Designing a room for the grandkids Part 3...

The madness continues.

After looking at the last design, 50 million times... I've decided to change my mind... because that's what I do...

We're sticking with the same essentials - White bed, white desk and white book shelves... so other than the purple hardware, I've got a pretty blank canvas...

So I was thinking... this might be a room for the kid(s) when they sleep over, but my mom and dad still have to look at it the rest of the time and maybe... just maybe... that purple-lime combo was a bit too much... I still haven't decided but I'm going to try to give them more options (since it is their house and all... knowing all the while that my dad couldn't care less and is probably wondering why he's going to paint this room... yet again).

So onto a more sophisticated grand-kid room... we'll keep the Behr New Violet color because it's super pretty and my mom's pretty set on purple walls.

I am absolutely in love with these pulls from Anthropologie but they are pricey and given that I would need aproximately 7 billion for all the drawers on this furniture, I'll keep dreaming

Also OBSESSED with the Giraffe bust (also from Antrho). It keeps the room from getting too grown up


The bedding, curtains (print, solid), small baskets (which will work perfectly in corralling stray crayons and markers on the desk) and chair are all from Ikea. I'm thinking that the chair could definitely use a coat of gold spray paint to make it blend better with the drawer knobs that I'll never buy. But a few brass frames (sunshine,  whole heart) from Sugarboo & Co.  will not only look so so sweet with pictures of the grandkid(s) on the bookshelves... they will look so much better if the chair is gold (not silver) and white.

I'm totally digging the global feel of this design and I love love love the map canvas and a few of these woven baskets (from Target) tie it all together. The baskets would look great lined up on the bottom of the bookshelves and will be perfect for hiding toys from plain sight (which I'm sure will make Gingin a very happy grandmother).

Another thing that will really make Gingin happy - a rules sign - especially a rules sign that starts with "no whining"! This may very well be my favorite thing in the long line amazingness that is Sugarboo & Co. and I'm pretty sure it was created just for my parents' house (the only way it could be more perfect is if it stopped at frowning, teehee).

We'll just call this one "Budget Blown" but it's so pretty so I don't care...

Bedding: $24.99 (x2)
Curtains: $24.99 (x2), $9.99 (x2)
Baskets: $5.99 (x3), 27.98 (x3)
Wall Decor:$59.99, $36.50, $48

Frames: $36 (x2... for now)
Chair: $19.99
Total: $458.33
oops... that doesn't even include sheets, decorative pillows or paint, so a conservative addition there will be another $150 or so...  But still not bad to have the whole room done for under $600 (just twice as much as the earlier design... nbd)

Designing a Room for Grandkids - Part 2

Because I just can't help myself... I've been doing a little more digging into the decor for Gingin and Pop's grandkids' guest room.

I just couldn't leave well enough alone... I thought, this room is for kids... it's going to need books and baskets and personalization... but I'm still on a super-tight budget.

So I thought I'd include a few of these super-cheap frames which can hold a picture of each grandkid as they come along... so for now, so what if they are all filled with Elisabeth... all Elisabeth.... all the time... meh... no one's complaining (yet).

They're really inexpensive and match the style of the existing furniture really well... plus, there are tons of "hack" ideas all over pinterest if we ever decide we need a rainy day art project at Gingin's.

I love the idea of adding baskets to the bookshelves in this room to organize and separate (and hide) some of the toys that will likely end up stowed at my parents' house. Adding this one also makes the space more interesting by breaking up some of the white-mod furniture and also brings in some more color and a natural element where everything else is a little plastic.

There will obviously need to be some kind of adorable arts and craft storage - like this cute crayon caddy... or maybe these super-fun containers.

Of course, I'm obsessed with the idea of book ledges and want them in my own house but 1 or 2 in this room might do it some good :) I love love love the thought of swapping out the books for the seasons and being able to display the very best and most-favorites for the kiddies.

 Some of our favorites growing up were:

Stone Soup 

Miss Nelson is Missing 

The Giving Tree

The Velveteen Rabbit

The Pokey Little Puppy

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

 Madeline

Bears in the Night

The Spooky Old Tree

Please Try to Remember the First of Octember

I'll Teach My Dog 100 Words

Danny and the Dinosaur

 Caps for Sale

 Tikki Tikki Tembo

 Babar the King

 The Mitten

 Corduroy

 The Little Engine That Could

 Amelia's Notebook

 Thank You Amelia Bedelia

and of course, all of the Disney Classic Series (Aladdin, Lion King, Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast...)

