Big Boy Room

I'm super excited to be able to get started on Hayden's big boy room! He will be 3 in February and it's time to get him a big bed! He is a monkey and started climbing out of his crib over a year ago. We lowered it to the lowest setting and the little monster learned to swing his little leg over and pull himself out. We realized this when we were sleeping peacefully and some time in the middle of the night, he is in our room wanting in OUR bed! We were afraid he was going to break his neck, or some other important body part, so we transformed his crib into the toddler mode with the half bar to keep him from rolling off.

Now, I do NOT like having him in our bed. For one, Hubs is a sound and rough sleeper, so he could roll over him and not even feel it. Second, this kid is a crazy sleeper and kicks me all night. Third, I don't want him to learn to sleep with us. I am a very light sleeper and this mama needs peaceful sleep!

 The poor kid didn't even have a nursery when he was born. we moved two weeks after he was born and used his room for storage for unpacked boxes while he slept in the pack-n-play in our room. When he was about 4 months old, we got his room together. It  now consists of white furniture that was in my room at my grandmother's house. It is not for a boy, but we needed it, so it's worked for now. His crib is one that we got at Target on sale, I can't remember the style. This one is similar but the back is solid.


http://www.target.com/p/davinci-jayden-4-in-1-crib-with-toddler-rail-white/-/A-13742013#?lnk=sc_qi_detaillink


 I lucked out with his crib bedding and found a brand new set by BananaFish on ebay for $60! This set would have cost me over $200 retail! I love the colors of it and the little animal shapes. I have never liked any of the babyish bedding at other places and the bright colors made it more grown up.

Joshua Bananafish

I'm a big fan of navy blue. Like, I'm obsessed with it.  Maybe because it's classic and gorgeous, maybe because it goes with ANY other color. I also love red. I also love anything nautical. So I have a picture in my head of him having a nautical styled bedroom. Everyone seems to be doing nautical now, though. So, I've been thinking.

What does HE like?

He likes cars and trains and planes and motocycles and anything that makes a loud noise and goes fast! So an airplane theme is what we are going with. He has a pretty small room. Let's face it, every room in this house is small. Sigh. So for now he will have a twin bed or toddler bed.  Probably a toddler bed from Craigslist. I have furniture in mind and may have some for his room tomorrow! Cross your fingers!!  He, for sure, needs storage, the kid has toys like nothing I've ever seen! I do plan to have a yard sale this weekend and getting rid of some of the toys he doesn't play with and maybe the money can fund some decor!

So here are some inspiration photos for you to gander at! Let me know what you think! I definitely need some feedback!

Found here

Found here

Found here

The room above is incredible and you should check out the post!

I love you plane print

Found here

Prints

Found here

Accessories

Found here

Is it bad to spend $30 on a clock for a person who can't tell time? 

Found here

I have a ton of other ideas going on including sheets from Pottery Barn Kids! I'm ready to start because I know he is going to love it! He was ooohing and ahhhing at the bed sheets on the computer screen!!

My first attempt at DIY Chalk Paint

So, I have longed for the time when someone would come out with a brand of chalk paint cheaper than $40 a quart. I even tried to figure out to make some of my own. I googled the heck out of it.

For a while I didn't check my blogroll, at all. I lost touch with what was going on with everyone because I was busy working, raising a child, etc. Oh y'all do that too and still manage to read your blogroll? Maybe it was more out of jealousy because I was too busy for any makeovers, or home additions, or new kitchens. Boo. Anyway, I'm back and ready for action!!!

Finally some incredibly smart people came up with a few different recipes for DIY chalk paint!! Woohoo! I mean, I was seriously contemplating crushing some chalk right into my paint can(and it might have to come to that if I'm desperate, or out of Plaster of Paris). Needless to say, I was so excited when I saw so many people had come up with different ideas to create a knock-off version of chalk paint, FOR CHEAP!

For weeks I looked at the many ideas and thought of ways I could use it on something, I've desperately wanted to try the "real" versions, but there are other things in my budget that are more important. Finally, I came across this Cavalier chest on good ole Craigslist for only $75!

Of course I did what any cheap thrifty girl would do, and asked for less :) We agreed on $65 and my husband gained a friend. You see, we watch Storage Wars religiously and even thought about starting storage hunting before the show aired! I mean, how fun! Well, this guy bought storage lockers and sold the contents on CL. They instantly connected and talked all about it! The hubs says he is going to go with him and check it out and wants to start buying them. We'll see.

It was in pretty rough shape, I mean, the drawers are all functioning and they are no huge gashes, but the stain was horrible and there were dents here and there. It needed help.

