Rainbow Stripe Desk Makeover

If you are following me on Insta, you might remember this little french provincial style desk we picked up for $20 bucks at a flea market. Aggie actually chose it so it was an easy sale. I shared a photo of her standing next to it proudly and soooo many people messaged me to say they had this same desk growing up in their bedroom. Not surprising since it was a big seller for years from Sears. It originally sold for $79!

Obviously I couldn't leave it as it was.






A couple of coats of chalk paint, a little refresh of the hardware and some rainbow stripes  for the top.  This was exactly the kind of makeover this piece needed to give it a updated look but didn't require much effort.  Aggie loves her new desk and it adds some great storage for all that paper that 6 year olds seem to create in their wake.

Gingerbread House Decorating Party

I'll admit that I have done zero holiday decorating thus far (Bad Blogger Award™ 5 years straight, thank you very much!), but I do have some fun holiday inspiration to share from last year. We threw a Gingerbread Decorating Party for our daughter's 6th birthday and it was a total blast. An insane kid sugar fueled rave kinda blast, but a blast none the less.






We purchased gingerbread kits from Ikea ($4 each) and loads of extra candy.  I made the gingerbread houses the night before so they would be set up firmly by the times the kids arrived. I was fully prepared to hot glue them together if my royal icing didn't solidify but thankfully that wasn't necessary.





Because I'm extra, there were a few little DIY elements to amp up the style. First were the kid sized "OH SNAP" aprons which I whipped up a few days before the party.  Second was this fabulous cake made by my sister who clearly gets me.  And finally I found a Buddy the Elf costume for Oscar to wear while he ran around and terrorized the guests. I regret nothing!





It was a crazy party but it was a major hit with my kids so mission accomplished. Perfect for a December birthday girl. Now it's a year later so it's time to get started on this year's birthday bash.

Girl Astronaut Nursery Makeover

Last month we celebrated a very joyous occasion - the arrival of a niece! Since our family is rather small, this was truly an exciting event and we were so happy to welcome her into the world. Of course no baby's arrival is complete without a tiny space to call her own. My brother and sister in law went with an astronaut theme for her nursery which I just adore.


I helped a little with the constellation mural and a few suggestions but they did all of the hard work. I love the "after" but especially after knowing what the "before" looked like.


Pretty impressive, right?


The space is small but functional, creating display and storage as well as clean open space.  Perfect for lulling baby to sleep. When she is a little older, there will be space to play as well.

I helped with the constellation mural.  We tried a few different wants of painting it on but ended up figuring out that a silver sharpie (or actually 5 or 6 of them) was the best and easiest approach.  For just a few bucks, it made a great impact on the big blank wall.

Room Sources:

Glider

Pendant Light

Mobile

Book Ledges

Crib

Rug

Wire Basket

Woven Basket

Storage Bench

Rockship Art

Girl Astronaut Art

Slumber Birthday Party

Completely without my permission, Agatha turned five last month.  I wasn't really in the mood to do a giant party like we had for some of her other birthdays so I decided to do a small slumber party instead.  (Cue Stefan saying 'New York's hottest club is Slumber. It's got everything - tents, cake and twinkle lights')


Fabulous cake by Nikki Berry


Of course I wanted to make it extra special so I did add a few touches to warrant the occasion.  Furry sleeping mask invites, DIY lip balm making, a killer cake and tents with twinkle lights.



We set up four sleeping tents inside the house so the girls would get to all sleep together but have their own space.


The DIY lip balm kits were a big hit with the kids carefully selecting their scents and patiently waiting for it to harden.  Another huge hit was an Instax camera (kind of like an old Polaroid)  one of the girls gave Aggie as a gift - they all loved taking turns and photographing each other (and me, and the faucet and the chair, etc) After pizza and cake and lots of running around it was time to settle in for a movie before bedtime.



Much to my shock, they all hit the hay and actually slept like logs until the next morning. The kids had a blast and it was relatively easy to put together so a win on both counts.  I'll definitely be doing this again if she lets me.