And then, there were the books we read to Cara (years and years later) and most of them were the same, but she absolutely loved any stories about dogs, horses, and really, animals in general.

Guess How Much I Love You

The Runaway Bunny

All things Biscuit

Five True Dog Stories

and her very favorite Balto: The Bravest Dog Ever

 
I don't think we actually NEED these but I just think they're so freaking cute! I love the idea of the kids being able to hang all their dress-up and make believe clothes from them and putting on performances.

Designing a room for Grandkids

Ever since my younger brother moved to Colorado after Christmas, my mom has been having some SERIOUS empty nest syndrome... she just changed her FB picture to this one of her and Danny Boy at his going-away party (lookin a lil teary there momma)...

Since then, my younger sister has expanded her reign throughout the entire upstairs of my parents' house (except the master bed/bath)... This BLOWS MY MIND! As one of six kids, we always always always shared rooms. Now, she's the last one and she gets three for herself!

This isn't exactly flying at the Brett Nut House and my mom wants to consolidate little sis into one room and make the other 2 guest rooms (1 for kids and 1 for adults... even though they'll both have bunk beds?) Since my mom's just too busy to fix this, I've taken it upon myself to design Cara's old room.

The trouble is that I can't just go crazy and spend a ton of money (because really, who has extra of that floating around?) and I also have to incorporate as many of the existing pieces as humanly possible... I love a challenge!

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First up, I have to work with a Joker pallet... purple and green... not terribly difficult but I really need to make sure this room DOES NOT look like a DC comic, especially not one of the creepiest villains ever.

So I'm working with the existing furniture, which is great for storage and awesome for kids, but not the prettiest - and it has huge purple pulls... which also, great for kids but not the most attractive... but there are like 27 drawers on this stuff so replacing them just isn't gonna work.

Then we have a lovely lime green shaggy carpet and a lime green desk chair... This is what happens when Mom has 1 idea for the decor (pink, orange and yellow flip flop-girly-beachy theme and her then-7 year old kid wants a "Jimmy Buffet/ship wreck" room with lime green and Caribbean blue.) Can't be too rough on my mom here because anyone would have given into this kid! She was a master negotiator by the time she was 3.

So after scouring the interweb for what seemed like hours... I was able to compile a few cute things that make this room less joker-y and more girly-fun... and WITHOUT blowing the budget!

Where I found the bedding:

Stipped Bedding: Ikea, $19.99

Polka Dot Sheets: Kohl's, (listed online for $39.99, but in-store they were only $19.99 and I had a 30% off coupon and Kohl's cash... so they were practically free)

Lime Green Pillow: Ikea, $3.99

Purple Ruffle Pillow: Kohl's, $64.99 (you know I also didn't pay that - seriously... in store, it was at least 1/2 that price)

LOVE Pillow: Kohl's, $34.99 (these were buy 1, get 1 for 50% off... plus the coupon, plus Kohl's cash) 

Total for bedding: (using coupons and Kohl's cash) $158.38

And the Artwork:

Bird print: Ikea, $9.99

Colorful butterflies: Ikea, $12.99

Purple Butterflies: Ikea, $12.99

And just when you thought I was a 2-stop-shopper... 

The curtain panels are from Target 2 sets for just $19.99 each!

Total for accessories and decor: $75.95

Of course, I'll be painting the walls a toned down version of Radiant Orchid (Behr Ultra New Violet) because it's just so pretty, vibrant and fun! (just like Gingin's granddaughter, Miss Elisabeth)

The grand total of this room will end up being under $300!

Happy Valentine's Day! Happy Birthday!

My husband always says that his birthday is the WORST! He's always had to buy someone else a present for HIS birthday. He's always had to plan some elaborate dinner or event for someone else on HIS birthday. He's always had to order flowers and have them delivered to someone else on HIS birthday... by those points, I'd have to agree... sharing your birthday with Valentine's day has got toe be absolutely NO FUN... especially for a guy!

Lucky for him, I'm not a Valentine's girl... Don't get me wrong, I think it's great to celebrate love and I adore decorating our home (and myself) with lots of red and pink and hearts and glitter... shocking I know... but when it comes to this day, that's all I want. I don't want him to spend $70 on flowers for 1 day when for-no-reason flowers are so much better. I don't want him to buy me chocolate... then I would be compelled to eat it and promptly complain that I now need to run it off, and I really don't want to... and I need more jewelry like I need a hole in my head... but if he asks, I really do love diamonds :)

Mostly, I just love having an excuse to make a reservation at a fancy restaurant and go out and spend a much-deserved night out on the town with the love of my life. We drink pretty cocktails and over-indulge in everything then practically roll home.

