Thank to Bali Blinds for partnering with me on this post. All opinions are my own. I have used Bali window treatments for years and highly recommend them.

We're not quiiite ready to officially call our guest bathroom done...but this sneak peek is pretty dang close!!! The walls are painted, the vanity's installed, the light fixture is up, the mirror is hung, and we even have a new window treatment! Hooray! It feels sooo good to have a finished bathroom on the main level again. Running up and down the stairs every time I had to pee was getting old (good thing we didn't do this while I was pregnant!). Since this was our first time remodeling a bathroom, I did lots of research for every aspect of the room (I really wanted to get everything right). One of the elements that I looked into was window treatments. I was curious, what type of window treatments are best for the bathroom, considering the high level of moisture and the need for privacy? So I turned to the experts: the good people at Bali.

Here's what they recommended, ranging from the least expensive to the most.

1. Aluminum or Vinyl Horizontal Blinds - A versatile and hardworking window treatment, horizontal blinds are easy to clean, resistant to moisture, and easy on the wallet. They are very durable and low-maintenace, but the style is basic and no-frills. If you're considering them, I think 2" slats look the most up-to-date, and I prefer vinyl over aluminum.

2. Faux Wood Blinds - Faux wood blinds are perfect for bathrooms. Designed to look like real wood but made of moisture-tolerant composites, these are beautiful. You get the warmth of real wood without any warping from steamy showers. And they're budget-friendly too! We strongly considered getting faux wood blinds to bring some warmth into our bathroom, what with all the marble, white tile, and chrome fixtures.

3. Cellular Shades - If privacy is your first concern, cellular shades are great because they don't have any slats. They let in natural light while ensuring your neighbors won't see you--and they also provide great insulation, keeping energy bills down and making the bathroom a little warmer first thing in the morning. Cellular shades come in a wide array of colors to fit any design style. This is what we ended up choosing!

4. Tailored Roman Shades - As long as your bathroom window is not right next to the shower, you can use fabric without worrying so much about moisture and mildew. Bali Tailored Roman Shades can be ordered with a water repellent liner to further ease your mind, and they'll add lots of style and elegance to the room. They come in a huge variety of colors and patterns, and are a great way to soften all the hard edges in a bathroom.

As you can see, we decided to go with Cellular Shades, in the light-filtering Cosmopolitan fabric (the color is Glacier Blue--it's a subtle hint of cool blue that reads like a neutral). We have neighbors close by, so we liked the idea of total privacy when the shades are pulled. We also loved the option of top down/bottom up control, so we can leave the top half of the window open for maximizing the natural light! We're very happy with these; they look great and function perfectly...and like all the Bali window treatments we have ordered, they were a breeze to install!

There are so many decisions involved in a bathroom remodel, from the big things like layout, to the details like tile and light fixtures. But although it may not get as much attention as those design elements, a window is actually one of the biggest things that can take a bathroom from blech to beautiful. So if you're remodeling a bathroom without much natural light, consider if there's any way you can add or expand a window (or add a skylight!), and make sure to choose window treatments that maximize the light while still providing privacy.

This is a collaborative post. All opinions are my own.

A lot of attention is given to millennials, but the Baby Boomer generation is still the second largest generation living in America. As they get older, retire, and look for new living situations, it's bound to have an impact on the housing market. Demand for senior-friendly housing is steeply increasing, and real estate investors might be wise to seek out houses or apartments to flip, renovate, or keep as rentals...with the senior demographic specifically in mind. Senior housing (usually with a minimum age requirement of 55) is split into three main types of senior care: Independent Living, Assisted Living, and Skilled Nursing Care. 

Independent Living

Most seniors still want to enjoy an active and social lifestyle. They want to maintain their independence and take care of themselves. But they might want to decrease the time they put into caring for their house and yard. After all, both of those might be bigger than they need or can fully enjoy anymore...and home maintenance isn't exactly what they dreamed of doing in retirement. Independent Living facilties can fulfill those needs by giving them a home that's smaller and easier to maintain. They're often in a convenient and desirable location near walking trails, parks, and an urban area with coffee shops and restaurants.  Some facilities even provide on-site care options such as laundry collection and cleaning. And many include areas for residents to pursue their hobbies, such as woodshops and craft rooms.