Originally, I wanted to keep the natural wood look and re-stain, but one of the original handles was missing and it's dang-near-impossible to find ONE single handle that matched and was the same width from screw holes. So, I chose to paint and rearrange existing knobs with pulls that I had from another project. Now on to the DIY chalk paint recipe....if that's what you want to call it, I didn't measure a thing.

DIY "CHALK" PAINT

I had purchased some flat latex paint from Walmart for this project. I'm sure any low luster paint would work fine. I also purchased Plaster of Paris from my local supply store. These totaled about $15 for both. 

The first mixture was PoP and paint together. I then added water. Not the best arrangement. The PoP should be mixed with water first and then with the paint. I read somewhere that it needed to be about pancake consistency, so that's what I aimed for. The first batch was thick and lumpy. I used it anyway. The lumps spread out while painting and surprisingly didn't look that bad. I recommend mixing the PoP with water until you get a slightly thinner version of pancake mix and then adding the paint. The paint will help thicken it up. Here she is with two coats of DIY chalk paint and distressing....

I wasn't sure I wanted to distress, but I liked the look when I got into it! I used steel wool and sand paper. The steel wool actually left a gray tint, so probably won't use it again with light colored paint, but I did like the way it distressed the paint. I purchased the Johnson's Paste wax from the HD for another project and decided to use it on this baby. 

It stinks like something serious, but goes on pretty smooth. I put a thin layer on and buffed it after about 30-40 minutes. It gave it a nice sheen and I will probably use it again!

The handles turned out to be brass plated and not real brass, and the Barkeeper's Friend I usually use on my brass, wouldn't touch it. I decided to spray paint them with Rustoleum's Metallic Gold(Antique gold I think)

And it worked perfectly! They started out looking like this...

Pretty disgusting, right? Since the handle on the bottom drawer was missing, and the two handles in the top drawer were smaller than the other 6, I decided to take the two smaller ones and put them on the second drawer and use the crystal looking knobs I already had on the top drawer. Luckily, the knobs had a brassy looking base and matched the handles perfectly after being sprayed. 

Now she is a BEAUT! And I'm so excited to have her in my bedroom! 

If my master was finished and beautiful, I would show you the whole thing, buuuttt, notgonnahappen. Not anytime soon, at least. I still need a new headboard(H pulled out all the buttons, sheesh), bedding, and matching nightstands(I have those and working on them now). But isn't she gorgeous? I think so. Hubs is not so sure on the distressing, but he will come to love it too, I know it. Here are some closeups...

The first picture is crooked...and has a piece of painters tape on it. Humph. The starfish you see came from my recent visit in Destin, Fl and the coral came from Destin last year. The sand dollars are also from this visit, all bought. The signed picture is from our wedding two years ago in Gulf Shores, AL. Is it hard to tell we love the Gulf coast? We were super excited to be able to spend our second anniversary at the beach with our family!

Maybe tomorrow I can show y'all the nightstands! I hope they turn out fabulous!! Stay tuned!

Linked up to
 http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/
http://diybydesign.blogspot.com/
http://www.theshabbycreekcottage.com
www.houseofhepworths.com

Birchbox...I'm on the waiting list!!

Have y'all heard about the Birchbox?? It's a monthly(or yearly) subscription in which each month a box with 4-5 deluxe name-brand beauty samples are shipped to you!!

 I am a cosmetics fool! I love to try out new things that I would never try out in full size for fear that I would hate it and waste money. This, however, would calm my fear because I can try out the samples for just $10 a month including shipping! Amazing huh?? I mean, look at those brands, NARS, stila, Redken!!

When I first heard about this from the cutie pie over at The Small Things blog(she is seriously a doll and could teach you a thing or two about ya hair-do), you could sign right up and receive the next month, NOW there is a waiting list. One person said they waited over a month! Yikes! I am the most impatient person ever and DO NOT want to wait a month...so I signed up both email addresses, is that cheating? I don't care, I want it soon!

If you sign up monthly, it's $10 a month and you get 10 free Birchbox points. You can also sign up yearly for $110(get a month free!) and get 110 BB points. I haven't researched the points yet, but I'm assuming the points get you free stuff? Oh wait, I found it

 "For every 100 points you earn, you get $10 off a full-size product order."

I am going to sign up monthly. There are also ways to earn points by purchasing full-size products from the Birchbox store or referring friends! Don't start signing up until I have a reference number y'all! Just kidding!

I have living room drapes up and waiting on my furniture delivery this weeeeeekkk!!!! I'm so dang excited!

Seriously though, I really can't wait to get signed up and try a bunch of new products!! Anyone else do the Birchbox?? Do you like it? Have you even heard of it??

Hello Stranger!!

Well, it's been a while, quite a while, 7 months since my last post, to be exact.

