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1
Feb

Jude’s Big Blue Bed

posted by rachel, February 1, 2012

Right before she got sick at Christmas, Mom told me she wanted to buy Jude an honest-to-goodness big-kid bed for his Christmas present. I totally jumped at the offer because I’d been wanting to do something like that for him. Ever since we moved him out of his crib, he’s been sleeping in a West Elm daybed that we’ve had since we were newlyweds. And to be fair, it worked. But I wanted something a little more boyish, a little more (sob!) grownup.

Enter the Land of Nod’s Clark & Addison Bed. I researched tons of beds and I knew wanted something slightly modern, and definitely something colorful. It’s hard to tell from the above photo, but it’s actually navy blue. I love how tall the frame is but I also appreciate its simplicity. This is the perfect modern touch to his otherwise eclectic room. I had ordered it right before Christmas and then it was delivered before I headed to Alt Summit. More than anything, I’m extremely impressed with the quality. This bed can withstand a whole lot of abuse; it is ridiculously sturdy.

I’m happy to see how the room has come together. It’s a wonderful mix of estate sale finds (the campaign side tables and ginger jar lamp), Pottery Barn Kids (drapes & dresser), Williams-Sonoma home (the greek key rug) and Ikea (Expedit bookshelf & polkadot duvet). It’s whimsical and kid-friendly without being childish.

More and more I think how glad I am that we stumbled on those campaign side tables. Sure, they’re beaten up, but they’re perfect for storing all our favorite bedtime reads. Is there nothing more delightful than cozying up in bed with a book at the end of the day?

Isn’t that a darling happy boy all curled up in his bed? He loves his big boy bed so much. Thank you, Mom & Dad!

Let's Chit-Chat { 13 }

23
Feb

Wordless Wednesday

posted by rachel, February 23, 2011

I’ve been trying to get back in the swing of taking photos more often – here were a few outtakes from this week!

Let's Chit-Chat { 7 }

14
Dec

Estate Sale Find: Campaign End Tables

posted by rachel, December 14, 2010

I love estate sales for the thrill of the hunt. Admittedly the voyeur in me loves going into different kinds of homes, particularly the ones in ritzier neighborhoods. The one I hit a few weeks ago was in a mid-century bi-level crazy house. At one day it was probably pretty swingin’. The house rambled on and on for a few thousand square feet. In one bedroom, I walked in the door and my eyes landed on a pair of white campaign end tables. Score! I never see these things in person hardly, mostly on eBay and other blogs. Or Craigslist in far-off places like San Francisco where good finds seem to be in abundance.

Nonetheless, I approached them and was delighted to see that they were $20 apiece. BUT it was Saturday and everything was 50% off. So I was able to score the pair for $10 apiece. No, they’re not the best quality I’ve ever seen, but to get the look for that price, I just couldn’t pass it up.

One is now in Jude’s room and the other in the upstairs bonus room. Nice!

Let's Chit-Chat { 2 }

20
Sep

Why my husband is cool.

posted by rachel, September 20, 2010

You guys. I can’t help it. I’m feeling the itch. I really need to pick up a paintbrush. As we have discussed ad nauseum here, I really have no idea what to do with this random bonus room we have. It was originally a hallway. The people we bought the house from basically knocked a wall out and finished out the empty space under the roof. They added two dormer windows as well. It really changed the entire upstairs from a dark, dismal hallway to a big open fun space.

A space I have no idea what to do with. And I have no idea why that photo turned out so small (above).

So my wheels start spinning. I really don’t like how this enormous room is such a mishmash.Basically we’re using it as a storage facility or a REALLY BIG hallway. Can I not figure out a way to make it attractive? Cohesive? Using mostly things we already have? A place we would want to hang out? I envision it as a kid-friendly, yet still functional and attractive living room. Somewhere that kids can still play and toys can roam free. ha!

I wrote out a list of words that I want to describe this room in no particular order:

- glamorous
- quirky
- eclectic
- industrial accents
- kid friendly
- whimsical
- useable
- comfortable
- stripes
- BRIGHTER
- more light
- mirrors???

I started pulling inspiration photos and I noticed a trend. I really like stripes, the color blue, and particularly navy paired with white. As an added bonus, we already have most of these things in these colors. In fact, we have this enormous navy rug in the guest bedroom that would work pretty nicely. Hmmm.

I started getting a little nervous as I was brainstorming my master plan. Simon kinda wanted me to put on the brakes after all the painting I did earlier in the year. I imagined that bringing this up to my husband would go something like this:

But in reality, it was more like this.

Look how handsome he is. How understanding. How glowing. He then noticed the rug that was previously in the guest room laying in the bonus room. I said, “please don’t go look into the guest bedroom and see the ridiculous mess I made getting the rug out from under the bed all by myself, taking up 2 days to accomplish because the bed was so heavy and I am so stupid to move it by myself.”

I know. It looked so pretty, didn’t it, hon? Remember how the guest bedroom looked like this?

Well, uh, now it looks like this:

This is me:
No way! You are the best! You love me! You really love me!

There’s nothing better than having my hubs on board for my crazy schemes.

So. All that silliness to say, I’m launching into this project, but I’m really excited about it. Thank you to Simon for letting me have another go at painting!

Let's Chit-Chat { 4 }

20
Aug

Barstools & Photo Shoots (again)

posted by rachel, August 20, 2010

Woo hoo! I ordered my Tolix-esque barstools from Overstock.com and I couldn’t be happier. They are so nice, and just the right size. Even Jude can climb onto them easily. In fact, he has even discovered how to push all 4 of them to the back of the couch, climb onto the stool, and leap onto the couch.

Please don’t worry, Mom – he hasn’t done it more than ~~once~~ twice.

For $2.95 shipping, I was impressed until I watched my package on the UPS tracking app online and watched it come to Oklahoma City via Memphis and other cities, THEN take a definite turn south to Mesquite, Texas, only to turn around and come BACK to Oklahoma City. How the heck is that cost-effective, UPS? I mean really.

On Sunday, we had the final photoshoot for Kayne Gillaspie’s latest line of eveningwear and/or pageant dresses (I’m not really sure which). I really wish I’d gotten a couple of other photos, but I was busy working on stuff on the computer, and didn’t get in there to watch too much until towards the end.