Georgia's Big Girl Room!

Greetings friends!  I've been away for far too long from the blog, and some readers have started to complain/whine (:cough: Papa :cough:) so I thought I'd better pop on here and give you a much-anticipated update from Georgia's room.

The little girl turned three in June and she's basically grown now, she's so big she hardly fits on my lap anymore (she does still squeeze into my bed some nights)!  Anyway, it was high time for her to have a big girl bed since she was quickly outgrowing the crib turned toddler bed.

I spent a lot of time deciding what kind of bed to build for her room, but finally Michael and I settled on a platform farmhouse-style bed with storage drawers.  The plans are from Ana White.  We tweaked it a bit and made the drawers and headboard shorter.  I am so happy with how it turned out.

 

Papa did a fantastic job building it despite my efforts to redesign it every week and my micromanaging his construction process.  :)  My specialty!  Anyway, between the two of us we did succeed in building it just the way I wanted!  And Mama frantically painted it so we could assemble it in time for Georgia's birthday party.  Thanks everyone!  

There are three drawers on the opposite side of the bed, too, but we can't use them since it's pushed against the wall.  Maybe eventually she'll want her bed pulled away from the wall, we'll see.  The front drawers are full of extra blankets and grow-into clothes.  Finally, more storage for this tiny room!! :)

The bedding is from Pottery Barn.  Georgia was infatuated with rainbow striped things for about a minute, so I picked this charming quilt with the most adorable embroidery.  She has since moved on to being obsessed with horses and the color red, but oh well!  I added a few horse items to the room just recently to replace some of her baby-themed artwork.  I love the little touches that reflect her personality.

We exchanged her cherry dress for the turquoise dresser from the den when we replaced the furniture in there.  (We did get the loveseat finished to match the couch down there but, of course, I never updated the blog with those pictures! :-P  It's a proper hang-out space now with a TV and everything!)  Anyway, I digress... we put the turquoise dresser in her room which has a lot more drawers and space for display.  It's working great for her room, and it fits perfectly on the closet wall.

The horse artwork is from etsy and I made the little wreath from an embroidery hoop. :)  Georgia and I love to visit the horse aisle at Hobby Lobby, but so far I have restrained myself from buying any more horse wall decor!  

When we removed the crib, I decided it was time to switch out the big plush nursery glider for a smaller, more youthful chair option.  My mom had a sweet little tufted chair that needed to be reupholstered.  (It was actually my college dorm chair from freshman year that was formerly purple, pink and blue batik!)  We selected a duo of unicorn printed fabric to recover the chair.  I looked for a horse print but this one was too sweet and the colors were perfect for her room!  The border print is Michael Miller Unicorn Parade in mint and the allover print is called Unicorn Forest.  We used the border around the sides and bottom and the print for the rest of the chair.  I think it turned out so cute!!  Since it's only cotton quilt fabric, we're not expecting it to last forever, but neither will her love of unicorns (ahem, horses) so we can update the chair with the rest of the room and not worry about wasting some expensive upholstery fabric!

The little kitty wagon is something my dad built for her second birthday.  I saw a similar one online for storing books and I had to have it!!  Isn't it the cutest thing ever?  We have since built and painted an orange cat one for my niece and a brown bear one for my nephew!  

Her room has come a long way from her baby nursery design.  But here's a look back for fun:

And now:

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope to come again soon and update you on the playroom and den office and all kind of seasonal decor.  But we'll just be cautiously optimistic and say we'll see you at Christmas.  I have yet to miss a Christmas on the blog! ;)

Laundry Co.

Hi readers!  I know it's been a looooong time since you heard from me on the blog.   I've been busy working behind the scenes on lots of things I just haven't had time to share.  Toddler mom problems.  :) You understand.  

So, to kick off my long-awaited return, I am featuring a laundry room refresh today!  After Christmas I decided I had just had enough of the acoustic tile drop ceiling in our laundry room.  I couldn't take it anymore, so I asked my dad if we could replace it with something nicer.  He promptly arrived with tool belt and began taking down the old tiles and framing system.  

Before: (blech)

You're welcome for that visual.  Go now and rip out your acoustic tiles.  I'll wait.  :)

After the ceiling was out we were left with decisions.  Ultimately we decided we had to put another dropped ceiling in here since there is tons of plumbing and what not running under the ceiling joists as well as a huge air duct at the front.  So, Papa and I (mostly Papa) devised a plan to hang a support system of 2x4s from the ceiling joists to attach a pine beadboard ceiling to.  We used a thin beadboard that is intended to go on a wall or existing drywall ceiling, but we managed to make it work with nothing but supports behind it every couple of feet.  Here's what it looked like:

We left the exisiting "crown molding" at the edge of the wall to support the end of each piece and to cover up the seam where it meets the wall.  Papa did all the hard parts, but he made me stand in the corner on top of the washing machine and cram myself into a tiny little hole in the ceiling to fasten the pieces to the molding from above at the end of the room. 

 Obligatory Papa photo. :)

When we finally wrapped up with the ceiling installation, I was so happy with the look that I decided not to paint the beadboard white or stain it or anything.  Originally I figured I would want it to be white, but honestly I don't have time to paint it right now anyway!  We considered painting it in advance before installing it, but once again I didn't have the time (or babysitters?) so we just went ahead and put it up unfinished.  Maybe in a couple years if it starts looking weird from moisture issues or stains or something I will get around to painting it.  I kind of love the light wood look!  It's like nothing else in our house, but it complements the neutral decor. 

