bedroom makeover: nator edition

what shall i say about this young lady?  she is an old soul. lover of purple and blue. her temperament is classical.  her perfect day would be described as curling up with a good book or movie, while crocheting, on a rainy day.  of course, a lap-cat would be involved, too.

today is her birthday.  she looked up to the heavens and thanked god.  surely the rain must be a personal gift to her.  i think so.

she's now twelve.  and while i'm still trying to wrap my thoughts around that, my gracie {10 yrs old} decided to wear makeup to theater today... and had her first "stage" kiss.  if i'm being completely honest, my heart sank.  and other than in my computer, you will find me sobbing myself into a puddle.  at least on the inside.  {it's not a real kiss, hmama.  he's only kissing his thumbs. *repeat to self*}

i digress.

while nator {again, we never call her by that name} is quite easy to please, she has a specific taste.  it's not the obvious-flashy-girlie items on the shelf you'd expect a young lady to gravitate toward.  she repeatedly said that she would love a purple {secret} garden themed room.  i pinned things on pinterest, but my mind was reeling in place. 

gracie likes decor that pops and blings.  nator appreciates a calming purple.  i have to admit... purple has not always been my favorite color, but her new room has me thinking otherwise.

and as with gracie's room, you really can't appreciate the after until you've taken a gander at the before mess.  {she asked if i was going to embarrass her on the world wide web.  no, me?    then said - at least you have after pictures to show. *giggle*}  here goes...



keyboard next to the window. surrounded by stuff.  unmade queen-size bed.  surrounded by stuff.  many times piled high with clothes mom washed.  a free-standing mirror from my childhood.  surrounded by stuff.



bookshelf she once pulled books from as a baby.  surrounded by stuff.  several hand-painted canvases.  random wall art.  dresser from my childhood, housing an old tv - surrounded by... you guessed it, stuff.  noticing a theme here?  all enclosed in a faint lavender purple, topped with a glitter glaze.

since nator's room is 10x11, it housed the larger bed.  she is always the sweet hostess who gives up her room {that had to be cleaned beforehand} when guests from out-of-town sleep over.  but let's face it... that only happens once or twice a year.  it was really unfair to build gracie a loft bed and not nator... as much as she loves to play legos and paper-dolls on the floor.

so... after much deliberation, here is nator's room...

choosing from the olympic brand paints at lowe's, i went with palisade orchid.  the girls' ceilings are painted in blue silk, with white to help create clouds. 

under her loft, i gave my old desk {which was in gracie's room} a facelift, by replacing knobs, giving it a fresh coat of paint & poly, and re-covering the seat in a material adorned with birds and cages.  she loves birds.  

greenery {hobby lobby} to help with the garden theme.
turquoise sheet {wally-world} to create a tent underneath.


deep purple comforter {bed, bath and beyond}.  sheets {wally-world}.  bedside lamp {ikea}.  chandelier {ikea} - still needs shades.



*edit*  forgot to add the words i wrote on nator's wall -
i'll love you forever...
recognize that?  
i'll like you for always.
as long as i'm living my baby you'll be.

something we sing to each other.


she can use the seat at her desk, or turn it around to practice bach.

the shelves {ikea} are a work in progress, but give her plenty of room to add to her needlework, and book collection. plastic shelves {already owned} give her plenty of organization for legos.  she can slide these babies out onto the floor when she's ready to play with them.  have i mentioned my love of organization?  everything having a place?  hahhh...


she has always dreamed of having a library as big as belle's in the story of beauty and the beast - her favorite princess. i'd say we're off to a good start. 

 

piecing her lamp together {wally-world}, i decided to gift her the bird she swooned over in my bedroom.  it matched perfectly.  

as did the magnetic board {hobby lobby}, housing three little bird magnets.  the cutest!  dad built her a shelf to display her american girl dolls, as well.  her desk is the perfect hiding spot for all of her doll clothes, accessories, and smash book supplies.



her walls are adorned with a wonderful certificate from her first year participating in the music guild.  we plan to add to that.  

butterflies {from the garden section at hobby lobby} and framed book covers {printed at home}. {frames from tar-jet}



the opposite wall houses her dresser - another piece of mine when little.  it was given new knobs, fresh paint, & poly.



the wall is embellished with a small, whimsical tree, hand-painted in a darker shade.  vinyl birds {already owned} in turquoise, tying in the sheet hanging on the bed. 

there's an updated tv nator likes to watch, while playing legos and paper dolls. flowers, compliments of hobby lobby's half-off sale.

