Vroom Room

This is just a little quickie quick update to what I've been doing in the boys room.  The last time I talked about this we were moving Hunter into Jagger's room and converting everyone into a toddler bed.  Well after a spontaneous trip to home goods, I walked out with a theme and a better understanding of what I want going on in there.  It all started with this beauty I found

If you at all know me, you know I'm terrified of hanging things on the wall.  TERRIFIED.  So actually buying a piece of "art" and hanging it was a big step.  I have a feeling once more things start happening in this room this canvas might get moved to the striped wall...but for now it's amazing that it's just UP.

I also decided to bring the boys car rug and bean bag chairs up into their room, regardless of the protests of my husband.  I TOTALLY get that we have a big ol' basement that they can use for their playroom so why clutter their room with toys and such.  The answer is simple....because we adults also deserve some space in this house.  I find it unfair that we have a teeny space for our computer, I sew at the kitchen table, and we use the ENTIRE basement purely for mass amounts of toys.  NO MORE!!  Time to SHARE the house....after all....we stress sharing all the time.  Why not start with us.  So bean bags UPSTAIRS.  Besides, it really does make a nice little reading nook and it's great to be able for them to play while I do the laundry or whatever and not have to worry about being 2 floors away from them, fearing that one is poking the other's eye out.  It has happened.  The poking of the eye...not the actually "out" part....

I also got them some little auto and train throw pillows for their beds.  I'm DYING to get 2 twin size big boy beds in here...but see those cribs?  Yes they are the convertible kind that you can use as a headboard and foot board and all that jazz.  Which is FANTASTIC...but not for someone like me who changes their mind every 2 years.  So husband is determined to use them...and I keep stressing that we will store them and in the next house, when they have their own rooms, we will upgrade those twins that I want to full size for them and all will be good so peace be with you.  That man takes alot of convincing, and I'm still not there.  Not to mention, 2 full size beds will NOT fit in this room.  Anyway...I also have to figure out what to do with that center curtain in the car pattern...nix it? Add a panel to the bottom? Maybe switch it with the panels that are above the bean bags? Who knows....but you know it will be 8 months before I get to it.  #lazytiredmom.

Happy Thursday y'all!

Nate Berkus Knows Best

With all the Holiday hubbub (bub) I have failed to post the progress on my master bath.  Yes, yes, yes....extremely SLOW progress....but progress none the less.  Remember, we are a budget fearing family here, and I gots to do it at a certain pace!

SO here was our window before.  We've had a paper shade on it since we moved in, and after removing said shade we realized that we are basically flashing the world with a now naked window.  I took the initiative to frost that sucker and it worked out beyond swimmingly!! Of course in true Lani fashion I took no pics of the process. You know, it's really hard to get pics of you doing something when you are doing it on the fly, and all by your lonesome.  Lucky ladies out there that have husbands that enjoy DIY.....

Anyway, so window treatments were definitely in order.  I ordered this fabric which I thought would tie in all the colors I eventually want for this bathroom (I plan for the cabinets to go gray at some point...maybe new countertop too).  Unfortunately, I am REALLY not good at math and ordered too little, so the curtain came up short.  Oh, and BTW, all I did was cut to fit the window, and hem the 4 sides.  I could have no sewed hem taped them as I've done before with other curtains...but the sewing machine was out and I may as well and yada yada Lani likes to do things the hard way.

Because I wanted to use what I had already purchased, I (and Heather after many text pictures) decided that doing some sort of faux roman shade look would be best.  After debating how to go about this....we both thought that going the route of the all mighty design god, Nate Berkus, would be our best bet and add some grosgrain ribbon. 

Ok wait let's get serious here. Why did they cancel his show??  I mean, he seriously had the best set on TV, he totally recognized us everyday designers and the blogging community, and yeah he was kinda annoying and his smile is cheesy, and he says "I love that, don't you love that, I love that!" a whole lot....but he was GOOOOOD. I mean...to replace him with Steve Harvey? Really?  Even if I was a stay at home mom still....I don't think I would watch that show.  I'm just not interested in what Steve has to say.....I'm far more interested in grosgrain.

SO I DIGRESS...and in doing so I say that NB was spot on.  All I did was loop the ribbon up and around the curtain to create a faux swaggish look.  Yes I said swaggish.  It's a word.  Then I just tucked the knot on the other side of the fabric so it looks like its all cohesive.  No one will be the wiser!  Shhhhh....

Heather and I also decided that the 3 ribbon approach looked better than the 2.  As you can see....I really can't make solid decisions without a second opinion from my girl.  That's just the way the faux roman swags....

So there's my little quicky fixy for a cute shade for your bathroom!  It's so cute I cant stand it.  I get all verklempt.  Next up is a fun little storage idea for over the toilette (it sounds fancier like that....toilette) which I have all the supplies for, it's just a matter of DOING. 


Peace on earth and good will towards men,

2012 In Review

Well kids, here we are at the beginning of 2013. It is utterly mind bottling how fast time flies, but even more so when you're chasing crazy lunatics around your house. Let's kick off 2013 with a quick look at the awesomeness we created in 2012. It's always a good motivator to see that you did more than just sit on the couch, watching Friends re-runs, eating Cheetos. 

Here we go:

In JANUARY, we both started Etsy shops. 

