Decorating Addiction

Karen's Zen Bathroom

2012-01-25T21:49:00.000-05:00

I received an email not too long ago from Karen, who lives in Zimbabwe. She and her husband Graham are newlyweds, who she explained "instead of taking the easy way out by renting, purchased a 1969-old-Rhodesian house with the intention of introducing it to the 21st Century."

Karen came across my blog post on Zen Bathrooms and asked if I might be able to help come up with a concept for her master bathroom. She and Graham are inclined to go with a Zen theme and wanted me to create a space that blended their cultures. Karen lived in Denmark for four years before moving back to Africa. She is originally from Malaysian Borneo and Graham is Scottish but grew up in Zimbabwe.

Karen and Graham are building an addition that consists of a new master bedroom, walk-in wardrobe and master bathroom. They are also adding two pergolas and a wooden deck leading out to the pool. It sounds absolutely beautiful and I cannot wait to see the finished product. I'm honored to be a part of the process!

First, Jason and I sat down and took a look at the layout. Karen expressed that she wanted it changed so that it would feel more open and so that they wouldn't see the toilet from their bedroom. Can't say I blame her!

She sent me two different layouts. The first is just the bathroom, and as you can see . . . once you open the door, there is a great view of the toilet.

The second layout Karen sent me had a slightly different layout. Karen and Graham have switched the walk in wardrobe and the master bedroom, which makes sense. However, when you look through the door from the bedroom (which is listed as the "New Dressing" room) you have a view of the sinks.

Jason and I felt like the layout could be improved by moving the toilet and tucking it into the wall that is shared by the master bedroom. Additionally, I would build a half wall alongside the toilet to further hide it from view. I would place a series of candles along the top of this half wall.

If space and finances allow, I would also suggest a wooden bench of some sort built in near the windows. In nearly every Zen bathroom I've seen, I've noticed seating areas -- benches, stools, or other areas to sit. Usually these areas have rolled towels or candles nearby.

I would also suggest making the bathtub area a focal point by doing one or more of the following:

* building a platform up to place the tub on with a step or two leading up to the bathtub. By adding varying levels it adds dimension to the space. Take a look at this one;

homedesigning.com

* Adding elements of nature around the bathtub: Think rocks, driftwood, oversized plants or even branches in a massive vase on the floor.

Here are a couple of photos to give the idea I'm going for:

I love the natural stone surrounding this free standing tub. I also like texture of the wooden ceiling.

HGTV pro.com

I love the oversized tree in this bathroom, although you'd need lots of natural light to keep it alive. I'm also digging the tiled wall behind the sink.

dornob.com

And here you can see the driftwood and rocks used as decoration just lying on the floor. You'll also notice the built-in bench behind the tub with towels. I also love the natural waterfall in the corner.

Source: Pinterest

* Tiling the wall behind the bathtub with small tiles or adding an oversized mirror to expand the space (see the first picture above). Here is another example where the wall behind the tub makes the bathtub a focal point. Also notice that the bathtub is placed a level higher than the rest of the bathroom. There is also seating near the windows.

http://www.chictip.com/

Other than making the bathtub a focal point, here is the mood board I created to help Karen and Graham achieve a Zen bathroom that blends their varying cultures and experiences. When I found images of Malaysian Borneo, I was overwhelmed with the natural beauty -- lots of lush green foliage. Zimbabwe offered breathtaking waterfalls.

Here are my suggestions and explanations of the items in the mood board.

1. On the walls, I'd suggest using a neutral color like Plascon's Corinthian Pillar (Y3-E1-4):

This color will make for a smooth transition from the two colors Karen and Graham have already picked for their bedroom, Plascon's Salvador (Y6-D1-2) and Plascon's Saffron Tint (Y5-B2-2).

2. I would also suggest that the walls of the shower be tiled using something similar to the tile in the mood board (right next to the shower in the bottom left).

For absolute luxury, consider using pebbles for the shower floor. Again, these are located in the bottom left of the mood board. These are Solistone Anatolia Rumi 12 in. x 12 in. Natural Stone Pebble Mosaic Floor & Wall Tile and they can be purchased at Home Depot for $11/square foot. Click Here

homedepot.com

We used these in our bathroom for our shower floor and I absolutely LOVE it. Oh, and in case you're wondering, NO the pebbles do not hurt your feet!

3. I am suggesting the floor be a darker brown tile to make the lighter tile for the shower walls stand out more. Take a look at this Zen bathroom for inspiration: Notice there are a few different kinds of tiles to add texture and dimension to the space.

Source: google.com via Stephenie on Pinterest

I also like this one. Again, the tile on the floor and the tile on the walls is different and provides texture and contrast.

Source: google.com via Stephenie on Pinterest

I highly recommend recessed lighting because it won't distract from the space. If you look at the last two images, both used recessed lighting. You can even find recessed lights to go in the shower area. I've shown them in the bottom left of the mood board. They can be found here.

The glass to the shower should be seamless and clear like the one above (and also shown in the mood board). Here is another seamless shower in the celebrity bathroom of filmmaker Michael Bay’s Miami beach home. Also notice the over sized plants.

www.elledecor.com

Karen found a picture of a seamless shower she and Graham liked and I absolutely love how they secured the fixtures to a giant sleeper board. I would love to see something like this in their finished bathroom. Any piece of oversized reclaimed wood would work.

Karen also found a fantastic idea for a vanity in a magazine using a railroad sleeper as well. How cool would this be as their vanity? It's definitely possible and I hope to see it in their final bathroom. Again, any piece of oversized reclaimed wood should work. However, this would be a custom-made piece.

However, since you can't really purchase a giant piece of wood from a retailer, I couldn't really incorporate this idea into the mood board. I would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to see this idea transformed in Karen's bathroom. If they cannot make this idea happen, I felt compelled to pick a "traditional" vanity for the mood board ... you know, something they could actually purchase.

Since Karen already selected her sinks and her bathtub, I found a vanity that would go with the theme. The vanity is from Lowes and is by Alan Roth in Espresso. It can be found here. The mirror matches the vanity and is also from Lowes. Click here.

lowes.com

Karen has chosen brushed nickel fixtures so the light fixture I chose in the mood board is similar and is from Decorator's collection. You can see specifics here.

For accessories, I selected items that would create a Zen feel and would compliment Karen's color choice from the master bedroom. Generally, towels in a Zen bathroom are white or neutral color, but I wanted to add a pop of color to brighten up the space and also thought it would be a nice way to tie the Plascon Salvador paint color from the bedroom into the space. It also reminded me of the lush green foliage of Malaysian Borneo.

The monogrammed towels are available at Target. You can shop for them here.

I also wanted to make sure to bring the outdoors in and since I'm not sure if Karen has a green thumb, I added artificial plants. I would suggest setting up a series of three or more identical plants on the bottom row of the shelf. The shelf is by X-Etagere and can be found here. I would roll towels and put them on the middle shelf. The artificial plants are available at Crate and Barrel here.

In sticking with the Zen theme, I also added a Buddha which could be placed on the floor somewhere or on the top shelf. This Buddha is bronze and is available through the Home Decorator's Collection. You can find him here.

Of course no Zen space is complete without candles. I chose glass hurricane lanterns from West Elm, thinking they could either be hung from the ceiling in varying heights, or placed on the shelf. You can find them here. I also found candlesticks in a variety of sizes that could be placed on the floor by the tub or on a small table near the tub. These particular candles are available through Home Decorator's Collection (here) but they are a bit pricey ($239!), so any candlesticks in varying heights would do.

The toothbrush holder, soap dish and trash can are all from the Phuket collection at the Home Decorator's Collection (here.) I thought they were perfect and offered texture to the space.

I also found this great water fountain (bottom center of mood board) and felt it would fit nicely into the theme we were aiming for. It's available through Chiasso and can be found here. I think I want one for my upstairs bathroom! If finances allow, I'd prefer to see a "natural" waterfall, like the one in the fourth bathroom picture above, but if not, I think this little fountain would do the trick.

I searched high and low for a bath mat that had some green in it and found the perfect one at Sears.

Sears.com

You can see pricing and specifics here. What's cool about the zenDeluxe bath mat is that not only is it hand-made by a cooperative village in Java, but it's woven with cotton and vetiver. Vetiver is a naturally aromatic root that has a calming scent. When the rug gets damp, the vetiver releases it's calming aroma. How cool is that?! You can see pricing and specifics here.

I also found a very "Green" bath mat, but it grossed Jason out, so I didn't include it into the design. Check this baby out.

This is a real moss bath mat. When you step onto it, the drips of water from your body water the live plants. It was created by Switzerland-based industrial designer La Chanh Nguyen. I thought it was the coolest thing, but Jason wasn't a fan . . . and I wasn't sure about Karen and Graham, so I left this out of the design. I couldn't resist sharing it as an option though!

Finally, Karen expressed the desire to make her bedroom and bathroom more of one connected space, so rather than a traditional swinging door, I'm suggesting the TRUporte 2240 series from Home Depot (here). These doors would slide across an open entry from the bedroom. I LOVE the design of these doors. The frosted glass and rich finish create an Asian-inspired door that fits right in with the Zen bathroom.