this afternoon, nator enjoyed lounging in her bed, listening to the rain, while watching a movie. this + theater = a perfect birthday, in her words.  there's no school on birthdays.  one of the many perks of homeschool.



as we continue to make our way around the room, we have a much more organized closet, our {already owned} room darkening curtain {bed, bath and beyond}, and bean bag.

oh, and a little sister... who enjoys waltzing in big sister's room at her leisure.  that's free.

the new rule: if you get something new, you have to get rid of something fairly equal in size.  "but does easter, birthday, and christmas count??"  and so it begins... ;)

hope you enjoyed the tour!  if you missed gracie's room, you can see it here.  if you are able to use any ideas from our rooms, be sure to let us know. we'd love to see your room reveals.

have a great weekend!

bedroom makeover: gracie edition

really, you can't appreciate the after till you've experienced the before.

i'm still in awe of the amount of bags {trash and donation} that came out of this 10x10 room.  or maybe it's shock.



my childhood desk, completely cluttered.
a tarjet dresser with very shallow drawers. a waste of $. 
most clothes, stored in plastic drawers in the closet.
stuffed animals, blankets, and lord only knows... 
crammed between the bed and wall.
as high as the bed.

bags, toys, scarves, and did i mention bags?
all piled high next to the bed.
we always shuffled our feet, pushing away the bags, to tuck her in at night.

sometimes, you purposely ignore the mess, for the love of your child.  who wants to give the 'born in a barn' lecture right before your littles drift off to la-la land?  we love our girls.  and they love us. those conversations were usually reserved for daytime.

when the room is this out of control, honestly... they don't even know where to begin.



posters, painted canvas, bulletin board, and random strings of yarn covering the light pink walls.
american girl furniture made from cardboard boxes.
the girls were always equally excited to see brown boxes by the front door.  for different reasons.

it took me nearly three days to move 'stuff' out of both girls' rooms.  good. heavens.  we said good-by to her free pink thriftstore headboard. *sniff*sniff*

room makeovers have been on the agenda for quite some time, so i've picked up things here and there, as they were on sale.

gracie's room now that i found the carpet...

cherry pink paint.  took nearly 3 coats.  we love that olympic is low voc.

the ceiling is painted a light shade of blue.  it's embellished with white clouds, using an old t-shirt, dipped in white paint (adding a little water).

i wrote, "... we'd still choose you." next to her bed, to remind her of something we tell her nearly every night.   

"if we lined up aaaaall the gracie's in the whole wide world, we'd still choose you.  and if we lined up aaaaaall the {insert current age} year olds, we'd still choose you.  you're a beautiful princess, and we love you very much."

the bedding came from tarjet - included hot pink sheets.

a dresser {with 3 deep drawers}, built for us when nator was born, once used as a changing table, now painted white. {it also weighs a ton = quality} drawer pulls spray painted from brass to silver.  the tall side is the perfect size for housing toys.

chandelier {ikea}. zebra shades {hobby lobby}.  shadow box {hobby lobby} housing gracie's pins and ribbons from dance competitions.

a green sheet {walmart}, hung on a tension rod to create a 'tent' under her loft bed.

daddy did an awesome job building the loft bed from scratch, using ideas found here.  really, we needed more floor space.

under the loft bed, a toy chest my step-dad built for us when gracie was born was painted white, padded with a cushion, trimmed in hot pink, now doubles as a seat for her new desk area.  there's room for her bean bag and a shelf to house her american girl dolls.

mirror peace-sign wall decals and frames {hobby lobby}.

on the other side of the room, we have a basket for her stuffed animals, the same polka-dotted curtain that we already had {hallelujah}, an ikea shelf, and drawer container to organize legos. the drawer container in her closet now houses shoes, hats, scarves...

i drew a whimsical eiffel tower, from ceiling to floor. decorating is my favorite part!  dad updated televisions - found on sale.  not a need, but a fun addition to watch dvds - no cable, of course.



organization makes me happy. 
knickknacks have been condensed to one shelf.
zebra bins {tarjet} house smash book supplies, etc.
and there's even room for more books! 



one of the biggest hits, was the green ikea lamp by her bed.  now they can read themselves sleepy - without fumbling with a book light.



zebra prints in $3 wally-world frames.  'peace'/zebra boxes {kirklands} found on clearance.  vinyl chandelier {hobby lobby}. mirror hung on the inside of the closet door.



wow... that was a lot.  still with me??

holding my breath, but now that everything has a place... everything finds it's place again!  

worth every callous on my hands. 

