Our Cottage Bathroom Renovation on a Budget

This past year we found extensive water damage in the walls of our upstairs bathroom. Water damage led to mold, and because it was toxic mold, we had to move out of our house for 7 months while our home was repaired. While it was a very difficult and challenging season, a silver lining was that we were able to renovate our bathroom. However, because insurance did not cover the water damage, we were on a very tight budget. 

My vision for this space was a bright and airy cottage bathroom that was whimsical, sweet, and peaceful. Some non-negotiable for me were...

A deep bathtub where I could put a tray across it for my candle and tea cup! 

A timeless floor tile along with romantic shower tile for a soothing bath experience

A light wood vanity 

I wanted the fixtures to be unique and sweet, not dark and bulky like so many builder grade bathrooms today. 

I honestly love how it turned out, and to know we did it on a budge was even more satisfying! While I still have dreams of wallpaper and beadboard, towel hooks and art on the wall, that will come as I curate and collect pieces I love. 

Here are the links to everything we used (All the items names are linked!):  

Bathtub- We actually bought this bathtub at a local store in town, so we got an even better deal than what's listed on the website. But I will tell you, I LOVE THIS TUB. It is deep and wide (which was noticeable when my kids all go in for their bath time!) AND it has a lip on either side so that I can put a tray across when I take long baths (gotta have a place for my tea, candle and book!) 

Mirrors - Holy Moly, these mirrors from Moon Mirror are stunning. I first saw them on Pinterest, and stared at them admiringly for 5 minutes. I was shocked at how affordable they were. I got a discount for signing up for their email list. 

Vanity - I had my heart set on the Pottery Barn Sausalito vanity, but we literally could not swing the price tag. I spent hours scouring the internet and this had the same look and feel as the Pottery Barn one, but for half the price! I swapped out the faucets for a more vintage feel (and plan to spray paint the hardware brass, but haven't done that quite yet!) 

Faucets - I really wanted a a vintage faucet feel, and these are such a great price and have the cottage look I was going for! 

Sconce - Ok, is there anything sweeter than this ruffled sconce? I adore it. I actually have matching ones in my kitchen and sitting room. I couldn't resist adding one more:) 

Window Curtain - We have a privacy window in the bathroom, so didn't need a curtain for privacy, but I still wanted one for a dainty aesthetic. This was not only affordable, but very easy to put up!  

Shower Curtain - I had my eye set on one from Amber Interiors but there was no way I could spend over $100 on a shower curtain. So...when I saw this $19 curtain, which was both adorable and affordable, I knew it would be a great starter curtain for the bathroom. I actually loved it so much I bought it for our downstairs bathroom too.  

Shower Tiles - These are just so dreamy to me. And the great news is that they are a really affordable Zellige option! 

Floor Tiles - Every time I look at these tiles, they make me happy. I love them, they give the whole space a personality of its own! Again, another very affordable option. 

Runner - I'm not a Wal-Mart shopper, but this rug surprised me with how much I loved it! 

Hand Towel - World Market is my favorite for towel, this one especially! 

Shower-head & Bath Faucet - A lovely but very user friendly bundle from Delta. 

What do you think? 

What questions do you have for me?? 

Thanks for coming along today on a little tour of my bathroom:) 

                                   

 

Biking in the Dolomites with Kids

Truth be told, you certainly get the most bang for your buck on bikes in the Dolomites! There is literally so much to do and see in the gorgeous alpine meadows, and with a bike, you can cover twice as much ground in this gorgeous heaven on earth! And...the good news is, the Dolomites are incredibly kid friendly when it comes to all the kid bike gear.


My dad's dream has been to take his entire family to the Dolomites and do a bike ride with everyone. In the last 20 years my dad has become a HUGE Tour de France fan, has taken up cycling as a hobby, and has even carted his cycling bike on an airplane to Europe with him (on one of our trips to France a few years back haha). So...this day was a dream come true.

