Bathtime, Part IV

It was never my intention to share my kiddos in the tub each month and I have no idea how long this will continue, but somehow I keep ending up with a picture that is just too cute not to share.  And really, it is good documentation on our bathroom’s tub. Yes, it sure it.    

Part I, seen here.

Part II, seen here.

Part III, seen here.

The Perils of Winter

We've been lucky that this first winter as new homeowners has been a relatively mild one.  We only just recently had to purchase a shovel and Clay even bought a little mini one so that Narls can help (although he’s much more interested in catching snowflakes with his tongue than shoveling the driveway). 

We got dumped on this past weekend though. Clay and  Narls were out for hours getting all the snow and ice off our driveway and walkway.

Well until our new shovel broke.  They were almost finished too.  Back to Home Depot we go.

The Big Curtain Debate

Did you catch a glimpse of the family room’s new curtains in my last post?  That’s another diy project I’ve been working on- getting the curtains for the family room sewn and hung.

I’ve been on the fence about what style curtains would best fit this space. I didn’t want to do brown because I think they’d blend in too much with the brown walls. And I’m not sure a solid teal would be the best choice either because I want the teal to be subtlety accented, not glaringly obvious in every corner.

I wasn’t impressed with the panels I’ve been seeing online and in various stores so I thought I’d take a chance and attempt to make these curtains as I did Narls’.  I found some fabric on Etsy (my number one go-to spot for unique home decorating items) that contains the right colors, is the right price and goes along with the organic/nature theme of the space.

My only issue with these curtains is I would prefer a more scattered bird print; the birds on this fabric are quite close together.  Also, the birds are mostly light blue with a scattering of teal here and there but  I figured I could emphasis the teal by sewing a chunk of solid-colored teal material at the bottom quarter of each panel.

It's no question that the panels help cozy up the space and they give the room another layer of texture.  I'm still on the fence as to whether this particular print is the right one. 

What do you think?

We've recently made another big purchase- a big ole flat screen TV that Clay's been researching and researching and researching for months. He’s quite smitten with our new buy, and I can’t lie, I sort of love it too.

The clarity and resolution are amazing and the sleek design is so much more appealing than our older TV. But, once we got it unpackaged and up on the mantle and all I could focus on was the wires and cords and disarray. I don’t like that we have to leave the cabinet door open to access our DVR box and what were we to do with that open box space once the old TV gets moved to the living room?

The solution was actually quite obvious.  We’d make shelves in the space that used to house the old TV.  That way the units that need to be accessed with a remote can get out from behind a cabinet door and there wouldn’t be a weird, open space.

Clay took the measurements and went to Home Depot to buy the wood and brackets.  I sanded and painted the pieces of wood later that night and we drilled holes for the brackets. We didn’t stop there either.  We drilled holes along both sides of the built-ins to discreetly run the flat screen TV’s cords through.

It looks so much nicer now!  And my anxiety no longer goes through the roof now that all the disorder and chaos that used to consume this space are gone.  It's calm.  Relaxing.  I like it.  Do you see the teal frame and vase from last week's thrifting adventure? What about the cute little owl I also got thrifting?  Although I’m not quite in love with the placement of everything just yet, I am happy at how nicely everything is coming together.

The Joys of Thrifting

First off, let me start this post by exclaiming my undying love for thrifting.  Rummage sales, Salvation Army's, Goodwill's, consignment shops- they all attract me and I spend many afternoons browsing through the items trying to picture how they'd look in my home with some tlc and a couple coats of paint. 

It does take some time and some vision to find treasures in second-hand stores though. I find it helps to have a general idea what you're searching for. For example, I just painted one wall of my family room teal so I have my eye out for frames, candles, owls (always owls!) that are teal or can be painted teal to add pops of color in that space.  Also, Katie from Bower Power just wrote an awesome post on how to successfully thrift; definitely give it a read.

The last couple times I've been thrifting I've had some M-A-J-O-R success.  My first stop at the Salvation Army landed me a sweet vase and a pretty frame for $7.  I know their teals are a bit off but that's nothing a little spray paint can't fix.

My best trip was yesterday's run into Goodwill.  I found this Avington console table from Target brand new and still in the box for $20 and I literally squeed and hugged it right then and there in the store.  As soon as I got home I grabbed my tools and went to town opening & assembling it.  Now this gorgeous table has a new home in my living room.

