A Room for Little Mister

 

I am all about window shopping for inspiration but am very bad at pulling the trigger and getting stuff done. Case in point, Quinn's room. Actually case in point, my entire house.

I have half projects lying around, new projects ready to get started and a head full of new ideas. What I lack are time, motivation and skillz. Hmpf.

So I have decided that my mission in life right now aside from 1) keeping a 2.5 year old alive and happy 2) growing another human being and 3) personally surviving, is finally getting shit done.

With a tiny human getting ready to join the world in four short months its high time a room for little man is started.

So today, I give you my inspiration for little mister's room.

 

I shall call it "Totally Nautical Dude"

My initial inspiration came from this:

 

And then I saw this wall and knew I had to do some thing similar:

 

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But instead of dots, let's make em gold anchors.

Yeahhhhh baby.

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Orrrrr maybe some gold stars?

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And while we're at it, let's add some bookshelves like this:

 

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Or just full out copy my faves over at Young House Love and add some built-ins?

 

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Cute, right?!

 

xo, Vicky

Project Camp Quinn - Art

With the hubs doing school work during all his free time, it could take a while for the bigger aspects of Project Camp Quinn to officially begin, but that doesn't mean I can't window shop for cute artwork!

Here's what I've found so far:

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Oh.my.gawd.

I LOVE THOSE TREES.

And according to Lizzy, in her tutorial here, they are super easy to make!

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A camp-themed room wouldn't be complete without a bear and this is flipping adorable.

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Tree or triangle wallpaper in a rainbow of colours?

YES.YES.YES.

And this garland...

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Um yep, need that too. 

Well I better leave it there for today. 

We have a trip to visit Santa in the works when Miss Q wakes up, so I'm off to finally wash my face for the day. 

Yes, its 2pm. 

No, I have not yet washed my face.

I like to live dangerously on my days off.

xo, Vicky

Halloween 2013!

And just like that, another holiday has flown by.

Quinn's 3rd Halloween.
 

I can't believe two years ago we were bringing a teeny little babe in a teeny pumpkin hat to the neighbours house to trick-or-treat.

Time flies.

 

So without further ado, here’s how our Halloween 2013 played out...

First we searched high and low for the perfect gourdes.

 

 

Then we took our precious cargo home and got to work gutting and carving.

 

 

Here's Daddy's creation:

 

 

And here's Mommy and Quinn's creation:

 

 Little Miss Cookie Monster ready for Halloween!

It was raining that night, so she was prepared with her umbrella.

 

 

As for trick-or-treating, Quinn, as always, exceeded my expectations.

She said please and thank you at each house and when the door closed she would say to me, 'Another house?' Gosh she was so excited...

 

My parents and aunt Heather came with us and I managed to take this picture of Q and my Dad on our back home. Although its blurry and not the best quality, its one of my favorite pictures. She just loves her Grumpa so very much.

 

And for fun, I thought I'd share my Halloween costume...

 

My friends had a Halloween party last weekend and one of my girlfriends (Hi Vanessa!) had the genius idea of us dressing up as the ladies from the movie Bridesmaids.

 

Not too shabby for a couple WalMart outfits, some pink ribbon and a wedding dress that won't zip up in the back (eep....I need to hit the gym...) 

 

xo, Vicky

Camp Quinn

 

Well after two years of deliberation, Simon and I have finally narrowed down a theme for Miss Quinn's room.

 

Camp Quinn

(YAY!)

 

And it all came about when my eyes spied this bedding from Land of Nod...

 

I love that its not girly, not boyish but perfectly gender neutral. This bedding was categorized under 'Boy Bedding', but to me it just says kid.

 

And this shared kids room over at Lay Baby Lay sealed the deal.

 

 

Seriously. How. Cute.

 

Now for a list of things to do:

 

Find a bed

Buy a mattress

Pick a paint colour?

Paint the walls?

Curtains

Make some fun art

Hang art

 

Have I mentioned that my hubby is working on his Master's and has zero free time?

This could get interesting...

 

xo, Vicky

New beds for all !

Happy Belated Merry Christmas to Me!

Simon finally got around to making my Christmas present.

Dun dun na na!

 

 

Isn't she a beaut'?

It feels like I'm staying at a luxury hotel every night.

I.LOVE.IT.

 

She's not 100% done yet; we still have to add some bling bling to it in the form of nailhead trim, but I must say I'm rather pleased with our handiwork.

 

You may also have spied a few other little beauties.

We FINALLY found some bedside tables! When we first placed them beside the bed I initially thought they were too tall but having lived with them for a few days, I kind of like them as is. Now I just need to find some pretty lamps and we'll move on to the next room.

Somebody else got a new bed recently.

