There’s a vicious cycle going on. We blog about something and then we live with it. And while we do, we tackle other stuff and blog about that. Lather, rinse, repeat. So we’re not always good about keeping you posted on those older things that we’ve already talked about since we’re so busy gabbing about new stuff. Which probably explains why we get asked for updates on a handful of things nearly every day. In other words: it’s about darn time we followed up. So here’s a nice juicy post full of a bunch of those updates for everyone.
Cloth diapers: Believe it or not, we’re still using the very same original 12 cloth diapers that we got back in 2010 before Clara was born. We haven’t bought any more, replaced any, or bought liners. And two years later they’re still working really well for us. We do put Clara in a disposable overnight (she finally started wetting through the cloth – something we heard might happen for a while, and finally did), but one a day is only seven a week, so it’s not bad at all. As for their shape, they’re still holding up really well. We do have a busted snap here or there (we’ve lost one snap on two of the twelve diapers, but it doesn’t keep them from staying on since there are multiple snaps on each side to hold them). Their color and fabric is in great condition and they look pretty close to new, actually.
Here’s the inside of them (these pics were taken yesterday):
We’re thrilled that we haven’t had to buy any more diapers for our stash or add extra liners (they’re all-in-ones, read more on them here) and they really do seem to be one size fits all since they’re still working for us even with Clara being about 300% bigger than she was at birth. So that’s the update on the cloth diaper front. Here’s the original post all about cloth diapering (which has tons of info in the post and the comment section) along with a one-year-in update post on the subject.
Karl The Sectional: Love him. Still looks the same and feels just as comfy after over a year of kid/dog abuse. The dark slipcovers (we went with Dark Sivik Gray, which is almost like denim and super durable) hide almost everything. So much that we haven’t had to wash them much, but when we do we use our own washer and dryer at home (ya don’t need an industrial one or anything) and they go back on and look great. I think different Karl fabrics have different rules – the Dark Sivik Gray fabric says “machine wash” but other fabric choices might be “dry clean only.” Our one minor complaint would be that the hold-it-in-place velcro to keep the chaise cushion from slipping out and hanging over the chaise like an overbite doesn’t catch correctly (it doesn’t seem to line up) so that cushion migrates out slowly over time. So every few weeks I notice and shove it back into the sofa. No biggie. Probably could just add a strip of velcro on the back that lines up to solve it once and for all. Here’s the original post about getting Karl.
Ed The Bed: He’s the other man in our life from Ikea (Swedish product names like Karlstad and Edland made for some pretty easy nicknames) and we’ve been very happy with him. Still sturdy and comfortable, so when we collapse into bed at 1am after some DIY extravaganza (gotta get stuff done while the kiddo sleeps) we’re happy to be there. Here’s the original post about getting Ed.
ORB’ed hardware: This is something a bunch of you guys have wanted an update on, so here it is, complete with pics. Stuff still looks mint. Admittedly we don’t use the front door (or the doorknocker) very frequently, but here are some shots that I took yesterday of them:
On the other hand, we open the sunroom slider and the door that leads outside at least ten times a day to let Burger in and out and they’re also still doing great. So we would definitely recommend this method (sanding them with something very high grit is going to be our approach when we tackle the interior knobs someday) and we’ll keep you posted if they suddenly start giving us trouble.
Kitchen lab stools: We have only had these bad boys a few months, but we sit on them numerous times a day and usually eat dinner on them, and for $33 a chair, they couldn’t be better. Would I want to lounge in them for six hours while watching The Titanic on repeat? No. Are they comfy for proofreading book layouts, eating dinner, writing cards, paying bills, laptop usage or any other thirty-minute-to-an-hour-long activity? Absolutely. I would warn you that to get them without the back might seriously compromise the comfort-factor, since the awesome flexing back seems to be one of the things that makes them so comfy. Here’s a link to the original post about finding our kitchen stools.
Chair in Clara’s room: I probably logged five hours a week of nursing Clara for fourteen whole months in this chair, along with John and I sitting down to read Clara the occasional story (which still occurs) – so for our family, this chair has been great. That’s not to say that some of my very best friends don’t swear by a cushy rocking/swivel chair, but perhaps from getting used to nursing everywhere (in a parked car at Target? Check.) it’s actually one of the more cozy places. The rounded shape supported my arms in a nice way (an armless slipper chair might be a nursing challenge if you’re completely zonked and want somewhere to rest your arms) and we always keep an ottoman or pouf nearby for putting the ol’ feet up. Totally worked for me. Here’s a link to the original chair-finding post and the nursery reveal post about our $20 thrift store chair.
