06.16.11

Movin’ On Up.

It’s official. As of today, I have a First-Grader.  I am not sure how time went by so quickly, or how I can slow it down, but my baby graduates Kindergarten today.  Holy crap, did this year fly by!
First day of Kindergarten.
Thanksgiving.
God, that look I am giving her reminds me so much of my mother.  It’s official, I’ve become my mother, and she has become me– which means Mike is going to have his hands full with both of us.  Want to know why she’s getting “the look?”
 Well, she just farted on Daddy.  Of course, her little sister thinks it’s hilarious.
Flatulence aside, my baby will conquer the world one day.  She’s got that “it” factor.  She’s an old soul.
Now if we could only get her to channel that energy and stop getting in trouble for talking in class, all would be right with the world.
 Seriously, I have never met a kid that talks more than this one. She marches to the beat of her own drum.    She will never just “fit in.”  And that’s okay by me.   Today, we will celebrate her, and her inability to be quiet.  Congratulations, E Burger… We love you.

06.15.11

Progress.

Remember this update on Lou’s big girl room?  Well, I was finally able to paint her bed.  This bed has special meaning, it was mine when I was a little girl.  I had to prime it first.  The bed was originally white, but my brother painted it black when he inherited it for his bachelor pad in Georgetown.   Gone are his bachelor days… He’s now living in the burbs with his wife, Milena and baby girl, Olivia.  They didn’t need the bed in their new house and I thought it would be so great for Lou to have it.
It took me almost an entire day to paint this baby.  Here is is (back to white) with the primer.
… And the finished product.  I used Duron’s Melon Shine.  I love the color!
I am somewhat embarrassed to show this picture as there is still so much left to do on “Project Big Girl Room.” But we’ve come a long way, baby.  Here’s a peek at what that poor little girl was sleeping on for two months until her Momma painted her bed.
So uncomfortable.  It was two mattresses stacked together.  No wonder why she wouldn’t stay in her bed!
As you can see, her room is pretty small. Here are some shots of it when we were awaiting the arrival of it’s original occupant. Perfect for a crib!
A little more crammed with a Big Girl Bed…
But we are making progress.   I just picked up the green pillows and coverlet at HomeGoods for a grand total of $80. God, I love that store.   The “Anna” letters will be 86’ed.  I’m in the process of designing her new bedskirt and a few other really exciting changes are in the works.  The bookshelves should be done this week.  I am sorry to say that most of the fabrics that I used (I originally designed the nursery 6 years ago) are now discontinued.
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13
Stay tuned.. This one’s gonna be GOOD.

06.13.11

Summer Essentials.

I’ve filled you in on two of my Summer staples, well let me introduce you to the rest of the family… My Summer Essentials:

06.10.11

LC’s New Blog.

I think it’s safe to say that I love Lauren Conrad.  What I may love more is her new blog— have you seen it?  This baby has some of the best hair and make-up tips EVAH…  And the best part is that these fabulous ladies do these little tricks themselves (ok, two of them may be Hollywood hair and make-up experts, LC may have the gift of perfection on her side.. but they make it look so easy!) If you haven’t popped over, drop everything and go!  It’s a new daily read of mine.  Here are some of my favorite tips:
Now go get yo hair and make-up on, girl!

06.09.11

Molly Loot.

She may be one of the design world’s best kept secret. Meet Molly Luetkemeyer (pronounced loot-kah-my-er) AKA mollyloot.
 
1. Isn’t she the cutest thing you’ve ever seen?  2. You are going to DIE if you haven’t seen her work.
LOVE this wall hanging.
Love me a good red chair.
 This bathroom takes me back to 1979.
I’m always a sucker for a good gallery wall.
What a great shade of orange…
Peacock Mirror, anyone? (I have the $199 Pier one version, couldn’t swing this one.)
Simply adore these ceilings.
Notice the perfect mix of patterns that most people would have never paired together.
Molly started her career working for design legend Kelly Wearstler.  You can see many common threads in their design style.  Molly’s work is truly a throwback to the 70’s.  What I love most about her design is the bold use of colors and mixing and matching of fabrics.  As I was looking through her portfolio for this post, I realized the other thing that I love about her– her creativity when it comes to new uses out of old spaces.
I have been saving this in my inspiration file for months for our basement built-ins.. I love the depth that the green builds into otherwise plain white bookshelves.
The drawer pulls and the pops of emerald give this otherwise “standard” closet a whole new life.
I would have never thought to encase a piano.. and I love the tortoise shell backing on the shelves.
I want to nap here, now.
This was my favorite– so many people have that awkward extra bedroom that they’ve converted into an office.  Notice how she built the bookshelves into the closet.  Love the lighting, love the sliding door.
So, I may be a bit of a Molly Loot stalker at this point.  I’m okay with that.  I’d like to think that if I lived in LA, we’d be friends.  But then again I’d like to think that I’d be friends with a lot of people in LA if I lived there.  Come to think of it, in my own head.. I’m pretty f$%king cool.

06.08.11

Disaster to Delightful.

Three years ago, I bought this Uttermost Chandelier for E’s room from the Lucketts Store.  I left it in my car for a week, and when I took it out the glass cylinder under the crystal strands was shattered to pieces.  At first I FREAKED, but what’s funny is that now I like it even more!  Let me be clear that I paid $300 for it vs. the $800 retail that it now goes for, so it was a much easier pill to swallow.  I think that it now looks much lighter, and more whimsical, perfect for a “Princess” room.  (We had to convince E that she had a Princess room to move her out of the nursery when Anna was born.)
Here she is in E’s room today:
Our little Princess was ecstatic with her big girl room.  Here she is one week after she was evicted from her nursery (I have since swapped out her lamps.. and am seriously considering redoing her entire room again (the chandelier will stay)… This is the insanity that my husband has to live with..)

I am working really hard on not getting upset when “material items” get ruined, but in this case, I actually did myself a favor.  Have any of you ever had a disaster that turned into a delight?