Home Tour: Alaina's room

I finally got around to taking photos of Alaina's room! Her room was a work in progress there for awhile - then again, aren't most kids' bedrooms? My philosophy behind decorating a child's bedroom: no choosing a particular theme. Sure, Alaina likes Tinkerbell this year but 2011 was the year of little kitty cats and next year will most likely be something else. So rather than having to purchase a new 'theme' each year for her bedroom, I came up with an eclectic room that includes all of her favorite things (horses, maps, pink, flowers, elephants.... and the list goes on) but that was a bit more grown up and super functional and if she doesn't like... say elephants next year, we removed and replace them with the new animal of the year. ;) 

Choosing a color palette was first on the list of her room re-do. We decided on a few shades of pink with light blue & coral as our accent colors. The white walls and neutral carpet really made it easy to combine so many colors together! 

We already had the bedroom basics; bed, bookcase, dresser, art work, frames, pillows. nightstand, lamp but Alaina had a few requests of her own too, like extra storage and a dress up area. So really, I was just looking for new bedding, curtains and a large art piece to cover all the existing holes on one wall. I also knew she really wanted a chair for her room (I had already found one for Chase's room) and a poof - we love saying that word! :)  Once I was able to decide on the comforter and rug, her room came together surprisingly fast! 

 You can call me a pillow collector or hoarder, I don't mind because I wear the title proudly! I love accent pillows and am always looking for different fabrics and prints to combine with one another. I loved these casual white brocade pillows paired together with an Indian elephant print linen pillow. Alaina chose the small black lace pillow from Kohl's some time ago ~ she says it's the "final touch" to her bed. 

 This white tiered stand was originally bound for the kids' bathroom but A's red jewelry box fit perfectly on the glass shelf along with some extra picture frames and a small accent lamp.

The blue slipper chair was my last purchase for her room. It wasn't our first choice but the blue in the chair does work really well with the blue in that oversized world map and I really do like the pattern. 

This little wooden side table holds a box of A's craft supplies; markers, colored pencils scissors and inside the cabinet is her extra drawing paper. Chase tends to help himself to her art stuff while she's away at school   but he's always quick to show her what he created with her markers! 

 

I let Alaina choose some of the new art pieces, which explains the LOL. She has the same eclectic taste that I do... almost. Both the elephant and parasol on top of her bookcase were recent antique store finds as well as the cute little parakeet music figurine! 

I really wanted to find a couple of floor pillows for her room, her and her friends spend alot of time sitting on the floor playing barbies or singing on the karaoke machine - I might just have a future singer living under my roof ! I found 2 Amy Butler Euro Pillow cases and you can't really go wrong with Amy Butler! Turns out I adore her fabric as much as I love her scrapbook paper! and the best part? They were reduced to just $2.99 each! 

The map canvas ended up being the focal point of her room and it's pretty impressive! I think it measures somewhere around 7ft. wide and 5 ft. in height. Both kids love maps and globes and with the vintage globe collection downstairs, I liked that we were able to carry the map trend throughout the house.

Oh! Almost forgot, - Alaina's closet! She's at that age (7) where she's becoming increasingly more aware of how her friends see her and her stuff. I've noticed more lately, especially since we've moved into the new house, that she's hidden some of her toys away when her friends have visited. She's not quite ready to let go of her Strawberry Shortcake dolls or the My Little Pony collection (really, can you blame her!- ode to the 80's :)) but she also doesn't want her friends to see them in her toybox. So, I've put my hat-box collection to good use in one half of her closet. Each hat box stores a different play/toy set inconspicuously hidden away and yet still accessible in case she wants to play. I've also made sure to create the dress up area that she wanted complete with an old vintage suitcase filled with fairy wands and princess tiaras.

So, there's Miss A's room! Thanks for taking a look and I'll be back to share the photos of Chases room this weekend. His little room is much like Alainas only little boyish and overflowing with matchbox cars. Have a wonderful Friday! 

what's for dinner!

My little guy is home sick today, so while he naps quietly on the couch it gives me a chance to play with some ideas for this week's menu outline. I'll admit after a week of being sick myself and spending much of last week in bed, I'm kind of looking forward to cooking and getting this week's menu sorted out! 

(there's nothing better than Greek yogurt and Granola for breakfast!}

Tuesday: Grilled Turkey Panni's w/ Spicy Tomato soup

Wednesday: Chicken and Vegetable Stir-fry Bowls, fruit and steamed Edamame

Thursday: Turkey Meatballs w/ Brown Rice, Sauteed Peas, salad, fruit

Friday: Fish Tacos, baked nachos, 3 bean salad, watermelon

Saturday: Breakfast Night! French Toast Skewers w/ fruit & Chicken Pineapple Sausage

Sunday: we're hosting a bbq at our house for 3 other families!

appetizers:  Pumpkin Dip w/ Apples & Gingerbread Crisps, hot Artichoke Dip w/ Pita chips, Mango Guacamole w/ tortilla chips
dinner:  Southwest Chicken Pasta Salad, Pulled Pork Sandwiches, Grilled Bratwursts, Grandmas Baked Beans, Heirloom Tomato Salad, Fruit salad, Coleslaw, mini Grilled Cheese skewers & Vegetable cups (for the kids)
dessert: Strawberry - Angel Food Cake w/ maple whipped cream
drinks: Pomegranate Orange Punch, Cucumber Strawberry Water (I'll let Peter handle the beer and wine portion ;)

So, I think that about does it... unless of course I think of something else to add to Sunday's menu! Hope you are having a wonderful start to the week!

