Ava's Desk-Chair

Does anyone love those old chairs with desks attached?
For the past two weeks I had really been wanting one for Ava, since she's now into coloring everywhere. I've cleaned crayon out of carpet, off the walls.
She's been disciplined, taught where the crayons go...
and yet my little sinner disobeys.
So how about some boundaries? A desk where the crayons must stay.
I was so excited to pick this up for $5 at a garage sale.
(The family selling was so nice. I got the feeling I could sit and talk with them for hours and enjoy it. Very cool.)

Anyone who knows me knows that this cute little desk would get a makeover.
It's even cuter than I expected.

The frame got a coat of grey spray paint to cover the rusty spots.
White paint for the desk and seat.
It's not perfectly painted, so a bit of the original shows through.

The braided yarn keeps the coloring books and crayons on the desk. {er, sometimes}

I almost went yarn happy, but restrained myself to some cute accents on the chair back.

Here she is in action-I love the crayon already all over this. Exactly what Ava and I needed.

Almost perfect-today we nearly had pencil on the wall.
Gotta love my 22-month-old!

Master Bedroom, Part 2 (The Floor)

The carpet is in!
Our new-to-us carpet came from Scott's coworker.
Very nice, and it turns out that the process of changing out the carpet was something desperately needed, due to the condition it was in. Read on...

Step One: Remove old burgundy carpet. Discover nasty carpet pad underneath.

Step Two: Peel and scrape up nasty carpet pad. Discover stained floorboards underneath.
[Note: When we bought the house, the man that cleaned the carpets told us there were stains, such as a pet would make. So we were somewhat prepared for the ickyness.]

Step Three: Cover all nasty stains with Zinsser. Awesome stuff.

Step Four: Sweep, vacuum, then install new carpet pad and tack strips.

Step Five: Install carpeting.

So fantastic!

Slow and Steady

One thing Scott and I have learned over the past week
is that taking time to do renovation-
not rushing through big projects-
is relaxing, enjoyable, and allows for time enjoyed as a family.

We are getting closer to having the bedroom done.
It has been so fun to do this together.

The carpet is nearly installed.
My darling husband has been working on it in the evenings.
He's fantastic.

I'm working the color accents around the bedding, which we found at T.J. Maxx
I'm having fun with the pretty aspects of this room after pulling carpet tacks, scraping up nasty carpet pad, sealing a gross floor and (helping) haul a huge roll of carpet from the basement.
I figure now that Hubby is doing what he does best (all the heavy, labor-intensive stuff)
I will take care of the froofy stuff.
It's coming together!

My Miss Ava

is creative with her toys and playtime

uses her imagination to make a comb her "straw"

and she loves to dance.

Lately I'll ask, "What's your name?"
She replies, "Ah name ah Ava!"

Please, Thank you, You're Welcome, and Excuse Me are now commonly heard.

She does a pretty good job following the rules.
Fist bumps are typically more common than high-fives.

She completely adores her little sister.

I love my little girl!

Little Funny Face

[I love all her little funny faces]

Sleepy...

#1: Cuddle the blankies until you are drifting off...
#2: Slowly lower your arms, letting yourself fall asleep completely...

#3: Totally asleep, ignore mommy taking pictures of your darling face...

Box-House

Ava really, honestly asked for it.Being put in the box, I mean.

"Inna box? Peeeeezah? (please, dramatically spoken) Box! A house! Inna box!"

She loved it.
Goofball.

Master Bedroom, Part 1

This paint:Took the ceiling fan from this:

to this:

We've now painted...
from weird cream

to Bamboo Stalk by Dutch Boy:

and put up a new blind:

Loving this remodel!
To be continued...

New Curtains

The living room finally has curtains! Just a simple muslin, hemmed and a casing put in. I love simple curtains like this, combined with the drama of floor-to-ceiling length. It makes the living room cozy, and somehow elegant. The room still has that simplicity that I love in decorating, and I have again put time and effort into making something I enjoy. I love the satisfaction of creating in my homemaking!

Oh, Wow...

Sometimes my daughtersare just

so incredibly

CUTE!

{Sneak peek at Master Bedroom goodness}