Source: google.com via Stephenie on Pinterest

So to Karen and Graham kudos on renovating an older home and making it your own. I hope you can take the concepts of this design and make it work to create a beautiful, serene space.

We can't wait to see what you come up with!

Psst: All of the links in this post are just links to help you find the items listed in the mood board. I did not receive any payment or incentive to link in this post.

Psst: Do you have a space and need help with the design? Email me and I can create a "virtual" interior design for you too, just like I did here for Karen and Graham.

Holiday Happenings and Decorating

2011-12-30T00:03:00.004-05:00

Happy Holidays . . .

For those of you who think I forgot to send you a Christmas card . . . I promise I didn't. I didn't even get around to sending them this year. I'm contemplating sending a New Year's card, but since New Year's is only a few short days away, I'm not sure that is going to happen either.

I tried to get Imani and Noah's picture in front of the Christmas tree but Noah wasn't exactly feeling the Christmas spirit. He had a nasty Christmas fever so much of our Christmas morning looked like this

Although Imani was all smiles, since Santa brought her an Ipad.

Now that Noah's feeling better, maybe I can capture a cute photo before the tree comes down and wish you all a Happy 2012.

If I don't get around to sending out cards . . . Happy 2012.

Work has been especially busy for me this year, so I haven't been able to post as much as I'd like. I'm still working on convincing Jason to post because there IS a lot going on around this little Cape of ours, but obviously my persuasive skills need improvement.

We didn't have our gingerbread making workshop this year either. In fact, we didn't even make a gingerbread house! You can see last year's here.

Before you think all I did this year was sit around reading "The Hunger Games" and eating bonbons, I shall have you know that we did accomplish quite a bit this holiday season.

For one, we had our big annual Christmas party but we failed to take

one

single

picture.

Trust me. It happened.

It's probably one of my favorite parts of my holiday. I love filling my house with more people than it can hold and spending time with friends and family and watching everyone open somewhat ridiculous gifts at the white elephant gift exchange. Of course the gifts we gave were collections of toothpaste and body wash that the coupon cowboy got for next to nothing at Rite Aid over the course of the year.

We Atkins also joined in over 2,000 other runners to run a 5k together in the Seneca Falls "It's a Wonderful Run." For me, Imani and Noah, it was our first 5k. For Jason, I don't think he counts it because he jogged with Imani and Noah the whole way. For those of you who don't know, Jason is a bit of an extremist with running.

We had so much fun running in 20 degree weather under the Christmas decorations of Seneca Falls, NY hearing the bells jingling on the other 2,000 runners' feet. Thanks to Barb and Andy Reese for encouraging us to participate. It's definitely on our list of things to do in December 2012.

And of course, we also got our annual Griswold family Christmas tree -- one that was far too big to fit through our sliding glass doors, but one that Jason and his brother (this year's unfortunate victim who happens to own a truck) somehow managed to make fit.

I've honestly considered buying an artificial 14ft tree for next year because part of me feels guilty about cutting down not one, but TWO trees every year and part of me knows that it's only a matter of time before our sliding glass doors get broken from trying to cram a ridiculously large tree into our little house.

But once it's in and decorated, it does look beautiful.

Just don't look at it from behind, because there are so many ropes securing it to the wall!

We did manage to get the decorations up. Most are simple, subtle touches throughout the house.

A pointsetta in an old tin bucket.

Christmas balls under a cloche.

Mints in an apothecary jar.

Pine cones with a little sparkle in a big round vase.

Santa's magical key.

We used real pine garland this year too.

I don't know how I would've ever decorated the original staircase in this house. Remember, it once looked like this. For more flashbacks to what our house once was, click the "Our Fixer-Upper" button above.

Thank God Jason learned how to use power tool.

More decorations this year include Jason's latest obsession, "St Nicholas Square," which we bought on clearance at Kohl's last year after Christmas.

In fact, we're going to Kohl's today to see if we can expand our little village.

While some might find these little villages a bit cheesy, we love how they look illuminated at night and we love the little detailed people in the shop windows.

Our nutcracker collection continues to grow each year.

We have a display along the windowsill of our kitchen sink.

And random nutcrackers displayed around our house.

Our tree for our sitting room turned out nicely this year too. Once again, we placed the stand inside an old wash basin.

We made Candy Cane Valleys and Sprinkle Delights again this year.

And of course, we exchanged presents.

I got this awesome ornament from my two nieces.

And Jason and I got matching duck boots.

But my favorite present didn't come on Christmas morning. Jason gave it to me a few weeks before Christmas.

I'd seen a Pottery Barn Santa painting online that I really wanted. A lot of bloggers have replicated it. I showed it to Jason and asked if he could do it.

One night, he came upstairs and told me he had something to show me. When I came down the stairs, here is what I found on my mantel.

I absolutely love it. He insisted I not blog about it because it wasn't a big deal to create and it's not his "original" art. As you can see, I don't listen.

We still made Christmas tags out of old Christmas cards. You can see how here. It is a tradition after all, and we needed some tags for Mr. Noah. It's getting harder to make Christmas tags from cards because so many people send photo cards now. Don't get me wrong . . . I cherish each and every one.

We (finally) moved Noah into our upstairs bedroom and we moved downstairs into the room originally created for him. I'll try to post pictures about that later. I'm happy to report we are all getting more sleep now.

And that, my friends is my Christmas update.

Wasn't that better than a Christmas card?

Christmas Crafts for Procrastinators

2011-12-03T20:48:00.001-05:00

I should probably start Christmas crafts in July or August when I have more time, but I think I've told you before that I'm a bit of a procrastinator, so you would never find me thinking of Christmas in July or August. I've tried to change myself on numerous occasions to be more of a planner . . . and a morning person too . . . but neither has ever worked.

So Christmas crafts come to me in December, when there isn't a lot of time to get them done. In any case, here are a few holiday ideas I came across on Pinterest. I hope to try at least a couple with Imani over the next few weeks. I hope you find something here that will raise your Christmas spirits.

These little bottle cap art are adorable. I would turn them into a magnet or a necklace. I love that you can use patterned paper or fingerprint sized art.

Source: urbancomfort.typepad.com via Stephenie on Pinterest

I've seen a lot of these little trees in stores and on the Internet. Some are made with feathers or other materials. This one is made with wax paper and is super cute. I would do a couple in different sizes and put them on an end table or mantel display.

Source: bowerpowerblog.com via Stephenie on Pinterest

Love these simple ornaments with black lettering. Super easy; super cute.

Source: bowerpowerblog.com via Stephenie on Pinterest

What little kid doesn't love any craft with candy?

Source: marthastewart.com via Stephenie on Pinterest

Turn them into an ornament, magnet or pin. Whatever you decide to do, these little button snowmen are whimsical, fun and simple.

Source: urbanpaisley.blogspot.com via Stephenie on Pinterest

I love that these are natural and organic.

You could use them indoors or outside as a treat for your furry or feathered friends.

Source: onepartsunshine.com via Stephenie on Pinterest

I love texture and these twine covered ornaments will add an old-fashioned feel to any tree.

Source: bowerpowerblog.com via Stephenie on Pinterest

Every year I plan to make an advent calendar and every year I fail to do it. I love this one and hope to make it a reality . . . maybe if I start in July or August next year?

Source: bowerpowerblog.com via Stephenie on Pinterest

I love the monogrammed ornament and the bubble ornament. Again, these are really easy to make and would make a great gift.

Source: bowerpowerblog.com via Stephenie on Pinterest

So there you have it . . . a few quick and easy holiday crafts to inspire you if you're a procrastinator like me. Let me know if you make any of these or if you have any to add!

Decorating Walls

2011-11-30T00:29:00.000-05:00

I used to have a lot of pictures on my walls -- pictures of my family and pictures of Imani but when we moved into our house, Jason and I decided that tons of pictures all over the walls just didn't look classy.

In fact, I believe Jason said if the frames don't match, it's white trash.

I probably just offended half of my readers and all of my family members.

But take that up with Jason. I didn't say it. I have a whole other list of things I think are white trash that nobody else does . . . you'd have to ask my sister if you're curious because it's an ongoing list and I haven't ever written it down.

But I will tell you that 99.9% of the things on the list I have done . . . so in my opinion that makes it okay to classify it as white trash.

Anyway . . . we basically don't have any photos on our walls as a result of this conversation from so many years ago.

In fact, we have one photo of Imani framed at the top of our stairs

and one frame that was once an old window and now holds several pictures from our wedding.

Jason gave it to me as a gift and it's one of my favorite items in my house.

So everyone who has told me I appear to be a perfect home decorator or a perfect mom can rest assured I am NOT. What kind of mother doesn't have pictures of her children on her walls, especially now with all of the cool canvas options that are available?. I haven't purchased one, but I always think they look so nice, modern and clean.

Source: houzz.com via Stephenie on Pinterest

In some ways, our house looks like a model home that is going on the market to be sold.

We have a few framed photos on our dressers and night stands but something feels WRONG about not featuring your family in your home in some way, especially when you have a new baby!

And I am not a fan of digital photo frames. I know there are a lot of digital photo frame lovers out there, and that's fine but it's just not me. I don't like a lot of electronics in my house and to me, a digital photo frame is just another black plastic electronic eyesore.