8 things I love- Saturday

summer white by taraanderson featuring clogging shoes

In a very un-Arizona way, it's freezing here today! So in an ode to our typical 90+ degree weather for April, I'm going ahead and posting my summer tribute to white. Not that I enjoy our summers much but I do look forward to finding the perfect fitting white linen pants for the season! There's something about wearing white that reminds me of the beach or evenings on the island - casual and yet still very pretty!

home tour - Sitting Room

One of my requests back when looking for a new home was to have a sitting/family room seperate from the living/tv room. I'm all for having a tv, I just don't particularly care for the noise. I also don't care for walking into a home and the first room you see is the room that includes a tv. So, when I walked into this home and the first room was this long narrow room with amazing light pouring in from 12ft windows - I saw potential!

the details of this room: Sand colored walls, white accent wall and trims, Italian tile flooring - over all very neutral palette to work with! 

 Because this is the front room, I needed a room that could not only withstand the little kids/dogs who run through it daily to go outside but could also be a functional reading/music room for me and was easy enough to tidy-up when last minute guests want to come over. Since the bookcase was the busiest piece in the room, I tried to keep everything else simple with clean lines and accessories to a minimum. 

 Oh and no, I don't typically have anything hanging off of the rams head or even hanging next to Bob's head. (The kids named him Bob?) I was however taking the photos for Crate the same day I took the photos of this room and it wasn't until I saw the photos that I noticed everything still there. opps! :)

Peter gave me this great antique bookcase on one of our first few dates. I've always loved the idea of having a bookcase in every room but this bookcase really is my favorite because he gave it to me. So sweet!

Our vintage globe collection, originally bound for Chase's room, made a slight detour and ended up on the top of my bookcase It does make for an interesting collection and the kids and I have alot of fun searching thrift stores to add the grouping!  

This tiny side table was a DIY project. I picked it up at a hotel-furniture warehouse but in it's original dark gold color it barely deserved a second glance. A little sanding, 2 coats of high-gloss white paint, 1 coat of laquer and a glass table top turned this little eye-sore into a pretty bright white side table, perfect for holding extra magazines. (It's also a good contrast to those emerald green slipper chairs!)

Yes, I have emerald green chairs. It was love at first sight when I discovered these chairs and I was determined to include them in our new house somewhere. When we first moved into the house, I moved these chairs from room to room, upstairs and downstairs trying to find the right fit for them and in the end where they started at is where they ended up, in the sitting room!  

I started with one large rug for this room, but it was a bit too formal, it was however a perfect fit for the master bedroom. Then I found a pretty ethnic print rug that turned out to be too small for the space but was perfect for Chase's room. Then the idea of a cow-hide rug came up, something that could tolerate alot of foot traffic and I liked the eclectic appeal of it.  It's a Three Little Bears tale! I still think a large neutral jute rug might be fun for this room too! 

The coffee table for this room is actually an oversized ottoman I was able to pick up at an estate sale. I love it because it's super comfortable and during parties I push it back towards the bookcase to open the space up and it doubles as extra seating. I usually have my laptop set up on the table to work in the evenings. I turn on all the lamps, put an old record on and work on Crate Paper posts. :) 

The Sitting Room that doubles as my Music Room: 

This room also boasts 25ft. vaulted ceilings, which to a musician is an acoustic paradise. I've already apologized to our immediate neighbors for any excessive noise I may create while living here but having a room with vaulted ceilings and not putting it to good use, would be the same as having a million dollars and not being able to spend even a dime. It must be done! 

I purposely leave my trumpet out because not only do I like to play everyday, the kids are also welcomed to practice on it. That loud elephant like trumpeting coming from my home is usually Chase as he loves to play! 

We've also set up another music area upstairs in the nook, I have a guitar, clarinet, frenchhorn and a pair of African drums sitting out up there in the hopes that it will encourage the kids to practice whenever they'd like.

I found this great little side table at World Market, the bottom shelf is perfect for housing my record player and my trumpet is a good fit on top. I've also come to realized that with as much natural in-direct light that this room receives my orchids seem to thrive in front of the windows!

I still have a wish list of a few more things for this room; small display table, another rug, an Indian inspired mirror and a bench to tuck under the entry way table for extra seating but for now the room functions just as I had hoped it would! 

Thanks for checking it out! 

