Smoky Charcoal

 I was shopping at Walmart. 

Because when you live in a town not overrun with shopping centers, you get things at Walmart.

It's not all bad.

Anyway, on a whim, I wandered down the paint aisle, perusing the "oops paint". You know, the paint that got mixed and rejected by the customer, and gets marked waaay down, often 50% off.

Anyone have a guess as to what happened!?

Yup, I bought some.

It's by Glidden, called Smoky Charcoal.

You know, I could have more expensive hobbies. 

I could probably have simpler hobbies.

Mostly because my hobby is randomly redecorating things.

However, it was the basement bathroom. Poor, bland little bathroom.

I mean, look at it!

I thought the decor was cute, but I hated the wall color. 

Nothing very inspiring about tan.

This tan was particularly snore-inducing.

I already painted the bathroom once before, from a dark tan to a lighter tan.

So thrilling!

This transformation was a bit more distinct:

 Painting is pretty straightforward.

Put all the kids down for naps.

Tape all.the.things like a madwoman.

(Because it wouldn't be a whim without a time crunch.)

Rustle up a paintbrush and roller, and go like crazy!

(starting)

(during)

 And, the finished product!

 

Isn't it pretty??!!!

And for $12 oops paint, proof that one man's trash is another man's treasure.

 

(Yes, we do use indoor/outdoor Christmas lights in our shower. They are wired behind the shower wall, and turn on via remote. They are very cool.)

The walls are a little darker than the photos, and the whole room is so gorgeous now! I'm not entirely sure how I'll redecorate. I feel less need to cover the walls, now. :-)

There you have it, my latest little project! 

Sometimes, whims take you in the best directions!

Winter Wonderland Living

(Catchy heading, right? Sounds like something in a magazine, maybe.)

In tribute to those gorgeous pictures I drool over every season, here's my Christmas wreath: 

Lace bows on keys,

 Gift tags tucked in,

a whole slew of cranberry going on there...

I really like how it turned out this year!

Let's get the full festive effect with the Christmas tree!

We realized there wasn't anything but stress in getting a real tree this year. 

This little artificial tree graced our little apartment, and now it graces our house.

(And the girls love it!)

Now, my favorite spot in the whole house.

It's just inside our front door, and I see it every time I walk through the room.

I have ornaments and greenery a lot of places, but this place is simple, clean.

It feels nostalgic of the stable where Jesus was born, and reminds me of the simplicity of faith in Christ.

 

I'm so thankful Jesus came.

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Okay, let's change gears.

Here's what occupies my time:

3 little astronauts, exploring the moon.

(Riley is the little boy I do daycare for...not the 4th child you never knew about.)

Our church Christmas dinner:

The 9-month-old

The first big snow:

 As a child, I loved waking up to snow!

Gazing out the window, drawing in the condensate on the glass.

It's pretty great how my girls enjoy the same things.

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Cheese!

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Our church Christmas program was great!

Ava and Lucy even got to dress up for the opening songs.

 (Their friend, Emma, is in the middle.)

Sometimes my kiddos just crack me up.

Since there isn't a way to really stage a baby photo, I guarantee this is Olivia at her best.

 This is what we affectionately know to be her mad face:

Oh, Lucy. You are so grown up.

Hey, look! Snow! 

It's edible, throw-able, and stomp-able.

Look who's mobile?

It's so cute, but I really don't get much done when she's awake.

 Between the dishwasher, presents, and all her big sister's little toys, it's a miracle she hasn't destroyed anything or injured herself.

Do you ever have mornings like this? 

Totally normal around here.

Stay warm, enjoy your comfy clothes, and have a very

Happy Christmas!

Girl's Room, Revisited

 I finally got a couple of things done in the girls' room!

Okay, by "finally" I mean that ever since Olivia was born, I've wanted to get her name print up. So, "finally" as in, "not even four months".

I'll get to the print a little later, though.

The one big thing I haven't been satisfied with are the curtains.

What was in there was a simple white liner from the old purple curtains, and I sort of tacked on a pink ruffly thingamabob.

 

 

 Can we all agree they were sort of blah?

Okay, maybe it's just me and my brain. 

I really have a hard time leaving things one way for too long.

(My husband has learned this very thoroughly.)

So, I started looking at curtain ideas and came across these from Pottery Barn Kids:

But OOF-DAH! $90 for a curtain panel?

My brain kicked into gear.

I had two goals:

1: Make ruffly curtains on the cheap.

2: Make one curtain fit perfectly on the single odd-sized window.

All started well. It was cheap because my white fabric was in a bundle, given to me for free.

(Love free stuff.)

I measured very carefully so I had perfectly sized, perfectly customized window coverings.

Then I cut strips for ruffles, and started working from the bottom up.

I pinned the edges first, then eyeballed my way toward center.

Yes, I did repin this at least once.

I also probably called it stupid more than once. (Don't tell my kids.)

 Once I had it fairly well pinned I stitched it down and sort of shoved the loose fabric into bunches as I went.

It worked pretty well, and I got two lovely rows on 3 curtain panels.

Then a few things happened:

1: I ran out of fabric for more uniform ruffles.

2: I have 3 small children that make it...um...complicated...to get projects done.

3: I actually really liked just 2 ruffles.

So, here is how they look now:

 Can you imagine those slathered in ruffles?

It might still happen, but I have so many options!

Finish in white ruffles, do an ombre of pink shades, or just put some lovely pink trim along the existing ruffles and call it lovely. 

(Whatever I do, I got a whole lot of "wow", "pretty" and "OOOH" from my girls over them!)

So anyway, here is what they look like:

 And here's the updated wall:

So, between butterflies and ruffly curtains, I'm keeping it totally girlie.

 In case you're wondering, that teal paint for the frames is my own cocktail of colors.

I typically get inexpensive frames from someplace like Walmart, so then if anything gets knocked down and broken I'm not out a chunk of change. (and yes, I have hung things as securely as possible because I also take the safety of my children into consideration. Thank you.)