple times a year.

But back to the giveaway!!

The winner is...

Tausha Wierlo

Congrats lovey!

Just shoot me an email at hinewlyweddiaries@gmail.com with your first and last name and I can send yah your pass!

Yipee!

Have a great rest of your day!

xoxo

tip tuesday: date night and pogo pass giveaway.

Happy Tuesday all!

Like promised, just wanted to give yah a some tips on date nights, girls nights or family nights!
Zak and I love a good ole date night- usually some of our favorites include trips to Target, the movies, maybe some Chipotle and I always get froyo after.
Ah so fancy.
But really, we love that little routine a ton, and now with Liam we're trying to incorporate more kid friendly places so he can be more involved too.
Last weekend we took him to the Idea Museum in Mesa, thanks to our amazing Pogo Pass {PS see Pogo Pass details down below}!

We made a little day date out of it, and it was a blast!
Just getting outta the house is sometimes the best medicine and sooooo needed!
It's always good to ditch the to-do lists, ignore the mess and let go of responsibilities sometimes,
yah know?!



The Idea Museum has a dog exhibit right now and it's ADORABLE!
Such a cute and fun place.
We can't wait to take Liam back!

So!
Here are three easy tips to switch up date night {or girls night or family night} that we swear by!

1. Surprises- who doesn't like surprises?! Zak and I always switch off surprising the other one with a date night, and it's always so much fun. Even if it's a simple dinner and a movie, not knowing where you're eating till you pull up in the parking lot or not knowing which film you're going to see until the opening credits start rolling is way more fun than planning it all out! 
So next time, make it a surprise!

2. Switch up the time! It's so easy to put a label on "date nights" when really they can be whenever the heck you want em to be! Honestly I think some of our morning dates have been my favorite thus far. So ditch the nighttime routine and switch it up with an early morning donut and farmers market date, or a day date to the zoo or even a little staycation over night somewhere.
Don't let times restrict yah!

3. No texting and dating! Yep that's right, put down that phone. Zak and I try our bests to be data free when we're on a date, having a family night or when I'm with girlfriends. 
Why be scrolling through other people's lives, when the ones you love are right in front of yah?!
If anything, I just snap photos and post to social media later-
but other than that, we keep the phones away so we can play!

And if your needing date nights ideas, I listed our favorites here!
And if yah need even anymore ideas look no further than a Pogo Pass!
This pass is seriously amazing.
And SUCH A GOOD DEAL!
Pogo Pass is a membership that provides you 12 months of FREE access to the best entertainment venues in your city for one price!
You literally save hundreds of dollars on tickets for sporting events, museums and a whole lot more!
For instance, in Arizona Zak and I get multiple tickets to-
- The Phoenix Zoo
- Fat Cats Theatre
- Castles n Coasters
- Sunsplash
- ASU games
- The Idea Museum
- Diamondback games
And over TEN more places!!

Like we're trying to think of date night for this weekend and there's too many places to chose from!
And that right there, is a good problem to have!
Pogo Pass is also in Tucson Arizona, Dallas/Ft. Worth Texas, Austin/Waco Texas, San Antonio Texas and Las Vegas Nevada!
Holy moly!

Love this pass so much so that I'm giving a pass away to one lucky reader!
If you want a chance to win all you have to do is:

1. Follow myself and Pogo Pass on Instagram
2. Like this photo
3. Tag 3 friends in separate comments- the more tags, the more chances to win!
4. Like my Newlywed Diaries Facebook here for an additional entry.

The giveaway ends on Wednesday October 19th at 10:00 PM MST.

You guys, I'm telling you- all together this would cost hundreds of dollars-
it's such a phenomenal deal and will give you loads of date night, family night and girls night ideas!

Good luck everyone!

xoxo