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

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

Lately

Before our regularly scheduled program of Quinn pictures and stories, I thought I'd share a few things I'm dreaming about lately.

1) I need to start doing more painting / crafting with Quinn. I love the idea of hanging up her masterpieces in our kitchen like this:

 

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2) How cute is this for a nursery or kid's room?!

 

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3) This could not be more true

 

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4) Nor could this

 

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In fun, but currently unattainable news, I decided on the colour scheme for our master bedroom...

 

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Yellow, blue and gray.

Caitlin Wilson fabrics, while beautiful, are just slightly out of this gal's price range at the moment...but there's always Christmas ?! (major hint dropping dear husband)

 

Speaking of bedroom, I also love this lamp:

  

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 For some reason, just writing " I also love this lamp" made me immediately think of Steve Carell in Anchorman...

 

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Well, with all those dreams and funnies out of the way, back to reality.

 

Last weekend my pantry went from this:

  

To this:

I threw out an embarrasing amount of expired food.

Like half the pantry.

Yikes.

 

Let's see, what else did we do....

 

Oh, well Quinn learned to put on her own sunglasses (or as Daddy calls them, 'sunny gs')

 

 

We went to the library

 

 

And last, but certainly not least, we got some very good news.

Our doctor at the fertility clinic gave us the green light to try again for a baby!

What better way to celebrate than with a frozen yogurt sundae...

 

  

Happy days!
xo, Vicky

I'm dreaming of a ...

New master bedroom!

Yet the word 'dreaming' in the post title is a key here as we have no extra moolah for any big expenditures. Darn. But a girl can dream, can't she?

Since Simon and I have been spending quite a bit of time camped out on this makeshift bed on Quinn's bedroom floor, I've been itching for some bedroom upgrades.

Before you ask, yes that is a 'snoodle'.

They are amazing. Don't judge.

The child has recently boycotted bedtime and instead prefers to stay up until all hours of the night. We are at a total loss as to what to do, so we just curl up on the floor and let her play until she tires herself out. Looking at this picture, it's no wonder I've been dreaming of plush, luxurious beds...
 

So anyways, the number one thing that our master bedroom needs is A BED. We bought a king sized mattress when we moved to our current house eight months ago and it is the bees knees. The only problem is that its just a mattress and box spring sitting on a frame - no bed. 

Here's what I'm thinking :

From left to right:

 Gorgeous!, Beaconsfield Arched Bed - Sears ($698), Amber Interiors, Love everything, Colette King Bed - Crate and Barrel ($2500), LOVE the turquoise, Beaconsfield Upholstered Sleigh Bed - Sears ($698)

I'm a lover of upholstered head/footboards, grey/beige tones (or turquoise!) and dark brown legs. But alas, the likelyhood of us buying a brand new bed is slim to none however I think I might be able to convince Simon to help me make a DIY headboard.

I'll continue nagging him until he gives in and report back soon.

 

Happy Thursday!

xo, Vicky

My dream kids room

Ohhh Pinterest. 

You put completely unrealistic dreams in my head! 

Don't you realize that my husband is a tough nut to crack when it comes to home decor?! 

My decorating sights have picked a new target - Quinn's room. 

Since moving to our new place in March, Quinn's room has gotten a little attention. We hung a new light, hung a couple pictures and put up her old curtains, but her walls are still unpainted and overall its an uninspiring space. 

 

We have a three bedroom home and I want to keep one bedroom a guest room. That leaves one room for kiddos. Since I would love to add another little munchkin to our fam, our plan is to have the little ones share a space and I want that room to be a bright, comfortable and inspiring space. 

 

Without further ado, here are some awesome kids rooms that are making me drool: 

 

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Love the banners, the rug and the little canopy over the bed.

 

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I am seriously considering painting a rainbow wall.
 I might even have Simon on board!
 



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Love the colourful frames. Love the headboard. Love the bedspread. Love the chair. Love the wallcolour. 

 

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LOVE the pictures over the beds. Love the pompoms (Quinn's room already has those). Love the little mounted reading lights. Love the bookshelves.

 

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 Love the bookshelves! Its a little hard to see, but LOVE the window seat!

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Soooo cute.

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This rug is perfect for a rainbow room.

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So is this one.

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Love the art work over the crib.

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LOVE THIS PRINT.

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Every little detail counts! Can't forget about the light switches.

 

Now that I have some ideas, I now have the very difficult task of convincing my husband to agree... wish me luck!

 

xo, Vicky

 

How I recovered some chairs

Over the weekend I decided to recover our kitchen chairs.

 They were a boring beige and I frankly was starting to hate them.

Recently I have been craving colour, so I got out my staple gun and got to it.

I would like to preface this post by saying I am obviously not a re-upholstering expert. This post is not an authoritative guide to recovering chairs. Rather, it is to demonstate that recovering chairs with new, fun fabric is a fairly easy project.

Trust me, if I can do it, you can too.

 

Here's what you need:

1) A chair

2) Fabric

3) Batting (optional - I didn't end up using it for this project)

4) Staple gun and staples

5) Scissors

6) Screwdriver

 

Here's how I did it:

 

Step 1) Distract baby with empty (what kind of mother do you think I am? I made sure to eat them first) Smarties boxes. 

 

Step 2) Remove cushions from the frame

 

Step 3) Remove black backing from the bottom of the cushion 

 

Step 4) Remove animal burrowing in your fabric

 

 

Step 5) Cut the fabric. Make sure to allow for extra on all sides for stapling to the back. This is also when you would cut the batting to size.