White cabinets: Sometimes people ask if white cabinets get dirty or are hard to keep clean, and perhaps we’re just used to them (we had them in our first house’s kitchen for over four years before moving here) but we always think they look clean by nature (after all, they’re bright white). And since cabinet paint is completely scrubbable, they definitely don’t seem high maintenance to us. It’s not like white fabric (which can be stained) since cabinet paint like the alkyd stuff we used is slick, durable, and can be cleaned with a wet rag, sponge, or paper towel (you know, because spaghetti sauce happens).
We probably wipe away some random cabinet splatter once or twice a week for a total of sixty seconds spent cleaning them. As for dusting them, we have yet to do this since painting them in December, and they still don’t have any dust collecting around the inset rectangle part, perhaps because it’s pretty shallow and angled as opposed to shelf-like (it did collect there in our old kitchen with shaker cabinets, so once every month or so I’d run a microfiber cloth over them – no biggie). Here’s a link to the original cabinet-painting post with more info about the process/result in the post and the comment section for ya.
White Corian: We’re much happier with our Corian (in Glacier White) than we feared we might be. We worried it would be a pain to keep clean and although we read that it was nonporous, we worried that something would somehow seep into it and stain. But so far, we have had zero staining issues (even with things like strawberry juice and spaghetti sauce), zero scratches (we hear white Corian is the best about not getting scratched up), and they’re easy to keep clean. We always wiped down our old counters every night before bed anyway, and they were veiny granite so nothing showed – which was a problem! We’d find a glob of peanut butter from three nights ago on the counter that we somehow missed. So gross! It’s nice to see everything and just swipe it all down and wake up to a sparkly white room.
The one thing we’ve heard is that you can crack Corian by setting a searing hot pan down on it, but in our last house even with granite we used trivets, so that’s just part of our routine anyway. But the best thing about them has been the zero seams thing. In our first kitchen crumbs would build up or get caught in the seams, but without them our entire counter with our undermount sink is truly seamless, so it’s so nice to sweep things into the sink without hitting any little divots where those seams are. When we ordered our Corian we didn’t even know it was a seamless material, so that was a total unexpected bonus. Here’s a link to our original post about choosing Corian and a post about getting it installed, both with tons of info in the post and the comment section for ya.
Open shelves: Love is a conservative adjective for how we feel about them. Sometimes I want to kiss them. Open mouthed. They’re definitely not for everyone, but we use the things on them so frequently that they don’t have time to get dusty. And you should see me unload the dishwasher or set the table, it takes two seconds. It’s also a lot easier to do things like pour a bowl of cereal with a toddler on my hip. Seriously, we’re so sold we’re a little sad that we didn’t work open shelves into our first house’s kitchen – we were totally missing out. Here’s a link to a post about choosing open shelves and a post about building them and loading them up.
HP Photosmart C4780: Truth be told, I tossed this guy in here because it felt like we were giving too many glowing reviews. So I racked my brain to think of something we don’t like. Hah. And it’s this poor guy. He just can’t be trusted to wirelessly print something (sometimes it inexplicably shoots out one page of something and then takes ten minutes to print the second page or never even prints it at all). It’s just a bit too quirky for our tastes, but we did have an Epson that we loved a few years ago (it didn’t print wirelessly, so we later upgraded to this one). We’ll probably go back to that brand and see how their wireless capabilities are someday when we get mad enough to want to throw this guy out the window (sometimes we’re thisclose).
Nikon D3000: Other than still learning how to use it, which is to be expected (we’re faaaar from pro photographers) we’ve been really happy with our camera. We saved our pennies for a while before taking the plunge into DSLR territory, but with a baby on the way (Clara) we thought it was time to upgrade from our little point and shoot. We’re so glad we did, because we definitely get better pics of our family and better photos for the blog. Our only gripe used to be that they didn’t make a cheap nifty fifty (an inexpensive 50mm lens) for this type of Nikon (it only worked with D90s and others closer to that model) but they came out with this one about a year ago and we got it (we don’t typically use it for any blog pics since it’s not as wide of an angle lens as the stock one that came with the camera, which is better suited for interiors). But it’s great for a moving kid or dog in low light, so we like it for Clara/Burger pics and general family stuff (like her interesting hair fashions). Here’s a post about getting our new camera with lots of info in the post and the comment section for ya.
