Color dipped Ikea kid's table

I have been searching for almost a year for the perfect kids' table for Amara. She is so little, that even the smallest chairs have been to tall for her. Not to mention the way that she climbs up onto the chairs meant that I needed something that wouldn't tip over easily. Table and chair sets are expensive ya'll!!!

As long as it has taken my undecisive self to make a decision, it appears that Amara has grown. This is great news to me because I really liked all of the hacks that I have seen done to the Latke Ikea table, but I just never felt like it was a sturdy enough combo for my little. Until now! $20 for a table and 2 chairs!?!?! Boom....DONE! We were able to get it shipped to us for $11 bringing the final cost to around $32.

I took some leftover aqua paint that I had from her play kitchen, and spiced up the legs on the table just a bit. I just used some painter's tape to mark off where I wanted to paint. I really love how it turned out!

I am SLOOOOOOOOOWLY trying to put together an office upstairs in Amara's original nursery room. I really just working with what I already have. No new storage ( for right now) and no painting the walls (hence the bright pink chevron). I wanted to create a little nook in the office for Amara to entertain herself while I do whatever it is you do in an office/craft room. Its just a bright open space upstairs, and I find that we do NOT live upstairs. We spend all of our time downstairs, and I am trying to change that.....one. room. at. a. time.

Here is Amara's little nook as it stands today. When the budget allows, I plan on adding some book shelving below the artwork to hold art supplies and such.

 ^^ I took an old Anthropologie catalog that I had saved and hung pictures from it with gold washi tape! I saved the catalog for the pig picture specifically, but ended up hanging others also. Just kind of quirky and fun!^^

^^ The tassel garland was something I had already made from a baby shower I threw earlier in the year. It pays off to save those things, huh? ^^

I kind of love this little space for now. I think it is nice to have a little something your child can do in each room of the house until they can be left somewhat unsupervised. If I have to go to a different room in my house, I hate feeling like I have to take toys with me. They will just be there already! :)

Have a GREAT weekend!!

J

Organizing my LIFE.

I have spent most of this week just trying to get a grip on my life. I will be the first to admit that I don't take Mondays very well. I just don't have the motivation to tackle the things that I need to. I think it is usually because our Mondays are like Saturdays around here. It is usually our family day since Gabe is usually gone on the weekends. Our world stops when daddy comes home :)

 Anyway, Monday I decided to get up and get going. Gabe had a busy day starting around 11:30, so I got up, made a grocery list, went to the grocery ALONE ( much faster), made some appointments, made some calls, had a couple of allergy attacks. By 2 pm, I was ready for a nap. I took a midday shower and nap I did! Then, I was ready to tackle the rest of my day. I made dinner for the family ( big deal....really, it is!), bathed Amara then had a client come over for a late night eyebrow waxing before her lead role in a music video! So excited for her!! 

With a productive beginning to my week, I have tried to make an effort to stay home more, and get some organizing done around my house! I am on a mission to completely redo this house of mine. I am soooooo tired of little things just laying around. They either need a designated space or they need to get out of my house. I think I have had the same dry cleaning pile for 2 years straight. Just take them already, Jenni!!! Things just have to change....period. 

Here are some before an afters.....nothing special....no fancy bins or things that look pretty, just good ole fashion organizing and purging. I TRULY believe that life is easier when you don't have as much stuff. My house feels bare compared to most, but I go through a major purging phase at least every 6 months. I don't hold on to much! I was able to make space for some of Amara's craft stuff as well as throw expired pantry items out. I have a plan to make more use of my counter space in the kitchen by removing my endless mail pile that makes it way out of the actual mail holder. Again, this just all has to end! I will post pics when I tackle that.

^^ Is it bad to keep potatoes on the ground? I am planning on purchasing a three drawer tupperware from Target to store them in along with snacks. I think it works for now.^^

^^ This is our "junk drawer"...we all have them. I just need it to be a more organized junk drawer.^^

^^ I have just had these items sitting on top of my buffet for weeks. I finally cleared room in my "placemat/charger drawer" to store craft supplies for Amara. Feels so good to not see them lying around. It only took two trips to the drawer for Amara to now go on her own and ask to "cull"                ( color).^^

^^ I actually ( FINALLY) wiped all of the dust off of our bottles. I mean, if you want to have a bar cart of some sort to display these gorgeous bottles, they should be sparkling....ting! Right?!

I also threw out anything we don't drink, and added a tumbler to hold stripey straws. Why? Because they make people happy! ^^

^^ So, we keep a coin sorter in our coat closet. It is where my husband dumps all of his change so that it can go back into our pockets. We just let the full coin rolls wiggle their way around the shelf, so I finally decided that they needed a home. It just got annoying. :) ^^


Thanks for checking in! Sorry there is not much going on over here this week.....not on the blog anyway! :) 

DIY terrariums

I have about 10 minutes before my sweet baby wakes up from her nap, but I wanted to get this post up because I am sooooo excited to have FINALLY planted my little succulents that I bought about a week ago. I just let them rest on my window sill until I knew exactly what I wanted to do with them. I decided to use the vases and pots that I already had on hand. For me, this meant that I had to do a few separate plants instead of planting them all in one giant pot like I had originally envisioned.  I am so glad that I went in that direction because I change my mind A LOT. This gives me the freedom to move them throughout the house if I want or just rearrange them where they are.