 

Step 6) Staple the fabric to the cushion. If you decide to use batting to add extra cushyness to your cushion, staple that on first then your fabric on top of that. Make sure to pull very tight so you don't end up with wrinkles.

 

Step 7) Neatly fold and staple corners and cut off extra fabric

 

 

Step 8) Staple black backing back on

 

Step 9) Screw cushion back onto frame

 

Step 10) Admire your work!

 

Before:

 

And after:

 

See, it wasn't that hard!

Go buy some fabric and get stapling!

 

xo, Vicky

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tips on making cubicle-dwelling tolerable

Hi friends!

I know I said I would post about Quinn’s party today BUT I still need to do a little more photo editing. :( I promise I will have it up tomorrow!

Having just re-entered the workforce after being off for one GLORIOUS year of maternity leave, I knew I had to share this topic. Since I spend eight hours a day, five days a week in this small cubicle I figure why not make it as comfortable and inviting as possible? Here are some suggestions for making your workspace a little less like a prison cell:

1) Clean up!

If you too are re-entering the workforce or maybe you have been given a new office, the number one thing is to clean it from top to bottom! I can’t stress this point enough. Buy a container of disinfecting wipes and clean the heck out of it – desk, chair arms, KEYBOARD, PHONE, etc. When I think of all the grubby fingers that have touched those things it makes my skin crawl. Maybe I’m a little OCD on this matter, but keep in mind that you touch those items all day, every day. Sure, you might be a clean person who washes their hands after going to the washroom, but that doesn’t mean the last person did. Nuff said. Keep some cleaning wipes at your desk and once a week give everything a wipe down. Starting up this routine will not only keep your digs spic and span, but probably also help ward off allergies and seasonal illnesses. Bonus!

2) Plants!

Give your office/cubicle life by bringing in some plants. Not only do plants brighten up your space but they purify the air around you. If you aren’t the best at keeping plants alive (like me) bring in a fake plant. I bought a fake fern-like plant from Ikea along with a cute vase and it does the trick for me. Fake (or real) flowers also help to keep things happy.

         

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3) Photos!

Bring in photos that make you happy. They don’t have to be personal photos – landscapes or quotes can be just as nice. Anything that makes you smile will do the trick. I would also recommend putting said photos in nice frames. This extra touch will makes things feel

home-y and less office-y.

Here are a few quotes that speak to me:

       

 

All three via Pinterest – I don’t have the links! :(

4) Fun office supplies!

Most workplaces provide employees with office supplies but they are often the cheapest and frankly are a bore-fest. Buy a couple of nice pens, some awesome desk organizers, and maybe a fun notepad or agenda. Imagine strutting into your next meeting with an amazing agenda or top of the line pen… I bet you won’t fall asleep during that meeting.

 Here are some seriously amazing office supplies that I am crushing on:

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(Um how fun would this calendar be? I think I need to buy it…)

5) A cozy sweater!

If your office is anything like mine, it's either wayyy too hot or wayyy too cold. Hurray for re-circulated air! When dressing in the morning I try to stick with layers so I can strip down (get your mind out of the gutter) or bundle up, but let's face it, sometimes you want to wear that cute dress and don't want to add a fugly cardigan on top. That is why I keep a cozy, but cute sweater at my desk. Its always on hand to keep my warm but easy to ditch if I want to look fabulous during the staff meeting. No crazy wardrobe planning at 5am for this gal. Nope, I know my cozy sweater has my back. A cozy blanket could work too.

Here are some beauty sweaters that I wish I could buy:  

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 6) Yummies!

If vending machine coffee and chips aren’t your thing, bring in some tasty treats that are! Fall is here and that means pumpkin spice season is here too! I have a box of pumpkin spice tea stashed away at my desk so anytime I have a craving I have it on hand. I also have a selection of granola bars and fruit that I keep at work for snacking purposes. Bringing your own healthy snacks will hopefully help you cut back on both impulsive snacking and excessive spending. Yay!

7) Music! 

The team I work with is awesome. They are all about collaborating, sharing, helping and socializing. It’s great, but not so much when I’m trying to concentrate. Queue the music – literally. Most of us have smartphones or mp3 players nowadays so grab your headphones, put together a rockin’ playlist, drown out the chatter and get to work! Need a pick-me-up before your big presentation? Blast a little something in your ear to get pumped up. Need to calm down after a hectic morning? Thrown on some mellow music to bring your stress level down. Right now I am totally into jazz, namely Billie Holliday. Her sultry voice and lovey-dovey lyrics put me in such a good mood. Choose whatever motivates you. I highly suggest 8tracks. It’s an awesome website that lets you stream playlists that other users have put together. You can search by artist, genre, song name etc. I downloaded their free app to my iPhone and use it all the time. Grooveshark is another great website that lets you create playlists from their database of songs. The only downside is that there isn’t an ‘app for that’; you have to use a web browser.  

Jobs can be stressful – sometimes it’s the work, sometimes it’s the people. Do yourself a favor and make the place you spend your entire day a place you can cozy up and get creative. Putting a little time and effort into prettying up your workspace will give you a confidence boost and show others you are a committed and organized member of the team. By adding some personal touches to your workspace you make it an inviting space not only for yourself but for your co-workers. There is nothing worse than an empty office. In the past I had a coworker who literally only had the documents he was working on, a pen and his computer on his desk. Then, at night he would completely clear his desk. It looked like a vacant office. I found this so depressing and to me it really spoke volumes about his commitment (or lack thereof) to our team. Don’t be that person – decorate your space today!

xo, Vicky