So we've been wondering what to do with the wall going up the staircase.

We thought about lininig it with botanical prints something like this.

Source: decorpad.com via Stephenie on Pinterest

But that wouldn't help me get photos on the walls.

And then we were inspired by the staircases of people who framed lots of black and white photos with white frames. Take a look.

Source: philigry.blogspot.com via Stephenie on Pinterest

Source: houzz.com via Stephenie on Pinterest

I even like this one, which is just a bunch of empty frames but my goal is to get more pictures of my family up on the walls.

Source: blog.hannamac.com via Stephenie on Pinterest

Uh oh. I think I might need to find one of those fancy "&" symbols.

So all summer we were on a mission to find cool picture frames (think antique) and Jason's been busy painting them white to prepare for our staircase gallery of our family.

We found some random frames at antique stores, garage sales and TJ Maxx.

I cannot wait to put it all together. . . but don't get too excited. It might take us a year to finish!

Living in Dracula's Dungeon

2011-10-31T13:38:00.002-04:00

Another advantage of Jason staying at home is that he was able to take over the Halloween decorating this year.

He did a great job. Imani told me numerous times that she thought he was a "really, really good decorator."

He definitely goes a little more for the gory in his decorating than I usually do and he sure knows how to spook up a house. Imagine eating dinner with this on your cake plate.

We still had some of the whimsical decorations out too - like my favorite little tree with these fun characters we bought at Pier1 Imports last year.

Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures at night, but he changed out nearly EVERY light bulb in our house with an orange, red or black bulb. It is pretty creepy. I've felt like I live in a dungeon.

We still had the mice up the stairs, like last year. This is one of my favorite decorations and Jason traced and cut each and every one. I think we found the template on Marthastewart.com If you're feeling like splurging, you can buy them at Michael's too, but they will cost you far more than if you take the time to make them yourself.

Every day, I would come home and more of my house had been spun into a web.

See those creepy guys peering out from behind my curtains? I almost freaked one night when I first noticed them.

Everywhere you turn, there is a monster peeking out from a corner. I'm surprised Imani doesn't have nightmares.

This year, our mantel remained decorated as it has been, except Jason spun it up in his web and added some gourds and a tombstone that we bought at Rite Aid (our favorite store). There are eerie lights that run behind the window to spook up the mantel at night.

Of course we put out our frames with spooky text too.

I think Jason was extra inspired because he just finished reading Dracula. This, coupled with my love of the Twilight series, dictated our costumes this year.

We really get into Halloween every year. If you missed my post highlighting all of our costumes over the years, you can check it out here.

Nope, no fuzzy bear costume for Noah. He was a little vampire too.

Even Maggie has a costume and I must say, it's quite appropriate.

Happy Halloween, from our dungeon to yours!

Living the Dream

2011-10-01T13:16:00.000-04:00

So much has happened in the past few months since I last blogged. Last summer, when I took a hiatus from writing, I came back announcing I was pregnant.

Well, this year . . . I'm not pregnant.

And I'm still fully employed.

In fact, not only did I return to my full time job, but I also signed up as a stylist for Stella & Dot. I'm having so much fun selling this fabulous line of jewelry and handbags. You can check out my online store at http://www.stelladot.com/stephatkins

Before you think I'm a complete slacker, I did guest blog for Grace at Sense and Simplicity once. You can read it here (there's even a video of Noah).

But why haven't I blogged regularly? For one, I've been stressed out and busy! For two, every moment I'm not working or having a trunk show for Stella & Dot, I'm spending time with my children.

But recently, a decision in our family has put my mind at ease and allowed for less stress.

Jason and I have decided that Jason would become a stay at home dad.

Yes, you read that right - Jason left his office job at Cornell, where he worked for 12 years, to stay home full time with Noah and Imani.

I couldn't be more thrilled.

Before you think I'm making gobs of money in my full time sales job, let me just tell you that this decision will force us to follow a budget -- something we started doing with this year's New Year's Resolution, but something we had the luxury of breaking when we really wanted to make a big purchase.

It's requiring some sacrifices like selling Jason's shiny, big pick up truck and cutting back on Direct TV.

When we've told people of our decision, we've received a variety of reactions. Some guys have told Jason that they're jealous -- that they'd love to stay home and have their wives provide financially for their families. Others have questioned our decision and Jason's manhood.

Even some women who I've told have said it's "crazy" and they couldn't imagine their husbands staying at home. When we've explained that the cost of daycare for two children makes Jason's take home pay seem meager, it doesn't matter. For some, working for a paycheck -- no matter how small -- defines you.

These reactions always trouble me. I can't believe we, as a society, value money more than we value our children. What job is more important than raising a good, kind, healthy human being?

And what have we been smoking to believe it's healthier to send our kids off to daycare to be raised by a stranger so we can make a small salary just to say that we work?

Don't get me wrong. I completely understand the need for daycare for many families. I've been there. As a single mom with Imani, I didn't have a choice but to send her to daycare while I worked. And I understand that for some families, both parents must work to make ends meet.

I get it.

But I have been utterly shocked by the response in saying my husband is staying home. I know if it had been I who had chosen to stay home, the response from many would have been different.

To be honest, when I was pregnant and the topic of Jason staying home came up, I was adamantly opposed. "'It would be terrible for our marriage" I'd tell people flatly. I thought I'd be jealous.

But when Jason took his four week's of paternity leave, I left the house each day happy, confident and focused on my work. I didn't worry about Imani and Noah because I knew they were in loving hands. When I came home each day, the kids were happy -- Imani had adventures to tell me about and Noah's smile told my heart his day was good.

What's more . . . my house was spotless (have I mentioned Jason has OCD?), the laundry was done and each day I would walk in to the aroma of dinner on the table.

All I had to focus on was spending time with my children.

Did you know that there were roughly 158,000 stay at home dads in the US in 2010 compared to 5.3 million stay at home moms? The trend for stay at home dads is growing though. Fortune Magazine reported that over a third of its “50 Most Powerful Women in Business” had a stay-at-home spouse.

I'm blessed to have a husband who is man enough not to measure his worth by his paycheck and who is confident enough to break societal norms to do what we feel is right for our family.

I'm also blessed to have a job that pays well that I actually enjoy (most of the time) .

Jason has mentioned his desire to contribute financially in some way. I've suggested he start his own blog on being a stay at home dad but he didn't seem interested.

I've urged him to become a regular writer for Decorating Addiction, but still no response there.

He might pursue artwork (since that's what he went to school for), but he's not sure.

He could always flip houses, or help others with their renovations.

But for now, I'm happy with him just playing 500 Rummy with Imani and changing Noah's diapers.

And don't forget - the man can practically make up his salary in his weekly coupon savings.

My next blog post might be about how we built an addition on our house out of boxes of toothpaste.

Did you think the couponing had slowed because a baby was born?

Think again . . . he's only gotten better at his skill! Yes, this sexy man still holds the title of the Coupon Cowboy. How lucky am I?

So yeah, we're living the dream -- but this dream isn't about how much money we're making.

We're sacrificing a pick up truck in exchange for not missing out on Noah's first steps.

I might not be able to buy a new pair of heels in two different colors so that Imani can ride the bus home and complete homework in her own house with a dad who cares rather than at an after school program with 50 other kids. She gets to spend time with her baby brother too.

I have a feeling none of us will ever regret it.

Innocent Determination

2011-06-09T10:49:00.000-04:00

There have been so many times when I've questioned my ability as a mother.

These are the times when I wait until Imani goes to bed and I call my own mom and cry, wishing I could quit this job called motherhood.

And then there are times when I know I've done something right and I wouldn't trade this job for anything else in the world.

My sister's friend Dre is a person who Imani has always really liked. What's not to like -- she's fun and energetic and a genuinely good person. She's spent a few holidays with my family, since she's from the West Coast and couldn't always make it home for holidays. I remember one time Dre came to visit us for Halloween. I was throwing a Halloween party for Imani and Dre dressed as a witch and played games with all of the kids. She was a big hit.

Imani was sad when Dre moved back to the West Coast several years ago. But thanks to social networking like Facebook, we can see how Dre is doing.

Imani was extremely shocked and upset when she read on Facebook that Dre's brother, Matt, was diagnosed with cancer. She saw that Dre had set up an online drive to raise money to help Matt B. with his expenses.

She saw that we donated for the cause.

She saw that my sister donated for the cause.

She said nothing.

But instead of using her online time to play "Club Penguin," she began using her online time to check the Matt B vs Cancer website to see if he had reached his goal. Matt B. needed to raise $83,000 to cover his medical expenses, and although the donations were coming in, Imani was noticing that the donation bar was still far from reaching the goal at the top.

She started mentioning Matt B. almost daily, despite the fact that she'd never met him. She read his online biography and discovered that he was blind at 22 months old yet still went on to be a music major in college and play the guitar.

Image: Mattbvscancer.com

Imani wanted to help Matt B reach his goal. She tried to put together a fundraising effort for her school where each grade would bring in change and compete to fill up a jar. Whichever grade raised the most money would win a pizza party.

But her principal wouldn't let her hold the fundraiser because no one knew Matt and it wasn't relevant for the whole school.

