Why moving (again) was worth it for us

When we moved to Pittsburgh last year, I had every intention of going back to work full time but as weeks turned into months and I spent my days soaking in the cutest boy on the planet we decided that in order for me to remain home, we needed to find a cheaper apartment.

We loved the location of our place, within walking distance to EVERYTHING and were sick with the thought of giving that up, but were willing to do so if it meant less financial stress each month. Somehow the stars aligned and a place opened up NEXT DOOR to our current building. The apartment was being fully renovated, new kitchen, stainless steel appliances, new carpet, new paint with a $300 per month savings. In addition we were getting a sun room which we turned into a playroom for Owen, a recessed deck (new grill!), and covered parking. Did I mention we were SAVING money and still walking to all of our favorite places? So we hired a few college students and schleped all of our belongings and our precious boy next door.

I hope one day to give you a full house tour, but I am excited to show you Owen's playroom. His bedroom is set up almost identical to how we had it in the old place (I honestly don't even think he noticed we moved) and his room will always be my favorite place. It smells like baby and makes me happy just to be there. But his playroom is a close second because I love to watch him explore and learn in his own space (that and I don't have to clean up the toys multiple times a day anymore, win-win)

The last year has been hard on us financially. Resident salary is less than what Jeremy was making as a teacher so we've had to be creative with our budget. I'm confident we'll continue to make it work and I've been looking for opportunities to bring in extra money while being with O full time. We're lucky to have wonderful family who have gifted us some very special things in the last year, including our Zoo membership and a membership to the Pittsburgh Children's Museum.

Read more about how we enjoy our life on one salary HERE on KVELLER. {Mayim Bailik posted my article with compliments on her Facebook page and I was so touched. Its also blowing up with Facebook "likes" and that made up for the snarky comment that one reader left. Such is life on the internet I guess...)

{Owen's Play Space}

This is the view looking into our family room, as you can see Owen's play area is just behind the couch.

My/our desk area shares the sunroom space. I love the window and the carpet I scored at Ikea for $20! Now I'm just looking for fun things to decorate the huge blank wall to the left of my desk, I'm thinking something like THIS inspired by YourWishcake

When I was little all of my play furniture - cradle, table, chairs - was handmade by my grandfather. Woodworking just isn't a skill we posses in this house so Owen's table and chair set is from grandpaIKEA. But I was inspired by THIS and I spiced it up a little.  We had plexiglass cut at Lowe's to put over the top of it (wipes easily!) and I'm really happy with how this little $20 table turned out.

I'll be on the lookout for a wooden play kitchen once Black Friday deals roll around and I've been scouring the internet for a boy babydoll and blue stroller because anytime we play with friends Owen finds a doll and stroller to push around. We've been really lucky in that 99% of these toys were either gifts or handed down from our neighbors. Hand-me-downs have been a god-send on our budget!

A certain little boy loves to spend time in this sunny room stacking cups, zooming cars and reading books. It absolutely melts my heart to watch him play in this colorful space made just for him.