Assisted Living

When seniors need more complex care, assisted living communities can still provide residents with the freedom of independent living, along with the added reassurance of skilled nursing care. Some of the services included are grooming, cleaning, hygiene assistance and medication administration. Most assisted living spaces are self-contained apartments, but they shouldn't be stark and depressing spaces. Thoughtful design that meets the needs of residents, but still looks updated and beautiful, will help seniors in assisted living homes feel dignified, comfortable, and proud when visitors come.

Skilled Nursing Care

This type of facility is for elderly people who really need the extra help and support. They typically offer around the clock care from licensed professionals. With the skills and knowledge to care for seniors who require advanced medical treatment, Skilled Nursing Care facilities are designed to keep your loved ones safe and comfortable during what might be a distressing and vulnerable time for them. Here, it's also important for them to feel at home, with rooms that have beautiful decor and art rather than clinically stark rooms that are reminiscent of a hospital.

Seniors might need a one-level home instead of lots of stairs, or they might favor a walk-in shower instead of a tub they have to climb over every day...but they don't want a place that screams "I'm old!" With thoughtful design that meets their needs and looks updated and homey, you can definitely set your place apart.

I've had a few friends ask me how we afford to travel "so much", especially now that there are kids in the mix. I actually don't think we travel a TON (following a bunch of travel "influencers" has probably skewed my perception). But I counted it up, and in the last three years we have gone to: Iceland, Italy, France, Canada, four national parks, and ten states--including Alaska and Hawaii. Not too shabby for an average middle-class couple! I still don't feel super qualified to give advice on this topic, but there are certain things we do to make our trips more affordable. And I'm happy to share those tips. I would also loooove to hear how you guys travel on a budget! I bet some of you are doing smart things that I've never thought of.

1. Travel during off-peak times. Summer is peak season for practically every destination, due to kids being out of school. So we always plan our trips for spring or fall, when the weather is still good but the crowds are much less. And it's not just the crowds that are less. Everything tends to cost less in off-peak times, from lodging to car rentals to tourist activities. We will continue to do this until our own kids are in school. Flying on off-peak days can also save you big time on plane tickets. I think Tuesday and Wednesday are usually the cheapest days to fly.

2. Stay in vacation rentals (most of the time). We generally prefer vacation rentals, both for cost savings and because we can find more unique places! Vacation rentals are especially worthwhile if you're traveling with a group or as a big family (most hotel rooms have a maximum occupancy of 4). Having a kitchen can also save you a lot of money if you cook your own meals. As a caveat, the cleaning fees and service fees can be hefty sometimes, so it's not always worth it if you're only staying a night or two. But for a week or more, a vacation rental is almost always more cost-effective than a hotel (unless you follow tip #4!). I'm sure most of you have already tried Airbnb, but if you haven't you can get $40 off your first rental through this referral link, or look for an Airbnb coupon before booking.

3. Ask for discounts. At hotels, you can often get discounts if you're a member of AAA, AARP, the military, or even Costco. We've also messaged the owners of vacation rentals and gotten discounts such as weekly rates for longer stays. One time, the best place we found was a 3 bedroom but we only needed 2 bedrooms...so she gave us 10% off and locked the door to the third bedroom. Win-win: we didn't have to pay for that room, and she didn't have to clean it. Lastly, I have gotten discounts in exchange for marketing a place or taking photos for them to use in their listing. I recognize that not everyone can do that, but it's worth thinking about what skills you can trade. And discounts aren't just for accommodations. You can often score deals on activities too.