And by new bed I mean Simon dismantled her crib and she now sleeps on her mattress on the floor. This is the only decent photo I've gotten of Quinn on her new bed. Let's call it a work in progress.

I've been doing a lot of reading up on the benefits of floor beds and was sold on it when we visited Simon's cousin this past weekend who's little girl has one. Not only is it adorable, but it will also give Quinn some independence and hopefully the ability to put herself to sleep. Not to get too technical, but I think this quote sums it up pretty well:

The Human Tendency for exploration is fully satisfied when providing a low bed for the child instead of a crib. Human beings have a natural tendency to explore the environment and to gain knowledge from it. By allowing the child to experience his environment in this manner, he will be able to understand all of its components and will be comfortable and at ease when alone in his room. From all of this activity, the child will then become better acquainted with the world in which he lives, and will arrive at the end of this process of self-construction. If we know that the process of self-construction in the child can only take place through the exploration of the environment, then this process is crucial. The child must be able to explore the environment in order to become adapted to his place and time. The child from zero to three explores the environment through the senses, but mostly through movement. By giving the child the opportunity to experience the low bed, he will benefit immensely. Not only will the child learn to function on his own, but this exposure to his environment will aid him in the development of independence, concentration, movement, self-esteem, and decision-making, leading to a healthy, well-adjusted child later on in life. 

(Julie Stanford - mariamontessori.com)

 

If that hasn't sold you, then take a look at these adorable Montessori-inspired rooms:

 

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 How cute?!

 

Happy Monday :)

xo, Vicky 

Busting out a bench

 

When my hubs gets excited about a project, he gets really, really, really excited. It consumes him completely. When I casually sent him this link about a kitchen bench I didn't really think he'd be down with a new project. I was wrong. Very wrong. Since I planted that tiny little seed into his mind, he's measured the area in our kitchen about twenty times, researched Ikea cabinets, decided on a cabinet and was asking me what fabric we should use for the cushion this morning at breakfast.

Good lord man! Don't you have a Master's thesis to work on or something?!

I really shouldn't complain though. 

Its actually pretty adorable that he's into home projects now.

I found the inspiration photo above over at Little House Blog. Not only is the bench functional as a seat but also has a ton of storage as well. I'm picturing tablecloths, placemats, dogs paraphernalia and kiddo stuff being stashed away in there. The hardest part about the project is not the bench itself but the cushion topper. Looks like I finally get to put the sewing machine I got for Christmas to good use! 

This is where we are at so far: 

The cabinets have been purchased and assembled and Simon is just starting to figure out how to build the bottom frame. 

And because this is my domain and I am allowed to say whatever I darn well want, I just want to declare that I was adamantly against the wine rack you see at the right of the photo. While I busy keeping Quinn happy at Ikea, Simon busy was sneaking the wine rack onto our order. 

Toddler + toddler-height wine rack + wine bottles + ceramic floors = TROUBLE.

Aside from the wine rack I am super pumped! 

Let the fabric shopping begin! 

xo, Vicky

Thump Day

 

You know, Wednesday 'Hump Day' but with a T for Thursday?

Not cool, I know.

 

I have nothing to really talk about so instead I made a list:

 

1) I'm watching Downton Abbey. I'm on Season One Episode 5. I still don't know if I like it.

 

2) So I might not have mentioned this yet, but I got a headboard from Simon for Christmas. A DIY one! Well we finally bought the fabric for it. We plan on adding silver nailhead trim along the edge too. I'm awfully excited for the final product!

 

 

3) I bought a new dress for my friend's upcoming wedding reception. Finding a nice winter-appropriate dress is flipping hard! I plan on pairing it with black tights and shoes.

 

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4) I'm reading The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman. After reading Enclave, Outpost, Divergent and Insurgest this one is hard to get into but I'm sticking to it.

 

 

5) Last but not least, this made me laugh a little too much 

 

 

xo, Vicky

Christmas Crafts

We've been very busy over on this side of the screen. Busy crafting!

Here's what we've got on the go:

 

1) Homemade ornaments

 

I decided that every year I want to make an ornament with Quinn. When she's an adult, I'll give them all to her so she can  remember all the Christmases we celebrated throughout her childhood.

 

When I saw this pin , I fell in love.

 

I thought this looked like a relatively easy project; boy was I wrong.

I should have known better.

Whoever can wrangle a one year old long enough to get a decent handprint on an ornament deserves 50 gold stars in my books.

 

Here's how I did it:

 

Step One - paint kiddo's hand with glue and attempt to get a decent handprint

 

yeah, not so much...