So there you have it. Hope that was helpful. What do you have in your house that’s been surprisingly awesome? Or surprisingly disappointing? Are there any brands you always love or products you wish were different? It’s so great to hear about stuff that you guys like, and learn from your don’t-get-this warnings.
Psst- In the mistakes-we’ve-made/what we’ve tweaked vein, check out this post, this post, and this post. We definitely make our fair share of mistakes! We just try to keep learning as we go, and allowing our house to evolve over time.
Rebecca @This Nest is Best says
We’ve been generally disappointed with our living room furniture – we bought pieces that were too small for our space, so really no one to blame except ourselves. Can’t wait until new furniture makes it back up to the top of the List in a few years :)
But one piece that we love is our dining room bar from Pottery Barn – it holds so much of our glassware and entertaining pieces that it was worth the premium price!
Kali says
Four things:
1 :: Thanks for the diaper update! I’m constantly passing your post along. We use BG as well and get tons of questions from inquiring minds. We use the pocket versions. You can always consider getting a couple of those for overnight. That way you can add stuffers to add absorbency. Once piece of advice, avoid the Flip. And I’ve heard that from others about Charlie’s Soap but so far so good for us. Oh and if you haven’t tried Lufsa’s Booty Balm (which may be irrelevant for Miss Clara these days), do. It’s amazing.
2 :: We have that printer too. I’ve totally almost gone Office Space on it about 63 times. POS. And we don’t even try and use the wireless option. It’s kind of a relief to hear your troubles because before when I couldn’t get it to work, I kept thinking, “But John and Sherry did!”
3 :: Thank you for the hardware update. It’s reassuring to hear they’re doing well since I’d love to do this in our house. We did some hardware in our squirt’s room but it didn’t hold up so well. I’m positive it’s in our methods and can be corrected.
4 :: I just converted to the DSLR world as well but went with a micro four thirds. It’s like a point-and-shoot and a big DSLR had a baby. So far I love it but am having the same issue as you: I’m still learning how to use it.
Keep up the good work… but could you tone it down a notch? I’m starting to develop an underachiever complex! ;)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, your comment went above and beyond! You get the overachiever award of the day! Haha.
xo,
s
Carla says
Do you have any other wireless issues? My husband is an IT guy and works in a historical building that has been renovated but has plaster walls. He says that the chicken wire used in the walls is a nightmare for WiFi connectivity.
Not sure if your house has plaster in it, but it may be why you’ve had issues and other people haven’t. Or it could just be a jank printer. Haha
YoungHouseLove says
Our wireless seems to work well otherwise (no internet problems, etc) and our printer is in the same room as the modem, so it’s really weird!
xo,
s
sarah says
I’ve got the HP Deskjet 6940 that prints wirelessly and never had a problem. It isn’t giant and it prints pictures, too.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for all the printer tips guys!
xo,
s
Tracey says
You’ve had Karl for over a year???? It seems like you just posted about it yesterday! Your purchase (and love of Karl) inspired my own sectional purchase. Ours is a latte color in microsuede from a local furniture store. So far we’re loving it. Maybe I’ll send y’all a photo once I finish off the room! ;D
YoungHouseLove says
Yay! Send pics!
xo,
s
Anne says
ooohhhh…creepy…..just last night I showed your post on cloth diapers to my husband and we wondered how they’d held up……do-do-do-do (creepy theme music)….how did you know!!!?!!?
Thanks for update! I love the idea of saving the money and not filling up the landfills but hubby wasn’t convinced. Your post helped a lot!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, that’s so funny!
xo,
s
Michele says
Anne – it took a little bit to convince my husband too! Jill over at Baby Rabies (http://www.babyrabies.com/category/green-living/cloth-diapers/) has a lot of great posts on CD’s as well.
good luck!