 I grabbed a basic terra cotta planter that I had in the garage and spray painted it in "lemongrass"so that I could add a touch of color to our very "woody" and white dining space. It is my kind of yellowy -green, and I love it. I covered each plant with some potting soil, moss from JoAnn's fabric store, and some river rock from JoAnn's as well. I am in loooooove! They just brighten up our space so much!! Not to mention, I am not the best at keeping things alive....plant wise. I mean....I really suck at it. I am hoping that these little guys stay around for a while. Fingers crossed!

Hotel Patillo

 We have some dear friends coming to stay with us the first week of April, and we have never really put together a guest room. We have two extra rooms upstairs that have always stored things ( in a non-chic kind of way), and I have invested a good 10 hours in going through things, putting them in their appropriate places, and moving things to our UNUSED attic! Whhhhhyyyyy have we not used that space?? Well, it is because I am really lazy when it comes to that stuff, and it just always seems like quite the task to haul things up a ladder. The even more real reason is because attics scare me a little. Even though our house is new, I just feel like any moment a raccoon or something is going to come charging at me. I know....strange fear based on nothing at all, but I can't help it.

 All of that to say, we finally painted a room and claimed it as a guest room. I am in LOVE with the shade. We used Behr's Chocolate Froth in eggshell, and I love the way it looks up against our off-white trim. It is a perfect mix of grey, white and a HINT of brown. Did I mention that I loved it?

  I will reveal pictures later...when it is actually more put together, but I couldn't wait to share a picture of some artwork I hung today. I found these two water colorish prints of San Fran at a thrift store ( ok, goodwill, but it sounds so much better to say thrift store), and I fell in love with them. My husband grew up there, so it is definitely a second home to him, but he thinks they " look a little hotellish, and I don't mean the Westin" to quote him exactly. I can see his point, although, I just love the vintage feel they have, and the colors are really beautiful up close.

  I bought some clearanced frames from Target, spray painted them white, and voila! I also added a wooden print that my husband bought me off of Etsy for our 5 year anniversary. We got married in San Diego, so it holds a special place in our hearts. My goal is to try and use only things that we have right now to spruce the room up since our budget it extremely tight. I have a lot of beach themed/ Cali items, so for now, it is our Cali room.

Check back for more pics next week! I am really wanting to attempt a DIY headboard, but I just don't know if that will happen! 

Sweet spot!

Does anyone else have those spaces in their home that are just easy on the eyes....even if they are among chaos? I wouldn't dare take pictures of every room in my home right now, but I definitely have those "sweet spots" in my home that make me happy when I glance at them ( while carrying a load of laundry upstairs or chasing a toddler around)

Right now....these are those happy moments for me....

My droopy tulips.... I am the worst at keeping things alive, so I will take what I can get.

I don't know what it is....I just love this space in my house right now. It stays the cleanest and I love all of the light that comes in. I sit in here a lot!

Love my chairs and DIY rug!

This corner catches my eye every time I walk past it. It is my little bit of pink in the house, and I just love to sit here sometimes and read or catch up on my blog reading! ;) It is right beside the fireplace, so it is my go to spot when I have my hot tea everyday! ( Oooold lady, huh?)

I have so many photos I want to add to this wall, but I haven't gotten around to it. The photos of Amara ( 8 months) make me miss that chub everyday!!! 

aaaaaand finally.... a portion of my closet. It is out of Amara's reach, and not on my hubby's side, so it stays relatively clean. It is just my space in my bathroom with "pretty things"

Hope you all have had a great Thursday! I have had a really difficult time with Amara sleeping today and just with her being awake actually ;). A teething baby = not a fun one. I have literally been walking on eggshells around my house so she won't wake up. She is sleeping so light today...hmmm. I still have a toilet that needs to be flushed, a paintbrush that needs to be washed and a vacuum that needs running, For now....shhhhh!

Amara's new room (PART ONE)

It pains me...slightly...to say this, but Amara is moving. It pains me for a couple of reasons. 1. I ( along with my bestie and hubby) worked so hard on her nursery that she has really only been sleeping in for a total of 10 months. 2. She is growing up people!!!

Amara's nursery has french doors on it, which I thought at the time would be sooooo beautiful! However, it is right at the top of our staircase and she sees and hears pretty much EVERYTHING! So, I just think it is best to move her to a room where the door ( that doesn't have windows) shuts quietly and doesn't rattle when the air kicks on and off. It wouldn't hurt her to have a little more space, as she is accumulating a lot of toys these days. Her new closet is bigger too! Maybe I should have thought all of this out while pregnant, but I didn't think this day would come so quickly to be honest.

Anyway, before I sadly dismantle the nursery of our first child * so dramatic, I know*, I thought I would share pictures of it with you all. I never completed taking photos as we got closer to her arrival. Plus, every room in my house is a continual project.... let's just be honest. I am hardly every happy. I get tired of things quickly. Even while I was pregnant, I moved my living room around weekly. I am crazy!

Here is the nursery as it stands today. I will be posting an update on her new room, and can't wait to do the final reveal!

Some extras .....if you are into cute babies with CRAZY hair...