 I'm pretty sure that makes me the worst blogger yet.

Oh well! I have some pretty good excuses I think. I was finishing cosmetology school at night, working full time during the day, raising a toddler, keeping a husband happy, graduating said cosmetology school, studying for boards and finding a job! Ha! Pretty serious year I had going on there! Luckily, for my sanity and everyone around me, I'm finished with school! I have a great job and great clients! BUT I am ready to get back to blogging!

When I left off in my last post, we were here....

And here...

Last week, my husband mentioned we should get new living room furniture. HAPPY, HAPPY, JOY, JOY!! I seriously hate this sofa. I mean, its like falling into a puffy hell. The bottom cushions slip out constantly and force people into the back crease of the couch. It's horrible. Not to mention, it looks like a man's sofa.

After I thought about it a while, I went back to him and asked if he just brought up new furniture to get me all excited, just to deny me of happiness later. He smiled and said "yes". Lovely. Too bad I already had a new sofa picked out ages ago and it looks something like this...

She is the Prelude sofa from Ashley Furniture.

Right now she is $659 for the sofa and $639 for the loveseat. Does that make any sense?? The loveseats are only $20 cheaper than the sofas. A little ridiculous if I say so myself.

One day while I was taking a half day at work, I stopped by Ashley's to check out the sofa in person, (until then, I had been stalking her from the website). I loved it just as much in person as I have for months on the web. It is super comfy and the pillows are actually very pretty, most are hideous! I spoke to Kevin while I was there, and he said IF we do get new furniture, we will have to have a loveseat as well as the sofa. Fine by me. The saleslady was very nice and must have sensed that I'm super cheap frugal, because she told me she would keep her eye out for me and let me know next time they have a friends and family 20% sale! That means I could get the sofa and loveseat for right at a grand, rather than the $1300+ I would have to dish out for regular price. That makes my heart happy!

I am also on the lookout for a super cute and dainty gold side table for the side of the sofa near our bedroom door. I love the way these look..

Both from World's-away.com

While I was searching from pictures of these two tables, I googled Worlds Away to find the source and lo and behold, Worlds Away is out of Memphis and has a warehouse AND OUTLET here in Memphis!! What??? How did I not know this?? I will be making a trip soon! Also, OneKingsLane.com sells WA in their sales every so often, unfortunately for me, one just ended and who knows when they will hold another sale. Boo.

I also have seen this one all over blogland and Pinterest

From SuzanneKasler.com

In my searches, all I could find was $300-$800 tables. Until I found this beaut at Tarjey!

You can find it here.

Doesn't it look just like the one in the Suzanne Kasler room?? All the way down to the claw feet and everything! However, the color is more like an ORB, and they top is more like a tray then tabletop. But a coat of gold metallic spray paint and beveled mirror insert would make it perfect for my living room! I'm so excited!

We are supposed to be getting out tax money this week, but apparently, the goverment is all slow and stuff and they are all coming back late. So I guess I'll have to wait on my new furniture for another week or so(if they even have it in stock), I'm pretty sure the table will be coming sooner though ;) Now everyone don't go an buy it so it's sold out when I get to ordering Wednesday!!

SO, I guess I should apologize for my disappearance, and I hope I have some followers left!

I'll be back soon!!

Living Room Updated...for now

I showed y'all the living room right after we painted, here.

For a few days it looked like this.

and this...

Then it looked like this!

I finally got the mirror hung that I got on sale at Hancock Fabrics as mentioned here.

In the same post mentioned above, I told y'all I wanted to find some lamps to go on either side of the television. I sort of knew what I wanted, but couldn't find any I liked for a cheap reasonable price. I saw ones at Big Lots that I LOVED,but for $49.99 they could keep them! I mean, isn't Big Lots a discount store?? Maybe I'm wrong.

Once I saw them, I decided that I wanted clear glass lamps with drum shades. I thought, surely I could find some somewhere for around $30 a pop.

Amazon

Wrong.

I started at a Memphis Target and worked my way around town. I stopped by TJMaxx, Marshalls, Gordmans, JCPenneys, Kirklands, Pier 1, and finally the Target in my own town.

I called Kevin when I left Penney's and told him he was probably in luck and I wasn't going to spend any money because I couldn't find any lamps I liked for a good price.

My last stop was our Horn Lake Target. It was getting late and I wasn't expecting much after the day I had.

But as luck would have it, there were FOUR lamps almost exactly what I wanted on CLEARANCE for $19.99 a piece!!

SHUT UP!

I quickly snatched two of them up! They also had drum shades on clearance for $9.99 a piece. They weren't really what I was looking for for the matching lamps,but I knew what I wanted to do with it!