Kelsey says
I actually had a similar problem with my HP printer that I got over Christmas. With our cable, we have a combined cable Internet modem, so when my printer would connect, the modem would get overloaded and kick the device using the least broadband off the network. After three days of cursing the thing, and trying online support, I finally called HP. They explained what was happening and suggested using my own router and the modem I received from the cable company. Since then, we haven’t had an issue with it printing. I understand your frustration though, being a student I have to print a lot, and everytime I went to prin,t it wouldn’t! I like HP products, but I think next time I will try a different brand like you! Good luck!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh my gosh, that might be it! We have a combined cable and internet modem! Will have to tell John to see if he can rig up a better system!
xo,
s
Karen F says
Great post!
Like many of the other commenters, I also have an Epson wireless printer (it’s an all in one, model is NX430). So far it’s been great (I’ve had it for 4-5 months). Overall I have no complaints (can also print from iphone, which is cool). The ink is cheaper than hp ink, too! I had an hp all in one before this, which I liked, but it wasn’t wireless and the ink was expensive.
Also, I just found a tullsta chair on craigslist (my first craigslist score – yay!) since yours is so cute – do you still like it? The jury’s out on mine. I wanted it because it’s small, but when I’m sitting in it I wonder if it’s TOO small (or maybe I’m too big, ha ha). I use it in my daughter’s room to read to her at night. I had a poang in there but it was huge and tippy.
YoungHouseLove says
It is a small-ish chair, but so cozy! I bet you’ll get used to sitting in there with your feet tucked up and your girl on your lap. We log lots of reading time in ours in the corner of the kitchen.
xo
s
Karen F says
cool, thanks! I need to buy a slipcover for it, but was holding out until I decide for sure to keep the chair!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, the cover is so nice! Speaking of which, I have to wash ours. It’s looking grody! Haha.
xo,
s
Eileen says
I’m so glad that the retrofitted doors have worked so well for you (since you didn’t mention them, I’m just assuming those faint lines you talked about with that post are easily forgotten). That would have been such a pain if they didn’t. Thanks for the update! :)
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, we have always planned to someday try to tackle them with buildable primer or something, but as the room came together around them, they really aren’t noticeable at all. Even when we point them out to people they act like we’re crazy because they can’t see it. Haha.
xo,
s
Sherri @ House & Home{stead} says
That is seriously impressive on the dipes! Mine never held up quite that well (well, they did go through 2 kids) and I have separate dipes for infancy too (the Kissaluvs fitteds size 0).
Mary says
If you’d prefer to lose the disposables, you can get a couple hemp inserts (http://www.cottonbabies.com/product_info.php?cPath=26&products_id=106) and lay them folded underneath your diaper liners. I bought these when my very heavy wetter child started wetting through his diapers overnight. The hemp is super absorbent and since you only use them for overnight, you only need a couple.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the tip Mary! We’ll have to look into those!
xo,
s
Robin @ Our Semi Organic Life says
We have an HP 3054 printer and the wireless-ness of it works great! Although weirdly it works faster with my PC and often takes a few minutes to go through on our two MAC’s.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for all the printer tips guys!
xo
s
Candice says
Great post! I was hoping to see an update on your stackable whirlpool duets…are you still in love? We are in the brainstorming phase of a laundry room reno, and I really want front loaders to make more room for customized shelving. My husband and I are hesitant after hearing so many horror stories of mildew/smells. I’ll have to take some before and after pics if it comes out amazing – I kind of feel like that can only happen if we do the front loaders to open up some space!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, very happy with them! We had the same type in our first house for years and never had mildew issues. We keep the washer door open for about an hour after we remove a load and it’s all good!
xo,
s
Jenny says
I was just wondering this morning if you guys were still using cloth! We are too (at 21 months), but we went with a mix of prefolds and fitteds with thirsties covers. Definitely a bigger stash than you guys (and a bigger investment since we got sizes), it’s impressive to know you got away with a total of 12 this whole time! And I linked a friend to an ORB post of yours and she was SO EXCITED about how her dresser knobs turned out!
Michele says
another shout out for the wireless Epson over here. every now and then it stomps it’s foot and refuses to print, but VERY rarely (and we are finding lots of wireless problems in our old 1919 Craftsman, so I think it’s just a general wireless issue when it occurs.)