 

Step Two - clean up smudges with Q-tip and water

 

Step Three - Cover with glitter and let dry

 

Step 4 - Spray with varnish so the glitter doesn't go everywhere

 

Since I will be giving some of these 'masterpieces' to family as Christmas presents, you'll have to wait until after the holidays to see how these babies turned out.

I know the anticipation will be killer...

 

Cost breakdown:

1) 12 Christmas ornaments - $8

2) Glitter - $5

3) Heavy duty craft glue - $7

4) Varnish (from a previous project) - free

Grand total - $20

 

Although these didn't turn out exactly as predicted, I love them.

Quinn also loved this project because she got to squish glue in her hands and wipe it all over our dining room table. Fun times.

 

2) Christmas Urns

 

Christmas urn arrangements are hugely popular this year, but I quickly learned that stores charge a small fortune for them. I mentioned this to my mom who suggested we try to make our own. So off we went to the forest to collect greenery.

 

We then headed to the dollar store to find some decorative items and floral foam. We gave ourselves a budget of $20 and ended up coming out of there will a bag full of goodies.

 

Here's how ours turned out (mine is the top, mom's is the bottom):

 

 

 

Not too shabby!

 

Cost breakdown:

Urn/pot (already owned) - free

Greenery (borrowed from the forest) - free

Decorative branches and flowers - $15

Floral foam - $5

Pride in making our own, non-crappy looking Christmas urns = priceless

Grand total - $20

 

Tonight I'm hosting a 'Girls Only Thai Dinner Extravaganza' for the ladies in my family.

Stay tuned next week for details on that!

 

Happy Weekend!!!

xo, Vicky

 

Our weekend :)

Oh weekends. I love you.

This past weekend blew by, but I did manage to get a few things accomplished.

 

Like spend time with this little cutie on Friday

Never too young to appreciate wine

(it's water but don't tell Lyla)

  

I also rocked this puzzle

 It was no match for me.

Done in 4 hours, no big deal.

 

I also managed to take the dogs on a decent walk in the woods on Saturday with my aunt, Heather and my mom. Everyone had fun, except maybe Quinn who looked like she was ready to go 'Carrie' on us.

 

My mom and I went back to forest on Sunday to collect greenery and branches for some DIY Christmas urns. More on that tomorrow :)

 

In other exciting news, Simon told me what he plans on giving me for Christmas.

 

A homemade headboard!

 

Yes folks, apparently he reads my blog... I found some very handy headboard tutorials online, so I am very excited to start picking the fabric and shape of our new bedroom beauty!

Stay tuned for more details.

 

Well, that's wrap. 

Happy Monday!

xo, Vicky

Playing catch-up

So my goal of posting every weekday, is proving to be not always achievable...

I'll work on it.

 

Anyways, here's what we've been up to. 

This past weekend I was away in Prince Edward County, ON for my dear friend Kristen's bachelorette. Us girls had an AMAZING time. We headed up Friday night and came home Sunday afternoon. Short yet very, very sweet. 

 

The house we rented was gorgeous. I wish I had taken my own pictures of it, but if you head over to the Britannia House website, there are lots of pictures. If you happen to be looking for a vacation rental in the Picton area, check it out. 

No seriously, do it.

On Saturday we went on a fantastic tour of four local wineries and got maybe just a little bit tipsy... 

 

I ended up coming home with these wines which I highly recommend:

From left to right: 

Karlo Estates - Quintus 2010, Sandbanks - Baco Noir 2011, Harwood Estates Vineyards - Friends Rose

 

As you can see, Simon and I have already polished off the Sandbanks Baco Noir. 

DELISH.

When I got home Sunday, I was pleasantly surprised to see this in my garage:

 

I can see you scratching your heads wondering what on earth I am trying to show you. 

That my friends, is our new car door bumper exquisitely handcrafted of electrical conduits and water pipe insulation by my very handy hubby.

He claims to have come up with this idea all on his own and spent the better part of Sunday hunting down all the supplies and then putting it together. 

I think he was sick of me flinging the car doors open into the garage walls. 

Genius.

Quinn was also busy this weekend brushing up on her new skill:

I call it the 'Double Finger Pick'. 

In other news, I am very sad to report that my little nugget is being tortured by the dreaded one-year molars. Darn them.She was feverish all weekend and hasn't been herself in a few days. C'mon molars, pop through already! While I hate seeing her in pain, I do enjoy the cuddles that come with a sick baby...

Well that about does it for me. 

Tune in tomorrow for my roundup of things I would buy if I had a million dollars. 

I'm not kidding. 

xo, Vicky

P.S.

Quinn wanted to post too. 

Seriously she typed this and it looks like she wanted to give you all a kiss. 

,k,i/≤≤  

What a doll 

xoxoxo