Master Bedroom Makeover - The Reveal

I know ya'll are just beside yourselves waiting to see my master bedroom.  What's that?  You haven't been losing any sleep over it?  Shameful, I tell you. 

Okay, so to refresh your memory, this is what we were working with about a month and a half ago.     

Don't worry, I'm not a complete slob.  This was taken after hubs started moving furniture to get started on the makeover.

And, for another refresher, here are the inspiration pictures:

Ahhh....all very swoon-worthy, right?

And without further ado, here she be:

quite possibly my new favorite room in the house

Those are the same pillows I had before.  I'm on the lookout for some new ones.  And do me a favor, and imagine a bedskirt - another thing on my list to buy.   

After searching high and low for some new lamps, I ended up getting these from Target, the first place I went.  Standard.  Sorry for doubting you, Tarjay.  The search for a mirror kept me pretty busy, too.  I landed on this one from Hobby Lobby when it was half-off.  I don't buy anything full price at Hob Lob.  It's against my religion.  The mirror ended up being $140 LESS than the one I really wanted from Z Gallerie, and I think it looks pretty good.  Score!

This tv was actually in our living room.  Hubs worked the system to get a bigger one for the living room and moved this one into our room.  The sconces are from Home Interior, and I've had them forever. The mirrored jewelry box came from Costco, of all places - thank you for your excellent scouting skills, Katie!  The mirror used to be over the dresser.  I would eventually like to get a full-length mirror or a leaner mirror for that wall.  The empty frame on the dresser is from Hob Lob.  I desperately need to order photos. 

The picture was $12 at Garden Ridge.  That store overwhelms me.

I like the dresser decor.  I especially like that the only thing I had to buy was the owl, and I already had the rest.  Candlesticks from Home Interior (which I think is now called Celebrating Home), white vase from Ikea, glass vase - not sure, maybe Target or Wal-mart? The shells are from beach vacations, wire bowl from Marshall's.

This little guy is the only thing from the dresser grouping that I bought recently.  He's from Kirklands, and I think he's pretty cute.  Under $5, I think.

My side of the bed.  We've had those pictures that are hanging above our nightstands since we got married.  They were stashed away in the extra bedroom, so I put them to work.  I bought the mirrored frame at Ross, and I already had the little one. 

I orderd this photo ledge from Pottery Barn, and I used frames I already had.  I might replace them with more gallery style frames someday, but these work for now.

I'm very happy with the way it turned out.  Just changing the layout was a huge improvement, so the rest was just icing on the cake.  I think some crown molding and hardwood floors would be the perfect touch, but I'm not gonna push my luck.  Oh, and now hubs wants to hang the living room tv on the wall, too.  I've created a monster.

Painting, of the Pumpkin and Face Variety

We took advantage of the nice weather this weekend, and painted some pumpkins outside.  This was a first for us, and Izzy loved it.  I think we've found ourselves a little family tradition.  We bought a big and medium sized pumpkin at a little pumpkin patch near our house a few weeks ago, and then we got an Izzy-sized pumpkin at the big pumpkin patch on Saturday, so we each had our own to decorate. 

I kind of had an idea of what I wanted to do, and my plan was to just let Izzy have at it with her own.  Hubs was a different story.  I thought maybe he would come up with something creative.  Nope.  He thought he could get by with painting three black triangles and a mouth on his pumpkin and be done with it.  He doesn't have a lot of patience for pumpkin painting apparently.  After I told him he got a C for effort, he and Izzy painted his pumpkin pink. 

Such a serious little artist

These next two pics are from my phone, so they aren't great, but look how cute my little family is!

This is where things got messy

Oh, yes she did

The finished products.  Oh, and look - my flowers aren't dead yet.  I must confess that I've only remembered to water them twice.  It's a good thing mother nature has been on their side. 

After hubs took Izzy inside for a bath, I stayed outside and "fixed" everyone's pumpkins. 
I added the polka dots to Griff's and the initials on Izzy's.

You won't find these in a Southern Living magazine, but I think they're pretty cute

Sunday, the firm Griff works for hosted a family picnic.  They had snacks, dinner, a bounce house, outdoor games, a playground, bingo, and of course, face painting.  This was another first for Izzy, and for the life of me, I still don't know how this lady got her to sit so still long enough to paint her face. 

Are you kidding me?  I can't even get this kid to slow down long enough for me to brush her hair

She played her little heart out and came home completely exhausted.  The butterflies are a little smeared, but I wanted to get some pictures before her bath.  She kept saying that she looked like Tinkerbell.

My pretty girl

complete with milk drool

Can you say delirious???

Punkin' Patch

We made our annual trek to the "Punkin' Patch," as Izzy calls it, this past weekend.  We usually try to go as early in the day as possible, but went late in the afternoon this time, and it was crazy packed.  Lesson learned, we'll stick with mornings from now on.  First on the agenda was the fall family picture, and after we took a few pictures, Izzy was off to roam through the pumpkins.  She's too little for the big blow up obstacle course and slide, she still isn't a big fan of the bounce house, and the lines for the hayride and train ride were out of control.  It's a good thing she's happy playing with hay and gets super excited about pumpkins.   