Do you roll mostly Elementals w/ CBug? We have a handful of those, but mostly use BG 4.0s – I”m finding that my boys have some seriously sensitive skin and I like the stay-dry layer in the 4.0s. We’ve only been CD’ing for about 8 months, so I’m so glad to see how well yours are holding up!
and, PS, we are building a new house and just picked out some ORB hardware and white cabinets… i’m preeeeettttyyyyy excited about both choices. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Yay for Epson love! As for our diapers, we just have 12 elementals. They’ve worked amazingly well for the bean, but I’m sure different kiddos prefer different dipes! As for those white cabs with ORB hardware, meee-ow! Send pics!
xo,
s
Michele says
the house won’t be done until late summer (counting the dayyyyys!) but as soon as it is? PICTURES! no one will be able to escape all the pictures i will take. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Wahooo!
xo,
s
Sara says
Isn’t Karl the best??? We bought one when we moved into our apartment and we couldn’t be happier! I’m just curious though, our Karl labels say Dry Clean Only … what prompted you guys to take the plunge and see if it would hold up in the regular washer and dryer? With a young pup, we’ve had to have a couple of ours dry cleaned 2x now and it isn’t cheap! Thanks, Sara
YoungHouseLove says
I wonder if your fabric has different care labels since it’s a different fabric? Ours say “machine wash” so we do! Haha. Perhaps because it’s more durable jean-like fabric (and maybe yours is more of a woven or can shrink?).
xo,
s
Teresa @ wherelovemeetslife says
Thanks for the updates! I did wonder about a couple of those :) Glad to see you are still cloth diapering – we switched over last year and love it (have had our fair share of issues due to hard hard water). I love any ecouragement to be more green..and these diapers def. fit the bill!
Natalie Tate (@natalietate) says
Was the nifty fifty problem related to needing a focus motor in the lens? I have a Nikon D5100 and I’m having a hard time with lens shopping because unless I want to manually focus the lenses need to have the motor built in. Do you have a link for the 50mm you ended up buying? I haven’t done any lens shopping in a while thanks to the sticker shock! haha :)
YoungHouseLove says
Yes! That was the issue. I think if you search 50mm D5100 on amazon it should come up (if you search 50mm D3000 the one we got should come up, and hopefully your model is on the “works with” list as well!).
xo,
s
Michele says
OH! and I forgot about your Effektiv! I’ve been trying to find a good office storage situation with a built-in file drawer scenario, and I have a crush on the Effektiv all over again (now that I am reminded it exists…) :)
tara says
I have an Epson wireless printer and it works great! I definitely reccomend it after using pro series at school to print photos and semi pro series at home!
Jimmy says
Ditto about the cloth diapers holding up well over time. Our son is 5 months younger than Clara, and his still look and work good as new. We’re also using disposable overnight, and yes, that is a lot easier on the wallet than 100% disposable. We’ve got another on the way this summer, and he/she will join in the cloth diapering fun as soon as possible, making them even more cost effective since we’ll be getting two kids worth of diapers out of them.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw, congrats for the one on the way! And so glad your cloth dipes are working out so well!
xo,
s
Emily F. says
Funny about your HP printer…we have one and love it! Maybe it’s a different model, but we haven’t had any wireless printing issues.
How are your mounted-onto-canvas prints doing? I ask because I did one in our dining room and it’s bubbling up! I think I may have to frame it…ugh.
YoungHouseLove says
They’re still doing great! So sorry yours is bubbling up! Someone mentioned that some spray adhesive called Super 77 or something is really strong, so maybe that’s a solution for yours?
xo,
s
Nikki says
How are the leyland cypress doing? I thought maybe we’d get a pic with all the outdoor updates :) I hope they are filling in nicely!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh man, we’ll have to shoot some pics. Hurricane Irene (which took out lots of giant trees that hit houses in our neighborhood) sort of beat them up. I think we lost a few and a few are hanging on.
xo,
s
Chris says
WAAAHOOOOO!!!! How about them Caps!!! I know that this is not the general audience this blog is geared towards but I love YHL and I love the Caps so it just felt right…anyhow…the kitchen floors look great!