So Imani went back to the drawing board. Several of her friends gave her money and she made a jar in her room where she put their donations. She started putting her own money in the jar too.

Meanwhile, Jason and I were busy preparing for Noah's arrival and we thought maybe Imani's determination would pass. After all, we had already given a donation and Imani didn't really know Matt B. personally. It's not that we didn't want to help. We just didn't realize she was all that serious.

But our 10 year old had something to teach us -- that being passionate about helping someone doesn't stop at one donation. It doesn't stop when someone tells you you cannot conduct a fundraiser in their school. And it doesn't stop when your parents are preoccupied with a pregnancy.

Imani called Aunt D to find out what she could do to raise money for Matt B. Aunt D sent a myriad of ideas, most of which involved dance parties, pool parties, or other large groups of kids at my house -- to which I said:

"Bad Idea."

"Bad idea."

Hmmmmm . . . . "Bad idea."

But one idea struck Imani and was acceptable to both of her parents: a benefit concert.

So while Jason and I were busy picking out baby names and putting together a nursery, Imani continued to save her pennies in a jar in her bedroom for Matt B.

But she also started planning a concert. She put together a list of songs she'd play on the violin and she asked her violin teacher if she would accompany her on the piano.

She started creating a program for the concert even though she didn't have a venue at which to play.

Months passed. The jar continued to get heavier with change.

My belly continued to grow.

On the other side of the country Matt B. continued treatments for cancer.

Image: Mattbvscancer.com

And the donation bar on Matt B's fundraising website still looked far away from $83,000.

Imani started asking me questions -- serious questions, like what happened to Matt B if he didn't get the money he needed? Was there any other way she could help him?

I saw her passion and dedication and I knew I had to help her wrap up those final details so that the concert could take place.

I reached out to our church to see if they would allow us to use the sanctuary for the benefit concert.

They generously waived the $700 space rental fee.

I helped Imani finalize the program and we called a local newspaper to get an ad placed to announce the concert. I was shocked when, instead of an ad, the newspaper decided to do a story on the concert. It made the front page! You can read about it here.

We sent out emails to the PTA list serv, Imani's violin school list serv, and we created an "event" on Facebook.

Imani asked a couple of her friends to play songs on piano for the concert too. One little girl agreed and this Saturday, she will join Imani in her concert titled "Healing Through Music" in an effort to raise money for someone they have never met.

Imani has been practicing every day; she's playing more than a dozen songs at the event.

Image: IthacaJournal.com

I know she doesn't feel like practicing every day, especially when the weather is hot and there is a pool in her backyard.

I watch her with the violin held high;

I look at the signs she created by hand that aren't as neat as I'd like but were created with great thought and detail nonetheless

and I look at that jar in her bedroom filling up with change

and I know that as a mom, I've done something right.

For more information on Matt B. or to make a donation, visit http://www.mattbvscancer.com/ and click on the PayPal button.

Learning to Plant

2011-06-06T14:33:00.000-04:00

We've been busy here trying to get our landscaping under control. In the past few years of fixing up this little Cape, we haven't even begun to address the yard until this year (unless you count putting mulch around trees).

Part of the problem is that neither Jason nor I really know what we're doing. A couple of years ago we went out and bought a whole bunch of shrubs and plants in an effort to give our home a little more curb appeal.

Imagine our horror when we woke up and found nearly all of the plants had been eaten by the deer that roam our neighborhood.

We did learn that deer don't like peonies.

Or Irises

So this year, now that we have our pool fenced in, we figured we could plant some things that aren't deer resistant with the hope that the deer won't jump our small fence.

We enlisted the help of our friend Kelby, who once worked for his father's landscaping company. Maybe you remember Kelby . . . he's the guy who knows how to do EVERYTHING and has helped teach Jason every step of the way in our remodeling our home.

We owe him our next child.

Seriously.

Kelby helped us pick out plants and then showed us where we should plant them. That, to me, is the hardest part of landscaping. I know what plants I like but then when we plant them, they don't look right. They look like a bunch of random plants stuck in the ground in no particular order. I've discovered there is a real art to where and how to arrange plants.

And we're still not good at it, so anyone with any advice . . . let us have it!

Anyway, Jason's been busy trying to get all of the plants in the ground around the pool and then filling the area with stone. I can't wait to show you all the work when it's finished.

In this quest for landscaping around our pool, we came up short on plants, even though we spent a small fortune . . . as in $1000 on plants . . .

So I did what any logical woman would do . . . I started asking friends for plants and I posted an ad on Freecycle. (Do you have a freecycle.org where you live? It's an AMAZING service!)

I've discovered that gardeners are some of the most generous people I've ever come across. I've been amazed by all of the plants people are willing to divide up and donate to our yard.

And although I'm getting a hodgepodge of plants and I have no idea how to arrange any of them, I like knowing that they came from someone else's hands, someone who cared enough to share them with us. They are an extension of strangers and friends whose soil nourished them from seedlings.

And now we will plant them in our yard for the next journey of their lives and (hopefully) watch them thrive so that we can one day divide them and give life to other barren yards.

I'm still figuring out what must be planted within the fenced area of the pool, and what will be safe outside of the fence where the deer roam freely.

Other than landscaping, Jason is still busy clipping coupons. For those of you who thought the baby would slow him down, you were incredibly wrong. I received a text today from Jason that said,
"I figured out the Rite Aid deal and we can get all that stuff for -$3.51!"

Nope, Baby Noah hasn't slowed the Coupon Cowboy down not one little bit. Can you say name brand diapers for next to nothing?

I have been busy trying to get back into shape and I'm happy to say that my battle with the treadmill has been paying off. I fit into my skinny jeans again! Enough said.

Imani has been busy planning a benefit concert for a dear friend's brother who was diagnosed with cancer. Although Imani's never met our friend's brother (they live on the West Coast), his battle with cancer has touched Imani's young heart so she has been busily preparing flyers, a program and working out other details for her violin concert this Saturday. I'll post more about that later.

And Noah? He's busy doing what babies do: soaking up all that is around him and winning everyone over with his precious smile.

Out with the Mold

2011-05-16T14:03:00.005-04:00

Remember when Jason smelled mold in our bedroom and he ripped apart the entire wall to address the problem only a month before I was due to have Noah? If you missed it, you can read about it here. For a short time, my bedroom looked like this:

and I was just praying that Noah wouldn't decide to arrive early and this would be his welcome to our home.

Thankfully, he was late like his parents.

Instead of just replacing the insulation, fixing the window and re-sheetrocking the wall, we figured it would be a nice time to change things up a bit.

Yes, we tend to take on big projects during monumental events in our lives.

Like the time we gutted our entire kitchen only weeks before our wedding. In fact, I was so sick of doing dishes in the bathroom and cooking outside on the grill that our honeymoon was more than just a honeymoon . . . it was an escape from the chaos of my kitchen. While we were away, our countertops were installed so that when we returned, Jason could finish up the kitchen.

What can I say? We love stress.

Anyway . . . back to the story at hand.

I had been wanting to give our bedroom more of a cottage feel, since it is such a small space. I really love the horizontal plank walls that I've seen in Pottery Barn, Country Living and over at The Lettered Cottage.

The good news is that I didn't have to sell Jason on the idea. He actually welcomed it, since he hates to tape and spackle sheet rock.

Perhaps you remember our bedroom originally looked like this.

And then we got rid of the king sized bed and I had Jason cut our dresser so that it could be moved to make room for the bassinet. If you missed that crazy adventure, you can read about it here.

That brought our bedroom to this.

We moved the jewelry armoire and mirror to make room for the beautiful PB bassinet that was a gift from my mother in law and her boyfriend. Remember the sketch she did of the bassinet because it wasn't going to arrive in time for my shower? You know, the one that hangs in Noah's room as a piece of art on the wall?

Well the bassinet arrived in time for Noah and it looks great in the space we created. .

Did you notice the switches up on the wall? Well, I've always wanted lights on either side of the bed for reading. I'm not a Kindle kind of girl . . . I like good ol' fashioned pages to turn, which means I need a light so that I can read at night. And I'm not much into little book lights. They fall off my book, run out of batteries and generally aggravate me.

So my husband who spoils me installed two lights - one on either side of the bed and each light has its own switch. Once Noah was born, Jason took the lights one step further and installed a dimmer switch so that we could get up to tend to Noah in the middle of the night without flipping on a bright light.

It all came together really nicely and I'm growing to really love my slanted ceilings and small bedroom. I never thought I would, but it's become my little cozy haven.

We both hated the color of the walls so we figured that while we were installing the plank wall, we might as well update the color too. We used white on the planked wall and went with Sherwin William's "Blue Hubbard" for the side walls (a color I'll admit I snagged from The Lettered Cottage's design).

We I still have a few things ~~we'd~~ I'd like to do in this room. As you know from reading my blog, I hate the color of the dressers and night stand. I'd like to try to refinish them in a lighter color. Originally, I wanted to paint them white, but now I'm hoping to go with a distressed gray like much of the furniture in Restoration Hardware.

I also want to get a new light fixture. I'd love a chandelier, but our ceilings are so low, I don't think it would look right. I've been looking around but haven't found anything that speaks to me yet. Any suggestions?

