Kids' Rooms

The kids rooms are very slowly coming along and I love them. Thankfully I don't like clutter because they are quite bare. ;)

We found the fans a few weeks ago and they are so funky but perfect. Very edgy and wild. Blake's room is a light grey and again, couldn't be happier with it. 

The crib. The crib he actually sleeps in. Love that kid. 

He's got some books and a few pictures so we need to find some shelves. The people who lived here before us left a pallet so maybe I'll make one? Just don't want it to look too rustic/mason jar/barnyard style. 

Emma's room is a soft pink although it looks super bright in these pictures. While Becky was painting, Emma would pop her head in the room and say "WOWWWWWWW" in a whisper voice. 

After doing lots of research, I decided on her Jenny Lind bed and it was worth every penny. Obviously the Sofia bedding was not my first choice but pick your battles. :-) And hey-- Emma is finally sleeping in her room in her bed. Boom. 

E has a bigger closet and her room is right outside her door. She loves having her shoes lined up like that-- she can hold onto the bar and slid her feet into her Uggs. Yup, in 80 degree weather. 

My in laws come this week so that means my FIL will be able to hang a few things. Yahoo!

House Tour

House Tour is reallllly stretching. More like "dark pictures of empty bedrooms". It sounds cliche but I really do love our house. It's got great bones, was move in ready, and while not everything is what I would have picked out, it's perfect for us in the most perfect location.

I think I mentioned this but we have lots of kids on our street. Lots. They knock almost every day asking if Emma can play. While it does get super annoying to have kids banging on the door, this is what we wanted-- a fun community for our family! And friends for our babies. 

One of my "must haves" (actually not a must have, just nice to have) was a kitchen that doesn't have a dungeon type feel. Nothing worse than doing the dishes in a dark corner. 

Luckily here I can be at the sink or counter and have this view (above) and can watch the TV (to the right), or see the front door (to the left). 

The green has got to go. It's really overwhelming, LOL. Luckily we have been in talks with a painter and hopefully he'll be starting later this month! 

Our kitchen is pretty average/normal. Wish we could find a cabinet to hide our trash can, but it's fine being tucked in the corner. A certain 2 year old I know loves to pull her plastic knives and bang on the trash can like a drum. 

Know anyone who can convert a cabinet into a trash can? ;) 

This is the view when you walk in. Again, the paint is cringe worthy. So is our chandelier. But, first world problems. :-) 

In the far left of the pic (above) is our little library room. I'm not sure what we'll do in there but I've got a few ideas.

This little nook is upstairs and perfect for the excess toys that can't fit in the kids' rooms. It's hidden by our linen closet and just the right amount of space. 

Seriously, my babies. God love them. 

New Digs

We are settled into our new house and absolutely love it! We are in a much better area of Northern Virginia and we should have moved here long ago. 

It's not really a townhouse, but not a single family home. I think our HOA calls it a carriage home. We have the size of a single family but the bonus of a town home-- people on each side to keep our utilities low. :-) Or so we hope.

I haven't taken a ton of pictures but I promise I'll get better! We've been busy getting organized but finally starting to feel normal here. I still don't know where we keep our silverware/plates/glasses but I'll learn. :) 

The house was pretty move in ready but we replaced a few lights, got a washer/dryer, and did a few minor repairs. Our master bathroom door doesn't shut. It's the strangest thing! So that is next on our list.

Which meant we've been at Lowe's a lot. Actually I have only been a few times because nothing is harder than bringing two kids to a home improvement store. Emma wants to be in one section the entire time-- halloween decor. "Weee--tch!!! Goooo-ssss-t!!" Over and over. It is precious.

I'll have to do a quick house tour next week. For now that's all I got! XO

Living Room Gallery Wall

Or in my husband's words: 45 minutes of hanging hell. I thought he was going to kill me with dull knives every time I said "We only have 9 more!". Ha. 

For completely winging it, I think it turned out pretty good. I didn't want it to be matchy-matchy, and I wanted to incorporate some gold. 

