Friday

 

The last week of Summer vacation is officially over today. Wren's first day of school starts on Tuesday. I can't believe I am actually saying that!!! It is kind of hard to even imagine her being at school every. single. day. But she is over the moon excited, so I am feeling good (but a little mommy-sad) about it all.

So here is to the unofficial end of Summer. This weekend is all that remains and we are planning to bask in the few special days before we are the parents of a real school-aged girl. (WoW, that was weird to even type!)

{the adorable cereal I bought to celebrate the first morning of school}

 

{I've loved lounging in the shade in our backyard this week while Wren has played with our 'adopted' cat}

 

{a true ceiling of clouds that passed over us one evening}

Have a safe, sweet and special long weekend.

Come take a little tour of the living room!

Sooooo, I've been trying to master my new camera. The movie function in particular is really fun, although I will admit that I have a ton to learn! Andddd the extent of my movie editing is limited to your basic windows programs. But even with all it's imperfections, I thought it would be fun to share a really really quick little movie I made of our living room! In fact, I am embarrassed to admit that I think this is my first ever video 'tour' of anything.

But I can already tell that I'm going to be having a blast getting better with this whole video thing.

DIY Scandi-Inspired Blocks

 

I've been on a bit of a scandi kick. 

And the little hits of mermaid-like hues in the living room are making me super de duper cheery so I decided to combine the two into a fun, easy  and cheap accessory:

Scandi-inspired painted blocks!

 

I found a cute assortment of wood creations at my local Windsor Plywood that I plan to get crafty with, but the blocks I picked up for $1 each were just calling for some color!

 

A little bit of acrylic paint, in any colors you like.

 

And some good painters tape to make your simple, graphic designs with.

 

Simplicity is key, just have fun and don't over think it!

 

I found it was easy to cut patterns into the tape for zig zags, instead of trying to free hand it.

 

All done I think they are a happy and fun little accessory!

 

Wren loves coming up with combinations too, so I guess they could make a funky toy.

 

But when you are as crazy about decorating as I am then they already are a toy!

Things That Make Me Happy!

 

Are you in the mode for a dose of happy? I am! I always am.

And things are always better in pairs, so let's smile together, alrrrrrighty?

Here are the things making me cheery lately.

{ back to school clothes for Wren we scored while thrifting }

 

{ back to school clothes for Wren we scored at thrift store prices on sale at OshKosh }

 

{ some dollar store balloon glam for our Friday }

 

{ late, maybe even the last, Summer clippings }

 

{ a touching parcel from a very lovely reader: a sketch of me and my dearly missed baby }

Thank you so very much Casey!!!!

 

{ getting smothered in kisses }

 

{ Cake for Breakfast }

Tessa's awesome tee shirts will be a Fall staple! I can't wait to buy more.

{ my new baby! }

I have started playing with her and I am in love. AND it has an awesome HD video feature I can't wait to use it for more bloggy videos here.

How big is your grin today? I'm hoping it's ear to ear. 

Wren's Mini Room Makeover

 

I am so excited to share Wren's little room makeover today! Not because it is an incredible before and after so much as the fact that it was all done with things we already had. Plus we had a little help from the wonderful Danielle and Paul at Urban Walls (actually, they spurred on this little makeover! Gotta give the credit where it's due)

You may remember Wren's room looked like this, so we pulled all the furniture against the walls or into the hallway and started fresh.

 

Wren REALLY loved the wallpaper I did in the powder room this Spring, but I didn't want to paper her room. That would take a lot of paper ($$$) and time should we ever change our minds. And little girls love to change their minds! So removable decals from Urban Walls was a win-win. Specially after Wren saw the gold hearts when I let her decided what she could choose from. 

Proving that she has fabulous taste, I am really in love (get it?) with how they turned out (I may or may not have tried talking her into doing the stars).

To get a 'wallpaper look', I took about 10 minutes to measure and grid out my pattern on a piece of paper and then just measured as I went along.

 

Wren was a huge help, cutting each decal out while I measured the next.

 

A testament to how fool proof these are, not one botched application!!

I just rubbed with an old credit card...

 

and peeled back on a sharp angle.

 

All done! 

 

We moved Wren's bed over to this side of the room and brought in another nightstand I was storing in my office for her fish and the rest is just shuffled around from her old set up.

 

I LOVE how the gold picks up the gold elements we've had for a few years, but that I didn't really appreciate. Like the gilding on her armoire, or the colorwheel knobs on her nightstand.

 

 

 

I found this lamp on clearance for $15 a couple years ago at HomeSense and it has floated around the house. But I love it most in here for the warmth and texture it adds.

 

I raided my linen closet for a few odds and ends to add some whimsy with pillow cases. 

 

Blueberry and Tomato are still alive and kicking!

 

Let the sun shine in!

 

Her room just feels so happy and warm. I kind of want to camp out in here every night.

I am still in love with Amy from Field Trip's PEACE origami print. Makes so much sense for my little bird-girl's room.

THANK YOU again Danielle and Paul at Urban Walls!!! You guys have made one 4 year old girl mighty proud of her bedroom.

Friday

 

This week was busy. We spent the first couple days getting Wren all ready for her first year of 'real school': kindergarten. She starts in a few days and we are excited, yet feeling like Summer flew by too fast. So we made a trip out to visit my Grandma and Grandpa just outside of the city. No internet. No cell phones. Just home made cake, fresh watermelon and lots of late Summer goodness. 

Wren talks about the horses endlessly, but always has a moment of nervous anticipation when she gets close at first.

 

and in the blink of an eye she galloped off to another adventure. 

 

picking goodies in the garden

 

exploring mysterious doors and corners

 

and catching grass hoppers by the handful were just some of the special late Summer goodness we squeezed into the day.

 

And if you follow me on instagram (you can do that right here), you already know some of our week was spent giving Wren's bedroom a mini-makeover! I can't wait to show you more on Monday.

Until then, stay smiling!

Friday

Money, can't buy happiness. 

sometimes...

There is an awesome little booklet that a mom from Wren's preschool made at the end of the year for all the parents. It was basically an interview with each of the children, all of the them answering the same questions. 

The last question was "what would you do buy with $100?"

Wren, of course, says "A Balloon!"

 

That made me so happy. Mainly because I am sure there will be a day when she wants the latest jeans or the coolest shoes and it will be nice to look back on these (inexpensive) days. But it also made me happy because it is nice to know that simple things can still be so special. That she doesn't need extravagant things, and that we can take pleasure in 'treating' her. 

I hope you treat yourself (or a family member) to something simple this weekend too.

You deserve it.