a bold move

Last week, Nick worked late, Hayden went to bed early, and I decided it was time to do a project. I have been enjoying our gallery wall, located between the bedrooms upstairs. However, I wanted something a little different and a bit bolder than what was already there. I picked up a quart of peacock blue paint from Ace Hardware and painted the wall completely in about an hour and a half. 

 It took me the better part of a week to hang up the pictures again, since I couldn't hammer at night after Hayden was asleep, and H + work take up most of my days. Last night, I finally hung the last pictures. I took advantage of having all the picture off the wall and updated a few. Hayden's presence is a bit more prominent on this wall than it previously. 

I hung an art project he made a preschool: 

The whole wall is a bit more dramatic and full:

I also scored another Pottery Barn floor sample item. I found the Willow side table discounted by almost 75% at our local Pottery Barn and decided it was the perfect small table for this wall.

I love the antique mirrored top of this table and the vintage feel it brings to this space. The deep blue + this table make things feel more polished than before. This little wall isn't quite finished yet. I need a couple more frames to fill in some empty spots. Also, we are planning on replacing the skinny wood-tone baseboard with some chunky white baseboards to match the bedrooms. Always something on the to-do list around here! 

9 months

Our little bubby is 9 months old. (well actually closer to 10 now that I'm finally writing this post!) He is always on the move these days and such a smily little guy. At 9 months, Hayden had started crawling backwards, pulling up on furniture, and scooting around on his belly. As you can see by this picture, the days of laying on his back are over. He's ready to move! At his 9 month check-up, he weighed 17.5 lbs. and was in the 15th percentile for height and weight. We love this little monkey and his silly, silly personality! 

some new stuff + my first real art

A couple months ago (I think), Nick, Hayden, and I were running errands and stopped in Pottery Barn for a quick look around. I spied a buffet/cabinet that was deeply deeply discounted. As in, it was originally $800 or $900 and we got it for $100. The only thing that was wrong with it was that the back corner is a little bent. We were super excited about scoring the deal even though we didn't quite have a plan for it. We left it in the corner of our dining room, but it didn't feel quite right. 

 This weekend, we were walking around our little downtown and walked through a street art show. I was really enamored with one artist's booth that feature abstract charcoal figure drawings.  I chatted with the artist (John Ligda of San Francisco) for a while and ended up purchasing one of his pieces. We decided to hang the piece above our cabinet and all of a sudden, everything seems much more finished and put together.

 

With lots of homemade art and pictures adorning our walls, it feels very grown-up to own a real piece of art made by someone else.

This room is still super unfinished but having this little corner helps me feel like it will start to come together soon... 

a little glam

So I went to the Goodwill and picked up some classy new art for our entryway. 

 I kid. Really, I went to score some cheap frames for a little project that had been swirling around in my mind. Since Hayden started preschool last winter, he's been bringing home lots of adorable little art projects. I wanted somewhere fun to display our little Picasso's masterpieces. 

I carefully removed the glass and lovely art from the old picture frames and used some Rub 'n Buff to take them from mismatched to  funky antique gold. (As a side note: I've heard of the wonders of Rub 'n Buff before, but this was my first time using it. It was a sinch to use and looked exactly how I wanted it to when I was finished. Plus, I still have a ton left over after rubbin' and buffin' 3 frames. What else in our house needs some antique gold lovin'??) 

Next, I purchased two packs of these "bulldog" clips from Office Depot (or Office Max... I can never remember which one is which). My chunky-wristed hand model is happy to show off these clips. I wanted something a bit more industrial-ish to counteract the femininity of the gold frames.

Next, my other lovely model hung all my frames and clips in a vertical row in our front entryway. This gave him the opportunity to try out his new toy, a free-standing laser level.

And ta-da! Just like that; the perfect place to hang our little Bub's art: 

So, here's the entryway as it stands now. I like it... buuuuut... I'm not so into the gold with the brown behind it. Of course I keep saying we're going to paint the walls a lighter color (maybe if I keep saying it enough, it will actually happen?!), but I'm feeling the need for a little something more on this wall. Perhaps a bold color accent wall? Or some wallpaper?

Wallpaper is pricey, but it's a small area so I'm thinking if we do it anywhere, it must be here. I've found a few wallpapers that I love love love and think would be perfect for the space. What do you think?

(1. Urban Outifitters, 2. Anthropologie, 3. & 4. Hygge & West)

 So? Yay or nay on the wallpaper? Nick's on board as long as the price isn't crazy. Or should I just paint the wall? Stencil it? Decisions, decisions.... 

mother's day

 As a Mother's Day Rookie, I wasn't quite sure what to expect on Sunday. Let me tell you, it was the sweetest (sweetest) day. I was woken up at 5:20 by a little cooing song on the baby monitor. When I brought Hayden into our room, he was all cuddles and giggles. Then he and his Daddy left for a an hour to get coffee and breakfast and run another couple errands so that I could get a little extra sleep. (Not that it actually happened; I can never seem to sleep when the opportunity presents itself!) They brought me home a big bouquet of tulips and a silly card signed by everyone (even Lucy and Henry) We took a little walk down to the farmer's market and ran our weekend errands - which sounds boring but it was really just so nice to be three for a bit (those moments where we're all together and not busy are fleeting). 

On Sunday evening, we went to Nick's grandparents' house to celebrate with the rest of the family. Hayden went swimming for the first time! And drank most of a fruit smoothie too - if you can't guess by these pictures. (We decided to let the "swimming after eating rule" slide this time...) He love love loved the water and was a happy boy playing with Daddy and Uncle Mike in the pool. 

Time and time again, I look at my life and think how very blessed my life is. It may not be exciting or glamorous, but it's filled with little moments that make my heart swell and the two most amazing guys that I know. 

daddies and doggies

Nick has been gone on a business trip all week and we didn't expect to see him until late this evening.  At 4:00 yesterday, just a few minutes after Hayden and I got home, he walked in the door- surprising us both. We were so excited to see "Dada" and Hayden couldn't stop laughing at him. I took this little video of my two boys having fun together: 

 That laugh is my favorite thing ever, ever!