The obligatory family photo

Me and my girl who would rather throw rocks than pose for a picture

Izzy and cousin Lane

Hubs had about half a second to take this photo before she was off to something else, so the top of the sign is cut off and she's not even looking, but you get the picture...

Photobombed by a random kid

They're not a sweet as they look.  Okay, maybe they are.

There's the hay I mentioned earlier

And of course, the punkins

Lane was loving him some inflatables

No nap for homegirl = a little break on the ground

We came, we saw, we pooped out

DIY Crayon Wreath

My sister is a brand new kindergarten teacher.  In fact, she's barely three weeks in and has already had her first pants-pooper.  I'd say they are breaking her in quite well.  Her new career gave me the perfect reason to try out one of the cute teacher wreaths I've seen so much of on Pinterest.  Here is my take on the DIY crayon wreath.

All the crayons are glued to two embroidery hoops

 I somehow got off on the spacing didn't have enough room to squeeze in another crayon. 
The apple cut-out disguised my little oopsy perfectly. That big glob is paper towel that stuck to the glue. 
Pretend like I cared enough to remove it, k?

Supplies:
Crayons
Two embroidery hoops (2 diff sizes)
Ribbon
Glue - I used wood glue
Wooden apple (optional) - got it at Hob Lob, and wrote her name with a sharpie
*other cute embellishments are raised stickers, wooden letters, rolled fabric or felt flowers, etc...

Directions:
It's pretty simple really.  You just situate the hoops how you want them and get to gluing.  It does help to set all of your crayons on the hoops before gluing to make sure they will all fit, and then try to leave them on as you start gluing so you will not have the same spacing problem I had.  When the glue is dry, add your ribbon and embellish as you wish.

Sophia Grace & Rosie

I know these videos are everywhere, and if you are a Pink Lou Lou follower like I am, you've already seen them on her blog, but I just had to post these.  These girls are absolutely adorable.  Guaranteed to put a smile on your face. 

Sidenote: if I start speaking in a British accent (which I do quite well, if I do say so myself), do you think Izzy would pick it up eventually?  She's got adorable, she's got pink, she's got princess....all that she needs is that accent, and she's set. ;-)

"I'm the next Nicki Minaj!"  L.O.V.E.

That Sophia Grace knows how to shop.  I kind of feel like I would act the exact same way if someone were to treat me to a Target shopping spree.  I've actually seen my sister running through Target in a very similar fashion on Black Friday.  Who says shopping isn't a sport? 

Pinterest: It's What's For Dinner

I've tried quite a few recipes from Pinterest lately, and surprisingly enough, I haven't struck out with any of them yet.  Easy is the theme with these recipes, which is the number one quality I look for when trying out new dishes.  These have my stamp of approval, and they will definitely be added to the normal rotation around here.  If you try them and don't like them, don't come crying to me I hope we'll still be friends.

*Please note all photos were found via Pinterest.  If it ain't broke, don't fix it, right?


1. Crockpot Italian Chicken - So simple.  I've already made this one three times.  Lovin' it!

Click here for recipe

2. Slow Cooker Potato Soup - Great for hanging out in your fat pants on a rainy day.  Hypothetically speaking, of course.

Click here for recipe

3. Crockpot Lasagna - My cousin mentioned making a crockpot lasagna on Facebook a few weeks ago, so I thought I'd check Pinterest for a recipe.  This stuff is the bomb.com.  I seriously didn't expect it to be so delicious.  We had this for dinner two nights in a row this week, and hubs and I may or may not have helped ourselves to seconds both nights.  It's even Izzy-approved.  Can I get an amen?

Click here for recipe

( I used 2 jars of Bertolli Olive Oil and Garlic pasta sauce, and I used ground beef instead of sausage.)

4. Lime Infused, Honey Crusted Chicken - I made kabobs with this recipe, and hubs grilled them up.  Served them over brown rice.  Pretty tasty.

Click here for recipe

(I used chipotle chili pepper instead of cayenne pepper)

5. Easy Cheesy Zucchini Bake - I liked this one more than hubs did, but he doesn't get too excited about veggies.

  Click here for recipe

6. Peanut Butter and Chocolate Filled Crescent Rolls - I've also tried these with nutella, and as you can imagine...ah-mazing.

Pretty self-explanatory, but click here for recipe

7. S'mores Cookie Bars - You might remember me drooling over these little puppies in this post, but I thought it couldn't hurt to give them another shout-out.  Delish!

Click here for the recipe

8. Mini Pumpkin Pies - So cute and so tasty!  These would be perfect for a holiday party or any sort of shower.  You make them the same way you make your regular pumpkin pie, but you just cut the dough in little circles and fit them in the muffin tin cups.  The best thing about these little babies is that they are small, so if you have two or three of them, you've technically only eaten one slice of pie.  No?  Crap.

Click here for recipe

My super complicated (heavy sarcasm) pumpkin pie recipe:



Follow the recipe on the back of the can, and double the cinnamon and ginger
 (a tip from the mother-in-law)

If you try any of the recipes, I'd love to hear from you.