Work in Progress: Ryker's Room

Ryker's room is getting closer to being finished.  Wall #2 is finally painted!

Here's the Black & White CHEVRON wall 

Here's how it looked before (below)

I originally planned on using a stencil to do the lines, but they seemed to be even more difficult to use because I wanted the lines to be as crisp as possible and the only way to achieve that is to use painters tape.  So, I mostly taped the design just by eye and used a level to help me out a bit. I was crossing my fingers that since it was a busy print that it might not be as noticeable if the lines weren't perfect.

Once I painted the black, my perfect Little "DIVA" Helper - Keira, helped pull all the tape off (with her heels on of course)

Here's the finished wall!!

I found this vintage wooden bar on Craigslist, which I thought of originally painting over, but lately I've been loving the look of natural wood, especially with the black and white tree theme of Ryker's room.
I actually plan on using this as Ryker's changing table once we get the changing pad and a yellow cover for it, which I haven't found a yellow one that I like yet. I really want a bright yellow and white striped pad cover so if any of you have any recommendations please comment below.

I also received my Cockatoo Art Parrot Print on a vintage dictionary page from BLACK BAROQUE and framed it.  It's perfect because it wen't with my yellow cockatoo pillow I got from the One Kings Lane sale when Room Service was featured. I really loved it and thought it would be perfect against the black and white blanket I got for my glider.

It's coming together...on to the next project!

These cockatoo's are AWESOME - they remind me of a little boys mohawk!

** See how Ryker's room turned out HERE **

Work in Progress: Ryker's Room

My Once Upon A Time / Hollywood Regency / Woodsy theme for baby Ryker's room is slowly coming along. I had to do a switch-a-roo with the kids bedrooms and move Keira into the larger bedroom and have her old bedroom become Ryker's nursery since it's closest to our bedroom.  It took A LOT of work and A LOT of paint to cover this Teal Blue color.

Here's what Keira's room looked like right before we did the swap.

I went a little crazy with the wall decals when I did Keira's room last year

My husband was such a trooper helping me paint and move all the furniture around

This is what I'm going to miss most! Keira's Growth Marks on her wall :(

Then, I had Erik help me paint the room Gallery White with Behr Ultra Premium Paint

After about 2 weeks of having the paint dry and waiting for my wall decals to arrive from StyleyWalls -I was able to put up the vinyl tree decals on the wall. I still have to put the yellow bird decals up, but I wanted to wait until after all the furniture was in place.

I loved that the trees were extra long and I just trimmed them to the height I wanted them to be.

I'm so happy that I was able to find this Grey Crib at an affordable price from Walmart.com.  All the other Grey cribs I found online were over $600 and since Keira only slept in her crib for only about a year I thought this was about as much as we would pay for a new one.  Plus, it's convertible in 3 different ways and incredibly easy to put together!

Baby Mod - Modena 3-in-1 Cool Grey crib from Walmart.com

I have a few more walls to complete for his room, so I'll be keeping you posted very soon!

Weekend Highlights

The sun came out again this weekend which always calls for more outdoor fun to be had!  I was busy all weekend trying to work through my house "to do" checklist, but trying to have some fun out in the sun with my family too.  

Here's some bits of our busy busy weekend!

Working on the 2nd wall in Ryker's nursery  (This is the BEFORE picture.  The first wall was the wall of trees - I'll post that soon along with the AFTER photo of this wall)

Started reading Fifty Shades of Grey but didn't get too far (yup, that's my belly!)

Erik blew up the inflatable pool this weekend and of course Keira is diving in (literally)!

Keira in her AC Milan kit - this pose is hilarious!

We finally got to watch Daddy coach his little boys soccer team!  San Mateo Soccer Club - The United Knights

Let's GO UNITED KNIGHTS!

So great seeing Erik coach these little guys!

The highlight of Keira's weekend - getting her first pair of little heels! She won't take them off!

The Maternity Photo Shoot was also a success!! I can't wait to see the pics! Thank you again Deborah!  You rock!

Have a great week everyone!

Pregnancy Update: 28 Weeks

I had my 28 week appointment yesterday and it turns out that I have now become anemic!  It sure does explain why I've been feeling EXTREMELY exhausted and drained in the middle of the day. I've only  gained 1 pound since last months appointment so the doc gave me some iron pills and said I should increase my  protein and red meat intake to boost my iron and gain a little bit more for the baby. So, to all you prego moms & new mom to be's out there, remember to be sure to get your "IRON" on with these Iron rich foods:

- Soy (tofu)
- Beef
- Dried Fruit
- Spinach of course (just think Popeye)

* If you're taking Iron pills, the doc advised me to take it in between meals with orange juice to increase the Iron mineral absorption in my body.

Now for the fun Prego news... I'll be taking my maternity photos with Deborah Quast Photography at my house this Sunday. I am LOVING bright printed dresses and I'm super excited to see how my growing tummy looks in these!

Ella & Michelle Dresses, ForLove21 Necklace, Missoni hat

Happy Friday Everyone!

Beautiful Disaster

My house is a bit nuts right now with the room shifts and the 10 DIY projects we have going on at the moment as we get ready for a packed house coming up in July when Ryker arrives.  Our house has been feeling more like a "beautiful disaster" lately with all this craziness around me.  Plus with my belly getting bigger each day, I have to find the beauty in what's around me to keep me going... at least until I finish rearranging & redecorating so I can finally take a break...well, until Ryker comes!  Yikes, hopefully I finish quick!

