November 23, 2015

House In Progress: Kids' Room


We are slowly checking off tasks on those long lists for our new house (I'm treating moving a little like having a baby and figure I can still call it 'new' for a solid year). Of course there are tons of projects left, like patching the hole in the ceiling before we put a Christmas tree under it and getting faceplate's on our switches... not to mention the bigger goals (which really, I will not mention, because don't get me started!). But there's enough progress that I wanted to begin to document it here, and unsurprisingly the first is our shared kids' room.

I am such a nut for kid's spaces, kid's toys, kid's gear, all well crafted things 'kid'. My own design sensibility is very playful, (childish maybe!) and I love a rainbow of color. Nothing makes me happier than walking in to find my children enjoying their own beautiful space. It was important to James and I that they share a room, and I worked hard both here, and in the version at our last home, to create a space that feels cohesive as a whole, but also allows each of their 'zones' to reflect their unique personalities and interests. 

As with their previous room, I painted everything white and let all the color come from toys and treasures. Unlike the last room, I did not painstakingly paint a colorful stencil on the shared wall. I won't lie, Smith was very bummed and begged me to repeat that wall... but we were under a time crunch and I just didn't want to do it all over again! So instead I splurged on some lighting; a string of rainbow bobbles around the window and a fancy light fixture over his bed (which has a cross on it that reminds him of his former stenciled wall- score!). 

Smith's side of the room is very similar to how it was in our last space. On Roo's side we swapped the crib for a toddler bed. I found a vintage spindle version and painted it white, and it's sort of the cutest (and tiniest!) little thing you've ever seen. We also gave her a shelf over her new bed for some favorite treasures and replaced our old wall hung shelves for this shelving from Ikea. I have to say it is so sturdy and one of my favorite Ikea buys.

The one elevation you don't see in this collection of images is their dresser and Roo's closet (which I absolutely adore). The light is very tricky on that side of the room and without a wide angle lens it's tough, but I will try to get a picture at some point. 

I'm sure this space will continue to change quite a bit (I already have thoughts on bunk beds, twin beds, more colorful furniture, natural wood!), but I also am loving it in this stage. The morning sun bounces off all the colors and literally makes the space glow, it's almost magic. It would be even more magic if they slept until the sun came up, but can't win 'em all.

p.s. Yes, there is a small toy in Roo's mouth in the first picture (a Disney princess from my mom... thanks mom ;), and no, she did not choke.

p.p.s. If you are interested, there's lots more about the planning of our last shared room, and more resources, if you scroll down here

November 2, 2015

Halloween Super Recap


This Halloween delivered the big trick of actually being tons of fun. I was bracing for chaos with a monster spaghetti dinner at Smith's preschool scheduled Friday night and all the last minute prep for trick-or-treating, but somehow we cooked that pasta for twelve and strung up some lights and carved our giant pumpkin, and most importantly threw together a couple of Supermen.

After nearly a month of Smith changing his mind on costumes (a sperm whale, no a scientist, no a flying squirrel), he finally settled on his favorite superhero (with some significant nudging from me, seeing as my DIY spirit started flagging mid-October). Luckily one thing was never in question, whatever her big brother was going as, Roo wanted to be exactly the same. Done and done!


We improvised the costumes with odds and ends on hand, and thanks to my mom's brilliant Target buy with that girlie-tutu-super-dress...I was feeling guilty for not being more creative, but the moment they were dressed it was obvious nothing could be more perfect. Smith was hil-arious. That kid is too funny as he's shy and sensitive and then all of a sudden he'll bust out with these characters. He was charging up ahead and trick or treating with all the fearless confidence of Superman. If there was a costume that could will him to use the bathroom at school and stop holding it until he pees in his pants, I'd be ordering it right up... but I digress.


Our new neighborhood was truly awesome with the Halloween festivities. Every house decked out, movies projected, popcorn machines glowing, kids helping one another past scary fog machines, adults drinking and socializing and fully costumed (including all the dogs!). It was a lot more fun and way less hassle than any Halloween in recent memory. The kids loaded their bags with so much candy that Roo was literally dragging hers along the sidewalk... and predictably ended the late night with a giant meltdown begging for 'one more house!'. 

Thanks to the time change and a couple days of 4:30AM wake-ups (help!), I still feel like we're all recovering from the fun. But it was totally worth it. Happy Halloween!

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