when you're surrounded by beauty, you tend to want to keep it clean... that's the theory we'll be testing. ;)


revealing nator's room soon...

march~week 11-12/366 {catching up-instagram edition}

hello.  remember me?  hmama here.  things have been a tad busy here these past two weeks.  if it weren't for instagram, i'd have no bloggy post to speak of.  let's catch up - shall we?



we made a roadtrip to the beach to help the sea turtles.
did i mention it was raining?  that should double our community service time, right? ;)

doll play... on the go.

learning.  the fleur de lis.  when you come from who dat nation, this is a must, you know.  and please don't get me started on the crazy media frenzy surrounding the saints.  i might just go on a tirade.  ugh.

was trying to decide if sonlight curriculum takes american girl debit cards? hmmm... ;)

juicing.  going strong & loving it!
we introduced the girls to it.  it was mostly fruit. i thought they'd need a soft introduction, even though i don't recommend fruit juicing. 

i might recommend starting with something more bitter, like hubs and i did. that way, everything else is uphill. ha!



i'm continuing to pass along my slight ocd germ cleanliness routine to my children - when it comes to public restrooms, that is.  as a mom, i've made 9,862,800,742 trips with my girls.  *shivers*  give or take a few.

and also, important sibling conversations happen in the toilet paper aisle at tarjet.

we have a younger pic of gracie sporting a ball of a baby bump.  should go hunt for that.  her comedic side helps balance out her spicy side. ;)

juicing.  have i mentioned it?  you should hurry over to watch hungry for a change.  (free online till march 31st) great info!



road-trip!  we were off to meet granny and deliver the kiddos.
why, you ask?  so mama could catch up on soaps and eat bon-bons?  excuse me while i laugh uncontrollably.... 

okay.  i'm back.
this trip was about girlie room makeovers.
a nice way of saying that mama needed to go through things without said girlies pleading to keep every piece of fuzz mama threatened to throw in the trash.

let's just say that it was turning into an episode of hoarders.  i wish i were joking.



some of it was not so bad.  finding treasures.  a mask. a priceless journal page. old photos.  a dirty sock bagged with cross-stitching. wait, huh?  born in a barn, i tell you.

meanwhile, the girls were livin' it up at granny's house.  eating some junk-food and getting completely spoiled.  next time, i get to stay at granny's house, while the kiddos re-do something in the house.  sounds good, yes? ;)   oh, and i'll be sure to facetime them every 5 minutes, hoping to catch a glimpse of their hard work. *ehem*



at least they shared pictures of their ice cream.  
sweet, yes? ;)
daddy and i worked our fingers to the bone.  around the clock.  we totally underestimated the time this project would take.

i tormented them with sneak peeks of things that would be going into their rooms. i'd convinced gracie her room might be orange.  i had to have some fun. you know, other than playing in paint.  i'm still trying to rid myself of these calloused man-hands.  trying to uncover what's left of these feminine hands.

our printstagram photo arrived!  woot!   next time, i shall order pix in book form.  recommend any companies?



jazzy was my shopping partner and paint companion.  watching me work made her tired.

the girls have shared a furniture set of mine from when i was a little girl.  i gave it a face-lift.  also painted a toy-chest my step-dad made when gracie was born.  finally putting it to good use. 

hmama totally rocked the paint smeared pants on a few errands.  she was too tired and sore to care what others thought of this.  at least i didn't pair it with red suspenders.  just sayin'.  

and just when we were trying to really down-play santa... guess who the girls met?  *sigh*

up till 3:30 a.m. the night before {without one single date-night to speak of}, we hit the road early to make the 10+ hour round trip to pick up the girls. couldn't remember the last time i'd been this sleepy, tired, sore... plain old exhausted.

back to our regularly scheduled routine.  ready or not.  we are trying to recover.  i think i heard my hands and feet cry.  yes, that sore.  i'll stop whining now.

pix of the room re-dos are coming soon. we all pretty much love them. ;)

jan {i}photo challenge: week 1/366

suppose it shouldn't come as a shock that i'm doing this cute photo challenge a bit different.  beautiful {more organized than me} peeps are doing this as recommended via instagram.  but i'll just go for the whole sha-bang, at once. it's not too late if you want to join in the fun.

that's my continuous goal.  

simply... 
what works for us.

balance...
in all things.

hey, it can happen.



1. me    
2. breakfast. organic eggs.
3. something i adore. hugs.
4. letterbox. and the 11 yo's first time to try out the key.
5. what i wore.



6. makes me smile. hardware completed in the kitchen. hot tea. my sleeping children. learning on the go. girlies that still ride on shopping carts. messages from my babies letting me know i'm still needed... even if only to fix breakfast.



