The budget crunch is upon us. 

Last week my dear pup decided my laptop (and only computer) was a catchment for the excited-waterbowl-slurping when it resurfaced minutes later. Yes, my dog puked on my computer. Time to retire my trusty MacBook (or, rather, send it to the Mac repair shop to fix the now defunct keypad, so my MIL will have a computer again). An Air is on its way, along with 6 monthly payments.

We’re dealing with this period of money crunching how we always do. Improvise.

I’ve been meaning to elevate my computer to a proper ergonomic situation like my fellow freelance writer/author pal Kate showed me. She even gave me her spare keyboard, thank goodness seeing as that’s the only way I can use my computer in the interim! (I’m totally lucky to even get the chance to back it up and still work from it.) A canning jar flat and a shipping box turned my improvised desk into a more workable environment. I love any opportunity to extend the time in which I have to find the right piece(s) for the job instead of purchasing some cheap-y or plastic-y stand in.

On the upshot—and definitely and improvement from the upchuck incident last week—Adrienne from Apartment Therapy came over and shot my house for a full house tour. She photographed our kitchen for The Kitchn site last year. I of course went into a cleaning frenzy and was inspired by a deadline to finally hem the remaining two curtains so that the photos you’ll see in February won’t reflect the frayed fabric scraps that were on display for longer than I’d care to admit. (Maybe I should rebrand with something like ProcrastiKate or DomestiKate? Just kidding.)

Our bed pillow arrangement has been on the project list for some time. I’d hoped to find or make a suitable non-square addition to this frilly/non-functional portion of our home, but alas, it just hasn’t happened. I took one of the shams that came with our duvet and fashioned a stand-in throw pillow until I have the time/funds to address it more long-term.

These (decidedly not-Adrienne) shots will suffice to give you sneak preview until her tour goes up on the Apartment Therapy site!

Have large pins, will roll (literally).

In what ways are you improvising these days?