Finally, I want to get rid of the towering fan on the night stand and update it with a smaller, silver more industrial looking fan. Getting rid of the fan is not an option, as you might remember from my post Finding Sleep with a Fan. While the current fan we have is a huge upgrade from the old boxed fan we used to use, it looks Victorian, and just doesn't go with the room anymore.

I also want to ditch the old-school electric alarm clock. You know how much I hate the look of electronics so I want to hide our alarm clock somehow. I thought of using a classic looking alarm clock (you know the ones that have a little device that hits two bells at the top?) but Jason says he doesn't want to wake up to such a loud alarm in the morning. I've also considered just using our cell phones as alarm clocks, but J likes to see the time in the middle of the night so maybe a cell phone docking station would work?

I'm still figuring it out.

So there you have it . . . our lighter, brighter and mold-free bedroom.

Linking to:

Zen Bathroom Inspiration

2011-05-11T12:13:00.000-04:00

Have you ever had relatives tell you so much about their friends that you feel like you're friends with these people too?

This seems to happen a lot with my sister's friends. She has several friends who I consider my friends, yet I've never met them and most I've never even spoken to. Sometimes I forget I haven't actually met these people because I feel like I've known them for a long time. I've seen pictures of them; they've seen pictures of me. I know about their jobs, they know about my kids. We're often friends on Facebook.

One time, one of my sister's friends -- Peter -- actually asked me on the phone, "Wait . . . have we ever actually met?" He was serious. And I actually had to stop for a minute and think about if we had ever met.
We hadn't.
Are we odd . . . or have you had this experience too?

Anyway, I got a text from my sister the other day asking if I could send her some Zen bathroom pictures. Apparently, one of her friends, who I feel like I've met but I haven't, is re-designing her bathroom and wants it Zen-inspired.

So here's to the friend of my sister who I've never met but I feel like I have . .

So what makes a "Zen" bathroom?

First, think minimalist, clean lines, neutrals and natural/organic colors and textures.

interiordesignonadime.com

Many of the Zen bathrooms have natural/organic elements such as bamboo flooring, organic woven rugs, rocks or pebbles, and bamboo plants. Bringing these elements into the design helps to create the Zen bathroom.

chictip.com

Most of the bathrooms also feel very spa-like. To re-create this feeling at home, select towels that match the wall color, or are in the same color family. The towels are often rolled and stacked in the Zen bathroom. The other option is to just use all white towels to create a spa-like feeling.

housebliss.wordpress.com

Use as much natural light as possible. Install lots of windows or skylights and bring elements of the outdoors in. For example, use pebble flooring for the shower or bring plants into the bathroom. Common plants used in Zen design include bamboo and orchids.

www.arsitekturmedia.com

Leave the walls plain,or hang a few floral paintings or oriental designs. Another option is to hang candle sconces.

homedesigning.com

Vessel sinks and seamless glass showers also seem to be very common elements in the modern Zen bathroom.

In the end, the key to the Zen bathroom is creating a feeling of peace and serenity.

So to the friend I've never met . . . I hope this helps! When you finish your bathroom, we'd love to see pictures!

To everyone else - if you're planning a re-design and would like me to find inspiration pictures for you, shoot me an email. I'll create a post showing you what pictures inspire me for your re-design.

Garbage Pickers

2011-05-03T15:57:00.000-04:00

I had this vision when I was working that when I was on maternity leave I would do a ton of home improvement and decorating projects and I'd post on my blog daily.

But then Noah was born and maternity leave started . . . and reality kicked in.

I'm exhausted.

I don't know where the hours in the day go -- I spend time with Noah, nap, clean the house, cook and then Imani is home on the bus. We do homework and practice violin and then Jason is home. The day is over and I don't know how it went by so fast.

When the weather cooperates, Imani and I go for walks with Noah and Maggie. One day a few weeks ago when we were on one of our walks, Imani asked me if we could pick up trash in the neighborhood. She had spotted a muddy grocery bag tangled in a shrub.

"No Imani. Don't touch it. It's full of germs and you don't know who touched it last" I said.

I realized I was saying this to a child who is constantly on the look out for treasures on the streets of New York city when we go to visit Aunt D. I also realized it didn't go along with the "green" messages Imani had received in her elementary school.

I was just feeling lazy and crabby and I didn't want to pick up garbage.

Of course, Imani was disappointed.

"How about we pick up trash on Earth Day. We could wear gloves," she pleaded.

"Sure. Earth day. That sounds like a great idea."

I had no idea when Earth Day was this year . . . and I was hoping Imani didn't either.

And then one afternoon after school Imani and I decided to watch the Ellen DeGeneres show and lo and behold, Ellen spilled the news.

"Happy Earth Day" she announced as she gave everyone in the audience an abundance of green gifts.

"NO!!!" I wanted to shout. It was rainy and cold outside my window and I certainly didn't feel like schlepping around picking up trash.

Maybe, just maybe, Imani had been daydreaming and didn't hear Ellen's announcement.

"Mom! Did you hear Ellen! Remember we are going to pick up trash on Earth Day!" Imani said with enthusiasm.

"Oh honey, Mommy is exhausted and it's so rainy and cold. Maybe Jason will pick up trash with you when he gets home."

I'm a terrible mother. I couldn't believe I was bailing on the trash pick up promise.

"Well could you do it with me another day?" Imani asked.

"Definitely. I promise when the weather is nicer, we will pick up trash together" I said with certainty.

Of course Jason pulled through for me and picked up trash with Imani on the cold and rainy Earth Day 2011.

But I wasn't off the hook. This weekend, the weather was nice and guess what Imani reminded me I had promised I would do?

I put Noah in the Moby wrap (which he LOVES btw. For those of you with newborns, I highly recommend them . . . Noah falls asleep in less than five minutes when he's in the Moby), put on my rain boots because it was so muddy, Imani grabbed a bucket and we were off to pick up garbage.

I tried to convince her that we could just pick up trash in our own yard, but she insisted we needed to clean the neighborhood.

"I want people who drive through to know that this is a clean community" she explained. I couldn't believe her determination to clean the sidewalks, yards of apartments and other people's yards.

We found lots of trash and even when I told Imani something was too gross to pick up, she picked it up anyway . . . like a dirty sock.

At the end of our walk, we had half a bucket of trash and the neighborhood did look cleaner. I felt good that I had finally fulfilled my promise, but I felt even better that my child found joy in cleaning the Earth. She could be inside glued to the TV or Wii, but instead she wanted to pick up trash.

Oh and we forgot our gloves . . but don't worry. We washed our hands when we got home.

Before she went to bed that night Imani said "Thanks for picking up trash with me mom. Wasn't it fun? Maybe we could do it again sometime."

Yes . . . maybe we will.

Barney Room to Baby Room

2011-04-27T19:38:00.001-04:00

I realize I never showed you the entire nursery. I had intentions to but then Noah was born.

For those of you who know me and Jason, you know that we're procrastinators. We're very last minute. It's something I've been working on.

Oh, and we're rarely on time . . . which is why I was so surprised when my friends and family all guessed Noah would arrive early.

Anyway, we waited until the last minute to finish Noah's nursery and he was ~~late just like his parents~~ kind enough to hold out entering the world until the last detail was complete.

The room used to be our spare bedroom. Once upon a time, it had bright purple and dark green walls (think Barney). That's how it was when we first bought the house. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of it in its former glory, but trust me when I say that it could have been the set for the Barney cartoon.

When we first bought our house, it was in such disarray that Jason, Imani and I all slept in the same bedroom. We plopped two beds in there and had what Imani thought was the coolest three month sleepover. She was devastated when Jason announced that he had finished her bedroom and she could move upstairs.

Then this bedroom had just a single bed with Dora the Explorer bedding on it because it's all I had to fit a single bed. It matched the purple walls nicely. This was the decor when I offered the room up for a colleague and dear friend of mine who was going through a divorce with her crazy husband.

She took me up on it and the "Dora room" became her room for the month she hid out at our house so her crazy husband wouldn't find her.

After she moved out, the room got a fresh coat of paint, a full bed, some boxed-trim moulding, and some new decor.

And then last year, I wanted to lighten it up again so we bought new bedding, painted the bed and got some new fixtures:

And now, just one year later, it has come full circle. What was once the shared bedroom of me, Jason and Imani, is now the bedroom of the newest member of our family.

You'll notice we kept the paint color and the chandelier. All we really did was change the furniture. I opted not to have an official changing table and just used the dresser instead. When I had Imani, I found the changing table to be a big space waster.

So Jason secured the changing pad to the top of the dresser instead.

Jason also stenciled some trees on the wall just above the crib. We splurged and bought the Pottery Barn "Little Lamb" bedding for the crib (and received some of the accessories from our wonderful friends to match).

Target pulled through for me with their cushy rocker-glider. It's been a perfect place for Noah and I to relax. We found the table at Big Lots and the mirror was purchased at TJ Maxx.

As a former English teacher, I'm a big believer in books (I'm one of the pregos who read to Noah and Imani in utero), so in addition to the giant bin of books that's tucked away in the closet, we placed a basket with some of our favorite board books next to the rocker.

