Basement Reveal Follow Up {What it looks like now}

As we begin to usher in the holiday season and soon the start of a new year, I am quickly working to check items off our 2013 House Goals. The kid's bath is complete and I'm hoping to share the reveal with you all next week. For today though, I wanted to go back to the very first goal of the year, the basement. I thought it would be fun to show you all what the room looks like today….10 months after we've used & abused it.

So this is the space prettied up for the reveal.



And here is what it looks like now (don't mind the photo bomber…I didn't even try to keep him out of the pictures).

The train table in the center of the space is a new addition & rotates between the pictured location and being pushed up against the wall. The toy box that use to reside along the far wall under the silhouettes, now acts as a side table. Other than that not too much has changed except a large explosion of toys.


In the "game room" all the toys that use to live in the closets are now at home either under the air hockey table or built in buffet. Having items out in the open helps for two reasons:
1. Toys that are visible are used.
2. I turned the closets into storage for my entertaining and party supplies.





The addition I am most excited about is the shoe cubbie turned car lot. This is the best way to corral all the Boys cars and makes for kid friendly clean up.

So there you have it….my real life update on what our space looks like after the makeover. I'm still loving the colors & decor although I think the space could benefit from an adult sized chair or two. Seems like I'm always sitting on the floor. Then again isn't that the nature of a playroom?

Halloween Teacher Treats

While pouring through photos and flagging 293 images for Bear's baby book, I came across photos of the Halloween Teacher Treats I sent off with Peanut for his preschool teachers last year. The simple goodies were packaged in cello bags, wrapped with a tone-on-tone chevron ribbon & finished off with a sweet little rhyme.



I'm hoping to put together another batch for this year's teachers over the weekend. Are you all are staying warm today….they are calling for SNOW here today!?!?

Mpix Sale & Grandparents Pics

In the modern days of digital photography it seems like I never get around to ordering pictures. Well the sale I've been waiting for is here….mpix (the site where the crazy pricey studio I took Bear to for his baptismal photos orders their prints) is offering 25% off all cards, photo books & prints. Just use code SALE13.

Which is just in time. Not only have I yet to create a baby book for little #3 (ummmm he'll be 2 in February), but YiaYia & Bopi took photos with their grands and I can't wait to add the picture to our photo wall.

Do you have any special pictures just sitting on your computer just waiting to be printed? How about the baby book? Please tell me I'm not the only who has a trilogy for the 1st, a book for the 2nd and TBD for the 3rd. Happy Monday Everyone!

PS- mpix has no idea who I am so this post clearly isn't sponsored…just love passing on a good deal on  a quality product:)

Friday Funny: The F Word

A little over a week and a half ago my folks took Belle to see a play on a Sunday afternoon. While my sweet, little seven year old stood next to her Bopi at the box office she listened to the conversation he was having with the clerk. Bopi was picking up their tickets from will call and began to spell his last name clarifying, "F as in Frank". And then he turned to my first born, still dressed in her Sunday best from church that morning, and asked, "What other words can you think of that start with F?"

And her response, " Do you want a good word or the bad F word Bopi?"

The mouths of all the adults within ear shot hung open and I'm pretty certain time stood still. Eventually grins emerged and possibly a few small the chuckles. I'm not quite sure what Bopi's response was at that point, but I do know that the story was retold to me with a big smile and the opening line, "This is your mess to deal with."

Now lest you think we are a foul mouth bunch around here (yes, I did immediately recount the multiple times Hubby has let his favorite phrase fly during one sporting event or another); in the world of 2nd grade the infamous, 4 letter F word is :

Disaster averted……for now.

Happy Friday Everyone.

New Boxwoods {Planters & Window Boxes}

If you've been a follower of the blog you'll know that I have a thing for boxwoods. Mark my word, one day my entire yard will be rid of the dozens of day lilies and graceful boxwoods will take their place.

source

So when YiaYia tipped me off that Lowes was clearancing their garden center plantings all I could think was discounted boxwoods. And discounted they were. This cart full of 8 boxwoods and a 1/2 flat of pansies came in under $40.00!

Back home, a pair of boxwoods were put in urns and joined the large of boxwoods on the front steps.
I love the way the leathery, rich foliage pops against the cream trim and helps frame the front door.

