Bed Head
8:36 pm
I’ve got beds on the brain.
And unfortunately, it has nothing to do with me getting into one.
(Although I do have an excuse with a killer sinus infection.) Okay, I did type this from bed, so there’s that.
Anyway, here’s the 411. I’ve always wanted to say that:
My toddler is 29 months old. She is fully potty trained (even at night!) and busy.
And she is still in her crib.
She’s climbed out twice, but I put the fear of God into her, plus she thinks alligators will eat her toes if she does it again.
Her room is the largest room upstairs because it’s a remodeled game room. We don’t have a guest room and I want to replace the crib with a full size bed.
Follow me, this is where it gets confusing.
My oldest child has been begging for the larger room with a big bed her entire life (dramatic emphasis, all hers). I promised when her baby sister moved to a big girl bed, I’d switch the rooms.
So, basically, the two year old gets the yellow and pink room with the white twin bed and the 9 year old gets the old toddler nursery.
Whew!
Got it?
More info: Bedroom furniture is expensive, but I’ve been piecing together some marvelous pieces (we’re going black shabby chic) and my garage is my current workspace.
I’ve just got this piece to paint black, the bed:
The dilemma: I’m unmotivated to finish said bed because I don’t know when to make the switch to a big bed and a new room. And I don’t know how to do it without disturbing my toddler’s sleeping/potty-trained cycle.
What do y’all think?
I’m afraid.
P.S. I’m linking this to The Inspired Room’s Procrastination Party because I need accountability.
And painters and movers.
Ahem.
*******************************
UPDATE
I finished the bed! And I’ve spent the last two days moving furniture around.
But I love the results!
Remember the before (my garage sale find):
And the after:
And tonight, my two year old will be sleeping in her big girl bed (in her sister’s old room).
I’d appreciate you sending happy {sleepy} thoughts her way!
P.S. I’ll be sharing more details of this room makeover in the next couple of weeks in my DIYP series!
Spring in My Step
3:30 pm
I decorated for Spring yesterday.
It’s pushing it even here in Texas (considering we had a brisk 39 degree morning-it was 60 by lunchtime), but I needed a pastel friend or two.
My bulbs decided to make a surprise appearance this year. I didn’t expect them to bloom again. I also didn’t expect those tiny weeds to be so obvious in the picture:
My handsome bunny topiary:
And my afternoon jelly bean snack:
I decided to put these small wreaths on my chandelier (I bought them last year after Easter for 90% off!)
My kids take this sign literally every time they enter the house:
My pretend carrot garden makes me happy! So does the hidden nest:
My Mom painted these wooden eggs when I was a child. I think this makes a fun display:
And this bunny? He just makes me hungry:
Welcome to Spring!
Join The Inspired Room on Monday for more Spring Decor!
The Couch Isn’t the Only Thing Floating
6:00 pm
We’ve lived in our little corner of Suburbia for 5 years.
During that time, we have renovated most of our house. We’ve replaced the flooring, painted every room, reconfigured the floor plan and survived a kitchen makeover.
And we are still married and not completely broke.
But I’ve never moved my couch. It’s been against the one solid wall in our living room since we moved in.
Before
The other day on Twitter, I read The Nester’s tweet that she rearranged her furniture and moved her couch. I responded with couch-moving envy.
Before
I’m pretty sure she nearly fell out of her nest when she learned that I hadn’t moved my sofa in 5 years! (And I won’t go into detail about the items found under the couch. Let’s just put it this way: I should be ashamed and pictures will not follow).
So, with her encouragement and while my kids dug a hole to China in the backyard, I did it.
I moved my sofa to the center of the room (termed: floating), facing
the fireplace:
After
I grouped the chairs together and put the lamp table between them, next to the fireplace:
After
I used our table with toy bins as a sofa-table and put it behind the couch.
I love the way this little corner feels now:
Here’s a view from the second-story landing:
How about you? Are you a mad-furniture-mover? Or are you boring like me?
We do most of our living in our family room (former formal living room):
Don’t ask me how long that couch has been on the wall….
My Frugal & Festive Holiday Tips
7:00 am
December is my month.
I was born the week before Christmas. I got married two days before the day I was born. I had my first baby eight days after the end of Christmas month. And my third baby was born one day before the day I was married and three days before the day I was born.
Got all that?
It’s a busy month for THAT family. And my hubby? He doesn’t have a chance. He starts fretting about gifts in the summer. But he always comes thru (i.e. kitty door).