4. Use points from travel credit cards with big signup bonuses. This is a new strategy for us, but it's extremely powerful and has the potential to save you a ton. In fact, you can get an amazing vacation nearly free if you plan ahead. I've mentioned that we got 4 free nights at a 5-star resort in Kauai. We also just booked flights for our next vacation, and got them free except taxes! I think the BEST card to start with no matter what your vacation goals are is the Chase Sapphire Preferred, because the points are super flexible and can be used for flights, hotels, rental cars, etc. When you sign up and spend $4,000 in the first 3 months, you'll get 50,000 bonus points (just switch all your normal spending onto this card for 3 months). If you own a business, the next card I would get is the Chase Ink Business card, which gives you 80,000 points after you spend $5,000 in 3 months. If you're traveling with a partner, you can have them sign up for the same two cards, and you'll have over 260,000 points between the two of you. That's enough for two round trip tickets anywhere in the world, plus several nights at a great hotel! Of course, this hobby is NOT a good idea if you already have credit card debt or if you'll be tempted to spend more than your normal budget in order to hit those minimum spends. But if you plan ahead and put all your everyday spending on one card at a time, you can rack up a huge amount of points just by paying your bills, buying your groceries, getting new glasses for the year, and whatever else you were already going to pay for. The way I look at it is, normally a big hospital bill (like Emmett's birth) or a big house project (like remodeling our bathroom) would mean we didn't have any budget left for a big family vacation. But with travel credit cards, those big purchases go towards the big vacation. Leave me a comment if you have questions because this is getting long, but suffice it to say this is my favorite tip and I have been telling all my friends about it.

5. Sign up for loyalty programs. If you use the same airline or stay at the same hotel chain over and over, you should sign up for their loyalty program. They're free to join and often give you perks like free checked bags, access to special lounges, free snacks, waived fees, free nights after a certain number of paid nights, free WiFi, late check-out, a higher likelihood of getting upgraded, and more.

6. Eat out less. Restaurants are a huge portion of most people's travel expenses, and you can save big by cutting down on that. Don't get me wrong, I like trying local foods, and I know eating out can be a fun part of the vacation experience (no cooking or dishes, hooray!). But cutting it down to one or two meals per day can save you a lot. We like to buy groceries for easy breakfasts, especially if we're staying in a vacation rental with a kitchen. Then, we eat lunch somewhere that we're excited about, and save the leftovers for dinner. Or if we're going to be out and about all day, we might bring picnic supplies for a cheap lunch, and splurge on a nice dinner. If we don't have a fridge where we can save leftovers, we often split a meal, which saves us money and makes it so we don't feel bad wasting food.

7. Take advantage of lap babies & free child admission. Kids can fly free under the age of two if they sit on your lap. So we saved a lot on our flights to Hawaii by going riiight before Ian's second birthday...although I have to admit, there was a moment when we said, "it might have been worth it to get this kid his own seat!!!!"

8. Don't buy a bunch of kitschy souvenirs. We have stopped buying random souvenirs for family & friends when we go on vacation. Sorry, guys! Most of that touristy stuff is made in China anyways. Sometimes, we bring back some snack food that we can't get here, like Hawaiian shortbread or Icelandic chocolate. But for the most part, they just want to see our pictures and hear about our experience anyways, and an overpriced t-shirt or coffee mug will not be missed.

9. Don't buy a bunch of stuff specifically for your vacation. Let's say you're going to Hawaii. You could use it as an excuse to get a manicure and pedicure, go tanning, and get a full body wax in preparation. You could treat yourself to a bunch of tropical sundresses, three new swimsuits, and a new pair of sunglasses. You could buy new "Hawaii" outfits for your kids and your spouse too. OR you could just do your nails at home, shave/wax yourself, and bring the clothes you already own. Unless you really need something for the trip that you don't already have, don't use it as a reason to go shopping beforehand.

10. Give travel as a gift. This doesn't really cut down the cost of travel itself, but it does help us to budget for it. My birthday is in the middle of May, and Ben's is in the beginning of June. So for the past few years, instead of buying each other gifts, we have put that money toward a vacation around Memorial Day. That's how we did our Hawaii trip, our Alaska trip last year, and our San Juan Island vacation the year before. Calling it a birthday gift helps us to justify traveling, and it leaves more money in our bank account to afford it!

