burlap wreath

 I love me a good project :)

I have adored burlap wreaths for a long time, and our front door was desperate for a little spruce up.

I found one on pinterest (surprise!) that I like, so I went for it....

I loved it so much that I wound up making a smaller one in a darker burlap for my fall mantle ;)

CLICK HERE for the tutorial I used.

A few notes::

I used 2 yards of burlap for the larger wreath because I cut 5x5 squares instead of the 4x4 that she used.

I did smaller squares for the small wreath, and that took about a yard :)

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adelyn's {unintentional} room redo

I wasn't planning on doing Adelyn's room. It just sort of happened. A few thrift store finds here. A Craigslist find over there. A super clearanced duvet cover and a few gift cards later...and we were on a roll.

:)

I liked her room before, but since we can't paint.....the white walls with the explosion of hot pink was a little overwhelming.

So here is a little tour of what it looks like now. I did include where I got things because I like it when other people do that :)

I had been eyeing a duvet cover at Pottery Barn Kids for a while, then saw this identical one on SUPER clearance at Target a few weeks ago.

{for some reason, the dark pink keeps translating really pinkish red in photos...it isn't  :) }

{all bedding and pillows from Target. Table: WalMart last year. Rug: Hobby Lobby 3 years ago}

I about died when I found this early 1900s farmhouse-ish iron (that sucker is heavy, people) bedframe on Craigslist. It was exactly what I had been looking for. It came with a footboard that we aren't going to use, but may make it into another headboard years down the road ;)

...and BONUS....

it was already sandblasted and ready to paint!

I found this lamp at a local thrift store. Painted the brass base a muted light gold ( Rustoleum's Champagne Mist) and got the lampshade at Target. I got it 50% off because it has a mark and a fray on the backside...goes to show that it never hurts to ask :) booyah :)

The quilt is my favorite....Mom made it for Addy when she was born. I wanted to display it somehow...and since I took the felt bottom off of the lamp base (germies)....I figured it would be a good use for it to protect the dresser.

{lamp: thrift store. Shade, bird and bookends: Target (bookends are 3 years old) Plate, cup, quilt and piggy bank: gifts}
Nick stripped, sanded and painted the chest of drawers, dresser, and mirror that we had bought on Craigslist before we left Des Moines last year. Don't they look awesome??
The pulls were a splurge for us {from Home Depot}, but they were so worth it :)

{fan:Target. Tray, jewlery box, vase: thrift store. Bird and flower: Hobby Lobby}

I made this message board to hold all of her fun birthday cards and pictures.

I got this table lamp and the shade at the thrift store. I love the zig zag print and thought it would be okay to sort of match it to the other lamp...

....click here for that little how-to.

So that's about it.

Oh, and just to make sure I'm not fooling you into thinking everything here is perfect...
yes, her bed is made in the morning (most of the time)...but after nap it generally stays like this:

;)

Update:
Since I took these pictures, I found this piece of art hiding under our bed that I had found a while back...apparently it's from Target? I got it at a yard sale ;) I painted the frame white for some uniformity....
{her curtains are still translating redish on here....driving me nuts}

 

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zig zag lamp how to

I wasn't planning on posting a tutorial for this last minute project, so I have no before pictures and no "in the process" pictures.

After alot of painters tape and alot of irritation, I figured out a method that worked for me.

First go around, I printed off a zig zag stencil from here. I thought I would follow this tutorial and translate it to the lamp shade...

well, the shape of the shade made that darn near impossible {although, I do think it would work for a more uniform shade, like a drum shade}.

I realized I was going to have to "free form" it because I didn't want to mark on the shade at all.

I used the seems of the shade as my marker for where I wanted the points to line up.

I tore a piece of painter's tape {I had 1" thickness on hand, so that's what I used} and placed it where I wanted at the angle I thought would work.

I marked where I would need to cut it with a pen, cut it, then repeated.

 I did that the whole way around...it took about 20 minutes total to get it all taped.

Obviously, the angles weren't perfect, but I think for how small the shade is, it's fine.

I also marked off the edges around the top and bottom of the shade with tape b/c I didn't want to paint those.

Then I took it outside, gave it a few light coats of spray paint {Champagne Mist by Rustoleum}

and wallah! I was pretty stoked with how it turned out.

BTW...the lamp itself is painted Rustoleum Gloss White.

A little extra tips, make sure that the tape is pressed down really well before you spray paint. I actually didn't have any paint seep through, which I was pretty pumped about.

Do a few light coats of paint to keep paint from dripping and messing up your shade.