In addition to the mirror and the stenciled branches, we decorated the walls with a few pieces that we created ourselves.

The shelf with the knobs that match the dresser pulls:

The ABC art I created with my Silhouette.

Noah's name on the wall, which I also created with my Silhouette.

And the drawing my mother-in-law made of Noah's bassinet.

We also made the curtains and the chandelier over the changing area
(which I'm happy to report little Noah loves).

Oh and I can't forget the closet. Back in the room's Dora days, it was a catch all for everything. It looked like this:

And then Jason wallpapered it and created shelving. Now Noah has this beautiful closet:

Oh and I cannot forget the super comfy rug I scored at Home Goods. Everyone who visits comments on how comfortable the rug is . . . even Jason's manly friends. In fact, our good friends just went to Lowes and ordered carpeting for their bedrooms in something very similar to the area rug in Noah's room.

More importantly, Noah loves the rug too.

And so does Maggie, and for those of you who are wondering Noah and Maggie have become good friends.

We're really happy with how the whole thing turned out. It's a nice, peaceful place where we all enjoy spending time. In fact, sometimes before Imani goes to bed, we all sit in Noah's room and read.

Here's the breakdown of where we got everything and how much we spent:

Delta convertible crib in cherry-- Target $249.99
Delta children's dresser in cherry --Target $249.99
Sealy Mattress -- Target $77.99
Rocker Glider - Target $399.99
Shelf - AC Moore $7.99
Curtains fabric, rods, clips and stitch witchery: Hobby Lobby $95
Drawer Pulls for dresser and shelf- Hobby Lobby $27
Picture Frames for wall art - Target $15
Rug - Home Goods - $199
Closet wood, rods wall paper and baskets - Lowes $100
Table next to chair - Big Lots - $39
Mirror on wall - TJ Maxx $15
Chandelier supplies - AC Moore $20
Lamb bean bag chair - Pottery Barn Kids$100 (big splurge)
Lamb Crib Bedding -- Pottery Barn Kids(second big splurge) $220

Everything else in the room we either had or was given to us. That brings the grand total for the room re-design to $1,815.95.

Not bad, considering I wanted to spend over $1000 on the Pottery Barn rocker glider alone.

So that's how the Barney room came to be Noah's room.

He's Arrived!

2011-04-12T11:10:00.001-04:00

Please excuse my absence over the last few weeks. We've been a bit preoccupied with our latest love.

Noah Joseph Atkins was born Tuesday, March 29, weighing 7 pounds 13 oz.

I'll do my best to get some posts up .. . in between lots of cuddling with this little miracle.

Thank you for all of the thoughtful comments and emails over the last couple of weeks!

Reading Bieber Tweets in a Comfy Chair

2011-03-22T22:44:00.001-04:00

If you're following my Tweets you know that my chair from Tar-jay arrived and you also know I'm in love with it.

If you're not following my Tweets . . . I'll try not to take it personally. You know I'm ultra sensitive right now, being nine months pregnant and all . . .

You can just click on that little Twitter button in the top right of my page and follow, which would make me happy because I get an email telling me when new people follow my Tweets. I like to know someone other than my mom gives a hoot about what I'm doing every day.

Anyway, my goal in finding a rocker was to find one that could eventually be moved out of the nursery and become a permanent piece of furniture somewhere else in our house. So many gliders look like they belong in a nursery and look displaced if you try to put them anywhere besides the nursery..

I considered just getting a really beautiful antique rocker, but I wanted something really super comfortable and although I love old rockers, they sometimes hurt my tush if I sit in them for too long.

So I found this rocker at Target online but I was nervous it was going to be a big pile of junk when it arrived at my house.

I was also nervous about the color of the chair because I wanted a cream color and the Target website listed it as "tan" but it was really more of a soft beige or a dark cream. It's perfect.

It was $399 but it's worth every penny . . . and NO, I'm not getting paid or reimbursed or receiving anything from Target for posting this. I just want you all to know you don't have to spend $1500 at Pottery Barn to get a decent, comfy rocker glider.

Most of all, I love how soft the fabric is. Imani and I have been snuggling up in that big chair and reading every night before she goes to bed. Breaking it in before little Noah arrives . . .

Sometimes I just sit in there by myself and relax . . . or catch up on my emails or read my favorite Tweets from people on my phone.

If you don't have a Twitter account, I'd highly recommend it, even if you don't want to Tweet. It's fun to read other people's Tweets. I'm a bit addicted, actually (does that surprise you?). I never thought I'd like it but I'm totally in love with Twitter.

I like it far more than Facebook.You can get the inside scoop on all of your favorite blogger's lives

or politicians

or famous musicians . . .

it's pretty cool.

Oh, and yes, I follow Justin Bieber's Tweets. I blame Imani because we went to see Never Say Never 3D and she learned all about how much he uses Twitter and how he announces his concerts and appearances on Twitter so she begged me to follow him.

So I did.

And I secretly wanted to because after I saw the movie, there was something I really liked about the boy. Did you see it?

But now, I might drop him from Twitter.

He always re-tweets what a bunch of his fans post about him and it's kind of annoying. I'd rather read what he has to say than a bunch of retweets from people saying how much they love him.

But mostly it's annoying because he hasn't retweeted any of my tweets or my sister's tweets or Imani's tweets.

Like when Imani played "Happy Birthday" on the violin for him because she heard he wants to learn how to play the violin.

How could he NOT retweet that?

So yeah, JB is getting dropped from Twitter now . . . not that he'll notice but still.

Anyway, I'm so glad the chair from Target is a keeper. I was so nervous I'd have to return it and suck it up and buy the Pottery Barn rocker that I've coveted for so long, even though it would take a big ole bite out of our savings account. I'm still debating if we should get the ottoman to go with the rocker. I don't want to take up too much space in the nursery, but it would be nice to have something to put my feet up on.

It's $169.99 too. Uggh.

I'm gonna go sit in my rocker now and drop JB from Twitter.

What's Hanging & Baby Name Revealed

2011-03-21T18:26:00.001-04:00

We've made so much progress around the nursery and it's basically complete! I'm sorry I haven't updated you all in a week . . . I've just been busy wrapping things up at my job before I go out on maternity leave.

I'm due on Thursday of this week and I am trying to work right up until I deliver so that I can take my time off with the baby. I get 12 weeks, and I'd like all 12 to be at home with him, rather than sitting around the house waiting . . .

I figured I'd share what we've hung on the walls this week in the nursery. I tried to incorporate things that were meaningful and not just random art work from Target.

So first, I bought a shelf from AC Moore and had Jason prime it and paint it Valspar's "Honeymilk".

Then, he drilled holes and put the same drawer pulls in that we used on the dresser.

My mom dug out my old baby shoes and we placed them on the shelf.

Along with this bear that I knitted for the baby.

And I found this adorable sign at TJ Maxx for only $4.99.

We hung up one of his little sweatshirts on the middle hook.

For my baby shower, my mother in law and her boyfriend purchased our Pottery Barn bassinet for us . . . but since it was on back order, she drew this beautiful picture to let us know it was coming soon. It was too thoughtful and beautifully illustrated to throw away or stuff in a drawer somewhere, so I framed it as a keepsake.

I also finally took the time to figure out how to use my new Silhouette machine and I made this alphabet art. I printed the letters from the baby's name in brown . . . and no, his name is not "Ahno." Can you unscramble them to decipher his name?

Well in case you didn't figure it out, here is his name in vinyl on the wall. The frame was a junking find from last summer and Jason painted it in Valspar's "Honeymilk" to match the shelf. You can see it in it's original color here where we used it to decorate for Halloween.

I'm so happy we finally settled on a name! And that's what we have hanging around on the walls of the nursery. I might add a couple more pictures if I can get it together before he arrives, but I'm not sure. I don't want to clutter the space either.

Oh, and Jason's been one busy boy finishing our bedroom wall and painting our downstairs bathroom. I think "nesting" has hit him too. Stay tuned!

Nursery Progress: Making a Mobile

2011-03-13T23:00:00.006-04:00

I knew when I started planning the nursery that I wanted to have some sort of homemade mobile but I didn't know where to begin.

I googled homemade mobiles and found a lot of mobiles made from branches, which I thought were beautiful, but weren't really the look I was going for in the nursery.

Little Slices of Green

I wanted something a little more delicate and I came across this beautiful butterfly mobile/chandelier at Pottery Barn for $59.

It was nice, but I didn't really want butterflies . . . and I didn't want to spend $59.

Then I came across this beautiful ribbon and flower mobile/chandelier at Pottery Barn. It was no longer available for purchase (and I'm certain I wouldn't have liked the price tag anyway).

Luckily, I found a great tutorial for a knock-off version of Pottery Barn's Mobile at Living With Lindsay. Lindsay created a similar version of the PB chandelier but she used birds. It turned out beautifully.

Image: Living with Lindsay

And as much as I loved Lindsay's mobile, our theme in the nursery is the Pottery Barn Lambs, so I didn't know how to make a million lamb cut outs. I also knew I wanted our mobile to be smaller.

So I decided to stick with the flowers and incorporate the colors of cream, blue and beige.

First, I bought three embroidery hoops in small, medium and large. I took them apart and used the inside of the rings.

