Monday's Project

Last summer, I began thinking about updating Jack and Hannah's bathroom decorations, but I never actually did the work.  I've sort of been on the lookout for gender neutral themes or colors that I loved, and I finally decided a couple of weeks ago to take the plunge.

I settled on an ocean theme.  We love animals and the colors were fun.  It was perfect.  I got most of what I needed at Target because, let's face it, I practically live there.  Then I added some artwork I found on Etsy, perfectly matched frames I found at Michael's, and a picture I've been hoarding since I bought it on Groupon years ago and never had anywhere for it to hang.  Voila!

Today, while the kids spent time with Grandma and Grandpa, I went to work.  I started with this:

And ended with this:

I'm super happy with the way it all came together.  And I'm especially happy that it didn't take very long at all.  The kids were so excited to see their newly decorated bathroom when they got home.  

Now, if only I could get them to take baths and showers in here instead of in our bathroom :)

Silent Sunday

{We've been busy - more to come.}

Library Corner

Since we're currently working on a few home improvement projects, most revolving around our little lovelies, I thought I'd share the last home improvement project that we completed in September.  Back then, I took pictures to be able to share on the blog, and then time got away from me.  But it definitely deserves to be shared:)

It all started about a year and a half ago when I saw a tutorial on Pinterest on how to use rain gutters to create bookshelves.  I ran the idea past Brad for the empty corner of our playroom, and he was up for the challenge.  We agreed the lonely corner needed a little something, and I wanted it to be a little library for the kids.

{See the empty corner?}

So here's how that Pinterest-fail went down.  I went online and ordered the materials we needed for corner bookshelves.  Then Brad drove to the home improvement store to pick up the materials after I received an email that said materials were in stock and ready for pick-up.  That turned out to be a big lie.  So after driving an hour and a half and coming back with half of the necessary materials and speaking to various people on the phone about the lack of customer service, we were no closer to having adorable bookshelves.  

Brad drove one more time out to the store when they believed they had gathered the correct missing pieces; they had not.  We returned everything and attempted to order materials through an online warehouse.  They sent us the wrong materials.  In addition to that, the rain gutters seemed really bulky, much bigger than they appeared in photos, and flimsy.  We weren't loving anything about this idea anymore, so we bailed. 

And for several months I window-shopped and browsed the Internet for better options.  It seemed like maybe we would end up with Ikea spice racks, painted white, but Brad wasn't sure that they would look good in the corner.  Too much wasted space, he thought.

So I went back to the drawing board.  

Ikea has these really nice picture ledges, but they were either too short or too long for our walls, and they didn't meet at a corner.  I showed them to Brad, and he really liked them.  But he also knew he'd have to do a lot of work to get them to look the way we envisioned.  He was game:)

Ensue a shopping trip to Ikea in which I lost my phone.  Or rather - my phone was stolen.  Yeah, you remember the story.

Once the picture ledges were home, we Brad had lots of measuring, cutting, painting, sanding, etc. to do before the shelves were ready.  Especially since the walls that are supposed to be a perfect corner were not.  And because Brad was once a little boy, he figured that at some point, the kids would try to climb the bookshelves like a ladder, which would cause destruction to the wall and the shelves.  So Brad made the shelves like a ladder.  They are strong enough to hold the weight of the kids should they one day to decide to climb up, but shhhh...we didn't tell them this:)  I failed to take pictures of all of this hard work - I'm not sure why, but I'm sure it had to do with two little lovelies who needed or wanted something at the time.

But I did take pictures of the finished product.  Brad is super-proud of this corner, and he should be.  It took so many hours of work, but it looks so nice when we come up the stairs and look into the playroom.  It might be our favorite corner in the entire house:)

See for yourself:

It's a happy place in our home, and we love it!

Silent Sunday

{best - husband - ever: do you see those bookshelves?}

Peak into Our Playroom

Last spring, I began to realize that Jack and Hannah's toys were quickly taking over our living space - something had to be done!  I knew right away that one of my summer projects would be to create an organized playroom in our loft upstairs where the majority of their toys could be stored.

I knew I'd need lots of different storage bins in lots of different sizes.

I set to work on Pinterest and put together an inspiration board.

I shopped at Target, Ikea, Etsy, and The Land of Nod.

And this is how I turned my vision into a reality:

This is the view from the top of the stairs.  The only thing that isn't finished is the corner bookshelf system that will be on the blank wall right outside of the guest room.  We tried the rain gutter bookshelves I found on Pinterest - they didn't look as cute in person as I'd expected, so I'm searching for a better alternative.  I'm thinking white spice racks I saw at Ikea...

All of the playrooms I inspected on Pinterest didn't have a single toy outside of a basket...nothing of an unusual shape or on wheels.  This isn't us...I had to have a space for what I call chunky toys:)

I love the window benches, and I had a lot of fun making sure that there were equal things blue and pink so that Jack and Hannah can each have their own special places to put their things.

I wanted the room to be colorful, and I found the rug (ABC's!) and the curtains (they reminded me of The Cat in the Hat) early on and planned the rest of the room around those two pieces.

I spy a tiny girl exploring a new space:)

These are one of my favorite things in the room - I got to choose (from a ton of possibilities) the words that I wanted to surround our little lovelies...the inspirational words that they will one day read while hanging out together in the playroom.

 Room to play - this room is for Jack and Hannah.  It never looks perfectly clean or stays perfectly organized, and that is okay.

 If you wouldn't have guessed (ha!), symmetry plays a big part in this house:)  So with one half of the room being a railing, I did my best.

 We also wanted to have a special place upstairs for the train table.  Until now it had replaced our coffee table in the family room, and I couldn't take it any longer.

I am very pleased with the way the room turned out.  It feels special.  It's bright and colorful and happy.  And they love it:) 

In case you're dying to know...

Bookshelves, benches, storage cubes, arm chairs, and the low activity table all came from Target.

The woven baskets in the bookshelves, the standing baskets for the stuffed animals, and the sets of suitcases came from The Land of Nod.

The rugs both came from Costco.

The curtains and the pillows on the window bench came from Ikea.

And the prints...my, oh-so-wonderful prints - they came from here:)

And because she wanted to pose the day I was taking these pictures...

 {oh, those baby curls!}

{LOVE}

It's only been a week...

We had the family room painted a few days before Hannah's first birthday party.

Today, Jack scanned the room and announced, "I'm starting to like the house while it's yellow now."

Good thing, Kid.  Good thing.

Wordless Wednesday

{my creative juices are flowing - playroom reveal coming soon}

Nursery Details

Tonight I've decided to share the details of Baby Girl's nursery.  The room is 99% finished, with the exception of a few things I can't do until we know the details of her birth:)  Hope you enjoy!

Birdie Details

My most favorite book rack

Quilt and changing table

Crib and Girly Bedding

Baby Girl's Diaper Bag (and a sneak peek at her monogram)

Above her closet

From the corner of her room (note the wreath from our wedding)

One of my favorite prints ever - My Yawning Girl

A lovey

Crib Details

A Diaper Caddy

Baby Girl's Dresser

A Snuggle Zone

And a basket full of girly toys...

I love the way the room turned out, and I can't wait until we have a tiny baby girl who can use it:)  Any day now...Mommy, Daddy, and Jack are waiting for you Baby Girl!