I hope this helps. You are more than welcome to email or comment if you have any questions :)

Stay tuned for a post on all the new changes I made to Addy's room ;)

including this other lamp::

{the inspiration for my small table lamp :)}

ps....if you missed this recipe I posted....check it out....SO yummy :)

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stroller research

I have to admit, I'm a little disappointed that I didn't get any stroller recommendations :)
I did get a few through facebook and it was a great jumping point, so thank you for those of you who gave your input :)
I have been spending the last 2 days researching and re-researching strollers--double strollers to be exact. I have fallen in love with a dream stroller that I will never own (hmm...a month's mortgage for a stroller? I think NOT). The Bumbleride Queen-B to be exact. This is the one I WANT. But it's a too pricey :) But hey, I can dream, right? ;)
 I am not an outdoors jogger, so we decided that a jogging stroller isn't necessary for us. I do like to take walks, and both of these will do just fine. We did test drive a Phil and Ted at Simply for Giggles in the East Village and while it is a nice stroller, I'm really NOT a fan of having the second seat below the first. It's too low to the ground and my feet actually kicked it when I walked...that would get old real fast. (don't get me wrong, it's a nice stroller and I've heard alot of people really like them...it's just not for us)
We crossed off a side-by-side because even though there are some that are made to fit through standard doors, I just didn't like the feel of pushing it around. (again, there are people who really like theirs and that is GREAT...it's just not for us)  :)
We also tried out the Graco Quattro Tour Duo and holy moly is that thing HEAVY without Adelyn in it! My cousin has this one and she said it isn't bad, she's used it for running and puts her 2 boys in it...but that's the first thing she said about it, is that it is a heavey stroller.
So after quite a few hours of reading reviews and even today doing some test driving, we have narrowed it down to the two most PRACTICAL and least bank breaking strollers for us:

 Baby Trend Sit n Stand

and the Chicco Cortina Together.

Both strollers roll/steer beautifully (as long as you don't compare them to the Queen-B *sniff sniff*), are sturdy, are not ridiculously heavy sans child, have plenty of cupholders ;) and can fit the carseat that we have.

I'm just coming to terms that for a long time I will feel like I'm steering a mini bus around *yuck* ...but that's what you get for having multiple kids :).  We are going to have to get used to taking up a lot more space from here on out..

We aren't planning on making our purchase for a few more months, so you can bet we will continue researching and test driving. When we are ready to buy a double stroller, though, I want to be confident in the one we are buying and know that it's what we NEED. 

If anyone does have any recommendations/ideas...or if you have one of the strollers we are looking at, we want to hear from you!

For those of you who are going to be on this quest soon, good luck :)

...and if anyone gets the Bumbleride Queen-B....can I borrow it? :)

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laundry experiment

I quit using fabric softener about a month ago because Adelyn's eczema was getting worse. Last week it got so bad her skin was RAW and blistering. I finally took her to our dermatologist to make sure that's what it was in the first place. They recommended a few things and prescribed a cream. I didn't use everything they recommended, but I did use the cream for 2 days and her skin is 100% better and I haven't had to use it since. Cetaphil and Aquaphor are still a nightly routine, though ;)
ANYWAY...I have been using Tide free and gentle since before Adelyn was born b/c I couldn't stand the perfumes anymore...but after I stopped using the fabric softener, our clothes were coming out of the dryer wrinkled and I could definitely feel a difference in the cloth too. I started researching alternatives so we could get some wort of softness back in our clothes. There are SO MANY opinions and recommendations out there that I was on overload...so I went back to some basics.
I had heard that vinegar and/or baking soda are a good alternative, so I found a "recipe" that combined them both (4c water, 2c baking soda, 2c vinegar)...I'm also trying vinegar solo right now and then I'm going to compare and see which one I like best :)
I'm sure people have more ideas, so let me know what you have found that works...

(If you are curious, I'm not ready to start making my own laundry detergent. I don't quite trust that the homemade stuff will get my clothes clean enough)

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I did it...it's done...

I wound up having the time to paint the living room yesterday. I don't like it as much as I thought I would--but I guess when you're used to bright green, a more neutral wall would take some getting used to--(although I am getting used to it and in the pictures it's not so bad) the color swatch was more grayish, and this has a pink tone to it....but it does make the living room look bigger, so I guess that's a plus when we are ready to sell the place (which is sooner rather than later).
Anyway...I guess I sound like a downer here...it's really not terrible, but I won't use this color again ("oatmeal" from Ralph Lauren).... :)

...and now that I'm looking at these pictures, I really don't like how random the black/white photo by the window looks...may have to change that... ;)

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it's been done for a while....

...but I keep forgetting to post pictures for those of you who keep asking, so I'm sorry I'm just getting to this :)
I finally decorated Adelyn's room more "girlie" at the end of the summer...since it's also the guest room I wanted to keep it a little more low key...AND if we have #2...and if it's a boy...while we're still in this house, I wanted to be able to work in some "boyish" decorating too :)

I've said it before, I'll say it again...I am not that creative, so alot of the ideas I have are from my sister in law, Steph, who is gracious enough to let me borrow from her creative mind :)

So here are 2 views....sorry they aren't the greatest...I had a child who just woke up and wanted to play...not watch me take pictures.

This project...

and this project....

...are both from Steph's blog...click HERE for the letters and HERE for the picture.

I'm itching for another project...and I think it's going to be painting the kitchen and living room... we are going to start slowing trying to sell the place and I don't think alot of people would be keen on the green living room :)

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DIY: stepstool

I get 99.5% of my projects from someone else's idea...this is one of them :)
My sister-in-law, Steph, is super creative and comes up with so many fun things...she did these modge podge letters for Nora's room this summer....I did them for Adelyn's room a few months ago and they are SUPER CUTE. I had some left over scrapbook paper and was itching for a project today and decided to decorate this white stool I got at Target yesterday. I LOVE it and wanted to share :) I free-handed the letters, but I did see that Michael's has a great selection of stencils...or you can print off a Word document and make your own stencil.
Anyway...just cut what you want and Modge Podge it to the stool :)

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