I had a bowlful of pretzels leftover from a trail mix (not really a fan of plain pretzels), so Allison and I decided to make almond bark pretzels.  I love the scrumptious little buggers.  High calorie, high fat...what's not to love?!  I did the dipping and Allison took care of the sprinkles   So simple, yet so delicious. 

Since finding out we were having a boy, I knew that I wanted to do a nautical-theme in his room.  Jesse would rather have done a Nintendo-theme, but seriously...don't want to freak him out as a baby.  When he gets older...maybe.  Here is a look at our Office before transforming it into the new nursery for Baby Boy Eng:

(The blanket is from Allison’s crib set, so don’t be thinkin’ I’m doing pink in his room )

Pretty boring if you ask me.  I was so excited to get started on this project!  Actually, I only designed it…Jesse did all of the painting of the room and furniture – kudos to him (LOVE YA!).  It's nautical-themed with a touch of apple-green color and monkeys (sometimes I have good ideas in my head).  It turned out fantastic…just take a look for yourself:

We already had the crib and glider rocker from when Allison was born.  I found this changing table/dresser on Craigslist for $25.  A little sanding and couple coats of paint and it's good as new!

That little wagon is a Radio Flyer we found at Goodwill for $2.  I'm pretty sure it won't be staying there b/c Allison likes to pull her baby around in it.

I decided not to put a dust ruffle on the crib and go with a basket for toys instead.  Got this basket at a garage sale for $1.

The blank space above his crib is where his name will go...once we agree on one.

Got this little monkey coat rack at Target for $2.50 - fits perfectly, don't ya think?!  And that hat...oh that little golfer's hat is too adorable.

I ordered this barometer off of Ebay for $10, which is more than I wanted to spend, but it's from Germany...so I was sold!

These were on the 80% off clearance rack at Hobby Lobby ($1.28/each).

Here is the toy box we picked up at Goodwill 50% off sale for $7.50.  Turned out great after being sanded/painted.  I'll post before pics later...it was hideous.

Just a glimpse at all the cute little outfits for my little guy

Of course we couldn't go without putting up a lighthouse fan pull ($10).  I'm sure the room would've been a disaster without it (HAHA).

Got this corkboard at Goodwill for $2.  We just painted the wood trim and then I covered it in fabric.  Turned out great!

I picked up these 3 picture frames for $1/each at a garage sale a couple of months ago.  I'll post before/after pics of those too.  LOVE how they turned out!

Here are some pillows I sewed myself.  Rather cute and they fit in nicely with the decor.

I fell in love with this bedding at Pottery Barn and it would've only set me back $300...um ya, no...I think not!  I found this fabric online, ordered it and made my own duvet cover, bumper pad and curtains for a measly $40.  Ya, I'm a bargain shopper and DIY girl for sure.

I found these dresser knobs at Hobby Lobby's 50% off sale for $1.50/each (took 7 total).

We picked up the lamp base for $2.50 at Goodwill and I bought the shade at Target for 75% off ($1.98).  I hot glue-gunned the rope on the shade for decoration.

I had these white panel drapes just lying around, so I decided to take some of the fabric from the bedding and sew it to the bottoms of the panels.  Cheap and easy

Here is a panoramic view of the room, just in case it's hard to tell from the other pics.

Well, there you have it...a Baby Boy's nursery all done on a rather tight budget.  Anything is possible and I'm so glad I'm thrifty like that.  The only bad part of doing this room is that now I want to tackle other projects around the house (insert Jesse rolling his eyes).  I'm sure there will be little time with a 2-year old and newborn in the house, but a girl can dream. 

We’ve had an overabundance of tomatoes from our garden!  We planted Yellow Pear and Early Girls this year.  The plants are like 6 ft tall and have outgrown their cages…they’ve gone wild.  Jesse harvests the fruit and Allison puts it in the bowl.  We get a big bowlful every 4 days.  To say Jesse LOVES tomatoes, that would be an understatement.  The guys can eat handfuls at a time.  I craved them when I was pregnant with Allison, but not this time.  Allison really likes them though.  Since we have so many tomatoes and only 2 people (1 of them being under 3 ft tall) eating them, I’ve decided to make fresh salsa.  Now that I can handle—YUM!  We like our Pico de Gallo in the summertime.  If you’ve never had it, it’s a must try!  I don’t have a recipe per say…just kinda throw things in a pot.  I call it the Grandma way   If you’re willing to experiment, here are the ingredients:

Pico de Gallo Salsa

1 can black beans

1 can yellow corn

Fresh tomatoes (as many or little as you like)

Fresh cilantro (1/3 cup???)

Approx. ¼ cup lime juice

Garlic powder

Salt

Pepper

I really just add the seasonings to my liking.  Like I said, you have to play with it.

We like to eat them with Tostitos Lime Tortilla Chips...mmmmm

WARNING:   Having a 2 year old “help” you will only decrease your amount of fresh tomatoes ;)

So, I’ve heard that little boys tend to “wee-wee” anytime, anywhere.  Therefore, the pee-pee teepee was invented.  My friends with little boys say they work great, so I was sold on trying them out on my little guy…when he arrives in T minus 7 weeks (yey!).  However, they are a little pricey and I’m a DIY kinda gal.  I like the motto, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way”.  I believe anyone can do something if they put their mind to it.  So, I set out to make my own and let me tell you…it’s SUPER easy to make these little puppies!  With the money I saved, I’m sure I can afford to send Allison to at least one class at a local community college   Here’s a pic at what the little teepees look like:

Pretty self-explanatory, I think

 Oh ya, and we're like 75% done with the baby's room.  Hope to have pics of that by next weekend (no promises tho).