5/13/14

The Great Switch of 2014

Leave a Comment
It was time. Time to move our 4 year old to the guest bedroom, our 2 year old out of the nursey into the toddler room and our 4 month old out of the bassinet into the nursery. The great switch of 2014. First I needed to transform a guest bedroom into a big girl room that a four year old would love now and yet be able to grow into. Second, this transformation needed to happen with my Pottery Barn style on a Target budget.



Last fall I knew this great switch was inevitable so began looking for bedding options. I fell in love with the Sherbert Ribbons bedding from Land of Nod. They were discontinuing the line so I purchased the duvet on major clearance. 

My four year old's taste of wall color was "anything pink and sparkly." Yes, I'm totally that mom that refuses to paint the walls pink. I went with Benjamin Moore's Collingwood which is a beautiful gray but with a brown tone rather than blue tone. Again, my goal was something she could still grow with. Pink she loves today but may not next week. Sidenote: Lowes can color match any designer paint color. Used Valspar Ultra paint and by far the easiest paint to use and half the price!

The bunting banner above the bed I had previously made for a birthday party. I bought heavy cardboard bunting triangles from Hobby Lobby. I picked out three types of scrapbook paper to pull colors that I wanted. Cut out the paper to fit the cardboard bunting triangles and glue/tape on. I strung my bunting with a jute cord but you could use ribbon also. Thumbtacks into the ceiling are holding the banner in place. 

The white ruffle curtains and white ruffle bedskirt were both from Target. Pottery Barn has identical ruffle curtains and bedskirt but for double the price. The birdcage is another Hobby Lobby find. A little spay paint and you have a cute accent. 

My next project for this room is painting the nightstand. I've never painted wooden furniture but need a new decorating adventure!
Read More...

5/1/14

My Five Faves for the First

Leave a Comment
I love when friends share referrals of books, products, recipes or any other idea that makes life a little easier. Pinterest is great, but scanning through thousands of ideas/products overwhelms me. On the first of the month, I'm going to try to post my five favorites from the past month. If you blog, please join with me on the 1st of the month. If you are not a blogger, comment below on some of your faves or comment in the Facebook post. I would love to hear about the stuff you enjoy.

1. Melissa & Doug On the Go Water Wow coloring books

We recently made a 24 hour roundtrip road trip with 3 toddlers all 4 years and younger. My mom gave these coloring books for our older girls (4 and 2) to use on the way home. These coloring books were a HIT! The pen/paintbrush has a refillable cartridge you fill with water. The coloring pages reveal colors when wet. The best part about this: when the pages dry they turn back to white and then you color with water all over again. Melissa & Doug products are some of my favorite kids toys but this one is genius for road trips and flying with toddlers.

2. Hershey's 3x Dark Chocolate Cookies

Need I say more?! Big shout out to my sister for passing this recipe to me.

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, cold
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp hot water
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup Hershey's Special Dark cocoa powder
3.75 oz Hershey's Special Dark instant pudding mix
2 cups Hershey's Special Dark chocolate chips

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Using a mixer, beat the butter until smooth.
3. Add the brown sugar and sugar. Beat for 1-2 minutes, until nearly creamy.
4. Add the eggs, one at a time and mixing in between additions.
5. Dissolve the baking soda in the tablespoon of water. Add both the baking soda and the vanilla to the mixer and mix well. Mix in the salt.
6. Add the flour, cocoa powder, and pudding mix, and mix until dough forms.
7. Mix in the chocolate chips.
8. Scoop dough by tablespoons onto parchment lined or silicon lined baking sheet, 2 inches apart.
9. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

3. Essie nail polish "As Cute as a Button"

I love Essie products as they are long lasting and rarely chip. I picked up this color a few weeks ago and love that it is a coral so goes with any color combination. This will be my go to polish for summer.

4. "Mended" by Angie Smith


I received this book at a ministry conference last year but am just now picking it up. It is great read for anyone with a busy schedule. It is written almost like a devotional and has 31 chapters that are each around 3-4 pages. 

5. Kari Jobe's newest album Majestic


This worship album is powerful. Listen to "Forever" and I promise you will be hitting repeat.
Read More...