Lani has LEMON SQUEEZIES:

              

Super cute, right?! From bow ties to capes, she's got you covered! I don't know about you, but I need a turban headband for the days when my bangs need some taming.


An then there's PAPER MONKEY:


  
Need a cute paper banner or book page apple to spruce up your decor? Check it out! The paper flower clips are great for a little girl's hair, or your blazer's lapel.

FEBRUARY it was time to get our butts in gear:

Lani started her Master Bedroom makeover with a coat of paint on the walls.

And I did a little refreshing of our Living Room throw pillows by making a few new pillow covers:

MARCH

A pretty little organizer happened:

APRIL

Lani threw Jagger a very colorful birthday party:

And we made Will an Iron Man trike for his birthday:

MAY

I tackled a friend's living room wall with a picture frame collage. I think it's my favorite one I've done.

JUNE

We got painty with a new wall color in the living room:

And Lani got crafty with some adorable teacher's gifts for the end of the school year:

JULY

Lani got down to the nitty gritty and tiled her Master Bathroom floor:

You can check out the process here, here, here, and here.



AUGUST was a big month for us. Lani and I both went back to work full time. Talk about a big adjustment for us and our families and our DIY schedules. HA! But the day before I started my new job, I decided to paint my Master Bathroom:

And Lani's Master Bedroom revamp kept on truckin' with this fab rug upgrade:

SEPTEMBER was a time for more Master Bedroom and Bathroom upgrades. Check out Lani's progress:
A little Martha Stewart Garbadine goes a long way:

And some painted drapes in the Master Bedroom:

OCTOBER was a busy month, and maybe a little too busy because we didn't have much going on over here on the blog-front. We did have our first trip to the ER for a broken finger:

You can definitely count on us to keep it real around here. First trip to the ER, first cavity fillings (yes, PLURAL fillingS), and 1st day at preschool. Talk about a traumatic parenting month...



NOVEMBER
We got a lesson in accessorizing:

I tackled another subway art:

And painted my kitchen...again:

DECEMBER was very merry for us from a Pottery Barn NOEL sign knock-off:

To a super adorable Hot Chocolate Bar:

And we finished up the year with a yarn pom wreath:

You can definitely expect more awesome projects from us! Happy New Year!

XOXO,   

&

Good Tidying I Bring..

Ever year around this time, I get clean frantic.  It’s like spring cleaning, but mine comes in winter.  Maybe it’s because I’m spending more time in doors since it's below freezing out, or maybe its because when I just want to curl up on the couch it takes me an hour to clear off the books and toys, find a blanket, find my pillows that have been thrown everywhere, and then I’m just tired and want to go to bed.
So, since I have a few days off now without kids (yes I take them to school/daycare on my days off….how else would I get anything done?), I’ve decided to tidy ONE small area of my house at a time.  Not rooms, not whole closets….one, measly thing.  I know it doesn’t sound like much, but with my time, energy, and lack of ability to finish large tasks in one day because I keep getting sidetracked with little details…ONE small area works for me.  So my last day off was the dresser in our master bedroom.  Not the drawers…just the top.  This is what it looked like before I began:

Ugh its so ugly.  And it’s been like this for, well, ever.  Sometimes it gets neat and sometimes its worse than others…but overall it usually look like this.  Love that I have Hunters “sick” cup just sitting there….hasn’t been sick for at least a week…

Ugly alarm clock.  I know Craig doesn’t think it’s that bad, but guess what’s going to be in his stocking for Christmas??  Oh!  Just what I’ve always wanted!!    And then we have random knick knacks that actually have meaning to us but we aren't displaying them like we should.  Bad Lani….
More random crap….
Not random crap…but why aren’t these pics in frames?  Oh…because I am a slacker.  I admit it now.  Hi, my name is Lani, and I’m a design slacker.
And ugly phone.  We never use this phone.  I don’t even know if this phone works.  If anyone were to call us in the middle of the night they would call my cell.  So why do I have this phone in my room….

So, after clearing off the dresser, giving her a good rub down and dusting, shopping my house, arranging and rearranging, and of course, using the power of pix messaging to get Heather’s opinion…It now looks like this!

Hooray!  It’s neat, it’s sort of asymmetrically balanced, it’s not as offensive to the eyes, to say the least!  I plan on adding a mirror above the tray and perhaps some kind of collage effect to the rest.  And I’m sure this will change like every month….but for now I’m really enjoying the neatness.
These vases were a snag at Target!  I think the large was $6 and the medium was $5.  They were part of this whole equestrian themed display and I just fell for the stud detail on them!  Then I placed the “brick” with mine and Craig’s name and anniversary on it front and center.  It was hidden behind the ugly alarm clock.  The brick is one of those places outside Disneyland and this little acrylic piece is a copy of what it looks like.  Craig bought the brick as a wedding present since we were married at the Disneyland Hotel.  And why was this not displayed properly before?  (see slacker note above)

I grabbed this tray from downstairs, and I’ll probably change the fabric that’s below the glass.  I finally framed one of the pics that were laying around, and displayed my new gold bowl and white urchin from the Nate Berkus collection at Target.  Hello Nate Berkus….welcome to my bedroom.
I’m loving how clean and simple it looks and am really just glad that the dresser is clear.  Now that I have a day off today…I’m finding another little thing to clean off before I start my frantic clean-for-Thanksgiving-so-none-of-your-guests-think-you’re-a-hoarder spree!  Yay!