After design blogs, my favorite type of blogs to read are budgeting and personal finance ones. How we spend our money, whether it's on travel or home improvement or life in general, is all interrelated. The more we save on travel, the more we have left for other stuff (and future vacations), so I'm all about optimizing our budget as much as possible! Hope this post was helpful and gave you some good ideas. I'd love to hear your tips for affordable travel too.

Things are moving along in our guest bathroom remodel! I shared the plan (and the before pictures) here, along with all the questions we were debating at the start of this project. One of the biggest considerations was whether we should DIY and build up our own skills, or hire it out and feel more confident that it was done right. In the end, we decided on a mix. We did the demo ourselves (except the tub) and hired out the shower installation and tiling. One day, I want to learn how to tile, but it seemed unwise to have my first project be a floor to ceiling shower where mistakes could mean expensive water damage...ya know? The contractors we hired did an AMAZING job and I think we made the right decision for us (just watching them install the shower door convinced me in and of itself...that thing was a beast!).

They finished the floor tile, wall tile, and shower door in one exciting week (it was fun to see all those changes happen so quickly!) then passed the baton on to us. Aaaaaand things slowed down majorly--ha! I envisioned us being like a cute HGTV renovation couple, working as a team and getting things done while we chatted and flirted and played happy music. But in reality, Ben worked on the bathroom while I watched the kids and peeked in every so often with a critical eye. I'm sure you can guess how well that was received. ;) There are a few things I'm not loving, so it's going to take us a little bit longer to get all the final pieces done.

The first thing is the paint (gah). This is all my fault for choosing a paint color without testing it out in the room first. I got the same white as we used in the rest of the house. It's a true, pure white and I love it everywhere else. But in the bathroom, the bright white walls make our subway tile look grey! I'm trying to decide if that's fine, or if I should repaint in a softer white that matches the tile. And I chose a semi-gloss finish (which was recommended for high moisture areas) but it really highlights any imperfections and looks super shiny to me. I wish I'd have gone with eggshell or satin, but in order to paint on top of semi-gloss you have to sand it first to give the next layer of paint something to adhere to. That sounds like a pain in the butt, soo I'm leaning towards keeping the paint color and hoping that it grows on me!

Another annoying thing is that after Ben installed the light fixture, we realized it was off-center from the vanity--something the previous light had hidden, since it had a bar backplate. Ben wasn't sold on this light anyways, so back it goes. I'm trying to find another light with a bar backplate so we don't have to move electrical and patch the wall. I'm thinking maybe this one? We have chrome on all the other fixtures, but I feel like this room needs some warmth and I'm not opposed to mixing metals.

On a positive note, I loooove our new shower with its fancy glass door and rain showerhead, as well as the marble hex floor tile, the vanity, and the round wood mirror that will go above it. This room is gonna be SO pretty when it's done!

I also couldn't be happier with the contractors we hired and the work they did. If you're in Spokane, we used Jordan and Tony from Classic Kontracting, and I gotta give them a little shoutout and say how great they were. I've heard that you can only get two of these qualities when it comes to a contractor: fast, good, or cheap...but I feel like we lucked out and got all three! They were efficient, meticulous, and stayed within our budget. They also kept the project area so clean, which I really appreciated! Jordan told me he was trained in Lean Manufacturing and it's a huge part of how he operates--which is why they were able to complete our project with high standards and on time.

I know everything is looking very sterile and grey right now--I purposely chose pieces that were neutral. But I'm excited to add in some warmth with accessories and finishing touches! This room needs some plants and color, for sure.

So, this is not our finished bathroom...but it's getting close! In the meantime, I wanted to pause and celebrate how far things have come. I can see my vision coming together, and (for the most part) I liiike it! Hopefully I'll be sharing a final reveal soon!