My second find yesterday in that same Goodwill is this 8-cube ClosetMaid organizer also from Target, also brand new and still in the box, for $10.  And the best part? Somehow by the grace of all that's holy, I was there during the 50% sale and bought both pieces for $15.  FIFTEEN DOLLARS.  I still can't believe it. 

 

I swung by Walmart and picked up the baskets for $4 each and now both Emerson's nursery and the living room have two pieces of furniture that they were despertly needing for only $31.  I feel high from trips like this (only, you know, without the nasty hangover).

I couldn't believe that this Goodwill had so many unopened Target items and come to find out Target donates all of their unsold clearance items to surrounding Goodwill's. And from what I've found online, it seems to be a national Target trend which means it's not just the Targets & Goodwills in my area.  Items donated also include seasonal items, some customer returns and/or other items that managers deem unsellable. Like that Avington table?  The box was ripped to shreds.  It probably fell out of a storage truck or in the backroom and never even made it to the sales floor.  I'll admit I was a bit hesitant buying it; what if I got it home and it was missing a part or one of the pieces was also damaged? Well Goodwill has a RETURN POLICY.  If it was damaged I could have taken it back and I wouldn't be out anything.  As it is, it's in perfect condition.

And the cube organizer?  I could tell when I was putting it together that it was made incorrectly.  The pre-drilled holes that you needed to line up with a shelf were drilled on the wrong end.  No worries. I'm quite handy with a drill and so I just created my own holes and filled in the others with a dab of putty. 

So what are you waiting for? Get to thrifting!

Three Candles

Yesterday my son turned three.  THREE.  I'm still wrapping my head around this, trying to process where all the time has gone.  I slipped and called him baby a couple times to which he quickly reminded me that he's not a baby anymore now that he's three (or "thwee" as he pronounces it).  Little does he know that he will always be my baby despite how old he turns.

We let Narls decide how we spent his birthday and it started with taking cupcakes to his early preschool classroom, then a trip to Toys 'R Us where he picked out his present, followed by pizza and playtime at Chuck E. Cheese's.  Later that evening after a nap and dinner, some family members came over for presents and cake & ice cream.  It was a great day from start to finish.

DIY Clippie Holder

When I ordered the fabric to make my daughter's bedding, I ordered a bit extra with the intention of making a holder for her hair clips.  I make her hair clips, so she has tons, and honestly, the already-made clip holders are just too small.  Luckily this was a very easy project and took less than an hour to complete.  Because I made this holder before I officially started blogging, I don't have step-by-step pictures but it's so easy that this tutorial should be all need even without the pictures. Definitely let me know if you have any questions though.

Start with a foam board or a painter's canvas or a cork board (something of that nature) in your desired dimensions. 

Stretch batting around the board and staple along the back edges with a staple gun; trim off any excess.  Make sure it's nice & secure; this is going to give your clippie holder some plushness.

Using the same method, stretch (tight but not too crazy tight) and staple the fabric of your choice around the batting-covered board.

Next, you're going to hot glue or staple strips of ribbon to your board.  Measure out how long your board is, add about an inch, and then adhere the ribbons around the top & bottom of the back of the board. 

Lastly, hot glue or staple a piece of ribbon near the top for hanging and voile! You're done :)

Birds of Flight

Remember this wall, which was a little boring and uninteresting?

A friend suggested perhaps painting a scroll design behind the frames to give the wall some appeal.  I instantly fell in love with this idea and started looking online to see if I could find some tips for a painting job such as this.  One site suggested wall decals, which I figured would be easier, less time consuming and a much less chance of mistake (not to mention easy to remove if I was to tire of the design).  I found a seller on Etsy that sells bird decals and I knew that I found my design.  Birds will tie in perfectly with the room's organic/nature theme that is slowly starting to form.  I ordered a mix of brown and teal decals and they arrived yesterday; I went right to work applying them around the pictures.

 

And I love it.  It was exactly what the wall needed.

Inspiration

via art.com

I adore these prints.  I bought them both as soon as I saw them and used them as the starting point for the family room's decor and style.  They are framed and matted and hanging above the couch and I like the organic vibe they bring to the room.  The browns, creams and teals in the pictures are what inspired the room's paint color and their nature-ish feel has helped to inspire two other projects I'm currently working on for this room. 

First Birthday

You were probably thinking it was Emerson's first birthday by the title of my post, but nope, it's mine.  I am the first one of my little family to celebrate a birthday in our new house and I am very thankful to be starting this year - and this new year - in our home.  I intend to take a nap, be lazy, eat lots of cake and enjoy the day.