When I think of Christmas I think of Jesus. There’s that, of course.
I also think of presents. The giving and the getting. Call me carnal.
But in these economic times, I want to be as frugal as possible. Join me every Tuesday in the month of December for my ideas on creating handmade gifts for friends and family.
- Start as early as possible. I don’t think you can prepare too far in advance. My favorite time to Christmas shop is after Christmas. Yes, you read that right! I set aside a little money and shop the deeply discounted Christmas decor after the holidays. It’s such a thrill to find things 75-90% off and to rediscover your deals 12 months later! Christmas toys are also generally marked down to at least half off after the holidays and I shop for upcoming birthdays for the New Year. I just rediscovered these adorable nutcracker stocking holders that I got for $1.49!
- Shop smart: Target reduces their holiday decor 50% the day after a major holiday. 5-7 days later, the remaining merchandise is reduced to 75% off. Around January 2nd or 3rd, all leftover Christmas items are marked down to 90% off! I call the store and ask. {Please note: if you live in my area, I have been known to get aggressive with a shopping cart}.
- Shop used: Garage sales and thrift stores are a great place to find Christmas decor. Since decor is only used once a year, you can find some great treasures! (I started a nesting Santa collection from thrift and garage sales!)
- Go artificial! I love for my home to smell good during the holidays. But since the kitchen isn’t my forte and since we use an artificial tree, I depend heavily on yummy smelling candles to do the job. Yankee candle is my favorite, but they are costly. TJMax, Marshalls and Ross stores, carry the Yankee brand at just a fraction of the price. And if you don’t have one of those stores, here’s a recipe for some pretty amazing stuff I like to simmer on my back burner.
- Shop for the unexpected on the clearance aisles. Most stores have them and I keep a cabinet in my house full of discounted items for birthday parties, stocking stuffers, and treats. It’s so great to pull out a small gift when something comes up unexpected or my month is longer than my money.
- Shop nature: We live in a wooded area with tall pine trees. Our family loves to collect pine cones, red berries and even branches. I display them in vases, on the mantel and throughout the house. Here are some fun pine cone projects.
- Be creative! Make gifts for family and friends (check back on Tuesdays in December for easy, frugal projects!) But here’ s one, if you just can’t wait: Love to cook? Create your own recipe book. Love photo gifts? Here are some great ideas!
- Shop your house for decor. Use candlesticks and plates as a cake platter to display a special ornament. Re-purpose glass vases to hold pine cones. Fill a glass bowl full of shiny ornament balls.
- Write down a gift budget. I do this every year, usually in the fall. I write down everything I’ve already bought (like toys from the clearance aisle or books I bought in July) and I set a budget per person. We also do a certain number of gifts for our kids and since they are still pretty young, I try to make that number even. Here’s a printable holiday budget form.
- Get it together! Partner with family members for BIG gifts or draw names for extended family members. Buy a family gift: one gift for the whole family: membership to the zoo, family movie pack, skating night for four.
- Think about it: Suggest having your extended family gatherings after Christmas (the week between Christmas and New Year’s) and benefit from the last minute shoppin
g.
- Practical stocking stuffers can still be fun-character socks and underwear, fun toothbrushes, hair clips/bows, Chapstick, be creative and fill it with things they will actually use after Christmas morning!
- Go sentimental...I love giving sentimental, heart-felt gifts like a Blurb book to grandparents, a family tree with collected photos or silhouettes of your children. I think handmade gifts are appreciated and you can save so much money!
- Don’t go overboard or into debt on any of it! Kids usually end up with too many toys and we have to un-decorate whatever we put up. Keep it simple. Use what you have. And remember, the best message we can teach our kids is that it’s really about Jesus and others.
It’s Hard Work Being Me
11:00 am
Today, I thought I’d be productive.
But this is why I don’t touch up my scuffed, smudged, lived-in walls very often.
I know my living room paint has the word sand in it.
I found these four cans in my garage:
*sandstone
*spitsand
*sandy tan
*whitesand
Which is exactly why, I’d like to bury my head in the sand.
You Had Me at Porch…
3:00 pm
I love me a good porch.
Y’all know I wanted to buy this old house, just for the porch.
This is mine:
Not exactly my dream. But I make do.
This is the porch I dream about every Fall:
I see I’m not alone in my unhealthy affection for pumpkins.
I like this one too. It brings out my inner farmer:
And wouldn’t this look smashing on a porch?
To see more great porches, visit The Inspired Room.