We stayed in the town of Ortesei (see my post about this magical home base here), and walked to the bike shop at the base of the Alps di Suisi cable car. The bike shop is called Ski & Bike Rental Bamby. They were able to outfit our entire crew of 14 with the appropriate bikes and helmets and all the baby gear.

The adults all had electric bikes (with turbo boost! thank God haha), and then the kids were given each a Helmut and were buckled in to either a bike seat on the back of the adult bikes, or a bike trailer. My sister-in-law and I had our babies (ages 15 months and 8 months) in a bike seat on the back of our bikes. My two older kids (ages 5 and 3) sat in a bike trailer on the back of Kevin's bike.

Once we all had our bikes, we proceeded to the cable car where they put your bikes inside the cable car with you. Unloading them all at the top was fairly simple. Once all the kids were strapped in, our crew of 14 took off down the mountain.

The ride was glorious. Definitely make sure you rent the electric bikes as the hills are no joke. Having the "turbo boost" allowed the bike to do the heavy lifting on mountain climbs. With a baby on the back of my bike I was especially grateful for this!

We rode to the base of Compatch and stopped at a restaurant and all ordered a drink. We sat outside on the gorgeous grassy patio and stared up at the magnificent view. Then we hopped on our bikes for a while longer, stopping shortly after at a grassy meadow to have a picnic lunch and let the kids run around. Back on the bikes we went to ride even further.

AFter a while, my parents and siblings went on ahead, and Kevin and I stopped at a hut to let our kids play and get a snack. Then we headed back up the hill to ride the cable car back down with our bikes.

An amazing day! If your family is in to biking, this is the absolute best place in the world to soak in glorious views all around you!

As usual, don't hesitate to reach out via comment, email or on IG (@worlds.of.hope). Have a great day!

A Good Friday Meal with your Family

 Last year I wanted our family to do something special to prepare our hearts for Easter. A friend happened to recommend a a Good Friday "walk to the cross" meal she had done before, so I decided to recreate it for our family. Essentially, it is a charcuterie board filled with items that remind us of each event that happened the night of Good Friday. It was easy to grab everything at the store, and the kids enjoyed helping me put it together. 

The meal was so special. I laid out a blanket in the living room, brought the food in, and we all sat on the floor together. I then had different people read passages of what each food represented. When all the passages had been read, we let everyone eat. It was powerful to recount the story this way, using so many of our senses to experience the story. 

At the last minute, I decided to read the passage where Jesus washes his disciples feet. I put on worship music (we love the song "The Blessing" but this year I'm going to put on a really special song called "Jerusalem" by CityAlight). We all took turns washing each other's feet and worshipping together. Watching my children serve one another in this way was a gift. 

You'll need a towel to put under the bowl or basin with water. This year I just dumped out one of my kids toy containers, and we used that to wash each others feet in. 

All in all it was a really special bonding moment for our family to concentrate on what Jesus did for us, and how we can respond to others. I highly recommend it. 

I wanted to share the food items and verses with you. They are in the order that we read them according to the Good Friday story: 

Chocolate Coins- Judas’ betrayal, Matthew 26:14-15
Olives- Jesus’ agony on the mount of olives, Luke 22:39-46
Hershey kiss- Judas’ betrayal kiss, Luke 22:47-48
Toothpick with cheese- sword at Jesus’ arrest, Luke 22:49-53
Chicken- Peter’s Denial Luke 22:55-62
Water- Pilate washing his hands of responsibility for Jesus’ death Matthew 27:24-25
Crackers with peanut butter & pretzels- Jesus’ crown of thorns John 19:1-3
Pretzel Stick Cross- the crucifixion John 19:17-19
Salt & vinegar chips- Jesus was offered vinegar John 19:28-30

The great thing is that it was easy to grab these items at the store, and then it took very little time to prep (and the kids loved helping). I hope you will consider having a special night as a family:) Hope this is encouraging....