I also bought ribbon

And seven bunches of artificial flowers in blue and white.

Finally, I purchased some invisible thread.

I began by taking some low-gauge wire I had at home and making a cross on the inside of the two smallest hoops.

Next, I connected the hoops using invisible thread. I put the medium hoop on top, the largest hoop in the middle, and the smallest hoop on the bottom. This was very tedious and I will warn you that it was frustrating working with the invisible thread because it's so hard to see.

Once I got the hoops in the order and balance that I liked, I hung the mobile across a yardstick between two chairs so I could begin gluing the ribbon on.

Using a hot glue gun, I started by gluing ribbon to the top hoop, looping it down through the second hoop and then back up to the bottom hoop, where I glued it again.

I intentionally made my ribbons of differing lengths because I wanted the bottom of the chandelier to have different lenghts of ribbon to add dimension.

Next, I cut the flowers off of their stems and glued them randomly on the ribbons. Imani helped a lot with this part and she had so much fun knowing she was helping to create something for her little brother.

When I was finished gluing all of the flowers on, I had to go through and pick off a lot of excess glue but I was happy with the way the chandelier/mobile turned out.

Jason then had the fun job of hanging it in the nursery using the invisible thread.

I will say that the invisible thread is amazing because it's so hard to see, but it's also a pain to work with.

And there it is . . . my smaller version of the Pottery Barn Chandelier, with colors that match our nursery.

I might cover those wires with ribbon or paint them to blend in more.

It won't be much longer and there will be a little baby looking up to see this.

I'm so excited I can hardly stand it!

Linking up to:

Thrify Decor Chick's Before and After Party

Nursery Update: Window Treatments

2011-03-11T08:25:00.007-05:00

After I posted the Nursery Mood Board and got so much feedback, I knew I wanted to add splashes of blue to the nursery to add an element of whimsy to the neutral tones.

I just wasn't sure I wanted a "baby" blue.

So I set out to find fabric and I knew when I saw the bolt of polka dotted blue and brown fabric in Hobby Lobby that it would become the nursery curtains.

The challenge was, I didn't want to sew them . . . so after looking around online, I found a great tutorial over at Young House Love that I decided to try.

First, I rolled out the fabric using my 8 ft living room rug as a guide just like Sherry did-- no tape measure needed!

Next, I used some "stitch witchery" iron on adhesive to hem the edges without using a sewing machine!

It was so simple. I just placed the heat tape along the polka dots to ensure that the seam would be straight, like this:

Folded the fabric over the tape like this:

And then I used my iron to bond the fabric and create a nice, straight edge.

This is far straighter than I ever would have gotten if I tried to use my sewing machine.

We used those nifty little hanging clips to hang the curtains. What I like most is that if the baby pulls on the curtains, the curtain will come down, but not the whole rod . . . so it's sort of a little safety element built right in.

Oh, and Jason moved the curtain rods up higher above the window and out further. We felt like idiots that we had hung all of the curtains in our house so low and close together. I never knew this little secret until I started reading so many home improvement blogs, even though my sister once told me that curtains should be hung up high and wide above the window.

Have I mentioned that she's always right?

Anyway . . I'm loving the splash of blue in the nursery and I'm loving that the fabric matches the drawer pulls so perfectly.

And in case you're wondering, I made four curtains for less than $20 a panel. I originally looked into buying curtains but I couldn't find a color I liked and they were all far more expensive than $20 a panel -- even at Tar-jay so making these was simple, quick and cost-effective.

Up next: Homemade Nursery Mobile . . . stay tuned!!

Linking up to:

Thrifty Decor Chick's Before and After Party

Coupon Cowboy's Deal of the Week

2011-03-08T22:24:00.001-05:00

I bet you thought Jason as the Coupon Cowboy was just a phase.

Nope.

The cowboy is still lassoing in deals week after week.

I have to say that we've been doing an AMAZING job saving money on groceries each week and it's been helping to get us one step closer to reaching our New Year's Resolution.

In fact, we already paid off one student loan . . . so we're on to tackling student loan #2. I'll keep you posted. So the couponing continues week after week. We actually look forward to sitting down on Saturdays and going through the sales circulars and matching the sales with our coupons.

This past weekend Jason was busy finishing up the nursery closet, so I was actually the one who sat down and matched our coupons with the deals. I did a pretty good job, scoring Colgate and Crest toothpaste for free at Rite Aid.

But as we were walking through the aisles at CVS collecting all of my deals, Jason saw a sale sign in front of a bunch of cleaning products that he was really excited about. The deal was 2 cleaners for $6. If you bought $12 worth of cleaners, you would receive $4 in CVS bucks when you cashed out.

Jason was determined that if we had coupons for each of the cleaning supplies, we could get each cleaning agent for about $1 each.

So out came the ever-growing coupon caddy and out came Imani's sighs as her crazy couponing parents began searching frantically for Pledge, Windex or Shout coupons.

We searched and searched through the dozens of cleaning coupons, but couldn't find one.

But the cowboy kept looking.

And this pregnant shopper plopped herself on the floor of CVS with her legs criss-cross applesauce right in the middle of the cleaning supply aisle and sorted through coupon after coupon.

I'm certain Imani must have been quite embarrassed.

Eventually, we gave up and left CVS without the cleaning supply deal, although we did get a lot of other great purchases.

I had long forgotten the cleaning supplies, but the Cowboy did not.

Last night he was on the computer and I assumed he was checking sports scores or reading the news online but really he was searching for cleaning supply coupons . . . and (of course) he succeeded.

He was so excited to have found two $1 off any Shout product coupons, two 75 cents off Pledge "multi-surface" coupons and one coupon for buy any Wood Polish Pledge, get a Pledge "multi-surface" for free.

He was beyond excited and wanted to head off to CVS to make his purchases . . .

but we have a bedroom wall that needs painting so CVS had to wait.

Last night, the Cowboy was tossing and turning in bed.

I thought maybe he was nervous that I was going to go into labor or something, so I asked him what was keeping him awake.

"I can't stop thinking about the CVS deal."

Seriously.

Seriously?!

And then tonight, when I took Imani to her violin lesson, I received this text message from Jason:

"I feel like I just stole from CVS."

And that text message was followed by this one:

"$4.50 before tax at CVS."

That's 90 cents for each of the above products.

And now we are thinking we might need to build an addition to start housing all of the extra cleaning products.

Either that or everyone is getting a basket full of cleaning supplies for Christmas.

Who knows, maybe the nesting instinct will kick in and I'll use up all the cleaning supplies in the next couple of weeks!

Nursery Closet Complete

2011-03-08T00:16:00.003-05:00

For those of you who have asked or are wondering . . . no, I haven't had the baby yet. I'm actually due in two and a half weeks on March 24

so . . .

. . . . my belly continues to grow

. . . .we continue to do projects around the house to get ready for our newest family member

. . . I continue to work full-time (which is why I haven't blogged in a week)

. . . we continue to toss around baby names

and I cherish every minute of the miracle that is pregnancy.

I am happy to say that the nursery is almost complete. I just hope we finish it before the baby gets here, even though he'll be sleeping in our room in a bassinet.

Our most recent nursery project was to address the closet. Initially, Jason was just going to paint the interior of the closet white, but in my quest for storage because we live in such a small house, I had bigger plans.

I wanted a closet that was divided with two hanging bars, to accommodate little clothes.

I also knew I wanted baskets in the closet to provide attractive storage for all things baby.

Finally, I knew I wanted a pattern inside the closet - either stenciled or wall-papered.

And I knew I was probably driving my husband crazy with my wishes for a cute closet.

So we set out for Lowes and looked at their closet organization systems. I almost fell over when I saw the price tag on these systems. Some were as much as $400 and none offered the simplicity I was looking for in such a small space so I asked Jason if he'd be willing to build what I envisioned.

He said yes.

So we purchased some lumber, some hanging bars, some wallpaper, and some baskets and we headed home on a mission.

First, we had to clean out the closet that once served as a catch-all for crafts, the vacuum cleaner, miscellaneous papers, artwork and who knows what else.

It was actually much worse than this . . . but Jason had already started to clean it out and was insistent I NOT take a picture of the mess. Fortunately, I snuck in and took the photo when he was off finding new homes for some of the junk. Otherwise, you wouldn't be able to appreciate the transformation.

Once the closet was cleaned out, Jason went in and spackled all areas that were rough or had little nail holes to ensure the wall paper would go on smoothly.

Once that dried and he sanded it down, the wall paper went up. I never knew how messy installing wallpaper was but it was worth all of its gooeyness.

Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the goo but every time Jason would smooth out the wall paper a big mess of glue would seep out from under the wall paper. Maybe we didn't wait long enough to put it on or it was too wet.

In any case, I absolutely love the way it turned out.

Next, my dream maker began building shelves to house the baskets.

And before I knew it, there were a couple of shelves and a couple of rods to hang little clothes.

Finally, the shelves were primed and painted white and my vision became a reality.

I put all the little adorable clothes in there and filled the baskets with blankets, toys and other baby items we'll be using in a couple of weeks.

I love that the stroller fits in there tucked away in the corner.

Wow! I still can't believe the before and after!