Ciao!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I’m sure other Caps folks will chime in!
xo,
s
Anita says
We bought a Brother-MFC-J270w Wireless All-In-One Printer about a year ago and we love it! The best thing was that it was only $50 at best buy. From what I recall from reading reviews on Amazon, Brother is a good brand in general because you can easily refill it with generic ink cartridges. You can scan directly to your ipad or iphone but I’m not sure about printing from it.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for all the printer info everyone!
xo,
s
Beth says
I’m so glad that you posted this because we just started cloth diapering our 5 month old and I was looking at pics of Clara – they don’t look bulky at all on her!
We got Fuzzibunz brand, but they looked the same to me. Were they bulkier on her at first (I didn’t remember that from your earlier post)??
Our daughter is still in 3 month pants – but not in cloth diapers! They look really big on her and we have the size small :)
YoungHouseLove says
I think they looked bulkier when she was smaller but now they look a little more proportional if that makes sense! You can see them on her in some pics (like the ones of her in the rock box). Haha. But when she was young, there was a time after she was born that she was too small for the all-in-ones, maybe up to eight weeks, and then we got them on her and they’ve been awesome! Hope it helps.
xo,
s
Nancy Powell says
Fantastic follow up post. So true, we post ideas or where a project is going, then we’re on the next one! Great job, and love your open shelves and happiness :). I also have wireless printer issue with a Canon PIXMA, but overall fantastic photo printer and scanner… they all have a mind of their own, don’t they?
Nancy
Powellbrowerhome.com
Jamie H says
Have you had any trouble with having your diapers get stinky and having to “strip” them? We use Fuzzibunz and there’s a smell build up that I can’t seem to get rid of. Do you have to do extra rinses or anything to keep them smelling fresh?
Our painted cabinets are kind of disappointing. They were already painted so we just primed and painted again (with Valspar) and everywhere that gets touched frequently (around the handles especially) the paint is rubbing off. Any ideas why?
Thanks.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh man, that stinks about your cabinets! Maybe try adding metal hardware so you’re not touching the cabinets or painted handles as much? I wonder if the fact that they were already painted and you just primed and painted over them means the original paint job wasn’t that good (your paint job is only as good as your weakest layer, so if the first layer wasn’t sticking well, even painting well over that can lead to cracking/peeling/rubbing off. Hope it helps! As for stripping our diapers, we wash them in a bleach wash every few months (we read about that tip on Bum Genius’ site, and at first I was really nervous about bleach since Clara has such sensitive skin, but we rinse them really well after and she doesn’t have an issue. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Kelsey says
Where did you get the lens for your camera? I also have the d3000 and want to get a new 50 mm lens, but I want to make sure I get the right one. Thanks! Hopefully with this new lens I’ll be able to take as good of pictures of my little one as y’all do of Clara.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks! Here’s the lens we got: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004Y1AYAC/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i00 Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Kala M. says
We bought our Ektrop loveseat from IKEA almost a year ago and I truly am in LOVE. Before we were using my husband’s old futon as our living room couch. The mattress would get all mushed down and the metal frame started hurting my back and tush. So we decided to be grown-ups and make our first large furniture purchase. Living in a 3rd floor apartment of a 100 yr old house made shopping difficult. We needed something light enough and either small enough to fit through the narrow halls and turns or could come apart. When I found out IKEA couches came in flat boxes I was sold. That was our first trip to IKEA and we loved it. I was worried that because they are slip-covered that it would start to look saggy but she is fantastic and I can’t wait to buy a house so we can buy the matching couch or maybe upgrade to the sectional.
Sue says
We bought stainless Frigidaire Professional appliances when we remodeled our kitchen last year and the dishwasher has been a pain in the rear. It doesn’t drain properly at times and a service tech has come to our house three times to try to diagnose the problem. I’m now waiting on a new control panel to arrive, so the dishwasher can (hopefully) be fixed once and for all.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh man that stinks! Good luck with it Sue!
xo,
s
Meg says
As far as the printer is concerned, I recently upgraded as well. We had an Epson all-in-one for 9 years (that’s like 100 in printer years!) that finally bit the dust. After some very thorough review-viewing and some personal recommendations we went with the Canon Pixma MG3120, a wireless all-in-one. We don’t print super often, but for the last three months it has been a dream! We, like you, were considering another Epson for the replacement after having such good luck with our last one, but the reviews for their new printers just weren’t great. I feel old saying this, but they just don’t make things the way they used to. Ha! That said, I would definitely recommend a Canon Pixma for your next upgrade.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks so much for the tip Meg!
xo,
s
Larissa says
So how does Clara feel about sharing her bed with the Nikon? That’s an expensive “lovey”. :) Just kidding!