Easter re-cap

Yesterday was so much fun and super busy all at the same time! We hosted Easter dinner at our house this year and as I went searching through my blog and Flickr for photos of past Easters, I didn't find anything! Hard to believe but I tend to be so busy on holidays that taking photos isn't even a passing thought in my mind. I need to remember to put someone in charge of taking photos at the next family get together. :)

We left out carrots for the Easter bunny but inside of leaving them outside for him, Alaina insisted that we should put them in a China dish and leave them inside "so he won't get all grossed out." She woke us up at 6am on Sunday to tell us that he ate almost all of the carrots! After excitingly tearing apart their Easter baskets (and showing the kids next door) we held our Easter Egg hunt out back. This year I decided to mix in a few plastic eggs in with the 18 eggs the kids had colored the night before. I filled some of the plastic eggs with candy, money (Chase's favorite eggs) and teeny-tiny toys. I think I'll do this again next year, it was a big hit with the kids! 

I'm also adding my menu so I have a reference for next year. I started cooking on Saturday and I try to do all of the prep-work the day before so that dinner is as effortless as possible!

 Easter menu

starters:
Hot Artichoke & Spinach Dip - baked pita chips
Apple Dip - Green Apples
Guacamole - tortilla chips
Deviled Eggs
Vegetable Platter

 dinner:
Apricot Glazed Ham
Mashed Potatoes
Sauteed Peas w/ toasted almonds
Sauteed whole Green Beans w/ garlic
Orange Mandarin Salad
Spinach Salad w/ strawberry, feta & onions
Sweet Rolls - Wheat Rolls

drinks:
infused water, lemon and cucumber w/ mint
sparkling cider
nectarine tea

dessert:
Coconut Macaroons
Mini Carrot Cakes w/ cream cheese frosting & grated carrot
Flan
Strawberry Jam cookies

*a before and after shot*

Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter with their families this year!

hello April!

I know, it's been awhile - but with good reason! Last month, I took a long look at that to-do list I had in front of me and decided that in order to really get anything done I was going to have to focus and get moving. Since the move I haven't really felt that I put the house on the top of my priority list, I seemed to put everything else on the list but not so much the house. So, I cut back on a few things (phone time and time spent on the computer) and really poured myself into making our house feel more like home. With the exception of the kitchen and one bathroom, I think I'm about finished with the house and it couldn't be better timing because I'm hosting Easter at my house this year! I did manage to photograph the entry room today, which also happens to be my favorite room in the house, and I plan on sharing those photos after Easter! - but here's a peek!

So in between all of the house stuff, I managed to squeeze in some time for Crate Paper. At the end of last month I posted my It's a Wrap post and today is my April Color Challenge. It's been 1 year, this month, since taking over the color challenges for the Crate blog! I wish I had noticed that before yesterday as I had a celebration theme in mind for the challenge! This month, I went the route of traveling/vacations as my inspiration and created a color palette that I swore I would never do... almost a primary color combination. Ordinarily, I hate the combination of primary colors with a passion! It reminds me of comic books but I thought if I were to tweak the colors a bit, maybe, I would be able to work with them. I was right! The combination of light blue, a medium yellow and a pinky red mixed with a heavy does of bright white was all it took! Who knew? I created 2 framed artwork pieces, one for the entry way and one for Alaina's room.

If you have a chance to scrapbook this coming week, get out your Crate Paper and play along! The kids have the day off of school today and we have plans to finish some last minute dish shopping before the cooking marathon kicks off on Saturday! I am so excited for Easter this year!!

are you ready,

for a bunch of scrapbook related stuff? I've started to realize that I don't really scrapbook anymore without having a reason: challenges for Crate Paper but I still really enjoy working with paper.... I think it's a time thing too. With the new house, I have all these interior projects that I want to start on and it keeps me pretty occupied! Now that it's Spring I have a whole list of out-doorsy projects to start - some planting, sprucing up the outdoor sitting area - I want to create this lighting feature I've had on my mind for weeks.... I just need some extra time!

back to scrapbooking! My color challenge for March is posted over on the Crate blog.

I couldn't decide on a color combination this month, so I went with 2! If you have some free time this weekend you should play along! I give away a Crate Paper collection to the winner of each challenge - pretty sweet right!

This layout was made for the February color challenge but colors are still kind of tie into the current challenge. :)

I even squeezed some time to create a little custom order on Etsy this week. :)

Today's schedule includes cleaning up that massive mess I call my craft room. Getting the house ready for company. Peter's parents are coming to stay with us and should be arriving tonight! Since it's their first visit to the new house - a home tour will be in order. :) Everything needs to be in order and dust free! I naively thought living on the fairway of a golf-course might help to ease the dust issue but sadly that doesn't seem to be the case! At some point I WILL take photos of the entire house and I will get them posted. There's still some little things that I want to find to make the house feel more complete. A new rug here, and taller lamp there, maybe an end table and some new paint..... All in all, I'm really happy in our hew home... dust and all. Have a happy Thursday!

Shabby Apple Winner!

Hi all, I'm here to announce the winner of the Shabby Apple giveaway! They are my new favorite clothing find *plus I really like their photos! :)

and the lucky girl is:

Stephanie Smith

said...
I Like them on Facebook.
How lovely it would be to win this giveaway!

2.3.12



yay Stephanie!! Please send me your contact info to rosas07@msn.com

amd I'll be back tomorrow to share a whole bunch of scrapbook stuff! I've been a bit preoccupied taking care of a sick household and hoping that tomorrow is the day that we all start to feel better. I need to get everyone back on track! Until then ~ good night!