Happy Two You!

Can we just take a moment to acknowledge the fact that I actually used to update this blog quite regularly? And now? Now, look at me! This is ridiculous.

Anyway, since we last talked, my kids grew up. The end.

Kidding, kidding. Here's the scoop (you'll get the pun in a bit):

Chapter One: 
I have big kids. Two of them. I really can't believe it. Their birthday was a great day. We both took off work to spend time with them. We had breakfast as a family and then took them to Build A Bear for the first time. I think they were a bit too young for the process still, but it was adorable to see them dragging their new Dogs ("Dog" and "Hop") around in their Dog houses.

During naptime, we did the unthinkable.... we turned the girls car seats forward facing!  I felt very strongly about waiting until they were two to do this and was pretty proud of myself for sticking it out. I'll tell you what though, I'm SO thrilled we turned them. Life is SO much easier when you can actually address your kids' needs in the car!

 

After the girls (and their dogs) woke up from naps, we took them to the local pumpkin patch and let them play in the kids area.

[Side bar on this "kids area:" Can you say rip off? Seriously, it was $3 a kid for: a pile of dirt, a couple Little Tyke swings, a play shed, and some random balls. I'm not kidding.]

After spending 17 hours in the kids area to make sure we really got out monies' worth, we went home, ate a random dinner and had cake! It was such an easy day and was so perfect. I loved every second!

 

I spent my post-bedtime free time prepping for the big bday party to be held the next day. See Chapter Two of this epic update for details on this...

Chapter Two: 
My big kids love ice cream. Love. So, we decided (as a result of their sweet tooth and the fact that this is likely the last year I'll have any say in the theme), to throw an ice cream-themed birthday party!

I had a blast planning it! The invites were inspired by a set I found on Etsy and my very talented friend brought them to fruition.

The largest project was sewing and hanging a stupid fabric awning in the dining room (what was I thinking??). It was truly a labor of love (read: PITA!), but as long as you didn't really get up close, it didn't look half bad! The Ice Cream Co. sign was created by yours truly and printed by Chris' sign guy. I was SO thrilled when 1. I found out how easy it is to download free fonts and 2. that it turned out so adorable! We had a large one for above the awning and a smaller one for the front door. 

 

 

I tired to think of everything I've ever loved on ice cream for the sundae bar. You name, we had it (and still do. So stop on by for some sweets!).

 

And can we cake a quick second to note the ice cream flavors? Van-Ellie?? Choco-Charlie?? Straw-Blandy?? Thank you to another brilliantly-talented friend for thinking those gems up! 

The party itself was a blast! We ordered a bounce house and the adults enjoyed it just as much as they little ones. We were lucky to have it at all because the weather was VERY uncooperative (me... planning an event... with bad weather... noooo.) Thankfully, the rain stopped and my ILs lent us a very large outdoor rug to get folks from the patio to the bounce house. Crisis averted!

 

Tell me these aren't the faces of happy kids??

And then this happened.... Don't worry... I'm married to MacGyver.

Happy birthday, sweet love bunnies. You are my everything! 

Master Makeover: Part Two

Well, the makeover is about 98% complete, so I'm officially calling it done. Here's a few pics to to peak your interest. And if you still want more, there are details below.

For those who really want to humor me and act interested in every explicit detail of this redo... thank you, and here you go:

The headboard was a labor of love, but I'm really thrilled with the outcome. I found instructions here and they really did an excellent job of detailing the process. The only tip I might add is to use a powered staple gun instead of an old fashioned one. It was impossible for us to get the staples flat when tufting the headboard and we ended up hammering each one down. That's three staples per each of the 28 buttons for a grand total of 84 hammered staples. This took..... a long time. And was further complicated by the fact that it had to be done once the girls had fallen asleep. (Thank you, ladies, for being sound sleepers!).

All said and done, it took three evenings to build, upholster, tuft, and connect to our current bed frame. All that's left is the nail head trim along the wings (Eventually...).

My only other note is to know the difference between 1/2" and an 1". The instructions call for 1" thick foam which is what I thought I was purchasing....Come to find out, I purchased 1/2" foam (clearly the reason I was below budget). It's not the end of the world, but I'll forever know that the headboard 1. isn't perfect and 2. could be even more comfy.

{Progress}

We were lucky that our current bed frame was in great condition and deliberately built the headboard to fit perfectly within the existing space. All that was needed were a few scraps of wood to attach the two together and voila. I have grand plans to upholster the bed rails in the same fabric as the headboard to make it look like one piece.

After all the blood, sweat, and cursing, it gave me great joy to see an exact replica of this headboard on Amazon for close to $500. Grand total on ours? <$150.

The other major change in the room is the dresser. I made mention of it in my earlier post, but never included a picture. So, I'll start with my inspiration: 

I don't know from whence this image came, but it's been in my mind as the most perfect dresser. When I found this posting on CL, I was thrilled with the similarity.





It's definitely a bit smaller in person than I hoped, but I still love it. The question remains: to paint or not to paint??

  

And that about covers it, I guess. The biggest change has really been the "feel" of the room. It's just much more relaxing now. It's also been very motivating to keep the room clean now that I love the space.