A Good Place to Dream
7:00 am
I have always dreamed of a beautiful bedroom. And my dreams-they are not lofty. I didn’t even dream of the finest furnishings or the most gorgeous decor, because who am I kidding? I have three accident-prone kids, two cats who don’t like each other, and a messy hubby living with me.
I just wanted a bedroom that spoke to me and felt like me. And one that didn’t have padded walls and straight-jackets on hand. I’m just saying.
I love old things. But I didn’t want an old bed because I knew it would likely be another decade before I had money and my hubby’s consent on such a project.
So, we shopped the scratch and dent section at a nearby furniture store and smiled pleasantly at the eye-rolling sales people when we bought mismatched bedroom
furniture.
We painted the walls chocolate brown and I found that quilt for $40! (I always be king for my queen bed, so it covers more. Plus one of the people who sleeps in that bed is a cover-hog. Ahem).
Above my bed:
Our slightly scratched furniture didn’t include a dresser mirror. So, I saved the one from our old worn-out furniture (which I sold in the newspaper for $300!). I’m mixing up the colors of the wood here. But I love it!
My favorite part of the room, is the bench at the foot of the bed. I drug my hubby through a flea market for two days until I found it. Because I’m a thrifty bully.
I squealed when I stumbled upon that rug. It’s the reverse print of my quilt. I didn’t embarrass myself though because the employees at TJ Maxx know me. (Although that embarrasses my hubby!)
Old stuff from my in-law’s farm and photos of my kids complete the top of the armoire.
The antique (replica) laundry basket holds the pillows I throw off my bed at night.
I found this curio cabinet at a garage sale!
And this old door? Yes, it speaks to me.
So, does the $40 leopard print chair I bought off Ebay!
Check out Kelly’s for some inspiring master bedrooms!
Fakin’ It
6:59 am
I’m fakin’ it.
Didn’t even know it until The Nester pointed it out.
She’s helpful like that!
I’m joining a slew of other people who have strong feelings regarding the artificial fruit and flower.
Please don’t feel sorry for us. We are happy in our pretend world.
I have real flowers and fresh what-nots so seldom that everyone thinks company is coming when I break down and buy the real stuff.
Here’s a taste of my fake decorative touches (and after viewing some of these items more closely, I think I need to clean my house and maybe toss a thing or two out):
I bought this little cage for $1 at a garage sale. It’s the perfect place to stick my fall festivities:
And don’t look too closely at this little darling –the dust will make you sneeze.
I need a tutorial on floral arranging 101, but here’s my best shot:
This is actually a Christmas decoration I bought 75% off at Hallmark. The red berries and pears make me happy, so it gets to stay out all year long!
Garage sale: $2 (And it has feathers!)
The only thing fake about this picture is the foliage, because our love is the real thing!
As I searched my house for all the fakes, I started to turn introspective as the apron hanging in my kitchen began to mock me.
I won’t even discuss the look my drawer full of padded undergarments gave me.
But when this sign hanging in my living room waved it’s finger at me:
I replied, “Don’t judge me, I getting there.”
To see more people fakin’ it, visit The Nester, who makes faux look fabulous!
It’s Almost Fall, Y’all!
6:30 pm
*UPDATE* Well. You guys offered some great guesses as to the great pumpkin mystery number…as last count, I had 87 pumpkin-y type things. The closest person was Erica (no link, no email, nada) No one else was really close. So, Miss Erica please email me or I’ll have to make my official number 88 ;D
Welcome to my Fall Tour
and my favorite time of the year…..
I’ve taken pictures of some of my favorite things (I make myself wait until Labor Day to break out my orange friends!):
My entryway antique-dresser-turned-table. I love stacking artificial and real pumpkins on candlesticks!
One of my favorite pumpkins is actually a candle..my toddler loves digging her nails into the wax. It just adds character!
This is my dining room. I love to keep it ready for unexpected guests.
I finally found something to stick into my $4 urn! That pumpkin is so happy.
Fun block letters spell out my favorite season in an art niche above the stairwell.
Even my laundry room is in the mood for fall.
I love filling jars with seasonal items.
It’s this tiny pumpkin’s special day to be on display.
I adore these impractical, fussy leaf plates. (I got them half off last year).
Can you find the white pumpkin?
Leave a comment and guess how many pumpkins or pumpkin-shaped items I have in my house. If someone guesses the exact number, I’ll send them something divinely pumpkin and fabulous! I’ll announce the number at the end of the week…
To see more fall tours, visit The Inspired Room because it’s Fall Nesting Week!