Sources:
Instax Camera
Mermaid Pillows
DIY Lip Balm Kits
Beanie Boo Slippers
Battery String Lights
Kid's Inflatable Mattress
Foldable Play Tent
Furry Sleep Masks

DIY Tiki Bar

Build a basic tiki bar for your next backyard luau with these easy to follow instructions.

Somehow Oscar is turning one next week and we wanted to make sure to mark the occasion in a way that would fun for the adults and the kids. A backyard luau is something we have never done before so we went with it.  In addition to the grass skirts and flower leis, I wanted to build a basic tiki bar to add to the charm. I made this one small enough for our back deck but you could adjust to any size.

I wanted to make something quick (I made this during baby naps over 1 24 hour period), easy (no special tools required) and reasonably cheap.   This was my solution and I think it looks appropriately Gilligan's Island. I also plan on reusing it for this year's Halloween display so doubly useful for me.  If you wanted to create something that would withstand the elements for longer and/or looked less rustic, you could use cedar which withstands moisture and rot but I just used the cheapest lumber I could find.

Materials used: 13 1x4 cut into 35 inch lengths, 2 1x2 cut into 29 inch lengths, 6 1x2s cut into 13 inch lengths, 1 16x36 inch wood piece for the top, 2 29.5x13 wood pieces for the shelves, wood screws, stain or paint

Build the Tiki Bar

• Line up 9 of the 35 inch pieces edge to edge. Screw together using 1x2s.  Place those pieces where you want your shelves to sit. I have them at 13 and 21 inches from the bottom. This will make the front of the tiki bar.
• Line up 4 of the 35 inch pieces edge to edge, screw together using 1x2.  Repeat.  This will make the left and right side of the tiki bar.
• Screw the left and right sides to the face by abutting the short edge to the back of the long edge.
• Screw in the 1x2s to the underside of the top.  Screw in at right and left for extra hold.
• Place the shelves on the 1x2s support
• Stain or paint as desired. I used a mix of brown paint and MinWax Coastal Grey stain.
• Optional: use scrap wood to create Tiki Bar sign hanging from the counter

The only tools you need are something to cut the wood with (or get your local hardware store to do it for you) and a drill.  It came together pretty easily and has a lot of rustic charm perfect for a luau display.

DIY Ring Valentines + Free Printable

I'm probably violating some kind of blogger rule here but I tend to do holiday projects at about the same time the holiday occurs.  Which is why I'm sharing this just one day before Valentine's Day.  Ok shoot me - I'm a last minute mom.  That said, I think these turned out pretty cute.



Not pictured (because I was just too lazy to take more photos) is how Aggie wrote her name on the back of each one and water colored each gem.  She also stuffed the bags so I could put the hang tags on. Obviously I did a lot of the work here but I wanted to do it with her, not for her - and these ticked the box.



I used these flashing sparkly rings loaded into small ziploc bags but you could just as easily slap these tags on a prepackaged ring pops and call it a day.

Any other last minute moms need a hand?  You can crank out a classroom quantity of these in no time. Download the free printable here.

Beauty & The Beast Party | Tale as Old as Four...

The past few months have been a bit of a whirlwind. I'll admit I'm struggling a bit getting my mojo back - balancing 2 kids and being back to work full time is a balancing act I haven't yet mastered.  Some things fall to the bottom of the priority list but I still love a good party!



Aggie's fourth birthday was celebrated with a Beauty & The Beast theme and a house full of 4 year olds. I went pretty simple on the decor this time around - a rose in a cloche, an antique clock and a stack of books decorated the cake table.  A small table with a selection of tiaras and crowns and septors made up a "Coronation Station".  A simple DIY bellini bar that was much appreciated by the parents (non alcoholic "princess punch" was an option for the kids) and a grilled cheese station rounded out the menu.  For entertainment, we went full on cheese and had Beauty & the Beast stop by to read stories and sing songs.  It was an exhausting day but this age is so magical and she loved every minute.  I'm glad we got to do it for her.

Girl's Bedroom - Grownup Sophistication

This little girl's bedroom in black and white has a lot of grown up sophistication with plenty of child like wonder. Small pops of color make this room the perfect space.