Thanks for posting about the diapers. We switched to disposables when I found out I was pregnant again which coincided with our 7 month old eating solids. I just couldn’t handle the poop. I’m looking forward to putting the new baby in cloth diapers, but a little nervous about switching back to cloth on our toddler. Your update gives me hope!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, she takes lots of pictures at night.
xo,
s
Maria says
I have the same HP printer and I have encountered all of those same issues. It’s frustrating, I know!
On the other hand, I ORBed a few door knobs after reading your post about it and mine are still in awesome shape as well. I am probably going to do the whole house :-)
YoungHouseLove says
Boo and yay!
xo,
s
Lisa says
Thanks for the recap. I really appreciated the update on your cabinets. I’m taking that plunge as we speak! Primer is on, hardware is ready to go. I just needed a little push to gear up for the paint! One quick question, whatever did you do with a microwave? I must have missed that detail and couldn’t find it in any photos I quickly searched out. I’m having the microwave dilemma myself. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Oh it’s hidden in the cabinet to the left of the sink! Here’s that post for ya: https://www.younghouselove.com/2011/12/goodbye-microwave-hello-microwave-cabinet/
xo,
s
Elisa @ What the Vita says
Love updates like these. I bought the same diapers after your (and some others’) recommendation and I love them.. I’ve wondered how long they will last so its good to know that yours are still in great shape! My baby is only 6 months old but I hope to still use them for future children. And for the record, I have only 12 too and it is enough for us!
Jennifer (iffles) says
I have a completely different sectional with a chaise cushion that is ALWAYS slipping like that, and I NEVER thought of velcro!! So gonna get on that! THANKS!
Jillian@TheHumbleGourmet says
I’m glad to hear the open shelves have been so great; I’m really wanting to use them in our future kitchen, but it seems like keeping it to regularly used items is the best way to go. Thanks!
sallie says
yay for BG dipes! that’s amazing that you’re still on the same 12. talk about saving $$! we’ve used BG pockets for 18 months and love them. we double up with hemp inserts at night and that has worked out well. although, our chunky-to-begin-with little guy has some HUUUGE pajama hiney going on. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I love big cloth diaper butts.
xo,
s
Meg says
We have a Karl too…and you wash it at home?? Instructions say dry clean only…but you haven’t had any problems?? I’m going to have to try that out!
YoungHouseLove says
I think different Karl fabrics have different rules. The Dark Sivik Gray fabric is like denim, so it says machine wash and not dry clean only (but we have heard other covers might be dry clean only).
xo,
s
Meg says
That makes me SERIOUSLY jealous :)
amanda k. says
way to get a photo of the camera. that takes serious photography skillz!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, thank you point and shoot!
xo,
s
J says
OMG! I used to have a very similar printer (the C4700 I think?) and it would NEVER print (supposed to be wireless as well); either losing connection, needing to be reinstalled, and the same random printing! So frustrating. I was calling my husband at work all the time, which didn’t work either because there was only so much he could do from there. I expected so much more from it and was very disappointed. We broke down and got an Epson, which I was nervous about because we didn’t know much about the brand, but it has worked beautifully! We got a fancy one, which seemed a little silly, but has come in handy- and waaay more economical on ink prices as well as super fun printing from the iPad or our iPhones or printing to it when we aren’t at home! Love it!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the info J!
xo,
s
Jeremy says
Thanks for all your tips on the cloth diapers. I don’t know what I would do without the sprayer to clean them. We have had a ton of good luck with the Fuzzibunz brand. We received all the diapers my sister-in-law used with her two kids and now we are using them for round three. My wife just had a shower for our son (kind of nice having a shower two months after the kid is born, you really know what you need) and we received a batch of fresh clean new diapers! Now I just need to wash them in vinegar. Sigh, washing diapers is a never ending process, but I am thankful that I have yet to spend a penny on diapers!!!!
I would also like to let John know that when I am sitting and folding kid clothes, I often flash back to the picture of him and Clara doing them together and think, “I am not the only Dad that has to fold clothes.” For some reason, that makes the world all better. Thanks for all the parenting and product tips when it comes to kids and house. Since were about one step behind you in the kid department it’s nice to have you do all the research and experimenting and just benefit from all your knowledge! Thanks a ton.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw, shucks Jeremy. That warms my heart. Happy folding!