Speaking of decor, of course after I installed a new ceiling, I had to repaint the room.  And the cabinets.  Haha!  I ended up going with a pale cream/yellow color (ironic since it was yellow before) on the walls and a gray cabinet paint.

So fresh!  I really like the new paint color, it brightens up the room.  Michael was really sad to see the stripes go.  It was one of his favorite projects of mine.  But, after ten years the paint was worn out and needed updating anyway.

I had this little white shelf in the kitchen for some years.  I had kept it because it was too cute to get rid of and now I'm glad I did because I converted it into a towel rack to go on the wall!  I just added a dowel on the inside to hang the towels across.  Isn't it cute?  The old towel rack was just a thin metal rod.  So ugly.  This is much nicer!  The art I used to have in our master bath and the new towels are from Kohl's!

The formerly black cabinet looks really updated and nice painted gray.  I painted the mirror frame to match.  It complements the rug we already had, too!

Oh and we got a new light fixture on Amazon.  It's nice and bright and modern.

Gosh, we also got a new faucet but for some reason I never took pictures after that.  Papa installed it for me last month (and the corresponding new drain just last week!) Thanks Papa!

And of course, the finishing touch, a new sign to replace my laundry letters.  I was so proud of those letters spelling out LAUNDRY when I made them ten years ago.  Gosh, what a sophisticated decor choice! Hahaha!  Anyway, maybe this sign is just as sophisticatedless.  I don't know.  But I saw it on Pinterest, and thought it was cute and rustic so I had to copy it.  :)  Papa built it (seeing a theme here?) and I painted it.  You know you want one, too!

Naturally, since I took these photos way back in April, the laundry room has changed a bit.  We are in the process of moving the office to the den, so there's been some reshuffling of the furniture.  But this is the "after" picture that you're getting!  I hope to come back soon and update you on the new office/den situation as well as the new "playroom" where the office used to be! :)  Hooray blog!

Thanks for stopping by!  Hope to see you back here real soon!  

A Horvath Halloween Costume Party

Hello friends!  I am just dropping in today to share our Halloween party pics with you!  I am a terrible blogger, but hopefully a good mother, as I just don't have much time for blogging these days with a toddler running around getting into trouble!!  :)  But, I couldn't let a Halloween season get by without at least sharing our party details.

This year I coerced my mother into letting us have the party at our house.  I figured it would be easier to decorate since I live here!  Well, Georgia didn't leave me much time, but I managed to deck the house in it's spookiest get-up, as usual.  I had to leave a lot of empty surfaces since she is getting tall and can clear a table rather quickly!  :)  We had a lot of friends and family join us for the soiree.  To save time I had everyone bring a dish to share, so we had a wide array of yummy treats.  Everyone had a fun time carving pumpkins and decorating their cupcakes with eyeballs and sprinkles!  The cupcake decorating station was the highlight of the party.  I was very impressed with how particular the kids were in placing all the sprinkles on their cupcake creations.  :)  

Here's a photo reel from the day:

The bats were out in full force, as usual, swooping down from the ceiling!

Skellyton was hiding in the corner of the dining room this year.  Apparently he had too much to drink and that light is just too bright. :)

I picked up a few new pillows this year from Joann's.  I may have a weakness for Halloween goodies!!

I taped the spiderweb on the front door again, and the deck doors, too.  I think it's a cool, cheap way to up your spooky factor!

As always, the mantel was my first decorating project.  I made a new banner that was inspired by Pinterest.  Then I layered in black, silver and gold items.  

The fireplace was filled with nearly all of our jack-o-lanterns and glittery pumpkins.  It was quite the display!

Mama came as a tavern wench, complete with beer stein! 

Abby was a vampire.  She definitely had the "Scariest Costume" with those fangs and freaky long nails!!

I was a mad scientist and Georgia, my little lab mouse.

Hannah was Dopey and Remi, Snow White.  Barrett was a UPS man complete with a package!  And Ruger was a hunter with his crossbow.

Hannah and Remi are the "Cutest Couple" for their Snow White and dwarf impression. :)  Love those apple tights!!

The boys had a blast decorating (and eating!) their cupcakes.

Our friends Brian and Meghna came as the Demon Deacon and a cheerleader and their kids Janak and Priya were Iron Man and a Princess. :)  I'm awarding Brian "Most Creative" for his mascot costume!  He sewed most of it himself!

Michael was a referee.  Georgia loves that whistle!

Laura was a deer and Mary, a prisoner.

Caroline was Queen of Hearts.

Lily and her friend Kelsey were dressed as ocelets from Minecraft.  

And I may be biased, but I think Georgia had the "Cutest Costume" in her little pink mouse outfit!  Those tights and shoes are so precious, I can't handle it!!

Even though my brother didn't wear a costume and I didn't get his picture, he deserves "Most Entertaining" for running around the yard and playing with Abby, Ava and Janak all night!  Thanks John!

We hope you had a Happy Halloween!  Now on to the holiday season!! :)