So I usually start looking for great new restaurants in Philadelphia in December and make about 15 reservations on Open Table and then give Jay a choice. Sometimes, he wants to try a specific spot... other years he wants to be surprised. Last year was probably our favorite. Stateside had an AMAZING Prix fix menu for Valentine's day (we usually aren't fans of not having a choice but this worked out) and an even greater whiskey and bourbon selection which totally made Jay's night.

Tonight we're headed to Barclay Prime!

So Happy Birthday to the love of my life! I am so happy I get to spend the rest of my life celebrating the man I love on the day of love :)

Non-Valentine's Day

I first have to start out by wishing my beautiful sister a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY!  She was my first friend and the reason that I love to celebrate this day so much! We never had to worry about being alone on the day of love because we always got to spend it together doing fun things to celebrate our love as sisters and with our family.

Growing up, my mom never missed an opportunity to decorate for holidays and would DECK OUT our house in all things festive for the entire month leading up to them. She would bake goodies for us to match the holidays and always made sure that we had time to celebrate as a family. It was so fun making crafts and goodies to commemorate the seasons.

As we got older, there was undue pressure on us to find boyfriends to celebrate our "love" with (and you know... in high school when your boyfriend would conveniently break up with you so he didn't have to buy you anything for Valentine's day... so you were alone anyway). We never had that, it was always just her birthday and a reason to decorate with hearts galore! We would go watch chick flicks or shop or get dinner... anything to make it about her special day and not about Valentine's day and I cherish every memory we share from these days!

So, since tomorrow is your birthday, I wanted to be the first to say (as it was so eloquently put at your 16th birthday surprise party)...

 SHIEEEEEEELA! Happy Beeeeeeee-Day!!!! 

(in my most high-pitched and flamboyant voice possible)

Love is in the House!

We had a nice long weekend followed by 2 partial snow days so I took some time to recoop from this terrible cough that's been lurking since Christmas. I also put away all of our Christmas decorations and started to decorate our house (surprise, surprise!)

I made a few garlands to drape around our kitchen and in our powder room... I probably could have been more productive, but sometimes you just need a good craft project in your life. I also ordered a few of these goodies to deck our halls (and couch, and windows, and walls, and doors).

Amazon - Red Striped Straws (I may or may not have a lifetime supply of these from our wedding

Sur La Table - Valentine's Day Mug

Kohl's - Conversation Heart wreath (not available online) and towels

Target - heart shaped tray, round heart tray

JandPaper on Etsy - Olive You and Love chalk board prints (and don't forget to check out the matching shirts over at Sasea Decor on Etsy)

PB Teen - Love pillow cover

Yellow Bird, Yellow Beard - paper hearts garland

Bakers Stock - hot pink baker's twine (mine was found in the clearance section at TJ Maxx)

Ikea - heart pillow

ScrapCuts on Etsy - red dot washi tape 

Confetti System Garland from West Elm, discontinued (similar here, here, or here)

Snow Day = Dayload

What I learned on Facebook and Instagram today:

Snow Days = Dayloads

With Bombogenesis pounding at our door, I can't help but notice that it seems everyone is home getting wasted. (except *some* parents with children home from school, as my best friend pointed out to me).

Pictures of wine glasses by frosted windows, snowbanks filled with beer bottles, and even margarita snow cones have filled my feeds today... which was awesome to see while I was sitting in 2 hours of traffic trying to get home from never actually making it to work... So without further adieu, mine and Jay's recipes for snow day beverages!

He drinks:

Chai Tea Latte with a heaping pour of Jim Beam Red Stag Cider

She drinks:

Iced coffee (or hot, depending on if your coffee is fresh... mine was still in the pot from this morning before I left for work, so I added ice) with a splash of Caramel Vanilla Creamer, Baileys, and whipped cream vodka

Now go get in your comfiest sweats, make yourself a glass, light a fire, and relax... or invite friends over to snow-day-it with you and drink beers and limoncello out of snow piles on your deck while you play the greatest game ever invented.

In other news... we desperately need a bar/barcart for all this liquor that has taken up residence on my kitchen counters. 1) we look like alcoholics, 2) we have such little counter-space as it is, I can't be sacrificing it to the booze, 3) you can't see it, but my red wine is literally laying sideways in a box on top of our wine fridge because I can't decide on a wine rack. Hot mess express. I've got a ticket to ride...