-John
Wendy says
Jeremy,
You’re definitely not alone in the Dad and Home duties.
My super-wonderful husband has agreed to be Daytime Home Dad when our first (his second) arrives this fall. He’ll be on wee one duty while I go back to teaching after my time off.
Fortunately, all of his experience helping to raise his younger siblings has left him loving being a Dad. He was shocked to hear about the advances of cloth diapers, and taught me some tricks to getting them more clean!
Gratefully as well, he’ll be completing his Master’s so when I get home from school, he’ll head there and we’ll swap the wee one. :-) We just pray that she/he will be okay sleeping as Dad rides his trainer in preparation for more Ironmans (Ironmen?).
betty in munich says
Do you think you will paint the stools a different color? You had mentioned that in the original post. Just curious, the grey looks good as is.
YoungHouseLove says
We’re on the fence because they tie into the stainless appliances nicely as-is but a darker color might be on the agenda for down the line! We’ll keep you posted!
xo,
s
Blair says
We just bought a wireless all-in-one Epson printer (NX230) at Target last week. It was $39.99! We even got the 2 year protection plan, because it was only $4 more. Perhaps, check out Target if you are feeling particularly angry with your HP.
We also have the same cloth diapers, but I haven’t been able to use them, because our son gets terrible rashes when wearing them (he seems to have quite the bladder haha). It seems the cotton is not keeping the moisture away from the skin. (I even did all the pre-washing.) Have you heard of this problem? Any suggestions? Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
Woah- that’s so cheap for a printer! Will have to look into it! So sorry that your son gets rashes when he wears those cloth diapers, I have heard sometimes with cloth you have to try a few different types to see what works. I think there are cool “diaper trials” out there where you can test out a few kinds to see which ones you like best. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Leah says
My parent’s and I both have HP Photosmart printers and we hate them. They are the worst! I have to feed the paper in one sheet at a time if I want to print!
Zoë says
Is it difficult to get Karl’s slipcovers back on after washing? Karl is on my wishlist when we finally get a new couch when we move in the next year or two, and I worry about the covers shrinking in the dryer.
YoungHouseLove says
No, they’re not too bad. We slip them on when they’re still a tiny bit moist, that way they dry up on the cushions and fit tightly/look crisp.
xo,
s
sarah says
Love the updates… just my $.02 but I think this would be a great monthly or quarterly column.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Sarah!
xo,
s
Megan says
We are on to kid #2 with the same cloth diapers that you have. W have had 2 snaps break on our BumBenius, and we sent them back to cotton babies, and they sent us new ones.
For over night, we love the BumGenius 4.0 (snaps) triple stuffed with 2 fleece inserts and a hemp insert. magical! We only had to buy 2 of these since we was everyother day.
YoungHouseLove says
No way! I had no idea they would replace snaps. That’s awesome! Ours still work just as well, but if a snap that we need to hold them closed ever breaks, that’s good to know! And thanks for the overnight tip.
xo,
s
Carolyn @HealthKitten.com says
I’m SO GLAD Karl is holding up for you guys! We’re *this close* to pulling the trigger on one for our upstairs living room (which has beat up, big, beige, 12-year-old sectional now) and want to get another big beige-y one to replace. We liked the Lindo beige fabric in person, but were concerned about how well it would hold up. Sounds like it holds up well!
One question though, are the cushions flippable? We bought another couch/loveseat for another room and don’t like that there’s no fabric on the underside of the cushion! It’s just ugly black fabric with the ubiquitous velcro strip to keep it in place so we can only have it in one way.
Thanks for the update!
YoungHouseLove says
I would be sure to check out how that specific fabric (Lindo beige) would do, since we do hear certain covers work better than others (the Dark Sivik Gray is super durable like denim, and able to be washed at home while some others are a bit more delicate and are “dry clean only” – here’s hoping the Lindo beige is the denim-ish wash-at-home kind like ours! As for the cushions being flippable, all of them are except for the chaise ones (they have that strip of velcro on the back to keep them in place that doesn’t happen to work- haha) but they hold up and keep their shape well so after a year of use it’s not an issue!
xo,
s