7. favourite. not one, but two family trips to ikea!  a few of our purchases... 2 chandelier {top row} for girlie room makeovers, two embroidered pillows, and shelving... with baskets for storing those pesky shoes that seem to fall off of little people's feet upon entry to our home.

it's what works for our family.

counting blessings

our most recent weekend was not the family-fun-errand-outing-weekend we're used to upon hub's return home from... where did you go again this time, hun?  indianapolis?  i think that's it. 

gracie's symptoms hit her harder thursday night.  an early flu?  nothing a little knowledge and run to the vitamin store couldn't tackle.  friday morning, we retrieved hubs from the airport.  needless to say, friday and saturday were good times.  did i mention hubs was sick, too?  yeah.  poor guy.  no grillin' goin' on in our hizz-ay over the weekend. 

my poor momma and wifey heart.

thankfully, nator was well... and eager to help.  she's a handy girlie to have around.  nurturing seems an innate quality in this little bundle of joy.  she's gonna make a wonderful wifey and mother... one day. 

sunday, theater called a 4 hour rehearsal.  we tucked dad in at home, while nator and i tucked gracie in at the theater.  she was feeling well enough to watch and say a few lines.

we also got word from a dear family member that their health is potentially more serious than your momentary flu.  sometimes, life just seems unfair.  it's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel in those moments.

i have to be reminded that they are just that.  moments.  

it's up to me as to how i react.  i know that.  but sometimes... well, i honestly want to throw a good two-or-three-year-old-tantrum.  our hearts are tempted to become anxious.



then... i'm reminded of his goodness.  god's goodness.  and all that he's done for us already.  for starters, the gift of his son.  it's all perspective, really.

light is to darkness, as thankfulness is to complaint.


so this holiday season, while we are working on a stuff-mart list of wanted-fun-items under the tree, we also remember what's important.  the needed things that can never be wrapped...


pure love.  cherished family memories.  hugs till you can't breath.  laughter till your tummy hurts.  health.  wellsprings of patience.  trust.  kindness.  honesty.  true beauty.  perseverance.  close friendship.  seeing the goodness in others... and yourself.  hope for what is to come.  child-like faith.  compassion.  loyalty.  and joy... unspeakable joy.

and may you have it all.  pressed down, shaken together, and running over.  completely full. 

counting blessings.  as numerous as the stars.  

or christmas lights.

we three {trees}

it twas a weekend of christmas-decoration-bliss.  for our trees, anyway.  dusting off bags and containers taking residence in the attic.  yay for husbands who are home to help pull those down! ;)

we played christmas music.  one lil' girl wanted to play something else, but she was out-voted.  i mean... how can one decorate for christmas without christmas music?



mom adorned the tree with its usual bows, ribbon, and large snowflakes.  it was up to the girls to do the rest.  they were more than ready.  mom was relieved when help was needed to hang one ornament on top.  when did they get so tall?  and learn to not put all the ornaments on one branch?

children just put a little something extra in the holidays.  i love looking at everything... life, in general, through their eyes.  such excitement. 

frosty, mickey and minnie are waiting in great anticipation to see what will be under the tree this year...

and not to be outdone, the girls have their own trees.  one little gracie is hoping santa will remember them all...

that $-tree in the backyard better start producing.  and quick.  otherwise, santa will be visiting just one tree. as he does every year. ;)

 {doncha just looove pinterest?!}

so thankful to be in stage #1. what?  which stage did you think i was in?  rhetorical question, of course.

next... 'the pretty tree', as the girls call it.  but if you've seen last year's decorations, you've already seen it.  really, it looks the same.  

creature of habit... or budget. 

kick your feet up & grab a cup of coffee

alternate titles:  life after the country music awards. counting blessings: roadside edition.  never a dull moment at its best.  god bless the good samaritans.  our nutshell life with a bowl full of nuts.

this is going downhill, so i'll stop.

*giggle*

would you believe that we have already enjoyed our {two} decorated christmas trees for a week and a half now?  still can. not. believe it's this time of year already!

sometimes i get the nikon out.  sometimes, the iphone camera.  but lately, it's been the video camera.  i know.  you can barely contain your excitement, right?  i have to admit... talking to the camera is a bit awkward, at times. ha.

we have a lot to catch up on via video.  feel free to put your feet up and grab that cup of coffee.  or tea.  imma tea gal myself.

