How one gift reorganized our entire home

Now that my sister broke the news, I can finally share that I’m going to be an Aunt!!! I’m technically an Aunt by marriage but now I have the full green light to misuse this privilege with all the natural mothering instincts I have. I can finally pass the baby off with a dirty diaper, hold the baby without worrying about spoiling it, jump out from doors and scare the crap out of it, candy before dinner, tell them I’m really their mother but my sister stole them from me….all the good things. I can’t wait.

Jenna can’t wait either! She’s been wanting a baby sibling for the past year. This is the best she’s going to get though. She’s hoping for a girl. We’ll know the gender soon. Fingers crossed Brooke and Paul get the gender they want. I know every baby is special and you should be happy with what God gives you…..but….NO SIR. Not with the first one. With all the pain we go through and all we give up for a healthy baby….I want what I want. Sorry to offend anyone but I said what I said. lol. I remember when I waited tables when I was pregnant and the couple at my table told me, “I guess you’ll be happy with whatever you get, huh?” I quickly said, “No sir, I want a boy! Nothing else will do.” He was mortified. Some people are so sensitive and don’t get dark humor.

This year will be full of new babies. On my husband’s side, his cousin is having a girl in July and my brother and sister in law are having a girl in July, as well. If you’re following me on facebook https://www.facebook.com/paulashtonphoto/ you’ve seen my posts asking for newborn models I can practice with. I stepped away from newborn photography a few years ago because the babies were intimidating and I felt like I was too slow with the sessions. Now, I feel so excited to get back in the studio and do the best I can with these babies. So I need the practice. I know what to do and how to handle the babies, I was just so slow and was doing way too much before. Now, I’ve figured out a rhythm and can’t wait to get started.

So, from this one gift, I rearranged our whole house during the month of January. Follow my progress below. And before you judge the clarity, these are ALL cell phone pics. This is the only way to blog about my life.

Our living room held ninety percent of my studio props that were in a small bedroom I tried to convert into a studio. It was really too small to be a studio and I never had room for my lighting. I decided to move my husband’s man cave to that bedroom and make the bonus room downstairs into a new studio. It’s working so well. Now, John has COMPLETE privacy and a place to escape when Jenna fills the house with all of her girlfriends…..who love to scream.

I knew in order to keep my props organized, I needed storage. I had one long shelf in the bedroom but wanted something different in this room. I found the perfect shelves at Ikea. I’ll post the link in a future blog site. I’m planning on doing a studio blog soon. Stay tuned. Of course, I’m that girl that photographs everything. The last time we had a delivery was when Jenna’s baby bed was delivered before she was born. Sweet memories <3. I had to add a photo of my cat here because while our German Shepherd sat at the door watching the delivery guys, with no worries, our cat glared at their every move, as if he were a Rottweiler. This is our first time owning a cat so I found it humorous how much attention he paid to these guys. Once they left, Pawsy was able to relax and catch a nap.

Here’s the bonus room, I’m turning into a studio. These shelves looked like it was going to be a big project but John saved me and it took less than an hour to put together. I was planning on “trying” to tackle this myself, after binging on so many DIY reels. That was a big fail on my part but I’m not upset.

I have a great team! Jenna helped me paint, while John arranged the shelves and organized my props. The new studio is looking so good. I’m so proud and can’t wait to see the work I do down there. There’s just enough room to organize everything the way I need it and have a workflow that allows me to move in a full circular motion. There’s not much room for anything else, once I set my flash up. If you have a newborn, please contact me for a HUGE discounted session. Just beware my studio is in my home and I have pets.

Moving on to Jenna’s playroom. I really thought this entertainment set would keep her stuff organized but sadly, this is the way the room ALWAYS looks. I’m so sick of it. So we purged and donated everything she’s outgrown. Since I don’t have room for a desk, down in the studio, Jenna gets to use it for her homework station. She loves sitting at the desk and it’s so easy to actually get her to do her homework now. I’m hoping the newness never wears off. Her new thing (that she’s observed from watching me work) is every time she sits at her desk, she has to light a candle.