I Feel a Makeover Coming On!
7:00 am
(Stay for a giveaway that will encourage you to do laundry, all while *Updated* Thank you for all the laundry tips!
You guys are awesome!
I CAN’T WAIT to show you my laundry room makeover….
Congrats to Amanda on winning the sign. I will email you.
Laundry is my nemeses. My foe. My arch rival. The bane of my existence, the thorn in my flesh, the thief of my joy.
I may have gotten a little carried away. Sorry.
But I think you get the picture.
It’s not so much the chore itself. It’s just that I’m never done.
I used to get very frustrated. I would work all day to catch up and then two days later, the mounds would be out of control. Again.
And then I realized something. Call me intuitive, but I finally understood why there was always laundry:
Because the people in my house keep wearing clothes.
I know, it’s powerful.
But that helped me. I still do laundry, a little every day
or none. I know it will be there, waiting for me.
Since I spend a lot of time in that room,
it occurred to me that I would feel better if I decorated it.
Right now, it’s pitiful.
So, I shared my deep laundry concerns with my hubby.
And guess what? We started on a small renovation in the tiny clothes preparing place since I spend so much time in there.
I can’t wait to share the results, as soon as I, well, finish it.
But I think you’re going to like it.
Until then, I bought this:
Because it made me laugh.
And beca
use it was $4.00. That’s almost free!
use it was $4.00. That’s almost free!
Guess what? There were two signs, for $4.00!
So, I bought you one.
Yeah, you, the lucky random reader who comments on this
post before 10 pm (CST Tuesday night) and gives me a laundry tip!
Here’s my tip: I have found that doing laundry without pants on, is just plain interesting.
See? It’s a great sign!
A Place to Stick It
7:00 am
I love organizing paraphernalia. (I also like that word).
I’m a sucker for a pretty box or an odd-shaped basket.
Just stick me in the container aisle with a glass of sweet tea and I’ll be happy for life.
Even though I put my OCD to good use and live in a fairly clean, organized home, I still battle clutter. And toys. Everywhere.
And so, I’ve attacked these areas with a plethora of containers!
Isn’t it amazing how three matching boxes (Ikea $2.50 for 2) in a row look so swell? Inside those boxes? Hundreds of unorganized photos dating all the way back to my ‘fro.
Inside this modern secretary desk (from Ikea)? None ‘o you beeswax. It’s a mess.
Here’s three more matching baskets that hold all the junk fine linens that won’t fit into my dining room hutch. Looks like it’s time to clean those out. I have no idea what’s in them.
I love this little basket with a handle. I don’t have enough kitchen drawers and every time my kids dig in the silverware drawer for a pencil or glue, my head spins around in circles and I would foam in the mouth.
It wasn’t pretty. At all.
And so, I hung the basket over my vintage shoe drying rack, now being used as a kitchen catch-all!
And all the books and papers and stuff that collect on my kitchen counter?
I stick them in this red wire basket. Because what exactly is better than a basket that is red? Not much, my friends.
(Try not to judge me by the title of that book, Making Your Children Mind without Losing Yours. It’s summer and I’d like to keep my mind. Enough said).
This little gem was found at Canton, the world’s largest flea market and heaven on earth for people like me. It’s a reproduction and not the finest of furnishings, but each box comes out
and is the perfect toy holder, dontchathink? It makes me very happy.
I love this giant garage sale basket. It stored my hubby’s dress shirts that needed to go to the cleaners until I confiscated it for more toys.
And this? Oh, my! My hubby rolled his eyes at this idea (yes, he did)! I’ve turned this antique laundry basket into a container to hold an extra quilt next toour bed. I also toss all the fancy throw pillows from my bed into at night, so Alice the Cat, won’t feel compelled to lay on them. I think I would grab this basket if my house caught on fire and roll it through the house throwing things in it.
That’s called an Emergency Plan. You’re welcome.
Even tiny baskets can help you gather similar items. My remote control basket comes in handy.
I’m throwing this one in for just for fun. Because I’m not so obsessive that I have to organize my bread, but don’t you just love this little red box? I found it at TJMaxx for $5.99 and thought it would make the perfect bread box.
I like to think of this as the mother of all basket-organizing. She is great and mighty: The Ikea book shelf. I went back to Ikea every month for about a year to buy baskets for this thing. This piece is quite an investment. But since our playroom doubles as our TV room, toys fit nicely in all those baskets.
So, baskets and boxes are my tip for great organization.