{don't judge too harshly.  video is done in the worst lighting and most unflattering perspectives.  especially, the no-makeup-at-all-shots.  although, in this lighting, one can hardly tell when i do have it on.  ha!  have i ever told you that we can't see ourselves while recording?  that would explain a few headless video shots in past vlogs.  ha!}

{edit: yay! the entire video is working properly now.  due to my mad technical skillz. ha! and i also wanted to thank youtube for that ever-flattering freeze-frame. nice.} ;)

i know.  crazy, right?  i was nominated for best homeschool vlogger?  *giggle*  {thank you, sweet friend!}  i think voting ends nov 18th @ 11:59 p.m.  if you're so inclined, feel free to click on over to view all of the homeschool blog-o-sphere goodness.

and if you made it through the video, you'll be relieved to know that nator did make it to the bookstore for her much anticipated date.  dad was able to come, too! ;) 

i love that 11 year old.  11 on 11-11-11.  ;)

wishing you more moments of kicking your feet up, eating pumpkin cheesecake, yummy & delicious scents, christmas lights... and true happiness {as mentioned in the last 2 minutes of video}.  

have you unpacked christmas in your home yet?  

{pix of that to come soon} ;)

bedroom makeover {revealed}

it recently dawned on me that i had completed a project...
and completely forgotten to fill you in.

that's a bloggy sin somewhere, i'm sure.

my master bedroom.  my poor-poor master bedroom.
it's the room that fell victim to piles of paperwork... and laundry waiting to be folded.
it's the room that we collapsed in each night.
the exhaustion was the only thing that kept me from becoming a complete basket case from having to look at said piles each evening.
that... and the hope that it would one day be as i envisioned it in my head.

it's supposed to be the most relaxing room, right?

*insert uncontrollable laughter*

for years i've wanted new bedroom furniture.
why, you ask?

feast your eyes on this...

i should warn you.
it's brutal.

and the mess?
i forgot to take a good 'before' shot, so this is a 'middle' shot.

middle is always worse, right?



you feel my pain now?

i should also tell you that i'm fighting back every urge to run these two pictures through photoshop to edit them black and white... you know, so they would look... ummmm... less messy?  and brassy brown?
i fight the urge for your viewing pleasure.

we needed something budget friendly, so buying all new furniture has not really been an option.  the used furniture i searched through was too expensive for the quality.  so i sanded, painted, and placed polycrylic on my own.  updating the hardware was a must.  oi.

so after a lot of good ol' fashioned elbow grease...
enter our new {shabby-chic} relaxing room.



these are sooc {straight out of camera}, so please excuse the poor lighting.
mama is a lil' busy this week.
ah!
but i think i adjusted the wb {white balance} in camera enough to display an accurate color.



as you may remember, hubs and i made the headboard with used cabinet pieces bought from habitat for humanity and painted them, along with the remaining lumber that was needed.  there are several websites which give instruction on how to make headboards out of doors or cabinets.



ummm... excuse the dust.  it shows up better on dark furniture? ;)

the vinyl was bought on clearance at tarjet.  i cut some of it to come from behind a picture over our bed.



excuse the doggy bone.  jazzy hasn't learned to pick up her things, despite my best efforts.

silver platters found at the salvation army.

i had several frames that were not being used, so i spray painted them white, and put a coat of polycrylic, as well.



my sweet little bird came from hobby lobby.
in their clearance aisle.
i love that aisle.

keeping the glass in two of our white frames, hubs and i can write messages to each other.
using dry erase markers.



yfa.
yours for always.
it's part of a song we sang to each other at our wedding.
this acronym has followed us ever since.

i splurged on curtains and a duvet, buying them a little at a time
@ bed, bath and beyond.
don't you just love the smell in there?

my curtains smell yummy.
i sniff them every now and again.
clearly, i have issues.

i bought a yummy smelly thingy there, too.
technical term, i'm sure.
my room smells like the store now.
hahhhhh...
relaxing, indeed.



my bedding was pieced together.
marshalls, kirklands, and target.

i made the bedskirt.
that's why it's extra long.
don't laugh.
i was going for the 'draped' look on purpose. ;)

this off-white frame was given to us at our wedding...
18 years ago.
gracie made those signs when she was practicing for dance competition.
"if you fall, get back up."
it's a good rule to live by, yes?



plates were an overflow from our kitchen.
personalized in permanent ink from a 9 and 11 year old.
"yfa" frames came from hobby lobby half off.
i love half off.
and accents of zebra.

if nothing else, jasmine is clearly impressed.
even her bed matches the room...
but sometimes the floor looks relaxing, too.
when you're a dog.

it's now my favorite room.