This post contains affiliate links which gives me a small commission on your purchases at no additional cost to you. If there is anything that is constant in my life, it's that nothing is ever truly finished when it comes to this house.  So I try to walk a balance between being satisfied with good enough versus always trying go make everything just so. I don't always do a great job with that but I'm working on it. But with that in mind, I'm calling Aggie's big little girl's bedroom done.  I still have a few other touches I will add over time but I do love how it turned out so it's time to share.

 

Picture Molding Adds Dimension In A Girl's Bedroom

As you know I went with a black and white color scheme.  I wanted a really calm and airy feeling in here to balance the riot of color that is every kid thing known to man.  But to make a white room that doesn't have a lot of architectural interest work, it needed texture.  First was the black ceiling, then the picture molding (see where I trimmed out her black and white little big girl room) and then some cozy soft things like a plush rug and lots of pillows.  For a finishing touch, one bright pop of color in the form of a hot pink chair.

 

Check out that before and after.

Girl's Bedroom Source List

Wall color: Glidden Marshmallow White
Ceiling color: Glidden Deep Onyx
Draperies: Tonic Living
Bed: Jenny Lind Land of Nod (purchased secondhand + painted)
Pink Chair: World Market (purchased secondhand)
Storage Unit: Ikea Kallax
Baskets: Striped baskets with rope handles
Rolling Toy Box: DIY
Pillows: Cloud Pillow + Amperstand Pillow
Bedding:  Ruffle Quilt + Polkadot comforter 
Chandelier: Vintage from the Mr.'s old house
Rug: Rugs USA 
Ceiling Medallion: Similar
Watercolor Portrait: souvenir from our trip to Paris

For More Bedroom Makeovers check out:

Beachy Bedroom Makeover

Shore Bedroom Makeover

Airplane Birth Announcements

Airplane birth announcements perfectly compliment the arrival of our baby world traveler.

In an age of electronic everything, I'm a sucker for snail mail.  Especially if the occasion is a happy one.  So of course I had do so something to announce Oscar's arrival in an old school way.  Sticking with the same inspiration for his nursery, we went with a retro travel inspired look.

Just like with all my mailings, I like to include a little treat (Agatha's birth announcements came with candy). This time it was a little balsa wood flyer. I admit I had never seen these before but they are fun to fly and race.  Not sure who enjoys them more - the boys or their fathers!



So off they went on their little adventure along with a tag and photo, introducing our newest traveler.

Safari Nursery - Warm Sophisticated Space Makes Lasting Memories

Create a cozy safari nursery using warm colors, precious mementos and a few new pieces. It's the perfect space for your future world traveler.
 

While I didn't quite meet my self imposed goal of having this nursery complete before Oscar's arrival, it was finished within a few weeks.  I'm call that a win! We went with a loosely interpreted sophisticated safari theme with a few whimsical touches to keep it baby appropriate. This makeover was an easy one with just a few changes to the decor - keeping it different enough from Agatha's nursery look without putting in too much work.

As you can see, I left the walls



While I created this safari nursery for my son, it works just as well for a baby girl.



Even though the room is very small, there are a lot of great little touches that make me smile.  Staring with photographs from our trip to Kenya in 2010 (arguably one of the best vacations we have ever been on!).  We also have the hot air balloon that we received as a thank you gift from my brother and sister in law (your might remember that was the best wedding ever).  A rocking elephant that a sweet friend sent that is just perfect.  And finally an amazing reversible quilt from local artisan Brooklyn Quilting Co that I can't get enough of.

 

Dark walls and personal touches make a warm, cozy space

It's cozy and warm and I hope we'll make the same wonderful memories in here that we made with Agatha when she was in this room.  Now if only we could all sleep through the night and then it would be magical.

Safari Nursery Resources

map quilt | brooklyn quilting co.
glider | Lyon Swivel by babyrelax
crib | stokke sleepi
curtains| striped flambe via overstock 
mobile | petit collage safari
animal head | pillowfort target
rug | Zulu by Loloi
wall color | Glidden Wrought Iron
hot air balloon | authentic models
rocking elephant | pottery barn
picture frames | Ikea odby (now discontinued)
chair pillow | designed by me, printed at zazzle
safari photos | taken by me on our trip to Kenya

For More check out:

Baby Closet Hack