I laid it out on our dining room the way I wanted it to appear. Of course I didn't take a photo so that was fun. Nathan was really ready to kill me at that point. 

We started in the center and moved out.  

We only purchased one frame-- the rest came from our questionable room. 

I found the signs at TJ Maxx for under $10! The "sea urchins" were from Target. Totally random but they add some color and texture. I sound like I know what I'm talking about. News flash: I don't. 

                                 

Poor Nathan is only on our little wall two times. We really really need to get some professional pictures done of our fam bam. Maybe this fall? He doesn't even care. 

At any given time, at least 3 of the frames are crooked. We advise not to look at the wall too long. ;) 

Nathan made me promise no more gallery walls. I agree. Biggest pain ever. 

Outside Progress

So I had mentioned that when my dad was here (back here) he & Nathan did a lot of yard work. They worked so hard! I will confirm with Nathan but I believe they went through 42 bags of mulch. 

It's very deceiving but we have a very large yard-- about 1/3 of an acre. Next house we buy will not be on a corner. ;)

We found a gas trimmer and they did all the bushes. My dad said that was the easiest part. I have to disagree..I had Emma-- that was the easiest part. ;) 

They would run out to Lowe's and not tell me so Ems & I would pack up stuff to go outside and visit with them and they would be gone. Sweet. 

One of their trips they came home with that bird bath. I love it! Love love love it. My mom was really into birds, so I know she would love that we now have a birdbath and 2 bird feeders. 

I really wanted some color so we found some random plants and threw them around. Hey, it satisfied me. We don't have lots of time to work in the yard, so I don't want anything that requires more work than daily watering. I prefer the plants to yell for help. 

99% sure that tree (above, left) is dying, but I'm waiting to see if it will come back to life. I also want to get one of these number signs for our door-- just not completely sold on it yet. Click here to see what I'm talking about. 

They pulled out tons of old bushes and put those fancy fence pieces in their place. It is so much cleaner and I love it. I think down the line we'll find something to put in the empty spots, but for now it looks 1 billion times better. 

Emma knows the way to the playground. She doesn't care if anybody is with her, she'll just start walking there. Nathan dressed her (yesterday), not exactly sure what look he was going for.

Off to go stalk the birds and see if any are in the birdbath yet (Only had one visitor so far).

Ikea Finds

A while back (back here), Ems & I headed up to Ikea. They have some nifty (ha, love that word) stuff and I wanted to find a few goodies. 

I think this is called the Fintorp or something. I really like it! This is what I bought: 

And the other stuff I had (below). I don't think it will stay like that, but for now I am keeping Emma's crayons in the middle cup on the bottom. I don't quite trust her to have them at her level. ;)

Oh and we painted those pots a few weeks ago. Any guesses on how long the cactus and succulent will live? I may find 2 tiny ones to put in the empty pots. I like the look of succulents but I'm a plant murderer. 

The one thing I really wanted was that (below)! It is actually for hanging curtains, not sure of the name. Lots of people on Pinterest gave me the idea to hang Emma's artwork from it. I love it! Very inexpensive, I think $12 (including the clips) each. 

It's in our basement/Emma's playroom area and (again) it's just out of her reach. :-) We'll have to do some coloring this week and add to it! 

We got the regular cheap clips but you could get real fancy with the glittered or colored clothespins. Also pictured: We are still loving stickers! 

And the one item I was the most unsure about but love the most: 

We have 5 more of these and I can't recommend them enough! They are super sturdy, too. I wanted these here to hold Emma's library books and her "every day" books that we read throughout the day. 

I got these ones that have a little "design" on them and they aren't plain white-- almost a cream. 

These are also out of reach because E already chewed on a library book and we had to replace it. She knows where they are and when she wants to read, she runs over, yells, and reaches for them. Precious.

I was really unsure about having these on our main floor in our family room area. . . I didn't want it to look like a day care. It really doesn't (in my opinion). And honestly, it just adds something because our walls are so bare.

Whoop whoop. Have a great Tuesday everyone! xoxo