For the most part, her room has stayed this clean. Hoping it continues! Yes, that’s a cat crate. It was for the dog but we had to move the cat in there at night because he developed a UTI and started peeing on Jenna’s bed. The vet said he’s choosing her bed because he associates that area as a “safe place” while he’s hurting. Thanks Pawsy! He doesn’t pee anywhere else. Just on her bed and just at night. So this seems to stop that for now.

Next on the list, was to put this heater out on the deck. This was my favorite Christmas gift from 2022 that we just NOW took out of the box. I guess it rained so much last Winter, we never went out on the deck. This thing gets SO HOT!!! One day, when I get around to pressure washing the sofa out here, I’m going to take me a good nap under my big mink blanket. I do this at my mom’s house, out on her deck and it’s some of the best sleep I’ve ever had. Stay tuned….I’ll give you an update.

This photo I just had to post because I was so deep into my reels, I didn’t even notice this truck parked infront of me until I lifted my head up to move. I swear, I could be killed while my attention goes to social media reels. This truck takes me back to the scary movies of the 80’s. I can hear the scary music in my head just by looking at this picture…..CrEePy!!!!

My favorite thing about slow season, is the time I get back with my family. Jenna loves to help me fix dinner, if I let her cut some of the food. Shrimp is one of our favorite meals to eat. This recipe I found on Pinterest didn’t disappoint.

If anyone, reading this, lives around Gainesville, Ga, you need to go to Krazy Dealz at Lakeshore Mall. This place buys abandoned packages from Amazon. The packages are client orders that never get delivered or lost in transit. Friday is the first day they bring out their bins of merchandise. Every single item you buy (on Friday) is only $8 each. The next day it goes down to $6, Monday is $3, Tuesday is $2, Wednesday is $1 and they’re closed on Thursday so they can restock. It can add up but it’s worth it. I love the trill of not knowing what I’m going to find. John found this knife set. He’s been wanting one for a while but never wanted to pay the price, so he settled with this and we have both loved it so much! The top right holds my hair drier, curling irons, straightener and brushes. The bottom photo is a set of ribbons I can use for Fall weddings when I’m photographing their details.

If I win the lottery, the first thing I’m buying is this mattress! This Winter, I’ve been editing in the bed, under my electric blanket and it’s not as comfortable as I’d like it to be. I need to sit up more than my pillows allow. I can’t find a happy position or the right pillows to use but I still always go to the bed so I can get under my electric blanket and be warm while I work.

Another lottery splurge would be to fix my walls and ceilings like this. It looks so cozy and peaceful here. Also, why is my phone full of photos like this of homes and décor I’ll never have?

Here’s a photo from last Sunday, when friends and family came to our rescue to repair the A.C. unit I accidently broke. There was a wooden rectangular box, about five feet long that had been sitting up on the deck for the past year. I’ve been asking Cameron and John to move it down to the burn pile or help me move it and they never did. I’ve moved that wood out of sight so many times, so Sunday, I decided to move it myself, so I threw it over the rail. When I did, it busted into pieces and a screw or something flew into the unit and blew it up. There was white smoke coming out and I knew I was introuble. John didn’t say anything to me about it or blow up at me, like I thought he would. I don’t know why I thought he would, he never has, but this kind of called for it….I thought. He still tucked me in that night and told me he loved me, so all is good but he was on the phone the next three days finding a way to fix it without dropping thousands on a new unit. God found a way and I’ve learned not to throw stuff over the rail.

After a long and stressful week (with me) John got himself a margarita. This may have been his third drink since 2022 so it’s always camera worthy to document when he drinks. If you haven’t had one of these from El Tepache, in Gainesville, you’re missing out.

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Thanks for reading my blog. My life isn’t as interesting as reading about wedding information. This is the best I can do introducing myself, unless you want a bunch of selfies. I’m never infront of the camera. It’s also hard to insert my sarcasm and dark humor in here >:-} but I’m glad you’re here and I hope you come back.