Underneath the new topiaries I added seasonal color with delicate fall pansies. The pop of orange & yellow ties all the autumn hues together. I envision swapping out the floral seasonally for a fresh look.




As for the cart full of remaining boxwoods. Peanut flexed his 4.5 year old muscles and carried them all around back for me. Over the summer our deck boxes overflowed with white geraniums and herbs.  I transplanted some of the herbs and then the boxes were ready for the new boxwoods.

Before planting I arranged the plants in various orders and pairs to identify the best grouping. Then it was as simple as digging a hole.

For less than $10.00 per box I have a trio of topiaries to admire year round. And just like the front urns, it will be easy to add a seasonal touches to these boxes. 

I'm already dreaming up some lovely Christmas designs…oh boxwoods + mini white lights = perfection.

images my pinterest board

Halloween at Home 2013

Despite my dislike of Halloween there are little ones in this family who are all about free candy and costumes. So when it comes to celebrating in our house we keep the focus on sweet treats and the ghouls to a minimum.

Out front 3 friendly jack-o-lanterns (electric to avoid the combination of fire + costumes) greet guests on the porch. While the front carriage lights are now home to two pairs of homemade ghosts (white floral foam balls covered with squares of plastic table clothes). 

I removed the sunflower from the center of our fall wreath and opted instead to adorn the wreath with a rich autumnal ribbon and quail plumes. It was exactly what this decade old wreath needed.

Inside, the Halloween decorations are contained to two vignettes. On the foyer table dollar tree blackbirds, pumpkins, more ghosts DIYed by the little & myself last year & our beloved Mr. Spider candy dish usher you in. The BOO banner hanging overhead. I crafted it out of a sheet of orange printer paper and black satin ribbon.

In the kitchen, the wet bar houses our "Candy Countdown" vignette. The kiddies love seeing the days tick down to the sugar craze. The small garland of fuzzy black & purple pom poms framing the display  is my favorite decoration of all. There you have it. Our simple yet festive enough Halloween decor. 

So tell me, are you ready for Halloween? The Boys' costumes are ready to go and Belle's is scheduled to arrive this week. Fingers crossed we don't get any last minute changes.

Checking In {Family Room Progress}

I DID IT! Over the weekend I pulled out the sewing machine and made fall pillows for the couch. I had to diverge from my original inspiration board when the solid orange pillow covers were MIA at Ikea. Instead I used the fabric originally intended for the back deck. The pillows are bold & very effective at adding a burst of fall festivity (read: couldn't live with this much color year round).



The sewing was quite easy using the envelope tutorial and I certainly improved as the night went on. In fact, I even whipped out some tonal grey & white buffalo check covers to replace the orange set once Christmas arrives (yes, I've been planning my Christmas decor in my head since September…can't help myself).

As for the rest of the Family Room To-Dos the list looks like this:

1. Sew on curtain trim. It has been pinned in place for at least 6 months now #decoratingfailure

2. Spray paint the old brass fireplace cover. Last October I had Hubby remove the screen with the intentions of spray painting it black. It has been sitting the the garage ever since. What makes it even worse is the fact that I've purchased all the supplies for the project, I just don't want to deal with tapping off all the glass. Ugh I roll my eyes just thinking about it.

3. Coffee table decor. The massive expanse of brown needs to be tamed with something lovely yet durable. I love Amanda's den table, but I'm not so sure my smallest little could be trusted with such a set up. He is very good when it comes to decorations, but this is his play space too (as this picture can attest).

4. Artwork for over the piano. Surprise, the piano is now in the family room. We relocated it to this corner of the room over the summer. It fills the space perfectly and allows for Belle to practice without fear of waking a slumbering baby. Currently an abstract piece Belle painted is on display.  I would rather move that piece to her room or kid's bath (one small project left before it is done) and replace it with a piece or set of pieces better suited for the space.

5. Rounding out the list is the computer armoire bench. It was in my house grown up (jewel tone plaid anyone?) & I have always been smitten with the great legs on the piece. I think it could really be a show stopper, I just need to figure out how. If anyone has suggestions, I'm all ears. I thought doing a monogrammed box pleated slipcover could be pretty darn fabulous.

So there you have it. I would really love to be able to cross this room off the list before year end, but I recognize that some items like #3 & 4 may take while to come together. In the meantime, I'll celebrate the small victories like the pillows & force myself to tackle the deferred maintenance issues of #1 &2.