Elizabeth's 3rd Barnyard Birthday

This past weekend we celebrated Elizabeth's 3rd birthday! (as well as my birthday - we share the same birthday)!

Elizabeth is very exuberant and loves life, so for the past 3 to 4 months, Elizabeth would wake up in the mornings and the first thing she would say is, "Mommy, is today my birthday??"  Having experienced Luke's birthday this past April, she was ready to experience one herself!

So, I kind of went all out prepping for her 3rd birthday and while it is a lot of work, it was worth it and I'd do it again in a heartbeat ( though, with some better planning)! ;)

I did a barnyard theme mainly because E loves playing with her little people barn/farm and she loves animals!  I used simple animal silhouettes as the invites with a red/green color scheme.

And, I decided to use our playscape in the backyard as the 'barn' and everything else just evolved from that. 

We used our radio flyer wagon for the hay rides!!  

I filled the upper part of the playscape with hay and had felt animal masks so the kids could use and pretend they were barnyard animals.

We had pin the tail on the donkey which the kids LOVED!

When I asked E what her favorite part of her party was, she said the 'cupcakes'!! I don't blame her because they were out of this world!  (from Cake Flour).

All in all we had a wonderful time!! As my children get older (and the older I get) I am so grateful for them.  You don't think it is possible that your love could grow even more for them, but it does and I am so forever thankful for my family!!  

And, a very special thank you to Grammy, Pupa and Aunt Macaire - I couldn't have pulled this off without your help! :)

My New Woven Bamboo Shades

It is no secret that it when it comes to window treatments that I love woven (bamboo) shades.  Love them!  And, I love them more when they are paired with paneled drapes.  You can see more of my inspiration here.   

I did a bit of research as to which ones to buy, but the main driver was budget.  At the end of the day, I rather not invest tons of money in the woven shades and instead use the savings for the drapes (down the road).  

Kelly, from Bungalow Blue Interiors, did a post on budget friendly ones.  Holly from Holly Mathis Interiors swears by her shades Tropical Isle Bamboo blinds from Select Blinds.  These were a bit pricey for my budget.

I ended up purchasing mine from Home Depot.   It is a new brand they carry - Home Decorators Collection.  I guess now the online retailer is now distributing their products to big box retailers like Home Depot.   

I purchased these in Natural and the 27 x 72 only cost me $31.00 each (a total of $124 for four shades).   I wanted a honey colored shade and I wanted them 'unlined'. The color and price were right on the mark. 

In regards to where to install the shades, I opted for leaving the 'dead space' vs. installing the shades up to the curtain rod or ceiling.  

If you don't know what I mean, my post here talks about the different placements for woven shades.   

Here are my family room windows before: 

Here are my family windows with the bamboo shades - after:

Another shot of the four windows….

Same shot but with sofa….

I still have a long way to go in this room, but I already love the texture and color the woven shades add to our space.  It's going to be so cozy when I add drapes, I can't wait.  I am considering these striped panels from Pottery Barn.  We'll see….

A Purchase for our Master

Over the summer I made an impulsive decision to buy an upholstered chair for our master bedroom.  Very unlike me when it comes to furniture and especially when I don't have the design of a room entirely fleshed out, but in this particular case, the deal was too good to pass up.

Meet Elise…

You can find her at Ballards - the Elise Club Chair.  I got her for less than one third of the full retail price.

She is perfect.  She is smaller than most club chairs and fits perfectly in the small corner of our master bedroom.  She is extremely comfortable and very stylish.  I love her waterfall skirt.  Of course, I think she pairs well with the Colefax and Fowler Bowood fabric I plan to use in our master.

At first I wasn't sure if I liked her accentuated shaped arms, but they have grown on me and now I love them.   I now have started to notice these accentuated shaped arms in other rooms that I have loved.

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This chair is a great option if you need a smaller scale club like chair but don't want to sacrifice on comfort and style!  I highly recommend it!

Our Entry - Progress

It has taken me entirely too long to decide on a paint color for our entryway.  Paint is not expensive, so if it is the wrong color, it can be easily fixed so there really are no excuses.  But, our entry leads into three rooms (living room, dining room and kitchen) and I don't have the exact colors selected for these rooms yet.  I generally know the direction I want, but not knowing exactly made selecting our entry paint color even harder.  I knew I wanted a neutral color, but which one?

If you remember this post, I was completely set on white (see inspiration pictures).  But, as dreamy as the inspiration pictures look, our entry lacks natural light, architectural details and space/height.  We plan on rectifying this in the future, but for now, this is what we have.   So, a white color with no natural light and no pretty architectural details seemed wrong for the space.  

Also, there was the furniture to consider.  Ideally, for our entry, I would love to have an antique piece as the foundation.  Something like this would do…

But, right now that is not in the cards given that I'd like to save money for a new dining table and chairs.  So, I am stuck with using a cream colored shaker console that my lovely husband found at the dump (when we lived in CT). :)  :)  

So, after testing a thousand paint choices, I went with BM Edgecomb Gray at half strength (50% lighter).  Why half strength?  Because I wanted it lighter.   And, I'll be honest.  When we get natural light in our entry (always in the afternoon), I LOVE it.  Beautiful color.  Perfect.  But, in the morning, with little natural light, it seems a little too dark to me.  But, I think, until we can get more natural light in there, any color will not look 100% right.  

So, this is what we started out with…..this was the previous owner's decor….

BEFORE

And now PROGRESS - BM Edgecomb Gray at 50%

Here's another view - midway painting…you can see the difference between the original and new color 

So, the jury is still out, but I think it is a significant improvement.  I threw together a quick idea board of where I am going with this space.  See below.  

I definitely want to use the green pagoda lantern in our hallway.  It is the perfect size and I love the color!  I also plan on upholstering/slipcovering two storage cubes to fit under the console.  You can see the fabric choices above.  I haven't decided.  I might not even go with either….we'll see.  But, I do know, I want to finish this space quickly.  I'm tired of thinking about it and I am ready to move onto to the next room!! 

PS: In case you're wondering, I can't wait to rip out our carpeted stair runner and replace it!  I also plan on painting the banister black, hang sconces and pictures.  The list goes on….

See what I am loving...

Happy Friday!!  

While this week was a short week, it was a very productive week on the home front.  I felt like things were just clicking with my decorating choices.  Does that ever happen to you?  Where it just works and it feels like an 'A-ha' moment.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5 - I love this color scheme for a master bedroom.  It's a departure from the predictable blue, but I think it still reads serene and relaxing.  I would paint the walls a creamy white and then use the green on the trim.  This artwork has the perfect colors and the green pagoda lantern is my new favorite light which would complement the green on the trim.  The sister parish fabric would look adorable as a bolster on the bed and as window treatments.  I would used the PB oversized gilt frames as frames to add some gold touches.  I have used these frames before and I love them.   

6 - Would love a wicker umbrella basket for our entry way.  

7 - I need new flatware STAT and currently like this style.  Do you have flatware that you love?  Please share!  

Next week I will post the design board for our entry and show you pictures of our entry walls finally painted in the new color!