Before:

After:

I still want to get all matching baby hangers since currently some are blue and some are white but I wasn't going to wait to post this until I waddled over to Tar-jay to get matching hangars.

I'm so glad we didn't spend all of that money on the closet organization system from Lowe's!

And Jason is glad I took a "before" picture.

Stay tuned this week for more nursery updates!

Linking up with:

Nursery Update

2011-02-28T17:01:00.008-05:00

We've been a little stressed out around this Cape lately. With only a few weeks before the due date, we have a lot to take care of in the nursery before we can call it complete.

The moldy wall situation threw us for a bit of a loop and Jason has been busy getting our bedroom wall back in order.

But we have made some progress and the fact is that if the baby arrived tomorrow, he would be just fine.

After all, you don't really need that much for a baby - even though the folks at Babies R Us would have you think otherwise.

After all, who really needs a baby wipe warmer?!

Some of the items on the suggested registry crack me up.

Anyway, back to what we have been purchasing . . .

I snagged some great fabric at Hobby Lobby recently . . . you'll notice that I did decide to add some blue to the nursery.

And I found this ultra cushy rug at Home Goods . . . it was regularly $450.

Home Good's price was $199 and I got it at 50 percent off, so I scored this baby for $99. When I say it's soft, I mean your feet sink into it when you walk across it.

The picture just doesn't do it justice.

My mother made this super soft blanket and now I'm itching to make a larger version for our living room.

Jason has been turning this horrific closet into something a little more organized . . . you'll have to wait and see.

I will say that we lined the back of the closet with this wallpaper.

And finally, we purchased this rocker from Tarjay.

I really wanted this one from Pottery Barn,

but it was over $1,000 (after the slipcover and shipping) and we are still on a mission to reach our New Year's Resolution so as much as I love that chair . . . I had to turn my big brown peepers away from it and hope that Tarjay will pull through for me.

The nice thing is that it's returnable to a Target store, so if we're not happy with it, we don't have to deal with shipping it back . . . but I'm hoping we don't have to deal with a return at all.

Who knows; I've never purchased big pieces of furniture from Target before, so we'll see.

I'll let you know when the chair arrives (it said it would ship in 5-7 days).

So even though there is still a lot to do, we have made some significant progress.

It's been a lot of fun so far and I can't wait to see it all come together!

Winter Love

2011-02-27T21:58:00.001-05:00

I keep hoping the Groundhog is right and that Winter is nearly over.

And then we get more snow.

So I figured instead of complaining, I'd celebrate what I love about Winter to get me
through these last few weeks.

Hot cocoa

Knitting

Freshly fallen snow resting on pine trees

Making snowmen (this was a couple of years ago . . . in APRIL. Let's hope we aren't making snowmen in April this year).

Taking walks in winter (though I don't go as often as I'd like)

Putting a coat on Maggie

Seeing streams peaking their way through the snow

The joy in Imani's face when she plays in the snow.

Hearing the crunching beneath my feet

And seeing that another creature walked the same path before me.

Imani's obsession with feety pajamas, even though she's ten years old.

What do you love about Winter?

Cutting Edge Stencil Giveaway Winner

2011-02-26T21:02:00.000-05:00

Thanks to everyone who entered my One Year Blogging Anniversary Giveaway to Cutting Edge Stencils.

And the winner is . . . .

Susan's name was chosen using Random.Org. Susan, I will be emailing you to get all of your contact information so that I can pass it along to

Cutting Edge Stencils.

Susan recently started her blog "Lighten My Life" in December 2010, so if you get a chance, head on over and say hi and show her some love.

Thanks again to everyone who entered my giveaway!

I hope you're all having a great weekend!

Sidetracked by Mold

2011-02-24T12:38:00.002-05:00

For the past month, every time Jason and I go to bed, he sneezes uncontrollably.

I was convinced he was allergic to Maggie, since she sleeps in bed with us.

Maybe I thought it would just help my argument to get her out of the bed before the baby arrives,
but no luck.

A couple of weekends ago, my sister and her friend Lauren visited because my sister was throwing a baby shower for me. Lauren was sleeping in our sitting room downstairs, just below our bedroom. She commented that she had to move into our family room because the sneezing was keeping her awake.

It was THAT bad.

I started thinking maybe we had down throw pillows on our bed, since Jason is allergic to feathers, but that wasn't it either.

Jason insisted he smelled a mold every time he went to bed.

But I didn't smell it and I insisted again that Maggie be moved out of the bed.

But she remained . . . and the sneezing continued.

Friday was a beautiful day. It was unseasonably warm and sunny -- a welcome break from all of the cold and snow we've had this winter.

I was exhausted so I turned into bed especially early Friday night. And the warmth of the day made the stench that much more noticeable. When I climbed into bed, I smelled it.

Jason wasn't crazy after all.

The moldy smell was seeping out from our bedroom wall above our bed.

I called Jason upstairs immediately. I couldn't sleep in that room, so I move into Imani's room for a little sleepover (and of course, she was thrilled!)

There was only one way to fix the problem . . . and even though Saturday, we had big plans to address the nursery closet, Jason spent Saturday night tearing down the sheetrock behind our bed.

All of the insulation was damp so it all got bagged up and removed from the house.

Apparently, when we had our windows replaced last year, the company that installed the window didn't seal it properly, so Jason went back through and re-caulked the whole window and then sprayed it with spray foam to prevent future leaks.

The foam was huge and bulging out of the cracks when it dried so Jason had to cut it.

Imani and I had another sleepover in her room and I think she secretly hoped the wall would never get fixed.

Of course I figured that while the wall is ripped apart, we might as well make a few changes to it. You'll have to wait and see what we come up with.

We spent a good chunk of our Sunday afternoon wandering around Lowes buying everything we'd need to replace the wall, along with materials to address the baby's closet . . . if we ever get to it.

I almost fell over when I saw the grand total at checkout.

This wasn't in the budget, but it's a good thing the Coupon Cowboy has been saving us so much money week after week.

I'm happy to report that although the wall isn't finished, I am back to sleeping in my own bed, much to Imani's disappointment.

AND I'm getting a full night's sleep, since my husband isn't up sneezing all night!! :-)

And Maggie remains comfortable in bed with us, despite my desire to kick her out before the baby arrives.

Drawer Pulls = No Drama

2011-02-23T08:40:00.001-05:00

I remember about eight years ago when Imani's father and I were splitting up. Not only was my family as I knew it falling apart, but everything in my life seemed in disarray.

I couldn't believe I was finding myself in this situation -- a single mom of a bi-racial daughter -

with no clue how to raise a child

and no clue how to raise a bi-racial daughter

and no clue how to get my life on track.

I needed a break, so I packed Imani in the car and headed off to Virginia with a friend. She was going to visit her daughter and I was going to visit my friend Jennifer, who I'd known since kindergarten.

We made the 12 hour trek together and, looking back, I'm surprised my friend agreed to travel such a long distance with a two-and-a-half year old in the back seat. I'm glad she did.

Staying with Jennifer was a welcome break from all the craziness I was experiencing. My life had become something off a bad, dramatic daytime talk show like Ricki Lake or Maury Povich and my head was spinning.

Jennifer's house offered me peace and quiet. In my thinking I noticed a recurrent theme in Jennifer's house.

She had fancy drawer pulls on her dressers, bureaus and cabinets.

I remember we had dinner at another friend's house during my stay and lo and behold, she too had fancy drawer pulls -- drawer pulls shaped like flowers, birds, butterflies . . .

I commented on their drawer pulls and how fancy they looked and I think Jennifer and Laura both thought I was joking.

"Seriously, Steph . . . drawer pulls take all of five minutes to put on!" Jennifer said laughing.

I thought about it for a minute.

"I guess when your life is so full of drama, you don't have time to notice drawer pulls," I said.

"That's it. When I go home, I'm getting fancy drawer pulls."

It sounds silly, but I was dead serious. When your life isn't full of drama, you can notice the details around your house. It became a running joke that week and when I left, Jennifer and Laura gave me six of these:

I still have them and will likely keep them forever.

To me, they are symbolic of having a drama-free life (for the most part!!).

Sure, life gets hectic and crazy, but it's not out of control anymore.

And I'm happy to report that just the other day, I was in Hobby Lobby perusing one of my favorite aisles and I remembered Jennifer and Laura.

So I made a little purchase for our little guy's bedroom.

And when I got home, I replaced these

with these

May he have a life free of drama.

What about you? Do you have fancy drawer pulls?

Decorating Addiction

Karen's Zen Bathroom

Top Posts of 2011

Holiday Happenings and Decorating

Christmas Crafts for Procrastinators

Decorating Walls

Living in Dracula's Dungeon

Living the Dream

Innocent Determination

Learning to Plant

Out with the Mold

Zen Bathroom Inspiration

Garbage Pickers

Barney Room to Baby Room

He's Arrived!

Reading Bieber Tweets in a Comfy Chair

What's Hanging & Baby Name Revealed

Nursery Progress: Making a Mobile

Nursery Update: Window Treatments

Coupon Cowboy's Deal of the Week

Nursery Closet Complete

Nursery Update

Winter Love

Cutting Edge Stencil Giveaway Winner

Sidetracked by Mold

Drawer Pulls = No Drama