I Dream of Tiny Houses

We've done this so many times...bigger apartment to smaller apartment, apartment to small house, small house to large house.

From my scrapbook: 2003 buying our first house, not realizing all the moves to come

Large house back to small apartment...

That last one is what started my descent into guilt for our reality show acting.  Little did I know that wouldn't be the last time we downsized while our family was growing.  It's just what we do.  When we sold our Omaha foreclosure remodel that we'd spent the last 4 years on we went from almost 4000 square feet back to less than 1000 here in our current basement apartment.  It required a big garage sale, furniture elimination, and a whole lotta hope.  But, it wasn't that hard emotionally and I actually really like the smaller-space lifestyle.

We'd like to get a remodel project or build a new house, but the dream we are looking to achieve is to stay in a very streamlined and efficient, small space.  It just suits us and opens up our lives for other things besides maintaining a house.  I was contacted by WETSTYLE to introduce their new line that was developed just for smaller space bathrooms.  In this time of Tiny House obsession, I think this is such a great move for them.  I'm excited to show you some of their ideas for maximizing storage in a tiny bathroom.

Since we just put in new bathroom tile and vanities at our last project I can attest that these "off the floor" vanity models are an incredible idea.  If I could bottle up and show you all the physical strain, and frustration we endured as we shimmied our vanities into the "tile hole" we'd made for them you'd laugh, I promise.  This idea looks lightweight, efficient, and way easier for keeping floors clean.

I love the whole set up.  Storage behind the mirror, storage under the sink, and best of all next to that slim tub, a modern sleek look.  This new line for us little house enthusiasts is called W2.  This link can direct you to a dealer near you.  I love that its made from natural materials (soy and mineral stone).  FYI, they are on Twitter and Pinterest.

It checks off so many things I look for in building materials, I was thrilled to work with them and feature it.  I'm curious how many of my readers are also into small rooms and houses or if you want something BIGGER....let me know. 

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of WETSTYLE. The opinions and text are all mine.

When you haven't had TV for 10 years

We have televisions in our house, we just stopped paying for the service around 2006.  Was it a coincidence that we soured on television viewing in the same months we had just finished filming our own debut on HGTV?  Probably not, if you've read my explanations of the aftermath.  Being on "reality TV" after an intense week of acting made my favorite shows lose the glitz I'd viewed them with.

But that wasn't the only reason.  Really, the big one was money.  When $50 a month is critical to survival you know it ain't the time for that.  So we got through our 10 years of law school, money pit foreclosure...and finally on the other side debt eliminated, lifestyle downsized, we are ready to jump in again.

Well, not ready...we are already in.  We got satellite service last week.  The technology is grand.  DVR's recording up to 5 things at once!  Turning it on to find a list of your favorite shows you can binge on in order!  Hubby can have it find every game his favorite team plays--no matter the channel to record.  So that is fun!  After a long break from something the advances are awe inspiring :).

We cancelled our Netflix, subsequently.  We had enjoyed a few shows on it here and there, but the TV technology was just way more inclusive.

There wasn't much other point to this post.  I just wanted to talk about it, and also kind of ask how you use your TV technology.  What do you watch?  Do you record it first or just watch something when it is on?  Do you like having the noise of the TV in your background or do you plan and intensely watch your show and then shut it off?

Just wanna hear how others enjoy this part of our world :).

Peanut Butter cups

1 1/2 C peanut butter

1/4 C softened butter

1 C powdered sugar

Mix together and then roll and drop balls (or use a mini cookie scoop like I did)  onto wax paper over a plate.  Freeze for 10-20 minutes.  The ratios of these ingredients can be tweaked.  I like to use the least amount of sugar it takes to get them workable and tasty.  When they are too sweet it takes away from that perfect peanut/chocolate flavor combo.

While they are getting solid, melt some candy melts or chocolate chips for the outsides.  I like dark chocolate with my peanut butter, which is part of why I make these myself.  If you like them more like the packaged stuff, I'd use milk chocolate chips or melts.

Dip those frozen PB balls with a fork into the melted chocolate and set back on the frozen plate they were on. They'll get solid pretty quick again.

Enjoy!