 Here is the link for the lamps, they are not on clearance on the website yet! And the link for the shades, which are also not marked down yet. So I really scored!

You know that lamp that I switched the shade on last week?

I knew I would have a use for those two matching shades! I switched the lamp's shade out again for this one with the navy trim(which I may or may not cover with a different color ribbon, depending on the curtain choice).

Here is a shot of the lamps in place on either side of the TV.



Doesn't it look so much better??

I couldn't agree more! :) 

I'm so happy with the outcome. Although, I am seriously contemplating either gold leafing the mirror or spray painting it with a bright shiny gold color! There is a lot of silver going on with the lamps and mirror.

The room looks so much more put together. I have been struggling with the layout of this room, but I think I finally like the look, for now....

We plan to change out all the door hardware to match and it will probably be a brushed nickel. But since we plan on selling in the next year, we don't want to spend money on stuff that may not be worth the effort, so we are still deciding on that. We also plan to find something to place next to the dresser in leiu of the jutting-out-in-the-way footstool to cover the cable wire that shows.

Soon, we will be building wood cornices for the matching windows and I will try to decide on curtain options, which is a whole other post!

What do you think of the makeover so far?? Should I change the color of the mirror or keep it?

Shade switcheroo

After we painted and started bringing everything back into the living room(or shall I say attempted, since it now looks like we just moved in since there is hardly anything on the walls).  I decided to make a quick switcheroo on the floor lamp that came along with the hubby when we moved in. Before it was an ORB with a standard beige colored shade.

And after, well it's still ORB, but has a brand spankin' new shade!!

I picked up two twin drum shades on clearance at Target because I just knew I would use them one day :) Sad, I know.

But, they were half price and the only two left. I was sure they would be gone and would have a hard time finding others I liked for a good price! And I DID put them, well one of them, to good use! It probably won't stay this way, but we will see.

So a quick before and after to wrap things up. What do you think? Better with the drum shade or keep original shade??



The living room is FINISHED!!

and by finished, I mean, it will never be painted again(by us at least)!

Everything is still in disarray and hardly anything is back in its place. Except the furniture and the TV. Heaven forbid we not have cable or access to the dang Xbox.  But I have a lot to do. We need window treatments, I'm thinking the desk is clashing with the walls, and I need to figure out how to make slipcovers for our curved-back chairs and I need two matching lamps for either side of the TV.

Anyway, here is the before. It was a yellow-greenish-tan mess. Not a bad color, but not GREAT!

The dresser you see holds our massive flat screen. Not thrilled that it is the focal point of the room, but let's face it, we watch some TV here! Maybe one of these days I can figure out a way to disguise it, like framing it and mounting it...?

After forking out $60+ on Valspar primer and paint in one, I talked to a guy at Sherwin Williams and he told me that Lowe's and HD market their paint to make customers believe that you only need that expensive paint. However, if you want the true color, you need to have a blank slate. In other words, the only way for paint to really show true tones is to prime your walls with white(or slightly gray)primer and then paint. Makes sense to me!  But, I wasn't happy after I paid over $60 then another $15 for a gallon of primer. Next time, I will just prime and buy the regular ol' plain paint and save myself about $20 and some stress! After we painted, we only used about a quarter of the second gallon we bought, anyway.

Here it is primed

And here it is FINISHED!!

We managed to get this painted canvas, that we scored on CL for $30, up above the sofa. This sofa will be the death of me. I.hate.it. It slumps in in the back and is basically impossible to get off of. I have vowed that there will be a new sofa in this room by the beginning of the year. Crossing my fingers!! 

It has taken me a couple of days to get used to the wall color. It wasn't love at first sight like I thought it was going to be. But, it's growing on me.

Look how well the painting blends with the paint color!

On the opposite side of the room is our massive TV and a CL dresser. I hope to find matching lamps to flank either side of the TV or something of the sort.

In the photos, the color looks more sage-y, and it actually is a bit more sage than I expected, but I think I like it.

Here is the desk against the walls

Remember, this was right after painting, so please excuse the disaster area!

The matching slipper chairs were purchased last month at a community yard sale for wait...$35 for the pair!

Can you believe it? They are only about a year old and she decided they didn't work in her bedroom anymore! Absolutely pefect condition! I thought I could live with the fabric, but I'm thinking about reupholstering or slipcovering. I would rather sew a cover, but everytime I think about it, it makes me cringe. How am I going to make it tight around that curve in the back?  Any ideas..or tutorials I should know about?

Check out these stems!!

Gorgeous!

So, the desk drawers are clashing and now I'm contemplating what color to paint them.

White to match the body?
Gray?
Bright color??
Any ideas are welcome!