The other night I was treated to a great dinner at a Mexican restaurant with my good friend, Lela, her family, and my husband and kids. I've known Lela for more than 20 years, and she has become like a sister to me! She noticed that I was wearing the lovely charm bracelet she gave me a few months ago for my birthday, as well as a two-peas-in-a-pod green and silver charm that I've added to it. She noted that she loved my "gardening" charm. I bought the charm to symbolize my twins, but it really is a great charm to represent the gardening that both Continue reading...
How to Create a Raised Garden Bed
Last year was a busy year! I started this website, and thankfully, at least a few people have read it! Thanks everyone for your visits! It's been a fun year. For all you new readers out there, I thought I'd post some of the most-read posts from 2012 -- enjoy! Since spring is approaching, I thought I share how I put my bacyard's two raised garden bed together! It was easier than I thought it would be! Last spring, one of the best things my daughters and I did together was designate an area of our yard for a raised garden bed, and start a flower and vegetable garden. We started small and Continue reading...
Pink, Gray and Blue Palette
The other day, I wrote about a blue and yellow paint color scheme that I am thinking of using for my home office. I have been considering the paint color scheme, since while the room is currently my office, I figure that in a few years, when my kids hit their tween years, they will no longer want to share a bedroom, and I will have to give up that space. One of my daughters loves blue, so I thought the space might make a good room for her, should I go with the blue and yellow color scheme. But there is a problem with that plan -- the room comes with a walk-in closet, while the other Continue reading...
Yellow and Blue Inspiration Board
Now that I've completed painting the owl and tree mural feature wall for my kids' new study and media space, I've been dreaming about organizing and painting my home office. Right now, the office has boxes everywhere (of things I need to file) and features plain, unpainted white walls. So boring! I thought something bright and cheery would be great for the office, and have been thinking that the room would look quite nice in a combination of yellows and blues. Most of my home is very neutral with soft greens and yellowy beiges, so I thought that something more colorful would be Continue reading...
Unfinished Basement Playroom Ideas
Last year was a busy year! I started this website, and thankfully, at least a few people have read it! Thanks everyone for your visits! It's been a fun year. For all you new readers out there, I thought I'd post some of the most-read posts from 2012 -- enjoy! And, if you are wondering, I have created an unfinished basement playroom space for my kids, but it's nowhere near as nice as I'd like it to be. I haven't painted the walls or stained the floors in the unfinished basement playroom space, and there is still a lot of organizing to be done! I will have to keep working on creating a fun Continue reading...
Picture Frame Dry Erase Board
I like to browse Pinterest for craft ideas, and I’ve seen a lot of easy DIY picture frame dry erase boards, so I decided to make one of my own! I recently created a mini mudroom by my home’s front door that’s pretty functional. My home’s mudroom area has a coat rack, a mirror (for quick checks before heading out the door), a clock (to keep us on schedule on school mornings) and a rack with bins for hiding most of our shoes. I have a calendar that I made (on Vistaprint) that contains all our important school dates and holidays, but I really needed a place Continue reading...
Decor for a New Kid Study Area
Last week, I finished the feature wall in my kids' new study area. I think it looks great! For the new feature wall, my kids picked out a pretty green paint, plus a really cute owl and tree RoomMates mural (Happi by Dena), that I purchased on Amazon (my go-to shopping place). The mural was pretty easy to put up -- the only help I needed was reading the itsy bitsy numbering on the mural's instructions that told me where to put each of the mural's parts. The numbers were so small, I couldn't read them even with the help of a magnifying glass! I finally had to call one of my daughters in Continue reading...
Getting Started with Paint
Yesterday, I decided to get going and start painting the special Owl Mural Study Area that I promised for my children. The kids picked out a light spring green color that I starting adding to one wall yesterday. A big owl wall decal will go on that wall once the painting is done. Since I am a messy painter, and because the whole floor area of the room to be painted is covered in wall-to-wall carpeting, I was very careful and made sure I did a lot of prep work before I started painting. How to Paint Walls If you are a messy painter (or just want to get the job done right), Continue reading...
What I Am Reading This Week
Now that I’ve discovered the world of mom blogs and all the great designing and organizing projects that they do, I no longer need to subscribe to monthly magazines to get my home décor and design fix. I can get it daily just by visiting some of my favorite mom blogs. These are some of the mom blog posts that have caught my eye so far this week: Simple Slipcovers from In My Own Style Decorating with Plates from the Lettered Continue reading...
Owl Mural Study Area
About a year ago, I created a study area in our large upstairs hallway for my two daughters. We used to have a large office desk in that area, but since getting our laptop, we didn’t use it much. Plus, the desk was so big, that my daughters had to walk a big circle around it at night to get from their shared bedroom to the bathroom. The desk was just way too big! So, I took that big behemoth desk apart and stored it in the basement. I brought up some items from the basement (I swear our basement has just about everything stored in it): a large folding table, an office lamp and two Continue reading...