Hope you guys had a great hump day!!

Tuesday Treasures

Hi Everyone!

I just released a few more feather earrings in my Velvet Throne Etsy Shop. You still have a few more days (until Monday, April 23rd) to receive 10% off your order with coupon code: COACHELLA12 at checkout, so be sure to check out my store HERE.

Enjoy!

Kathy

CLICK HERE TO SHOP VELVET THRONE ONLINE NOW

DIY: Dollar Store Accents

Happy Monday Everyone!

Why pay over $30 for a faux floral arrangement when you can customize your own?

Here's what I picked up at the Dollar Tree for a total of only $3.00!

1 bunch of faux peonies, 1 small vase,  1 bag of Glass Gems - Each just $1

Directions:

1) Empty out the glass pebbles inside the small vase 

2) Trim the flower stems to fit the height of the vase

3) Stick the flowers in the vase and make sure the stems are hidden

Finished!!!

* Now is actually the best time to shop for faux florals at the dollar & craft stores since they have a greater variety for the Spring Season

Whether "Faux" or "For real" - Flowers are always a great start to kick off your week.  

It's a great way to add a pop of color on your desk or dresser!

I hope you all have a beautiful day!

-Kathy

Home Goods Haul: Keira & Ryker's Room

Home Goods has been my all time favorite place to find treasures for homes that I've decorated, especially my own.  When people come over and ask where I bought certain pieces whether it be mirrors, dressers, frames, you name it -  80% of the time I bought it from Home Goods. It's an interior designers secret place to shop and most of the things you'll find there are one of a kind pieces that you can't find restocked again...or you might be able to find it elsewhere at possibly double, even triple the price!

Check out some of the cool pieces I snagged for Keira's new room and Ryker's nursery...and a few things for mommy. ;)

WARNING:  Home Goods can sometimes be evil...it tempts you to spontaneously buy amazing pieces that you don't necessarily need at the moment, or don't even have the exact spot for yet...so buyers beware!

For Ryker's Room:

- A black candle holder & a yellow and white candle

(My original intention was to put this in Rykers room on a white hanging shelf out of a childrens reach, but I think it's actually best to keep it on the fireplace instead since it just isn't kid friendly ;)

* This is a perfect example of that WARNING notice I listed above)

However, in my defense...you can always find the perfect spot for it, it just takes some re-arranging.

- The PERFECT ultra-soft throw blanket for my glider for Ryker's room.

(It's Black and White with the perfect tree branch motif we have for the nursery)

- A black, white, and silver pocket watch wall clock 

(I thought it was great because it had a storybook feel to it, plus it isn't girly at all, and at $12.99 I just couldn't pass that up!

- A black bird and tree branch frame

(Perfect again for the tree theme)

- A White Owl Bank 

(Keira fills her pig up with the change she finds on the couch, so Ryker needs to have his own bank)

For Keira's Room:

- Two Round Red Ruffle Pillows to match her hanging Red Rose pom pom's I made for her below on the right

(I'll do a DIY tutorial on it soon)

- A modern hourglass with light turquoise sand 

(I thought it was a fun way to keep track of the time she had left to play before bedtime)

For Daddy & Mommy:

- A portable lap desk for your laptop with an LCD lamp 

(My friend actually got burned because he fell asleep with his laptop on his lap, so at $12.99, I think it's worth buying)

- New Inspiration Board

(I love that it has a cabinet door - it's like a shadow box, but with this one you can just use pins to put up your photos or clippings since it's padded and lined with linnen)

Hope everyone's having a great weekend!!

Happy Hunting!!!

Bedroom Dreamin'

Being sick has definitely put a hinder on my home decorating projects these days.  I have to remember that I am almost 7 months pregnant so I do need to take it easy on myself, its just that there is so much to do around here and I want to do it all and be done with it - only problem is that I just seem to always want to add more things to do on my list :)

I've been spending a lot of time in bed lately because I just can't seem to fight off this cold / sore throat / cough that I think my family keeps passing around to each other.  It's got me thinking about bedrooms a lot, especially since I've been spending a ton of time in one these days.

While I do love our current deep plum bedroom and plush white cozy Tempurpedic bed...who is to say that I can't dream a little?

Here's what I dream of...

canopy beds...black & white...clean lines...

I've always loved to decorate my bedroom in a way that it somewhat feels like a hotel suite...minus the nightly rate

Here's what Erik dreams of....

(I wouldn't complain - it's beautiful!!!)


Here's Keira's dream room...



And I'm not sure yet if Ryker would like this room, but it is one pretty COOL room!



Sweet Dreams!!!!

Happy Easter to all you Bunnies!

We hope you all have a wonderful day today!

The Easter Bunny came to our house this morning and left a trail of chocolate eggs....

...and this is what was at the end of the chocolate trail!!!!

Keira was so happy!!!

Now she's ready to party like a Rockstar today!

... and so is Daddy!

* You can sort of see what we've done to Keira's new room so far here. I'll post more details and pics soon.

Now that it's almost time for bed...all that sugar now needs to wear off somehow.  Here's a glimpse of her candy filled a day!

Great colorful eggs by Keira & her Oma

Me n' Keira

A beautiful shot of Keira & her Great Grandfather aka "Big Opa"

Keira & her Opa and Oma

the 4 of us


Happy Easter from our family to yours!!!

Photos taken by Kathy 2012