Master makeover

We've been in the house for almost four years now and I feel it's a good time for some change. I satisfied this urge in the living room last year by re-covering my pillows and ottoman.The kitchen received a refresher when we installed our honeycomb back splash a few months back. And the dining room recently saw an update when we added our new, beautiful pedestal table.... And now... I'm focused on the master bedroom, in a major way.

Here's a couple before shots:

I've never hated this space, but I've also never felt like it was put together the way I wanted. The room itself has tall, tray ceilings, a huge double window, and is a great size. Basically, it's shell is perfect. The rest just needs a bit of love. My general concept is fresh, calming, and romantic... after all, it is a master bedroom.

What's staying: 

We currently have a Queen bed but want to upgrade to a king when the timing is right (financially). For now, I'll make due with my current mattress.

I love my white textured duvet and matching king shams. Those will stay.

The white dresser has been with me since I was two and isn't leaving now. Eventually the girls will inherit it, but that won't be for a couple more years. 

Our nightstands are different but related and match the dresser well, so they'll also stay.

What's going:

The dark dresser pictured is going, going, gone. It was a great bargain several years ago from Pier One, but is too dark and too small. I've already moved it to the loft to act as our filing cabinet. It actually looks quite nice up there. The IL's gave us their old dresser to replace this one. It was a much better scale for the room, but was also dark, so it was a good temporary replacement until I found a new-to-me second-hand dresser to replace it (more on that later).

Not pictured is our Queen headboard/rails. It's the same color as the dresser and -again- way too dark for the room.

The curtains were great but over time I grew to hate them. They're way darker and heavier in appearance than I want and sort of sucked the energy out of the room. Same with the standard shams. I imagine something a little lighter and brighter on the bed. 

The current artwork and most other nick nacks will also find a new home.

The plan:

I have my sights set on stencils. I really love the idea of a metallic or shiny stencil on the bed wall of the room, mimicking wallpaper. My original plan was for a California white or off-white. Then the stencil will be either a glossy version of the wall, or a metallic paint (still deciding).

Ideally I'll incorporate watery blues and greens and other metallic tones. My inspiration piece is a beautiful pillow I snagged from West Elm. The background of the pillow is my ideal wall color goal and it includes a blue/green pattern which ideally will appear again on the dresser and my side lamps. Speaking of... I like the shape/pattern of my current lamps, but need to update the color. I plan to spray the base and finial of the lamp in a hammered metallic finish. The remainder of the lamp will get a coat of glossy blue/green.

I love collage walls right now and want to incorporate one above the bed.

The progress: 

So, Sherwin Williams can thank this room for keeping them in business because, I've had major issues deciding on a color. Per my original plan, I wanted California white with metallic wall accents.... We tried, we didn't like, we tried again. The walls are now a few shades lighter than the original wall color- a soft blue/grey hue called Olympus White. I really love it. It's soft and relaxing- just what the room needed.

We've also since completed the stencil wall and I love, love, love it. Chris selected the pattern which is sort of a trellis pattern (I typically do not dig), but it isn't harsh, so it works. The process was tedious and painful, but the outcome is super cool:

1. First you paint the background color- cream in our case. It seems completely.... backwards, but that's the way.
2. Next you find dead center of the wall and work from there- don't start at one end or another bc your pattern won't end evenly.
3. Find some adjustable adhesive spray. I found some by 3M at Home Depot. It isn't labeled as adjustable but the instructions tell you how to make it so.
4. Spray a light coat of adhesive onto the stencil and let dry for about a minute, then place the stencil on the wall making sure to smooth it out completely.
5. Paint on the top coat using a small, foam roller.
6. Before you peel off the stencil, take a look for markings on the stencil and make sure to pencil these in. This is to keep your pattern going. So basically, you line up the markings each time you move the stencil.
7. Lather, rinse, repeat. I'll warn you- it's a LONG process. It took us two days between 9:00 pm- 12:00 am, but the result is pretty nifty and it's certainly a feeling of accomplishment!  

The pictures aren't great, but it really does look good in person. Also, ignore the awkward space between the picture frames and the headboard in these pics. We have plans to upholster a headboard complete with nail head trim, like this one, which will be a bit taller.

I've also replaced the hardware on my dresser and our nightstands and love it! The nightstand hardware is from Anthro and my dresser is straight from HD. Finally, I added a three-frame collage above my dresser in the same champagne metallic tone as the pics above, and added some mercury glass accessories. I'll call that area complete.

Next steps:

I'm tirelessly looking for a nice club chair with nail-head trim, like this one, to add to the room. But I can't afford.... anything really. So, I'll keep stalking Joss & Main and Overstock and Home Goods and Wayfair until I find something dirt cheap.

Also, as previously mentioned, we're planning on building a headboard. I have the fabric (a tanish/greyish linenish material) that I got for $15 at Joann's- score! So now I just need to order the nails and then we can get to work.

I'm also coveting these ottomans from Target. I'd like to buy two and put them at the end of the bed; however: 1.) The legs aren't the right color and 2.) The number after the dollar sign isn't low enough. So, I suppose I'll just keep an eye out for something similar.

Finally, I need to decide what I'm going to do with our new dresser- paint or leave as is. Right now it's a light maple but not too orangey and is in excellent condition. It makes me sad to think about painting over perfectly beautiful wood; however, I really love this look and think it might help tie this dresser to the other one and to the nightstands.

I suppose that's enough for now. I'll update later with pictures once I un-bury the room from the chaos that is life right now.